It's reasonable for me to be a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning director and an all-around

Chapter 176 Another grand scheme unfolds! Are we about to run into Boss Jia? A network of interests is spreading rapidly… (Seeking monthly votes)
"The premiere of director Chen Kaige's film 'The Promise' concluded successfully last night at the CPPCC Auditorium."

"Multiple film critics review 'The Promise': An epic chapter in big-budget fantasy cinema!"

"Chen Kaige challenged Lü Rui, saying that 'The Promise' will break 'Taken's' box office record in every aspect and crush 'Hero'..."

"This morning, the Film Bureau released the latest list of approved film and television scripts, and the realistic script 'Dying to Survive' submitted by Ruishijie was successfully approved."

……

With its grand premiere, "The Promise" unsurprisingly became the hottest movie right now, with its popularity comparable to that of "Hero" back in the day.

Chen Kaige didn't rest, and rushed to Guangzhou and Shanghai for a final promotional push.

At the same time, on Ruishijie's side, Lü Rui obtained the filming permit for "Dying to Survive".

"Hey, Director Tong is pretty efficient. He said he would issue the certificates before the end of the month, but I didn't expect it to be issued so quickly."

Seeing her boss unable to hide his smile, secretary Liang Lulu whispered, "Congratulations, Chairman Lü, you have successfully achieved your wish."

Although she didn't know the specifics of the project, she knew that Lü Rui had been working on getting the project approved for several months.

"You personally call these people on the list and ask them to come over tomorrow to discuss cooperation."

Lu Rui took a list from the folder and handed it to his secretary.

Now that the project has been approved, we need to move forward quickly and get it done as soon as possible.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war; some things cannot be delayed, for the longer they are delayed, the more trouble will arise.

"Okay, Chairman Lü." Liang Lulu replied softly, took the list, and went out to make a phone call.

Lü Rui was also busy, spending the whole morning refining the project proposal once again.

The revised project proposal details the shooting plan, expected returns, and risk assessment, with each item precisely specifying the timeline and funding amount.

For example, filming is expected to begin after the Lunar New Year, with a duration of three months.

The expected revenue will be calculated in multiple phases based on box office and copyright sales, while the risk assessment provides specific strategies to address potential policy changes and actor issues, among other things.

In the afternoon, he packed up the project proposal, left Ruishijie, and went to another company.

Tudou.com!
With the official launch and release of projects like "Crossing the Guandong" and "Qin's Moon," offline collaborations are easy to arrange; at worst, they can just partner with television stations in various provinces and cities.

However, online channels at this juncture are inseparable from video websites such as Tudou, PPTV, and PPS.

Instead of waiting for a series to be pirated by a website after it's released, it's better to proactively find a website to cooperate with.

Hou Hongliang's idea was to reach an agreement with these video websites to buy out their licenses.

But Lü Rui felt that it would be better to go all the way and directly acquire shares in a website to establish a strategic partnership.

In this way, if other websites dare to pirate the content, the partner websites will naturally arrange for their legal teams to handle the situation in order to protect their own interests and avoid losses.

Therefore, Tudou.com became the best choice, at least for now.

As for the later stages, troublesome matters such as the property dispute between the founder of Tudou.com and his ex-wife, as Lu Rui recalls, can be put aside for now.

With the "golden finger" of rebirth, many seemingly troublesome problems may turn into opportunities under certain circumstances.

In fact, Ruixing International's business team also discovered that LeTV and Sohu Video had already started their founding.

However, neither of the latter two companies has given Lü Rui a chance to participate. Mr. Jia and Mr. Zhang from Sohu are keeping a close eye on their own businesses, so for the time being, they can only target Tudou.com's first round of financing.

When he arrived at the Tudou.com building, the project manager from Ruixing Group was already waiting there, and even Wang Wei, the founder of Tudou.com, was downstairs to greet him.

Lü Rui is actually not good at this type of business collaboration.

But he knew in his heart that as a director, he didn't need to do everything himself or be an expert in everything; he could just hire professionals to handle it.

Just like the first round of financing for Tudou.com, he ordered the start of the process, and his subordinates followed up on it throughout, so he hardly had to put in any effort.

"Chairman Lü, you've arrived." Project manager Zhou Haoran quickly greeted Lü Rui as he got out of the car.

Wang Wei followed closely behind.

"This is Wang Wei, the founder of Tudou.com," Zhou Haoran introduced.

“Chairman Wang, I’ve long admired your name.” Lü Rui extended his hand.

Seeing this, Wang Wei quickly shook his hand back and responded warmly, "Chairman Lü is the one whose name I have long admired. I have watched all your movies."

Wang Wei, who is only 32 years old this year, is no nobody.

He previously worked at Hughes Satellite, a well-known overseas media group, and rose through the ranks to become the head of Greater China.

Inspired by blogs, he resigned in 2004 and returned to China to found Tudou.com, positioning it as a user-generated video content platform.

Tudou.com was widely regarded as a promising company from the moment it was founded, and it received considerable support during its angel round of financing.

The first round of financing was originally led by IDG Capital.

IDG, a globally renowned investment firm, has offices in more than 30 countries and regions around the world, manages assets exceeding US$10 billion, and has extensive experience in investing in technology, media, telecommunications and other fields.

In addition to the $50 in funding, they also provided Tudou.com with access to global resources, including experience sharing from overseas peers and introductions to industry contacts.

On the other hand, Ruixing International, in addition to the same $50 funding, also included priority cooperation rights for Ruishijie's film and animation projects, as well as official licensed resources for multiple foreign films and TV series.

This is undoubtedly a more attractive condition for Tudou.com, which urgently needs high-quality content to fill its platform.

After carefully comparing the conditions of both parties, Wang Wei chose Ruixing International without hesitation.

And so, today's meeting came about.

The group went upstairs and entered the conference room.

The contract had been drafted in advance, and the terms were clear:

Ruixing International invested $50 to acquire a 30% stake in Tudou.com...

After quickly reviewing the contract and confirming that everything was correct, Lü Rui signed his name in the presence of both parties' lawyers.

The entire process went smoothly and without any problems. After the signing was completed, the $50 was immediately deposited into the Tudou.com account.

For Lü Rui, this investment of less than ten million RMB was nothing; he didn't even blink.

He likes this kind of bottom-fishing investment, but if a few years later, when Tudou.com enters its second or third round of financing and its valuation rises, there won't be such an opportunity.

After signing the contract, the group moved to the meeting room.

The assistant brewed the tea and then left.

Wang Wei picked up his teacup, feigning modesty, and said, "With Director Lü's support, I believe Tudou.com will definitely rise rapidly..."

Lu Rui didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "I know that Tudou.com's current predicament is simply a lack of high-quality content."

Therefore, Ruishijie will prioritize granting copyright licenses to Tudou.com, including official licenses for films such as "Taken" and "I Am Legend"...

As someone who has been reborn, Lü Rui is acutely aware of where the future opportunities lie in the film and television market and video websites.

Why was LeEco able to develop so rapidly in later generations?
Why are video websites still able to maintain their stability even when the founders encounter problems?
It relies on nothing other than copyright!
It's worth mentioning that at present, very few film and television companies value online copyrights, resulting in pitifully low prices.

Some older dramas can be bought for just a few hundred to a thousand yuan per episode, while ordinary dramas can be bought for just tens of thousands of yuan.

Only two currently airing hit dramas, "Bright Sword" and "Lotus Lantern," have managed to sell for over six figures; very few others have.

More importantly, very few platforms are willing to spend money to buy copyrights.

Pirated resources are rampant, and TV stations and production teams are mostly too lazy to investigate. Websites and media players are basically free to use, and no one thinks that "genuine" content is necessary.

But now that Lü Rui has entered the scene, it's time to gradually establish the rules.

He has made up his mind that, going forward, Ruishijie will allocate a special fund to acquire copyrights on a large scale.

Not only new dramas, but also the copyrights of old dramas should be acquired as much as possible.

You see, many people have a sentimental attachment to their favorite shows, and that's why old dramas can be repeatedly rebroadcast by TV stations to make money.

The same principle applies to acquiring online copyrights.

Once 4G and 5G develop and online video becomes mainstream, the copyrights of these TV series will be an inexhaustible goldmine!

In the end, whoever holds the copyright will have the power to decide the narrative.

Lu Rui didn't reveal too much to Wang Wei, only mentioning some things he could, and added, "What Tudou.com needs to do next is cooperate in combating piracy. As soon as we discover other platforms infringing on our copyrights, our legal team will immediately follow up, filing lawsuits where necessary and seeking compensation where appropriate."

Only by cracking down on piracy can legitimate content gain value, and only then can platforms truly profit from content.

Wang Wei's eyes lit up. He had only thought about using Lü Rui's resources to fill the platform, but he didn't expect that the other party had already planned a whole scheme.

He nodded quickly: "Chairman Lü is right! We will definitely cooperate fully!"

The two raised their teacups and clinked them together, treating it as a substitute for wine.

Looking at the young man before her, whose face still held a touch of immaturity yet had already grown into a towering figure in the entertainment industry, Wang Wei couldn't hide her emotions.

He originally thought he had a keen eye for talent, daring to enter the untapped market of video websites early on.

Unexpectedly, Lü Rui's vision was even better than his!
Their emphasis on copyright and their predictions of future trends are almost like having a god's-eye view.

Working with such people will likely lead to a more stable and longer road ahead.

More importantly, Ruishijie is developing rapidly and has a continuous stream of high-quality film and television resources, which is like finding a golden opportunity for Tudou.com, which is in dire need of content.

The two chatted for an entire afternoon, from copyright strategy to technological iterations, and found themselves getting along very well.

In the evening, Wang Wei specially booked a private room at a nearby restaurant, and the group moved to another location to continue their conversation.

After a few rounds of drinks, Wang Wei put down his glass and started talking about the current state of the industry: "Now, in the video website sector, it's not just Tudou that's running."

For example, on Zhang Chaoyang's side, Sohu spun off its video business this year, relying on the traffic base of its portal website, showing considerable ambition.

There's also a company called LeEco, whose boss is Jia Yueting, who also returned from overseas and started "LeEco.com." Although it hasn't made much of a splash yet, I've heard it's aiming for legitimate film and television copyrights, and it's likely to become our competitor in the future.

Lu Rui listened silently, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously as he analyzed the situation in his mind.

Zhang Chaoyang and Sohu Video are doing alright, backed by the traffic pool of Sohu's portal, their foundation is solid, but Zhang's mind is always wavering between various trends, so he may not be able to devote himself wholeheartedly to the video business.

LeEco and Jia Yueting's side are not so simple.

That guy is best at storytelling and setting up operations. He can always leverage the most resources with the least amount of money, and later he was even willing to spend a lot of money in the copyright market.

However, Lü Rui wasn't afraid.

When soldiers come, we will block them; when water comes, we will dam it.

He has already begun to build his copyright network, and Ruishijie's film and television projects are coming in one after another. In addition, with the initial partnership with Tudou, in terms of foundation, it may not be inferior to the newcomers.

If Mr. Jia wants to come and get a piece of the pie, he should first consider whether he has the ability to do so.

"It's more exciting when there are more competitors." Lü Rui raised his wine glass and gestured to Wang Wei. "Competition is what drives us. If we tighten our defenses, no one can shake us."

Wang Wei wholeheartedly agreed with these words, tilted her head back and downed the wine in her glass. The slight unease she felt about the future gradually turned into confidence in Lu Rui's resolute voice.

After the dinner ended, on his way home, Lü Rui couldn't help but think of Boss Jia again.

However, this time the focus wasn't on his methods, but on the people behind him.

He had heard about that person in his previous life from within the circle; that person had considerable influence.

If he hadn't fallen, LeEco wouldn't have collapsed, and projects like Jia Yueting's new energy vehicles might have continued to thrive.

Facing that top-tier expert, Lü Rui knew he was still just a "newbie".

But he wasn't flustered, because the network of interests around him was already huge enough!

The projects of Ruishijie involve the interests of many capitals and institutions, and this network is enough to support him to stand firm in the face of storms.

……

On December 15th, the day "The Promise" was released, Lü Rui personally invited a group of bigwigs into the conference room of Rui Vision.

Han Sanping from China Film Group, Zhang Piming from Xi'an Film Group, and Ren Zhonglun from Shanghai Film Group—all the heads of these state-owned film and television companies were present.

It is worth mentioning that Han Sanping still holds the position of director of the Beijing Film Studio, a position he also contributed to.

In addition, deputy directors from several units, including China Aihua Film & Television (representing the health department), Haishi Film & Television (representing the customs), Golden Shield Film & Television (representing the public security system), and the People's Procuratorate Film & Television Center (representing the Supreme People's Procuratorate), also took their seats in turn.

These are the main production companies behind "Dying to Survive".

Including Ruishijie, there are a total of 9 companies after further breakdown!
The list of producers alone requires the names of nine people, which gives Lü Rui a headache just thinking about it.

However, there's no need to worry about that right now. He plans to wait until the project starts and then find a way to get the heads of various units to go back to their offices and take a break, so they don't come to the set and disturb the filming progress.

After exchanging pleasantries, Lü Rui invited everyone to sit down, then picked up the project proposal and personally introduced the situation: "The investment cost for our project is 2000 million RMB..."

Everyone below was holding a project proposal and carefully reviewing it.

Actually, the core goal of everyone involved in this project was not to make money, but rather to capitalize on its political significance.

A realistic work that focuses on people's livelihood and conveys social care has a positive impact that can be measured far beyond box office revenue.

For this reason, in order to ensure his own interests and say, Lü Rui reserved only 5% of the share for the other 8 companies, totaling 40%.

Ruishijie holds 60% of the controlling stake.

He specifically emphasized: "The returns from this project may not be very high, and additional investment will be needed in public relations and prize-winning efforts. I know this is inconvenient for everyone, so this part of the funding will be borne independently by Ruishijie."

This arrangement is mainly to avoid the risks associated with the loss of state-owned funds.

Just like the crux of China Film Group's repeated failures to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, without investing in public relations funds, it is difficult for the award to fall from the sky.

However, once the money is invested, accounting problems easily arise, leaving the company in a perpetually awkward situation.

To avoid this problem, Lü Rui simply took on 60% of the responsibility, shouldering all the burdens of public relations and award campaigning.

Everyone agreed with this.

For them, the political benefits of this project, if successful, would far exceed what money could buy.

Therefore, everyone turned a blind eye to the details of the arrangements and no one paid much attention to them.

As long as it works, everything is negotiable.

No matter who it is, people tend to be more "kind" and "tolerant" towards successful people.

Han Sanping even chatted with Ren Zhonglun privately: "Why doesn't this kid have any scandals?"

They were even prepared to step in and help Lü Rui when he was under public pressure, doing him a favor.

But Lü Rui is different. Despite his young age and the power he wields as a director, he has never had a single scandal.

When Gu Changwei was a photographer, he had a huge scandal with Zhang Jingchu, which forced Jiang Wenli to form an "anti-triad alliance".

Why is Lu Rui, a bachelor, so focused on his career? He really doesn't seem like a young man...

"Everyone, I've booked a private room at the hotel next door. It's getting late, so let's go grab a bite before heading back."

Lu Rui was unaware of Han Sanping and the others' intentions. After signing the contract, he warmly invited everyone to come and sit down.

At present, there are no rules prohibiting gatherings in later generations, so the group naturally did not refuse.

Lu Rui also called on Hou Hongliang to help him expand his network, so that Hou could smoothly carry out his work when Lu Rui was not in the company in the future.

"General Manager Han, Chairman Ren... Director Liu, Director Jia..."

Inside the private room, Hou Hongliang held a wine glass and toasted people round after round.

When he was at Shandong Film Studio, he hated socializing with his superiors the most because some of them would put on airs, make empty promises, and never keep any of their commitments.

But when he arrived at Ruishijie, every time he went out with Lü Rui for social events, he felt so excited that he trembled all over!
Looking at the connections at this table, how could I compare to them back when I was at Shandong Film Studio?
If you pick any one of them, even the chairman of Shandong Film & Television would have to bow and scrape before him.

But now, he is able to drink and chat with these people, which is truly an honor!
This made him feel even more strongly that coming to Ruishijie was the best decision he ever made in his life!
"Jingle Bell!"

The phone suddenly rang in the private room.

"Excuse me, this is mine." Han Sanping took out his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and walked towards the door while pressing the answer button, preparing to go out and answer it.

But just as he reached the door, the voice on the phone made him suddenly shout:
"What did you say? The reputation of 'The Promise' has collapsed?!"

The laughter in the private room stopped instantly, and everyone turned to look at Han Sanping, their faces filled with undisguised surprise...

(End of this chapter)