Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 439 One Billion Dollars? Chu Hong and Annie are both mine, Ma Xun's people!
Why did you put on this show?

"You'll have to ask him about that."

……

"Hey sis, how did you figure that out?"

"I'm not stupid."

"But, after all, you're an American."

"Hmph! We Americans aren't that easily fooled!"

"Really? Haha... But in my opinion, you Americans don't understand many things about China at all, you're really easy to fool."

"What don't we understand?"

"It's like Chinese food. Most of us Chinese living in China have never eaten General Tso's Chicken."

"Is this... is this true?"

"If you don't believe me, just ask Ma Xun. I guarantee he has never eaten this dish."

"This this……"

It's that question Anne asked before: Why did we have to act in this play?

In fact, the answer is very simple.

"I want both the film and the investment."

This was Ma Xun's answer.

Fortunately, Anne Hathaway didn't need an explanation; she knew what Ma Xun meant.

The movie is "Saw," but the budget...

The goal is to keep Hollywood giants like Columbia investing in Saw, and then we wait until it's ripe to reap the rewards.

That's right, this is Ma Xun's plan, and that's why he acted out this scene with Cherie Chung.

Without this scene, James Wan and Leigh Whannell might not have so readily handed over "Saw".

It's essential to understand one fundamental fact: this is Hollywood.

The eight major Hollywood studios—aren't they all the dream studios of filmmakers like James Wan and Ray?
While Ma Xun isn't entirely unknown in Hollywood, he's not particularly famous either.

As Ma Xun has said many times before, Hollywood simply doesn't treat big-name foreign stars as stars, and by the same token, the same applies to company-level organizations.

He certainly wouldn't make that kind of mistake.

Since that's the case, and guys like James Wan and Ray Allen have their eyes on big Hollywood studios, then I'll help you achieve that dream.

However, I won't let go of the fruits of profit.

Without the drama involving Ma Xun and Cherie Chung, there would be no reason for the IP company of "Saw" to exist.

It's important to know that although there are many similar IP companies in the United States, the movie "Saw" hasn't been released yet, and James Wan and Ray Allen themselves don't know if the movie will be successful.

Therefore, a reason must be created.

Now, I, Ma Xun, am here to help you two Hollywood nobodies to fight against the big Hollywood companies in the future.

Just like this confrontation with Cherie Chung, this 'evil woman' who wants to invest in Hollywood and take advantage of both of you.

Ma Xun's reasoned argument was so convincing that Wen Ziren and Lei realized they had been completely fooled.

As for Annie discovering the problem, well... actually, Ma Xun originally thought that a smart woman like Annie would discover it sooner or later.

So he even gave Annie the room key in advance.

Well, this action probably has nothing to do with recognizing the act or anything like that.

Ma Xun probably just predicted that Anne Hathaway, the hairy white beauty, would be unable to resist coming to his room at night after not seeing him for several days, so they could read the script together.

And now...

“That’s right, I’ve never eaten General Tso’s Chicken before.”

Annie couldn't help but roll her eyes at Ma Xun's answer.

"So, you were all liars!"

Ma Xun and Chung Chu-hung didn't care at all; they even shrugged together.

After saying this, Anne smiled.

"But he is indeed a clever conman."

Wow, this hairy white woman chose to join.

So, should their game continue?
Anyway, there's still plenty of time before dawn.

Actually, this isn't a particularly sophisticated scam; it simply exploits the lack of understanding about China on the American side.

Okay, James Wan and Leigh Whannell are actually from Australia.

But they're basically the same.

The example that Cherie Chung gave to Annie was very interesting, but in reality, it means that... Americans are really easy to fool.

This kind of 'Chinese food' that we don't even have in China, but it sells incredibly well in the United States.

In addition, there are actually many other things, such as fortune cookies.

This thing has almost become a representative "item" of Chinese restaurants in the United States, but it is completely unavailable in China.

This actually represents a phenomenon.

Ma Xun recalls a saying by Bai Yansong: "When we Chinese look at America, we're looking through a telescope, but when Americans look at China, they're looking through the wrong telescope."

In reality, Ma Xun determined that the vast majority of Americans simply do not understand China; they are extremely ignorant about China.

They fall for such a simple information asymmetry scam repeatedly.

And Ma Xun is taking advantage of that!
In short, if everything goes well.

Golden Harvest itself belonged to Ma Xun, and Cherie Chung represented Ma Xun in acquiring 70% of the shares in this newly established American company.

Ma Xun himself also owns 5% of the shares.

Besides, Annie is one of our own people, so giving her 10% of the shares is not a problem.

Anyway, she will continue to act in "The Infernal Chamber" in the future, so she is essentially tied to this movie.

Also, Saw also involved her.

Ma Xun is guaranteed to profit. He effectively holds absolute control of this new company.

Ma Xun also owns 49% of the company he co-founded with James Wan and Ray Whannell.

In other words, he completely mastered both the Insidious and Saw series.

"Insidious" is itself part of James Wan's critically acclaimed horror film series "Insidious".

Ma Xun has now directly locked up these two IP series!

Both of these series are globally renowned film IPs known for their low cost and high returns!

Based on this calculation, Ma Xun's conservative future returns...

A billion dollars?

Ahem... Let's keep a low profile. Besides, who can predict the future?

A billion dollars, perhaps, is just the beginning!
……

Sure enough, the next day.

James Wan and Ray Whannell signed a contract with Cherie Chung, an investor from China.

They didn't know that the new company seemed to have several shareholders.

But in reality, they were all Ma Xun's people.

The new company's name is:
Jiaming Pictures!

Is Golden Harvest in America? ...Simplifying things is fine too.

Of course, Ma Xun was also genuinely committed to getting things done.

After the contract was signed, Columbia sent their negotiation specialist.

Not long after, a film distribution contract was reached.

Anne Hathaway represented the newly formed company in negotiations with Columbia's representatives.

Finally, a partnership was reached with an investment of $500 million.

After Insidious's release in the North American market, Columbia Pictures will sell 7% of the revenue.

In other words, the newly established Jiaming Company will receive the majority of the film's revenue.

Clearly, $500 million is a very substantial sum.

But it's not over yet.

Next, Ma Xun, representing James Wan and Leigh Whannell, will discuss "Saw" with Columbia Pictures' new negotiator.

This film received a $1000 million investment from Columbia Pictures.

Columbia Pictures still wasn't very confident in this unknown director.

As a result, Ma Xun secured 300% of the film's revenue after its release for $7 million.

Thus, the cooperation between the two parties was pleasant.

Everyone was very satisfied after the contract was signed.

But actually, there are still some minor issues here.

For example, the movie "Saw" actually had a very small budget.

In the original timeline, Ma Xun remembered that there was only 500 million US dollars.

But with such a small budget... it's really difficult to manage.

The main problem is that it's difficult to operate.

Therefore, the cost needs to be increased to $1000 million!
As for how to do it...

That hacksaw for sawing off legs, we need to make that thing even better, right?
This saw, ten thousand dollars, is that alright?

This saw has undergone antiquing and other processes.

Then there are some other small 'things'.

There are quite a few ingenious 'mechanisms' in our movie, right?

How can these 'organizations' be cheap?

We need to make these things truly useful in the movie!

It should give the audience a shocking feeling.

And so... $1000 million was easily earned.

Of course, the premise for doing this is because of Ge Luming.

Of course, it's not just "Saw" that was made; "Insidious" was also filmed in this way.

Otherwise, how could such a movie cost $1500 million?
Hmm... Ge Luming took a million dollars.

Ma Xun felt a pang of regret.

But now, it was all worth it.

Just like the money in these two contracts... one is 500 million, and the other is 300 million.

Ma Xun was really generous this time.

However, most of this money actually came from investments in "Insidious" and "Saw"!

In other words, Columbia Pictures used its own money to acquire the distribution rights to a film that Columbia Pictures had invested in!

Ultimately, Ma Xun still adheres to his principles in doing business.

Avoid spending money if you can avoid it; if you absolutely have to spend money, then spend someone else's money!
This time, he really took this tactic to the extreme.

Of course, it also benefited Ge Luming; without him, this whole operation wouldn't have been possible.

And what about Columbia, the company that got ripped off?

They're happy!

I'm so happy!
Even after signing the contract, they sent invitations to both Ma Xun and Anne Hathaway to attend a cocktail party.

This party is...

"Celebrating the huge success of 'Hero' in the North American market! Becoming the most successful Chinese film!"

That's right, they should thank us!
(End of this chapter)