Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 399 Thinking of Jiahe
Two hours later, the two left Jiahe.

When he went in, his face was very serious, and when he came out, his face was obviously happy.

After Zou Wenhuai expressed his position, the subsequent negotiations went much more smoothly. Zou Chongheng had little interest in movies, and she ran Golden Harvest more because of Zou Wenhuai. If possible, she would have wanted to get out long ago, but her father was reluctant to let go.

It's rare that his father doesn't object to this acquisition, so of course we have to move forward quickly.

Dong Jianqiang glanced at Zhang Chen and sighed, "I'm afraid you will become a capitalist soon~"

Zhang Chen chuckled, "Isn't it still the same now?
You don’t have to be jealous. The two attempts to acquire Golden Harvest failed in history. If you add Wu Kebo’s attempt this time, that’s three attempts. Maybe I’ve failed too~”

Dong Jianqiang curled his lips and said, "Forget it now. The previous failure was due to Zou Wenhuai's interference. Now Zou Wenhuai is eager to sell you out. Why don't you stop saying such things here?"

Historically, Golden Harvest experienced an acquisition in 2002, and it was its Australian shareholder that almost succeeded.

Later, it was Li Chaoren who acted as the white knight and helped the company overcome the crisis. Of course, the end result was that the Australian shareholders were wiped out.

Another time it was with Peter Lam.

Before acquiring Media Asia, Peter Lam actually wanted to acquire Golden Harvest. Later, Taiwan's Acer Electronics made an offer, and Peter Lam eventually gave up the acquisition.

"To be honest, I actually admire Zou Wenhuai~"

"What do you admire about him?"

"Personal achievements and contributions to Hong Kong films~"

Zhang Chen nodded. Indeed, when talking about Hong Kong movies, Zou Wenhuai cannot be avoided.

The 1980s and 1990s were a time when Hong Kong’s economy was booming, but it was also a time of chaos.

That's why the underworld is entering the entertainment industry.

Even Chow Yun-fat had to call Xiang Shisan his brother in order to protect himself. Liang Jiahui and Cheng Long were forced to shoot at gunpoint, and things like copies were stolen...

In that chaotic era, Zou Wenhuai was able to gain a foothold in the entertainment industry and build such a large foundation, which shows his ability.

He caught up with good times and bad times. If he had come twenty years later, he might have become famous in the mainland.

"I still remember what Zou Zhongheng said just now~"

"You said that our Xingchen Entertainment is very similar to Cinema City in mainland China?"

"Yes~"

"It was born out of nowhere just like Xinyicheng, and it became a big hit just like Xinyicheng~
Really similar.

Cinema City only existed for 11 years, but it was glorious for ten years.

At the peak of his glory, his film company was able to force the mortal enemies Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers to unite against him, yet they still failed.

Every film it produces is a box office hit, and it often releases groundbreaking works.

Isn’t this exactly the same as Xingchen Entertainment?

But his shortcoming is also obvious, which is his extreme reliance on creativity.

The Seven Monsters of Cinema City are all talented.

It is thanks to the vigorous creativity of these seven people that Cinema City has created so many classic films.

But the fall apart was also caused by these seven people.

The seven people made similar contributions, but the distribution was uneven, which ultimately led to people leaving the Seven Monsters, and eventually Xinyicheng Company died out. "

Dong Jianqiang glanced at Zhang Chen and said, "The company is so strong now because of you. That is to say, if your creativity declines one day, the company will lose its competitiveness~"

Zhang Chen didn't care: "So I strongly advocate the promotion of screenwriter groups. We have recruited the best screenwriters, so we are not afraid of exhaustion of creativity. And I advocate the movie universe. If a movie is a big hit, it can drive the revenue of the entire universe, which will spread the cost of failure~"

The two chatted while standing at the door waiting for the car. After a while, the assistant drove over and the two got in the car and left.

However, he didn't notice that in the alley across the street, a paparazzi was excitedly holding up his camera and pressing the shutter button quickly.

In the car, the conversation continues

"Zou Wenhuai has agreed to sell you the 24.78% of Golden Harvest shares in his and his daughter's names. How long do you think it will take?"

"I don't know, but since Zou Chongheng said he would do it as soon as possible, it shouldn't take too long~"

Zhang Chen is not a shareholder of Jiahe. If he wants to acquire Zou Wenhuai’s shares, he must get permission from the board of directors.

But he doesn't need to worry about this, Zou Chongheng said they will handle it.

Not only that, Zou Chongheng also promised that if Zhang Chen wanted to obtain absolute controlling rights, they could also help lobby.

The largest individual shareholder of Golden Harvest is Raymond Chow, the second is Chen Guoqiang, and the third is Li Chaoren.

The combined shares of the three people are enough to achieve absolute control.

Of course Zhang Chen wanted to get absolute control. He didn't want to be a scapegoat for others, and he would not overestimate the character of these capitalists.

"Alas, it seems I have to work hard to make money~"

Zhang Chen can afford the money to acquire Jiahe, but when it comes to acquiring the shares held by Chen Guoqiang and Li Chaoren, it will definitely be at a premium.

And he has a lot of places to spend money.

Hollywood's Cube Company is a big money eater.

Even a low-cost one would cost several million dollars, which is not a small amount when converted into US dollars or Chinese yuan.

Of course, the money earned is also in US dollars.

At this time, I feel the numbness.

Zhang Chen listed the projects that could be quickly monetized. Excluding the share of the movie box office, it would take at least half a year.

The time point that Zhang Chen wanted was to complete the full acquisition before 07 and become the real owner of Jiahe.

However, selling overseas copyrights can quickly recover some funds, which is worth considering.

There is also "Hold Your Breath", which will be released in North America soon. If the performance is good, the overseas copyright can be sold to the Big Six.

Anyway, the Cube has no overseas distribution capabilities and will have to be sold sooner or later.

Then there is Jing Tian’s "Crocodile Storm". "Crocodile Storm" is quite special. Xingguang Canlan bears all costs and gives up all profits. These are all profits of Xingchen Entertainment.

After doing this calculation, I suddenly feel that it is not so urgent.
That night, Zhang Chen took a plane and returned to China.

"Painted Skin" is about to be wrapped up.

Dong Jianqiang continued to stay in Hong Kong waiting for news.

The acquisition of Golden Harvest actually has nothing to do with Star Entertainment, because Zhang Chen acquired it in his personal name.

But Zhang Chen’s matter is Xingchen Entertainment’s matter.

Zhang Chen's acquisition of Golden Harvest will also be of great benefit to Star Entertainment.

The next day, the Hong Kong media suddenly broke a news - Zhang Chen came to Hong Kong again and had a secret meeting with Golden Harvest, suspected of making a big move.

Because of the incident at the Academy Awards, Zhang Chen was very popular at the time and the Hong Kong media quickly followed up.

In addition, someone had previously photographed someone suspected to be Zhang Chen appearing at the airport, and today the media that broke the news published a scene of Zhang Chen and Dong Jianqiang waiting for a car downstairs in Peninsula Center. The secret meeting with Jiahe is basically true.

In an instant, various media outlets began to speculate about Zhang Chen’s purpose of going to Jiahe.

[Zhang Chen's new film will cooperate with Golden Harvest~]

[Zhang Chen seeks Jiahe's help to ease the relationship with Hong Kong people~]

[Now that I think about it, it’s too late. I suggest that Jiahe should not be a traitor~]

Hong Kong media have always paid no attention to facts when publishing news. They just write whatever they speculate and are too lazy to use vague words like "maybe" or "perhaps". They just use a directly affirmative tone.

There are also media with bottom lines who want to interview Zou Chongheng and seek the truth of the matter.

Logically speaking, Jiahe should not refuse such a thing, but this time it was unusually tight-lipped, showing a "three-no" attitude: no interviews, no clarification, and no statement.

The heat lasted for two days, with people constantly jumping out to make various analyses, but both Golden Harvest and Star Entertainment seemed to have heard nothing.

Something is not right.

In the office of Eagle King Entertainment, Boss Yang frowned as he watched the report on TV.

He and Zhang Chen are quite familiar with each other and know this man's temper very well.

Zhang Chen dragged Golden Harvest to ease the relationship between him and Hong Kong filmmakers. I don't know which narcissistic guy made up this story. Zhang Chen must be crazy to do this.

In contrast, he believes more in another statement that Star Entertainment will cooperate with Golden Harvest.

This made him a little worried.

Currently, except for the very first work of Star Entertainment, which was distributed by Golden Harvest, the rest were all handled by Eagle King.

The relationship between the two families is very close.

But now Zhang Chen was secretly meeting Jiahe, and his attitude of not responding after being exposed made him a little nervous.

The partner that I finally found won’t run away.

Compared with Boss Yang, Orange Sky's Wu Kebo's guess is closer to the truth.

The first day he saw the news, he had an ominous feeling in his heart: Could it be that Zhang Chen also wanted to acquire Jiahe?

He hoped that he was just overthinking it, so he thought about calling Zou Chongheng to confirm.

Then he found that Zou Chongheng was not answering his calls.

This made him very anxious.

I couldn't have really guessed it.

The two sides had talked several times before and even discussed some details, so why did they suddenly stop talking?

He called again, but still couldn't get through to Zou Chongheng. He called Jiahe again, but couldn't find anyone there either. The secretary replied that the chairman was on a business trip.

"Then can I meet Mr. Zou Wenhuai?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zou has already retired and doesn't see outsiders. If Mr. Wu wants to see him, I can make an appointment for you~"

The secretary's formulaic reply was like a door, isolating him from the outside.

While everyone was still guessing, we, the person involved, Zhang Chen, had no idea that he was causing trouble for others.

But even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care. He's busy thinking about things.

Even Fat Fan who came to deliver food and supplies was kicked out by him.

Women will only affect the speed at which I draw my sword.

Zhang Chen was thinking about the important matter. What should he do if he really got Jiahe?
Filming is inevitable.

He said that he was confident that Golden Harvest could return to the top position in Hong Kong, and he was not bragging; he was really prepared to do so.

You need to consider carefully what subject to shoot.

What is the most impressive thing about Hong Kong movies?
Kung Fu movies and police and gangster movies.

Don’t think about yourself as a third party.

Kung Fu movies are our signature product and we definitely can’t give them up.

Police and gangster movies are a steal.

At present, Chinese-language films, mainland China, and mainland film and television companies simply cannot make police and gangster films.
The mainland has nothing to say about Hong Kong. As long as the film is produced by a Hong Kong team,

Maybe it would pass the censorship if it was put into a Hong Kong movie.

The most obvious one is Johnnie To's "Drug War". I was really shocked when I watched it for the first time...

It was precisely because of the example of "Drug War" that "Silent Witness" dared to shoot the execution scene a few years later.

Golden Harvest needs a good start. If Zou Chongheng acts quickly enough, Zhang Chen doesn't mind bringing "The Man from Lonely Planet" to Golden Harvest.

What to shoot next? Since we have taken over Golden Harvest, we must do something, at least three movies.

What are kung fu movies about?
The first thing Zhang Chen thought of was "Ip Man".

A movie like "Ip Man" cannot be made in mainland China because its regional color is too obvious.

In the original film, the producer of "Ip Man" is Oriental Pictures, which is also Wong Jing's company.

Wong Jing, a screenwriter by profession, is one of the New Seven Freaks of New York.

The one that impressed me most about him was the "Happy Ghost" series, and he hasn't produced any particularly impressive works since then.

But this guy happened to make "Ip Man", which became a huge hit, and then there were sequels, sequels, sequels, sequels...

To put it simply, a movie like "Ip Man" is simply about beating up foreigners.

In fact, it is a kind of emotional catharsis.

This routine actually existed before, such as "Once Upon a Time in China", "Huang Feihong", "Huo Yuanjia" and "Chen Zhen", which are all of similar types.

Keep adding on, and when the audience has endured enough, suddenly release it and let the male protagonist defeat the foreigners, preferably after going through all kinds of difficulties.

This way it will be refreshing enough.

"Ip Man" follows this routine from episode one to episode four. As soon as the movie starts, everyone actually knows what will happen next, but they just love to watch it.

First, the emotions are indeed vented, and second, the action design is indeed beautiful.

So you don’t have to worry about the plot of a kung fu movie being old-fashioned. As long as the action is well designed, people will definitely watch it.

Of course, the fact that "Ip Man" has become a classic is also related to its many detailed settings.

The first thing is the reason for starting a war. You can’t fight just for the sake of fighting.

Wu Jing's "Wolf Tooth" is actually quite good if you just watch the fighting scenes.

The reason why the final reputation was not good was because the story was too thin.

Many times, fighting is just for the sake of fighting.

This kind of fighting looks good, but the audience can't remember it after watching it. They can't even remember why the fight happened. How can they remember anything else?

In addition to the reasons for starting a war, there is also the disparity in strength between the enemy and us. How to balance this inequality in strength? In fact, countless predecessors have given the answer - fighting in a ring.

The arena is open and has enough influence. For this reason, the villains can't play tricks, so everyone can only rely on hard power.

This equalizes the disadvantages between the protagonist and the villain.

"Ip Man" is undoubtedly a good IP, otherwise it would not have been filmed all the way. One IP is enough to support a company.

For the third film left, Zhang Chen plans to make it a comedy.

There are many choices for comedy films.

Zhang Chen is planning to shoot "Lucky Key" or "Extreme Job".

The former is an adaptation of the Japanese movie "The Way to Steal the Key". There is also a remake version in the mainland called "The Crowd".

It tells the story of a famous killer and a down-and-out extra who exchanged their lives because of an accident.

This kind of comedy is called misplaced comedy, which relies on the misplacement of roles and identities to create jokes.

In this movie, Xiao Yang contributed outstanding acting skills, and beat King Liu.

"Extreme Job" is a pure comedy film. It tells the story of a drug enforcement team that took over a fried chicken shop that was about to go bankrupt in order to complete an undercover mission. Unexpectedly, due to a series of coincidences, the fried chicken shop became a nationally famous comedy story.

A very relaxing movie.

Zhang Chen plans to make one comedy, one kung fu film, and one police and gangster film.

It's also a way to see how the market reacts.

Just as I was thinking about it, the phone suddenly rang. It was Chen Xi calling.

"Does Mr. Chen Xi have any good news to inform me?"

After figuring out Jiahe's next filming plan, Zhang Chen felt relieved and it came out naturally in his tone.

Chen Xi on the other side also had a smile on his face: "You guessed right, it is indeed good news. I have already obtained the film and television adaptation rights for the novel "Live" that you asked me to pay attention to."

"Great. Let the writing team start adapting it and expand it into a 40-episode TV series."

"Lost" is the second in his trilogy of spy war dramas, and the third is "The Cliff".

(End of this chapter)