Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 680 Meeting (23)

The Shanghai International Film Festival is an important platform for major film companies to "flex their muscles" and make grand promises!
During the active years of 2015 to 2017, film companies released over a thousand films at the Shanghai International Film Festival…

Of course, in the years that followed, many projects remained at the PowerPoint stage, and many new and old companies went through a reshuffle, acquisition, and exit.

Later on, it was already a rare privilege to stay at the poker table; keeping a low profile and lying low was an unspoken understanding.

We'll never see those big-budget film release conferences again!

从2015年至2018年，整个文娱行业的投融资总金额分别为1586亿元、1462亿元、1510、2083亿元！

To be honest, the lavish display of beauty and extravagance is indeed captivating...

Shen Yan was currently aboard a luxury cruise ship—Wanda had chartered a luxury cruise ship for their film slate launch event…

Enjoying delicious food and champagne while listening to people brag...

There was also a large group of scantily clad female waitresses nearby…

It was truly a pleasure!
Wanda is now the top-listed cinema chain in the A-share market, with Wanda Film's market capitalization exceeding 1300 billion yuan!
However, Shen Yan was clearly uninterested in Wanda's ambitious plans. Instead, he chatted with the young woman pouring his drinks: "How much do you earn serving drinks all night?"

"600 yuan..."

“Is it a part-time job?”

"Yes, I am a student at the Xie Jin Art Academy..."

How old are you?

"19 years old!"

"...It wasn't easy..."

Shen Yan had no interest in playing the role of talent scout everywhere. Although the young girl was pretty, she wasn't exactly stunning, and as an actress, she was too easily replaceable…

There's nothing particularly unique about him.

Most importantly, Zeng Maojun came—the head of Wanda Cinema—and we talked about "The Great Wall"...

It was about the production scale and simultaneous global release...

Shen Yan was a little confused: "The Great Wall, wasn't it supposed to be directed by Zhang Yimou?"

"You have no interest in large-scale Sino-US co-productions?"

Shen Yan shook his head: "Unless I make the decisions myself, including the script and casting, I will never make a co-production!"

"A while ago, Jia Yueting said he was going to invite you to direct 'Chasing the Sun'..."

"...You'd be better off believing I'm Qin Shi Huang than listening to his boasting!"

"Too…"

Zeng Maojun smiled, then changed the subject, talking about "A Quiet Place" and A24...

First, they lauded the idea…

Shen Yan waved his hand: "A Quiet Place, like The Purge, is a conceptual horror film. The latter sets up a plan that allows all kinds of crimes within 12 hours, while the latter sets up monsters that hunt humans by sound, making silence the only rule for survival. If they can't hear you, they can't hunt you... It's not that clever! And the market acceptance is still decreasing. Just like The Sixth Sense grossed $6.7 million worldwide, but The Others only grossed $2.1 million worldwide..."

"But A24 is already a star company in the North American independent film industry!"

"Independent film companies in North America have had a tough time these past two years... Everyone's started making big-budget productions, even Lionsgate has caught the series syndrome. After The Hunger Games, they set their sights on Divergent... A24 doesn't follow the usual path; their movies might not make money, but the reviews are generally decent..."

"Does A24 accept investment?"

Shen Yan was a little puzzled: "...Wanda wants to invest?"

"why not?"

"A24 is an independent film company. Luckily, it made a few blockbuster movies. Its biggest investment to date is only 'Sheep Without a Shepherd' with a budget of $3500 million... It has no distribution capabilities, no IP development capabilities, and... it's not a listed company... It shouldn't be on Wanda's acquisition list, right?" "But you're right about everything, but there's one thing you've overlooked!"

"Which point?"

"A24 is made possible by you!" Zeng Maojun said frankly, "I've been in the film and television industry for eight years and I've found that movies rely on a helmsman. The success of a film depends entirely on who is in control!"

"...It depends on the subject matter..." Shen Yan waved his hand: "You think too highly of me, but I heard that Wanda's target is Paramount?"

"Wanda's primary target is one of the six major Hollywood studios, but after the acquisition, they will need content..."

"Let's talk about it then!"

……

Wanda is indeed investing heavily in the cultural and entertainment industry, and on a global scale!

First, they acquired AMC, the second-largest cinema chain in the United States, and then they merged with Carmike Cinemas—Carmike Cinemas owns approximately 2954 screens, mainly located in suburban and rural areas. Founded in 1982, it is the fourth-largest cinema chain group in the United States…

Following the acquisition, AMC became the largest cinema chain in North America, with 663 theaters and 8380 screens in 45 states across the United States, making it the world's largest cinema chain. This also gave Wanda the top position in both China and the United States, the world's two largest cinema chains.

You think that's the end of it?

NO!

Following this, Wanda Group's US-based AMC Theatres announced the acquisition of Odeon & UCI Theatres, Europe's largest cinema chain, for £9.21 million, approximately nine times its EBITDA.

Odeon & UCI is headquartered in London, UK, and has 242 cinemas and 2236 screens across Europe, the vast majority of which are located in prime locations in major cities.

It sells 9000 million movie tickets annually and is the number one cinema chain in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and other countries. It ranks second in Austria and Portugal, and fourth in Germany.

With this, Wanda completed its global cinema layout, achieving a leading position in the three major film markets of North America, China, and Europe, becoming the world's largest cinema operator with an absolute advantage.

Then buy a film production company…

We don't know what the considerations were, but we ended up buying Legendary Pictures!

Legendary Pictures... is just an empty shell!
The film projects they bring out as their flagship titles, such as "Inception" and the "Batman" trilogy, are all from Warner Bros.

Originally a Wall Street fundraising firm specializing in investing in Hollywood films, Thomas Tull, along with two other investors, bought out all the shares from the original investors during the financial crisis. After the transaction, Tull became the largest shareholder…

In any case, after Wanda acquired Legendary, Thomas Tull did not hand over all his assets to Wanda—he later invested in "Jurassic World 2 and 3" in his personal capacity…

……

Yang Mi also attended the opening ceremony of the Shanghai International Film Festival…

The main purpose was to promote the movies "Tiny Times 4" and "Your Wedding"...

Tiny Times 4 is finally coming to an end!
However, Guo Jingming invited her to star in his next film, *L.O.R.D.: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties*…

Pure CG movie!

Yang Mi originally didn't plan to accept the role, but Yang Siwei persuaded her. "After the official announcement of the production of 'L.O.R.D.: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties,' its posters and casting have garnered significant attention from fans. After Chen Xuedong announced he would star in 'L.O.R.D.: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties,' his Weibo post was retweeted 100 million times within two hours."

"L.O.R.D.: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties is unlikely to be a good movie, but based on data such as its Weibo follower engagement, it can be predicted that the film will do very well at the box office."

Good box office performance...

Then let her act it out; she doesn't have many other options right now anyway!

There are at least no special offer options!

"What do you think?"

Upon seeing Shen Yan, she immediately told him about "Legend of Ravaging Dynasties"...

(End of this chapter)