Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 579 High-end Combat Power
The day after the Saturn Awards ceremony, Fan Xiaopang dominated the front page headlines.

To be precise, it was her crane costume that caught my attention.

This woman is really something else!
Crane costume! Foreigners have never seen anything like this before, and they all exclaimed in amazement!
This is probably what it means to be so shocked that your eyes pop out.

The situation is similar domestically, with announcements of various "outshining" celebrities flying around everywhere.

Of course, there is also more controversy. Some people have publicly questioned: Cranes have a special meaning in traditional Chinese culture. Is it inappropriate for you to wear them on your body in such a public way?
Fan Xiaopang was prepared and told a story:
When filming "2012", Jackie Chan was always wearing a Tang suit wherever he went. Once I asked him why he dressed like that.
He said I am Chinese, and standing on the world stage, I represent China. I hope that people will know I am Chinese at a glance.

That conversation gave me some inspiration.

Brother Jackie Chan promotes Chinese culture in this way, so can I!
That's when I came up with this crane costume design.

I also hope that when people see cranes, they will think of China, and when they see me, they will think of China. What's wrong with that?
This is of course no problem.

On a larger scale, this is promoting traditional Chinese culture.

As soon as Fan Xiaopang posted this Weibo post, those moral guardians on the internet immediately shut up.

What else can I say?
It's all been elevated to the level of national honor, so what right do they have to say anything, unless they want to be attacked by the entire internet?

Zhang Chen couldn't help but applaud her, saying, "Wow, she's even learned to use someone else's name to make a big deal out of it."

She actually knew to link herself with Jackie Chan.

Who is Jackie Chan?

That was a Chinese flag during the Olympics.

People wear Tang suits to promote Chinese culture; it's officially endorsed.

Fan Xiaopang said that he got his inspiration from Jackie Chan, which is equivalent to being invincible.

Of course, privately everyone knows that this is Fan Xiaopang stirring up trouble.

She's taken the "outshining" trope from China to the international stage.

The main point is that I'm the most beautiful woman in the room.

Zhang Chen knew she was up to something without even asking her.

If I win Best Actress that night, that will be my highlight.

Not only did she receive numerous honors, but she was also the most beautiful woman present.

Even if I don't win Best Actress, I'll still make a grand entrance and steal the spotlight.

Anyway, I'm definitely going to make a name for myself in this.

Look at that, so cunning.

Moreover, she actually made it.

Angelina Jolie was the Best Actress of the night, but look how many media outlets are reporting on it now—they're all talking about Fan Bingbing's crane-themed outfit, using the adjective "Amazing," which roughly translates to "outshone" or "outshone."
In the original timeline, she did the same thing, but not at the Saturn Awards, but at Cannes.

Since the dragon robe, things have completely changed, and fashion resources have been pouring in.

This vividly illustrates what it means to "find a new path" and "beauty blooms inside the wall but is fragrant outside"...

Of course, this also set a bad precedent: people discovered that becoming famous doesn't necessarily require good work...

From then on, the three major European venues became a temple fair for Chinese female celebrities.

Every now and then, female celebrities will try to sneak onto the red carpet and occupy their spots, sometimes to the point that staff have to chase them away.

Somewhere in Los Angeles, Angelina Jolie flipped through the newspapers in frustration. She picked up one, nothing; she picked up another, still nothing…

"That bitch, I was the leading lady last night!"

Julie was seething with anger. She had plenty of newspapers at hand, but all the reports about last night's Saturn Awards were about Fan Bingbing.

She was clearly the best actress last night, but there's been very little coverage of her.

Even if it exists, it's only mentioned briefly.

Not to mention photos.

On the contrary, Fan Xiaopang, who was nothing special, occupied the front page headlines of various newspapers and magazines.

The huge photos all showed her posing provocatively in a crane costume.

"Bitch~ Bitch~ Bitch~, this shameless Eastern bitch~"

The competition among Hollywood actresses is fierce, but she had never seen this kind of fighting style before.

Award ceremonies are, by nature, places where female celebrities compete to outshine each other.

To attract attention, people will go to any lengths, even going topless is nothing unusual.

But Fan Xiaopang came up with this strange trick.

No one would print intricate patterns on an elegant gown, let alone the rare image of a crane.

Westerners have been curious about the East lately, and they were immediately captivated by the exotic patterns.

Julie gritted her teeth. Others might not know, but she knew very well that Fan Xiaopang was her most direct competitor.

The track she's on has always been niche, with few competitors.

And now there's another one, Fan Xiaopang.

But this chubby Fan has a tough look to him.

The fact that "2012" won Best Science Fiction Film was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Fan Bingbing's crane costume.

But it didn't matter; he didn't care at all. In fact, he was engrossed in reading the newspaper in his office.

Tsk tsk tsk, is Little Fatty going to shake up the North American entertainment industry?

beep~
There was a knock on the door, and then Xiao Jin appeared in the doorway. "Boss, they're here!"

Xiao Jin was the one in charge of special effects makeup for "The Descent".

The relationship with teacher Fu Donglai.

After collaborating with Zhang Chen on several films, just as Zhang Chen's career was taking off, this guy left.

He came to the United States at his own expense to study special effects techniques.

When Zhang Chen wanted to start a special effects company, he thought of him. It just so happened that the guy had returned from his studies abroad, so he simply made him the person in charge of Tiangong Yicai.

During this time, Xiao Jin has been recruiting in Hollywood, and today is the day to show off his talents.

"Alright, let me meet the elite troops you've recruited!"

Zhang Chen got up and followed Xiao Jin into the conference room, where he saw several familiar faces.

"It's you guys~"

Seeing Zhang Chen's surprised expression, the people opposite him all stood up with smiles.

Xiao Jin looked over as if his wicked scheme had succeeded: "Didn't expect that, did you?"

"I really didn't expect that~"

The people opposite him were actually the special effects team that Industrial Light & Magic had been working with.

Zhang Chen has collaborated with them on films like Pacific Rim and 2012, and he can even recognize their names.

“Joseph’s team is someone we’ve worked with for a long time, and they’re incredibly capable and highly value your work, boss. I told them, ‘Boss, you’re starting a special effects company,’ and asked if they wanted to join, and they immediately agreed…”

Joseph, one of the people in the group opposite, was an honest man. He scratched his head and said, "Actually, Mr. Xiao told us that he would give us a 50% raise, a higher position, and the opportunity to participate in big projects. Of course we were willing!"

"Hahaha~"

Zhang Chen was amused by the other person; he really was a tech guy, so cute.

“That’s right, Manager Xiao’s promise to you is my promise to you. There are no problems with any of this. From now on, Manager Xiao will be your leader. I hope you can create even more and better special effects in the future…”

Zhang Chen was very satisfied with this seven-person team.

These people are highly skilled and have excellent communication abilities, as proven in previous projects.

In the field of special effects, communication is sometimes more important than technology.

Especially with special effects, it's difficult to fully understand them by just describing them verbally before seeing the actual product.

However, this problem does not exist for the seven-person team in front of us.

"Mr. Zhang, would you like to see the results of our preliminary work? We brought them with us this time."

"Of course." Post-production and special effects were done as filming progressed.

After the production crew finishes filming some scenes, they will send the footage to the post-production team so that they can process the special effects.

Joseph, the leader of the seven, turned on his computer and showed Zhang Chen the finished animation.

As he operated the computer, a scene of the Primordial Chaos drinking water appeared on the screen.

Amidst the mountains and rivers, a giant panda stands in the water, bending down to drink, when it is suddenly attacked by a giant octopus underwater.

Zhang Chen's version of "Pacific Rim 2" borrowed a lot of elements from "Kong: Skull Island".

The enormous monster stood in the water, its size contrasting sharply with the surrounding mountains.

For the terrain and landforms of the inner world, Zhang Chen specifically adopted the terrain and landforms of Guilin and Zhangjiajie.

The otherworld in the movie is fantastical, magnificent, and full of poetic charm.

Guilin's unique landscape makes it look like a fairyland.

But no one could have imagined that a sinister murderous intent was hidden in this fairyland.

Giant octopus, Titan monster, skeleton monster...

Zhang Chen used Guilin and Zhangjiajie because he wanted to bring fame to his country.

Both Pacific Rim 2 and Avatar featured Zhangjiajie, so it's easy to imagine that Zhangjiajie will definitely become a tourist hotspot.

I just hope that those enthusiastic tourists won't get ripped off by the locals.
After watching the effects and waiting for the special effects crew to leave, Zhang Chen led Xiao Jin into the offices, closed the door, and said, "Tell me, how exactly did you manage to fool all these people..."

He knew this was something that couldn't be solved simply by raising his salary.

Putting aside other things, these people joining Tiangong Yicai means they have to work and live in China long-term, something many Americans might not be able to accept.

Xiao Jin gave him a knowing look that said, "These people are willing to join Tiangong Yicai not only because of the salary increase, but also because of the job opportunities."

Clearing his throat, Xiao Jin continued, "Working with special effects companies in the US isn't as easy as we imagine."

Currently, new visual effects companies are being established every day in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and other places, while old ones are disappearing every day.

With the increasing number of special effects companies, competition is becoming increasingly fierce.

These three countries, however, encourage high-tech industries to be established on their soil, and offer numerous preferential policies in terms of taxation and subsidies.

For example, in British Columbia, Canada, the local government provides a subsidy of 30% of the operating costs for special effects companies.

In other words, for the same project, Hollywood dares to quote 100, while Canada dares to quote 70, crushing the Americans.

Hollywood special effects companies have no competitive advantage in terms of price, and many American special effects companies have gone out of business.

Even many well-known visual effects companies operate at a loss.

Zhang Chen recalled Zhong Lifang and the Digital Domain that Cameron had mentioned, which was suffering heavy losses.

Xiao Jin continued: "I've talked to them. Industrial Light & Magic isn't doing well either. The reason this seven-person team has been able to keep working is because we've handed over three consecutive film projects to Industrial Light & Magic. But what if we don't work with them on the next one?"
Joseph said that several groups were laid off because they had no work to do.

If they don't cooperate on the next project, they will most likely suffer the same fate.

So when I invited them to join Tiangong Yicai, they agreed without much hesitation. In fact, even without a raise, they would most likely have agreed anyway.

Xiao Jin is also a bit of a capitalist.

"It doesn't matter. As long as they're well-fed, they'll be happy to work. After all, they've left their hometown..."

Although it might require going abroad, it's not a big deal for Franklin's sake.

Moreover, many people went to Hengdian when filming "Pacific Rim 1". They are not prejudiced against China. They remember that there is a lot of delicious food there, and all of them are open 24 hours a day.

Having dealt with the seven-person group, Zhang Chen's confidence soared.

After Tiangong Yicai merged with four companies, the people who joined the merged company were not entirely useless. Many of them had overseas special effects work experience, but they later chose to return to China to work.

These people are considered to be of mid-level combat strength.

So this group of seven is high-end combat power.

The special effects team for a movie can range from a dozen to several hundred people, with some films like "Ne Zha" even employing 4000 people.

But these refer to the total number of people.

In reality, many of them are just skilled workers.

Skilled workers are ordinary laborers. Every year, many students from the Beijing Film Academy graduate with this degree and can take on this job.

What's truly rare are those highly skilled individuals.

Just like a construction team, Zhang Chen doesn't lack laborers, but he lacks foremen, project managers, and team leaders who are technically skilled and can work independently...

And that's exactly what the seven-person group is.

This perfectly fills the gap in Tiangong Yicai's lack of high-end combat power.

Zhang Chen didn't expect them to stay in the country indefinitely. As long as they worked for a year or two and their own people grew, they could leave whenever they wanted.

As the two were chatting, there was another knock on the door.

It's Diane~
"Boss, the agency I contacted has arrived!"

Riot Games is an American company, and any acquisition of Riot Games must be handled by a reliable agency.

The restaurant we're visiting today was recommended by Diane.

After both parties were seated and introduced themselves, Diane signaled for the ceremony to begin.

The agency began its presentation: "At your request, we investigated the shareholding structure of Riot Games."

They have just completed their Series B funding round, and their post-funding equity structure is as follows:
Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill, as co-founders, hold a combined 50% stake and are the driving force behind the company's strategic decisions.

Investment firms Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital together hold 22.34% of the shares.

Tencent, a Chinese company, invested $800 million in the Series B round and also acquired a 22.34% stake.

The remaining 5% is the employee stock option pool.

Based on Tencent's 22.34% stake valued at $800 million, Riot Games' valuation would be $3580 million.

This is a rough estimate from before the contract was made. Although there may be some changes now, the difference will not be significant.

To acquire actual control of the company, your company requires at least 51% of the shares, which amounts to 1825 million. Considering a potential premium, the final price will likely be between 2200 and 2500 million.
"

"Besides preparing money, what else do we need?"

"A professional team, including cross-border investment banks such as CICC and China Renaissance;
American law firms, such as Skadden;

Chinese law firms, such as King & Wood Mallesons;

Accounting firms, such as the Big Four...

Believe me, it may be troublesome, but it will also save you a lot of trouble.

These professional organizations can help you coordinate the entire process, including legal compliance, financial due diligence, transaction structure design, and cultural coordination.

Most importantly, it can reduce risk and increase the success rate.

"What if I want to acquire it outright?"

"I don't recommend you do that. You're probably interested in acquiring Riot Games because of their upcoming product, but it hasn't launched yet. Even if you do acquire it outright, I suggest you leave the founders with a significant portion of the shares so the product can develop in a positive direction..."

Zhang Chen recalls that in 2011, Tencent acquired 70.44% of Riot Games' newly issued shares for US$2.3 million, bringing its total stake to 92.78% and making it the controlling shareholder.

$2.3 million is equivalent to Tencent's annual game revenue.

This is practically free money.

"Even if we can't acquire it outright, we should at least get control."

Once we gain control, Tencent will essentially be working for us.

"If that's the case, we suggest..."

The agency was clearly experienced and immediately presented its contingency plan. Zhang Chen listened quietly and felt it was reliable.

After a while, he and Diane exchanged a glance, and Diane nodded slightly.

While the other party was still talking non-stop, Zhang Chen had already stood up and extended his hand: "Gentlemen, my time is very valuable. I wish us a pleasant cooperation..."

(End of this chapter)