How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 265 Practice makes perfect, just do more.

For Elizabeth, 22.22 is a very ordinary urban film, with the only highlights being the all-female cast, the unspoken rules scene in the middle, and the final conflict.

She had naturally heard about the captain's incident, after all, it was a major international event, and it was what she was most curious about.

"Could this movie be a prediction of the future?" Elizabeth wondered.

"You mean the part about the impact of mobile internet on the future of human life?" Wang Yao asked knowingly.

“Of course not, you should know what I’m asking,” Elizabeth said, frowning.

“That is indeed a coincidence. After all, this movie was started half a year ago. It is indeed a tribute to the story from 116 years ago, but I didn’t expect it to happen by chance.” Wang Yao shook his head.

"I can only say that God is very kind to this movie. It's such a low-probability event that it happened to us. I'm sure this movie will do very well at the box office in China," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"It's alright." Wang Yao smiled.

“It would be difficult for this movie to be released overseas, especially at such a sensitive time,” Elizabeth shook her head.

“This movie can bring Ms millions of mobile users and hundreds of millions of potential customers overseas.” Wang Yao also shook his head.

“Oh?” Elizabeth raised an eyebrow slightly. Although there were many product placements of the MS platform in the movie, she didn’t think it could have such a big impact.

Even with all the hype, this movie couldn't possibly attract millions of viewers overseas. If a million people went to see it, the box office would be at least ten million US dollars.

This movie has no plot, no superstars, and it's an obscure Chinese film. How could it possibly achieve such box office success?

"Miss Elizabeth, do you think the lifestyle depicted in the movie twenty years from now is realistic? A mobile phone can handle almost everything," Wang Yao laughed.

“Yes, there are many similar science fiction novels. I can only say that it might happen in the future, but probably not within the next twenty years. For example, the plot of using KT to send red envelopes is impossible to realize in the West because it is difficult to calculate taxes,” Elizabeth said seriously.

This succinctly points out the biggest barrier to online payments.

"But what about online ride-hailing, food delivery group buying, and e-commerce logistics?" Wang Yao asked rhetorically.

Elizabeth paused for a moment, then frowned. She seemed to realize why the early part of the movie was so boring—it was all about promoting these 'imagined' future mobile internet tools.

"Mr. Wang, this movie wasn't made to promote these future mobile internet tools, was it?" Elizabeth blinked.

So this isn't a movie, it's a promotional video for a vision of future mobile internet life!

Tsk, you made dumplings just for a little bit of vinegar, huh?

"The explosive popularity of Apple smartphones this year will drive the entire mobile internet era. I think many Silicon Valley giants will be interested in the effects shown in this movie."

I hope Miss Elizabeth can invite the relevant personnel from e-commerce giant Amazon, group-buying platform Groupon, electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, and ride-hailing company Uber to watch this movie; perhaps they will be interested.

"As long as they are willing to pay for promotion, I can persuade the production company to use all the sponsorship for publicity and distribution. As for whether it can be released, I believe you have the ability to make it happen, after all, this is for the development of Ms." Wang Yao said seriously.

Deng Wendi is, after all, just a pretty face. It's fine for her to make a name for herself in artsy or high-society circles, but she doesn't have much influence in mainstream Western business circles. Elizabeth, on the other hand, is different. Her connections and status are enough to make these Silicon Valley internet giants take her seriously.

Elizabeth smiled with appreciation upon hearing this: "Now I know why Ms was able to be brought back to life by Mr. Wang. She doesn't let go of any possibility, even if it's very slim, right?"

"22" has a high chance of grossing over $2 million in China, potentially surpassing Avatar's $2.1 million in China. We could subtly shift the narrative and promote it in the West as a sci-fi film that surpasses Avatar, using this "piggybacking" tactic to attract attention.
Then, through the discussions about the mobile internet era, we can try to generate buzz beyond the mainstream. With the cooperation of these companies, even without box office success, it will at least generate a very good response in terms of public opinion,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Although it's a bit shameless, I like this staged accident." Elizabeth chuckled.

As the successor to a global media giant, she can naturally judge the potential of an idea and a gimmick. The greater the controversy surrounding a film, the greater the passive benefits for these internet companies.

"22" may not be a good film, but it may have additional value if used as a commercial concept promotional video.

“There’s an old Chinese saying: ‘There were originally no roads in the world, but as more people walk on them, roads are made.’ I call this publicity and promotion plan ‘The Future Has Arrived,’” Wang Yao said with a smile.

"What is Mr. Wang's valuation of the Ms Group?" Elizabeth asked thoughtfully.

"Two billion US dollars, to be comparable to Twitter," Wang Yao pondered.

"Can you persuade Ms. Bartz of Tooth Tiger to invest in Ms?" Elizabeth asked rhetorically.

"I can only say I'll do my best," Wang Yao shook his head.

"Then I can only do my best." Elizabeth nodded in satisfaction.

Elizabeth flew away with the master tapes of the English version of "22".

“She might not be able to persuade those people to sponsor her,” Deng Wendi said, frowning.

"It doesn't matter. We didn't expect to get much box office revenue in Europe and America anyway. The main thing is to test the second princess's attitude towards Ms's development. Without the support of the media group, Ms will be at a disadvantage even if it gets investment from Yahu." Wang Yao shook his head.

Deng Wendi has successfully pushed forward the investment in Ms by Ya Hu. Bartz is too old and has reached the point where all elderly leaders face the situation of being senile and prone to listening to slander.

Fortunately, Deng Wendi was quite eloquent, and coupled with Wang Yao's plan to "make Bartz great again," Bartz readily agreed to invest in and acquire a 20% stake in Ms at a valuation of $2 billion, provided that Ms's user base exceeded 100 million.

If Ms can truly make up for the current predicament of hollowing out the Yahu industry and create additional revenue, then we will continue to invest in the next round until we make Ms the next Alibaba.

In fact, after missing the opportunity to invest in Facebook in 06, YaHu has been looking for a chance to re-enter the market. Originally, it wanted to approach Tumblr, the world's largest microblogging platform, but Ms+MLS, which has both social media and e-commerce ecosystems, is obviously more in line with YaHu's path dependence.

After all, Yahoo's most profitable ventures right now are its investments in two e-commerce companies, and Ms/MLS's core business is also in Asia, allowing it to interact effectively with Alibaba and Yahoo Japan.

"How many users will Huaxia Ms reach this year?" Deng Wendi asked with some curiosity.

"Based on the current user scale and stickiness, it has basically started to have a siphon effect, affecting all other forums in China with social attributes. I estimate that the number of users will exceed 100 million in less than two months. By the way, how is the matter of inviting Wang Zidong to serve as CEO going?" Wang Yao asked.

Although Deng Wendi is the nominal CEO of Ms Group, her role is more of a social one. Previously, Huaxia Ms's business was outsourced to Xingyou and Tianhuo, and it was just a shell. But now that Yahu has been brought in, it will be completely independent.

After careful selection, Wang Yao finally decided to invite Wang Zidong, the founder who was kicked out of Sina, to serve as CEO. Firstly, the father of Sina had enough experience and connections. Secondly, Sina was the main competitor of MS in the future. By employing Wang Zidong, who was "kicked out" back then, he gained a certain advantage in public opinion.

Prince Dong, with his 'revenge' traits, will naturally generate buzz for Ms., allowing him to keep entangled with her until he drains her dry.

"He has already agreed, but he will only join after Ya Hu invests. He's probably worried about not having enough support," Deng Wendi said with a smile.

Wang Zidong wasn't considering Yahu's reputation, but rather Alibaba, which Yahu controlled. He knew that if he were to go to war with Sina, it would be equivalent to facing Baidu at the same time, and he would need a giant of equal standing to back him up.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the ambition to return to the martial arts world.

“Then we can let him get the team up and running first,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

"The CEO you recommended to MLS, Xu Yangtian, is excellent. He's established a foothold in Europe and America in just one month. Last month, including East Asia, his self-operated sales plus commission bonuses totaled over $200,000," Deng Wendi said with a smile. Wang Yao found Xu Yangtian to be the CEO of MLS (Mulan Street International Edition), directly acquiring his company, Xiyin. Xiyin already had a strong presence in Europe and America, having accumulated many B2B channels since 2008 with its cross-border business in the wedding dress category. After taking over MLS's business, they quickly built a logistics system and, leveraging MLS's product recommendation features, quickly gained traction and began to generate profits.

If it weren't for "Sisters Who Make Waves" bringing exposure to MLS in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the development of MLS in East Asia wouldn't even be able to catch up with Europe and America. However, the platform's user base is already close to two million. Once MS is promoted, its growth rate might even be faster than that in China.

The number of users on Mulan Street in China has been stuck at 20 million for a long time, mainly due to the restrictions on online payments for the e-commerce industry. However, Chen Qi has leveraged the synergy between JD.com and Siku, along with Yingluo Hui, to expand the business volume of the luxury goods category several times over. The socialite economy is beginning to take shape, and now the luxury goods section on Mulan Street can provide millions of yuan in commissions every month.

The advantage of Mulan Street and MLS lies in their shared content. The same content can be published on both platforms, and with their massive and dense content output, they are unparalleled in the global e-commerce seeding and content guidance field.

To support cross-border content marketing, Wang Yao acquired several overseas modeling agencies in regions known for their beautiful women, such as Venezuela, Ukraine, and Latvia. He's just waiting to nurture them for another two months until the user base and revenue reach their expectations, at which point he can start discussing financing with YaHu.

After explaining the follow-up plans for Ms to Deng Wendi, Wang Yao returned home at almost 1 a.m. He was startled by a sound coming from behind him as soon as he got out of the car.

"Mr. Wang, what a coincidence!"

Wang Yao turned his head and stared at Yang Mi, who was dressed in a night running outfit in the middle of the night, and was stunned for a moment.

His residence is surrounded by artist dormitories, so he often encounters several of his artists who are particular about their physique and health while jogging at night, such as Zhang Tianai, Yang Ying, Zhang Meng, and Qin Lan.

But Yang Mi is clearly not in this category. She is the company's well-known "pillow princess," let alone going for a night run.

"It's rare to see you out exercising," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Isn't this preparation for competing with 'The Island'? I saw there are quite a few escape scenes in it, and I don't want to mess things up during filming," Yang Mi chuckled.

"Although there are cameras all around and security is available 24 hours a day, it's still a bit dangerous for you to be alone so late. Next time, you can ask someone to come with you so you can keep me company," Wang Yao nodded and gave him a word of advice.

Although this area is a key protected area, it is inevitable that some talented and unusual people will sneak in. After Zhao Liying became popular recently, she even caught a crazy fan who swam across the river the day before yesterday.

"Mmm, Mr. Wang, you must be tired to get off work so late." Yang Mi blinked her big eyes.

"Just say what's on your mind," Wang Yao said with a smile, leaning against the car door.

"Did you receive the text message I sent you?" Yang Mi shrugged and asked with an awkward smile.

Two days ago, she discussed with Tang Yan that they would do their best to win the bid for "The Isolated Island". She sent a text message to Wang Yao to ask for his opinion, but she didn't receive a reply for two days. Today, she couldn't wait any longer, so she waited outside Wang Yao's house to try her luck.

She's a stubborn, action-oriented person.

"Oh, I forgot to reply to you. You and Tang Yan are the first choice. If you've decided, just prepare to join the crew." Wang Yao slapped his forehead. He'd been too busy these past two days and had forgotten about it.

"Really?! That's wonderful! Thank you so much for your recognition, Mr. Wang. Tangtang and I will definitely do our best to play our roles well!" Yang Mi's face lit up with a smile, her surprised tone tinged with a hint of coquetry.

"You've reminded me. From now on, resource applications should be processed through the OA system. That way, you can see my approval directly, saving you from waiting for me in the middle of the night." Wang Yao shook his head with a smile.

"Hehe, I really did come out for a night run." Yang Mi blushed.

“I believe you, but you should think carefully. This movie will have a big impact on your public image, especially your role. It will be difficult for you to maintain the innocent image in the future.” Wang Yao smiled.

"I don't have a persona yet, so I'm not afraid," Yang Mi said with a smile.

"It's good that you don't have a persona. Take your time to figure things out. I'll take you home." Wang Yao opened the car door.

"No need, no need, you should get some rest. I'll just run a few steps back to my dorm." Yang Mi quickly waved her hand, as their dorm was indeed not far away.

"It's just a matter of stepping on the gas, saves me the trouble of worrying about it." Wang Yao waved his hand and got into the driver's seat.

Yang Mi pursed her lips and got into the boss's car, which had been the talk of the company for a long time.

It is said that very few people have ever ridden in it.

Yang Mi comes from a relatively well-off family and has saved some money over the years as an actress, but she is not yet at the level to buy this car.

Although he had ridden in many luxury cars before, he felt inexplicably nervous for the first time. However, not wanting to show his insecurity, he started chatting casually, saying, "Mr. Wang drives so smoothly."

"Practice makes perfect, just practice more and you'll get better," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"I've had my driver's license for almost four years, but I've hardly ever touched a steering wheel. I've been driving to film sets the whole time," Yang Mi sighed.

“If you don’t like driving, it’s more comfortable to ride in a car. Once you reach Class A, the company will provide you with a motorhome,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

"I'm the type who likes driving; I even rode a motorcycle when I was a kid," Yang Mi said with a smile.

"Motorcycles, huh? That's a bit dangerous." Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking, "Pretty wild, huh?"

"Hehe, she likes to seek thrills, but she quieted down after my dad beat her up twice," Yang Mi laughed.

"We've arrived," Wang Yao said.

"So fast." Yang Mi's lips twitched. Although the distance wasn't far, if she had been focused, she could have driven slowly for five minutes.

Wow, it really was a quick drive! We arrived in less than two minutes.

I haven't found an excuse to take these clothes off yet!

Especially when she thought about how she had waited outside Wang Yao's door for more than three hours today, and although she had gotten confirmation for the "Island" project, his businesslike attitude made her feel somewhat frustrated.

It's the middle of the night, and we're all alone together. I'm at least a pretty woman, right?

“Not far away.” Wang Yao turned to look at Yang Mi.

"Good night, Mr. Wang. Take care on your journey." Yang Mi chuckled and opened the car door, but just as she stuck one foot out, she pulled it back and closed the door, staring intently at Wang Yao.

"What's wrong?" Wang Yao asked, startled.

"Mr. Wang, do you think I can play the role well in 'The Isolated Island'?" Yang Mi stared at Wang Yao with her fox-like eyes.

"Your acting skills are quite good, but whether you can perform well or not, nobody can say for sure." Wang Yao shook his head.

"So, do you think my image matches the character?"

Yang Mi pursed her lips and slowly unzipped her coat.

(End of this chapter)