Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 657 Acquisition?

The biggest laugh, the most outrageous, and the most speechless film of the year has finally arrived.

"Pure Hearts: Into the Entertainment Industry" was released as scheduled, but two days later, it received the lowest score ever on Douban: 2. In response, the film's production company sent a letter of protest to Douban, claiming that it represented 12 years of the director's hard work and had been ruined overnight by Douban, demanding an apology.

The director also claimed that his film "is determined not to be held hostage by capital," but he seems to have forgotten that it is not capital that holds him hostage, but rather a group of old-timers who control the discourse in the film and television industry.

Placing a film like this before the National Day holiday is really disgusting for the audience.

Fortunately, not many people went to see it, and the five blockbusters, namely "Sky Hunter," "City of Rock," "The Foreigner," "Chasing the Dragon," and "Never Say Die," have already launched nationwide promotions, with constant news breaking every day, which has somewhat made up for the audience's disappointment.

From this perspective, this year's National Day film season is incredibly strong, and it boasts a star-studded lineup.

But the busiest person during the National Day holiday was Wu Jing, who had just undergone surgery and was still recuperating at home. He attended the premieres of four of the five films, using crutches.

Wu Jing is currently the most popular person in the entertainment industry, without a doubt!

Everyone wants to ride on his popularity.

Even the reporter covering the story felt sorry for him, saying, "When Wu Jing was promoting the 'Wolf Warrior' series, it was all done by the main cast and crew themselves; hardly any celebrities came to help. Now, Wu Jing has become the mascot of the National Day premiere!"

Some netizens also blamed the production crew for torturing an injured person like this: "Don't you have any conscience?!"

But Wu Jing seemed to be enjoying it. He had finally become famous and was finally on the table. Before, he was ignored by his uncle and grandmother, but now everyone wanted to know him and make friends with him. If he didn't take advantage of this opportunity to make friends and expand his network, when would he ever get another chance?

On the contrary, Li Qiutang and Liu Yifei, a married couple, did not go out for any activities despite the lively National Day holiday.

Li Qiutang is busy, and Liu Yifei is lazy. She doesn't want to go out when her husband is not home, and now that her husband is back, she is even less willing to go out.

"Don't you like Shen Teng and Ma Li? The internal screening of 'Never Say Die' has received pretty good reviews. You can go check it out." Li Qiutang didn't attend the internal screening, but she heard from her colleagues that it was very good and predicted that it would gross over 10 billion. Subsequently, the company became increasingly annoyed that "City of Rock" and "Never Say Die" were released at the same time.

"I'll wait until the movie is released to see it before I go to any events; I'm too tired."

"You've been idle for over a month, sister. I don't need you to keep me company. You should go and do your own thing."

"Don't flatter yourself. Who's keeping you company?" Liu Yifei said. "I'm like this even when you're not home."

"I have a magazine interview tomorrow, I'm very busy."

"Okay, okay, you go ahead and do your thing, I'm leaving."

"Where are you going? It's so late." It's 11:20 p.m. Where are you going if you're not going to sleep with your sweet and soft wife?

"Women shouldn't pry into men's business." He's really putting on an act.

Liu Yifei angrily threw a cushion at Li Qiutang, who twisted it away: "Hey, you missed. I have a meeting with the Americans, and it costs money. Do you think I'm going to play around?"

It was a huge hit in North America, grossing $1.17 million in its opening weekend, the company's best performance since the end of The Hunger Games franchise two years ago.

Even before the movie finished its run in theaters, Lantern Entertainment and Warner Bros. jointly announced the start of preparations for a sequel.

Universal was seething with anger. If Lantern Entertainment and Warner made money, it meant their relationship would become distant. Legendary Entertainment had already become estranged from Universal, and they couldn't afford to have any more problems with Lantern Entertainment.

The meeting Li Qiutang is holding today is about the financing issue for Lantern Entertainment's preparatory project, especially how much Universal should contribute. Li Qiutang will not agree to stick to the original 35%.

The "It" IP belongs to Warner Bros., but Warner Bros. doesn't participate in investment or distribution. However, the first film made a lot of money, so there's no guarantee that Warner Bros. won't back out on the second one. Universal's distribution network is incredibly powerful, and if the partnership with Universal is amicable, Lantern Entertainment wouldn't want to leave.

So, after a two-year hiatus, Lantern Entertainment has once again released a high-investment blockbuster, "Ford v Ferrari." No one in Hollywood would invest in this film, so Michael Lynn took it on.

With a film budget of $1 million, Michael Lynn demanded that Universal cover half of it!
“Lee, we are a mature and highly profitable company. We shouldn’t be at a disadvantage in our cooperation with Universal. We need to try to increase our say.” It seems like all companies are like this: as they grow and become stronger, they want more status and influence. The rift between Universal and Legendary is also due to this reason.

Li Qiutang wasn't afraid at all. He believed in asking for an exorbitant price and then negotiating on the spot. He supported Michael Lynn in negotiating with Universal at a 50% ratio.

Just then, the study door was pushed open, and Liu Yifei came in with a glass of water. Li Qiutang glanced at his wife and gestured for her to put down the water and not disturb him.

Liu Yifei put down her cup but didn't leave. Instead, she sat quietly to the side, listening to her husband's remote meeting.

Lantern Entertainment's demands of Universal are simple: they want Universal to allow them to invest in animated films from DreamWorks or Illumination Entertainment.

A good cooperative relationship is one where each element is intertwined with the other.

This way, Universal won't have to worry about Lantern Entertainment changing hands.

Michael Lynn is really overthinking things!
But business deals are negotiated, so Li Qiutang wasn't in a hurry at all. She figured she could take it slow. Anyway, the agreement only had a little over a year left. When that time came, Lantern Entertainment could just walk away, and there would be plenty of companies willing to take over.

After discussing investment matters, Michael Lynn reported some major news to Mr. Li: a company wanted to acquire Lantern Entertainment!

The company is called Skydance, founded by David Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, a well-known American rich kid.

Michael Lynn had only received the negotiation a few days ago and was reporting it to his boss.

David Ellison is a big fan of Lantern Entertainment's films and has high hopes for the company's future. He offered $27.51 billion and promised that Lantern Entertainment would remain an independent entity.

Upon hearing the figure of 27.51 billion, Liu Yifei, who was listening in, was momentarily stunned.

This kind of thing is very common in the industry.

To be honest, the price was fair, even a bit overpriced, befitting the lantern's value. Li Qiutang wasn't against selling the company, she just didn't want to sell it now.

He would only sell the company under one condition: when he no longer wanted to operate in North America, he would sell the company, take the money, and run away, living a carefree life.

Michael Lynn is really getting old, and he's conflicted. His health isn't very good, and he's thinking of selling his stocks, taking the money to retire, and living a peaceful life, which might allow him to live for another two years. But seeing that the company is doing well, he's also considering working for another two years.

As long as the procedures are proper, Li Qiutang does not restrict executives from reducing their holdings and cashing out. If Michael Lynn wants to retire, he can tell Li Qiutang in advance, and Li Qiutang will definitely give him a grand send-off.

Li Qiutang rejected Sky Dance's acquisition offer, but left an opening, saying that David Ellison could be brought in as a shareholder.

Sky Dance has excellent resources. This top-tier rich second-generation has money and connections, so cooperating with him is a good choice.

"OK, Michael, it's getting late here. That's enough for today's meeting. I'm going to sleep."

"My husband is so capable! 27 billion, and it's in US dollars!" Liu Yifei's flattery came at the right time.

“Your husband is capable of more than just these things. Come on, let me show you something even more capable.” Li Qiutang took his wife’s hand.

Liu Yifei remained silent and followed her husband into the bedroom.

(End of this chapter)