Huayu: Starting from Fahrenheit

Chapter 444 The Astonishment of the Bosses of Major Film and Television Companies

Since deciding to get married next year, Wu Zhuo and Liu Shishi no longer try to hide their relationship.

By "deliberate," I mean that we should no longer suppress media coverage on this matter.

Don't underestimate the domestic media.

They are ubiquitous.

There's a saying: "If you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place."

This statement is also very apt in the entertainment industry.

Wu Zhuo's love life has always been a hot topic of discussion among the media and netizens.

Among them, every female artist who has worked with him has been mentioned by the media as a potential couple.

Among them, Liu Shishi is the most prominent.

He and Wu Zhuo were often together, even though they always kept their meetings secret.

But nothing stays hidden forever.

As early as two years ago, the media had photographed the two shopping together on several occasions and published the photos.

However, most of these news reports were suppressed by Wu Zhuo's public relations team.

Therefore, the outside world has always been given the impression that it is just a rumor and has not been confirmed.

And after Wu Zhuo stopped suppressing these news reports.

You can imagine how crazy the media will be.

First, during the National Day holiday in October, the media photographed the two appearing together at the military parade.

Soon after, someone released photos of the two behaving intimately, taken several years ago.

So open and aboveboard, so transparent.

If the media hasn't realized this yet, then the media is a fool.

So, starting in October, news about their relationship began to appear in large numbers online.

Meanwhile, media outlets began sending reporters to follow them, and photos of the two behaving intimately and being together almost every day appeared.

Finally, on October 20th, at the celebration banquet held by Legend for "Wolf Warrior", reporters began to seek confirmation.

“Abel, we’ve seen you spending a lot of time with Liu Shishi lately, and it’s clear that you have a very close relationship.”

Are you two in a relationship?

"Actually, I personally don't want to talk about such private matters."

But since everyone's so curious, I'll just tell you directly!

At the hotel entrance, after being asked this question by reporters, Wu Zhuo pulled Liu Shishi aside and took her hand in public.

"We've been together for several years now. After a long period of getting to know each other, we both believe that we are life partners."

So, we've decided that we'll get married next year.

As soon as Wu Zhuo finished speaking, the scene erupted in an uproar.

"Oh my god! It's true! I knew it!"

"You're just finding out? This has been common knowledge in the industry for a long time."

"Yes! I knew they were together a long time ago, but I didn't expect Wu Zhuo to have already decided to marry Liu Shishi."

Among the reporters at the scene, some were surprised, some were incredulous, and some, who already knew about it, remained calm on the surface.

Whether they were surprised or not, everyone had countless questions for Wu Zhuo at that moment.

"Could you tell me how you met?"

"Shishi, can you tell me your story?"

When is your wedding ceremony? Will you be inviting people from the entertainment industry?

"Abel, after Miss Liu Shishi married you, did she enter the ranks of Legend's top executives?"

A whole host of problems followed.

However, neither Wu Zhuo nor Liu Shishi offered any further answers to these questions.

It's not because this is a celebration party for "Wolf Warrior".

It's because sometimes talking too much is actually bad.

For the public and the media, the fact that they announced their relationship and confirmed they would get married next year was big enough.

There's no need to go into the details.

"Thank you all for your concern. We will talk about this in detail another time when we have time."

Wu Zhuo smiled and politely declined the reporter's interview, then pulled Liu Shishi into the hotel.

"Wolf Warrior" officially ended its run yesterday after more than two months in theaters.

The film grossed a total of 4.6 million yuan at the box office.

A box office of 4.6 million yuan will definitely be just passing grade in the future.

But in 2012, this is already considered a high box office.

In addition, this film brought tremendous attention to the Legendary's IPO.

It even affected the stock price.

So Legend specially held a celebration banquet.

"welcome!"

"Mr. Wang, you're too kind. Please come in."

"It's all thanks to Mr. Wu's support; otherwise, I wouldn't be where I am today."

At the entrance, Wu Jing, the director and lead actor of Wolf Warrior, was greeting guests.

He was full of high spirits.

He's certainly been doing very well lately.

In this era where a box office of over 100 million is considered a huge success.

His film, which he starred in and directed, earned 4.6 million yuan.

This directly made him one of the most successful people during the summer season.

From an artist who was about to fade into obscurity, he suddenly rose to fame and became a top-tier star.

He couldn't help but be proud.

"Mr. Wu, Ms. Liu, you've arrived!"

Wu Jing, who was greeting the guests who had come to the celebration banquet, turned around and saw Wu Zhuo and Liu Shishi.

They quickly came to greet them.

No matter how successful Wu Jing is now, he is still far behind Wu Zhuo!
Leaving aside Wu Zhuo's achievements in film and music.

The fact that he is a legendary boss alone is enough to make him lower his profile.

Not to mention that Wu Zhuo has been making frequent moves in the business world this year.

If Wu Zhuo was known domestically as an international superstar last year, then...

So, this year, he'll have to add a label.

That's a big name in the domestic business world.

Legendary Entertainment is now valued at nearly 30 billion yuan, ranking among the top three entertainment companies in mainland China.

In addition, Maoyan Movies has shareholder status in a host of other companies.

This means Wu Zhuo's actual net worth is no less than 20 billion.

With this net worth, Wu Zhuo is already qualified to sit at the same table as the top billionaires in China.

Even Wang Sicong has to humbly call him uncle.

Faced with such an existence, how far can Wu Jing, no matter how arrogant he is, go?

He immediately expressed his gratitude, saying that if it weren't for Wu Zhuo, he wouldn't know where he would still be playing a supporting role.

"You're the star of the show today, and we're all guests. Let's not talk about these things."

Wu Zhuo patted him on the shoulder.

"Let's go over there and chat with some acquaintances first, then we'll come back and have a drink with you later."

"No problem, you go ahead with your work."

Wu Jing adopted a very humble attitude.

Seeing this, Wu Zhuo didn't say anything more.

Actually, he and Wu Jing had always had a good relationship.

At first, Wu Jing wasn't so reserved in front of him.

But ever since Wu Zhuo's Legendary Entertainment has grown bigger and bigger.

Their relationship began to resemble that of a superior and subordinate.

Wu Jing used to call him Ah Zhuo.

Now, he only calls him General Manager Wu.

"Mr. Wu, over here!"

From a great distance, Wang Changtian from Enlight Media was already greeting Wu Zhuo.

Sitting next to him were Wang Zhongjun, the boss of Huayi Brothers, and Albert Yeung, the boss of Emperor Entertainment Group.

"You've all arrived very early! By the way, let me introduce you. This is my fiancée, Liu Shishi."

Wu Zhuo pulled Liu Shishi along and walked quickly over.

This was the first time Wu Zhuo introduced Liu Shishi to him in public as his fiancée.

Previously, people in the industry were aware of the relationship between Wu Zhuo and Liu Shishi.

But because the two of them have never made it public, everyone is pretending not to know.

This time was different. Wu Zhuo was officially telling them that this was his future wife. Therefore, the people who hadn't paid much attention to Liu Shishi before started to greet her.

"Hello, Miss Liu!"

"Miss Liu is so much prettier in person than on TV!"

Despite being nervous, Liu Shishi remained poised and graceful as she shook hands with everyone who greeted her.

After the introductions, the group started chatting.

They were all big names in the film and television industry, so naturally they were talking about film and television business.

"The market has seen a significant overall increase this year, and I believe it will continue to rise next year. I'm planning to spearhead a major project; are you interested?"

Wang Zhongjun's opening remarks immediately piqued everyone's interest.

"What project? Is it Feng Xiaogang's?"

"If it's Feng Xiaogang's, our company can make an investment."

"Is Mr. Wang talking about a sequel to 'Detective Dee'? And is it starring Andy Lau?"

Currently, there are only three largest private companies in China.

They are Legendary Entertainment, Huayi Brothers, and Enlight Media.

The light was a bit off.

Legendary and Huayi Brothers are practically the backbone of the company.

Especially Legendary, whose total box office revenue in mainland China so far this year is around 10 billion.

Of these, legends accounted for about 22%.

The film "Lost in Thailand" alone accounts for one-tenth of the total.

Then there's Huayi Brothers, whose films this year have also been very successful.

High-grossing but low-reputation films such as "Painted Skin 2", "1942", and the "Tai Chi" series were all projects they invested in and produced.

There are quite a few other films with low box office returns.

In terms of high-quality productions, Legendary Entertainment is the best, with high box office and critical acclaim, but in terms of revenue, Huayi Brothers is more successful.

Currently, Huayi Brothers' market value has reached 50 billion.

It is the strongest among domestic listed entertainment companies.

"The previous film 'Detective Dee' did well at the box office, so we plan to make a sequel. However, this time we plan to invite Mr. Wu to star in it."

Mr. Wu, are you interested?

Wang Zhongjun turned his gaze to Wu Zhuo.

Ten years later, Huayi Brothers produced a film called "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame," starring Andy Lau.

The film ultimately grossed $4800 million worldwide.

Without a doubt, Huayi Brothers made a lot of money.

So they decided to make a sequel. However, Andy Lau wasn't planning to star in it this time, so Wang Zhongjun set his sights on Wu Zhuo.

If Wu Zhuo stars in it, they have a chance to achieve higher box office returns.

"If Mr. Wu is in the cast, we'll vote!"

“That’s right. If Mr. Wu were to act in it, Emperor Entertainment Group would be willing to contribute 30 million.”

Several bosses turned their attention to Wu Zhuo.

If Wu Zhuozhen really intends to act in the film, they will definitely do whatever it takes, even sell their possessions, to support him.

However, to their disappointment, Wu Zhuo shook his head.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you all, I might not be available."

Although he has more money than he could ever spend, Wu Zhuo has no plans to give up his identity as an actor and singer.

The reason he was able to build the Legend into what it is today and make a name for himself in the investment world is largely due to his status as an international superstar.

This identity is really useful.

Many companies proactively offered to invest in him as soon as they heard he wanted to.

Take ByteDance, for example, founded by Zhang Yiming.

The reason Zhang Yiming was willing to directly approach Wu Zhuo was, besides the fact that they were relatives.

A large part of the reason is that his status as an international superstar is very useful.

His investment is like a huge advertisement.

Firstly, it will save a lot of effort in terms of domestic promotion.

This is even better than the resources of a large investment bank.

The same goes for Maoyan. The reason why Maoyan's market value has risen to one billion in such a short time, and why companies such as Wanda and telecommunications rushed to invest, is because of it.

It was through his influence that Maoyan came into the public eye.

Therefore, for Wu Zhuo, the identity of an international superstar is something he cannot give up.

In order to avoid giving up, it is natural to produce works.

At the very least, you have to maintain exposure every year.

Otherwise, it won't be long before his international superstar status becomes worthless.

However, they decided to continue performing and singing.

But Wu Zhuo will definitely not be the same as before.

He has begun to significantly reduce related activities.

His plan is to make one movie a year and release one album every two years.

Undoubtedly, filmmakers will prioritize producing their own movies, as this maximizes their profits.

The entertainment industry is a small circle.

Wu Zhuo has now formed his own circle.

He couldn't possibly abandon his own circle to help others.

Therefore, he obviously would not agree to Huayi Brothers' invitation.

"That's it!"

Wang Zhongjun looked disappointed.

His purpose today was actually for this very thing.

It seems like it's all gone to waste again.

"Everyone, I actually have a project I'd like to talk to you about. I wonder if any of you are interested?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting a bit cold, Wu Zhuo took the initiative to speak.

One question piqued everyone's interest again: "What project? The legendary one?"

Wu Zhuo shook his head. "It's not a movie project, it's the company!"

"The company!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's interest waned.

Of those present, apart from Huayi Brothers and Legendary Brothers who like to invest in related industries, Hong Kong companies like Emperor Entertainment Group generally don't participate in investment companies.

We do invest, but unlike Huayi Brothers, we don't even venture into other industries.

"What project?"

Wang Zhongjun was much more interested than the others.

After Huayi Brothers went public, people from all walks of life got involved, and he would be very interested in any suitable projects.

"Well, you've all probably heard that I've been working with Storm Player, right?"

As soon as Wu Zhuo said this...

Everyone's eyes lit up immediately.

"You mean you've already acquired Baofeng Audio-Visual?"

Wu Zhuo nodded. "That's right. I've reached an agreement with them to acquire all of Baofeng Yingyin's shares for 12 billion."

It is currently undergoing the final procedures.

"This company will officially belong to me next month."

"Wow, Mr. Wu, you managed to acquire Baofeng Audio-Visual without making a sound."

So, Mr. Wu, you're planning to enter the video platform market.

sharp! "

Upon hearing this news, several bigwigs were deeply moved.

In recent years, online video platforms have gradually risen to prominence, and everyone in the industry knows that the future definitely belongs to online platforms.

But film and television industry bosses actually want to develop this channel.

Back in 1998, when Golden Harvest was still around, they had already established online channels.

At that time, Golden Harvest used Jackie Chan's movies as a powerful promotional tool.

Unfortunately, there were too few computer users at the time, and it ultimately failed.

Now that Huayi Brothers and Enlight Media have gone public, they also want to get involved in this area.

However, one issue is that we don't have that much capital on hand.

Secondly, there are obstacles from other video platforms.

Originally, everyone had given up and only planned to cooperate with these platforms.

Unexpectedly, Wu Zhuo quietly acquired Baofeng Player, a well-known domestic video player.

Everyone immediately realized it.

This could be an opportunity, a huge opportunity.

(End of this chapter)