Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 384 After all the twists and turns, it was still you who brought Wanda Cinemas into the Spring Festival season.
"let's start!"

The casting director clapped his hands, signaling the actors to begin changing costumes and auditioning.

The first to appear was Alden Ehrenreich, dressed in a typical North American high school outfit of a T-shirt and jeans, who came up to Gu Bei and Amy Pascal.

As an actor strongly recommended by Spielberg,

After reading it, Gu Bei silently shook his head in his heart.
Alden's appearance is completely unrelated to the name Peter Parker.

On the contrary, he looked like a playboy, which explains why Disney chose him to play the young Solo in the Star Wars spin-off.

That's not the Rogue One movie starring Coco Chiang and Zhen Zidan. Rogue One, after all, grossed $500 million in North America and over $1 billion worldwide, making it a huge hit second only to Captain America: Civil War at the time.

Solo's solo film, on the other hand, had the second-highest production cost in the Star Wars series, yet it had the lowest box office in the series. With a production cost of $2.75 million, it earned less than $5 million at the box office, resulting in a huge loss for Disney.

After Alden left the room,
Gu Bei said directly to Amy, "He's not a good fit for Peter Parker!"

Amy and the casting director put an X on Alden's form.

In the subsequent action scene tests

Alden did manage to salvage some of Gu Bei's goodwill.

Suspended by wires, Alden still managed to smoothly complete several swinging web movements, clearly having put in a lot of effort for the audition.

"Thank you for your cooperation!"

The casting director politely saw Alden off the set.

The next four auditionees performed one by one, but their performances still failed to satisfy Gu Bei and Amy.

"Josh!"

Gu Bei called out to Josh Hutcherson.

Josh looked at Gu Bei with surprise, his heart pounding, thinking he had a chance to land the role.

however,
Gu Bei's next words broke Josh's nerves: "It's a pity that the role of Peter Parker is far from what I expected."

But... will you have any free time in June or July this year?

After a slight pause, Josh immediately replied, "I do, I'm available!"

"Let's keep in touch!"

Gu Bei nodded.

Although they failed to acquire Peter Parker
Josh was somewhat disappointed.

But it seems Gu Bei has another role for him.
For someone who is still growing, the opportunities that a big director like Gu Bei has to come into contact with are definitely much better than what he can get on his own.

After Josh left, Amy asked curiously, "Is Rose Pictures making a new movie again?"

"Ok!"

Gu Bei nodded. "The Hunger Games has been out for almost three years now, it's about time to start adapting it into a movie or TV series."

Amy immediately said, "Sony Pictures is also very interested in The Hunger Games!"

Last summer's Twilight Saga 2 was truly enviable for the Big Six cinemas, leading them to start their own plans for teen movies.

But speaking of the many young adult novels on the market...
Who is most likely to become the next Twilight series?
That must be Gu Bei's Hunger Games series!
Previously, some people may have questioned the risks of having a Chinese-American actress in the lead role, but the box office performance of The Wrong Star last year has dispelled all doubts.

"Can Sony allow me to retain the copyright?"

Gu Bei then posed a soul-searching question.

Amy: "..."

She had nothing to say.

At that moment, Andrew Garfield walked in cautiously from outside the door.

As the last person to audition.
Seeing the previous auditionees leave dejectedly,

He also felt a sense of joy, because it meant his chances were increasing.

When he saw Josh leave in a cheerful mood, his heart sank to the bottom. Could it be that Peter Parker already had someone else in mind?

When Gu Bei saw Andrew, his eyes lit up. Sure enough, the first one is the best!

He now has a mindset quite like that of a typical middle-aged male protagonist in Xu Zheng's films.
I originally thought the outside world was more exciting, but after traveling around, I realized that my wife, who had shared my hardships, was still the best one.

Gu Bei turned to Amy: "How are you feeling?"

Amy noticed Gu Bei's satisfied expression and nodded, "He has a unique quality, a quality that goes against the grain of the world. I think many girls will like him."

Subsequently,

During the action scene testing, Andrew also went all out.
Not only did he complete the regular spider web swinging movements, he also added some some somersaulting movements, making it look more thrilling and exciting.

How did you do that?

Amy asked curiously.

"I liked skateboarding in high school. When I was making the moves, I incorporated some of my skateboarding experience and techniques to achieve what I just did."

Andrew looked at Gu Bei with expectant eyes.

"Not bad!"

Gu Bei nodded.

After discussing it with Amy for a moment, he turned to Andrew and said, "You can start preparing more training plans when we get back. Hopefully, your physical condition will be better than it is now when we film!"

Andrew nodded excitedly.

It's you again after all this time!

But Garfield is indeed the most suitable candidate among the younger generation.

After the casting process was completed,

Gu Bei returned home.
But then he received an unexpected phone call.

"Good evening, Mr. Wang. It should be morning where you are, right?"

Gu Bei and Wang Jianlin first met at the launch event for Linlang Entertainment.

Speaking of which, they had a bet back then about Gu Bei investing in Wanda Cinemas. The agreement was that if Linlang Entertainment became number one within three years, Wang Jianlin would give Gu Bei the opportunity to invest in Wanda Cinemas.

However, now, only one year later,
Gu Bei's Linlang Entertainment became the number one film in the Chinese film market in 2009 with the box office of just over one billion yuan for three films: Perfect Match, The Message, and Bodyguards and Assassins.

This box office revenue is higher than Wanda Cinemas' annual box office revenue of 800 million yuan, and Wanda Cinemas was already the box office champion among cinema chains nationwide last year.

No, I'm in Europe right now.

Wang Jianlin said with a smile, "I just heard some news about Director Gu when I was discussing cooperation here."

So I wanted to ask if you need any help. I know people here in North America who can help you restore your reputation, Mr. Gu.

Offering help in times of need? Gu Bei wasn't surprised that Wang Jianlin had connections here.
After all, Yida has money, and Hollywood is the place where money is chased the fastest.

Many of the movies we know have funding from rather unusual sources.

For example, the original La La Land was produced and distributed by Lionsgate, with most of the funding coming from Hunan TV & Broadcast Intermediary Co., Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Hunan TV. This connection gives the feeling of a dimensional wall breaking down.

Gu Bei smiled and said, "It's no trouble for President Wang to handle such a small matter. It's just that some petty people don't want me to win the award, so they deliberately created this situation."

After a pause, Gu Bei suddenly said, "But since we're on the topic, what are your thoughts on the Spring Festival film season, Mr. Wang?"

Since Wang Jianlin took the initiative to come to us.

Gu Bei naturally wanted to have a good chat with him.

Wang Jianlin was also a little confused by Gu Bei's sudden turn of events: "Isn't the Spring Festival film season a bit too close to the Lunar New Year film season?"

"Therefore, I believe that the Spring Festival film season will inevitably swallow up the New Year's film season in the future!"

Gu Bei knew that real estate developers like Wang Jianlin liked grand narratives.

He deliberately steered the conversation in a broader direction: "I never understood why there was a Lunar New Year film season in China with virtually no holidays."

It wasn't until Linlang Entertainment made a film called "Lost in Thailand" that I understood that the Spring Festival travel rush, the largest human migration, is actually a pre-holiday movie-watching event that occurs when people return to their hometowns for the Spring Festival and find that there are no cinemas.

As cinemas gradually spread to county-level cities across the country,
Mr. Wang wonders whether he would be happier going to the movies with his family during the Chinese New Year, or alone in a big city?

Wang Jianlin thought about it carefully.
Gu Bei's words do make some sense.
He had seen China Film Group's actions before and assumed that China Film Group was up to something again, so he didn't pay much attention.

However, after careful analysis, it was found that the Spring Festival film season does make some sense, and with commercial cinemas expanding into county towns, the Spring Festival film season may indeed swallow up the New Year's film season.

After a pause, Wang Jianlin said with a smile, "Everyone says that Han Sanpin is trying to boost the Spring Festival film season, so he put La La Land on the first day of the Lunar New Year. But I feel like this was Director Gu's idea."

"It's just an attempt."

Gu Bei didn't take credit, and said calmly, "The development of the Chinese film market originally needed more release slots. It would be a waste not to take advantage of such a long holiday as the Spring Festival."

"Since that's the case, Yida Cinemas will play along with you and join the Spring Festival film season!"

Wang Jianlin said this in a rather extravagant tone.

Actually,
Most of Yida Cinemas are located in first- and second-tier cities.

Some cinemas with high box office revenue already stay open during the Lunar New Year; this is just an expansion of that scope.

More importantly,

The biggest beneficiary of the Spring Festival film season is not Yida Cinemas.
It's Yida Shopping Mall!

In the past, cinemas and shopping malls would usually close during the Spring Festival.

Once Yida Cinemas' revenue during the Spring Festival is enough to keep it from closing down...
Some of the shops in Yida Mall will definitely be willing to join forces with Yida Cinemas to capitalize on the surge in customers during the Spring Festival.

Once the Spring Festival sales season becomes large and successful, it will be equivalent to Yida Mall having an extra seven-day holiday sales period, which is also the Spring Festival holiday when people are most willing to spend money and are most generous!
After a pause,

Wang Jianlin also deliberately brought up the bet from back then: "Director Gu, last year, the box office of Linlang Entertainment's three films was higher than that of Yida Cinemas, making it number one in China."

I wonder if Linlang Entertainment would be willing to become a shareholder of Yida Cinemas?

Gu Bei was moved when he heard this.

Yida Cinema Line can be considered the most valuable cinema assets in China.

Gu Bei wanted to invest in Yida Cinema Line for two reasons: first, to prepare for the ticket subsidy war a few years later; and second, so that if Lao Wang suffered a setback in the future, he could swallow Yida Cinema Line whole.

Thanks to Old Wang's son, Principal Xiao Wang, Gu Bei clearly remembered the reason for Old Wang's defeat.

On the surface, it seems to be because Wang Jianlin was greedy.

Discovering that the A-share market had opened up the possibility of real estate companies listing through backdoor listings, they used a performance-based investment scheme to privatize Yida, a company listed in Xiangdu. However, just after the privatization, the backdoor listing opportunity was closed.
Ultimately, they fell into the quagmire of gambling and had to start selling off assets one after another, with Yida Cinema Line being one of them.

But essentially, Lao Wang was on the wrong side, going against the current, and in the end he could only be swept away.

When I think of this,

Gu Bei calmed down considerably.

He simply dodged the question with a nonchalant gesture: "If Yida Cinemas is willing to accept Linlang Entertainment's investment, then of course I am. It's a win-win situation for the number one film production company in China to cooperate with a cinema chain!"

Gu Bei's words emphasized cooperation and mutual benefit.

Playing with capital,
He can't compete with Yida yet.
If Yida is sincere, he is willing to cooperate.

If you're not sincere, then forget it; you can't earn all the money in the world.

“In that case, let’s talk in detail when Director Gu returns to China!” Wang Jianlin sensed Gu Bei’s caution and smiled. “I can also introduce you to my husband.”

China Entertainment Industry Discipline Inspection Commission?

Gu Bei's expression was somewhat subtle.

I wonder if Xiao Wang still retains his childlike innocence?
However, Wang Jianlin couldn't see Gu Bei's expression, and hung up the phone after finishing the conversation.

"If we bring Yida into the Spring Festival film season, we estimate that we can increase our market share by at least 10%!"

After hanging up the phone, Gu Bei began to carefully consider his options.

The cinemas in major cities that originally opened during the Spring Festival, plus China Film Group's eight cinema chains, account for 60% of the market.

Yida accounts for about 15% of the domestic box office revenue. If we remove the part that overlaps with the cinemas that originally opened during the Spring Festival in major cities, we can increase the share of cinemas that opened during the Spring Festival to at least 70%.

This 70% is definitely much less than usual, because many people in big cities have gone home, but it's enough to support a lively Spring Festival film season!

Gu Bei put down his phone and suddenly realized that there were several missed calls from Liu Yifei.

He quickly called back.
Before Liu Yifei could speak,
He shamelessly started by saying, "Honey, you've called so many times just now, do you miss me too much?"

With just one sentence, Gu Bei nearly burned Liu Yifei's brain!

She's not the type of person who would say sweet nothings without restraint.

Instead, she's the kind of person who, even if she's already thinking about finding a chain to keep Gu Bei by her side, will still stubbornly say, "Okay, you go ahead and do your work, goodnight."

Therefore, Gu Bei's words overwhelmed her with information, and she even forgot what she originally wanted to say.

She quickly covered the phone's microphone, glanced warily at her assistant beside her, and figured that the sound leakage from such a distance shouldn't be heard by the assistant.

At last,
She then spat out softly, "What are you talking about! Who were you talking to on the phone just now?"

"Wang Jianlin of Yida, I just persuaded him to let Yida Cinemas join the Spring Festival season. He not only agreed, but also wants me to invest in Yida Cinemas!" Gu Bei answered truthfully, indicating that he was very honest and straightforward.

Stop joking, I'm serious!

Liu Yifei, however, felt that Gu Bei was still teasing her!
Gu Bei: “…”

These days... nobody believes you when you tell the truth!

(End of this chapter)