The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Chapter 143 Genius

"Mr. Shen, you wanted to see me?"

Chen Zhixi pushed open the door in her high heels, her face beaming with smiles. "Lost in Thailand" was incredibly popular, to an unbelievable degree. As the vice president of Shenqi Film & Media, she was enjoying immense prestige wherever she went lately.

"Close the door first." Shen Qing glanced at the time. "There's a lot to do. Let's try to get things sorted out before we leave work."

Chen Zhixi closed the door with some doubt and sat down in the reception chair in front of the desk. Shen Qing briefly explained the online movie ticketing business to Chen Zhixi. Chen Zhixi was very excited after listening. She had long had the idea of ​​getting involved in the film distribution field, but Shen Qing had always stopped her. Now the boss had finally decided to take a more aggressive approach.

"Let's make this online ticketing platform operate independently, or register it as a subsidiary of Magic Investment Company, and call it Maoyan Movies. You should first acquire a tech team to develop an app. The future belongs to the mobile internet; focusing solely on the desktop version like Gewara won't work."

Next, Shen Qing used the upcoming blockbuster "The Great Wall" as an example to explain his specific operational ideas for Maoyan Movies to Chen Zhixi.

Assuming our company's blockbuster film "The Great Wall" is released nationwide at the end of 2011, our company's Maoyan Movies app...

To launch ahead of schedule, the company assembled a highly skilled ground promotion team to promote the service on university campuses, highlighting features such as online ticketing, no queuing, and online seat selection—a revolutionary experience for today's university students.

The week before the large-scale release of "The Great Wall" is the preview screening period. Tickets for the preview screening period are sold exclusively on the Maoyan Movie APP one week in advance. During this period, tickets for the preview screening of "The Great Wall" cannot be purchased anywhere else except through the Maoyan Movie APP. If the Maoyan Movie APP still has not sold out of all the preview screening tickets after 5 days, the cinema can sell the preview screening tickets offline for the next two days.

For college students, advance screening tickets for blockbuster movies are a form of social currency. Being able to see a movie in advance satisfies their desire to show off, and the fact that only Maoyan has tickets for sale will lead to viral spread.

For cinemas, not all cinemas are qualified to screen blockbusters in advance. Screenings can secure sold-out screenings for cinemas in advance, boost popcorn and beverage sales, and enhance the cinema's reputation. Especially in recent years, cinemas in China have been expanding rapidly, with a large number of new cinemas opening every year. However, regular audiences generally go to the established cinemas they are familiar with. So where do the audiences for newly opened cinemas come from? If newly opened cinemas cooperate with Maoyan Movies, which Shen Qing plans to establish, and join Maoyan Movies' screening program, they can instantly attract a large number of viewers to their cinemas. In the original timeline, Maoyan Movies once brought in over 10,000 movie tickets for a newly opened cinema in a single day. As a result, cinemas are scrambling to cooperate with Maoyan.

Moreover, Maoyan's exclusive preview screenings only sell tickets for 5 days. Any unsold preview tickets are then sold offline 2 days before the official release. This means that cinemas have a guaranteed minimum and do not bear the risk of empty seats. Once the plan is implemented, it will be cinemas begging Shen Qing, not Shen Qing begging cinemas.

In addition to the on-the-ground promotion team going into schools, the team will also promote Maoyan Movies and Maoyan's exclusive advance screening ticket sales to the whole society. As long as Shen Qing's movie is really popular enough, the Maoyan Movies APP will quickly accumulate a huge user base.

Chen Zhixi became more and more excited as she listened. Shen Qing's plan maximized the company's content advantages, and Maoyan Movies' vision had great potential. However, she still instinctively noticed a risk.

"Mr. Shen, the first movie that this Maoyan Movies app operates absolutely cannot be 'The Great Wall'."

"Tell me more about it."

"Selling tickets exclusively a week before the preview screenings can cause a massive surge in traffic for a blockbuster film, potentially crashing the server. If the server crashes, it will have a significant negative impact on 'The Great Wall' and Maoyan Movies. So, to be on the safe side, it's best if the first film launched on the app isn't too popular."

Shen Qing nodded: "What you said makes sense. I didn't think it through. It seems you understand this business now."

"Your idea is brilliant; I'm just filling in the gaps," Chen Zhixi said. "When we negotiate with cinemas, we don't only have the option of securing screenings of blockbuster films as a trump card. We can also work on shortening the billing cycle."

"Checkout cycle?"

"Yes, the billing cycle." Chen Zhixi said excitedly, "In the past, what we film producers hoped for most was for cinemas to settle the box office revenue with us as quickly as possible. But once your Maoyan Movies idea comes to fruition, the money from ticket sales will first go into our Maoyan Movies account. We will collect a service fee and then settle the box office revenue with the cinemas. Before, we waited for the cinemas to settle the accounts; now, the cinemas will wait for us to settle the accounts."

Shen Qing nodded and said, "The mobile internet wave is here. In the future, nearly 90% of movie tickets will be sold through online ticketing platforms. Online pre-sale box office will directly affect the cinema's scheduling. A successful online ticketing platform will have a unique advantage in the film distribution field. In the future, major internet companies will enter the market, and there will be a ticket subsidy war. As film producers, we will inevitably be involved in the ticket subsidy war. That's why we created Maoyan Movies."

Chen Zhixi nodded emphatically.

Shen Qing said, "Since we're going to do it, let's aim for an IPO. You'll be in charge of Maoyan Movies, and I'll mainly focus on the strategy. You'll get 4% of the equity in the new company, with a one-year cliff and four-year maturity period. The performance-based bonus is up to 2%, and the maximum bonus for a successful IPO is also 2%."

"I am confident that I can successfully operate it until it goes public."

"I trust you."

After Chen Zhixi left, Shen Qing reviewed his current wealth.

Today, he owns a parent company: Magic Investment Co., Ltd.

Shenqi Investment currently holds 0.1% of Apple Inc., 3% of Tencent Inc., 3% of Kweichow Moutai Inc., and a small number of bank stocks. When Shen Qing purchased these companies' shares, their prices were generally at low points. For example, when he started buying Tencent shares, the price was only 3.7 yuan, and it has now risen to 170 yuan. However, because he bought a large number of shares continuously without consistently buying at the absolute lowest point, his total expenditure is actually quite substantial. To date, his spending on stocks has reached over two billion yuan.

Currently, his company only has three or four hundred million yuan in its account, which is the proceeds from "Our Times" and "Back to 20" and the commercial performance income of his artists. However, Shen Qing is not worried about the company's cash flow problem, because "Lost in Thailand" will soon bring in four or five hundred million yuan, and he will not continue to buy stocks after that.

By the way, Shen Qing just received a dividend from Moutai Company, totaling 6500 million yuan.

Besides stocks, Shen Qing already has 15 Bitcoins in his possession and will not be buying any more.

Magic Investment Co., Ltd. already has two subsidiaries, and will add Maoyan Movies in the future, making a total of three subsidiaries.

The first subsidiary is Magical Film & Media Co., Ltd., which holds 100% of the shares. Magical Film & Media also holds absolute control of two post-production companies, Magical Visual Effects and Tiangong Pictures. In addition, the parent company also holds a 35% stake in Fan Bingbing's studio.

The second subsidiary is Jumei Entertainment. This is an actor management company. Chen Zhixi and Liu Yifei both received 8% equity with a four-year lock-up period. They will receive 2% after one year of service, 4% after two years, and so on until all shares are vested after four years. Chen Zhixi also has performance-based bonuses and listing bonuses. In the future, as long as Magic Investment maintains a shareholding of more than 51%, that is, they can achieve this.

The third subsidiary: Maoyan Movies. Chen Zhixi will receive 4% of the equity with a four-year lock-up period, as well as performance-based equity incentives and equity incentives for a successful IPO.

On the 3th.

The production team of "The Great Wall" held a script reading session, and Jing Tian, ​​who attended as the second female lead, sparked some private discussions. Jing Tian has acted in many big (bad) movies and has long been ridiculed by netizens as the most unpromoted actress. Unexpectedly, this girl has a powerful background and can even get her hands on the "The Great Wall" production team. Fortunately, she is only the second female lead.

Wanda is a major shareholder of the movie "The Great Wall". During a previous dinner, Wanda mentioned Jing Tian. Since Shen Qing and Jing Tian would occasionally contact each other privately, Shen Qing took the opportunity to arrange a supporting role for her.

Actually, some people wanted to cast her as the female lead, but Shen Qing would never agree. It's no exaggeration to say that Liu Yifei was chosen for the role of Mo Ying from the very beginning of the scriptwriting process for "The Great Wall." She is truly suitable for the role. Besides, even disregarding the issue of role suitability, Liu Yifei is his woman. He hasn't even held Jing Tian's hand. Is there any need to ask who should get the best role?

After months of preparation, "Breakup Buddies" is about to start filming. Before filming began, Shen Qing called Ning Hao to the company and gave him some encouragement.

While balancing his work at Sohu, Da Peng was also preparing for "Sewing Machine Band". Since it was his first time directing, Da Peng lacked confidence, so he did a very thorough and meticulous job in the early stages of preparation. However, the cost was that the start date of filming was repeatedly postponed.

Shen Qing also called Da Peng to the company to encourage him.

"No rush, just do it at your own pace. It just so happens that Nazar is taking the college entrance exam this year, so let's wait until the summer to start filming."

C

3 month 9 day.

The total box office of "Lost in Thailand" reached 14.68 billion yuan, officially surpassing the film "Gravity" to take the throne of the highest-grossing film in mainland China.

Under the barrage of media attention, the popularity of "Lost in Thailand," which had been gradually declining, has rebounded strongly, with even the daily box office showing a slight upward trend.

People's Daily Online, CCTV, Youth Daily, and other media outlets have reprinted statistics from relevant departments, which show that the number of domestic tourists traveling to Thailand during the Spring Festival was five times that of the same period last year.

"Lost in Thailand" not only did well at the box office, but it also boosted tourism in Thailand.

However, Shen Qing poured a little cold water on domestic tourists when she was interviewed by reporters.

"Safety should be the top priority when traveling. Everyone must be careful and cautious. Southeast Asia is not a safe place."

A reporter pressed further, "When you said that things aren't so peaceful abroad, does that include Thailand, whose tourism boom was boosted by the movie 'Lost in Thailand'?"

"Includes everything."

Shen Qing's answer caused quite a bit of controversy, and was actually somewhat inappropriate. It would have been even more inappropriate to say anything more or more intense. Hopefully, someone will heed Shen Qing's advice.

When "Lost in Thailand" topped the domestic film history charts, people who knew Shen Qing sent their congratulations by phone or text message, including his women.

Liu Shishi sent Shen Qing a congratulatory text message, and Shen Qing immediately made a phone call to her.

"I'll be joining the crew in a few days, and filming will last for three or four months. A day apart feels like three autumns, and it'll feel like three hundred autumns for us soon. Shouldn't we make the most of our time to see each other more often?"

"Don't you have a girlfriend? Why are you thinking about other women?"

"You're not just any woman; you're the woman who captivated me at first sight."

"You say that to every girl, right? Who would believe you? I can't be bothered with you!"

Despite saying he couldn't be bothered with Shen Qing, he went to Shen Qing's house that very night.

Shen Qing learned from Liu Shishi that the drama she was about to film was called "Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky". Shen Qing then remembered that Guli Nazha seemed to have acted in this drama in the original timeline. In the original timeline, Nazha was an artist of Tangren Media, but she wasn't in this timeline. Normally, she definitely wouldn't be in this drama, but Shen Qing still had some influence with Tangren Media. He made a phone call, and Cai Yinong immediately agreed.

The woman who came to Shen Qing's house the next day to keep him company was Nazha.

"Don't you think I'm being too harsh on you?"

At night, the two were watching a mindless TV series on the sofa when Shen Qing asked Na Zha a question.

Naza rested her head on Shen Qing's arm and said, "I'm so grateful to you. Don't laugh at me, but right now I just want to film more movies and earn more money, as long as it doesn't interfere with my college entrance exam."

"I've already asked. You can join the crew after the college entrance exam. After filming 'Xuan-Yuan Sword,' you can film 'Sewing Machine Band,'" Shen Qing said. "Tell me if you need money. It's a lot of money for you, but it's no problem for me. Is 100 million enough? I'll have someone transfer it to you in a couple of days."

"No, no, I don't need the money urgently."

"It's settled then. I'll transfer 100 million to you first. If it's not enough, just let me know."

"This money is considered an advance from the company; you can deduct it from my future income."

A few days later, Shen Qing and Chen Zhixi went to Tiangong Pictures to check on the post-production editing progress of "Taken 3" and watched the movie from beginning to end.

From the very beginning of filming, "Taken 3" was intended to counteract the Thai tourism boom sparked by "Lost in Thailand," so Shen Qing designed a crossover plot for the two films when writing the script.

In "Lost in Thailand," Xu Lang and Wang Bao encounter a ladyboy named Rose in an elevator. This ladyboy Rose will also appear in "Taken 3," and the location of her appearance is the same hotel as in "Lost in Thailand."

Rose, on the phone, stepped out of the elevator. "Hey, I'm in the elevator. There are two idiots in there." She then bumped into Shen Qing, the actor playing the protagonist of "Taken 3," who was investigating a case at the hotel. A Chinese tourist had been kidnapped in broad daylight by a criminal group at this hotel, enslaved, subjected to inhuman torture, and ultimately had his organs sold and his body buried in the wilderness.

The male lead in both *Taken 3* and *Lost in Thailand* is Shen Qing, so when Rose saw Shen Long, the protagonist of *Taken 3*, after exiting the elevator, she was momentarily stunned, mistaking him for Xu Lang from the elevator—the two look remarkably alike. In *Taken 3*, the protagonist Shen Long fights his way through every country in the Indochina Peninsula, showcasing all types of crime, both present and future, and even referencing some plot points from *SPL 2: A Time for Consequences*. In short, this place is extremely dangerous.

The film's fight scenes are spectacular, and the crimes involved are extremely brutal and unpredictable. However, the film itself doesn't overly emphasize gore, violence, or pornography. It conveys the meaning effectively, allowing the audience to understand what's happening, much like "All or Nothing."

Zhong Jinchen's squatting motion was subtle and to the point.

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