The world is in trouble

Chapter 298 Record Broken! The Mighty Two-Dog Cult Leader is Awesome!
It must be said that Lin Xiao's kindness towards his own people is almost unconditional.

A film like "2012" could easily be handed over to someone else to direct, since the project started last year.

If things proceed as planned, the film should be completed in a maximum of 14 months, and might even make it to the Christmas and New Year's release dates this year.

However, Lin Xiao decided to entrust it to Zhang Guoshi, and so he really waited for him. Because for the entire first half of the year, he was busy with the opening ceremony of the Olympics and was completely unable to spare any time.

The entire project took him a full eight months to complete.

Even Zhang Guoshi felt very embarrassed and repeatedly said that he would rather hand it over to another director and just give me the next project.

Others might think this was an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Zhang Guoshi's Olympic Games opening ceremony, but the "2012" project was definitely not, because it was aimed at the global market, and Zhang Guoshi's commercial influence in this regard was almost negligible.

As soon as the Olympic Games opening ceremony ended, Zhang Guoshi immediately flew to the United States to start filming "2012".

This was his first time directing a truly global project, a mega-project exceeding $1.5 million.

"This movie isn't difficult; I'm pretty good at it." After a day of filming, Zhang Guoshi, Lin Xiao, Amy, Susan, and others drank together.

Lin Xiao raised his glass to Amy Pascal: "I'm very sorry, but we at Dream Vision don't have any big movie projects this year."

2008 was a slow year for movies, with a significant gap between the top ten global box office rankings and the previous year. Sony and Columbia were incredibly successful last year, dominating the first, second, and fourth positions.

This year, only one film, "Hancock," made it into the global top ten.

Amy shrugged. "I'm used to it, but next year will be our year."

Not only will "2012" be released next year, but the first animated series of "The Graveyard Book" will also be released.

Therefore, the moment of testing for Eastern fantasy is approaching again, and the moment of testing for Sony's animated film market is approaching again.

Amy held a very complete script in her hand, which consisted of three parts.

Not only the written script, but also related concept art and a large number of storyboards have been completed.

They are *The Martian*, *Interstellar*, and *The Wandering Earth*.

“It’s all science fiction,” Amy Pascal said. “Lin, your real goal is the last one, ‘The Wandering Earth,’ isn’t it? That’s a true Chinese IP.”

Amy saw through Lin Xiao's intentions.

2012 is definitely a disaster movie, but it also has a touch of science fiction.

Lin Xiao attempted to use three super sci-fi blockbusters as a foundation to create viewing habits for global audiences before releasing "The Wandering Earth".

We are trying to promote Chinese science fiction IPs to the world.

In the previous generation, "The Wandering Earth" was not considered a success on a global scale, neither the first nor the second film.

The second part has a stronger nationalist sentiment, but Lin Xiao feels that the narrative structure of the first part is still very suitable for global promotion.

....................................

This year, Dream Vision didn't have any major film projects worldwide, but Lightning Entertainment has been on a roll.

In May, Ning Hao's "No Man's Land" was officially released.

He was really holding back for this movie, especially since his previous film, "Let the Bullets Fly," although he was the director, was completely marked by Jiang Wen's influence.

Not only do people in Beijing's entertainment circle say that this movie has little to do with Ning Hao, but it also has little to do with Lightning Entertainment. Even Ning Hao himself rarely mentions this movie.

Then, he devoted himself to the production of "No Man's Land" because he wanted to prove himself.

This is the first time he has said goodbye to comedy.

Historically, this film was delayed for several years before it could be released.

But in this world, the first thing that matters is that Er Gou, the cult leader, controls the balance. Of course, the most important reason is that both Er Gou and Flash Entertainment wield far too much influence.

What was originally a difficult point to pass the review was approved directly.

And coincidentally, the release date of this movie is almost exactly the same as the release date of the Lightning Technology press conference, the so-called "Return of Er Gou".

It grossed 1.6 million yuan in its opening week and 5.1 million yuan in its final week!
Compared to its historical performance, it's far better, doubling the box office and receiving excellent reviews.

The so-called one blast, then decay, and exhaustion.

Historically, this film was revised three times after it was completed, and it took four years to be released. Even in terms of publicity, they dared not put much effort into it.

But things are different in this world. Only a few months have passed since Kung Fu Panda set a new box office record, and Lightning Entertainment is riding high.

With a box office of 5.1 million yuan, it surpassed "The Last Days" to become the second highest-grossing film in Chinese film history.

Another mega-production, even an international film, "The Forbidden Kingdom," only grossed 2 million yuan at the domestic box office, which is already higher than historical records.

And this summer movie season.

Lightning Entertainment has two films in its lineup: "Ip Man" and "Goodbye Mr. Loser".

The movie "Ip Man" was eventually released, which was Zhen Zhidan's own choice, and the project was ultimately approved by Li Shuang and Gao Changhe.

These kinds of projects are basically no longer going to reach Lin Xiao's desk.

As for "Goodbye Mr. Loser," it was something Lin Xiao had been longing for, and after much hesitation, he decided to release it ahead of schedule.

Because, under his leadership and that of Lightning Entertainment, the Chinese film market had already expanded ahead of schedule.

If things continue like this, history could very well repeat itself, and "Lost in Thailand," a film that isn't particularly outstanding, might be the first to break the 10 billion RMB box office mark.

This is really awkward. Kung Fu Panda spent hundreds of millions of dollars but failed to break 10 billion in the domestic market, while Lost in Thailand broke that mark.

In that case, the golden reputation of Lightning Entertainment, and even that of Er Gou, will fade.

"Ip Man" was released in July and ultimately grossed 2.9 million yuan, far exceeding previous records.

While this may not be considered a particularly outstanding achievement for Flash Entertainment, it is an achievement that would make anyone envious to the point of bursting with envy in the entire film industry.

"Goodbye Mr. Loser" was released on August 15.

Then, inexplicably, the movie became a hit.

Historically, "Red Cliff Part I" was released in July, but in this world, it was released in August.

This can be considered a major collaboration between Hong Kong and Taiwan capital.

This is also a typical film in which mainland actors play supporting roles to Hong Kong and Taiwan stars.

This is arguably the biggest attempt by Hong Kong and Taiwan capital in the mainland market, and it can also be considered an international production, with Japanese actors and capital playing a significant role.

The film had a budget of $8000 million, but it was cut into two parts.

The investment in "Goodbye Mr. Loser" by Flash Entertainment was disclosed to be less than 30 million RMB.

"Red Cliff" was released earlier, and its box office exceeded 1.35 million RMB in its first four days.

This is nearly 3% higher than in history, which can be largely attributed to Lin Xiao's efforts. Several years of big-budget productions have expanded the Chinese film market ahead of schedule, raising its ceiling, and almost all films have benefited.

When "Goodbye Mr. Loser" was released the following week, the box office results for the first week caused another uproar in the entire film market.

2.5 billion!
Crazy, completely crazy!
The key point is that it received rave reviews, once again sparking a heated discussion.

Ultimately, "Red Cliff Part I" grossed 360 million RMB, about 20% higher than the historical figure.

The final box office of "Goodbye Mr. Loser" was 8.95 million RMB.

The entire film industry was completely dumbfounded!

I rely on!

A new record has been set?

The box office record of 8.9 million RMB set by "Kung Fu Panda" was only achieved in just over six months.

Many people thought that it was highly unlikely that a super-production like "2012," and a movie bearing the name of "Master Er Gou," could break this record, but that would have to wait until at least the end of next year.

As a result, "Goodbye Mr. Loser," with an investment of only 30 million yuan, broke the record unexpectedly and without warning.

Although the screenwriter of this movie is clearly listed as Er Gou Jiaozhu.

But... this is just too outrageous.

Is this...is this some kind of compensation for Er Gou, the cult leader?

In the painstakingly crafted masterpiece "Kung Fu Panda," we were unable to help you achieve your goals and wishes.

I thought you would come back on May 31st, but you didn't.

So, are people engaging in revenge viewing of "Goodbye Mr. Loser"? Or compensatory viewing of "Er Gou Jiaozhu" (a character from a popular Chinese TV series)?
It can't be that bad. There wasn't much discussion about Er Gou, the cult leader, in this movie. It's just that a large number of people inexplicably flocked to the theaters.

Lightning Entertainment, you're practically rolling in money!

Because of this film, Flash Entertainment is not only the producer but also the distributor. Not long ago, Flash Entertainment completed a significant acquisition of Bona Film Group.

Therefore, conservatively estimated, Flash Entertainment can net around 4 million yuan from this movie.

Moreover, Flash Entertainment has another big-budget production coming out at the end of the year.

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.

This is the first project in which Zhou Xingchi and Lightning Entertainment have collaborated on a comprehensive project.

Throughout 2008, Flash Entertainment released four films, which will most likely dominate the charts at number one, number two, number three, and number five!
It demonstrated astonishing dominance, and the entire domestic film industry trembled in fear under the shadow of Lightning Entertainment.

The strategy Lin Xiao previously proposed was to have a large number of celebrities, social organizations, and official organizations join Facebook.

Celebrities and socialites, in particular, treat Facebook as their most important platform and channel, genuinely nurturing it and even spending money to trend on social media.

As a result, this goal was not achieved even after Lin Xiao had completely left the Lightning Group.

And now, it's completely achieved!
These domestic celebrities are all incredibly proactive.

Not only domestic Facebook accounts, but also overseas Facebook accounts, all have professional teams managing their accounts.

They try every means to interact with their fans, posting various photos and updates.

With the launch of quantum phones, Facebook has also directly entered the mobile internet platform.

First, Hollywood stars used quantum phones to take photos and then posted them on Facebook, with the phone model displayed in the suffix.

Then, domestic celebrities also started using it. So now, almost every time a celebrity posts a Facebook update, the suffix is ​​"quantum phone".

It's not just celebrities, but also a large number of social elites.

After "Goodbye Mr. Loser" broke box office records, an event immediately appeared on Facebook.

Many celebrities posted photos of their movie tickets for "Goodbye Mr. Loser" with captions like: "Master Er Gou is awesome!"
At first, there were only stars from the Lightning series, and then the entire Shanghai gang of stars followed.

It then spread further and further, with more and more celebrities joining the event.

In the end, some people even started to compile a list of celebrities who did not participate in the event.

This is going to be fatal.

If you don't participate in this event, do you have a problem with Er Gou Jiaozhu? Do you have a problem with Shandian Entertainment?
So when you get banned for making a list in the future, don't cry foul!

As a result, even celebrities from the Beijing and Hong Kong entertainment circles joined in.

Even celebrities from Huayi Brothers posted photos of their movie tickets for "Goodbye Mr. Loser," accompanied by the powerful caption of "Master Er Gou."

Upon seeing this scene, even Mr. Wang, the general manager of Huayi, couldn't help but sigh.

The dominance that Flash Entertainment has demonstrated is becoming increasingly frightening.

Most celebrities have to be subservient to him and dare not offend him.

This dominance extends beyond the television and film markets. Facebook also enjoys a near-monopoly on internet advertising channels.

Previously, Renren.com was able to compete somewhat with other high-end social networking platforms, but now Renren.com has completely surrendered, and others have directly moved to the quantum mobile phone platform.

Another example is Flash Video, which has also demonstrated a strong dominance in the film and television industry.

To date, it is the only one that continues to purchase various film and television copyrights, and its copyright library is far ahead of its competitors.

Especially in the import of American TV series, Flash Video has an unparalleled advantage.

Flash Video has legally imported almost all of the top 20 American TV series. Even shows like "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead" are almost entirely uncut.

………………

Google has a very powerful consulting team that is responsible for only one thing: the brand power of quantum phones.

With the widespread use of the phone by American celebrities and socialites, and their posts on Facebook, the phone model is clearly displayed in the suffix.

The brand value of quantum phones is rising almost every day.

In fact, it is irreplaceable.

Although Facebook is now on the iOS platform, the Quantum Phone still far surpasses the original iPhone in terms of camera performance.

Even setting aside the screen and phone's appearance, its camera performance alone leaves many celebrities and socialites with no other choice.

Because the iPhone 4, which truly cemented Apple's legendary status, was still a long way off.

These celebrities and stars have a huge influence on ordinary people and a very strong ability to shape brand value.

This makes it increasingly necessary for Google to legally shut down the X operating system.

Otherwise, if things continue to develop this way, global sales of quantum phones will soon exceed ten million units.

Every additional phone sold adds another layer of protection to the system.

At this point, there were still five days until the third court hearing.

Lin Xiao is having a meeting with Texas Instruments.

To be precise, the meeting was held at X Semiconductor.

Lin Xiao then outlined the various goals for the next-generation X2 chip.

It made everyone's teeth ache once again.

Because Lin Xiao's goals this time were more specific and more ambitious.

First, the design must be based on the 32-nanometer process. It should be noted that the 45-nanometer process has only just become mature this year. Whether it is Qualcomm or Apple, even the flagship chip design schemes for next year or the year after will be based on the 45-nanometer process.

As a result, you demanded 32 nanometers again.

Yes, Intel has made a breakthrough in this process, but... that's Intel, its entire architecture is completely different from our ARM.

Furthermore, Lin Xiao also demanded that the baseband be integrated into the SOC, and the GPU also be integrated into the SOC.

To summarize Lin Xiao's goal, it is to make the performance of this chip reach the level of ARM Cortex-A15.

However... even though ARM only launched this chip design the year after next, it's quite a coincidence that Texas Instruments was the first company in history to be licensed to produce this chip.

Although X Semiconductor has shares in ARM, and many of its key personnel were poached from ARM with high salaries.

But... this goal still seems quite astonishing.

Texas Instruments Chairman Richard Templeton said, "Lin, based on your goal, the chip might not be available for another two years. At the earliest, you won't be able to release the Quantum 2 phone until the end of the year after next, and it won't be available for sale until 2011."

Lin Xiao: "I know!"

Depend on!
This means that there will be a gap of more than two and a half years in between for quantum phones.

Lin Xiao: "Because we are currently in the initial price range, everyone is a bit unstable. But I promise you, starting with the second generation of the Quantum phone, we will consistently update and upgrade it every year."

"But this time, let me be a little willful. Even if there is a two-and-a-half-year gap, I don't care."

"Because quantum phones need to give the world the impression that we are the most advanced and the coolest."

"Therefore, I can even spend $10 billion on the design and development of the X2 chip."

At the same time, it's not just Texas Instruments that's going to be driven crazy, but also Sharp and Sony.

Not long after Sharp's top-of-the-line screen was released, Lin Xiao had already pre-ordered the next-generation screen with a resolution of 1280*720.

It skipped 640P and went straight to 720P.

Before Sony's most advanced CMOS module had even been fully developed, Lin Xiao was already preparing to order a batch of modules from them that were far more advanced than the current CMOS module.

Masayoshi Son: "Lin, I understand your radicalism very well. You need to maintain a leading mindset."

"But now is a crucial time for the X operating system to expand its market share. Next year, giants like Motorola, LG, and Lenovo will all start producing Android phones. Quantum phones, on the other hand, have a two-and-a-half-year gap. Isn't this just handing the market over to others?"

Lin Xiao had considered solutions to this problem.

For example, next year we will still use the same SOC and CMOS module, but release a completely new product system, the NOTE product line.

They increased the screen size from 4 inches to about 4.8 inches, and also included a stylus.

Yes, they followed the same path Samsung took and proved to be very successful.

However, whether or not to do this has not been completely decided yet; a meeting is needed to decide on the next step regarding quantum technology.

Lin Xiao: "We can bring this advanced SOC down to the low-end market, allowing other manufacturers to use our SOC and baseband chip, or even the entire solution, to produce a large number of mid-range devices, priced at around 1999, and run our X operating system to expand their market share."

"We have a two-and-a-half-year gap, which gives these mobile phone manufacturers a chance to put their skills to use."

"In this way, our SOC can be shipped on a large scale, even reaching tens of millions of units."

With mass production, the cost of this SOC will drop significantly. Currently, quantum phones require over $100 to purchase this SOC. However, in the future, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers may only need to pay $30 to $50 to purchase this SOC.

After the last meeting of top domestic officials, companies such as Zhonghua, Coolpad, Meizu, BBK, and Ober have been sharpening their knives.

These manufacturers have already contacted Quantum Technology and each obtained an open-source version of the X operating system.

Those who are more particular will organize their own team to redesign and update the system. Those who are less particular will simply use the old system as is.

Although these companies are virtually unknown in the global mobile phone manufacturing industry, they are far inferior to Motorola, LG, and even less so.

But when they start a price war, everyone will know how powerful they are.

Ultimately, Lin Xiao successfully persuaded all of Quantum Technology's major shareholders to implement his strategy.

Quantum phones continue to explore the most advanced, coolest, and highest-end categories.

Then, the technology was distributed, allowing a large number of mid-to-low-end mobile phones to rapidly expand their market share worldwide, thus opening the floodgates ahead of schedule.

..............................

September 21st is getting closer and closer.

More and more media outlets from around the world are flying to California to prepare for live coverage.

Numerous media outlets focused on this court hearing.

Google is also making its voice heard.

“We will absolutely not seek any settlement, even if the other party’s legal team has contacted us through various channels and expressed a possible willingness to settle.”

"However, we reject any form of reconciliation, and we will not accept any amount of compensation from quantum technology companies."

"The only acceptable outcome is a ban on the sale of current quantum phones."

"Until quantum technology completely stops copying us and infringing on our rights."

"We must tell the world, especially Lin Xiao, a Chinese man, that intellectual property rights are sacred and inviolable!"

"Furthermore, we hope that this time Lin Xiao can stand in court as a defendant, instead of pushing Wu Di to the dock, even though that would evoke sympathy from the judge and jury, and from countless people."

"We know that the Chinese are very good at using stratagems, so this must be a self-inflicted injury ruse?"

"At the last press conference, you had Wu Di stand in for you, which earned you praise and sympathy from all over the world, but it was also a deception of the world."

"We are deeply saddened by Mr. Wu Di's Parkinson's disease and paralysis, but the law should be dignified and just. Therefore, we sincerely hope that Lin Xiao can take responsibility, appear openly in the dock, and accept our questioning, instead of evading his duties once again."

"We know perfectly well that Lin Xiao is the one who started this plagiarism and infringement!"

"Lin Xiao, see you in court!"

9 Month 21 Day!
The third court hearing in the case concerning Quantum Technology's alleged plagiarism and infringement of the Android system has officially begun!
........................

Note: This is so hard to write, and it's late again today. I'm too ashamed to ask for monthly votes! I'll ask again tomorrow when I update at 9 PM...

(End of this chapter)