The world is in trouble

Chapter 204: Interview, great appreciation!
The next morning, before even going to the restaurant for breakfast, Female President Amy called Lin Xiao directly to his room.

"I would like to attend this meeting with you."

Lin Xiao: "Okay, thank you."

Then, the female president did not go to the restaurant to have breakfast, but had breakfast delivered to her room.

Because she was very busy the whole morning, even racing against time.

The incident happened suddenly, and she needed to immediately make various reports to Columbia headquarters and even Sony Pictures' parent company.

"Are you kidding me?"

This was her boss's first reaction. From a cooperation worth only a few million dollars at the beginning, it turned into hundreds of millions of dollars?
If it is just to set up a joint venture, that is very normal.

I don’t know how many such temporary small companies there are. Even when investing in a project, one such small company will be set up.

However, now it has evolved into a long-term cooperation mechanism?

And it’s not with giants like China Film Group, Huayi Film Group, etc., but with a little-known company?

Amy? Have you been brainwashed by some kind of oriental magic?

Moreover, it has now evolved to the point where we have to meet with a senior Chinese official and even start to gradually implement it?

"Amy, have you received a formal invitation from the other office?" asked the boss.

"Yes," Amy said.

Boss: "Then... then I can't refuse. The other party's sequence is relatively high."

"That Chinese guy named Lin Xiao is using you. He is using us, Amy!"

"He is seeking some kind of political resources under the banner of Columbia or even Sony Entertainment."

Amy: "But I still have some expectations and longings for working with him."

Boss: "Well, God bless you then."

"But I want to remind you that this is a critical period for you to be in charge of the entire Colombia, and you are not allowed to make mistakes."

………………

Lin Xiao was also very busy the whole morning.

Because this kind of conversation or meeting requires the submission of relevant documents first.

Whatever you want to say and what your direction is, all need to be put into a draft and even submitted in the form of relevant forms, which must first be reviewed and checked by the other party.

Especially relevant data and background, conduct a relatively complete investigation.

Otherwise, how will the leader know what you are going to say?
Let him know what's going on.

Of course, Lin Xiao had experienced similar scenes in his previous life, but the level was not so high and it was not so formal, so he was not so prepared. Moreover, he did not meet with the guests one by one, but with a group of people, and all they said were polite words.

At around 1:00 p.m., Lin Xiao and Female President Amy went to the relevant department to wait.

At the very beginning, relevant officials came to meet and talk.

The words were very polite, just to confirm the content of the following conversation and lay the groundwork.

At 2:30 in the afternoon, the leader formally met with Amy Pascal, and Lin Xiao accompanied her.

The entire process was recorded by Shanghai TV.

Basically, Lin Xiao didn't have much room to express himself and only said about seven or eight sentences.

Most of the time, it was the leader and the female president of Columbia who were talking.

The content is that Colombia attaches great importance to the Chinese market and is willing to further cooperate and develop it.

The leader said that Shanghai is an inclusive and open city and welcomes Colombia to invest. He also explained the importance of the cultural industry, etc.

It can be said that not a single word of the key content was said.

The whole meeting was over.

………………

However, after the meeting, the secretary asked Lin Xiao not to leave for the time being.

About five hours later.

The leader once again took time out to meet with Lin Xiao.

"Do you want to sell the copyright of TV programs abroad, especially to developed countries in Europe and America?" the leader asked.

Lin Xiao: “Yes.”

Leader: "A joint venture between Lightning Entertainment, Columbia, and SoftBank Group is going to invest $200 million in movies and TV series?"

Lin Xiao: “Yes.”

Leader: "What do you think about the purpose of this matter? What is your idea?"

Lin Xiao: "So far, the cultural output of Chinese films is very single, with only two paths."

"The first path is a pure martial arts film."

"The second way is to expose the so-called dark side of society and cater to Western curiosity, or even prejudice."

"I think the first path has become increasingly narrow. From Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Hero, the overseas box office has been declining. Moreover, the content is too single and very easy to be labeled."

"So I want to try everything from TV, movies, and eventually games."

"I have only one core goal: to export culture and promote it overseas."

“Let us have a place for ourselves in the world’s cultural landscape.”

The leader smiled tolerantly and said that young people are good and can speak boldly without even having to be cautious.

"Previously, Chinese films have always been very passive. Whether it was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero, they were all lucky winners, rather than taking the initiative."

"They themselves lack the ability to expand outward, lack the ability to attack, and lack the ability to dominate."

“I want to change this situation and participate in these projects as an equal partner, or even become a leader.”

Leader: "Not only do you want to lead this collaboration, but you also don't want to cater to the Western market with unique themes?"

Lin Xiao: “That’s right.”

The leader noticed that Lin Xiao's tone was deliberately humble, and immediately smiled and said, "You can speak out what's in your heart."

Lin Xiao: "I want to use the mentality of a conqueror to conquer the entire Asian market, and even the world market to some extent."

"I absolutely do not want to cater to or curry favor with the values ​​of the Western world in exchange for their favor in awards or box office success."

"I want to shape this cultural breakthrough in advance!"

When these words came out, the leader was actually a little stunned.

Isn’t such a newborn calf afraid of a tiger?
“If you don’t occupy the entire world’s cultural market, others will.”

"Many of our domestic cultural industries tend to be conservative and single-minded, and are very passive and afraid to take risks."

"But I am willing to take the risk. I want to expand overseas not only in the cultural industry, but also in Facebook. My goal this year is to expand into the US and East Asian markets."

"The Internet will be an indispensable part of the world's public opinion system in the future, and Web2.0 will trigger a revolution in public opinion. If we don't take over, others will."

"My goal for the future is very simple, which is to have a place in the world in film and television culture, game culture, and Internet public opinion."

Damn, Lin Xiao still can’t let go.

Otherwise, he probably meant cultural colonies, Internet colonies.

At least include the entire East Asia and Southeast Asia into its own Internet colony.

In this way, you can attack when you advance, and you can defend when you retreat.

Instead of closing ourselves off from the Internet for so many years and enduring strong attacks from others for so long, we have not been able to build a cultural moat, let alone a moat of Internet public opinion.

It didn't even have a small foothold abroad until TK became powerful.

Is there no chance?

It doesn’t seem so. At least there is a chance within five or six years, because there is no Eastern threat theory at that time.

Moreover, the next decade or so will be the golden time for Korean entertainment to conquer the world.

The Korean wave is so awesome throughout Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.

Now is really the golden time. Facebook is making an effort. After the FALSH technology is upgraded, it will immediately launch a video website similar to YouTube.

With two major traffic entrances, we have two public opinion fronts.

Leader: "Although I majored in economics, I also like watching movies and even literature. I know you have a certain level of attainment in literature."

"As for your opinion on the movie, I agree with you."

I more than agree with it, in fact I feel deeply saddened.

Just as Lin Xiao said, it was filmed to cater to the Western market.

Either you belittle yourself or vilify your image.

Or, it's just a pure kung fu movie.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the Kung Fu movie, it’s pretty good.

But there can’t be a label, as if there is only Kung Fu movies.

Can't it be done in a more advanced, bolder, more open artistic way?
The leader asked: "What you just said were your opinions. I want to know what works you want to rely on to go overseas strongly?"

Lin Xiao said: "These are the four notebooks I prepared."

He felt a little embarrassed. His boss was very busy and probably didn't have time to read any books.

The leader took it and looked at it for a few seconds.

The first one is "Train to Busan".

After a quick glance, he immediately raised his head and looked at Lin Xiao.

Hey!
You, are you so bold?
Not to mention the wild and bold subject matter, the key point is that you also slander the South Korean government and the South Korean army.

The second "Squid Game".

The background of this is simply omitted, and the excessive capitalism is directly criticized.

The third one is "Kung Fu Panda".

This is still kung fu, but presented in a very original way. It is literally a love letter to the Eastern world.

The fourth book, "The Graveyard Book", has undergone a lot of adaptations.

It uses the world view of Graveyard Book, but is similar to the story of Coco, and is still an animation.

The leadership level is very high and he can immediately grasp the core idea.

It turns out that he doesn't cater to others.

Even, very strong and bold criticism.

Moreover, it has indeed completely broken away from the scope of previous themes. It does not vilify itself or expose backwardness and corruption to cater to the West, nor is it a traditional kung fu film.

Even...too bold.

So novel.

This gentle and refined young man in front of me is simply a Sun Wukong.

More than just ambitious?
And if you include "The Graveyard Book", the total cost of several projects has reached more than 300 million US dollars.

I dare not say that all the projects will be successful, even if they are half successful.

This is also of great significance to the cultural industry of the city of Shanghai.

If it is still a traditional so-called art film that exposes corruption, or even a traditional martial arts film, the leaders will not care much.

But such a bold and novel work of art is really heart-warming.

It will really add a label of innovation and vitality to the city.

But... it seems a bit too bold.

The leader asked: "Your plan is very bold. According to your assumption, if all these projects are successful, the output value will reach several billion dollars?"

Lin Xiao: “Yes.”

If all these works are successful and are born in Shanghai.

That would be an enormous boost to the city’s international image.

However, this success is so huge that it is hard to imagine.

On the contrary, Lin Xiao’s company is so weak now, a bit like Don Quixote rushing towards the windmills.

Cultural export, cultural export?
This really hits the heart of every patriot.

Leaders are no exception.

This vision is really exciting.

"How do you get Columbia and SoftBank to work closely with you on these projects? They are still very conservative in this regard. They are barely okay with tens of millions of dollars, but it seems unimaginable for them to invest hundreds of millions of dollars, and to cooperate with a domestic company."

Lin Xiao: "The only project that has been finalized is Train to Busan. I will sign a bet agreement. The global box office of this movie must exceed 7000 million US dollars. If it is not enough, I will pay the relevant profits to Columbia. If the global box office exceeds 1 million US dollars, then we will cooperate on the third project, which is Kung Fu Panda."

"We adopt a step-by-step cooperation approach. I will license the copyrights of TV programs such as "Got Talent" to the joint venture company for free, and then let Colombia help sell them. If they become popular in Western countries, the profits will be used to leverage the development of the third project, "Squid Game."

"That is to say, they don't need to take any risks. All risks will be borne by me alone!"

These words moved the leader.

These words are truly powerful.

For the sake of cultural export and cultural promotion overseas, Lin Xiao signed this unequal contract.

Columbia and SoftBank are not big gambles at all, Lin Xiao is the real big gamble.

Once it fails, it will have to pay out of its own pocket and pay others the astronomical profits.

Because only in this way will others be willing to cooperate with you in depth and provide their own resources.

It's because China is particularly weak in this regard. It has no distribution or promotion capabilities worldwide.

If it was for making money, Lin Xiao could just continue to make movies like "Crazy Stone" in China and continue to make money from variety shows.

Even if we make some compromises with these satellite TV stations?

Even if it is only divided into about 40%, it is still a huge profit.

Why take the risk of spending astronomical amounts of money?
It is just as he said, for the sake of cultural export, and for China to have a position and a territory in the world cultural market and the world public opinion system.

This is also a true patriot.

The leader asked, "Why did you choose animated films for the two largest projects, which require an investment of more than 200 million US dollars?"

Lin Xiao: "First, because animation films are Sony Pictures' weak point, they will be more willing to cooperate."

"Second, 3D animated films will give greater impetus to my country's film industry and enable the rapid development of my country's special effects industry." "Third, 3D animated films are easier to show off, can become the greatest common denominator of moviegoers, are more family-friendly, and can maximize the development of the film market capacity and break through the box office ceiling."

“Fourth, because the Eastern elements are too strong, there is a big gap between real-life movies and Western audiences, and animated films can minimize this gap and eliminate a certain kind of vigilance in their hearts.”

“Fifth, the competition for animated films is relatively small, so it is easier to achieve huge breakthroughs in various awards.”

Leader: “Award?”

Lin Xiao: "Yes, our mainland works have not won an Oscar yet."

You, are you too ambitious?
But still the same sentence.

For young people, being honest is more important than being cautious in front of those in power.

Otherwise, to whom are you showing off your flawless and scheming behavior?
Bold, sharp, enterprising, and with a strong sense of patriotism, this is the tone Lin Xiao sets for himself.

The leader did not comment, but continued to smile and said, "You continue."

Lin Xiao said: "Another and most important point is that our country's current film market is still too small. The single film box office record is only around 2.5 million. We need a phenomenal movie to break this box office record ceiling and lead the entire market to achieve a leap forward."

Well, the more you talk, the more relaxed you become.

Unstable words like "hardly poke through the ceiling" were also constantly uttered.

The leader laughed and said, "Oh?! Then tell me boldly, if this Kung Fu Panda is really made and meets your quality expectations, how much do you hope our domestic box office will reach?"

Lin Xiao: “One billion!”

This number directly shocked the leader.

The current highest box office is 2.5 million, so you have directly quadrupled the target.

Young people are really brave.

However, the leader enjoyed this conversation a little.

Because Lin Xiao's boldness could bring him unexpected surprises, and Lin Xiao's strong emotions could also make him empathize.

Regardless of whether these goals are set too high or even a little unrealistic, taking risks is always more appealing than being conservative.

What's more, Lin Xiao was taking the risk with his own money.

At this moment, there was a slight knock on the door: "Leader, the next meeting is about to begin."

The originally scheduled conversation was only half an hour long, but accidentally it exceeded that time by half an hour.

“Young man, it’s a pleasure chatting with you.” The leader smiled and said, “Bold assumptions and careful demonstration are our fine traditions.”

"The goals you mentioned are very inspiring, and I very much look forward to seeing them continue to be achieved."

"If this is really realized, it will greatly enhance the international image of our city. It will also greatly enhance the cultural industry of our country."

“Times make heroes, but heroes also make times!”

"Fight, young people!"

"Finally, do you have any difficulties? Do you need our help to solve them?"

Lin Xiao thought for a while and said, "I just hope that when you are free, you can come to our company to inspect and give us guidance."

"Okay." The leader stood up and said, "Then we'll see you later."

Lin Xiao stood up and stretched out his hands.

………………

Two hours later!
Inside the Portman Ritz-Carlton, Carlton.

Lian Zheng asked Lin Xiao to tell him the whole story of the meeting.

"You don't need to tell the leader how he reacts, just repeat everything you said." Lian Zheng was very cautious, and it was a respect from the bottom of his heart.

Lin Xiao began to repeat what he had said.

Beads of sweat dripped down Lian Zheng's forehead one by one.

Too bold.

Too emotional.

It was too intense.

Unstable.

Especially when those expected lofty goals came out of his mouth one by one, Lian Zheng even felt a little uneasy.

Lin Xiao, you...are you treating this meeting as a meeting with me?
We are a family, so we can be so bold.

If Lian Zheng were to take over, it would definitely be more prudent and conservative.

In Lian Zheng's opinion, Lin Xiao's words were still a bit bold even if they were reduced by 50%.

After Lin Xiao finished retelling everything, Lian Zheng remained silent for a long time.

"Since everything has already happened, let's just wait and see the result." Lian Zheng said, "And you are right about one thing. You are not me. You are Lin Xiao."

“It’s more important to show your true self in front of your leader.”

"The spirit of youth is vigorous and energetic."

………………

"Lin Xiao, go to QQ." Suddenly, Lian Yi sent a text message.

Lin Xiao took out his computer, connected to the Internet, logged into QQ, and Lian Yi directly sent him a network link.

This is a post on Tianya Community. It has become a hot topic and has been pushed up hundreds of times, and is in the most prominent place.

Title of post: Master Ergou, your first pot of gold is very dirty!

A quick look will show that the Yangwang website created by Lin Xiao has disharmonious live broadcast rooms and the money it earns is not clean.

In the past, this kind of post didn’t need to be taken seriously.

But at this critical moment, it is not normal to release such a post.

Immediately afterwards, another post quickly became popular.

Leader Ergou and his lovers.

The private life of the Ergou leader is decadent and corrupt.

In these posts, not only Li Shuang was the lover of Ergou, but also Qu Feifei and even Miranda became his lovers.

Someone also revealed that at that time, the school beauties and school hunks PK competition on Facebook was completely Lin Xiao selecting concubines and using unspoken rules.

The top ten beauties on the campus list have all been slept with by Master Ergou.

Now Jiang Li'er, Li Ning, and Ling Zhuo are all Lin Xiao's lovers and are arranged within the Lightning Group.

Etc., similar posts slandering the character and morality of Master Ergou are gaining popularity.

There are also many photos. In fact, these photos were taken by reporters during public events, and they were slightly cropped and deliberately blurred.

There were obviously many people in the original photo, but it was cropped to show only two people, and it was blurred or even mosaicked.

The photo becomes ambiguous and blurry, as if there is really some shameful relationship going on.

These posts are definitely not normal at this critical time.

Just as Lin Xiao had judged before, the opponent's public opinion attacks would continue to escalate. It was 30% before and now it has reached 50%.

Now it has escalated to personal attacks.

"The person who caught this person should be a reporter from a certain media or TV station." Lin Xiao called Feng Xian.

Feng Xian: “Okay, I’ll contact the relevant community immediately.”

At this time, you cannot use tracking IP or the like, but instead you need to directly find the editor of the relevant website and find this person directly.

Soon, a series of lists appeared in front of Lin Xiao.

Among them are editors of portal websites and reporters from newspapers.

Now the other party is just slandering the leader of Ergou with trumped-up charges in various communities. The situation will gradually escalate and appear on the pages of various portals. If the situation worsens, it may appear in various newspapers and magazines.

Of course, once it really appears in newspapers and magazines, it will no longer be gossip.

Instead, they will attack Leader Ergou with a very serious topic.

For example, the theory that the first pot of gold is a crime.

But once it escalates to newspaper siege, the real purpose is revealed.

The opponent was attacking and testing at the same time.

See if Lin Xiao has any defense, or any compromise, or if there is any protective force appearing?
If not, keep upgrading, keep upgrading.

Until they used the official media to directly convict someone, and it turned out to be a wrong conviction.

A few hours later!
An article appeared on Sohu's page.

"The leader of the Ergou sect is suspected of transferring assets overseas."

This is a serious crime!

The article states that Ergou and Columbia are going to set up a joint venture, and Ergou and Softbank are setting up a joint venture overseas, ostensibly to expand overseas, but in reality to get closer to Western capital, transfer a large amount of money earned in China to overseas, and become a vassal of Western capital.

This article describes how the leader Ergou is extremely powerful towards these domestic TV stations, squeezing out a lot of profits, but turns to foreign capital and kowtows, asking for whatever they want.

After reading this article, Lin Xiao was completely enlightened.

It turns out that the other party would convict from this perspective. They are really professional and shameless.

Lin Xiao was trying desperately to bring the money from overseas back home.

The purpose is to establish cultural, public opinion and Internet positions overseas. However, the extremely strong patriotic sentiment is said to be transferring assets overseas.

The key point is that this reporter was not only very professional in slandering and defaming, but also very well-informed about the inside information. The other party knew about it as soon as his cooperation with Colombia was finalized.

I looked at the name, it’s Ma Qing, a reporter from Xin Bao!
Another thug showed up.

A few years ago, Lin Xiao just sent in a reporter, and now another one has appeared.

It seems that when there is a big reward, there will always be brave men.

………………

"It's impossible that the other party didn't know about the interview I had yesterday, so they started to speed up."

"And not only are they posting anonymously, they are also posting articles on portal websites using their real names." Xia Xi said, "This is a test. How is the effect of this meeting?"

"In testing, we are not getting strong support."

"If they are sure that we do not have strong support, they will continue to escalate their attacks until we compromise with them and give up huge benefits."

Lin Xiao: "Is this reporter Ma Qing crazy? He dares to make such money. He is not only a thug, but also a pawn. He slandered us so blatantly because he is worried that we won't call the police to arrest him?"

Xia Xi: "For people like this, what risks would they not take in order to get ahead? And in their eyes, there may not be any risks."

"Now, do you want to call the police?"

Lin Xiao said: "Wait."

Not only Lin Xiao had to wait, Lian Zheng was still in the Magic City, so he also had to wait.

At this time, it is better to be still than to move.

Around four o'clock the next afternoon.

Lian Zheng received a call from his leader's secretary.

"Mayor Lian, Lin Xiao has left a very deep impression on the leaders."

"The leader's meeting yesterday lasted more than half an hour longer than scheduled, and he also said to me today that young people are formidable."

"By the way, you can pay a little attention to the news tonight."

The news airs at 6:30 in the evening and is very front-loaded.

The leader met with Amy Pascal, President of Columbia, accompanied by Lin Xiao of Lightning Group. The leader fully affirmed the cooperation between Lightning Group and Columbia and expressed great expectations.

Suddenly, Lian Zheng, who was sitting on the sofa, slowly leaned back.

Then, he said to Lin Xiao: "It's okay!"

Because of this matter, he hardly slept for two or three days. Now that the results are out, he feels extremely tired.

"This storm is over." Lian Zheng said: "Next, you have to fulfill your bold words."

"Next, you have to prove yourself with your achievements, and prove that your leader's vision is correct."

Lin Xiao picked up the teacup, trembling slightly, and took a big sip of tea.

There is really no conflict of interest here. Lin Xiao didn't even mention the introduction of state-owned capital, because he felt that it was inappropriate to say so and it would destroy the atmosphere of idealism and patriotism at the time.

So, it’s really deep love!
………………

A few minutes later!

The article by Xin Bao reporter Ma Qing simply disappeared from several portal websites.

All posts that defamed the leader Ergou on various communities such as Tianya have been deleted.

At this time, the Lightning Group reported the incident to the local police, and the authorities immediately called Ma Qing's workplace, requesting their cooperation in arresting the suspect.

More than an hour later, several people headed north from Shanghai to their destination to conduct a cross-regional arrest of the suspect.

The crime of spreading rumors and slander may be punishable by imprisonment of not more than three years if the circumstances are serious.

Everyone, take a deep breath.

The storm was over, it only took about fifty hours from beginning to end.

But it was also thrilling enough, and even the real opponent did not show up, which made Lin Xiao deeply feel how cruel the struggle for interests is.

Fortunately, Lian Zheng reacted quickly and took immediate action to prevent the situation from escalating.

So even the outside world didn't react much, and this huge storm was eliminated before it could fully develop.

Just when Lin Xiao thought that everything was over, another call came.

"Hello, are you Mr. Lin Xiao from Lightning Group?"

Lin Xiao: "Hello, I am."

"I'm from the CCTV Spring Festival Gala production team. We would like to invite you to participate in our Spring Festival Gala program as a VIP. Do you have time?"

Lin Xiao couldn't help but be stunned. Lin Xiao is not a sponsor, but he can also become a VIP guest on the scene?
In this day and age, this is a huge honor.

Leader... do you love me so much?
This is another huge signal, a signal of protection.

........................

Note: This chapter is a bit difficult to write, so it's a little late, sorry! I just want to ask, can I still ask for monthly tickets? I kowtow to thank everyone.

(End of this chapter)