Actor: Thank you.

"what?"

Inside the large private room, after hearing Zhang Yuan's words, the old men who had just been slightly delighted once again showed expressions of confusion.

“I said, I hope everyone will join me in not getting involved in this proposal to increase box office revenue sharing,” Zhang Yuan raised his voice and repeated.

"Why?" Even Jiang Zhiqiang took the lead in asking this question, as he himself was puzzled.

Zhang Yuan chuckled and shook his head, then picked up his teacup and took a sip.

This is preparation; there will definitely be a debate going on.

There's a saying: "Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix."

"None of us here, including myself, are actually considered leaders in China's film and television industry today."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions on the faces of the others turned ugly.

Why do you say that?

We're doing great!
Indeed, many Hong Kong filmmakers are still basking in their former glory.

In the 80s, Hong Kong films could gross tens of millions at the box office, while the total annual box office of domestic films might not even reach that of a single Hong Kong film.

But as the saying goes, times have changed.

"Huayi recently went public."

"Everyone must know this very well."

"The market value exceeded 10 billion that day."

"It will become even more valuable as the Chinese film and television industry develops as a whole."

After the bull market of 2015, Huayi's market value reached more than 90 billion, almost reaching 100 billion.

And then... no more.

Zhang Yuan did not intend to hold the shares until the peak.

Even if he sold his 6% stake at the peak, it would only be worth a little over 50 billion yuan on paper.

The actual amount received will be at most 40.

For ordinary people, it's an astronomical figure.

Even for celebrities, this is a huge sum of money, making them top-tier figures in their industry.

But in his eyes... it wasn't enough!
That's far from enough!
This amount of money is barely enough for retirement.

Even outside the realm of actors, and even at the level of film and television companies, this isn't a particularly large number.

It's just so-so.

But it's perfect for speaking now.

"Not all of those 100 billion are yours," muttered the manager of Xingmei.

"of course not."

"What I want to say is that even if Huayi is worth more than 100 billion now, it's really nothing."

These words left everyone speechless.

That's incredibly arrogant of you!

How much are the eight major Hollywood studios worth?

"How much is Disney worth?"

"We are far behind the foreign companies that came first."

Zhang Yuan said slowly, "Especially the box office revenue share."

"Let's not even talk about the early years. They were practically leeching off the production companies just to support the theaters."

He was saying this to these people as well.

After he finished speaking, all the bosses nodded vigorously.

exactly!
Due to their differing stances, they are definitely at odds with mainland cinemas.

In reality, without cultivating the market, supporting cinema chains, and expanding the overall scale, no one will make a profit.

In fact, film producers and theaters are not adversaries, but should cooperate.

Even in the internet age, we should immediately band together for mutual support!
But no one sees the terror of the internet behemoths; their focus is limited to their own industry.

"Yes, Zhang Weiping has indeed increased the profit sharing ratio a lot over the years, and we all benefit from it."

"But he keeps doing this, making a big fuss every year or two, and a small fuss every year."

"The cinemas have actually been dissatisfied with him for a long time."

"If it weren't for the fact that director Zhang Yimou's works are indeed of high quality and theaters can't do without them, why would they tolerate it again and again?"

"But even the best patience has its limits."

"If Zhang Yimou's works are not as good or as profitable one day, this limit will immediately appear."

"Mr. Jiang, as an investor and producer, you should have already seen the edited version of the new film 'A Simple Noodle Story,' right?" Zhang Yuan looked at Jiang Zhiqiang.

What did you think of the film?

"It's an unconventional work, completely different from Director Zhang's previous films."

"Many elements of Northern Chinese comedy have been incorporated."

"Especially Zhao Benshan and Xiao Shenyang both have appearances."

"Xiao Shenyang is very popular right now, and I think he'll be a big hit," Jiang Zhiqiang said, offering his opinion.

“President Jiang, you said this film will be a hit, but you only mentioned the actors’ success, not the film’s content.” Zhang Yuan pointed out the problem in his words directly.

"I'd like to ask you all a question: Do you eat dumplings during Chinese New Year?"

"I'll eat wonton noodles at most."

"We're not used to eating dumplings."

I still prefer eating.

"Yes, that's the problem!" Zhang Yuan clapped his hands.

Hong Kong people do eat dumplings, otherwise Wanchai Ferry wouldn't have become a listed company.

However, Wanchai Ferry dumplings were originally northern dumplings, but they were modified after they came to the south.

People in Hong Kong love to eat, such as double-portion rice, char siu rice, fried rice, and the once very popular tofu and braised pork rice.

However, in the north, people in many areas mainly eat flatbread, steamed buns, and mantou (steamed bread).

China is so vast!
From south to north, a completely different system of food, culture, and even language has been formed.

"Xiao Shenyang is very popular."

"But he is a comedian with northern and northeastern characteristics."

"Not to mention him, I also really like his master, and we're quite familiar with him. We have a very good relationship with Teacher Zhao."

"His comedies were not popular in the South either."

"I have evidence for this, because Teacher Zhao's previous TV series, such as 'Country Love,' 'Ma Dashuai,' and 'Liu Laogen,' had very poor ratings on television stations in the southern region."

"Completely opposite to the ratings of Northern Television."

"This phenomenon exists in all industries."

"Guo Degang is popular in the north, while Zhou Libo is making a name for himself in the south."

"Toyota and Honda sell well in the south."

"But in the north, German cars sell better."

In fact, a large part of the credit for Stephen Chow's movies being able to "sweet" the whole country goes to the voice actors from mainland China, led by Shi Banyu.

Their "secondary creations" have given the works a very wide potential for dissemination.

Even today, if you go to any of Stephen Chow's movies and look at the comments and bullet screens, you'll find them everywhere.

People will still leave comments like "It's boring," "Watch the Cantonese version if you want to watch it," and "It doesn't taste right" under the dubbed version.

It even became a topic similar to the debate over whether zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) should be sweet or savory.

Disagreements are everywhere.

"President Jiang, I'm not cursing this show, or I don't think much of the actors."

"Whether you are Teacher Zhao or Director Zhang, you are all my friends. I did not mean to offend you."

"But I have reservations about whether this drama will be 'unsuited to the local conditions' in the south."

In fact, it's not just the southern climate that causes them to experience acclimatization problems...

"Moreover, I also learned from other sources that this film crew seems to have been quite turbulent."

"Therefore, I think the chances of Zhang Weiping succeeding in using this film as an excuse to get theaters to increase their revenue share are slim."

Mr. Jiang frowned, seemingly lost in thought.

He was quite familiar with Zhang Yuan and knew that the kid wouldn't talk nonsense.

He knew about what he was talking about, but he was always overshadowed by Zhang Yimou's name and felt that as long as he had that name, there would be no problem.

Now, he gets a little annoyed whenever the other person brings it up.

Because Zhang Yuan's judgments are usually quite accurate.

"Knowing that a stock will fall, would people still buy it?"

"Knowing that a building is haunted, would people still buy it?"

"The same thing is happening now."

"I don't think the chances of success are high."

“Next, Zhang Weiping will invite Bona, Huayi Brothers, Enlight Media, and other companies to participate.” “That would be great, if everyone participates, it wouldn’t be good if we didn’t,” Huang Baiming said with a smile.

"But he will personally invite those companies."

"But they only called me and asked me to inform everyone."

"They didn't even invite me to a meal, nor did they mention how we would share the profits if we succeeded."

"He specifically arranged for those companies to speak with him individually."

After Zhang Yuan said that, everyone fell silent, and their expressions turned grim.

We don't care about saving face!
His meaning was clear: they didn't really take us seriously.

Because Bona Film Group's Yu Dong is backed by China Film Group and Poly Group, which has its own cinema chain.

Huayi has just gone public, and it has a strong team and plenty of money.

Light has a strong presence in the media field and can provide significant media support.

What about us?
Far to the south, their forces were scattered.

We can't just follow the Shaolin, Wudang, and Emei sects to Bright Summit.

Zhang Wuji waved his hand, and the others blocked it with their internal force. Wouldn't that mean the destruction of our entire family?
Although Zhang Yuan didn't think so, Zhang Weiping felt that they were the Hai Sha faction.

Even if you conquer Bright Peak, it's considered a sign of conscience from all the major sects if they can at least give you a sip of soup when it comes to profit sharing.

In reality, they'll at most let you smell the aroma, and might even treat you like a trophy to be divided up.

This event is also recorded when China, as a victorious nation, participated in the Paris Peace Conference.

Conversely, while Zhang Yuan and his Hong Kong friends might not significantly enhance their strength, they certainly boosted their popularity.

But if we don't participate, or even stir up trouble and cause damage, we will actually benefit more.

That's exactly what India does; it constantly stirs up trouble in major international organizations.

If you don't give me enough benefits, I'll sabotage you so that you'll have no choice but to try to win me over.

So Zhang Yuan's plan is...

Zhang Weiping didn't take me seriously, and even spoke in a condescending manner.

Even if I joined him, I'd only be a lackey, which wouldn't be interesting.

But if I don't join, the theaters are afraid I'll join them, so they'll have to offer us benefits to keep us in check.

This is reverse thinking.

The advantage of doing this is that it guarantees a stable harvest regardless of drought or flood.

The downside is that it offends competitors.

But the so-called "offending colleagues" is a false proposition!

People in the same industry aren't a monolithic entity; they're bound to sabotage each other.

After hearing his words, the Hong Kong business owners perked up.

You know what, you really have to believe it... this kid's got a trick up his sleeve!

That's the truth.

Moreover, it can jump back and forth repeatedly.

"Instead of following Zhang Weiping as his underling, let's form our own faction."

"A single finger is easy to break, but when you make a fist with all five fingers, others will be on guard."

"And I think that if we want to increase the revenue share, we have to do it."

"Only when the film industries on both sides of the strait are strong enough can we take the lead and reap the greatest benefits."

These are Zhang Yuan's honest thoughts.

Either don't do it at all, or be the "big fish in the small pond".

But these Hong Kong folks only thought he was singing a celebratory song.

"Also, don't forget that besides everyone else, we have two other shareholders in our company."

Zhang Yuan raised two fingers.

"China Film Group and Huaxia Film also hold a significant number of shares."

"So I called both Mr. Han and Mr. Yang."

"Their attitude on this matter is that it's up to me."

As the saying goes, not explicitly agreeing is tantamount to disagreeing.

Not explicitly objecting is tantamount to agreeing.

Giving an ambiguous attitude means that they don't really support it.

Because both of these companies both love and hate Zhang Weiping.

It's a good thing that Zhang Yimou can carry the box office, but Mr. Zhang is such a troublesome person, always causing trouble.

"I think China Film Group and Huaxia Film Distribution mean that they don't want to make things worse."

"Because China's box office has grown rapidly in the last two years."

"They fear that complete confrontation would disrupt the upward momentum."

I'm just afraid that if things blow up completely, I'll end up taking the blame.

“If we don’t participate, it can serve as a safety net.”

"It's convenient to cooperate with the higher-ups and act as a peacemaker when there's no other choice."

Zhang Yuan analyzed the situation with them from the perspectives of reason, emotion, and interests.

In fact, fighting isn't about having more people; it's not about having more people involved.

In fact, with more people and more factions, everyone has their own ulterior motives, which can actually lead to chaos.

If you really want to fight to the death, you must be prepared to give up everything.

These people are all looking to take advantage of the situation; it would be a miracle if anything good came of it.

Hearing that there were benefits to be gained and that it would also improve relations with China Film Group, he felt he could do so.

Since they figured it wouldn't be a loss, these people were tempted.

"Let's take a vote."

"Those who agree not to participate in this matter, please raise your hands."

Zhang Yuan was the first to raise his arm.

Next was Yang Shouchen.

But the others looked at each other, hesitant.

To their surprise, Jiang Zhiqiang, who had invested in Zhang Yimou, also raised his hand.

He felt that Zhang Yuan's words made sense.

If he didn't support Zhang Weiping, he could still step in to smooth things over for "A Simple Noodle Story" and avoid being targeted by theaters.

You heat the stove while I heat the cold; in this way, one of us will eventually succeed.

Large families all do this to ensure they remain invincible.

Seeing that even Mr. Jiang, the old mastermind's partner, had raised his hand, the rest of them followed suit.

"Okay, since everyone supports this, let's start by getting a unified message."

"I will reply to Zhang Weiping, but it will take some time, there's no rush."

"If he contacts everyone, just don't give in."

He brought with him the power of signing Mickey Rourke's contract and selling "Ip Man 2" before filming even began, all in an effort to unify this opinion.

But what they didn't know was that Zhang Yuan wasn't targeting the issue, but rather the person.

What I just said were all just grand-sounding reasons to get everyone to agree with me.

His real goal is far more than the profit-sharing ratio.

After chatting and eating, he planned to buy some gifts for his subordinates.

Everyone says he's made so much money, and they're all clamoring to get some of his "good fortune."

Being stingy makes one seem petty.

The man bought a Rolex, and the woman bought an LV bag; they took them back as gifts for them.

The sales assistant was incredibly enthusiastic when she saw him "shopping spree".

"Please wrap it up, and I'd like a gift box."

"Do you have any small gifts included, like plates, ashtrays, scarves..." Zhang Yuan was used to buying them.

You little rascal, you don't even let the gifts go, I want them all.

I can also give them to the housekeepers when I get home.

"Hey……"

We're working on making more small gifts.

Then a call came in from an unknown number.

He thought for a moment, realizing he had been busy lately and many people were contacting him, so he answered the call.

Unexpectedly, he was greeted by a very gloomy voice.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hello friend, I really don't like what you've been saying in the media lately..." (End of Chapter)