Huayu: Director started with art films

Indulgence is joyful but short-lived.

But the consequences are difficult and long-lasting.

For several days in a row.

Li Yishu is either on the road to indulging herself or indulging herself.

This also caused the spirit and energy he had worked so hard to maintain on the crew to become a little listless.

Fortunately, he is still young and he gritted his teeth and stood up to Monica.

In the end, Lee Ye-su covered this Italian burger king with delicious salad dressing.

the next morning.

Art Media Group held a high-level meeting.

There was only one topic to be discussed at this meeting, and that was how to spend money.

The $1.6 million in financing, plus the $1.5 million the group earned last year, totals a total of $3.1 million.

Converted into Hong Kong dollars, that's a whopping 25 billion.

It is almost equivalent to buying another Asia Television and Ming Pao Group.

For Li Yishu, this money must be spent. If not, how can she expand her influence and how can she increase the media group's voice in Asia?

If you want to spend money, you can directly refer to those international media groups.

"So, our target of learning is Murdoch News Corporation."

Li Yishu looked at the senior executives in the conference room and said, "Manager Amy, please tell everyone about our plan."

"Okay Chairman."

Amy flipped open the file: "Next, the group will invest in multiple fields such as film and television, records, distribution, publishing, newspapers, sports, etc."

"In terms of film and television, we will invest heavily in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the mainland, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and other regions and countries, and work with local film and television companies to produce TV series and movies..."

“In terms of distribution, we adopted an acquisition strategy, acquiring a large number of small and medium-sized distribution companies and integrating resources with our group’s existing Asian distribution channels.”

“In terms of publishing, we will acquire multiple publishing houses to engage in books, comics, weekly magazines, etc.”

"In the newspaper industry, we plan to acquire small and medium-sized newspapers in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries, and exchange resources with Ming Pao..."

"In terms of sports, we will cooperate in the fields of football and basketball, set up our own sports department, and connect with the TV station's sports channel and sports news..."

The main base of Art Media Group will always be in Asia, or more precisely in East Asia and Southeast Asia.

Both places belong to the Greater China region.

On the one hand, these places have been influenced or partially influenced by traditional Chinese culture.
Secondly, the media empires in Europe and the United States have not yet fully extended their tentacles.

Even Murdoch's News Corporation only set up Phoenix TV in Hong Kong and did not fully invest in Asia.

Amy started by talking about the future development of the group from a general perspective.

Of course, this is a grand strategy.

When it comes to small tactics, it is much simpler.

Amy said: "We currently own a Music Era Records Company in Japan, but it is not large. We only have two female singers, Izumi Sakai and Akina Nakamori. Of course, we have also trained several outstanding newcomers and plan to release records for them this year..."

"So I discussed it with the chairman and decided to start with the record industry. So far, the record companies in Greater China that we plan to acquire are Changhua Records and Forward Records in Taiwan, and Cinepoly Records and Orient Records in Hong Kong..."

There are many markets that the Art Media Group wants to explore, but the most important ones are the record and distribution fields.

Publishing, newspaper industry, etc. come second.

Although pirated records and tapes have appeared today, it is only 1996 and the record market has not completely collapsed. It will have to wait until Baidu develops online MP3 downloads before it will completely collapse.

Since the advent of online downloads, singers and record companies have not been completely without a way out. For example, the ringtone era also created unimaginable wealth.

In the era of universal ringtones, even if a song only cost one dollar, the wealth it brought was still unimaginable compared to the tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of mobile phone users.

Not to mention that after the Internet was formalized, the value of song copyrights cannot be underestimated.

It can only be said that the funds were not recovered as quickly as they are now, and money was made more through long-term copyright income, but the cost of producing songs would not be too high at that time.

At the beginning, Li Yishu actually didn't want to get started in the record industry.

Because he knows how miserable future singers will be. They don't make money by releasing records, but instead rely on performing at commercial events, which is completely putting the cart before the horse.

However, Amy's words made him take it for granted.

The record industry is thriving today, so a little bit of piracy is actually nothing to worry about.

There are still many singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan who have sold double or triple platinum albums.

What's more, they also have a TV station, and they are going to host "The Voice of Asia" this year. They have no control over foreign countries, at most they can just share some of the profits, but it's different in China.

This time, the Voice of Asia project will be held on a larger scale in the country.

Not only will Asian TV stations, but we will also cooperate with mainland TV stations to hold nationwide auditions for "The Voice of China".

In this way, the singers who come out of the competition will definitely have a large number of fans before their debut. They can find a few composers and lyricists, write a few songs, and they will surely become big sellers.

It would be a waste if you don't make this kind of money. It's better to make it for yourself than to let others make it.

Based on all of the above, it was finally decided to start with the record and distribution.

Needless to say, distribution is a very important job. Whether it is a movie or a record, it needs promotion and marketing.

Controlling their own distribution channels will help media groups further expand their influence and avoid being strangled when it comes to future film and record releases.

After Amy finished her long speech, she looked at Li Yishu and said, "Chairman, that's about it. Do you have anything to add?"

"President Amy said it very well."

Li Yishu first praised Amy's work, and then added: "Art Media Group's top priority now is not to consider profitability, but expansion. I hope to completely secure the distribution channels in East Asia and Southeast Asia before this year..."

"Okay, that's about it. Does anyone have any questions?"

Everyone at the scene looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Since there are no problems, let's proceed with the plan. We will conduct the second and final round of financing in the second half of the year."

Li Yishu looked at everyone and said with a smile, "I have discussed this with the board of directors. Before the listing next year, the group will give you certain internal subscription rights. By then, everyone will be one of the group's shareholders. Whether you become a millionaire or a multi-millionaire depends on your efforts this year."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone smiled happily.

The listing of the group will naturally bring more benefits than disadvantages to their senior executives. Not only will the group's funds become more abundant, but the most important thing is that they will be transformed from employees to one of the group's shareholders.

"Okay, today's meeting is over, let's disperse. Amy, come with me to the office."

As soon as Li Yishu spoke, everyone began to disperse.

After a while, Li Yishu brought Amy to his office and asked, "Do you have any recommendations for North America?"

He was talking about the head of the North American branch of the art house.

Since the second reform of Art Media Group, Li Yishu has placed its focus on the Asian market instead of North America as in the past.

As the president, Amy will definitely be based in Hong Kong in the future.

So naturally, her position as general manager of the film company would have to be handed over to someone else.

Out of respect for Amy, Li Yishu asked her to recommend a candidate herself.

"Have it already."

Amy said, "I recommend Ron Edwin. He has worked as a middle-level manager at MGM and Fox. After our art film company was established, he joined as my deputy. I think it is most appropriate for him to take over."

Edwin?
Li Yishu remembered this man, a German with a big beard, who was rigorous and careful in his work. When filming "Rumble in the Bronx", he was personally responsible for a lot of the preparatory work.

"Well, he's good, let's leave it to him."

Li Yishu didn't think much about it and nodded in agreement.

With the first pot of gold in hand and the establishment of Lion Films, he actually no longer paid much attention to North American art film companies.

The reason is simple, that is, he cannot participate in major Hollywood projects, and small-budget projects are dominated by Golden Lion Pictures.

It was originally established just to allow Lee Yi-su to deduct taxes when making movies in Hollywood.

It is highly likely that he will not direct any more Hollywood films in the next two years. If he does, he will just write the script and serve as a producer.

Of course, Li Yishu still prefers low-budget productions, because Golden Lion Pictures has already paved this path. Today, Golden Lion's low-cost films are absolutely well-received in the North American theater alliance.

As long as the cost is well controlled, even if the box office is not high, the investment can be recovered or even profitable from the peripheral video tapes and overseas box office.

Reality is not an entertainment novel. For the same movie, with the same actors and the same production, the gap in box office sales will still be very obvious.

The three films that Lee Yi-su filmed in Hollywood, including "The Sixth Sense", "Chicago" and "Rumble in the Bronx", were all collaborations with powerful Hollywood film companies.

Rather than relying solely on yourself.

The reason is simple: Hollywood is extremely xenophobic.

Sony, which was at its peak at the time, spent huge sums of money to acquire Columbia. It spent countless amounts of money and hired so many big directors and stars, but the films it made were still flops.

Under such circumstances, Li Yishu would naturally not be foolish enough to use his money to invest in blockbusters, unless he directed the film for one of the eight major Hollywood film companies and then the company invested some money to participate.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to spend his own money to make a blockbuster.

"Rush Hour" is already the limit of Lee Ye-su's current involvement and leadership.

If you really want to make a Hollywood-level blockbuster, you can only wait until China joins the WTO in 2001 and the major Hollywood film companies start to covet the Chinese market.

Only when this stage begins will Li Yishu not have to worry about being cheated by Hollywood film companies.

The Harry Potter series is a global hit, with global box office revenues easily reaching $700 million to $800 million, and all kinds of peripheral products are selling like hot cakes. Yet, Warner Bros. could still make it look like a loss.

Not to mention other movies.

Having worked in Hollywood and owning a film company, Lee Yi-su naturally sees things more clearly than most people.

After discussing the next development plan of the group, Li Yishu asked Amy to go do the work. He picked up his phone and called Monica, asking her to come to his office.

As soon as she entered the room, Monica asked curiously, "Honey, you don't want to…"

"NONONO!"

Li Yishu shook his head. He had already emptied himself last night and needed to take it slow.

Seeing him shake his head, Monica smiled and walked over to sit opposite Li Yishu: "Then who are you looking for?"

"Monica, I remember you told me that you studied law?"

"Yes, but unfortunately, I didn't finish it."

Monica Bellucci feels a little regretful. She was admitted to the law department of a very famous Italian university, but ultimately failed to complete her studies due to various reasons.

"Maybe you can get a university in the future, so you don't have to go to classes, and you can get a diploma when the time comes."

"Is this okay?"

"Of course, many celebrities do this."

Li Yishu shrugged his shoulders. As for university diplomas, even from world-class universities, there would be many people with connections, let alone from a relatively ordinary university.

"Then I'll ask someone about it later." Monica kept this in mind.

"You studied law, do you know the listing law?"

"Ok?"

Monica was confused and shook her head, "I don't know the listing laws in Hong Kong. Maybe you should find someone more professional to ask."

"Okay, it seems I need to find someone to find out."

Li Yishu nodded.

He knew that according to the regulations of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, controlling shareholders and actual controllers are not allowed to transfer within 36 months from the date of listing of the company's shares.

If other shareholders already hold shares before the listing, they are usually not allowed to transfer them within 12 months after the listing.

Therefore, his plan was to distribute a portion of his shares before the listing, at least around 20%, and turn them into ten shares of 2%. Then he would be able to cash out some of these shares before the Hong Kong stock market collapsed in 1998.

But as to how to do it specifically and whether it is illegal or not, he has to find a lawyer first and also find a professional to do it.

I originally wanted to ask Monica first, but she didn't know the Hong Kong listing laws, so it would be useless to ask.

That afternoon.

Li Yishu flew back to Hengdian.

After inspecting the Hengdian crew and making sure there were no major problems, he took the two bodyguards who had obtained their passports and flew back to Hong Kong the next morning.

Li Yishu had wanted to bring them to Hong Kong to protect herself before.

It’s just that they have never applied for passports in the past.

It’s easy to get a passport in Hong Kong, but it’s not so easy to get a passport in the United States.

I could only ask an art film company far away in the United States to send me a temporary invitation letter, and then go to the American Embassy to apply for a passport.

In the evening, he flew to Los Angeles, USA with Monica, Amy, bodyguards and others.

It was already the next morning when we arrived in Los Angeles.

Considering that Beverly Hills was not cleaned, Li Yishu asked the company staff who came to pick them up to take them directly to the hotel. (End of this chapter)