Entering the Chinese entertainment industry is like entering a deep sea

Chapter 722: A Gorgeous Turn

Wen Ziren was more comfortable with the filming of "The Hunger Games 4" than the first three films.

As the day of ringing the bell on Weibo approaches, the filming of "The Hunger Games 4" has been completed halfway.

Li Chen was preparing to leave for New York, and before leaving, the couple couldn't help but show some affection.

Afterwards, the two hugged each other in silence, and they could hear each other's heartbeat.

In the quiet room, Li Chen suddenly said: "Actually, I originally wanted you to star in Teacher Tian's play."

"If this is the case, next year I Am Not Madame Bovary will be sent to Berlin and La La Land will be sent to Cannes."

Liu Yifei closed her eyes and murmured, "Then why did you change your mind?"

Li Chen supported his face with one hand and touched his wife's smooth cheek with the other hand: "What do you think?"

Liu Yifei opened her eyes and thought of the makeup photos Zhang Hanyun had shared on Weibo these days. Suddenly, she understood: "Are you afraid that I will suffer?"

Li Chen nodded slightly: "I don't want to see you get sunburned, or suddenly gain 20 pounds? I can't bear to see you trying to be in the camera in the pigsty? Maybe, not only me, but your fans will also feel bad."

Li Chen's voice suddenly lowered: "Actually, I can't bear to let go."

Liu Yifei was stunned, and after a moment she said softly, "I'm not afraid of hardship."

Li Chen held her tightly in his arms: "But I'm afraid you'll suffer."

The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

"Do you know what I thought of when I first saw the scene in the original novel where Li Xuelian was kneeling in front of the county government and eating cold steamed buns?"

"I thought about you insisting on filming The Return of the Condor Heroes despite having a fever. Mom told me that you vomited when you landed while hanging on the wire."

Liu Yifei rubbed herself in the man's arms and felt so warm, so warm.

Li Chen turned sideways, and the two of them faced each other, nose to nose: "Sissi, I'm your man, and La La Land may allow you to stand on the podium in Cannes in a beautiful dress."

"Pan Jinlian may make you suffer a lot, but in the end she just lets you blow in the cold wind in Berlin with chapped hands and feet. In comparison," Li Chen pondered in silence.

Liu Yifei was touched. She stretched out her hand and pinched her husband's thin cheek, her eyes full of attachment and mischief: "Mr. Li, you are so overbearing! But I forgive you for making the decision for me!"

After that, she raised her arms, which were as white as snow, and wrapped them around her husband's neck. She pressed her whole body against him and whispered softly, "I know that in this world, you and mom will never hurt me."

"Although you are both unreasonable and overbearing sometimes." Liu Yifei smiled and tapped her husband's nose with her fingertips.

Li Chen was in tears and amused. The most unreasonable person in the family had no self-awareness at all.

It turns out that women’s nicknames are all unreasonable.

"But you are my family. Forget it. I won't argue with you."

"Come back as soon as the bell rings."

Li Chen tightened his embrace again: "Don't worry, without you, the city is just a foreign land."

Liu Yifei chuckled: "As expected of a writer, he is so poor!"

-

On the day of the bell ringing, at the Nasdaq site, Li Chen, Cao Guowei and others were surrounded by the media as soon as they appeared.

Li Chen and Cao Guowei both appeared today in well-tailored black suits.

Seeing that Li Chen was slightly better than him in both height and appearance, Cao Guowei angrily said, "You are taking the spotlight today!"

"Who is the boss between us? Don't forget that I have more shares than you, you are just holding them on my behalf!"

Cao Guowei laughed loudly: "Okay, you are so cruel!"

The reporters began to chatter in bird language.

"Mr. Cao, how do you and Mr. Li cooperate?" A white middle-aged female reporter from CNBC asked Cao Guowei with a microphone.

Cao Guowei glanced at Li Chen who was standing next to him without saying a word and smiled, "When Weibo was just starting out, no one was optimistic about it. Only he was willing to invest in it as if he was possessed. Maybe this is fate."

The female reporter asked Li Chen again: "Mr. Li, what about you? Why did you favor a self-media that no one else was optimistic about and that had just been born and could only express itself in 140 words?"

"As far as I know, there were already several self-media outlets like this in your country before Weibo."

At the same time, many people around the world were watching this live broadcast online.

Liu Yifei was naturally no exception, and she watched with great interest.

The proud smile on his face was not concealed at all.

He smiled foolishly and muttered to himself, "As expected, clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. Mr. Li, I am impressed by your handsomeness this time."

Liu Yifei took the hand mirror and looked at herself again. She might be connected to the scene later.

At the bell ringing ceremony, Li Chen was well prepared to answer questions from the media: "I never expected Weibo to be where it is today, and what I was optimistic about was not Weibo, but Cao Guowei himself."

"It turns out that I have always had a good eye for people, whether they are men or women."

Cao Guowei pointed at Li Chen and laughed: "I really can't refute this. Everyone knows who his wife is."

The more than 200 investors at the scene instantly understood the meaning and burst into mocking applause and whistles.

Sina's live broadcast room was flooded with comments like "This wave of dog food is being fed across borders."

Netizens’ enthusiasm is like fire.

"What's it like to have a top celebrity wife? Leo's answer: It's more exciting than shorting US stocks!"

"While other big guys are taking their wives to watch shows, Li Chen is taking Tian Xian to look at financial reports!"

"Leo and his wife occupied the positions of content production and channel distribution respectively, and built the prototype of 'Eastern Time Warner'! From now on, there is only one person at the top of the domestic entertainment industry."

Sina Finance Report
"Weibo is listed on NASDAQ! Rongchen Pictures' Li Chen and Cao Guowei rang the bell together, holding 4.5% of the shares, and their net worth soared by US$5.8 million."

"For the first time, Chinese film and television capital has deeply penetrated Internet giants."

“This morning Eastern Time, Chinese social media platform Weibo (NASDAQ: WB) officially landed on the Nasdaq.”

"The opening price was $21.6, up 17% from the issue price of $27. It is worth noting that in addition to CEO Cao Guowei and other senior executives, Rongchen Pictures founder Li Chen attended the bell ringing ceremony as one of the largest individual shareholders."

"According to the prospectus, Li Chen holds 4.5% of Weibo shares through an offshore company. Based on the opening price, the market value of his holdings is US$5.8 million."

With the listing of Weibo, Li Chen's business empire became increasingly clear.

Bloomberg reportedly called him the capitalist who best understands the traffic code in China's entertainment industry.

Major media outlets have broken down Li Chen's assets that have surfaced, and made a comprehensive estimate that Li Chen's net worth is conservatively estimated to be more than US$32 billion.

This does not include real estate and Liu Yifei's personal property.

Celebrities in the circle avoided Li Chen, the capital tycoon, and directed their firepower at the boss lady Liu Yifei.

Yang Mi was the first to post @刘一菲 on Weibo: Asking my rich bestie to take me flying.

After posting the Weibo post, Yang Mi sighed and said, "Based on my understanding of the senior, the wealth that has surfaced is probably just the tip of the iceberg."

"But even if it's just the tip of the iceberg, for us, it's still a peak that we can only look up to!"

Zeng Jia really wanted to say a few encouraging words to both encourage Yang Mi and cheer herself up.

But after brewing for a long time, just like Yang Mi, it turned into a long sigh.

The media is right, there is only one person above the top stream, and that is Liu Yifei. Tang Yan also posted a blog to tease: In 2004, someone said that the pay was enough to buy ice cream, and in 2014 a rich woman said: You heard it wrong, I was talking about Haagen-Dazs stocks.

Liu Yifei was speechless and could only vent her anger at someone: "I'm rich too!"

Li Chen shrugged: "Of course, you have always worked hard to make money to support our family!"

Liu Yifei was completely defeated and burst into laughter.

Two days later, it was Liu Yifei's turn.

Zhang Yiming called and said that Zijie had completed three rounds of financing and would soon announce it to the public.

Before people in the circle could recover from the mutual commercial praise between Li Chen and Cao Guowei, they were hit hard by Liu Yifei's gorgeous turnaround and received a hundred million points of critical hit.

Sina Finance Report
"Liu Yifei quietly invested in ByteDance's three rounds of financing, spending more than 200 million yuan to lay out the Internet track."

"Sister Fairy" turns into a technology investor, and her forward-looking vision attracts attention in the industry. "

"Recently, reporters learned from several people in the investment circle that film and television star Liu Yifei participated in the C round of financing of Zijie Toutiao (the parent company of Toutiao) in her personal capacity, with an investment amount of over 200 million yuan."

"This is the third time that Liu Yifei has invested in the company after the B round in 2013. His total investment has exceeded 2.3 million, making him one of ByteDance's most important individual investors."

"While most celebrities only invest in restaurants and fashion brands, Liu Yifei dares to bet on technology companies. The valuation of Toutiao in 2014 has now soared to US$5 million."

Compared to the relationship between Milk Tea Sister and Dong Ge a few days ago, Liu Yifei's big move this time shocked people inside and outside the circle.

The husband and wife both turned to investment because they were good at acting. One was a director and the other was an actor, and they suddenly became investors.

The comments under Liu Yifei's Weibo instantly exploded.

"Weren't you studying the script? But you were studying BP!"

"Mi Mi, 'The Self-cultivation of an Investor' is also a script. You are too surprised by what you have seen so little."

"I'm under a lot of pressure right now. I need to discuss with Baby whether I should apply for an MBA!"

"You have to call me Mr. Liu from now on!"

"Internet + entertainment + capital, this is the best era." Ali Zhang Qiang.

Zhou Mu, partner of Sequoia Capital and an investor in Zijie's Series C round, also came to join in the fun: "Welcome Ms. Liu to join the technology investment circle. We can invite you to be an LP speaker at the next roadshow."

It has to be said that Liu Yifei's investment this time is equivalent to a devastating blow to the first-line female stars in the entertainment industry.

Zhang Ziyi was the one who was hit the hardest.

"While I was working so hard to win the Best Actress award, others were already playing the capital game!"

"Can you please pay more attention? Look at what you suggested me to invest in! Real estate! Jewelry! Do I need your advice on these? Don't I understand them myself?"

Zhang Ziyi's business consulting team consisted of three people, and Zhang Ziyi pointed at them and scolded them for half an hour.

After scolding a few people, Zhang Ziyi felt better and said to Wang in leather pants beside her: "What do you think, should I go to the Davos Forum?"

Wang in leather pants adjusted his black glasses frame, smoothed his side-parted hair, and struck a pose that he thought was very sexy: "I won't comment on this, you make your own decision, I only have a say in music!"

Zhang Ziyi sighed inwardly, what a loser!

The same as Zhang Ziyi is Fan Bingbing.

"Her investment of 200 million is nothing! The tax for my movie is..."

Suddenly realizing that he had said something wrong, Fan Bingbing immediately shut up.

Mu Xiaoguang glared at her. How could she say such a thing? She was out of her mind.

A certain Yan Zi also lamented with Huang Long: “We are still too traditional in buying wineries!”

She was the first to become a first-line star, and also the first to be involved in capital, but now she has been overtaken by Liu Yifei.

How could Xiaoyanzi be willing to accept this: "Help me get in touch with Kuaishou!"

"Kuaishou? Zijie's competitor? You don't want to compete with her in short videos, do you? What's the point? Can't we just do our own thing?"

"Stop talking nonsense and listen to me!"

Compared with the resentment of these first-line actresses, there is more envy, jealousy and hatred among those below the first line.

Even Liu Yifei herself could not have imagined that her investment would completely change the survival rules for female stars in the entertainment industry.

On the flight back to Los Angeles, Liu Yifei read the media reports.

What's the meaning of 'female celebrities who will not be invested in in the future'? They are not even 'celebrity'.

Not only that, she also knew that Yang Mi seemed to be stimulated.

Within a month, two companies were established and the registered capital soared from 5 to 1000 million.

There are also media reports that the number of registered artists' affiliated companies has surged within a week.

Liu Yifei feels that things have changed in the domestic entertainment industry.

The completion of Liu Yifei's "The Hunger Games" also means that the largest special effects blockbuster in domestic film history, "Vientiane Island", is about to start a global roadshow.

Whether it is the leading actors Huang Xiaoming, Zhu Yilong, Deng Chao, or the second female lead Reba, they all posted updates on Weibo.

Getting ready to depart for Hollywood.

Li Chen, Liu Yifei and Leonardo are already waiting in Hollywood.

At the same time, the crews of Jiang Wen's "One Step Away", Wu Yusen's "The Crossing" and Zhang Yimou's "Coming Home" are also preparing to leave for Cannes.

Although these three films did not participate in the main competition, Zhang Yimou's non-competitive screening treatment is still unique.

Crystal Wood Estate, Los Angeles
Under the parasol by the swimming pool, Leonardo stared at the electronic version of the original "The Revenant" on his mobile phone, swiping the screen with his fingers impatiently.

Li Chen came over with whiskey, and the sound of ice cubes colliding made Leonardo look up suddenly.

"Lee, the copyright of "The Revenant" has been lying in your drawer for two years! When do you plan to start filming?" Leon seemed a little annoyed.

But think about it, who wouldn’t be annoyed after running with me four times?

Li Chen sat down slowly: "We can't start the filming this year. There are two reasons."

"First, there is not enough snow in Arizona this year, so the actual filming will look like a bad B-grade movie."

"There's one more!" Leon didn't expect that Li Chen had even taken the amount of snowfall into consideration.

Li Chen suddenly laughed: "Wait until 'Vientiane Island' raises your box office appeal even more!"

Leon was depressed. What else does his box office appeal need to improve? Just when he was about to get angry, Liu Yifei came over with a salad. Leonardo immediately changed his aggrieved look.

"Crystal! Your husband left my Oscar in a drawer and let it get moldy!"

Liu Yifei forked a small tomato and stuffed it into Li Chen's mouth and said with a smile: "Don't give me that. You said last year that you would take a two-year break from acting!"

Leonardo's eyes widened: "You're still paying attention to my news! I thought you only had eyes for Li!"

Not far away, the assistant came running over: "Boss, Mr. Yang just called and said that Zhangjiajie Scenic Area is willing to provide the filming location for the second part of "Vientiane Island" for free."

Li Chen and Liu Yifei haven't said anything yet.

Leonardo DiCaprio cried out, "MY GOD... please don't tell me that I have to finish the second part of The Island before filming The Revenant!"

(End of this chapter)