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

Chapter 430 How many people in the world can refuse?
Chen Nuo's prediction was correct.

When Inception surpassed Titanic at the global box office with $21.3 billion, it was widely reported by major media outlets around the world.

Free.

Newspapers and media outlets in the United States (The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety), France (Le Monde, Notes on Cinema), the United Kingdom (The Guardian, Empire), Germany (Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung), mainland China (Beijing Daily, China Youth Daily), Hong Kong (Ming Pao, Apple Daily), Taiwan (United Daily News), as well as newspapers and media outlets in Italy, Singapore, South Korea, Brazil, South Africa, and other countries, and various entertainment media on the Internet.

When they were featured together on the front page or near the front page on September 4, 2011, showcasing the film and its achievements to date.

The advertising value it contains is priceless.

After all, even the most powerful distribution company cannot coordinate newspapers in so many countries and regions around the world to publish special reports on the same film on the same day.

The fact that it could generate such widespread publicity without spending a single penny is not because of Chen Nuo or Warner Bros.' influence, but because the $21.3 billion box office of "Inception" came from all over the world; it was not a product of any one country's dominance.

With over 6 million in North America, over 3 million in Japan, nearly 3 million in China, 1.9 million in the UK, 1.4 million in South Korea, 1.2 million in France, 1.1 million in Germany, 1.1 million in Southeast Asia, and Australia... these solid box office figures and market performances have collectively supported this cinematic miracle that has once again swept the globe since Avatar.

Several figures are particularly noteworthy.

In North America and the UK, it has been the top-grossing film for seven consecutive weeks.

One is in Japan, where it broke the record for the highest acceptance of foreign films by local audiences since Miyazaki Hayao, becoming the first non-Japanese film to gross over $300 million at the box office.

Besides that, it's time for the Chinese market, which has been showing for a little over three weeks.

When "Inception" achieved a box office of $2.9 million here, surpassing traditional box office markets like the UK, France, and South Korea to become the third largest box office market in the world after North America and Japan... this forced film companies around the world to perk up and re-examine this once-desert film market with a fresh perspective.

If Avatar propelled the Chinese film market from the '100 million yuan era' to the '1 billion yuan era', it was a coincidence.

So when the second English-language film grossed $290 million in the country, bringing China into the "2 billion era" just over a year later, it made people take notice of the consumption potential of this country with a population of 13 billion.

The extensive coverage on this day also attracted the attention of many people.

In Shanghai, China, a man and his girlfriend, who didn't usually like watching movies, went into Wanda Cinema out of curiosity.

At AMC in New York, a couple celebrating their anniversary decided to give this blockbuster, which surpasses Titanic, a try.

In Seoul, a high school student named Lee put down his mouse and decided to go see the movie that had been hyped up online with his friends.

In front of an IMAX cinema in Madrid, an office worker who had seen the movie in a regular cinema three weeks earlier was reminded of the wonderful memories he had after watching it by reading the newspaper and decided to try the giant screen experience.

Thus, amidst a global media frenzy and heated discussions on social media, many middle-aged and elderly viewers who were initially uninterested in the film, as well as casual moviegoers, flocked to theaters. Some film buffs who had already seen the movie also bought tickets again.

According to every box office analyst, this surge in ticket purchases is destined to cause the already slowing box office curves of "Inception" to rise again in many countries.

The stock market was the first to react to this.

On September 6, Time Warner's stock rose 3%, breaking through the $20 mark that had been fluctuating for a long time.

By now, it has risen by 35% since two months ago.

At that moment, Karen Wilson sold off her last 100 shares of Time Warner. Finally, looking at her stock account balance of $56831.21 on her phone screen, she let out a long sigh of relief.

The process of going from a loss of 6000 to a profit of 16000 has been incredibly emotionally draining for her.

Although she didn't sell everything at the peak, the profit she made in two months was more than enough to satisfy her. This was her biggest income since her divorce, greatly easing her financial burden.

Thank goodness.

Karen Wilson lay slumped in her chair, seemingly exhausted, until a colleague called her, bringing her back to her senses.

"coming."

Just before leaving, she thought, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to grant Susan's wish?

On this day, it wasn't just single mothers in Baton Rouge raising their teenage idol-chasing daughters who were paying attention to the stock market; many others were too.

Like Quentin Tarantino's phone, which started ringing non-stop at 4 p.m. that day.

“I’m not kidding…yes, I have to ask them.” The middle-aged director’s voice rang out in a corner of a restaurant in LA, emphasizing it with his distinctive nasal tone.

“No, no, no, Chen won’t invest, neither will he or Lyon, but they’ve been waiting for me for so long, I have to discuss it with them. It’s a matter of respect.”

"...I contacted him yesterday. He'll be coming to LA in the next couple of days. He's finished with his business in Japan."

"Haha, yes, lucky Warner... Yes, yes, I also think his publicity was quite effective. Thank you for the compliment, I will pass it on to him."

"...I personally am very, very inclined to cooperate with you. I will get back to you soon, Brad, bye."

After hanging up with the third film company that had contacted him that day, Paramount's Brad Gray, Quentin smiled smugly and said to the blonde woman in front of him, "Excuse me, darling, where were we?"

"Speaking of the movie you're going to be making with Nuo Chen and Leonardo DiCaprio..." The heavily made-up blonde blinked her big blue eyes, "Honey, do you think it's possible, hmm?"

Quentin smiled, then suddenly felt something touch his leg.

Looking down, he saw a completely naked, pale foot slowly moving up his calf.

The foot shape is perfect, exactly the same as in the online photos. The five toes, painted with bright red nail polish, look like five juicy cherries, incredibly smooth and moist.

He swallowed hard, about to speak, when his phone screen lit up again.

He glanced at the caller ID, especially the contact name "21fox," a cold smile creeping across his lips. He answered the call and casually said, "Hello."

After listening to the other end of the phone talk for a while, he finally said, "Tom, I'm very sorry. After you rejected me last time, I contacted Lionsgate and we had a very pleasant conversation. So, I'm very sorry, maybe next time."

Then he heard the voice on the other end of the microphone, and his expression froze. He exclaimed in surprise, "What!?"

"...Really, Quentin, my boss, really values ​​this matter, so his wife has already made an appointment with him to meet her when she comes to the United States."

"So what? This doesn't mean anything."

"Quentin, don't be like this. There aren't many people in the world who can refuse Murdoch, you know what I mean. Deng still has a lot of influence in China. Don't be childish. I apologize for my previous recklessness. You also need to understand me. Sitting in this position, Mr. Murdoch puts a lot of pressure on me, and I have to act carefully. And we all know that you haven't reached anything with Lionsgate. So, give Fox another chance, OK?"

Quentin Tarantino clenched his fist on the table, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "No."

"Please..."

"Sorry, Tom, I'm still having dinner, so that's all. Bye."

After saying that, Quentin hung up the phone immediately.

Don't ask him how a small-time director dared to hang up on Tom Rothman, the head of 21st Century Fox; the reason lies in his next move.

After hanging up the phone, he took a deep breath, a flash of anger in his eyes that disappeared in an instant, and his attention returned to what was in front of him.

He licked his lips and said, "Darling, you have such a beautiful creature in your life, may I..."

The blonde beauty pouted and asked, "Then can I have a small cameo role in a movie?"

“No, I can’t,” Quentin said seriously. “However, I can get you to come to the event and take a picture with Chen and Leo.”

The blonde woman's eyes lit up. "Are you serious!?"

"Of course, so?"

The blonde beauty smiled gently and said, "Then you can come."

"Thank you," Quentin Tarantino replied politely, then picked up a napkin from the table to wipe his mouth before slowly sliding down, avoiding the waiter's gaze, and quietly slipping under the table.

Throughout the entire process, his hand remained clasped in that one delicate, jade-like foot.

It can truly be said that he loves it so much he can't put it down...

……

Chen Nuo is indeed leaving Japan for the United States.

But it wasn't because Wendi Deng suddenly contacted him through Li Bingbing, saying she wanted to meet him in the United States.

This is a minor matter; he went to the United States to handle something ten thousand times more important than meeting Mrs. Deng.

This matter needs to be completed before September 30th, which is less than three weeks away. To this end, Qi Yuntian has already flown to California, hired a legal team, and begun coordination and preparation of various legal documents.

Chen Nuo also has high expectations for this.

Without a doubt, the contract he signed this time was the most important one he had ever made since his rebirth. No amount of emphasis on its significance is an exaggeration.

Compared to that, meeting Wendi Deng... is really nothing. Unless the message Wendi Deng brings is that Murdoch is prepared to transfer some of his shares in Fox News to him.

Hahahahaha.

However, no matter how excited and impatient Chen Nuo was, the final work on the Japanese side still needed to be done.

Li Jing is in China, and Qi Yuntian is in the United States, so he doesn't have many people he can currently use. There are only two people in Japan currently working with Fuji Television on the preliminary preparations.

One was a native Japanese, and the other was the native Japanese's master, an American. It seemed like everything would go perfectly.

The Japanese seemed a little unsure, forcing him to patiently explain. "Eri, I've already signed the contract with them. All you need to do now is contact headhunters, handle the recruitment, represent me in overseeing the company's operations, liaise with Fuji Television, and keep an eye on the initial preparations. If you're unsure about anything, email me or call me if necessary. It's a very simple job."

After saying this, Chen Nuo paused, then looked at her anxious expression and sighed helplessly: "Can you stop looking like you're about to go to war?"

Miyazawa Eri lowered her head and said softly, "But... I'm not a producer, and I've never directed a TV series before..."

"You don't need to. To sum it up, you only do three things: keep an eye on people, relay messages, and ask questions. And these three areas are the expertise of lawyers like you. Answer me, can you do them well?"

Chen Nuo was also losing patience at this point.

If Miyazawa Eri still acts timid and hesitant, he's not a good man and doesn't have the patience to coax a fairy. He can only assume he misjudged her and let Liu Xiaoli hold the fort until Qi Yuntian returns.

However, Qi Yuntian was busy with matters in Hong Kong and couldn't devote himself entirely to Japan.

Thinking about it, Chen Nuo also had a headache. In short, he had too few talented people under his command.

Sigh, Mr. Cai, when will your lousy sugar figurine business finally collapse?

Fortunately, after a moment of silence, Miyazawa Eri nodded and said, "I understand, Mr. Chen."

She looked up at him and continued, "Actually, I took some organizational management courses in college. Although I'm not a professional in this field, I will arrange the production of this TV series according to the project-based process. If... if it really doesn't work out, I will resign."

Chen Nuo finally seemed somewhat satisfied and nodded, saying, "I'm not just leaving you here alone. Some people from China will be coming to help you, but..."

He looked at Eri Miyazawa and said seriously, "You can only listen to a little of what that person says, never listen to everything. Sometimes she's not very clear-headed. No matter what she says, whether she's threatening you or bullying you, you must have your own stance. If anything happens, just call me. Understand?"

Miyazawa Eri said, "Hi, Chen-kun, I understand. What about Aragaki Yui-san?"

"Just treat her normally," Chen Nuo said calmly. "She has nothing to do with me now."

Eri Miyazawa nodded and said, "Yes!"

……

With this, Chen Nuo's promotional trip to Japan has come to an end.

According to Elizabeth's estimate, his trip directly boosted the box office of "Inception" by about 4-500 million yen, or about 5-600 million US dollars.

As for the appearance fee, it's not bad. As for the indirect effects, how far "Inception" can go in the Japanese market, and whether it can reach 300 billion yen, we can only wait and see.

However, the smooth progress of his collaboration with Fuji TV on the TV series was quite unexpected.

Yui Aragaki evoked a certain impression in his memory, and as a result, he eventually found "Legal High" in Fuji Television's script library—the script that propelled Yui Aragaki to the throne of Japan's top actress and Masato Sakai to the throne of the top actor...

Chen Nuo could only say that it was all fate.

The gears of fate probably started turning 4 or 5 years ago.

He knew that within Fuji Television, from top to bottom, there were probably many dissenting voices about his decision to choose such a spoof comedy drama and specifically name Yui Aragaki as the female lead.

But does he care?
Ha ha.

He shouldn't care what those Japanese people think; he should care more about what his dog will eat tonight. Anyway, as long as Eri Miyazawa keeps an eye on the film crew, the final result will prove those Japanese people wrong.

This time, departing from Tokyo, Chen Nuo fully learned from his experience at Hongqiao Airport, abandoned his delusions, and spent a lot of money three days in advance to rent a private plane. He also used the VIP channel of the private terminal and did not make a public appearance, which greatly disappointed the Japanese reporters and fans who had been waiting in advance.

Chen Nuo mysteriously departs Japan, disappearing without a word; fans weep at the airport to bid him farewell.

"Topping the ratings charts, Inception's box office soars, Chen Nuo's whirlwind sweeps Tokyo before he leaves Japan today."

Photos of the convoy at the scene! Chen Nuo, the "maker of miracles and myths," has quietly departed, not appearing at all.

When Japanese media outlets used photos of his parking light to report his departure from Japan, it somewhat eased the anxieties of his South Korean fans.

Discussions on NAVER have shifted from "Does Chen Nuo really look down on us?" to "Why would he rather go to Japan to participate in variety shows than participate in Korean programs?"

It turned into "Hahaha, what are the Japanese so smug about?" "Hahaha, damn it, he spent two hours at the premiere for our Korean fans. In the end, apart from promotional activities, the Japanese can't even see what he's like in private."

As a result, these Korean posts were translated and uploaded to 2ch, where aggressive articles such as "Korea should have been wiped out during the colonial era" and "The nation of thieves is comforting itself again" appeared that same day, thus triggering another round of verbal battles between Japan and South Korea, following the March 1st Incident and Dokdo/Takeshima conflict.

But this is all for later.

On September 10, 2011, Chen Nuo arrived in Silicon Valley, USA, where he met with Qi Yuntian and their hired legal team.

Upon meeting, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Qi Yuntian delivered some bad news to him.

"I've noticed that Zuckerberg seems to be considering backing out..."

"Oh."

"What's your reaction?"

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "As expected."

Two years ago, with Trump's help, he signed a contract with Facebook to acquire a 2% stake in Facebook for $2 million. Those with good memories should still remember this.

Then, in the past two years, Facebook has expanded rapidly, with advertising revenue and user data surging, and its mobile business has also gradually gained momentum.

The market valuation has increased nearly tenfold since the signing of the agreement, soaring from just over 10 billion US dollars to a staggering 80 billion or even 100 billion US dollars.

If his 2% stake is valued at this rate, it would be worth at least $16-20 billion!
What the hell kind of concept is this?
Just like with the movie "Inception" that he worked so hard on, in the end, the money he earned wasn't even a fraction of what he made!

Not only that.

It is rumored that Facebook is now seeking an IPO and will be listed on Nasdaq in the first half of next year... who knows what the situation will be like then.

At this point, given the Jewish man's character of only being willing to pay him a million dollars a year for endorsement, it would be strange if he felt comfortable, and it would be a miracle if he didn't want to back out.

But what could he do?

Chen Nuo asked, "So, do they have a way to back out?"

A white lawyer standing nearby said, "Impossible. We have complete and valid contract texts, signing records, and emails and memos from the negotiations at the time. If it goes to court, they have no chance of winning. Facebook will suffer very serious consequences, both in terms of legal liability and a crisis of trust in the market. They will suffer huge losses."

Chen Nuo never dared to fully believe what the lawyers said. These people were habitual offenders who boasted beforehand and then dodged questions afterward. In this regard, he trusted Qi Yuntian's judgment more.

He turned to look at Qi Yuntian, who shook his head and said in a low voice in Chinese:
“Legally speaking, no. But with so much money… if he wants to sue us like a scoundrel and try to renege on his promise, it’s not impossible. Although he has no chance of winning, he can stall. If he stalls, it will cause us a lot of headaches, and many things will be affected. So, it’s best if we have a good talk with them and reach an agreement peacefully, so that he doesn’t act impulsively and do something that will hurt both of us.”

Chen Nuo nodded thoughtfully. "Does he think he'll act impulsively?"

Qi Yuntian said, "It's possible, because he's in Palo Alto right now. I've tried to meet with him several times before, but he always replied through his secretary, making excuses and only letting Soderbergh meet with us. He's never shown up. I don't know what he's thinking."

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, I'll call him now."

……

……

Qi Yuntian was right; as September 30th approached, Mark Zuckerberg's mood indeed worsened.

He had been plagued by a nightmare for some time.

In his dream, he was entangled by a python and then eaten piece by piece from head to toe.

Staring at the flashing name on the phone screen, he hesitated for a moment, but still answered the phone.

"Haha, Chen, what brings you to call me all of a sudden?" Zuckerberg said with a smile. "How have you been lately? Congratulations on your movie creating an amazing miracle, congratulations... Haha, of course, I'm in the office, haha, welcome, welcome, I remember you've never been here before... OK, no problem, see you then."

After the call ended, the smile on Zuckerberg's face gradually disappeared, and his expression became somewhat ambiguous.

He gently spun his chair, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the Silicon Valley morning sunlight. After a moment of blank staring, he pressed the intercom button on the table.

The secretary arrived quickly; she was a Korean-American girl in her early twenties with black hair, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, and her smile revealed a set of white teeth: "Mark?"

Without a doubt, this was his type. But these past few days, the sight of Asian faces had been bothering him, constantly reminding him of the snake.

He said briefly, "Get the meeting room ready for me; I need it at 3 p.m.

The secretary nodded and said, "Okay, Mark."

"Also, call Sherry over here."

"OK."

Half a minute later, his company's Chief Operating Officer, Sydney Soderbergh, came over. "What's wrong, Mark?"

Zuckerberg looked at her and said, "Chen is coming over this afternoon. Prepare the previous plan."

Sydney Soderbergh paused for a moment, then sighed and said, "Sure. But based on my judgment and understanding of him, Mark, I don't think he'll agree."

“Who said that?” Mark Zuckerberg gritted his teeth. “That’s $10 billion! Cash! How many people in the world could refuse that?”

(End of this chapter)