Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 766: Resisting Capital Invasion
In the conference room, the audition continues...

It was still snowing heavily outside, but for the reporters who were waiting there, today was really worth it.

At 9:30 in the morning, when Huang Xiaoming came out with a briefcase, he was immediately surrounded by reporters.

God have mercy on them. These reporters have been squatting in the Xingchen Building for several days. Apart from Liu Yifei, only Su Chang and Tong Liya were seen coming out with briefcases. On average, only one person came out every two days.

Now seeing Huang Xiaoming coming out with a smile, how could they miss this good opportunity? Everyone rushed forward and asked all kinds of questions.

The reason why Huang Xiaoming is so successful in the domestic entertainment industry is that, in addition to his good character, his emotional intelligence and IQ are naturally impeccable.

From the moment he got the role, he tacitly accepted the responsibility of promoting Gu Wei's new movie, and naturally accepted all interviews from reporters.

In the seven or eight questions that followed, Gu Wei was mentioned in every sentence.

"This is the most expensive film in the history of Chinese-language films, and it is also a positive military-themed film. I am honored to be a part of it. I hope fans and netizens will go to the cinema to support the film when it is released."

Even at the end, Huang Xiaoming did not forget to call on his fans. It can be said that at this moment he has regarded himself as a part of "The Battle of Nantianmen".

After Huang Xiaoming left, the scene of Huang Haibo coming out with a file bag in his hand made the reporters collectively climax...

……

"Boss Wang, you are kidding, right?"

In the office, Gu Wei was a little confused.

After the audition in the morning, Wang Changtian suddenly came over and said he had something to talk to him about, but Ren Guwei couldn't imagine it was this.

"Brother, do you think I'm joking?" Wang Changtian said cheerfully.

Gu Wei had naturally heard some news about Alibaba's plan to acquire Guangxian shares. After all, the circle is so small that the slightest movement would spread immediately.

"It's too sudden. I've never thought about this before." Gu Wei took a sip of tea and shook his head.

But on second thought, choosing to invest in Guangxian would not be a bad thing. But on the other hand, Gu Wei himself runs a film and television company and is currently preparing for the company's IPO. It seems unnecessary to invest in another film and television company now.

Gu Wei, sitting on the sofa, thought about this matter over and over in his mind. It was also because Big Boss Wang suddenly brought it up that he found it difficult to make a judgment for a moment.

Wang Changtian on the other side was no fool either. Seeing Gu Wei's expression, he knew that he was struggling. "Actually, from the perspective of capital, it is best for Guangxian to accept Alibaba's investment. After all, they have abundant resources and are a giant in the Internet field.

But I have known you for so long, and I have seen that you have always been very resistant to Internet companies investing in Xingchen Films, so you have recently been considering whether to accept Alibaba's investment..."

Wang Changtian talked a lot and expressed all his thoughts in front of Gu Wei.

In general, Wang is now undecided. He wants to attract capital into Guangxian, but he is worried that once Internet capital comes in, he will not be able to see the future clearly with his own vision, and there may be trouble later.

"How about this, let me think about it. I'll get back to you in a few days whether it's okay or not. It won't delay your cooperation with Ahri."

After a moment of silence, Gu Wei spoke directly.

In front of Wang Changtian, Gu Wei had some things to say.

Gu Wei has always been disgusted with the invasion of Internet capital into the entertainment industry. This resistance is not only reflected in attitude, but also in actions.

The reason why Gu Wei wanted to compete with Ali for Youku through Tudou was that he didn't want these Internet capitals to arbitrarily control the direction of domestic entertainment, which would eventually result in the audience and netizens being ripped off when watching movies and TV series on video apps.

First it was VIP, then SVIP, and finally when the show was almost over, there was advanced on-demand viewing. In any case, they were trying every way to squeeze every penny out of the audience’s pockets.

In the original time and space, Youku Tudou, Tencent, and LeTV were all like this, especially Youku Tudou, which is controlled by Alibaba. The most exaggerated and ruthless was its exploitation.

Now, after years of planning, Gu Wei has basically achieved the closure of filming, shooting, production, theaters and video websites. He is also secretly stepping up the acquisition of Tudou shares. Once he becomes the largest shareholder, even if Wang Wei wants to join forces with other video website companies to increase charging standards and models, he will have to ask Gu Wei for his consent.

Speaking of domestic video websites charging fees, it started in 2008.

Specifically, in 2008, Excite launched the pay-on-demand brand "Excite", focusing on overseas blockbusters, and cooperated with Hollywood film companies such as Disney, SONY, and FOX to launch an exclusive paid product "Hollywood Theater".

Despite the massive initial publicity, Jidong.com eventually faded out of the video industry because it failed to successfully transform.

In addition, in 2009, 56.com launched a paid video publishing platform "56kankan", where users can upload and price video content, and the platform takes a 10% commission.

However, since the domestic video payment model was not yet mature at that time, "56Kankan" soon disappeared.

Since March 11, seven domestic first-tier video websites including Tencent Video, Youku, and LeTV have jointly established the "Film Network Cinema Distribution Alliance" to innovate the online video business model and try out a pay-on-demand viewing model for individual videos.

However, the fees charged by video websites increased significantly this year, starting in June this year, when iQiyi launched its self-produced drama "Grave Robbers' Chronicles", which successfully ignited the membership payment model of domestic video websites.

Thanks to the popularity of "Grave Robbers' Chronicles", the membership payment model was instantly popularized and promoted in the country.

.........

at the same time.

Zhang Qiang from Ali Pictures is visiting his old boss Han Sanping. The reason he visited Han Sanping is because he was rejected when he contacted Song Ge privately to make an appointment with Gu Wei.

Zhang Qiang felt helpless after being rejected, but he couldn't immediately go to Tai Chi Ma and say, "Boss, the other party doesn't agree or even has a different opinion. Let's talk face to face." Doesn't this make him look too incompetent?

After thinking about it, Zhang Qiang could only go through his old leader's connections. At the very least, he had to ask Han Sanping to ask Gu Wei out for a talk, so that he could have an explanation.

In a mansion in the capital, Han Sanping and Zhang Qiang sat opposite each other, while Han Jianv made tea for them.

Zhang Qiang first chatted about family matters, then asked about Han Jianv's recent situation. When he learned that she was currently writing a script, he didn't take it to heart.

Afterwards, Zhang Qiang went straight to the point and told Han Sanping that Ali Pictures wanted to acquire Xingchen Pictures. He hoped that his old leader could act as a middleman and invite Gu Wei out for a talk, at least to show his attitude.

Otherwise, when Tai Chi Ma asks him what work he has done in the future, he can't say that he didn't even meet him.

Hearing this, Han Sanping took a sip of tea and laughed, "Acquire Xingchen Film and Television Company? Comrade Ma Yun has a good plan."

To be honest, in Han Sanping's opinion, although there are more than 20 listed film and television media companies in the industry, some are large and some are small, such as Huayi, which now has a market value of hundreds of billions, but in terms of profitability, the most profitable is still the unlisted Xingchen Film and Television Company.

Looking around the entire entertainment industry, it is difficult to acquire shares no matter how much capital one has, and Tai Chi Ma even wants to acquire the entire company. Han Sanping really doesn't know how to describe the other party.

Hearing this, Zhang Qiang smiled awkwardly and said, "Isn't this for the sake of the large entertainment industry chain? Mr. Ma has always done business this way, with a bigger picture!"

Han Sanping laughed dryly twice, and said after a while: "If you ask me, I'm afraid you won't be able to complete this task. Think about it, Xingchen Film and Television Company has no shortage of resources, and Gu Wei has no shortage of money. There is no reason to sell the company!"

"I thought so too, but Mr. Ma said that Xingchen Film and Television and Xingchen Ticketing are now the best in the industry. If we can acquire these two companies under Ali, this large entertainment group will be a success!" At this point, Zhang Qiang could only tell the truth.

"It's a good idea, haha." Han Sanping smiled indifferently.

Originally, Han Sanping wanted to give a long analysis, but then he thought it was useless!
Whether the other party buys it or not is none of his business.

However, considering that the other party was his old subordinate, Han Sanping thought for a while and said, "Okay, I'll make a call and see if I can arrange a time with him to meet in the next two days."

"Thank you, old leader. You have helped me a lot." Zhang Qiang was about to cry. God knows how difficult it is to arrange a meeting with Gu Wei. Then, Han Sanping took out his mobile phone and dialed Gu Wei's private number. After the call was connected, he explained his purpose directly.

"Director Han, what's the matter?"

"That's it..."

Han Sanping explained it directly to Gu Wei in front of Zhang Qiang.

After the call, Zhang Qiang expressed his gratitude again. Regardless of whether the acquisition was successful or not, at least he had done his job.

...

On the other side, Gu Wei had just sent Wang Changtian away when he received a call from Han Sanping. After the other party finished speaking, he agreed immediately.

After all, Han Sanping has already stepped forward, so we have to give him face.

After the call was hung up, Gu Wei muttered to himself, "There are so many things to do."

Thinking of this, Gu Wei called Song Ge. When the other party heard that Zhang Qiang had found Han Sanping, he exclaimed, "Oh my God."

"Ali is so persistent that he won't give up until he reaches the Yellow River." At this moment, Song Ge even admired Zhang Qiang a little.

“This group of people have experienced the Internet winter and have grown a small company to a trillion-dollar scale. They are definitely resilient.”

Thinking of this, Gu Wei couldn't help but recall the development trajectory of Ali Pictures in the original time and space.

In the 18 years of the original time and space, Ali Entertainment has gone through 5 years of development, but the organizational structure and core executives have changed frequently.

First, Yu Yongfu, chairman of Ali Pictures, took on the role of CEO in 16, and former CEO Zhang Qiang gradually faded out of Ali.

Then in August 17, Fan Luyuan took over as CEO.

By November 17, Yu Yongfu, who was highly expected, resigned again, and Ali Entertainment Group completely changed to a rotating president system.

In addition to the frequent changes of senior executives in the film industry, Gao Xiaosong, chairman of Ali Music, also resigned after serving for more than a year and gradually faded out of Ali.

The fundamental reason behind these executive changes is that Tai Chi Ma is not satisfied with the achievements made by the entertainment group.

This is indeed the case. Since Alibaba launched Ali Entertainment, it has basically not accomplished anything big.

In 18, it even recorded a loss of to billion in one quarter. Fortunately, Ali had the money to burn, otherwise it would have collapsed long ago if it were an ordinary company.

In Gu Wei's opinion, the reason why Ali Entertainment Group has not been able to develop healthily in the past five years, and the frequent changes of senior executives and serious losses are due to the unclear business model and development strategy, the lack of its own professional talents, and the result of blindly engaging in mergers and acquisitions.

Because the film industry has very high professional requirements for talent, the same script and actors can be shot in two different styles by two different directors.

If the director cuts one version and the producer cuts another version, it may become two movies.

That is why directors like Gu Wei and Zhang Yimou have such a transcendent status in the entertainment industry.

Although Tai Chi Ma is an excellent entrepreneur, Ali Group is also an excellent enterprise.

However, Ali's entertainment business has not been progressing well in the process of development for several years, which also proves that no enterprise is without boundaries and omnipotent.

In the eyes of others, the large-scale invasion of Internet capital such as Ali and Penguin into the film industry has secretly scared them, but in Gu Wei's opinion, the entry of this group of Internet capital is nothing to be afraid of.

"Never mind them, let's meet and talk first." Gu Wei said lightly.

Then he told Song Ge about Wang Changtian's proposal to invest in Guangxian, and Song Ge was also shocked when he heard it.

"My goodness, Ali has a big appetite. He is rich and willful."

"Haha, that's because the light is small."

Although Xingchen Film and Television Company is not listed on the stock market, the estimated valuation given by the industry is over 100 billion yuan. If Gu Wei agrees to Alibaba's acquisition plan, then the other party will need at least tens of billions of funds to become one of the major shareholders.

Even for Alibaba, this amount of money is not a small sum.

"What do you think? Do you want to invest in Guangxian?" After thinking about it, Song Ge asked Gu Wei for his opinion. After all, the other party was the boss.

"I don't know. It happened so suddenly and I have an audition in the afternoon. I don't even have time to think about it carefully." Gu Wei sighed.

"Then wait until we meet Zhang Qiang. Then we can hold an internal meeting and discuss it carefully."

"Well, that's the only thing we can do."

.........

The auditions continued in the afternoon, and after auditioning a number of artists including Deng Chao, Chen Kun, and Lu Yi, it was already evening.

In the villa, as soon as Gu Wei got home, he saw Miss Liu lying on the sofa playing with her mobile phone.

"You're back." Hearing the noise, Miss Liu looked up and saw Gu Wei taking off his coat.

"Well, what are you looking at so happily?" The nanny took the coat from Gu Wei, and Gu Wei went straight to Miss Liu.

"I'm checking the news. It says Xiao Ming passed the audition?"

Seeing Gu Wei coming over, Miss Liu gave up half of the sofa and pulled him over.

"Well, there are also Huang Haibo and Baoqiang. The male actor auditions went pretty smoothly. We'll just have to go through the remaining 100 or so and select a few from them and that's it."

Gu Wei spoke incoherently while eating the fruit fed by Miss Liu.

"Ah, then let's not go to the company after this."

Su Chang didn't come to the villa these days, and Liu Yifei felt a little bored.

"I'm done, but you have to get busy. You have several endorsement events to attend at the end of the year."

It’s near the end of the year, and this is the busiest time for celebrities in the circle. Even though Miss Liu doesn’t endorse many brands, she still can’t escape it.

"I have put the notices and activities together. It will take at most a week to finish. Then we can go out for a walk." Miss Liu blinked her big eyes and looked at Gu Wei with a smile.

"No problem. My wife is the smartest."

"Hehe, of course." Miss Liu said proudly.

.........

(End of this chapter)