Huayu became famous overnight

Chapter 251 What I Want is Black Widow
2 month 6 day.

Xu Ming sat in the CAA conference room, looking at the summary sent by Tang Sheng from China.

This year's Spring Festival Gala viewership dropped by 3%.

Although the ratings have been declining every year, such a large drop at once shows how negative the departure of myself and Uncle Benshan has been.

He admitted that he was half in the blame.

However, Benshan Media's valuation also shrank by 30%.

If we have to name a beneficiary, it would be Guo Degang's Deyun Society, which took the opportunity to take over Benshan Media's share of the Spring Festival Gala on satellite TV.

The price per event has increased from 80 to 200 million.

Upon seeing the last message in the summary, Xu Ming's heart stirred slightly.

It seems Wanda is about to make a big move.

Although the message was incomplete and disjointed, it still gave him inspiration.

He recalled that in his previous life, Wanda acquired the second-largest cinema chain in the United States this year, filling a gap in Hollywood's distribution channels.

It can be said that this has sparked a wave of Chinese capital going overseas.

There might be an opportunity here that I can leverage.

dong dong.

After a knock, Meghan's assistant opened the door, and Meghan entered.

As always, the chubby director sat at the head of the table.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was much more harmonious than at the beginning.

All three parties can feel their contribution to the project, and the remaining issues are simply negotiations on conditions. In that case, reaching a cooperation agreement is only a matter of time.

Of course, the outstanding performance of the Chinese film market is also a major stimulus.

"After breaking 100 million yuan in box office revenue in its opening weekend, Mission: Impossible 4 has reached a total box office of 370 million yuan in mainland China as of today, accounting for more than 70% of its global box office revenue during the same period."

Xu Ming paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, "First there was 'Transformers 3,' and now there's 'Mission: Impossible 4.' You can see their box office performance in mainland China. I don't need to say more about what that means, do I?"

Clearly, the Chinese mainland film market is the most important market for Hollywood, which aims for global distribution, besides the North American box office.

Even for Hollywood films released in mainland China, the box office revenue share is only 25%.

For them, it is also an important source of income.

Xu Ming, who was mistakenly identified as a representative of mainland capital, naturally saw his importance rise.

“But out of all the Hollywood movies released in China, only these two have achieved such great results, haven’t they?” Megan’s assistant retorted.

"When we make movies, isn't it all about those two remaining options? Hollywood releases so many movies every year, but only a few ever make money," Xu Ming said calmly.

They're making a movie here, shouldn't they be willing to gamble a little?

Megan didn't say anything, but her eyes were full of approval as if she were a close friend.

"I made concessions on the profit-sharing ratio and gave up the other male lead role. If such a big sacrifice still doesn't show your sincerity, I think there's no need to continue the discussion," Xu Ming said, slamming his hand on the table.

He doesn't invest much himself; he plans to find other domestic capital for the majority of the shares, and he'll accept a lower share of the profits.

As for the other male lead role, he expressed his desire to take it, but that was pure extortion.

That was an FBI agent role, and even if they offered him the part, he wouldn't take it.

He still knows where his core supporters are.

Jackie Chan plays police officers, all of whom are Hong Kong international police officers.

The people in the room were already used to his tendency to suspend negotiations at the drop of a hat.

As the daughter of a wealthy man, Meghan also has access to many confidential information within the industry.

Knowing that if they dragged it out any longer, the scales would only tip in Xu Ming's favor, they immediately made a decision.

"I can give you the status of a producer, with some advisory power, but the final decision rests with me."

"In addition, the production cost is tentatively set at $3000 million, and the global marketing budget is also $3000 million, which means the total investment is $6000 million."

“The Chinese investment must be no less than 20 million US dollars. When the film is released, you must guarantee the screening rate and publicity data that we agreed on in advance,” Megan said in a deep voice.

It has to be said that this has exceeded Xu Ming's expectations.

He stood up and extended his hand: "It's a pleasure doing business with you."

clap clap clap!
The chubby director stood up and clapped his hands.

He originally thought it would take another month or so to talk, but unexpectedly today both sides' expectations were met, so of course we should applaud and congratulate them.

Megan paused for a moment, then smiled and shook hands with Xu Ming: "You always manage to evoke unexpected emotions in me."

“Success always happens outside the norm, doesn’t it?” Xu Ming said with a smile.

Megan looked at her with admiration: "It's a pity you have your own business, otherwise I would be willing to pay any price to invite you to be the president of my company."

Xu Ming simply stopped responding. This woman, when she started talking nonsense, was already quite outrageous, even more so than he was.

The remaining contract details were no longer up to the two bosses to negotiate.

Megan's investment projects are not limited to "American Fraud," and Xu Ming is also about to return to China.

He's made that boast, now he has to find a way to attract more than 20 million US dollars in investment to make it happen.

However, before setting off, he didn't forget the Black Widow.

In the past two weeks, besides his business dealings with Megan, Xu Ming has also been flirting with Scarlett quite a bit.

Of course, the former is more often the one who takes the initiative.

Even though they were both in the entertainment industry, he didn't treat her like a saintly goddess, and she obviously didn't treat him like a simple boy either.

The two sides communicated only through their mobile phones, and would occasionally take a trip on the highway.

Xu Ming opened Facebook and glanced at the photo of today's innerwear that the other party had sent.

Yes, red on top and purple on the bottom, it's no wonder he taught her the idiom "a riot of colors".

I have some good news to share: my negotiations with Megan are finally over.

"You must have had a very hard time."

The other party replied the moment the message was sent.

Look at this reply, she's at least a top-tier (King of Glory) bitch.

It was tough work, but becoming a producer made it all worthwhile.

Xu Ming's lips curled up; he had cast the bait, and those who were willing would take it.

Scarlett didn't reply immediately this time.

Half a minute later, she finally replied: "I've prepared a bottle of red wine at home. Want to celebrate your successful negotiation?"

【certainly. 】

Xu Ming turned to Xiao Juan and asked, "Did you buy what I asked you to buy?"

"I bought it and put it in your room," Xiao Juan said.

"Okay, I have something to do tonight and I might not be back. Be careful and don't wander around aimlessly," Xu Ming instructed.

Xiao Juan was taken aback, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes.

Is my boss finally giving up being a monk?

……

A luxury apartment in New York.

Xu Ming knocked on the door and his eyes lit up when he saw Scarlett, who was dressed up.

I brought you a gift especially for this occasion.

"what gift?"

Scarlett took it, glanced at what was inside, and her expression turned strange.

Black Widow's suit, and lubricant.

"Xu, you may have some misunderstandings about me..."

"There's another contract at the bottom. I plan to make a movie with you as the female lead, with a total investment of over ten million US dollars." "You have a good eye for people."

Scarlett's face lit up with a bright smile. She put her arm around Xu Ming's neck and gave him a passionate kiss before turning around and going back to her room to change into her hot dishes.

Before long, enthusiastic shouts of "Oh yeah!" and "Kam Ang baby!" echoed through the apartment.

……

on the plane.

Xiao Juan was holding a briefcase containing a contract that Xu Ming had just signed a few days ago, and her lips were pouting.

"Alright, it's just signing a contract for a movie lead role, don't be so childish," Xu Ming said with amusement.

“I’m only a year younger than you,” Xiao Juan couldn’t help but say.

"In my eyes, he's just a little kid." Xu Ming glanced at the other person's tablet and said seriously.

"Brother Ming!"

Xiao Juan was furious, but dared not do anything to her boss, and her cheeks turned red.

It's not that I'm shy, it's that my face is flushed.

"No matter how big your family is, if you sleep with one woman and give her to a movie lead actress, Qiming can't sustain it for long," Xiaojuan said irritably.

What magic did that foreign woman possess that made the boss so infatuated?

"Hehe, you just don't understand."

Xu Ming chuckled, "You think we lost out on this deal? Actually, I got both a free lunch and a free ride."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Juan asked, puzzled.

She felt that her employer was deceiving her, but she had no evidence.

“I got her to sign the lead role contract. It has nothing to do with me sleeping with her. In fact, we got a better deal in this contract.”

Xu Ming said in a serious tone, "And let me emphasize again, our relationship is based on feelings. Do you think I, your boss, am the kind of person who picks up girls through underhanded means?"

"Three million US dollars a piece is considered a bargain?"

Xiao Juan wrinkled her nose: "Don't think I don't know what I'm talking about. She still doesn't have a single leading role that can carry the box office. How can she be worth so much?"

Xu Ming glanced at Xiao Juan in surprise, not expecting that she had even learned to estimate actors' salaries by looking at their profiles.

“Under normal circumstances, three million US dollars a film for Scarlett is not considered a premium. If she had a leading role that could carry the box office, it wouldn’t be this low.”

"But what I mean by taking advantage is betting that her previous unreleased movies will elevate her to a higher level. She has a Marvel blockbuster coming out soon, and as long as she can continue her performance as Black Widow in Iron Man 2, she will definitely be popular."

He works backward from the result to the cause, which naturally makes him extremely confident.

With the role of 'Black Widow', Scarlett Johansson is about to enter a period of rapid rise in popularity, somewhat similar to her situation when she first starred in 'Not Short of Money'.

With the connection of sleeping buddies, it didn't seem strange for him to hitch a ride.

Do you really think he's just driven by lust?
Actually, he controls the smaller head with the larger head. Who says male stars can't sleep their way to the top?
Xiao Juan looked thoughtful.

"So that's how it works!" she said, temporarily believing Ming Ge's nonsense while keeping a degree of skepticism until the so-called Marvel blockbuster is released.

……

First stop, Hong Kong.

Xu Ming made an appointment with Boss Yang, intending to start by asking him for donations.

The location was set at a tea restaurant suggested by the other party.

He arrived half an hour later when the other party finally appeared in the private room, still on the phone.

“Keep a close eye on him and let that kid calm down for a while. How much trouble has he caused the company since his debut? We cleaned up his mess in 02, and now we have to clean up his mess ten years later.”

"Do you know that his petty affairs have affected the group's stock price? I'm so old, and I still have to stand up and talk to the media to maintain stability."

Mr. Yang's face turned ugly, and he snorted coldly before hanging up the phone.

Looking up again, he saw that Xu Ming had recovered somewhat.

"I'm sorry, the group has been in some trouble lately, which caused a delay in my arrival."

After saying that, he sighed: "Alas, if Xie Tingfeng had half your brains, things wouldn't have come to this."

It's worth noting that Xie Tingfeng was initially positioned as an Asian superstar, and indeed, he did have a brilliant start.

But once that glorious moment is over, it becomes permanent, and he gets stuck in that position, unable to climb any higher.

She was transformed from a teenage idol into a women's idol.

Xu Ming suddenly realized what the other party meant by "trouble".

It's nothing more than Xie and Zhang's divorce. The former was exposed for transferring assets to a trust fund, which immediately affected the group's stock price.

"That's not how you put it," Xu Ming said in a deep voice.

Mr. Yang waited, and after a while, he and the other man were still staring at each other.

No, shouldn't there be something following that statement?

"But if you insist on saying that, you're not wrong. Tingfeng does need to be disciplined. He'll mature in a few years."

Xu Ming was at a loss; he racked his brains for a long time but couldn't come up with a way to salvage the situation.

This guy really did a bad job.

This angered Zhang Baizhi so much that he took his children and moved to Po County.

Mr. Yang's eye twitched.

If I remember correctly, Tingfeng was born in 80, while the other person was born in 89. He kept calling the former "child" and spoke to him in a senior-like tone.

He had previously considered arranging for Xu Ming and Xie Tingfeng to meet, believing that it's better to resolve conflicts than to create them, but now it seems better for them not to meet.

"Didn't you call me saying you had something to discuss? What is it?" Boss Yang changed the subject.

"I have a good project that needs a little bit of funding, so I've come to you to ask for some," Xu Ming explained his purpose.

Mr. Yang raised an eyebrow. He wasn't afraid of the other party asking him for money; he was afraid of them not asking.

Heaven rewards those who persevere; he finally got what he'd been waiting for.

"Hehe, I trust your project. Name your price, and we'll take it all."

“Twenty million US dollars, of course, the more the better,” Xu Ming said.

cough cough.

Mr. Yang choked. Converted to RMB, it was over 100 million. He did have it, but it was far from what he had guessed earlier.

This is just begging for alms.

"I need to know the specific details of the project first, right?" Mr. Yang said.

"Director David O. Russell, the cast is tentatively set to include Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and another collaborator is the daughter of Oracle founder Larry Elson."

Xu Ming paused for a moment, then said, "I am not very talented, but I am one of the producers and the chief screenwriter of this film."

Actually, this cast is a continuation of the one Bale starred in before, "The Fighter".

Megan and the CAA clearly supported Bale's recommendation, and he also voted in favor.

After all, these two were also part of the original lineup.

As a reborn individual, he knew his own limitations very well, and he would never arbitrarily change the course of his success if he could continue on that path.

In particular, "American Hustle" was his first project in the Hollywood market. He wanted to get off to a good start first, and then he could have more fun later.

Mr. Yang had some indigestion during the first half of the story, and when he heard the second half, even he, who was usually very knowledgeable, couldn't help but be surprised.

"You're one of the producers?"

"This news doesn't need to be kept secret. If you have connections over there, you can find out the truth. Given my status, there's no need for me to fabricate anything."

"That's true."

Mr. Yang nodded. If it were a movie starring the other party, raising the $20 million investment would be no problem in no time.

But the sudden appearance of a Hollywood project makes it really hard to make a decision.

The script might work well in mainland China, but it might not work in Hollywood.

(End of this chapter)