Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Will Mr. Wu Chen attend? (Chapter 635)
The news that Starry Night Pictures and Shanda Literature jointly announced the development of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" has stirred up a huge wave in the already turbulent internet and film and television industry.

If the news of Wu Chen directing and starring in the film ignited the enthusiasm of movie fans and moviegoers;

This seemingly routine news about IP development has precisely struck a nerve with the capital market and industry giants.

Many big names in the internet industry smiled knowingly when they saw this news.

Shenzhen, Tencent headquarters.

Having just finished listening to the report from the QQ Weibo business unit, Ma Huateng, holding his teacup, looked at the news on the screen about the film adaptation of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" and muttered to himself.

"Good strategy, but Shanda Literature is probably still a bit short of listing on NASDAQ, unless..."

Ma Huateng finally shook his head.

To be honest, he does have ideas about the content industry, but unfortunately he can't spare the time right now because there are more important things for Tencent to do.

Moreover, Shanda Literature's content industry is quite valuable, and Tencent cannot afford to use such a large amount of working capital to develop it at present.

"Fine, let's wait a little longer!"

In the film and television industry, the reaction was much more direct.

Wu Chen and Xingchen Pictures' phones kept ringing.

Many production companies and investors wanted to find out the truth about the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" project, hoping to get a share of the profits.

Following Wu Chen's instructions, Xiang Zhu politely declined most of the inquiries, citing that "the project is still in the early stages of preparation and there are no specific plans yet."

However, there were a few calls that Wu Chen had to answer personally.

For example, Han Sanping of China Film Group.

For example, Zhang Lin of Wanda.

"Director Wu, Xingchen's projects this year are just one after another!" Zhang Lin's laughter was hearty on the other end of the phone. "Has Wanda had the honor of participating in the 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' project?"

Wu Chen leaned back on a chair on set, looking at Park Song-il setting up the lighting not far away, and spoke calmly:
"We'll talk about this later."

Mr. Zhang, to be honest, this project is only initiating in the short term, mainly to coincide with Shanda's listing.

I don't plan to direct it myself. The script, director, team—everything is still undecided. It's too early to talk about profit sharing.

He deliberately brought up the "uncertainty" of the project.

Zhang Lin, who was on the other end of the phone, was an extremely shrewd person, and he immediately understood Wu Chen's implied meaning.

This was a reminder to him that the project would have a long timeframe and unknown risks, requiring Wanda to carefully consider it.
"Director Wu, I understand what you mean." Zhang Lin pondered for a moment, then said decisively, "I'll get back to you later."

After hanging up the phone, Wu Chen did not urge him.

He knew in his heart that if "Mojin: The Lost Legend" really needed to bring in another partner, Wanda would undoubtedly be the most suitable choice, considering all the factors.

On the one hand, there was an agreement; on the other hand, Wanda had cinema chains and money, and he needed some assistance from Wanda in the following years.

……

Meanwhile, in Shanghai, at the headquarters of Shanda Interactive Entertainment.

Hou Xiaoqiang and Chen Tianqiao were receiving investment banking teams from Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch in a high-standard conference room.

In the conference room, data and business models on the PPT kept switching, and Hou Xiaoqiang spoke eloquently about Shanda Literature's huge user base, mature payment system, and absolute dominance in the Chinese online literature field.

However, those shrewd people from Wall Street, while maintaining polite smiles, always had a hint of caution and suspicion in their eyes.

Until the PPT turned to the page about "IP derivative value".

"Oh? 'Ghost Blows Out the Light'?" David, the middle-aged white man from Goldman Sachs, immediately showed interest. "I saw the news. The partner is Starry Night Pictures, Mr. Wu Chen's company, right?"

“Yes.” Hou Xiaoqiang nodded immediately, his spirits lifting. “May I ask, will Mr. Wu Chen attend our meeting today?” the Merrill Lynch representative followed up.

"Chairman Wu is currently directing his new film and is very busy, so he couldn't be here today," Chen Tianqiao explained personally.

A barely perceptible hint of disappointment crossed David's face, but he immediately followed up with a more crucial question:
"Mr. Chen, is your company's cooperation with Starry Night Pictures a legally binding long-term strategic partnership, or is it merely an authorization for a single project?"

In the future, will more IPs like "Ghost Blows Out the Light" be entrusted to Mr. Wu Chen's team for film and television adaptations?

This question hits the nail on the head.

Chen Tianqiao and Hou Xiaoqiang exchanged a glance, both seeing a complex emotion in each other's eyes.

All their hard work explaining their business model and user data was far less interesting to these Wall Street elites than the name "Wu Chen".

They finally realized that, in the eyes of these investors, Shanda Literature's "paid reading" model, which they were so proud of, was far less attractive than the tangible and proven success story of "IP film and television adaptation."

However, this also shows that their decision to bring in Wu Chen's Starry Night Pictures as a strategic partner was the right one.

Wu Wenhui mostly listened, his eyes flickered slightly, but he ultimately continued flipping through the documents without making a sound.

"We have a very strong foundation of cooperation with Starry Night Pictures," Chen Tianqiao said calmly.

"Chairman Wu himself is also a major shareholder of Shanda Literature. In the future, we will inevitably have closer and deeper cooperation in the field of IP development."

He did not make any explicit promises, but cleverly used Wu Chen's status as a "shareholder" to give the other party unlimited room for imagination.

But the other party was clearly no ordinary person; he simply smiled and nodded without saying anything more.

As dusk fell, the crew began filming Ning Hao's scenes as the landlord.

The scene takes place in a well-furnished apartment in Shanghai, the home of the male protagonist, Shen Shi'an.

Ning Hao changed into a slightly sloppy set of home clothes, carrying a net bag of fruit, to play the role of a somewhat talkative but kind-hearted landlord.

He rang the doorbell to "visit" his "elite" lawyer tenant, who was so busy he barely had time to breathe.

"Action!"

Wu Chen opened the door, his face still bearing that signature "Shen Shi'an-style" weariness.

"Hey Xiaoshi'an, why do you look even worse than last time I saw you?" Ning Hao said as soon as he entered the room, casually placing some fruit on the table and chattering away.

“You’re so busy every day, like you’re fighting a war. You can never earn enough money, but you have to take care of your health! Come on, Uncle bought you some fruit, have some.”

The two renowned directors, like two real actors, were engaged in a silent exchange in front of the camera.

It was incredibly exciting to watch.

"Sisi, Wu Chen and Ning Hao are so amazing," Shu Chang whispered, leaning on Liu Yifei's shoulder.

"Ok!"

Liu Yifei stared intently and nodded without giving a definite answer.

She could tell that Wu Chen and Ning Hao were both very serious.

"Cut! Perfect! That's a pass!"

"Not bad, you held your own against me in lane." Ning Hao remarked.

Wu Chen said irritably:

"You're only convincing because everyone knows you. Otherwise, people who don't know you would think you're one of the three great film emperors or an Oscar winner. You've fooled them."

"Hahaha"

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.
(End of this chapter)