During my years at China Entertainment

Chapter 676: Ahri's Dominance and Wei Jin's Expectations

As one of the 12 A-level international film festivals in the world, the Shanghai International Film Festival has been ridiculed by domestic filmmakers for being unprofessional, low-class and watered-down.

But it is undeniable that it is indeed the domestic film industry's external signboard and a window for communication.

Compared with the previous Beijing International Film Festival, this year's Shanghai Film Festival is much more luxurious in scale and lineup.

For example, this year's opening film is "Grace of Monaco".

As the leading actress of the film, Nicole Kidman was also the last person to headline the red carpet today.

Including the closing ceremony red carpet, the star-studded event was no less spectacular.

The finale stars have been decided long ago. Not only will there be the renowned Oscar winner Natalie Portman, but also many winners of the three major European film festivals such as Kirsten Dunst will step onto the red carpet and make their debut at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

The crews of well-known Hollywood blockbusters including "Transformers 4" and "War for the Planet of the Apes" will also appear on the red carpet.

Compared to seven or eight years ago, when Wei Jin first attended the Shanghai International Film Festival and looked so poor, he is now completely different.

At that time, there were almost no big-name foreign stars to support the event, and even the participating films were basically from small countries or even unknown works.

Nowadays, not only are there a large number of international movie stars supporting the event, but more than half of the films entering the Golden Goblet Awards are from Europe and the United States.

The rest are all high-quality films from Japan, South Korea and other Southeast Asian regions.

However, in just a few years, it has developed to its current level and scale and has a good influence internationally. In the final analysis, it is because the country is becoming more and more powerful!
Of course, in addition to the lineup, the biggest difference between this film festival and previous ones is the introduction of a large number of Internet companies.

These include several giants, including Ali, Penguin, Baidu, Sohu, etc.

The first trip Wei Jin was going to attend was a summit forum hosted by an Internet company.

It can be seen that with the booming film and television industry, relevant capital is constantly being introduced, hoping to continue to expand the boundaries and capacity of the industry.

All the participants in this conference are well-known film and television companies in the industry, including big directors, producers, and even some foreign companies and filmmakers will also participate.

According to Wei Jin's original intention, he didn't want to join in the fun when Internet companies were showing off.

But since I'm already here and the organizers have warmly invited me, I might as well go and see how these people are fooling people.

After spending a whole morning in Cuihu Tiandi with the mature older sister and enjoying a loving lunch with the beauty, Wei Jin arrived at the meeting site on time.

It has been a long time since I attended such a large-scale industry exchange meeting. Wei Jin was a little uncomfortable when he suddenly saw hundreds of media outlets, densely packed cameras, and a large number of security personnel.

But there is no way. Judging from the list on the organizer's sign-in list, all the participants today are important figures from the Internet and film and television industries.

Almost all the top leaders of state-owned enterprises, such as La Peikang and Ren Zhonglun, were present. The top leaders of leading companies in the industry, such as Wang Zhongjun, Wang Changtian, Yu Dong and Qin Hong, were also absent.

These include second-tier production companies such as Chengtian, Huace, Xinli, Hairun, and Xiaoma, as well as small companies such as Tangren and Kuju in Shanghai.

To put it bluntly, the standard of this meeting was even higher than many of the meetings held by the General Administration.

If something goes wrong, it will be big news.

Under the guidance of the staff, Wei Jin came into the venue, and greetings suddenly rang out one after another.

Miss Sugar Man Cai was also among them, and she made a gesture to him to make a phone call.

Nodding in response all the way, Wei Jin walked towards the second row. The first row, of course, was for the leaders of the competent authorities and the heads of state-owned enterprises.

He did not sit with the directors in the circle today, and was obviously attending in his capacity as the chairman of Shanhe Media.

Today's seating arrangement is pretty good. On Wei Jin's left is Lao Wang from Fiber Optic, and on his right is Lao Wang from Huayi. Finally, there's someone he can chat with.

But maybe it was about "Seattle 2". Even though Wei Jin had explained it to Lao Wang in the morning, the latter was still a little unhappy.

But Wei Jin had no time to pay attention to Lao Wang's emotions, because he arrived late and the official people from the Shanghai International Film Festival had already walked onto the stage and started giving speeches.

After some standard speeches, the host announced the official start of the "New Thinking in Internet Film and Television and Traditional Film and Television Culture - Summit Forum".

The first person invited to speak on stage was Zhang Qiang, the head of the Ali Entertainment Group, who is now the president of Ali Pictures.

Because just this month, China Culture, which was acquired by Ali, was officially renamed Ali Pictures.

Zhang Qiang was originally the vice president of China Film Group, where he was in charge of the planning department, television branch and marketing branch.

Including the previous "New Dream of Red Mansions", it was a "talent show" that he was in charge of.

Even though things were a mess, it's undeniable that this guy still has some ability.

However, Zhang Qiang had only followed Boss Ma for a few months, but he had actually learned Ali's arrogance.

Right from the start, Zhang Qiang gave the film and television industry a warning.

"The traditional film and television industry has exhausted its potential. The production model is outdated, the content is conservative and outdated, the innovation ability is insufficient, the market development is slow, and filmmakers are complacent."

This blunt speech immediately made a large number of film and television companies and filmmakers unable to sit still, and the venue was filled with noise.

However, it must be admitted that people in Internet companies are well versed in the MLM thinking of "creating a crisis, providing methods, and finding a way out."

Soon, Zhang Qiang changed the subject and gave a solution.

"The Internet is the future of the film and television industry. It will inject new vitality into the traditional film and television industry, empower new thinking, and promote its growth and transformation."

Then, the big screen on the stage lit up, and the title of the PPT appeared: "Ali Pictures - Reshaping the Film and Television Industry Plan!"

In just a dozen words, Ahri's dominance and arrogance are fully displayed.

Many people from the film and television industry laughed at the scene, waiting to see how the "clown" on the stage would perform.

But the content of the next page made many people look solemn, because, really, it seemed like there was something!
"Under the Internet thinking - the new direction of the film and television industry: popular IP + fan movies + celebrity directors!"

The next two hours or so will be the time for Alibaba and those Internet companies to perform.

This group of people have repeatedly cited Hollywood Marvel and superhero series as examples, and also used terms such as big data, fan movies, and precision feeding.

At the end of the meeting, they even shouted the slogan "The film industry will no longer be a high-risk industry from now on." This fooled many CEOs and filmmakers in the traditional film and television industry.

But after listening to it, only three words popped up in Wei Jin's mind - make money!

The PPT may seem very sophisticated, but in essence it is to use data to analyze which actor is more popular, which screenwriter's works are more popular, and which director is famous.
Then, by extracting user data, we can accurately control the audience's preferences, such as the type of film and television works they prefer, the frequency of keywords they search online, which stars they like, and what hobbies they have.
Combining all of these together, we can customize and even precisely deliver fan-made movies and TV series, and ultimately create a hodgepodge that fans can pay for.

To give the simplest example: for example, spending a large sum of money to let Wei Jin direct a movie similar to the "Tiny Times" series.

Then the starring lineup selected Jing Tian, ​​Liu Yifei, Yang Mi, Bai Bin, Wu Yifan, Chen Xiao and other super appealing actors.

It is undeniable that if this lineup really exists, fans will be absolutely excited beyond words.

Even Lu Yang and Guo Fan were thinking of taking this approach before, right?

But the Hong Kong entertainment industry had already gotten used to this routine ten years ago. Who the hell is criticizing the cast now?

As for fan movies, the box office of each "Tiny Times" movie is getting worse and worse. Doesn't this speak volumes?

And this is the so-called Internet thinking that is going to subvert the industry. What bullshit!

But it is undeniable that it is easy to be fooled when you first come into contact with these things.

Even Fiber Optic Wang was confused, and after the meeting he pulled Wei Jin aside to ask whether the strategy Ali mentioned was feasible.

“Brother, they are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. We can learn from IP development, but don’t get involved in fan movies and celebrity directors.

Even if these people come in and mess up, they can just walk away and go back to playing on the Internet, but we will have to clean up the mess."

To be honest, the entry of the Internet into the film and television industry is really helpful for the development of IP-related products.

These people are good at analysis and can clearly see the current profit structure of the domestic film market.

Taking Hollywood as an example, its movie box office only accounts for 30% of the total revenue, and the subsequent peripheral development and copyright application account for the bulk of the revenue.

In China, box office revenue accounts for 90% of total revenue.

Of course, this problem can be regarded as a historical legacy. After all, copyright protection is so poor that there is basically no way to talk about peripheral products.

Wei Jin estimated that if this proportion could be reduced to 60% in the future, it would be considered a success!
After the meeting, Wei Jin did not stay at the scene. After greeting people in the circle he was familiar with, he walked towards Miss Cai.

I had already made an appointment to have dinner with Tangren’s friends in the evening and chat about some cooperation matters.

But after chatting with Miss Cai for a few words and walking a short distance from the venue, a voice suddenly came from behind: "Mr. Wei, please wait a moment."

"Ok?"

Wei Jin and Miss Cai stopped and turned around to see Zhang Qiang, who had been sharing on the stage not long ago, walking towards them quickly.

That broad and plump body seemed to be somewhat heat-intolerant in the high temperature of Shanghai in June.

After leaving the air-conditioned room for a while, beads of sweat appeared on Zhang Qiang's bald forehead.

But Wei Jin didn't have time to listen to this man's nonsense, so he asked directly: "Boss Zhang, what's the matter?"

As if he had not expected Wei Jin's attitude to be so cold, Zhang Qiang was stunned for a moment before he smiled and said, "Is it convenient for Mr. Wei now? Why don't we find a place to sit down?"

Wei Jin didn't even look at Miss Cai, he just shook his head and said, "Sorry, I have something else to do later, just tell me what you want to say."

"Then, Mr. Wei, how about tomorrow?" Zhang Qiang seemed quite persistent.

"Sorry, I don't have time tomorrow either."

Seeing that Wei Jin was unmoved, the smile on Zhang Qiang's face faded.

Looking around, he found that competitors such as Baidu and Penguin had not caught up, so he briefly explained:
"Boss Wei, you may have some misunderstandings about Ali. Our people have tried to discuss cooperation with you many times, but were repeatedly turned away."

Wei Jin had a smile on his face, but his words were very repulsive: "Mr. Zhang, you misunderstood. It's not that I misunderstood Ali. It's that Shanhe Media has never had any plans to cooperate with Internet companies."

Hearing this, Zhang Qiang became a little anxious and spoke faster: "Mr. Wei, you may not be short of money, but Ali has channels, resources, and big data."

"Excuse me."

Wei Jin interrupted him directly: "Mr. Zhang, I know everything you said, but so what?"

Miss Cai, who was standing by, seemed to be seeing Wei Jin's domineering look for the first time, and her legs unconsciously came together.

On the other hand, Zhang Qiang on the opposite side had a rather unhappy expression on his face. He had not been in Ali for a long time, but no matter which company he joined, he always had the final say and was arrogant.

Wei Jin's "arrogant" attitude made him extremely uncomfortable. Only then did he really understand what his colleagues in the company had said before, "This person is stubborn and stubborn" meant!
Having just assumed the position of CEO of Ali Pictures, he must achieve some results. As long as he can win a project from Shanhe Media and create a gap, he will be confident that he can swallow it up step by step!

With this in mind, Zhang Qiang continued to try to deceive: "Boss Wei, Shanhe Media is the top in the domestic film and television industry, and we are the leader in the Internet industry.

As long as we cooperate, it will be easy to raise funds, go public, or promote new projects in the future."

Wei Jin was getting a little impatient, raising his arms and crossing them over his chest, with a scrutinizing look in his eyes: “Do I need it?”

"."

These words made Zhang Qiang silent. There was no point in chatting that day!
It can be heard that Wei Jin doesn't think highly of Ali at all. There is absolutely no possibility of cooperation between them in the future, so they are destined to become rivals!

Thinking of this, Zhang Qiang put away his smile and no longer concealed it: "In this case, I wish President Wei and Shanhe Media all the best!
Ali will launch a project within a year, and I hope we don’t collide with them. If we break Shanhe Media’s unbeaten streak, that would not be a good thing.”

At this moment, Ali's dominance over Zhang Qiang was fully displayed.

But Wei Jin was extremely happy, as someone actually came to him to show off!
He was seen leaning forward slightly, his tall figure more than a head taller than Zhang Qiang, giving off a very oppressive feeling.

With a pair of eyes full of gloom and a hint of disdain at the corners of his mouth, he said word by word:
"Mr. Zhang, you are great. I look forward to that day. I also hope that Ali can give me and Shanhe Media enough pressure. After all, it is really lonely to have no opponent, hahahaha."

Miss Cai on the side unconsciously clamped her legs together again, and at this moment she had only one thought:
"This man is so handsome!"

(End of this chapter)