New Age Artists

Chapter 616 Anne Hathaway's Collapse
Warner has not finalized the cooperation with Shen Santong.

Wonder Woman is related to the DC movie universe. Whether it is Warner Bros. or its parent company Time Warner, the positioning of DC's important roles is a strategic direction decision. It is a crazy decision to hand it over to an Oriental.

However, although Shen Santong's words were unpleasant to hear, they pointed to a way forward.

It's not about the content, but about telling a story.

Shen Santong's status is much higher than that of directors and producers, and he understands what professional managers value.

It is of course good if the content is successful, but it will take two to three years for the results to be seen.

A good story can have an immediate effect and then be reflected in annual salary.

After all, Warner is having a hard time.

After the parent company Time Warner acquired AOL, its shareholders lost more than $2000 billion in ten years.

Since then, it has become a popular case in business textbooks, and is widely regarded as one of the most failed M&A cases in business history.

AOL was sold three years ago, but the company has never recovered, and Time Warner's stock price hovers around $40, far below its pre-merger level.

Today, Warner has been divesting non-core assets, focusing on content, and retaining high-quality content assets such as HBO, Warner Bros., and Turner Broadcasting (TNT, CNN).

However, with the rise of streaming media and the decline of traditional media, the growth of core businesses such as cable TV and magazines such as Time and People has stagnated due to the impact of the Internet.

The film and television businesses are under pressure. Although Warner Bros. Pictures remains profitable, it faces long-term threats from the rise of streaming media such as Netflix.

Warner is also wronged.

In 00, we saw that the Internet was a big trend, so we acquired America Online, chased high prices, but ended up missing out, and hit the Internet bubble. After ten years of twists and turns, we found that there was nothing wrong with the strategy, it was just too advanced.

In this case, Shen Santong provided a way to bring the DC movie universe to popcorn movies.

This story is definitely feasible in theory, but it is quite difficult, even more difficult than balancing darkness and popular narrative.

Although I am tempted, it is impossible to finalize the cooperation immediately, but there is no need to continue to criticize it.

The final choice depends on whether the performance of "The Dark Knight Rises", the final work, can be compared with Marvel's "Avengers".

If possible, go with the dark style. If not, you have to make plans early and make a decision at the latest before Zack's Superman comes out.

There are no secrets in Hollywood.

One of the media outlets criticizing Shen Santong suddenly lowered its tone.

Robert Egger got the news immediately.

Furious!
There's a traitor among the Hollywood moguls.

An immediate call to Jeff Bewkes: "Should I be worried, Mr. Bewkes?"

Although the major companies in the United States seem to be competing with each other, their shares are actually highly concentrated.

Whether it is Disney or Time Warner, there are familiar names on the list of shareholders, with the names of institutions or funds such as Vanguard Group, BlackRock, State Street Corporation, and Fidelity Investments at the top of the list.

It’s just that the equity of these large companies is dispersed, and shareholders generally do not intervene in the management, leaving it to the management.

Jeff Bewkes was a little angry. Does he really think Disney is invincible?

A Mickey Mouse boss who talks to him like this, in the heyday of Time Warner, Disney was on the same level as its subsidiary Warner Bros.

Jeff Bewkes said bluntly, "I'm busy, Robert, and I don't have time for guessing games."

Robert Iger reminded: "We must remain consistent in our approach to Shen Santong."

Jeff Bewkes hung up the phone after saying, "CNN is at the forefront. Besides, Warner doesn't need to report to you about what it does."

Robert Eggma cursed and asked his secretary to call Shen Santong.

He had a deep impression of Shen Santong, and the person behind the costume blockbuster back then was most likely him.

Robert Iger recalled his meeting with Shen Santong and the topics they talked about about Marvel and DC.

Shen Santong has an extremely clear mind, and he is worried about letting the DC movie universe move away from the dark style.

This will pose a huge threat to Marvel and will also threaten Disney's overall strategic layout.

Moreover, Shen Santong has amazing creativity. Ordinary directors or producers have limited abilities and cannot achieve great success with talent alone. However, Shen Santong is a combination of director, producer, and founder of a generation.

The most terrifying thing is execution, which is the ability to block the interference of Warner’s internal strife.

NBC Studios.

Shen Santong is recording a talk show.

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

It has not been renamed until 14, when it was renamed "The Tonight Show". It is now broadcast at 11: p.m. Eastern Time.

After some friendly exchanges with Warner and a preliminary breakthrough, Shen Santong chose a program as the official debut of his North American trip.

He was invited by many people, including the famous Oprah.

The other party ended the original "Oprah Winfrey Show" and started his own OWN TV station, still continuing the style of the talk show era, but this time he was full of bad intentions, and the feature of the program was "social mobilization."

Shen Santong finally chose Jimi Show, which has a relatively gentle and humorous style. Every day's content is newly recorded and revolves around the day's news, pop culture events and guest interviews.

In order to achieve the latest effect, the scriptwriting team will update the jokes before recording to ensure that the topics keep up with the hot topics of the day. There is no shortage of news that happens in the morning being written into the programs recorded in the afternoon.

The show's audience is mainly composed of millennials and Generation Z. It is good at making memes, has game segments, and also utilizes popular Internet elements. It is gradually establishing its position as a leader in the new generation of late-night shows.

Shen Santong took advantage of this opportunity to show off in front of the American audience.

He believes that those voices that slander him can also be used to promote him in disguised form. He has experience with this kind of thing, which has happened in China.

Record the scene.

The host Jimmy introduced Shen Santong and talked about the recent Hollywood storm, which further introduced Shen Santong's identity, and then asked: "How do you feel?"

"This shows that I have made the big Hollywood companies suffer. I am very happy." Shen Santong said: "Of course, I want to thank them."

Jimmy: “Why?”

Shen Santong: "With so many media outlets smearing me, what is the audience's first impression?"

Jimmy knows how to make a joke: "What?"

Shen Santong: "What's the fuck this guy?"

The audience cheered and music started playing.

Jimmy felt relieved. Shen Santong at least had a sense of humor, which was very important for an interesting show.

Shen Santong went on to say: "They spread my fame. There is no better way to introduce yourself than this."

Jimmy felt that there was nothing wrong. Seeing the enthusiastic response at the scene, Jimmy did not rush to move on to the next topic, but continued to delve deeper into the current one.

After another joke, Shen Santong said, "To be honest, I am very grateful."

Jimmy was surprised, but also alert.

Because Shen Santong is not someone who would say this word often, luckily this is a recorded broadcast, so he just chatted: "Gratitude?"

Shen Santong said: "These people pay more attention to me, or my country, than to themselves."

“At TU, there are many media outlets and influential people funded by you who focus on our every shortcoming and constantly urge us to address it.”

"They take Citigroup's money, but they come to help us find problems. They care about the lives of our workers, our culture, everything."

Jimmy didn’t go into details and changed the subject very skillfully: “So you intentionally oppose Western narratives to have local perspectives?”

Shen Santong said: "I am just passively defending. Let me give you an example. If I announce a remake of Gone with the Wind, use Scarlett Johansson as the black female lead, and hire a black screenwriter to write the script, and transform all traces in it into black people's stereotypes of white people, would you object?"

The audience was stunned and some people couldn't help but whistle.

How bold!

Shen Santong is directly making fun of political correctness, which makes people's scalp tingle.

Jimmy was shocked.

He then made an exaggerated expression.

This part was played down with comedy, but whether it was the host or the audience, as the topic deepened, more and more viewers felt that Shen Santong was different.

They talked about the "Sino-US Film Agreement", the cultural protection of Southeast University, and Shen Santong's own conservative attitude.

Shen Santong said directly: "You can force them to cooperate, otherwise you will never get the share of the profits."

How to say it, Shen Santong didn't explain, his first words were a threat.

But he was able to turn it into a joke: "This is a response to the 'reception' I received by the big Hollywood companies."

It's a joke, but it's not a joke.

When talking about the newly acquired manor, Shen Santong boasted about it without any reservation, and mentioned on the spot that the first batch of guests were Warner executives.

Jimmy asked if there was a tendency to cooperate. This was not about chasing news, but about directly creating news.

Shen Santong made a violent remark: "Marvel is just a family-friendly movie for kids. Marvel can only teach the audience two things. The first is that if it collapses, there are rich people with super powers to support it. The second is that the common people can lie down and live a life of drunkenness and debauchery." Shen Santong also has a sense of humor.

Jimmy also laughed. He is from Universal and has no burden in making fun of Marvel.

The more they talked, the more Jimmy realized that Shen Santong was indeed of high status. Most other guests had to chase news, but with the level of contacts Shen Santong had, anything he threw out would become news.

Whether it is the China-US film agreement or the cooperation with Warner, they are major events that can change the industry.

He is experienced and feels that Shen Santong may have a high opinion of DC. After all, he may cooperate with Warner and introduce DC.

Unexpectedly, Shen Santong said: "DC is also child's play."

I look down on both Marvel and DC.

Jimmy asked Shen Santong what he thought, and Shen Santong answered concisely and forcefully: "Fuck world."

Conquer the world.

They chatted about all sorts of things, played some games, and Shen Santong also gave an impromptu musical performance.

At the end of the show, Jimi was disciplined but did not directly offend.

He was glad to stick to the topic framework today.

Shen San Tong is really different from ordinary Dongda students or Chinese people. Only by getting in touch with him can you appreciate how sharp Shen San Tong is.

This is a truly strong person.

In his main business of film, he looks down on everyone and looks down on Marvel and DC. It is not just casual talk, but has substance and reflects his confidence in his own profession.

Jimmy said, "There is an article. Our reporter went to your place and wrote an article: When the United States was confused about its future, the people of Dongda believed in the United States dream more than they did. The United States dream is still there, and it is still beautiful."

"Your people said: Stop talking about how bad Citi is. We won't believe it. You are destroying our beautiful imagination of the future and our dreams. Believing that you have a bright future is the driving force that allows us to walk out of the darkness."

Jimmy looked at Shen Santong: "Shen, what do you think?"

Shen Santong couldn't help but burst into laughter.

What do you think?
Just treat it as a joke.

Jimmy was helpless, Shen Santong was too relaxed, but the show was good: "At the end of the show, Shen, do you have anything to say?"

As the program recording came to an end, Shen Santong said solemnly: "I wish the people of Emerick a good morning, good afternoon and good evening. I hope that one day my story can also serve you."

Shen Santong struck hard at the big company, but he was respectful to ordinary people.

Jimmy felt respected, extended his hand and said, "Welcome to Goose McCracken."

End of interview.

The convoy roared past, shuttling through the night.

Shen Santong felt that it was pretty good and much friendlier. There were some sharp questions, but overall there was almost no malice.

Very subtle changes, but very noticeable.

Shen Santong discovered that the people of the United States have a fixed routine for greeting each other. They look more enthusiastic than Bi Dongda, but they are actually very cold. There are different levels of distinction between people.

After getting in the car, the assistant handed the phone to Shen Santong.

In the United States, Shen San Tong would not appear in public view, and he would always be surrounded by people when he went out.

After the call was connected, Shen Santong said without waiting for the other party to speak: "Robert, let me tell you a proverb I just learned from the United States: Don't throw stones when you live in a glass penthouse."

To put it in Chinese, it means that if you have shortcomings yourself, don't expose the shortcomings of others.

Shen Santong came to the United States this time with the intention of learning, but after arriving, he encountered a lot of targeting, which really made him sick.

After talking with Jeff Bewkes and Barry Meyer, they told him that Disney played a big role in this and played a central role.

After saying this, Shen Santong hung up the phone.

Shen Santong believes that the DC universe is the key to breaking through in Hollywood, so he will not waver.

As Hollywood's creativity runs dry, superhero themes will make Hollywood filmmakers go from being disdainful at first to chasing after them later.

The DC Universe and the Marvel Universe are bound to compete with each other.

Among the traditional Hollywood giants, Disney has developed the best and is the most powerful.

And Shen Santong was fighting against the elite!
If you cooperate with Warner, you will inevitably face off against Disney. If you don't cooperate, it doesn't matter. Without internal help, it will be difficult to enter the North American market.

Therefore, Shen Santong does not need to be polite to Emperor Disney.

Robert Egger was so angry that he exploded. He worked overtime waiting for Shen Santong to finish recording the show, but all he got was a cold sentence.

So arrogant!

Return to the manor.

The night is already deep.

Chen Chexi asked Shen Santong: "You need a female companion for the Oscars. Can you call one from China?"

Shen Santong shook his head: "That would lead to a fight, I'd better do it myself."

Chen Chexi was delighted and was about to recommend himself when his assistant indicated that there was a phone call coming in: "Anne Hathaway called many times today."

Shen Santong asked: "She called me? Didn't she draw a line between us?"

Then, I understood.

During this visit to the United States, Shen Santong's biggest impression was that the system of the United States is very complete and detailed.

Japanese people always wear a mask, and so do Americans, at least those who have made it in Hollywood.

Even if it is just a joke, some are just small scolding but actually helpful, while others are malicious revelations, and the scale and levels are clear.

Shen Santong immediately guessed why Anne Hathaway was in such a hurry to call him.

He asked the assistant to respond normally, but he himself ignored it.

Anne Hathaway Residence.

Her accompanying agent walked around, and Anne Hathaway respectfully apologized to Shen Santong's assistant, saying that the person mentioned in the podcast was not Shen Santong, but another actor.

"How was it?" the agent asked after the call.

"His assistant answered the phone." Anne Hathaway looked suspicious: "At first I was asked to take the lead, and now they want me to apologize. What do these people think of me?"

If she had kept silent, nothing would have happened. Now there was news from Warner that Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes and Warner Bros. CEO Barry Meyer went to Shen Santong's manor together.

Shen Santong spent nearly 100 million to buy the manor, and it was obvious that he wanted to settle down in Hollywood. There were even rumors that Warner was selling the copyright of Wonder Woman, which was absurd to the extreme.

But in any case, Shen Santong is likely to have had in-depth cooperation with Warner, otherwise there would be no need to buy the manor.

Buying it means you need a place to live, you want a place to stay in Hollywood, and you can't have money to burn.

The agent breathed a sigh of relief. At least Shen Santong did not refuse to communicate. "There's news from Universal just now. He talked about his intention to accept Wonder Woman on the Tonight Show and have in-depth cooperation with Warner. It seems that the rumors about Warner may be true. It is possible that Wonder Woman will be handed over to him, and it is even possible that part of the copyright will be transferred."

Anne Hathaway's eyes flashed with fear and shock: "How could Warner do this?"

exactly.

The TV was locked on NBC, with The Late Show on.

All we heard was the host Jimmy Fallon introducing the opening guest: "We have a very influential person in Hollywood recently, and he is also a magical person."

"At the age of 18, he wrote a best-selling book. At the age of 20, his debut directorial work grossed hundreds of millions of dollars at the local box office. At the age of 24, he had his first listed company. At the age of 25, his startup company was successfully listed. At the age of 28, he was in charge of an entertainment group with a market value of tens of billions of dollars."

"He created all these incredible things from scratch. Let us welcome the entertainment emperor from the East."

The room echoed with the booing of the live audience and the sound effects.

Anne Hathaway was silent.

Looking at the young people in the show who are free to express themselves and who are not celebrities but have superstar aura, perhaps this is the answer.

Generally, stories about rags to riches are lies. Anne Hathaway only found out through reports that Shen Santong's story was true.

Jimmy Fallon's friendly opening was not just politeness, but a sign that this man has gained respect through his own strength.

Anne Hathaway could not understand herself as to how she could be so out of her mind to say such a foul thing, as she bought a manor worth nearly 100 million yuan at will and controlled the Oriental Entertainment empire worth tens of billions.

Now the dominance under the iceberg almost suffocated her.

A senior executive of Warner who asked her to speak out at that time, and director Nolan, disappeared at this moment as Shen Santong showed signs of turning from a newcomer into a local tyrant.

Before Shen Santong launched a blow, Anne Hathaway felt a deep sense of suffocation and oppression. She was not an unknown person, but her ecological niche was far different from Shen Santong's.

If she hadn't been mean, nothing would have happened. But she was mean, and she did the wrong thing at the wrong time, and she ran right into this heavy mountain.

Shen Santong is the one who weaves the rules, which is something that celebrities cannot deal with at all.

(End of this chapter)