The richest person in Chinese entertainment

Chapter 267 Film Director, the Future $1500 Billion

[Yesterday at the Grammy Awards, The Voice of China won a great victory, sweeping 18 Grammy Awards including the four major comprehensive awards. All the trophies were related to Lyon, who also won three comprehensive awards at this year's Grammy Awards and won the Best Male Pop Singer and Best Pop Album awards. ]——BBC
[According to the latest data, the total sales of Lyon's "Time" album has exceeded 3800 million copies. If the number of online paid downloads is included, the album sales have reached 5600 million. Lyon's total personal album sales have successfully exceeded 3.45 million copies, ranking third in the world, second only to Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. 】——CNN
[Golden song maker - Lyon, the spectacular scene of this year's Grammy Awards] - [Picture of a cart carrying 25 Grammy trophies] - NetEase

[Congratulations to our shareholder Mr. Zhang Chen for winning 5 Grammy Awards again. ]——Penguin.com
[In the future, Zhang Chen's songs will be released on this platform for the first time. Welcome all fans to download 'Morning Light Music'! ]——Morning Light Music

[Zhang Chen, an outstanding young Chinese entrepreneur and world pop star, said at the Grammy Awards ceremony today that he will enter the film and television industry and will start shooting two films this year. 】——Shaozitai
In just one night, Zhang Chen's feat at the Grammy Awards and his announcement of his withdrawal from the Grammy Awards spread throughout the world's entertainment industry.

If Zhang Chen was just a star, this news might only remain in the entertainment pages.

But in addition to being a celebrity, Zhang Chen is also an entrepreneur.

So in addition to the entertainment pages, the finance, international news, Internet and other pages also gave front-page space to report on this legendary figure.

Compared to the media reports, netizens around the world have expressed much more intense opinions:
"Leon can barely stay in the United States for a few days a year, so he just disappeared this time?"

"Leon used to come to our country. Maybe he forgot that he has a castle in Ying Country?"

"The castle you mentioned above is almost becoming the most popular check-in attraction in your country. How could Leon still go there?"

"Other singers hold dozens of concerts every year, but it's miserable for Leon's fans. We can't see him all year round. Now he doesn't even release an album?"

"Leon is very prolific, and every song he produces is a classic. You won't lose money if you buy his album."

"It's fine that he acted in TV dramas before, but now he's going into the movie industry. He's really willful."

"In fact, there were signs a long time ago. Ever since he invested in the Harry Potter series, I knew that this day would come."

@Avril: Damn it, where’s the song you were supposed to sing? Why are you going to make a movie?
@Coldplay: I envy Avril. We wanted to ask Leon to write a song for us, but we couldn’t even get into his company.

@Madonna: Hey, I have a song written by Leon.

@Taylor: Are you jealous? Lyon's song - [Three Grammy Awards]

@Rihanna: Are you jealous? Lyon wrote the song——[Two Grammy Awards]

@Beyonce: Are you jealous? Lyon wrote the song——[Three Grammy Awards]

@Lady Gaga: I envy you too, I only have one——[Picture of a Grammy trophy]

@Lincoln Band: I want to participate in "The Voice"!!!
@王妃: The Grammy Awards have already set an example. Do you understand award ceremonies like the Golden Melody Awards in our country?
@张亚栋: I have prepared a sack. All the songs in The Voice of China were composed by me. It should be full, right? ——[Picture of a sack as tall as a person]

@Zhou Xun: Zhang Chen is going to make a movie. Does he need actors? I would like to recommend myself.

@范兵兵: Boss, where is my role?

@高媛媛: I always feel like I have been forgotten by my boss for a long time.

@刘艺菲: My songs are all written by my brother, but where is my trophy? !

The internet was in turmoil, with everyone discussing Zhang Chen.

But Zhang Chen, who was at the center of the incident, was leisurely at home drinking tea he brought from China.

"Quentin, what do you think?"

“This script is really interesting.”

"How about being a director?"

"My new movie is coming out in April, so I probably won't have time during this period."

"When your movie comes out, I'll let you do the promotion."

Zhang Chen had already done some research when he was looking for Quentin. The action thriller crime film "Kill Bill 2" directed by him will be released in mid-April.

This movie, if memory serves me correctly, won a Saturn Award.

The director is good at telling stories in a topsy-turvy and non-linear way, using extreme methods to express black humor, and deconstructing everything heartlessly.

In his films, there is no great meaning, and there are no characters that need to be portrayed positively. If he can make the audience laugh, he will never hypocritically pity his characters.

In addition, his techniques of dividing the play structure by viewpoint and connecting the story with sound editing have had a profound impact on later films.

But if you think Quentin only makes bloody and violent movies, you are wrong.

In many cases, film directors do have their own shooting techniques, but if they are asked to shoot according to the film script, they can still shoot the story that Zhang Chen needs.

Otherwise, Quentin would not have made literary films like "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" in the future.

"What about the movie roles? Do you need me to choose them?"

“All the actors have been found.”

"Is that so?" Quentin fell silent.

In fact, Quentin asked this question because he wanted to see how much say he had in this project.

But Zhang Chen's answer undoubtedly gave him a clear answer - he was just a tool.

This was a little difficult for Quentin, who didn't like being restricted, to accept.

His personality can actually be compared to Jiang Wen from China. Even the phrase "awesome" is about Jiang Wen.

"Quentin, this is just my company's first movie."

“Are there any other projects coming up?”

"Since this is the first one, it's just an attempt."

"Okay, I'll take it!"

After hearing Zhang Chen's explanation, Quentin no longer hesitated.

If a wealthy man like Zhang Chen wants to enter the film industry, it is natural that he will not make a lot of noise but do nothing.

According to his understanding, Zhang Chen had been preparing to enter the film industry a long time ago.

If he could hook up with such a big financial sponsor, whether it was his own film investment or Zhang Chen's company's film projects, he would be able to take an advantage over other Hollywood directors.

"What a pity! It would have been great if I had met you earlier."

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Zhang Chen sighed with regret on his face.

"Oh? I've wanted to meet Leon for a long time." Quentin said politely. He didn't understand what Zhang Chen meant specifically.

"Will Quentin go to Cannes this May to serve as the jury president?"

"Yes, then I might have to take some time off again." When Quentin heard Zhang Chen mention this, he felt that he would delay the filming of the crew.

After all, the president of the Cannes Film Festival needs to start reviewing films before the opening of the festival, which takes a lot of time and energy.

For him, who had just taken over the project from Zhang Chen, he needed to promote his own movie while also going to Cannes to serve as the chairman of the jury, which delayed the filming of the crew a bit.

"No." Zhang Chen denied Quentin's idea, "I will shoot another movie in China this year, and if nothing goes wrong, I will also send it to Cannes."

"That's a shame. This year, besides me, your director Tsui Hark is also a member of the jury. If you participate in this year's selection, you should be able to get a good result."

"Tsui Hark?" Zhang Chen shook his head and did not comment.

His suppression of people in the Hong Kong entertainment industry has already been made public.

As a director from Hong Kong Island, it's good enough that Tsui Hark doesn't do anything about this kind of thing. Why should I let Tsui Hark treat me well?
People in the Hong Kong film and television circles are very proud, and they are very good at playing in small circles. It is better to rely on foreign jury members than on them.

Seeing that Zhang Chen didn't care, Quentin stopped asking questions and turned to ask about something he was more concerned about: "By the way, I see the movie hasn't been named yet, have you decided on a name yet?"

"The movie is called "The Pursuit of Happyness""

That night, someone sneaked into Zhang Chen's villa.

"Boss, congratulations!"

William took off his large windbreaker, sunglasses and wide-brimmed hat, and smiled and congratulated Zhang Chen who was sitting in the study.

He was able to come to Zhang Chen's place, but he had to drive around in a long circle and only after making sure that no one was following him did he carefully sneak into Zhang Chen's house.

"Why are you acting like a thief?"

"You were the one who said to be careful."

"Uh" Zhang Chen was speechless, "Tell me, how is the company doing recently."

Although Zhang Chen receives reports from several companies he controls every day.

However, as the number of companies increases, it is inevitable that some situations will be missed.

In addition, William is in the United States and Facebook is a sensitive company, so Zhang Chen did not dare to talk to William about this matter on the Internet.

Not even a phone call.

After all, the United States is well-known for monitoring the phone calls of important people.

Zhang Chen doesn't believe that the CEO of Facebook, who controls the current online speech in the Western world, will not be monitored by the United States.

Unless William can join the ranks of Wall Street capital, it will be possible for the United States government to be more restrained.

Be careful, nothing big will happen.

"First, let's take Google, which will be listed in May this year. Since the boss holds Class A shares, he has voting rights, but compared with the two founders' Class B shares, which have 5 votes per share, there is still a big gap, so it is difficult for the boss to control the company."

“It’s better not to have Class B shares.”

Zhang Chen doesn't think it's a good thing that he owns Google's Class B shares.

For a company like Google, if the founder wants to control the company he founded, he will do everything he can to ensure that he has a say in the company.

Google uses three types of shares: A, B, and C.

Class A: Enjoy voting rights, one share for each share
Class B: Exclusively owned by the two founders, each Class B share corresponds to 10 voting rights, and B can be converted into other shares, while A and C cannot be converted into other shares.

The two of them each hold about 2000 million Class B shares and 2000 million Class C shares.

Category C: The holder does not have voting rights, it is purely for investment purposes and can be circulated in the secondary market.

Moreover, Google's stock was split into Google-A and Google-B and listed on the market separately.

For example, Zhang Chen holds Google Class A shares. Although he has voting rights, his 5% stake does not play a big role compared to the two founders' Class B shares, which allow them to control the company's equity as long as they hold more than 25% of the company's shares.

In addition, since the joint action agreement was signed at the beginning, his 25% voting rights do not actually belong to him.

But Zhang Chen doesn't care, as long as he can make money.

Google is now firmly established as the world's largest search engine, and if it continues to develop as it should, a sharp rise in its stock price is foreseeable.

According to the financial reports and data that Google handed over to him every time, the listed stock price should be US$85, and the total share capital should be approximately 2.7 million shares.

If the shares are diluted due to listing, Zhang Chen's 25% stake will become 18.75%, which is about 5000 million shares.

He initially invested 3000 million, and the original issue price alone would allow Zhang Chen to earn 25 billion US dollars.

If he had held on to it without taking any arbitrage, and Google had continued to develop as he expected, the stock price of Google-A would have skyrocketed to nearly $3000 per share.

By this calculation, Zhang Chen can make a profit of 1500 billion US dollars just from Google stock!
Let’s do the math.
"William, split the stocks I hold into several shadow companies."

"Ah? Is there something wrong?"

William scratched his head in confusion.

He was also somewhat confused by Zhang Chen's sudden task.

"Just listen to me."

Zhang Chen breathed a sigh of relief with lingering fear.

Unstable. Too unstable.

He was careful about Facebook, but forgot that Google's shares were held by his own separate company.

Even just based on the stock price after listing, the company's wealth will soar to 25 billion US dollars.

A real fat sheep.

"Okay, the other thing is 'Morning Light Music'. If nothing goes wrong, it should be listed next year. We will find a securities company to handle it. As for the company's business, its revenue exceeded $8 million last month, mainly due to the boss's speech at the Grammy Awards."

Since Zhang Chen helped several new singers win one trophy after another at the Grammy Awards, many people who had not originally downloaded songs on the platform paid to download Zhang Chen's singles.

Moreover, "The Voice of China" has indeed helped "Morning Light Music" to gain a large number of members in the Western world, allowing the company to have over 4000 million members outside the Chinese market, of which about 1000 million are fans who want to obtain "ticket purchasing qualifications."

Now, Morning Glory Music can bring Zhang Chen nearly 2 million US dollars in net profit every month, making it a real cash cow.

“What about Apple and Facebook?”

　Hiss, I didn’t know until I calculated it. Once I calculated it, I was shocked. My future assets will be a bit scary.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)