Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 347 A Pour of Cold Water

Goldman Sachs' largest private investor, Time Warner's largest individual shareholder, and also holds a significant stake in The Weinstein Company...

Let's set aside whether these "identities" are real or not, and just assume they are.

At first glance, this identity is considered quite prestigious in the American financial world, at least proving that this person is a relatively successful financial investor.

Some people may not be familiar with the American financial world. When they hear terms like "largest private investor" or "largest individual shareholder," they may assume that the person must be a very powerful figure in these companies.

However, the reality is that, for reasons such as tax avoidance and inheritance, in large American companies, almost all shares are held by institutions, funds, trusts, or in the name of the company, with individual shares being negligible.

Even individuals with only a fraction of a percent of the circulating shares of a listed company can become the company's largest private investor or largest individual shareholder.

However, being able to become the largest private investor or the largest individual shareholder of a large company also indicates that this person is quite wealthy, and may have assets worth tens of millions of US dollars.

Conversely, the largest private investor or largest individual shareholder of a large company can indicate that this person is just a "lone wolf." Otherwise, they would definitely invest in the large company through funds or trusts and place someone on the board of directors.

Therefore, even if all the identities of Zhang Ziyi's new boyfriend are true, it only proves that he is rich and must know or have made many friends in the American business or entertainment circles, but he has not yet truly entered the upper echelons.

In Hollywood, let alone a financial upstart like this who "go it alone," even if a Wall Street giant comes in, you can't expect to develop normally in Hollywood without paying some "tuition fees" and spending money to learn some "lessons."

This is actually quite similar to the domestic entertainment industry.

Whether they were coal mine owners, real estate developers, or those who later ventured into the internet industry, which of them didn't get scammed a few times before entering the entertainment industry?

However, those who played the internet game ultimately succeeded in breaking through the impasse.

This is actually related to the development of the times. In addition, the people who play on the internet have money and have many tricks up their sleeves, which has brought more business models and market opportunities to the entertainment industry, which is why it has succeeded.

The same applies in Hollywood. They are naturally resistant to foreign investment. Actually, it's not that they are against foreign investment in general, but rather against investment that is not under their control. They will ruthlessly exploit any foreign investment that is not under their control.

This is why many wealthy Americans who want to invest in Hollywood first find a Hollywood actress as their girlfriend.

Then they would use the actress's status to invest in some movies to ensure they wouldn't be "scammed".

Of course, there are limitations to doing this.

They simply don't have the opportunity to participate in truly good projects, such as films by big directors like Spielberg, Cao Yang, or George Lucas. They can only look for small to medium-sized films, hoping to "pick up the scraps".

Of course, there are definitely some movies that manage to "pick up the scraps" and do well at the box office, but there are also quite a few that fail or even lose everything.

In Hollywood, top directors and male superstars are the truly scarce resources.

Among female celebrities, Angelina Jolie is probably the only one who can truly guarantee box office success at this stage; the others are not.

Zhang Ziyi met Avi Nevo at a private party hosted by Wendi Deng.

Specifically, Avi Nevo was the boyfriend that Wendi Deng introduced to Zhang Ziyi. Wendi Deng is very happy to introduce people to potential partners.

Wendi Deng was media mogul Rupert Murdoch's third wife. After their divorce, Murdoch had several more marriages, and his sixth wife was introduced to him by Wendi Deng.

Ivy Nevo is quite mysterious in the American financial world.

He was born into a Jewish family in Romania and grew up in Israel. His father was a chemical engineer and his mother was an anesthesiologist. After his parents divorced, he was raised by his mother.

This family appears to be middle class.

When he went to the United States to develop his career, it was said that he inherited a fortune of about $1000 million, but few people knew whose fortune it was from.

His rise to wealth is little known; it's quite mysterious.

When Deng Wendi introduced Ivy Nevo to Zhang Ziyi, she only mentioned that he was Goldman Sachs' largest private investor, Time Warner's largest individual shareholder, and also held a significant stake in The Weinstein Company...

Anyway, this identity looks pretty impressive.

In fact, what really appealed to Zhang Ziyi was his status as the largest individual shareholder of Time Warner and his substantial stake in The Weinstein Company.

Time Warner is the parent company of Warner Bros., one of the seven major Hollywood studios.

The Weinstein Company, also known as The Weinstein Company, is a film company founded by Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after he left Miramax.

In Zhang Ziyi's opinion, wouldn't it be easy to "get" some resources from Warner Bros. and The Weinstein Company by virtue of Ivy Nevo's identity?

Avi Nevo is already the best "resource" Zhang Ziyi has been able to access in Hollywood.

Not long after Zhang Ziyi and Avi Nevo confirmed their relationship, Avi Nevo did indeed take her to many high-end parties, such as tonight's Oscars celebration dinner, which Avi Nevo brought her to.

She is currently basking in the joy and elation of knowing her boyfriend is a "big shot." Zhang Ziyi has never doubted Avi Nevo's identity; after all, Wendi Deng is Murdoch's current wife. The fact that such a "big shot" introduced her to a boyfriend dispelled all her concerns.

She also knew that Cao Yang's nine nominations and five wins at the Oscars was a remarkable achievement, no matter which director he was.

However, she had previously been "humble" and actively tried to have a relationship with Cao Yang countless times, but Cao Yang always pretended not to hear. This damaged her self-confidence and made her definitely resent Cao Yang.

Damn it, I'm already like this, what more do you want?
I've given you signals once, twice, three times... both overtly and covertly, why aren't you responding? Do I have to strip naked in public, throw myself into your arms, and kneel down to beg you for it?

So, after she found a boyfriend who thought he was a big shot, she naturally wanted to show off and put Cao Yang down—yesterday you ignored me, today I'll make you regret it!

Don't think Zhang Ziyi is naive; most women are not rational when it comes to this kind of thing.

Moreover, she felt that she was now terrifyingly strong.

Just think about it, her good friend Wendi Deng is the wife of the owner of News Corporation, which owns 20th Century Fox, one of the seven major Hollywood studios.

Fox was acquired by Murdoch back in 1985 and integrated into News Corp. It wasn't until 19 that it was "married off" to Disney.

Her boyfriend is the largest individual shareholder of Time Warner, the parent company of Warner Bros., one of the seven major Hollywood studios, and also a shareholder of The Weinstein Company, founded by Harvey Weinstein, who is known for his award-winning films.

With such a status, who wouldn't become arrogant?

They might even develop the idea of ​​"sweeping through" Hollywood.

However, a situation that Zhang Ziyi found very unexpected occurred.

He didn't see Cao Yangren's "predicament" of having to bow his head under the eaves; instead, he saw his new tycoon boyfriend, all smiles, extending his hand first and saying with extreme enthusiasm:

"Director Cao, it's a great honor to meet you."

Zhang Ziyi's smile faltered for a moment. She thought to herself that this must be her boyfriend being polite. After all, Cao Yang was a famous director, so it was only right for him to be polite.

Once again, something unexpected happened. To everyone's surprise, Cao Yang simply shook hands with her boyfriend in a nonchalant manner and said only two words, "Hello."

What happened next was somewhat surreal for Zhang Ziyi.

Her boyfriend, Avi Nevo, was constantly initiating conversations. Even if Zhang Ziyi were slow to notice, she could tell that her boyfriend was clearly "accommodating" Cao Yang and taking the initiative to talk to him.

Cao Yang, on the other hand, maintained a consistently indifferent expression and spoke very little, showing no humility whatsoever, as if he were the real "big shot."

Then, Zhang Ziyi saw an older white man carrying a wine glass approaching. The man looked somewhat familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place him.

“Vivi”.

The older white man nodded to Zhang Ziyi's boyfriend, then turned to Cao Yang with a big smile and said very politely, "Director Cao, I'm so sorry, could I take up a few minutes of your time?"

Cao Yang thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."

Then, Zhang Ziyi saw Cao Yang nod to her, or perhaps to both her and her boyfriend, before being politely led to a corner by the old white man.

The actors who were chatting in the corner all stood up and made way for each other.

Zhang Ziyi even spotted several well-known celebrities among the departing group.

Turning back to look at her boyfriend, he was smiling as he held his wine glass, watching Cao Yang and the old white man leave, his smile unchanged.

Zhang Ziyi was actually very angry. That old white man was so rude and ungentlemanly. They were having a conversation, and he came over and took them away. What did he mean by that? It was simply disrespectful!

Ivy Nevo, shouldn't you be making sarcastic remarks about that old white man?

Why are you still smiling at him? Look, look, that old white man is looking over here, and you're actually raising your glass in a gentlemanly gesture. You're way too nice, aren't you?
"That's Jeff Robinoff, president of Warner Bros. Pictures. He's very powerful at Warner, second only to Warner CEO Barry Mayer."

Ivy Nevo turned around and explained to Zhang Ziyi with a smile.

The president of Warner Bros. Pictures, no wonder...

Wait, aren't you the largest individual shareholder of Time Warner, the parent company of Warner Bros.?

Shouldn't the president of Warner Bros. Studios be very polite to you?
Jeff Robinov called you "Vivi," which clearly means he knows you, so why did he act like you didn't exist?

Brother, you're Time Warner's largest individual shareholder, what's your status?

At this moment, Zhang Ziyi's heart, which had been swelled with love, began to waver.

(End of this chapter)