Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 737 Taking Down Netflix in Three Years
Huayi finally couldn't sit still any longer, mainly because its stock price had plummeted and the market was voicing too much doubt about the company.

As a long-established film studio, even with its biggest cash cow gone, it hasn't been blinded by the situation and still knows how to stabilize market sentiment with its works.

Instead of directly answering what Huayi should do after Feng Xiaogang's departure, Wang Zhonglei directly proposed a co-production blockbuster.

Wang Zhonglei announced on his personal Weibo account that Huayi Brothers will once again join forces with Hollywood's Universal Pictures to create a "heart-stirring" sci-fi disaster film, directed by disaster film master Roland Emmerich, with the film tentatively titled "Moonfall".

Wang Zhonglei proudly stated on Weibo: "For this collaboration, Huayi Brothers intervened in the preparation from the very beginning of the creative stage and will assist director Roland Emmerich in completing the entire production process of the film. This is a huge leap forward for Huayi Brothers' overseas strategy."

Almost simultaneously, Wang Zhongjun, who had been out of the public eye for a long time, also had to step forward and say a few words. The last time he responded to questions about the company's development so solemnly was in 2005 when Wang Jinghua left.

However, Huayi cannot bury its head in the sand. As a company that has dominated the Chinese entertainment industry for over 20 years and was once the leading company in the industry, audiences and investors will not allow it to pretend that nothing happened.

Wang Zhongjun faced the problem head-on, but being stubborn is a basic skill for bosses. Just like when Wang Jinghua left, he said it wouldn't have any impact. This time, he meant the same thing: "I personally feel very sorry and heartbroken that Xiaogang did this. I believe in the fairness of the law."

Regarding the impact on the company, Wang Zhongjun said, "I understand investors' concerns these past few days, and I think the fluctuations are normal. But I don't think the whole thing will have a significant impact on the company. Huayi started discovering and cultivating new directors a long time ago, and has achieved good results in recent years. I think the company's reserve force can keep up, and the company will be fine."

Then they started promoting Huayi Brothers' new film "Yunnan Insect Valley," which will be released during the Lunar New Year holiday in December. The film was originally scheduled for release during the National Day holiday, but was changed to the Lunar New Year holiday due to unforeseen circumstances.

Wang Zhongjun attaches great importance to this film and places high hopes on it.

"I hope that through this film, everyone can see Huayi's determination and confidence in persisting in film creation."

Affected by the "de-single-film" trend, Huayi Brothers did not have any decent films under its own control in those years. The "Ghost Blows Out the Light" series was another bet they made after Tsui Hark's "Detective Dee" series.

The film rights to the first four parts of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" were held by China Film Group. China Film Group licensed the rights to LeTV, but LeTV defaulted and could not produce the films. The rights were then transferred to Guangxian and Huayi. Guangxian withdrew from the development for some reason, and now it is solely owned by Huayi.

After all, with the success of "Mojin: The Lost Legend" as a precedent, and Huayi Brothers having also participated in the investment and development of "Mojin: The Lost Legend," audiences had high expectations for Huayi Brothers' version of "Yunnan Insect Valley."

Wang Zhongjun also revealed that Lu Chuan's "749: Rise of the Alien Race" will start filming next month. It is a science fiction action blockbuster.

The successive statements from the two CEOs of Huayi Brothers, along with the announcement of several promising blockbusters, have indeed greatly alleviated market anxiety.

But what will happen to Huayi's revenue after Feng Xiaogang leaves? This is a problem that the two brothers must solve in the future.

Meanwhile, Li Qiutang and his team continued to lobby more potential competitors to abandon their acquisition of LeEco and instead join their joint acquisition group.

Li Qiutang is right. I own the top film company in the country, a top 3 TV series company, and an independent production studio in the United States that is no less powerful than Lionsgate. Only under my control can LeEco unleash its full potential and bring the most generous returns to investors. Let's make joint acquisitions, grow bigger and stronger, and create new glories!

We must address reality, and we must also paint a picture of the future.

Netflix is ​​tempting, isn't it? The world's most awesome streaming service, right?
After I acquire LeEco, I will also take LeEco's streaming media overseas and compete head-on with Netflix.

Li Qiutang boasted arrogantly, "I'm confident I can take down Netflix in Southeast Asia in three years."

"A market capitalization of three to five hundred billion US dollars is not a problem at all."

If Lao Wang dares to boast that he can't make Disney profitable, then it's not too much for Lao Li to boast that he can take down Netflix in Southeast Asia, right?
This isn't bragging; this is a story of capital.

Without telling a story, how can you attract investment and find partners?

"A market of 14 billion is certainly tempting, but there's another 60 billion outside, that's our gold mine." Isn't that a tempting promise? And as the largest film company in China, it's obviously more credible for them to make this claim in the fall, and investors are really buying into it.

After more than half a month of lobbying efforts, Li Qiutang actually managed to persuade Tencent and Sunac to agree to his plan, and the three parties decided to form a joint acquisition team to buy LeEco together.

The task of telling stories in the capital market should not be done by Li Qiutang, but by CEO Zhang Zhao. Li Qiutang, as chairman, is more of a figurehead. Only when he is present does the capital story seem convincing.

That afternoon, Li Qiutang returned to the company from Mojing Tianhe. On her way to her office, she happened to see the company's administrative and personnel personnel leading a group of newly hired employees on a tour of the company.

Li Qiutang was puzzled. When did the company hire so many people?

"Director," Li Qiutang was called out, "You may not know this yet, but Director Li Qiutang is the chairman of our company." The administrator introduced her to the new employees.

Li Qiutang greeted them politely, then said, "I'll make sure the reception for the new employees is handled well. I have something else to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

Back in her office, after finishing her work, Li Qiutang remembered the thought that had flashed through her mind earlier, and then opened the company's OA system.

He discovered a very serious problem.

At the Beijing headquarters of Guangqiu Film Industry, the number of employees in functional departments has exceeded 1700.

Li Qiutang keenly sensed that something was wrong.

too much!

For a film and television company, this number of employees has exceeded a reasonable range.

Li Qiutang called the production management department again to ask if Chen Zhixi had come to work today. He learned that Chen Zhixi had gone to the United States with Guo Fanfei to attend a meeting with Disney a few days ago. Li Qiutang then called over Chen Zhixi's subordinate in the production management department and asked him to report on the company's new projects.

He sensed that something was amiss in the company.

The entire presentation lasted an hour; Li Qiutang listened more and spoke less.

As I listened, I realized that the company was indeed in trouble.

The huge success of previous years, especially the three films that made a fortune during this summer's season, has driven the company into a frenzy, with everyone feeling invincible.

Others may be arrogant, but Li Qiutang can completely understand it; things have been going too smoothly for Qiutian.

But he couldn't, because he knew what would happen next and understood that such madness often concealed a huge crisis.

The adage "pride comes before a fall" holds true throughout history.

He had to rouse everyone from the delusional fantasies fueled by the company's tremendous success.

They must understand that Li Qiutang is not omnipotent, and Autumn Pictures is not invincible.

"Alright, you don't need to read anymore," Li Qiutang interrupted the report. "Your department's management team, please stay behind tonight for a short meeting."

(End of this chapter)