A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 235 A Showdown!

When Lin Jianlu woke up in the morning, she took a moment to calm herself down before remembering where she was.

Yes, the women around me are all still fast asleep.

She reached out and rubbed the skin to the side, eliciting a soft moan. The touch felt like Brigitte Lin's, and it was indeed her. Still half-asleep, she asked, "Are you getting up?"

Lin Jianlu agreed and crawled out of bed between the two women, which earned her a groan from Aunt Thirteen. In the darkness, at the very edge of the specially made large bed, Liang Yongqi had already kicked off the blanket but was fast asleep.

It really takes a little bit of self-control to extricate oneself from such a scene of cosmetics.

Go and keep exercising.

Boxing.

However, while he was taking a shower, Brigitte Lin was the first to get up. After he finished showering and changing, Leung Wing-ki also got up, wearing a super short, see-through, and cool silk nightgown. She yawned, buried her head in Lin Jianlu's arms, and whimpered, "Honey, I've been so busy lately, I don't want to work!"

Lin Jianlu kissed her ear and laughed, "Then why don't you just quit your job?"

But she immediately became alert, "No! I want to work! I've only just become famous! Hong Gu told me that a person only has a few years to make money in their entire life. Money will come to you like water being poured from a basin. At that time, you can only catch as much as you can. If you dodge it, it will all be gone in an instant, and you probably won't have a second chance in your life. If you miss this opportunity, it will be very difficult to make money again."

She tilted her head slightly, showing the weariness of early morning, yet she spoke incredibly inspiring words.

Yes, that makes a lot of sense.

So Lin Jianlu kissed her again, ruffled her messy short hair, and asked, "What work do you have today?"—He certainly wasn't short of money, and he certainly wasn't short of money to support his woman, but in fact, Lin Jianlu had always encouraged his woman to work hard and earn money. It wasn't that he needed their money, but he felt that only by proving their efforts and talents at work and reaping the rewards would people become more and more confident, and then, because of that confidence, they would become more and more beautiful.

I once saw a saying online that goes something like "red energy nourishes the body," and that's probably what it means!

Leung Wing-ki thought for a moment and said, "ATV has a drama that invited me to have a guest role. It will probably take two days to film, so I definitely have to go. But I've already agreed with Sister Ching-ha that I'll go every morning. This afternoon... I think I have to walk the runway. They offered me HK$400,000, so I agreed. But, sigh, the main thing is that I'm going to Indonesia tomorrow afternoon for a few commercial performances, and the day after tomorrow there's a music festival in Singapore..."

He patted her little bottom, "Hmm, it's gotten more and more perky in the last two years." "Go on! It's better than some people who are idle all day long and have only memorized three hundred words so far!"

Liang Yongqi suddenly burst into laughter, unabashedly mocking the woman who was still fast asleep in bed with her butt sticking up. They were so close that she wasn't afraid of disturbing her sleep or provoking her anger. "She's so lazy. I've seen her sneaking away so many times just so she doesn't have to memorize vocabulary!"

The thirteenth aunt on the bed grumbled, "I hate you all! Get out, get out!"

Lin Qingxia slapped her face as she came out of the bathroom, leaned over the bed, and slapped Rosamund Kwan's bare bottom. "Even Gigi Leung makes fun of you like this, and you can still sleep, sigh..."

Rosamund Kwan snorted and simply pulled the blanket over herself, completely covering herself with it.

In fact, Lin Jianlu herself also had a very busy schedule today.

As long as you have a career and ideas, who can stay busy?

He wanted to see Yang Peipei first in the morning. Wang Zuxian's business in America was growing bigger and bigger, and it seemed that she might not be able to finish her work and come back until May. However, the preparation for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was completed, and the crew had to start filming soon. It was impossible for everyone to wait for her to film in June—and in fact, she might not be able to come back in June either.

Therefore, the actress chosen for the role of Little Dragon Girl needs to be replaced.

Well, Yang Peipei probably wants to persuade Lin Jianlu to replace Wang Zuxian with a Taiwanese girl. Currently, Yang Peipei is interested in Lin Zhiling, and in the past two days, Lin Zhiling's agent Qiu Likuan and others have also been working on Lin Qingxia, trying to get her to whisper in her ear.

However, Lin Jianlu felt that Lin Zhiling's delicate features made her unsuitable for the role of Little Dragon Girl.

Of course, that's secondary. Once a drama is finished and shown to the audience, it's up to the audience to decide whether the casting is appropriate and whether the acting is good or bad. At worst, there will be a lot of negative reviews. But when it comes to choosing who to cast, Lin Jianlu, as an investor, is not so willing to push a girl who has nothing to do with him to the top.

Negative reviews are still reviews, and negative or positive publicity is still publicity, so why should others benefit from it?

It's not like there's no one else to push.

Chen Hong suggested that although Fan Bingbing has a pretty appearance, the role of Xiaolongnu does not require too many expressions. With a little training, Fan Bingbing could play the role well, even if she had fewer expressive features.

Ge Fuhong recommended Zhang Baizhi – she knew that Lin Jianlu had taken a liking to Zhang Baizhi and even planned to push her to star in Zhou Xingchi’s new movie. Under such circumstances, it shouldn’t be a big problem for her to take on the lead role in a Jin Yong drama!

Her looks and appearance are also enough to command attention.

And the age is suitable.

My collaboration with Yang Peipei is a 50/50 partnership. Theoretically, we have equal decision-making power. However, when we signed the contract, there was a specific clause that stipulated that the selection of actors would be based primarily on recommendations from Longxin Film and Television. Although it wasn't the final decision-making power, Yang Peipei had to compromise on most roles.

the reason is simple.

Even before Lin Jianlu took over ATV, Longxin Films' influence on major TV stations in mainland China was something Yang Peipei could only dream of and covet. By simply selling to a certain TV station in Taiwan, even if she cut costs as much as possible, it would be difficult for her to make money. Only by opening up the mainland market and selling first and second round broadcast rights could she make a fortune!
Not to mention that now that Lin Jianlu has acquired ATV, there is another buyer in the market.

She acts to make money, and if she wants to make money, she would never go against Lin Jianlu's wishes to use another actor—let her choose for herself, Fan Bingbing and Zhang Baizhi, one of the two.

They were all seventeen or eighteen years old, incredibly young and beautiful, with stunningly pure looks. A slightly aloof expression would be enough for the role of Little Dragon Girl, even if they weren't particularly outstanding.

After meeting with Yang Peipei, he had to personally meet with the current head of the Wu family of Wing Lung Bank for lunch to chat. It wasn't to persuade them to sell their shares or anything like that. Lin Jianlu was the wealthy one, while the other side was in dire straits and wanted to sell their shares. However, according to Old Cai Zhongxin, the other side also expressed a desire to get closer to the Governor of Hong Kong to see if selling their shares would open up opportunities for investment in mainland China and whether they could get some support.

What kind of help can I possibly offer?

I need to find a supervisor to look after me!
However, how should I put it? Let's just use the tiger's skin as a banner and bluff when necessary. Although Lin Jianlu doesn't acknowledge the price of 16 billion at all, it doesn't stop everyone from sitting down together and raising a glass.

There was even an unexpected guest in the afternoon.

Hmm, unexpected.

…………

"Hello, Chairman Liu!"

"Mr. Lin, thank you for agreeing to see me!"

"You're too kind. We're both from the mainland and now we're in the same industry, so let's chat!"

"Yes, yes, but I still want to thank Mr. Lin! I've heard so much about him, and seeing him in person today, I can confirm that he truly is exceptional! The rumors are absolutely true!"

"Haha, sit down!"

In the afternoon, at the Longhua Investment office, Lin Jianlu welcomed an unexpected guest surnamed Liu, named Liu Changle. He was from the mainland, but it was said that he had immigrated to Hong Kong and had been a veteran media professional for many years.

Of course, these are just the background information.

Importantly, in 1996, he pooled together several small media organizations under his control, including Hong Kong Satellite Television Limited, which he founded, and secured investment and technical support from Murdoch's News Corporation. He also attracted many wealthy investors in Hong Kong, and eventually established his own Phoenix TV.

Yes, he is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Phoenix TV.

It's been almost two years since its establishment, and its business is doing well. However, its overall influence hasn't seen much improvement, mainly in Hong Kong, where TVB is the undisputed leader. Not to mention TVB, even the long-established Asia Television can't compete with it. In Taiwan, the regulations are very strict, and its Phoenix TV signal is directly blocked. As for the mainland, it doesn't need a mainland television license, nor can it obtain one, yet it started broadcasting without reaching an agreement with the authorities. This angered the mainland, which blocked all of Phoenix TV's signals within the limits of technical capabilities.

Although the mainland has not directly warned him because he is considered a mouthpiece, the attitude of rejection is quite obvious. It is said that in the mainland, he can watch satellite signals using those large dish-type receivers, but the relevant departments in the mainland will re-examine his signal every once in a while and then block the band. So he changes the band, and so it is currently a tug-of-war back and forth!

Yes, it's always this kind of tug-of-war with both the mainland and Taiwan.

Now, two years after its founding, Phoenix TV's main audience is actually the Chinese community in Southeast Asia—its highest viewership record is said to be around 400 million television sets!
It can already be considered a relatively influential local power in the television industry!

However, in the last six months, his situation has become somewhat unfavorable.

It has nothing to do with his own management of Phoenix TV; the main pressure comes from his shareholders—another financial crisis, an omnipresent financial crisis!
Many shareholders, large and small, who were persuaded by him to invest in Phoenix TV have faced severe cash flow problems or are on the verge of bankruptcy after the financial crisis hit. Some individuals or companies have even gone bankrupt, and their shares have been frozen as assets.

Therefore, it is said that at the shareholders' meeting within Phoenix TV, the opinions of the shareholders were extremely divided.

The major shareholder, News Corporation, seems to highly regard Liu Changle's management capabilities and is satisfied with Phoenix TV's performance since its inception. Therefore, it is willing to spend money to acquire shares from other shareholders who are willing to sell.

But Liu Changle refused.

News Corporation's 49% stake already made Liu Changle very uneasy. According to information Cai Zhongxin had gathered, he had been hoping to go public as soon as possible, with a major objective being to reduce News Corporation's shareholding through a public offering and thus secure his own safety.

Therefore, it is said that he persuaded News Corporation by arguing that Phoenix TV must be rooted in the Chinese community and must deal with both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and that given the strict censorship of media by both sides of the Strait, it would be detrimental to the development of Phoenix TV if a foreign company like News Corporation continued to expand its shareholding.

However, persuading News Corporation to withdraw will not resolve Phoenix TV's current predicament.

It is said that at the shareholders' meeting, many local Hong Kong shareholders strongly demanded that Phoenix TV be listed in Hong Kong immediately, while a considerable number of others demanded that Liu Changle immediately buy back their shares so that they could get the money to exit, otherwise they would contact News Corporation to vote Liu Changle out.

In short, there are various divisions and internal disharmony.

So two days ago, Liu Changle suddenly contacted ATV, expressing his hope to meet Lin Jianlu. Lin Qingxia then relayed the message to Lin Jianlu, who in turn passed the matter on to Lao Cai of Longhua Investment.

He came over yesterday and talked with Cai Zhongxin for a full two hours. He wanted to bring in Lin Jianlu to take over the shares held by the minority shareholders—but he also wanted to kill two birds with one stone, persuading Lin Jianlu to give up developing Asia Television's satellite channel and instead support his already mature Phoenix TV. Well, the condition was that he could persuade the shareholders to sell their shares, helping Lin Jianlu obtain more than one-third of the equity, forming a three-way balance of power between Lin Jianlu, News Corporation, and himself, Liu Changle.

An idea that would make Lin Jianlu laugh.

wishful thinking!

Of course, I understand his anxieties and can sense some of his impulses, so there's no harm in meeting him.

When I met him today, he seemed quite humble.

Lam Kin-lu owns Asia Television (ATV), and since taking over, he has been very active, especially in planning to establish a satellite TV station. This is no secret in Hong Kong, and it will inevitably lead to overlap, conflict, and competition with Phoenix TV. Of course, a satellite TV station cannot be built at will. ATV's satellite channel is still a long way from the initial planning to its final form and even its debut to compete with Phoenix TV. However, Lam Kin-lu is known in Hong Kong as the "Governor of Hong Kong in Chinese," and judging from his various actions, while the title of Governor of Hong Kong in Chinese may not be entirely true, it doesn't seem entirely fake either. At least Lam Kin-lu has close and tacit ties with the mainland and has a lot of influence there!
Putting everything else aside, since we're all in the same circle, it's not hard to find out with a little investigation that shortly before the Lunar New Year, when Lin Jianlu had just taken over Asia Television, he hired two key figures from the mainland to enter important management positions—one was the deputy director of the mainland's Capital Television, a very high-ranking official, and the other was simply the director of the advertising department of CCTV, who was very famous in the mainland circle!
The fact that these two people came to take up their posts immediately after he took over shows the level of support he received from the mainland. The term "Governor of Hong Kong" sounds ridiculous at first, but after seeing it, it seems to be about 70-80% true!

It is said that just recently, Asia Television submitted an application to operate in mainland China. According to Liu Changle's connections and networks in mainland China, the application has been approved quickly and will be given the green light. Moreover, not only will it be approved, but Asia Television will also obtain the qualification to broadcast satellites in mainland China!

That will immediately make a difference!

When it comes to Chinese-language television stations, who doesn't covet the huge market of 1.2 billion people in mainland China?

Once Asia Television (ATV) is broadcast on satellite and obtains operating qualifications in mainland China, it will immediately rise to the level of a provincial-level television station. At that point, the sheer size of this open market will be enough to leave Phoenix TV far behind—not to mention, judging from the various internal arrangements made by the new owner after taking over ATV, he also attaches great importance to the news channel. It was reported not long ago that he signed an agreement to invest tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars to establish ATV's own satellite news department. This directly clashes with Liu Changle's strategy for developing Phoenix TV!
Drinking tea and having a chat.

Liu Changle brought up that topic again, saying that Phoenix TV was willing to become ATV's satellite channel, and that he, Liu Changle, was willing to follow in Lin Sheng's footsteps. Lin Jianlu laughed and directly refused, saying that Liu Changle was clearly a prominent figure, and that he was not qualified to be ranked ahead of him!
In just over ten minutes, Liu Changle visibly grew more and more nervous.

He was quite a character; seeing that things weren't going well, he decisively changed the subject, suggesting that we should focus on cooperation and use competition as a secondary factor. Lin Jianlu immediately nodded in agreement, saying that this made sense. "I saw a good interview program on Phoenix TV. I think Phoenix TV could focus on humanities as its main development direction, so it wouldn't clash with Asia TV. Everyone would be happy!"
Liu Changle was speechless.

After pondering for a full minute, he had no choice but to reveal his true intentions. He suggested that he take charge of recruiting the company's small and medium-sized shareholders to sell their shares, ensuring that Lin Jianlu would acquire no less than one-third of Phoenix TV's equity, becoming the second-largest shareholder under News Corporation. However, he hoped that Asia Television's satellite TV division would commit to focusing its business primarily on mainland China and abandoning its expansion into Southeast Asia.

Lin Jianlu rejected him again.

Just kidding. I own my own TV station, and I've already paved more than 70% of the way to build a satellite TV station. All I have to do is invest money step by step and gradually cultivate a mature program team. Once that's done, ATV's satellite TV station will be fully formed. And once it's formed, I'm more than 90% confident that it will crush Phoenix TV, which had a difficult start. What's wrong with me that I want to make peace with you?

Do I have to accept your conditions, which in turn restricts my own development?

So, not only did he refuse, but after refusing, Lin Jianlu also stood up, clearly displeased, and said, "I respect you, Chairman Liu, as a successful person in the media industry, and I also feel that you are a fellow mainlander, so we must have common topics. Therefore, I was willing to meet with you to discuss common development. So, Chairman Liu, you came to my door to force me to sign a humiliating treaty? With Phoenix TV, you don't allow ATV to have its own satellite TV station? What kind of person are you? You don't even deserve to be called one!"

Liu Changle stood up, speechless.

Lin Jianlu waved his hand, "Old Cai, see the guest out!"

Liu Changle quickly reached out to stop Cai Zhongxin, then turned to Lin Jianlu and said, "Mr. Lin, please don't be angry. I was presumptuous. I was just grasping at straws in my desperation. Please forgive me!"

Seeing that Lin was ignoring him and about to leave, he suddenly said, "I can persuade News Corporation to sell its shares!"

Ok?
Lin Jianlu suddenly stopped and put on a calm expression. "What do you mean?"

Liu Changle held up three fingers. "Three hundred million Hong Kong dollars. If Mr. Lin is willing to put up three hundred million Hong Kong dollars, I can guarantee to persuade News Corporation to agree to sell its 49% stake. But Mr. Lin, you need to lend me two hundred million Hong Kong dollars to help me acquire the shares held by the other minority shareholders! After the acquisition, I will take 51%, and you will take 49%! We will work together to develop Phoenix TV and control the development direction of the two TV stations, so as to benefit each other as much as possible and avoid excessive business conflicts!"

That's when we got to the real topic.

However, it was somewhat unexpected that News Corp. was willing to sell its shares, and to give them up entirely.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Jianlu replied on the spot, "I want 67%, but I don't want any disagreements between the two companies. Once I invest, I demand that Phoenix TV compete head-on with ATV's satellite channel from the very beginning. Ideally, we should fight each other outright, from news to human interest interviews. As long as it's something Phoenix TV excels at, we should go head-to-head with ATV's satellite channel! And you, Chairman Liu, will always be the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Phoenix TV!"

"Of course, my promise is for five years! If you, Chairman Liu, do well after five years, of course you will continue to do so; if you don't, don't blame me for being impolite!"

He paused, then said, "I won't accept any other approach!"

"Chairman Liu, please go back and think it over carefully, then give me an answer! I'm not in a hurry!"

Liu Changle opened his mouth, then opened it again, and suddenly sighed heavily—Lin Jianlu was definitely not in a hurry. Whether or not his ATV could be transformed into a satellite TV division, it was practically rock solid. At most, it would just incur some losses every year. Not to mention, his satellite TV division was already on the verge of launch, and it was foreseeable that it would definitely be developed within one or two years, because he was not short of money, nor was he short of support from the mainland!

But he wasn't in a hurry; I was!

Although he believed that he had done a good job since the establishment of Phoenix TV, unfortunately, the financial crisis disrupted the company's shareholders.

When it was first established, News Corporation invested capital and provided technical support, holding 49% of the shares, making it the largest shareholder. Liu Changle’s own Asia Limited invested with several small companies and management, holding 16% of the shares. A total of 23 small and medium-sized shareholders in Hong Kong invested capital, holding the remaining 35%.

Of course, it was stipulated from the beginning that Phoenix TV's goal was to complete its listing within five years, that is, before the end of 2001. If it failed to do so, Liu Changle would have to repurchase the shares of all parties at twice the investment amount. Once the listing was completed, his Asia Limited would be given additional shares before the listing, so that the shareholding structure would be adjusted to News Corporation holding 40%, Asia Limited holding 30%, and other shareholders holding 30%.

However, it now appears that News Corp's support for itself may not be so strong, and the combined 35% stake held by other minority shareholders has become a ticking time bomb due to the financial strain caused by the financial crisis.
The problem now is that, for Liu Changle, neither of those two sides are stable and reliable partners anymore—and turning to Lin Jianlu is by no means a good option either. But the problem is, this guy has money!
If he were willing to get involved, firstly, the internal turmoil would be quelled immediately, and secondly, after expelling News Corporation, he would become the major shareholder. Needless to say, Phoenix TV's operating license in mainland China would suddenly be within reach!

However, doing so would inevitably lead to gradual marginalization.

Unless... well, he has too many assets, and he can't possibly do everything himself. Even if we're just talking about professional management, as the person who founded Phoenix TV and a veteran media professional, he is certainly qualified to take over the management of Phoenix TV.

Yes, the worst possible strategy!

The only downside is that the current market environment is just too terrible!
The richest group of people in the past are now the most struggling group – they can't attract any new big spenders!

"Five years?"

He countered with a hint of hope.

Lin Jianlu's attitude immediately softened. He walked back and patted Liu Changle on the shoulder, saying, "If you get it listed by the end of 2003, I agree to give you and your management team 10% of the shares, and I'll give you another five years! As long as your Phoenix TV can continue to compete with ATV, you will always be the chairman of the board of directors of Phoenix TV! Do you understand what I mean?"

Liu Changle was stunned for several seconds, then suddenly looked up with a look of sudden realization!

He wasn't after Phoenix TV, he simply wanted to find a worthy opponent for his own satellite TV station—just like TVB couldn't do without Asia Television, which he owned.
So, what was his purpose in actually attacking himself?
Could it be... that we want to prevent the emergence of a third Chinese-language satellite TV station in the world?
…………

"Hey! Welcome home!"

Too lazy to have dinner with the hesitant Liu Changle, Lin Jianlu made an excuse that he had another dinner engagement that evening, ending his attempt to fool Liu Changle. He then got up and went home. As soon as his car pulled into the villa on the hillside and stopped, he saw several women walking out of the villa.

After getting off the bus, I walked up the steps with my arms outstretched the whole way.

Lin Xilei jumped up on the spot and threw herself into his arms.

Lin Jianlu laughed heartily and caught her.

Well, he, Zhuang Cheng, and Jiang Zhiqiang spent a month or so traveling around the mainland, investigating various data in major cities and conducting on-site research to prepare for the establishment of cinemas in the mainland. It seemed quite tiring, as he looked a bit travel-worn and had lost a little weight.

He put her down and then opened his arms to Chen Hong.

Yes, I gave him a big hug and two big kisses.

She and Lin Xilei arrived around the same time, but not on the same route. She was invited by Brigitte Lin to come and have a friendly competition with Yang Peipei.

In fact, Chen Hong had previously discussed the possibility of casting Fan Bingbing or Cecilia Cheung in the role with Yang Peipei. Yang Peipei, however, was persistent and went to Lin Jianlu to continue the discussion, still trying to promote Lin Zhiling. This clearly made Chen Hong feel disrespected. Although she didn't want to break off relations, she still decided to fly to Hong Kong immediately to continue talking with Yang Peipei. Moreover, she no longer intended to give Ge Fuhong and Yang Peipei any face.

The female lead must be Fan Bingbing.

Ge Fuhong can enjoy all of Lin Jianlu's resources in Hong Kong, which she can't compete with. However, for a TV series like "The Return of the Condor Heroes," which is a collaboration between her Longxin Film and Television and Yang Peipei, she has to promote her people.

Anyway, well, ever since she became Lin Jianlu's woman, although she has been managing more and more things, she has been developing her career mainly in mainland China and the capital. She is actually one of Lin Jianlu's henchmen, and her role is to channel benefits to other areas. Just one commercial performance in mainland China has earned her countless goodwill and connections in the entertainment industry. Even though she has the skills, she has almost never used them outside the industry.

But this time, she called Lin Jianlu early in the morning and acted coquettishly for a full three minutes. For her, acting coquettishly was not uncommon, but she was usually very clever in her approach. She usually did it for trivial matters that were not important. Not only did it not make Lin Jianlu feel embarrassed, but it always made him very happy. This was the first time she had acted coquettishly for the sake of taking the lead in something, and for a full three minutes!
Lin Jianlu was in his car on his way out at the time, and finally relented. So when he met Yang Peipei that morning, he clearly expressed this meaning: You should talk to Chen Hong about this matter. She's the one who decides! What she says is what I say!
In the ensuing duel, Yang Peipei basically had no choice but to back down.

Therefore, Chen Hong's main purpose in coming here was to win over Ge Fuhong, both an ally and a competitor.

Coincidentally, Brigitte Lin also gradually felt that Ge Fuhong was extending too many tentacles around Lin Jianlu, so when Chen Hong made a phone call, she directly invited Chen Hong to stay at the villa on the hillside!

Go ahead and fight!
Honestly, none of them had fewer behind-the-scenes maneuvers than the other, and Lin Jianlu had noticed many of them. He also guessed that there were definitely more that he didn't know about, but he couldn't be bothered to care.

This is different from sleeping together, and it's also different from simply keeping a mistress like Gao Yuanyuan.

This is a shopping mall!

How could they not be allowed to compete and vie for power with each other?

Only those who truly emerge victorious are the right talents. Don't blame anyone if you lose. Just be honest and do what Xu Qing did and find another path to success!

As long as you're careful during the fight and don't side with outsiders, that's fine.

Even if the meat is mushy, it has to stay in the pot!

(End of this chapter)