Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 206 Entering 2006, the Top Ten Richest People Born in the 80s

In December 2005, a grand production was released, namely Director Chen's "The Promise".

As one of the leading directors in mainland China who once made the masterpiece "Farewell My Concubine", Director Chen's foray into commercial blockbusters this time has cost hundreds of millions of yuan and brought together popular stars from China, Japan and South Korea, which is highly anticipated by the industry and countless movie fans.

Many media outlets and netizens believe that this film will surpass the box office record of "Hero" for Chinese-language films, and even surpass "Titanic".

And it's not just the mainland Chinese market; Asian markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, as well as North America and Europe, are all targets for the film producers.

Otherwise, the current box office market in mainland China is simply not enough to support an investment of hundreds of millions of yuan. From the very beginning, "The Promise" was aiming to conquer Hollywood.

However, somewhat unexpectedly, before it could conquer Hollywood, "The Promise" suffered a major setback in the mainland Chinese market.

To be fair, the box office figures for "The Promise" weren't bad.

It easily grossed over 100 million yuan in seven days, setting multiple box office records in mainland China, including opening day, opening week, single day, and opening weekend.

In the current film market, "The Promise" is definitely a standout.

But behind the phenomenal box office success lies an unprecedented barrage of criticism and negative reviews.

Director Chen and his film were heavily criticized, with some netizens even making malicious remarks.

Was "Farewell My Concubine" directed by Chen Da?

Yan Li also took the time to watch "The Promise". Regardless of public opinion or the monthly information he had received, Yan Li knew that the movie was terrible.

But he still wanted to know just how bad the movie was.

As Yan Li left the theater, he fell silent. It was probably the time he felt his movie ticket was the least worthwhile he had ever been to a movie theater.

Yan Li even subconsciously thought about "Farewell My Concubine," hoping to use the system to uncover whether "Farewell My Concubine" was directed by Chen Da.

That's absolutely awful!

As graduates of the Beijing Film Academy, Yan Lili and her fellow acting students held a strong bias towards top directors like Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, who were also graduates of the Beijing Film Academy.

Yan Li knew that several students from the Beijing Film Academy considered acting in Chen and Zhang's films as one of their career dreams.

But after watching "The Promise", Yan Li's filter for Director Chen was shattered. The only thing he still retained was "Farewell My Concubine".

Compared to Yan Li's silence, Fan Xiaopang, who watched the movie with him, didn't think it was as exaggerated as the rumors suggested.

"Although it's not very good, the special effects are good and the visuals are nice, so I'll give it a passing grade."

Yan Li glanced at her and said very seriously, "If you want to become a truly good actor, you need to improve not only your acting skills but also your artistic taste."

"Poop is poop. Just because it might not smell that bad doesn't mean you can eat it."

"啕~"

Fan Xiaopang gagged, then punched him with her little pink fist in disgust: "Aren't you disgusting?"

Yan Li shook his head: "These big directors are famous enough, but that doesn't mean they're suitable for making commercial films. Old Zhang is alright, Old Chen failed, and I don't think Old Feng is going to make a mess of it either."

Compared to Zhang and Chen, Feng Xiaogang, who has been catching up in the box office in the past two years, relies more on his Lunar New Year comedies.

Now that he's abandoning his forte of comedy to make some kind of period drama, Yan Li doesn't need a systematic analysis, nor is he very optimistic about it.

Of course, it's possible that Feng Xiaogang will prove him wrong, but having just been disgusted by "The Promise," the level of trust in a big-name director like Yan Li and a blockbuster film is pitifully low.

Originally, Yan Li planned that after the establishment of Yi An Cinemas, he would not necessarily take the lead, but he could try to participate in the investment of commercial blockbusters. However, he has now become more conservative.

Lightspeed's low-cost strategy is relatively more prudent.

Tsk tsk, Yan Li did the math for "The Promise" himself, and the more he calculated, the more disheartened he became. If he were an investor, he would have slept with Chen Hong.

They went directly from the cinema to Zhongtian Century Flower City, where Yan Li and Fan Xiaopang practiced and imitated a scene from "The Promise".

In Yan Li's opinion, the only thing worth praising in the entire film "The Promise" is the passionate scenes of the Hong Kong "Jade Girl" leader.

After it was over, Fan Xiaopang went to take a shower, and Yan Li turned on his computer to check his emails when he suddenly received a phone call.

Yan Li looked at the caller ID with some surprise. It was Wang Wei from Tudou.com. What did he want?
Short of money?
I just invested over 800 million RMB, it hasn't been that long, how could it have been spent so quickly?

After dialing the number, Yan Li listened to Wang Wei's story with a slightly strange expression.

After hanging up the phone, Yan Li opened the Tudou website on his computer and quickly found a short video—

A Murder Caused by a Steamed Bun

Click "Start," and as the video plays, Yan Li's smile grows brighter and brighter.

This netizen named "Brother Hu" is indeed talented. He satirically and scathingly analyzed the plot of "The Promise" from a realistic social perspective. He didn't realize it when he was watching the movie, but now that he sees it, it's clear that everything is caused by that steamed bun.

After Fan Xiaopang finished showering, he saw Yan Li laughing in front of the computer and came over. Yan Li played it for him again, and Fan Xiaopang couldn't help but laugh.

"That's hilarious."

Yan Li explained that the video is currently very popular online, with nearly a million views on Tudou alone, and it has been widely shared.

Fan Xiaopang sensed something was wrong: "It's so popular, won't something bad happen?"

These parodies and even slightly satirical videos have spread so widely, they must have an impact on "The Promise." Would the film's producers be willing to accept that?

"The production company has already sent a notice to Tudou.com, requesting that the video be taken down."

Although this video is now circulating all over the internet, Tudou.com is the original source of its popularity and currently has the most views and the greatest influence, attracting a steady stream of netizens.

Wang Wei, the founder of Tudou.com, was envious of the huge traffic generated by the video and didn't want to take it down, but some of the video editing did involve copyright infringement.

Therefore, I would like to ask Yan Li to step in and see if he can mediate.

"Would Director Chen give you that much face?"

Fan Xiaopang wasn't sure. These big directors were arrogant, especially Director Chen. Under normal circumstances, he might give Yan Li some face, but this video was practically pointing his finger at him and cursing him. Yan Li would have a hard time handling it.

"He can give it or not, it's up to him."

Yan Li had no intention of getting involved in this matter. He thought that "The Promise" was infringing on copyrights, but is there any explicit legal provision against it?

At worst, we can sue them. If we lose, we can take it down. If all else fails, we can let "netizens" upload it and then "contact them for handling," just drag it out.

It's true that you can't do business illegally, but you can't be too honest either; you have to know when to skirt the line.

Everyone on the internet is trying to ride this wave, so wouldn't Tudou.com be foolish to hand over its popularity and traffic to others?

If it were a face-changing ceremony, they could openly sue "The Promise," which would be great advertising. Even if they lost and had to pay compensation, they would have already made back countless times the money from other sources.

Yan Li took out his phone and called Wang Wei, not only suggesting that the app not be taken down, but even taking the initiative to suggest that Tudou.com could sign that Brother Hu.

One of Tudou.com's major businesses is user-generated videos. Are there any creators more famous than Hu Ge now?

Wang Wei was no pushover either. He never intended to take down the videos; he just felt that Yan Li was involved and wanted to resolve the issue more peacefully.

Now, spurred on by Yan Li's encouragement, he decided to go all out and immediately contact Brother Hu, intending to leave the bulk of this traffic to Tudou.com.

Fan Xiaopang watched Yan Li and Wang Wei talk, then sat on his lap and angrily pinched Yan Li's nose.

"You asked me to register an account on Tudou.com and post videos. I thought it was some kind of internet promotion like a blog. Turns out you're a shareholder of Tudou.com."

"This is definitely internet advertising."

Yan Li said confidently, "The United States has a video website called YouTube. Hollywood entertainment companies spend money on it to promote their artists, especially someone like you who makes a living based on his looks. Video media is much better than blogs."

"Isn't Xu Jinglei some kind of blog queen? You're the potato queen."

"What potato queen? It sounds like someone who builds greenhouses."

Fan Xiaopang made a complaint, but then became interested in Tudou.com, sitting in Yan Li's lap and browsing the site.

At present, Tudou.com does not have a particularly large number of users, and the website is relatively rudimentary. Apart from the legitimate and pirated movies, TV series and anime, most of the original videos are quite rough, or even just a short video recorded with a DV camera and then uploaded.

Currently, the most popular video on Tudou.com is the complete series of "Bright Sword".

After Yan Li invested in Tudou.com, Tudou.com, which acquired a batch of high-quality and popular TV dramas, began to actively combat piracy.

At this stage, it's impossible to completely eliminate piracy, including Tudou.com itself, which isn't entirely clean.

Having legitimate copyrights gives you more confidence than having none, and allows you to engage in all sorts of activities.

One of the most crucial aspects is that it can strike at competitors.

Managing things like forwarding, downloading, and resources is too difficult and requires too much effort. Tudou.com mainly targets other video websites. Even if the other party acts like a rogue and engages in various manipulations, it is ultimately suppressed and affected.

While its competitors lagged behind, Tudou was one step ahead. Thanks to this copyright opportunity, Tudou.com, which was already doing well, experienced a small boom, with its user base gradually increasing.

Now, "A Bloodbath Caused by a Steamed Bun" has brought a huge wave of traffic to Tudou (a popular Chinese TV show).

If run well, Tudou.com might become a leader in the early days of video websites.

The internet industry is a winner-takes-all industry. The earlier you take the lead, the greater the benefits, and the less likely you are to be surpassed in the future.

Yan Li was both happy and had a headache.

The faster Tudou.com grows, the faster it burns through its cash. It's uncertain how long that 800 million yuan will last. I estimate that it won't be long before they have to launch their Series A funding round.

For early-stage funding rounds like angel rounds and Series A, where the investment is small but the equity stake is large, it's best to participate if possible.

"The hard times are coming."

Yan Li sighed. A video website and a movie theater chain, each one is burning through money faster than the other.

Fan Xiaopang was confused and didn't quite understand the situation, but he roughly understood that Yan Li needed to invest a lot of money externally, and he probably didn't have much money left personally.

Tsk~
Fan Xiaopang lightly lifted Yan Li's chin with his finger: "Call me 'sister,' and I might consider taking you under my wing."

Yan Li curled his lip: "It's expensive to cover my expenses."

“How expensive can it be?”

"I'm used to spending money lavishly, so I should be given at least tens of thousands of yuan in pocket money every month. Clothes and transportation costs are separate. I also need to go out for meals with friends occasionally, and I have some personal hobbies, blah blah blah."

Yan Li slapped his thigh: "Since you're not bad looking, I'll give you a discount. Here's the deal: 50 a month."

"I can't afford it."

Fan Xiaopang got up and left. 600 million a year, not to mention gold, even a diamond sculpture wouldn't be worth that much.

He'd only taken two steps when Yan Li picked him up and threw him onto the bed. Fan Xiaopang kicked him wildly. "I just took a shower."

"Wash it again, let you try it out first."

...

After that, besides filming and tasting ice cream every day, Yan Li also had to coax Qin Lan.

This young woman had planned to take advantage of Yan Li's attempts to coax her, pretend to make up, and then give Yan Li a hard time. However, Yan Li saw through her plan and turned the tables on her, ruining a set of bedding. It seems that Huo Siyan also noticed this.

Having failed miserably and lost face, Qin Lan was furious and ashamed, and had been avoiding Yan Li for the past few days.

Fortunately, the matter with Wang Ou is more or less behind us. With Yan Li's coaxing and Qin Lan's recovery, everything will be fine.

As mentioned before, Qin Lan is tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She may seem a bit loud at times, but she's actually just a paper tiger. Yan Li can coax her patiently and she'll get through it without a care in the world.

On the surface, he was domineering, confronting Fan Xiaopang head-on and bullying Wang Ou.

But in reality, they tacitly accepted Yan Li's relationship with them, and were even willing to cooperate in filming. Essentially, they were constantly compromising and lowering their bottom line again and again.

Even Qin Lan herself scolded herself for being useless.

But there was no way around it; no matter how much anger and resentment she felt, it would diminish by three-tenths upon seeing Yan Li, and then slowly disappear after being coaxed and pleaded with by this scoundrel.

This is a sin!
And so, the day before New Year's Day arrived, and the annual [Annual Intelligence] was about to be triggered.

On New Year's Eve, Yan Li took the night off from the film crew, refusing all dates, work, and social engagements. He drove alone to Yi'an Garden, locked himself in his office, and prayed for blessings with incense and offerings prepared beforehand, silently waiting for the dawn to arrive.
As soon as midnight struck, Yan Li eagerly opened the system and began to review the triggered annual intelligence reports one by one.

[Annual News Brief 1: How Video Websites Became the "Supreme Rulers" of the Entertainment Industry...]

What do video websites represent for the entertainment industry? Yan Li can glean a lot of information from both personal analysis and other intelligence details.

But this year's annual intelligence report provided him with a more systematic, comprehensive, and thorough introduction to the significance of video websites for the entire entertainment industry.

Yan Li had once thought that it would be great if he could run his own private television station.

These future video website platforms will be even more powerful than today's television stations.

Yan Li had previously paid considerable attention to Tudou.com, but now it seems he should pay even more attention to it.

Yan Li even considered whether he should try to take control of Tudou.com.

However, Yan Li quickly dismissed the idea.

Putting aside his other businesses, the key issue is that video websites are currently in their early stages. If he takes over Tudou.com, and doesn't know how to manage and develop it, it would be interesting if he ruined Tudou.com.

This is no joke. The intelligence report mentioned that during the fiercest early stages of the market competition, there were hundreds of video websites competing at the same time.

Yan Li has an intelligence network, money, and resources, so there's no need for him to get involved now. He should wait until the market stabilizes.

However, it is appropriate to make some advance plans, so that no matter what happens in the future, there will always be a clear direction.

[Annual Report ②: From 2006 to 2016, the prices of online film and television copyrights skyrocketed several hundred times...]

For Yan Li, who had already begun accumulating online copyrights, the future appreciation of online copyrights was within his expectations, but he did not expect the increase to be so rapid.

Of course, most of the sky-high contracts are for new dramas, but older dramas should not be underestimated.

Actual income plus intangible assets, accumulated over time, still constitute a significant fortune for Yan Li.

[Annual News Report 3: Gree is the stock with the highest dividend payout ratio in the Chinese stock market... After 18 years of listing, it has distributed a total of 1252 billion yuan in dividends...]

Yan Li was not surprised at all that stock information appeared in the annual intelligence report, but he did not expect that it would only introduce one stock.

He certainly knew about Gree, and had even bought its stock.

Yan Li opened his computer and checked; Gree's market value yesterday was just over 50 billion.

Intelligence indicates that Gree's peak market value reached over 4000 billion yuan, indicating excellent prospects.

Most importantly, Gree is exceptionally generous with its dividends.

Many listed companies do not pay dividends; shareholders can only profit by cashing out their shares.

Gree's generous dividend payouts are essentially a case of the principal remaining unchanged while the value keeps increasing, with a continuous stream of new money being generated in between.

From a business management perspective, such dividends being more beneficial than business development is not necessarily a good thing, but from the perspective of shareholders and investors, this is definitely a conscientious company.

Yan Li placed this information in the category of "Special Stocks".

These are all the high-quality stocks he has accumulated over time that have yielded significant profits and are worth holding for the long term.

[Annual News Item 1: Director Talent Recommendation, Chen Jiashang, January 6, 1960... Specializes in... Yip Wai-shun... Dante Lam...]

Yan Li almost cursed out loud when he saw this intelligence report.

This doesn't even need a system recommendation. Chen Jiashang was once Stephen Chow's go-to director. Although he couldn't compare to those top Hong Kong directors, he was still considered a famous director.

While Ye Weixin is less famous, he is not unknown. He directed "SPL: Sha Po Lang" and Bona Film Group's "Dragon Tiger Gate" was also directed by him.

In fact, Yan Li is among the top three directors in Hong Kong that he plans to work with.

As for Dante Lam, Yan Li didn't remember much about him.

I searched online and found out that he was associated with Chen Jiashang and had acted in some works, including "Beast Cops" and "Jianghu: The Emergency," neither of which were very popular, so his fame was relatively limited. No wonder he didn't have any impression of him.

Yan Li initially thought the information was somewhat useless, but after reading it again, he discovered some details that he had missed earlier.

The introductions to these directors listed many more of their representative works, with some even including descriptions such as box office hits, widespread acclaim, and pioneering of certain genres.

Yan Li then realized that this talent recommendation was not a recommendation of their present, but rather a recommendation of their "future".

Being a director is not an ordinary job. Very few people achieve success at a young age. Most people spend many years learning and honing their skills in the industry before they have enough ability and experience.

When recommending talent, setting aside the top directors, we need to choose from second- or third-tier directors who have made some progress but have not yet reached the peak of their careers.

However, the only drawback is that, perhaps because Yan Li had been in close contact with Hong Kong that year, all three candidates were Hong Kong directors, with none from the mainland.

[Annual Intelligence 5: Hunyuan Wuji Stance Training, a carefully selected and absorbed essence of stance training from various schools... Diligent practice can strengthen the body, nourish the essence and invigorate the spirit, replenish the kidneys and activate yang, and improve blood circulation and qi...]

Yan Li scratched his head a little. Was this system trying to mold him into a little superman?

Right now, a woman is often only enough to satisfy his cravings, not enough to truly entice him.

If this health-preserving exercise continues, someone as weak as Qin Lan might end up in the hospital one day, which would be quite a sight.

However, Yan Li couldn't let the system down, so if those women couldn't hold on, he'd make a sacrifice and allow them to find outside help...

[Annual Information...]

Yan Li stayed in the office until 2 a.m. before leaving.

He didn't know if it was because of the location of the incense offering or luck, but he felt that the quality of the intelligence this year was slightly lower.

However, since it is an annual intelligence report, even if it is not as powerful as in previous years, it is still full of information, enough for Yan Li to digest and gain many benefits.

...

While Yan Li was still studying the newly acquired annual intelligence, the timeline officially shifted to 2006.

Sina, Sohu, Southern Metropolis Daily, Tianya and other portal websites, media and platforms launched their own reviews of the entertainment industry in 2005.

In the entertainment industry of 2005, the most unforgettable event was "Super Girl," a program that played a significant role in shaping the entertainment industry, the internet, and society as a whole.

With the rise of grassroots culture, Li Yuchun, a girl who defied traditional perceptions, became the most well-known person in 2005, without exception.

In contrast to Li Yuchun, who leans more towards grassroots, a host of celebrity bloggers, such as Han Han and Xu Jinglei, have also risen to fame with the rise of blogs, becoming alternative cultural elites different from traditional mainstream channels.

At the same time, there is another rather special figure, namely Yan Li, who was born into humble circumstances but is more inclined towards the elite.

With his roles in several hit works, his gossip and scandals with many actresses, and his outstanding business acumen, Yan Li's presence in the entertainment industry in 2005 was not insignificant.

His combination of grassroots background and elite status has made him both controversial and admired by many.

Even the Forbes list couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon.

Although Yan Li was not included in the rich list, a so-called top ten richest people born in the 80s was created, and Yan Li was listed among them with a net worth of 1.8 million yuan.

It is worth mentioning that Yan Li is one of the very few self-made young millionaires.

Li Zhaohui, who ranks first, is younger than Yan Li and has assets of over 10 billion yuan. He ranks twenty-sixth and is the richest man in Shanxi Province.

But this guy relied on his father, while Yan Li relied on himself; their achievements are incomparable.

More importantly, Yan Li is in the entertainment industry and has a lot of fame. Although his net worth is not high, he has far outshone this twenty-something-year-old richest man in Shanxi Province.

Many media outlets immediately contacted Yi An or Yan Li themselves after Forbes announced the list of the top ten richest people born in the 80s, asking for their opinions.

Yan Li only answered questions from one familiar reporter and expressed his dissatisfaction with Forbes.

"I don't know where they got their data from, but it's completely inaccurate."

The reporter, used to this line of reasoning, kept quiet and made a fortune, then cooperatively asked, "Are you saying that Forbes' overestimation of assets is bothering you?"

"No, I think they underestimated my wealth and ignored my hard work."

Yan Li was indeed not happy. The investment and acquisition of the cinema chain had not yet been completed, and Forbes made his net worth look so "shabby". Was it trying to sabotage him?

Even if Yan Li's net worth is not less than 1.8 million, he would still exaggerate it.

The reporter's eyes lit up: "Mr. Yan, could you possibly reveal how much your personal assets are?"

"I haven't calculated the exact amount, but 1.8 million is indeed a bit low."

Boasting is one thing, but it's not worth it to bring the tax bureau over with your boasting.

Yan Li did not give a clear answer, but the company's accounts were clear, so even if someone came to investigate later, they could handle it.

At the same time, by using a mix of fact and fiction, knowing only that someone has money but not the exact amount, one can appease partners internally and intimidate and confuse competitors externally.

Yan Li's purpose was for business operations, and incidentally, to show off a little.

But to outsiders, this guy is no ordinary stunner.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Something came up today, will update more tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)