The richest person in Chinese entertainment

Chapter 153 The Temporarily Useless Ace and the Anxious Warner

What Han Sanping said about Star Media itself did not have much impact on Zhang Chen. If it was just an introduction, then Zhang Chen could go find Zhang Wei himself.

But if the construction of China Film Star Cinema Chain can allow Chenguang Entertainment to participate, it would be like being given a piece of fat meat.

If Zhang Chen cooperates with Star Media, his TV series may be sold globally.

But everything has to wait until it is actually implemented.

"Mr. Han, what do you think the highest box office of a Hollywood movie can reach in our country?"

"Titanic in 98 grossed 3.6 million yuan."

"That's about 4500 million U.S. dollars, and this is an isolated case. Even though the number of screens has increased, there has not been a single movie in the mainland that has exceeded this number, right?"

"Do you think Warner doesn't value the mainland market?"

"It's hard to hear, but Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone grossed $3500 million in North America on its first day."

The current mainland film market is too small, and China Film Group’s attempt to use import rights to control Warner may not work.

If it were 10 years later, Hollywood might really not dare to offend China Film.

But now, it's too difficult.

The number of foreign films that can enter the domestic market is limited, and the only films that Warner will be introduced to are their big-budget films.

Therefore, the film-sharing quota held by China Film Group does not seem that important to Warner at present.

Their other movies can't even get in, so what's the point of talking about being blocked?

Although there is still a quota for buyout films, there is still a quota limit. The reason is the same as that for split-revenue films, and buyout films are a one-time deal. The price is insignificant compared to the profits Warner can get elsewhere.

"Zhang Chen, do you think China Film Group has no chance to get involved?"

After Zhang Chen's analysis, Han Sanping also understood the current situation.

First of all, Zhang Chen was afraid that Warner would cheat him out of his dividends, so he didn’t dare to start filming the second part rashly.

Secondly, Warner most likely does not care about the box office in the Chinese film market, so it does not care whether the film can enter China. Trying to blackmail Warner with the import rights is not feasible, at least for now.

"Boss Han, how about we talk about Star Media first?"

There is no point in talking about the sequel to "Harry Potter", at least there is no need to talk about it now, as Han Sanping's sincerity is not enough.

In fact, Zhang Chen had already thought about how to deal with the sequel, but there was no need to reveal everything to Han Sanping.

“You want them to buy your TV series?”

Seeing that the film investment had come to a standstill, Han Sanping stopped daydreaming. Since he was already here, he might as well chat more with Zhang Chen, the most watched star in the country.

"Purchasing is just the beginning. I want to have deeper cooperation with them, so as to ensure that the TV series produced by my company can get more opportunities to go overseas."

Star Media, headquartered in Hong Kong Island, has its TV channels mainly in Southeast Asia, and also has many channels in North America, Europe and other places.

Its parent company, Media Group, is owned by media tycoon Murdoch. It is an international news media company and one of the most internationalized multinational corporations in the world.

Star Media and 20th Century Fox are both subsidiaries of the media group.

"Let me reveal some useful information. Next year, China Film Group and Star Media will jointly establish a company to enter the film industry."

"Is there any possibility that Chenguang Entertainment will be involved?"

Is it possible? After asking, I found out that cinema chain is a step that Chenguang Entertainment will definitely take.

In the absence of any foundation now, co-operating a cinema chain with others can also give Chenguang Entertainment a lot of experience in operating cinema chains.

"Next year will be an opportunity to open up the mainland market to foreign investment and inject fresh blood into our mainland film industry. So in theory, as long as there is strong financial strength, there will be opportunities."

That's just in theory. Star Media and China Film Group have both been working in the cultural industry for many years and have extensive experience in some of the rules and operations of the film industry. The two companies can be considered a strong combination.

But Morning Light Entertainment has not yet independently produced a movie, let alone mastered core resources. Why should they give Morning Light Entertainment a share of the pie?

"China Film Group certainly hopes that the mainland's film market will flourish, and Morning Light Entertainment also wants to make a name for itself in the film industry. I have some spare money here, and I should be able to build or acquire quite a few cinemas."

What is the most important thing for a cinema?
That naturally depends on how many cinemas the brand owns and the total number of screens in its cinemas. These are strong evidence to judge whether a cinema is strong.

Moreover, cinema chains are cinema chains, and cinemas are cinemas.

Many cinema chains do not have many theaters that they have invested in and built themselves. Instead, they recruit franchisees to bring theaters scattered around the country into an alliance for unified management.

"I'm going to go back and discuss this matter in a meeting."

"Then wait for good news from President Han."

This kind of thing is not something that can be decided on the spur of the moment tonight. Han Sanping doesn't really have the final say in China Film Group, he also needs to be responsible for the entire group.

"Then I'll go back first. As I said before, if there is anything you need help from China Film, feel free to come to me."

"I will. Take care, Mr. Han."

After Zhang Chen saw Han Sanping off, he returned to his study, took a pen and paper, and began to write and draw, recording some recent events and things to do in the future.

"Why are there so many troubles as soon as I step into the film and television industry?"

When he was just making his way in the music industry, he was able to carve out a path for himself with his works, but he was completely in the dark when it came to the film and television industry.

In addition to some basic common sense, it is also necessary to be familiar with the plots of some classic films. However, if you want to turn these films into scripts, or even further into movies, you still need professional knowledge to guarantee it.

It doesn't mean that he can write a script just by knowing a plot. These are two different things and involve too much professional knowledge.

Not to mention turning the story into a movie.

This is even more nonsense. Without a few years of further study or many years of performance experience, he may not even be able to do the most basic camera scheduling.

There is also the supporting industrial chain for the film industry, which is a less-noticed but very important link.

"Take your time and finish the things at hand first."

Zhang Chen picked up the paper he had written on, tore it into pieces, and then found a lighter and burned it.

On November 11, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was fully released in the United States, the United States, Canada, Taiwan, Singapore and other places.

In its first week, "Beautiful Country" was released in 3720 theaters across the United States and earned $1.1 million in box office revenue.

In the UK, the film was screened in 521 cinemas in its first week and earned £1833 million at the box office.
The global box office total has exceeded 2 million US dollars, and the film's profitability is a foregone conclusion.

Warner Bros. couldn't sit still after receiving the first week's box office data.

Warner's production director, Kevin, personally led a team across the ocean to China to start negotiating with Zhang Chen about the shooting plan for the next sequel.

Zhang's Residence, Living Room
The people at the scene were no different from the people who were in Zhang Chen’s villa in the United States.

The Warner team is led by Kevin, followed by Lorenzo and a group of consultants.

Chenguang Entertainment was led by Zhang Chen, and next to him sat Chenguang Entertainment's chief steward, Li Xiaoping, and the person who recorded the meeting.

After the servants served the drinks, Kevin spoke.

"Leon, you should have received the box office data for the movie. We should start filming the second part right away. To use an old Chinese saying, 'strike while the iron is hot.'"

"Have you ever heard of another saying, 'You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry'?"

After saying this, she thoughtfully translated it into English for him.

When Zhang Chen heard Kevin using ancient Chinese to get close to him, he knew that the other party must have done a lot of homework.

But as for old sayings, there are always different old sayings for the same thing.

This is a quote from an ancient nitpicker.

For example:

"A rabbit doesn't eat grass near its burrow" and "The one who is near the water gets the moon first";
“A good horse never turns back to eat the grass it has already passed”, “A prodigal son who returns is worth more than gold”;
"A prime minister has a broad mind" and "A man who does not seek revenge is not a gentleman."

Kevin didn't expect that the sentence he had worked so hard to read and even learned the pronunciation for was directly countered by Zhang Chen with another sentence.

"Leon, the first movie has already made money, and it is basically certain that the second movie will make money. Why should we miss such a good opportunity to make money?"

"Kevin, don't say you don't know what I'm worried about."

"Leon, I don't understand what you mean."

Seeing Kevin starting to act dumb, Zhang Chen chuckled and started giving examples.

"Star Wars, Men in Black, Forrest Gump, and yes, there's also Warner Bros.' Batman. Do I need to give more examples?"

"This..." Kevin was speechless after hearing the series of movies Zhang Chen mentioned.

But what can be done? The Hollywood film companies are so greedy and their history of bad deeds makes it difficult for Zhang Chen to trust them.

“Leon, I believe we won’t deduct your dividend.”

"Believe? What can you use to make me believe?" Zhang Chen paused and said, "Use your 'glorious deeds' with so many bad records?"

In fact, Zhang Chen would definitely agree to Warner starting the filming of the second part today, because the "Harry Potter" series is a super long blockbuster, and Warner would not be stupid enough to really deduct Zhang Chen's dividends from the previous parts, otherwise there would be no room for negotiation on the subsequent sequels.

Therefore, what Zhang Chen should worry about most is actually the final chapter of the last part. Everyone’s cooperation is about to end, and Warner is very likely to make a final profit from Zhang Chen and cheat him of his dividends.

Although he agreed in his heart, it did not prevent Zhang Chen from understanding Warner's eagerness to start the second part.

Take as much benefit as you can, it's all extra income.

"Leon, is the agreement we negotiated in the beginning just a piece of waste paper?"

　There was a network problem this morning and it's still being repaired, so the first chapter is late.

　　This chapter has 3000 words, and I will continue to code the rest.

　　Everyone, please vote with the monthly tickets in your hands. I directly redeemed yesterday's monthly tickets for extra chapters. You can put some more pressure on me, hahaha!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)