After all of them were reborn, who would still be an actor?

Chapter 792 The Traffic Code: Shorting Netflix!
The bizarre phenomenon of piggybacking on traffic is emerging one after another, and it's all at Jack Ma's behest!

Everyone underestimated the value of a 24-year-old Palme d'Or-winning director, including Li Mingyang himself!

Once everyone realized it, the most absurd and magical drama in the history of Chinese entertainment was about to unfold!

And Li Mingyang is the central figure in this magical drama.

But he can't play!
Shanghai, Wanda Hotel.

Li Mingyang looked at the documents in front of him, his feelings were complicated.

“Director Li, you can speak freely about your thoughts on this agreement,” Cai Zhongxin said.

The large conference room was filled with some of the most core members of the mainland film industry.

Zuo Shandiao, Jack Ma, Dong Ping, Zhang Zhao, Wang Dajun, Jia Yueting, and some other old-timers sat at one end of the conference table, drinking tea and chatting.

Li Mingyang and Wang Changtian sat at the other end, looking at the documents in their hands.

Sitting opposite the two was Cai Zhongxin, Alibaba's number two.

Judging from the seating arrangement, it looked more like the three of them were facing a group of big shots.

Indeed, that is true!
Tsai Chung-hsin never dreamed that things would turn out this way.

There's absolutely no need for Li Mingyang to appear in public; just mentioning him is enough to generate buzz and box office revenue!

That's utter nonsense.

But it is true!
Before the 10 billion yuan Lunar New Year film season began, everyone was wondering what tricks Li Mingyang would pull.

What could boost a movie's box office better than ticket subsidies?

Halfway through the 10 billion yuan Lunar New Year film season, everyone suddenly realized that Li Mingyang's popularity is even more terrifying than ticket subsidies!
Through the positive feedback from a series of movies such as Your Name, I Am Somebody, The Loser, Storm, New Police Story 2013, and Personal Tailor!

Li Mingyang's popularity can directly impact movie box office revenue without his personal involvement.

Everyone, from top to bottom, is now full of confidence in the 10 billion yuan Lunar New Year film season.

Having hope is one thing.

Obvious achievements are another matter entirely.

The consensus among those who have shifted from power to capital is unprecedented: to achieve the feat of generating 10 billion yuan in box office revenue during the Lunar New Year holiday!

However, to achieve this feat, someone has to foot the bill.

Box office revenue doesn't appear out of thin air; it's built up with money!
Jack Ma was willing to pay, but he didn't want to be taken advantage of and end up paying for someone else's benefit.

Therefore, Li Mingyang was eliminated, but his name remained!
Li Mingyang's name and person are actually separate entities; his name is the key to his billions in box office revenue! The person himself is not important!

The agreement Cai Zhongxin gave to Li Mingyang stated that Alibaba was willing to take over his shares. Once the doubling threshold was triggered, Alibaba would buy all of his shares, allowing him to exit with a comfortable return on his investment.

In addition, Alibaba will also help Train to Busan obtain the necessary approvals for its domestic release!

People from the General Administration are among those attending today's meeting.

In short, Li Mingyang is no longer needed for this Lunar New Year film season; he can leave early with his spoils.

This is what Li Mingyang has been striving for all along.

Unexpectedly, it was accomplished in this way, and they also managed to secure the dragon emblem for Train to Busan.

"I disagree." Wang Changtian threw down the document and refused to sign it.

Because those large-cap stocks don't belong to Li Mingyang alone, Wang Changtian also has a stake. If Wang Changtian doesn't sign, the agreement can't be reached.

“We can talk,” Cai Zhongxin said directly. “What are your needs?”

Wang Changtian glanced at Li Mingyang and said, "This agreement has too many loopholes and too many variables. If anything goes wrong, it will all be Li Mingyang's responsibility."

"What could possibly happen?" Cai Zhongxin asked.

“Li Mingyang’s fans have caused trouble more than once or twice. Don’t you know how destructive they are?” Wang Changtian said excitedly.

"You don't need to worry about that. Alibaba has the best public relations team."

Wang Changtian was about to speak again, but Cai Zhongxin stopped him by raising his hand. "Director Li, do you have any objections? We can add more money. What I mean is to add an extra 100 million for the use of the right to reputation."

Li Mingyang raised an eyebrow. "That's great!"

Leaving is fine; what he fears most is these people using his name to cause trouble!

The entertainment industry has low moral standards, and the capital it generates has even lower standards...

He was genuinely afraid of ruining his reputation...

"Two hundred million for your hard work!" Ali Ma suddenly made a peace sign and laughed.

Cai Zhongxin lowered his head, adjusted his glasses, sighed inwardly, and forced a smile as he said to Li Mingyang, "Two hundred million, that's more than enough sincerity. Sign it."

The implication is that this is the final ultimatum.

This agreement not only provides protection for Li Mingyang, but more importantly, it provides protection for everyone.

Make sure Li Mingyang leaves the scene.

In addition, it cannot involve the right to reputation.

The right to reputation is too complicated, and it's easy to be held accountable later.

Everyone present knew what was going on: Jack Ma had offered 200 million to eliminate any future problems.

In short, signing this agreement is the best course of action.

If you don't sign, then don't even think about leaving safely, and you can forget about getting the dragon emblem for Train to Busan.

"I want to add the One-Punch Man dragon mark." Li Mingyang tried his best to secure his own interests.

“Yes! This agreement can be signed, but the One-Punch Man Dragon Mark must be given.” Wang Changtian realized this and immediately asked for the Dragon Mark.

A brief silence fell over the meeting room.

Finally, everyone's eyes turned to the Mountain Eagle who was smoking.

Whether this dragon emblem is approved or not is controlled by the bandit leader Zuo Shandiao!
Sitting Mountain Eagle stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and said with a smile, "I remember the copyright for New One-Punch Man isn't in your hands, but in FBTV's, right? You need to solve this problem first before you can get the Dragon Seal."

What the hell!

That's an excuse?!
The new One-Punch Man movie hasn't even been officially registered yet, why don't you say that!

They promised to give you the green light, how could they go back on their word!
I want to get the dragon seal so I can make a deal with them!
If you don't give me the dragon seal, I'll make a deal with nothing!
"You have to promise to give me the Dragon Mark for the new One-Punch Man before I'll sign," Li Mingyang said.

“As a shareholder of FBTV, I personally do not approve of One-Punch Man being released in theaters,” Jack Ma said.

"Let's vote at the joint meeting next month. The minority shall obey the majority," Li Mingyang said with a smile.

Jack Ma smiled without saying a word and looked at Cai Zhongxin.

Cai Zhongxin coughed twice and said, "Director Li, the overall situation is more important. You have an even bigger bet with Wall Street."

By this time, most people had already understood.

Now I finally understand why Zuo Shandiao is suppressing the new One-Punch Man, which clearly has the potential to gross 2 billion at the box office!

Li Mingyang cares about the new One-Punch Man far more than one might imagine.

They'd rather withdraw from the game than not participate.

"How about we take a break? I haven't had dinner yet," Zuo Shandiao said with a smile, scanning the crowd.

"We had prepared a victory celebration banquet..."

"Director Li, that's over a billion! You're already the one who made the most money, what more could you want?"

"Even if you don't sign, you still set this up. What's the point of you not showing up?"

"Either step up and take the lead, or leave and hand it over to someone else."

"We're caught in a dilemma, Director Li! We can't go on, we can't back down, you're putting us in a very difficult position!"

……

A large number of people started to criticize Li Mingyang.

Force him to give a result.

Film promotion and distribution is a part of the distribution process, just like film production.

Advance planning and communication are essential.

We must get results today; otherwise, many subsequent distribution and promotional activities will be impossible.

“I’m hungry too. Let’s take a break and eat first,” Wang Changtian said, standing up.

Seeing this, everyone could only wait for the next match.

However, just as everyone was getting up, Li Mingyang suddenly picked up a pen and quickly signed the two copies of the document.

After signing, I handed the pen to Wang Changtian.

Wang Changtian was dumbfounded, and the others were speechless.

No one was quite surprised; why did Li Mingyang suddenly sign it...?

"Sign it," Li Mingyang said.

Wang Changtian sighed silently, sat back down, and picked up the document to read it again.

Based on his many years of experience in the industry and his understanding of his peers, he knew that signing this agreement would definitely cause problems.

But if you don't sign, you really can't leave today.

This concerns the interests of the entire industry.

"I want an extra 50 million," Wang Changtian finally protested.

“Sure,” Jack Ma said readily.

For Jack Ma, money is secondary; the market is the most important thing!
Wang Changtian's final struggle was somewhat futile.

……

At the celebration banquet.

"Overall, the result is good, and everything is moving in a positive direction," Wang Changtian said, clinking glasses with Li Mingyang in a corner.

"Yes..." Li Mingyang said weakly.

“I have a feeling that Hughes’s side is unreliable. Do you want to go and take a look…” Wang Changtian whispered.

“We’re complete novices, we’re just going for peace of mind. You’re older than me, so at least you can keep him in check. We have no choice but to gamble… Hughes didn’t have a better option…”

Wang Changtian took a sip of champagne and looked at Jack Ma, who was being surrounded by a group of people.

The upcoming Lunar New Year film season, with its billions in box office revenue, will be Jack Ma's personal showcase!
He seriously doubted whether Jack Ma could handle it... He seemed like a coal mine owner who had been tricked into joining the scheme...

"Just say hello and then leave. We have a ton of things to take care of." Li Mingyang waved to Wang Changtian, they exchanged a few compliments about Jack Ma, and then he took his leave.

Logically, Jack should have tried to persuade him to stay, but he didn't.

Jack Ma said goodbye to Li Mingyang with a grin.

Upon arriving at the underground parking lot, Wang Changtian suddenly asked, "Do you think this 10 billion yuan Lunar New Year film project will be a success?"

"If there are no major mishaps, the box office for the December holiday season should be close to 2.5 to 2.6 billion yuan, and we only need a little over 7 billion yuan in January to reach our target. If One-Punch Man breaks 2 billion yuan, that's over 5 billion yuan..."

"Wait, the Dragon Mark of One-Punch Man was suppressed, how did you include One-Punch Man?"

"Who the hell is crazy enough to think they can endure hardship without suffering? If there's a shortcut, they'll definitely take it!" Li Mingyang
Wang Changtian smiled and said, "Indeed... so you signed the contract once you were sure One-Punch Man would be released during the Lunar New Year holiday." "I wasn't sure either, but we couldn't delay. If we kept delaying, One-Punch Man definitely wouldn't be released."

"This is really frustrating. Before, we were betting on the box office and had no idea what to expect. Now we're betting on whether it will even be released. What kind of situation is this..." Wang Changtian complained.

Li Mingyang didn't say anything, continued walking forward, opened the rear door of a Mercedes-Benz van, and got in.

"Director Li, where to now?" asked driver Guo Fan.

Ever since being lectured by Li Mingyang, Guo Fan has stopped caring about Zuo Er and has been working as Li Mingyang's driver lately.

"let me see."

Li Mingyang crossed his arms and hugged them to his chest, while a full moon, shaped like a water chestnut, floated quietly above his head.

Countless fragments and pieces of information flashed through my mind, all while remaining absolutely calm.

Leaving now is the best outcome.

It's definitely going to be reckless...

But since Jack Ma has taken over this project, he has to bear the consequences, both good and bad.

Others may be shameless, but he is!
Otherwise, why would a big shot like him charge ahead? It's all about saving face!

His reputation translates into traffic for Taobao and Alibaba!

Jack Ma was able to completely dominate the penguins by using entertainment traffic to create the image of a national father figure in a short period of time!
Young Master Wang also put this knowledge to practical use.

Unfortunately... my abilities are limited; I can only be an internet celebrity, and sleeping with other internet celebrities is not respectable enough.

As long as Jack Ma has any sense of shame, things will be fine; he doesn't want anything to happen to him.

The biggest problem now is whether the new One-Punch Man can be released during the Lunar New Year holiday season!

Wang Changtian finally returned the day before yesterday.

They brought back bad news and good news.

Good news: Hughes has completed his position building and is ready to short at any time.

The bad news is that Netflix has launched an acquisition of FBTV, with Netflix founder Reed personally involved in the negotiations.

The condition he offered Li Mingyang was that he take over his multi-billion dollar mega-bet.

At the same time, it acquired Bouquet Entertainment.

Furthermore, they exchanged Netflix shares for FBTV shares through a stock-for-stock swap.

Netflix's market capitalization is twice that of Facebook, which is over 20 billion US dollars.

Netflix was very sincere and willing to help him get out of the multi-billion dollar mega-bet, which was equivalent to getting the Palme d'Or for free and becoming a Netflix shareholder.

That sounds very tempting!
Hughes sold Reed and Wall Street off in a flash; we can't agree to that.

Such large-scale group mergers and acquisitions take at least two years to negotiate, and the company integration process takes another two years or more.

It took a total of four years, meaning FBTV will miss a four-year development period.

Once merger and acquisition negotiations begin, the company's underlying operational logic changes.

It's no longer about products and content, but about capital and benefits.

Wall Street M&A experts know this all too well. They've seen many promising companies fall into internal strife once they're targeted by large corporations and enter the M&A phase.

Even if the founders had a good relationship and there was no internal strife, they would still be able to successfully create internal strife with Hughes' help.

Even before Netflix arrived, FBTV was already in internal turmoil.

The shareholders want to break up FBTV and split it into smaller parts.

They all dream of becoming regional hegemons... but they have no ambition for internationalization.

Internationalization is certainly good, as it offers access to a vast market.

The larger the market, the greater the profits; under this amplifying effect, it can easily devour the film and television industry chain.

But the competition is fierce!

Behind international streaming media are big players from Wall Street, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley.

Not to mention that there are now Amazon, Google, Netflix, Hulu, and HBO.

In the future, tech giants Tesla and Apple will also be entering the streaming media arena!

If you don't have money, you can't afford to play; if you have money, you can't afford to burn it...

Behind Netflix's success in creating cards out of thin air lies countless failures.

However, due to the large market base, a hit drama can cover a lot of losses.

Netflix is ​​extremely eager to acquire FBTV. If it can acquire FBTV, Netflix can complete its global supply chain!

Hollywood doesn't want to see Netflix dominate the global supply chain; they are the most opposed to the merger.

However, there are too many co-CEOs, and their voices are not very strong.

Currently, FBTV is simultaneously engaged in a vote-getting battle and internal divisions.

Better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile.

From Li Mingyang's perspective, unity is not a good thing; division is a good thing.

But splitting up isn't so easy either!
The content is shared across different country or region versions of FBTV.

If the content issue cannot be resolved, splitting the platform is tantamount to death.

Everyone knows this.

Therefore, Li Mingyang is not worried about a split; the worst outcome would be that the relationship would remain entangled, and a complete split would be impossible.

But Netflix is ​​different...

Open your eyes!

Netflix's target is South Korea, nothing more!

In Netflix's eyes, FBTV as a whole is not that important!
Netflix wants to eat the Korean part, but of course, it would be even better if he could eat the doujinshi part!
Netflix's sudden entry didn't have a significant impact on FBTV.

Because Hollywood is the king of content and media!
Hollywood will stop them.

Netflix has stirred up too much trouble, which is very disadvantageous for them.

When the conflict is focused on him, he can easily perceive the thoughts of other shareholders.

When the conflict doesn't involve him, he has no way of knowing what the other shareholders are thinking.

It's really a pain in the ass.

He also wants to drag FBTV's shareholders into the billion-dollar Lunar New Year film season fire pit.

Wang Changtian asked him, "Can a 10 billion yuan Lunar New Year film season be successful?"

Extremely difficult!
Even if there are no internal problems, Hollywood is eyeing the market covetously.

Hollywood wouldn't be Hollywood if it didn't resort to underhanded tactics.

A sales period worth tens of billions is something only the North American market can achieve globally—it's unique!
Hegemony is the only one.

Of course, if Hollywood blockbusters are involved in this multi-billion dollar period, Hollywood won't resort to underhanded tactics.

But Hollywood has nothing to do with this billion-dollar Lunar New Year film season!

This is what Hollywood finds most intolerable!
Not only do they not get to eat meat, but they're also used as stepping stones. If Hollywood could tolerate this...

Li Mingyang really wouldn't mind going to Hollywood for a visit!
……

Half past two in the morning.

Seoul, Dongyang Building, Chairman's Office.

After leaving the hotel, Li Mingyang thought for a long time and decided to go to South Korea.

Guo Fan and Wang Changtian also came along.

Guo Fan went to meet with Li Ming, while Li Mingyang wanted to review all of Bouquet Technology's film and television projects.

After Bouquet Technology ceased to operate and manage FBTV, Li Ming focused her attention on investments, including Korean film and television projects, girl group management, live streaming platforms, nightclubs, and medical aesthetics.

They use people from China to run companies in South Korea and make money in China...

The profits are very good; it can earn more than 5 billion Korean won a month.

Bouquet Technology, which used to be a company that lost hundreds of billions of dollars, has transformed itself into one of the most profitable entertainment companies in South Korea.

Compared to SM, SM's revenue last month was more than five times that of Bouquet Technology!

However, they compete on profits.

Bouquet technology is more than three times that of SM!

SM's profit last month was only 1.5 billion won...

Financial reports for listed companies cannot be falsified... SM's financial reports are so obviously fake that they couldn't be more so.

Li Mingyang dares to take the plunge in the A-share market!
South Korean stocks are even more dangerous than US stocks.

“I still think Hughes is a bit unreliable. Should we find someone else?” Wang Changtian said, taking a sip of tea with an uneasy expression.

"Who should we replace them with?"

“I’ve learned all of Hughes’s methods. I tried it out in Las Vegas and found that a short-selling team can be assembled with just over ten thousand US dollars. All we’re missing is a legitimate identity. We currently have a partnership with Fox, and Deng Wendi is a good candidate.”

"That woman...she doesn't have money to play with us."

“She just divorced Murdoch and owns a lot of real estate, including a courtyard house in Yanbei,” Wang Changtian said with a smile.

Li Mingyang shook his head. "Li Bingbing has gone to Hollywood with her. Not to mention earning a salary, we have to pay her out of our own pockets. She calls it public relations, but actually she just doesn't want to spend her own money. This woman is too shrewd. She won't go all in with us."

"It's better than Hughes... Hughes' assets have been frozen, and every penny he spends is our money."

Li Mingyang bit his lip. This was really painful, and Li Mingyang couldn't accept it either.

Hughes' assets were all frozen because his wife was filing for divorce; this guy actually had $80 million in assets.

In fact, if he had simply facilitated the merger of Netflix and Facebook TV, there would have been no divorce issue, his assets would not have been frozen, and he would have received a virtual stock option worth $40 million.

This is the biggest order he's ever placed in his career!

But he refused!
That's why we've been forced into this situation.

Netflix and Facebook TV were both created by Wall Street capital, and there are also Wall Street agents within Netflix.

If Netflix swallows FBTV, Hughes will be kicked out!

Conversely, if FBTV acquires Netflix, Netflix's Wall Street agents will be ousted!

Hughes's pride wouldn't allow him to be treated like trash and kicked out!
He wants to reclaim the business and money that rightfully belong to him!

So a crazy plan was proposed!

Short Netflix!

The plan was proposed by Hughes, he selected the people, and he provided the intelligence.

How to change?
(End of this chapter)