Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 409 Creating a Miracle?
When Chen Nuo walked into the NPR building, it simply meant that the promotion of "Inception" had entered its final sprint.

In reality, the entire promotional campaign for Inception began in December 2010.

The promotional period, which lasted for six months until today, is now over.

This includes global premiere tours, TV program interviews, IMAX trailer releases, social media marketing, outdoor promotions, and offline public relations activities.

The initial budget was US$1.3 million, and with the unanimous agreement of Warner Bros., Hengdian Group, Huanxin Company, and Nolan's Synopy Productions, the four shareholders could add an additional US$2000-5000 million depending on the circumstances.

The total publicity budget for Inception will reach 150-180 million, surpassing 20th Century Fox's 150 million investment in Avatar, making it the highest-paid film in history in terms of publicity.

This news was leaked to the public by TMZ through an insider at Warner Bros. in early January.

Yes, that's right, it was a Warner Bros. mole.

The report, titled "Warner Bros.' Big Gamble on Inception: $1.8 Million in Promotional Spending Sets a New Record," clearly stated that it was "according to Warner Bros. insiders..."

But actually.

Michael Slan, Warner's vice president in charge of the campaign, announced the launch of the "Ignite the Dream" campaign after hanging up a call from the TMZ editorial department in his office.

When entertainment media outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and Deadline raised questions about the exorbitant publicity budget in their reports,
In Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tokyo, billboards advertising "Inception" have officially appeared in the heart of these cities.

On the billboard, Chen Nuo, dressed in a black suit, holds a spinning top and stares ahead against a backdrop of a collapsing dream city, accompanied by a short slogan: "Your mind is the crime scene."

The visuals are cool, but what do they mean?

no one knows.

This includes a 15-second television commercial, which was launched simultaneously on NBC, CBS, BBC, and NHK.

The advertisement, personally edited by Nolan, is fast-paced throughout, condensing all the exciting scenes such as the collapse of the dream, the zero-gravity corridor, and the snow chase into a 15-second clip, accompanied by Hans Zimmer's deep background music and Chen Nuo's voice-over whisper: "We delve into your dream and steal your secrets."

The final scene shows a spinning top and the release date of July 1st.

The outdoor and television ads were effective, generating considerable discussion on Twitter and in real life, successfully arousing the curiosity and attention of many people.

Warner Bros.' dismissive attitude further provoked the media, and the voices of doubt grew louder.

"An original sci-fi thriller is extremely risky, lacks the potential for a sequel, and is unlikely to attract mainstream audiences, but the stubborn Warner Bros. is determined to do it."

"With a hefty investment and a publicity budget of 1.8 million, Warner Bros. staked everything on Chen Nuo's 3000 million fans and 3DMAX."

"Warner Bros. spent a fortune on promotion for Inception, trying to push a non-IP original 3D film into the mainstream. Funding from China has blinded Barriemeyer."

Etc., etc.

It's essentially rehashing many of the criticisms that arose when Inception was first filmed, and it's still talking about the same old issues.

They say things like science fiction and suspense genres are hard to make big, that the male protagonist might not be up to par for his first leading role, that 3DMAX isn't a panacea, and that after Avatar, there will be no more Avatars.

When Chen Nuo was filming "Twilight", he wasn't oblivious to what was happening around him. When he occasionally saw these comments, he was completely unmoved.

He knew why Warner had adopted such an aggressive publicity strategy.

He also expressed his approval of this publicity strategy.

After Warner Bros. held four test screenings around the world, and with over 2000 film critics, industry professionals, and general audiences giving the film a 94% approval rating, the few negative reviews came mainly from people who were not used to the 3D effects presented in "Inception."

Even a hammer?

The greater the controversy, the greater the publicity effect! This is indeed true! As long as the final result doesn't contradict itself, then there's no problem.

To be honest, putting aside the feedback from the test screenings, the reason he dared to put all his savings into this movie, including Fan Binbing and Liu Yifei's money, was because he was optimistic about "Inception." Even the subsequent capital increases—if he had hesitated even a little, would he have dared to do this?
So, he really wasn't afraid!
When I walked into NPR, apart from being a little scared when I saw that familiar face, I felt very confident and not at all intimidated!

……

But not everyone knows the inside story as well as he does, and not everyone is as rational.

What is the Fourth Estate of the United States? What is the uncrowned king?

In other words, when the media starts stirring up trouble, many people start voting with their feet without even thinking.

"...Chen, after hearing your praise of this movie, I have a question. What do you think about the recent drop in Warner Bros.' stock? It seems their views don't quite match yours."

A white woman, around fifty years old, with a capable demeanor, asked with a smile:

Her name is Melissa Block, and she hosts the live TV show "All Things Considered." Every day, 1300 million Americans listen to her talk about news, investment advice, and celebrity interviews in culture, entertainment, and finance on their way home from get off work.

In other words, when she asked this question into the radio microphone, more than 1300 million middle-class Americans who frequently engage with the stock market were preparing to hear Chen Nuo's answer.

Without a second's hesitation, Chen Nuo said, "Buy it."

“Hahaha,” Melissa laughed, “Your bluntness surprises me a bit. Aren’t you afraid you’ll give a bad investment suggestion and cause our audience to lose money?”

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "I'm just giving my personal opinion. I don't have any qualifications, so please be cautious when investing in stocks, as they are risky."

"But judging from your tone, are you so sure?"

"Yes, 100% sure."

"So how much did you buy?"

"Uh, no."

“Hahahaha. So you’re kidding us?” Melissa Block laughed loudly. “Well, for a moment, I really did believe you.”

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "Melissa, I'm not kidding you. I didn't buy it because I've been filming and I'm very busy every day. I haven't paid any attention to the stock market. I only heard about Warner's stock drop from you."

"So you mean, if you were given time and an opportunity, would you buy it?"

"I don't usually invest in stocks because the stock market is risky. But I would if the opportunity arose. By the way, how much has Warner Bros. actually fallen recently?"

"Let me see, oh, here it is, from $16.90 in March to its latest closing price of $15.04 just over 20 minutes ago. My God, it's down another 2% today."

"And now in after-hours trading, it's down 1%. Wow, what to do? It seems Wall Street investors have a completely different opinion from you regarding Inception's box office performance. Chen, are you going to do something to prove you're not joking with our audience, and that Inception is truly a great movie?"

"...Melissa, wait, I suddenly have a feeling I've fallen into a trap. Is this just my imagination? Are you implying something?"

"Hahahaha, no, no, no, it's not my imagination. I really am hinting at it. I've heard you're particularly good at money games, not only gambling but also investing. So, if you really think this movie is good, would you be willing to invest in Warner Bros. stock?"

"Everyone, you can't see it, but Chen looks really embarrassed right now. Haha."

At that moment, Mason Collins, who was waiting for the light to turn red on Fifth Avenue in New York, imagined Chen Nuo's embarrassed and helpless expression and laughed along with Melissa's hearty laughter.

As an occasional listener of "Everything Matters," this is why he prefers this year's new host, Melissa Baroque. This woman always manages to pull something unexpected on the show, like joking with guests or playing pranks.

However, as a Wall Street investment manager, he also felt some sympathy for the Chinese who had been cornered.

He knows Warner Bros. stock all too well. Warner's decline over the past year or so is not solely due to Inception.

More significant factors were the overall pessimism in the market regarding the media industry at the beginning of 2011, rumors of internal restructuring at Time Warner, and investor concerns about the slowdown in growth of traditional television networks.

As a long-time bear on Warner, he has every right to express his opinion on this matter.

Mason Collins leaned back in his car seat and glanced at the Bloomberg terminal on his phone. Time Warner's after-hours stock price had indeed fallen another 1%, from $15.04 to $14.89.

He shook his head and said, "Seriously."

If Warner Bros.' stock price wants to reverse its downward trend in the future, then even a "good" box office score for "Inception" would be unacceptable.

It must reach a level that exceeds everyone's expectations.

Just like... Avatar from two years ago.

当初它奇迹一般的票房表现，让21世纪福克斯母公司新闻集团的股价在2010年初飙升了近20%，从13美元攀升至15.50美元，市值增长超过50亿美元！
But that was a miracle created by James Cameron, the king of commercial films.

He believes the probability of this happening in the sci-fi thriller film "Inception" is no more than 5%.

If this Chinese guy really understands stocks and is the high-end player who has been buying US stocks since 09, then he should understand this.

The red light in front of us started its countdown.

10, 9, 8...

Mason Collins was about to put his phone back in the middle of his seat when his eyes widened suddenly as he glanced at the screen one last time.

"What the fuck?"

He cursed in astonishment and took the phone back to his face.

On his phone screen, the previously calm trading chart suddenly flared up sharply, like a cobra launching an attack!

At the same time, a gasp came from the radio.

First came Melissa's exclamation: "Wow, you really bought it? You're not kidding me!?"

Then came a man's laughter: "Haha, yes, I didn't."

Melissa again: "Let me see, can I see your phone? I want to see how much you bought... OK, listeners, I have Chen's phone now, let me see... $1000 million! JESUSCHRIST! Chen just bought $1000 million worth of Warner Bros. box office in after-hours trading, right in front of me. It has now gone from down 1% to up 2.5%."

"Wow! Everyone, I really don't know what to say right now."

"I can't be sure if he's good at money games, but I'm sure he's not joking with anyone. He really thinks highly of this movie!"

"Ten million US dollars! Ladies and gentlemen, if you don't believe me, you can open your market trading software right now and see for yourself. It will tell you that we are not joking, hahaha!"

"Today will surely be recorded in the history of our program! And you are all witnesses to history!"

"Chen, he used $1000 million of real money to tell everyone that Inception is definitely a great movie! It's worth going to the cinema to see!"

"I've made up my mind, I'm going to buy a ticket for the midnight show right now! OMG, Chen, you really gave me a huge surprise!"

A car horn blared, waking Mason Collins from his daze.

The light is already green.

He stepped on the gas and started his black BMW X6.

Although he thought it was mostly for the sake of the show, Mason Collins looked at the candlestick chart on his phone again.

After the snake flicked its tongue, that hard, straight line softened again, just like... what happened after you did that.

Although after-hours trading volume is generally small, even a small amount of money can cause huge fluctuations. However, with the price just rising by 3.5%, it's definitely real money being bought, and he's still a bit unsure.

Spending $1000 million on a TV show? That's really extravagant.

Looking at Warner's stock, it suddenly dropped another 2%, and is now back to 0.5%.

Unfortunately, whether it's true or not, if this guy's $1000 million can continue to drive retail investors to follow suit and the stock price can stay above 3%... Mason Collins wouldn't mind shorting the stock, making a small profit, and improving his performance within Goldman Sachs.

pity.

Mason Collins then put the matter aside for the time being and continued driving to a romantic date.

But at this time in Missouri, Susan, the girl who cheered and laughed for Chen Nuo at the Oscars, was logging into her mother's stock account on her computer in the living room.

After the Oscars, she became the most loyal "Twihards".

However, because of her studies, she couldn't join the crew like the other Twihards, but she followed Chen Nuo's news online every day.

After learning that Chen Nuo would be on NPR at 4:30 p.m. that day, she rode her bicycle as fast as she could after school, finally making it home before the broadcast started. She lay on her bed, put on her headphones, and used the app on her phone to tune into the NPR channel.

When she heard that gentle voice coming from her Beats headphones, it felt like it was speaking right next to her face.

In this situation, let alone recommending to buy Warner stock, even recommending to buy a junk stock called TSLA that went public last year, would make a 15-year-old girl, blinded by love, go all in without hesitation!

As the eldest child in her family, Susan had been well-off for several years. Influenced by her father, who worked at Lehman Brothers, she had learned about stock investment from a young age.

She easily logged into her mother's stock account, which used to belong to her mother who worked at Ernst & Young.

Susan's fingers flew across the keyboard, her heart pounding as she listened to Chen Nuo's voice on NPR.

On the screen, the E*TRADE trading platform showed that she had sold off approximately 200 shares of Apple, cashing out $4.2. She then stared at the after-hours price of TWX at $14.96 and, without hesitation, placed an order to buy 2800 shares.

At that moment, Susan was so excited that her whole body was trembling, as if the power of millions of Twihards was behind her, cheering her on.

Although she knew that if her mother found out she was doing this, she probably wouldn't be able to leave the house for a month.

“Chen said Warner would go up, he must be right,” Susan muttered to herself. “Anyway, Mom usually doesn’t log in; this is her long-term investment account. Now, all I have to do is wait for Chen’s movie to be released, for Warner’s stock to rise, and then I’ll tell her. With the money I make, I can travel and see Chen in person!”

But three days later, as soon as Susan got home, she saw her mother, Karen Wilson, sitting on the sofa with a gloomy expression, looking at her coldly.

Susan's heart skipped a beat.

Oh no, have we been discovered?

At this moment, 42-year-old Karen Wilson was so angry that her heart almost stopped.

After the 2008 financial crisis, she divorced her husband and returned to her hometown of Baton Rouge in Louisiana, where she found an accounting job at a local tax firm.

She was secretly pleased to hear at the company today that Warner's stock had plummeted in the past two days.

As a result, when she opened her stock account on her phone, ready to check out Apple's soaring stock price and decide whether to sell some and buy Warner shares at the bottom, she only saw a completely green account.

She was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and couldn't even go to work. She took leave early and went home to wait for Susan to come back.

At that moment, without saying a word, she roared, "Susan! How dare you touch my account?! Who gave you the right to do this?"

"Mom, I... I didn't..."

"I'm warning you, don't lie!"

"No, Mom, I just wanted to support Chen. He said it's a good time to buy TWX now, it'll go up in price."

"You're supporting bullshit! You used all of my $4+ to buy TWX? Do you know it's dropped 10% now? We've already lost over $4000! And that's our entire fortune!"

“Mom, I’m sorry… Chen Nuo said on NPR… I thought…”

"What do you think? You're only 15, what do you know about stocks! Let me tell you, you're out of pocket for the next few months, and don't even think about leaving the house this weekend! Don't even think about going to the premiere of that damn 'Inception' this week, don't even think about going anywhere, and don't even think about buying any new 'Chen Dolls'! I'm telling you! All of that is canceled! You're not going anywhere!"

"Mom!!!! You can't do this!!!"

"I can do it. I'm your mother, and you have to do what I say! Now, get back to your room right now, and don't you dare step out the door without my permission!"

"Mom! I hate you!!!!"

Susan ran upstairs crying, carrying her schoolbag, and slammed the door shut.

However, Karen Wilson was still furious. She turned on her computer, logged into her stock account, and wished she could liquidate all her holdings with a single click.

However, reason prevailed over her.

She's an experienced trader and knows that Warner's sharp drop in such a short period of time is highly suspicious of being manipulated, and that a rebound is very likely to follow. She originally wanted to buy at the bottom.

So, in the end, Karen managed to control herself.

But that doesn't mean she let the matter go.

Karen logged into her Facebook account, then clicked on the profile picture of someone she was following, intending to leave a comment on that person's account.

At that moment, Karen was shocked to see that under the advertisement post announcing that Inception would be released three days later, there were already hundreds of comments, all from parents who had had similar experiences to her!
……

……

"Dear Mr. Chen Nuo,

I am Karen Wilson, a single mother from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, writing this letter on behalf of hundreds of angry parents. We are an ordinary family, working hard to raise our children, but your irresponsible behavior has plunged us into financial difficulties and family conflicts.

We are accusing you of using your celebrity influence to mislead our children—teenagers who blindly idolize you—to buy Time Warner (TWX) stock during your May 24 NPR "All Things Considered" livestream, causing us huge losses.

As a celebrity, you have the right to invest, but you don't have the right to use your influence to make naive children risk their family savings.

My child is only 15 years old. She doesn't understand anything, yet she gambled everything just because you said "buy." She's now grounded. What pains me isn't just the financial loss, but also the shattering of her blind trust in you.

I demand that you issue a public apology, acknowledge that your remarks misled teenagers, and promise to cease such behavior.

You can continue promoting your new movie, but stop using your charm to lure children into financial traps. I'm prepared to contact lawyers and consider taking legal action against you. At the same time, I urge Warner Bros. management to restrain your public statements and protect more families from harm.

Mr. Chen Nuo, your "dream" may be enchanting, but for us parents, it's a nightmare. Please face your responsibilities and stop making our children pay the price for your irresponsible words and actions.

An angry parent.

That day, when a screenshot of this letter was taken and displayed on the wall of Warner's conference room along with other representative messages, it was taken out of the room.

The entire conference room was completely silent. All the shareholders present looked at each other, and no one uttered a sound.

Finally, Michael Slan broke the silence, saying, "Now we don't need to spend any more money on publicity, and on that basis, I want to thank you on behalf of Warner Bros. My dear Chen."

Chen Nuo sat down next to him, his expression not particularly heavy, but he sighed and said, "Michael, don't worry, I'll handle the mess I made myself."

“No, this is something we all did together,” Christopher Nolan said seriously from the other end of the conference table. “This was a publicity strategy we all agreed on from the beginning; we wanted to create some controversy. And now, we’ve achieved our goal, and even better than we imagined.”

Nolan's wife, Emma Thomas, chimed in, "Yes, it's controversial. But the two shows you appeared on for NPR both broke viewership records. 'All Things Considered' had over 1500 million listeners! That makes everyone at NPR want to invite us back."

"Not only that, now major entertainment media outlets, including CNN, NBC, ABC, and CNBC Bloomberg News' financial news, are all talking about our movie."

"This is all because of this controversy you've made."

"Just like Michael said, this controversy saved us tens of millions in publicity costs. So, I completely agree with Christopher's point of view."

"Chen, this isn't just your problem."

The representative of Hengdian Group, a manager surnamed Liu, who had been sitting in the corner of the conference table and hadn't spoken for the previous half hour, spoke up in English: "We share the same opinion. The whole of America is talking about our movie, which is a huge benefit to our premiere. So we won't agree to let Mr. Chen Nuo face this alone."

After saying that, he said to Chen Nuo in Chinese, "President Chen, this is President Xu's intention. On this matter, Hengdian stands with you."

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

Chen Nuo felt incredibly embarrassed.

Honestly, he thought someone would jump out and challenge him, or offer some sarcastic remarks or something, but to his surprise, it was all so harmonious. Apart from Warner, who seemed to be watching with a detached attitude, everyone else was on his side.

This... actually does have some meat on it.

There were two reasons why he made those outrageous remarks on the radio that day.

Firstly, Melissa had discussed it with him beforehand, and as a fearless former internet celebrity, he thought it was the best approach. It was not only sensational but also very persuasive. And what could be more effective than directly offering money to prove one's faith in the film?
Secondly, as Melissa told him during their conversation, he not only had confidence, but he also genuinely had the money to create fluctuations in the stock market in order to maximize the publicity effect.

Chen Bicheng is a hypocrite. Although he refused outright on the phone, he somehow managed to find out the deposit amount and transferred 2000 million US dollars in foreign exchange to Chen's account.

With 2000 million yuan lying around with nowhere to put it, taking 1000 million yuan to buy stocks would not have any impact on his cash flow.

These two reasons combined are why he agreed immediately.

As for the trouble that followed, well, it was indeed due to negligence.

Neither he nor his companion, Elinson, expected that American kids could be so crazy. They're really willing to go bankrupt for their idols! This money is so easy to make, and these people are so stupid.

No wonder this generation, once they grow up and have the right to vote, can easily manipulate people like Old Tang into power in later generations.

Allison felt quite guilty for causing trouble, but Chen Nuo didn't think too much about it.

To reiterate, he's rich.

He can afford to pay compensation if necessary.

So, immediately after communicating with his lawyer, Allison actually issued a statement that same day.

"...As long as it can be proven that the stocks were purchased by a minor under my influence, they will be held for one month after the film's release, up to August 1st. If the closing price on August 1st is lower than the closing price of $15.04 on June 24th, I will fully compensate for any losses incurred."

"If the amount is higher than $15.04, we hope parents will give their children a reward."

"The $1000 million I invested, including all the profits generated, will be used to establish a charitable education foundation in the future. This foundation will be dedicated to nurturing children with an investment talent."

"I understand the parents' anger, but I ask you not to blame your children. I take full responsibility for the chaos caused."

"I offer my sincere apologies."

Michael Slan read it out word by word.

He then clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Perfect PR press release. Everything is just right. We might lose a little money in the end, but we can say we've won worldwide acclaim. Especially your fans, Chen, I dare say they'd be willing to join you in a revolution right now."

"Any ideas? How about starting a SHZY revolution in America?"

Chen Nuo chuckled and said, "Just say what you have to say, Michael."

"Ok."

Michael Slan smacked his lips, shook his head, and then touched his sparsely shaved head, saying, "Chen, Chairman Barry Mayer is currently on vacation. However, he asked me to pass on a message to you: thank you for letting them buy our stock."

"Warner owes you a favor in this matter. No matter how much compensation is required in the end, Warner will share the losses with you."

Damn, now the whole table is full of allies.

Chen Nuo sighed again and said, "I really want to say thank you. But I just can't bring myself to say it."

Everyone laughed.

“However, I still hope we don’t lose money in the end. On the contrary, I really hope we can crush Goldman Sachs this time,” Michael Slan suddenly said. “That son of a bitch Mason Collins has been shorting us since before the Dark Knight. The Dark Knight made him stop for two years, and now he’s back! I really want to blow his head off!”

Christopher Nolan exclaimed in surprise, "Someone is shorting the stock? Are you sure? I thought it was a problem with the stock itself."

"I have information, it's Mason Collins! Goldman Sachs placed a huge short order yesterday, waiting to devour us after our movie is released. Also, Chen, do you know who contacted those parents to prepare to sue you? It was him!"

Chen Nuo paused, then frowned and said, "He's still placing huge short orders. Isn't he afraid of getting his account wiped out?"

Michael Slan sighed, "He's cunning. It's too difficult to make him pay the price and force him to liquidate his positions, unless..."

He paused, then said, "Unless we can pull off a miracle."

Ps:

"Mason Collins: Chapter 185"

Susan: Chapter 391

(End of this chapter)