Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 555 We can't let Disney get away with it too easily.

With the official launch of the euro as a currency for accounting and transfer, although the euro currently exists only in the form of electronic money for accounting and financial transactions, it will take time before it can be used for cash transactions.
However, the formal implementation of the euro not only had a significant impact on the European Union, but also had a huge influence on the international currency trading market. The exchange rates of the currencies of the eurozone countries were locked, and the exchange rate between the currencies of each member state and the euro was irrevocably fixed.

Economically, the introduction of the euro boosted trade and investment within the EU and enhanced economic stability.
Politically, the euro is an important symbol of European integration and has broken the dollar's dominant position in the international currency market, becoming the biggest competitor to the dollar's hegemony!
The Hong Kong Government House, located on the Peak in Central, Hong Kong, was originally the Governor's House of Hong Kong and was renamed Hong Kong Government House at the beginning of the year.

"Mr. Anderson, welcome, welcome."

Mr. Tung, the first governor of Hong Kong after its return to China, was very warm to Aaron.

"Mr. Dong!"

After the two sat down, Mr. Dong had someone bring Aaron a cup of coffee.
"Dawn Group is thriving in Hollywood, virtually unchallenged, dominating the film industry. Mr. Anderson is so young, yet he has achieved such great success."

"That's truly alarming!"

Asia encountered an unprecedented financial crisis in the past two years, with Hong Kong bearing the brunt.
With the stock and property markets declining and the economy sluggish, the Hong Kong government is now planning to vigorously develop the tourism industry to revitalize Hong Kong's economy.

Building a Universal Studios or Disneyland in Hong Kong is one of the strategies currently being formulated by the Hong Kong government!

Shuguang had recently received an invitation from the Hong Kong government to discuss the construction of Universal Studios Hong Kong, and he happened to be in Hong Kong at the time.

Aaron began, "Hong Kong, as Asia's financial center and a bridgehead to mainland China, has now returned to China's embrace."

"With the mainland as our backing, the future economic development of China is undoubtedly limitless!"

Mr. Dong nodded. "As far as I know, Shuguang is heavily investing in its Universal Studios resort business, and Universal Studios Japan in Osaka is also opening this year."

"And Mr. Anderson is also aware of Hong Kong's economy; it not only has a resident population of over 650 million, but it can also radiate influence to Taipei, Macau, and Southeast Asia."

"With the addition of tourists from the mainland, Hong Kong will not lack visitors in the future."

Aaron took a sip of coffee. "Macau, it returned to China this year, right?"

"That's right, it'll be at the end of this year!"

"I'm actually quite optimistic about the Hong Kong market. It's very convenient to travel to Southeast Asia and Taipei, and the tourism industry is already well-developed."

"But, Mr. Dong, you should know that Shuguang is only going to open Universal Studios Japan in Osaka this year. It's a bit too hasty to build a second Universal Studios resort overseas right away."

Hong Kong is indeed a great place, with convenient transportation, a developed economy, and a high proportion of tourism revenue.

However, Hong Kong's market is too small, so it needs to attract mainly tourists from other places. Unfortunately, mainland tourists need to apply for visas, which is too troublesome.

Aaron's second choice for overseas markets is definitely mainland China, which has a huge market. However, mainland China is still relatively poor and cannot support the consumption of Universal Studios Resort!
Mr. Dong did not give up. "Perhaps Mr. Anderson could send someone to Hong Kong to investigate first, so that at least we can see our determination to develop Hong Kong..."

After Aaron left Government House and returned to his villa on the hillside, he discovered that the euro had appreciated and the exchange rate against the dollar had become 1.187.

"Don't worry, there's no problem. This kind of increase is nothing to us!" Aaron wasn't worried at all after receiving Edgar Irving's call. "Let's keep an eye on it."

Aaron then made a special phone call with Tom Williams, president of Universal Studios Resorts.

"I just met with them, and they are indeed very sincere, but I have reservations about the market size of Hong Kong;"

"Besides, Hong Kong already has a large theme park—Ocean Park Hong Kong—but its development seems to be just average."

"However, I also promised to send someone to Hong Kong for an inspection, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Hong Kong government has already been in contact with Disney."

"We could take a look. If the conditions offered by the Hong Kong government are too tempting, building Universal Studios Hong Kong isn't out of the question!"

After finishing his call with Tom Williams, Aaron leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought.

In the future, Hong Kong Disneyland will indeed be operating at a loss for most of the time, and the Hong Kong government has indeed provided very favorable conditions for the construction of Disneyland.

Aaron certainly doesn't want Disney to build Hong Kong Disneyland so easily. In the future, Aaron could adopt a brand licensing model to support the Hong Kong government in building Universal Studios.

Anyway, since there are no Universal Studios parks in Hong Kong that have adopted the brand licensing model yet, Hong Kong can serve as a perfect testing ground!
In the past, both Universal Studios Japan in Osaka and Universal Studios Singapore operated on a licensing model. Universal Studios did not invest in the project itself, but directly earned brand fees and management fees.

That evening, Yang Gongru arrived at the hillside villa and was surprised to learn that the Shanghai World Financial Center had already started construction!

"Oh, you resumed work last year," Aaron chuckled from the sofa. "Did you just get back from Shanghai?"

"Yes, Media Asia Films is going to make another animated film adaptation, and I'm the female lead!"

Yang Gongru was referring to "Chinese Hero". Since Media Asia invested in the comic book adaptation "Young and Dangerous" series, there was also the hugely popular "Storm Riders" last year.
This year, most of the original cast and crew have been brought back to film "Chinese Hero".

“Really? That’s great,” Aaron nodded. “So you’ve left ATV now, right?”

"I've left, but I'll still be filming dramas for ATV. Also, I'm starting to look into acting in dramas in mainland China!"

Aaron was taken aback. "Is it possible for private companies to produce TV dramas in mainland China now?"

Yang Gongru shook her head. "Not yet. It's still under discussion. Chinese television stations will still combine production and broadcasting."

"If a film and television company wants to shoot a TV series, it has to cooperate with a TV station and obtain a 'Radio and Television Program Production and Operation License,' which was called the 'Film and Television Production and Operation License' before October last year."

"Well, I've heard that since the beginning of this year, it has become much easier to obtain a license."

Aaron smiled. It seems that Chinese TV stations are now considering separating production and broadcasting, since the quality of dramas produced by the TV stations' own production departments is just too average!

(End of this chapter)