I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 211 The Madman Who Rejected Everything?

March.

This seems to be a watershed moment for the entire Chinese film industry.

If 2003 was the year that Tianyu Media dominated the Chinese film industry, enjoying unparalleled success...

So after March, the Chinese film industry will belong to [Huashang Brothers].

No one could have imagined that Tianyu Media, which was once riding high, would be stabbed in the back by Zhou Yang, a troublemaker, at the last moment before its IPO, and that Huasheng Brothers would ultimately reap the rewards.

With the frenzied operation of capital behind the scenes, the "gimmick" of China's first listed entertainment company boosted the influence of the entire industry and ultimately affected the stock market.

The stock price has been rising steadily, not only climbing from HK$8.2 to HK$10.09 yesterday, but also continuing its surge this morning, rising another 23% towards HK$12.41...

In contrast, competitor Tianyu Media, affected by the Golden Broom Awards, was forced to lower its issue price and its share price increase was only 10%, resulting in a market capitalization loss of HK$2.8 million. Although it opened higher today, the increase was slow, and investor confidence was clearly weaker than that of Huasheng Brothers…

News articles on the internet, and opening data after each listing.

Everything seemed to be declaring one thing: the power of discourse in the Chinese film industry was about to officially change hands in March 2004.

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

【XuanShi Entertainment】

The office door was gently pushed open, and a series of steady footsteps approached from afar.

Liu Jinghua, dressed in a well-tailored dark gray custom-made suit, walked over silently.

She wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and her gaze behind the lenses was calm and shrewd. When she met Zhou Yang, she smiled and shook hands with him.

"Mr. Zhou, it's an honor to meet you!" Her voice was unhurried, but her tone carried a hint of the smooth manner typical of Hong Kong businessmen as she looked Zhou Yang up and down.

Zhou Yang at the Golden Broom Awards wore an expensive custom-made suit and looked very polite. However, in real life, Zhou Yang wore an inexpensive suit from the brand "European Continental" and the same brand shirt. Although he still had an outstanding temperament, he looked more casual.

This young man is a major contributor to the great victory of [Huashang Brothers].

Liu Jinghua has a keen sense of opportunity. After the concept of the "Golden Broom Award" was introduced, she realized that the company had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

In fact, this young man was even more ruthless than she imagined, and what he did was even more extreme, leaving himself no way out.

Of course, he also has the means to be ruthless.

Liu Jinghua was well aware of the astonishing traffic and resources behind Zhou Yang at this moment. Such a person, if he were to nod his head, would definitely be a target that the four major film companies, and even "Tianyu", would want to compete for.

After this resounding victory, [Huashang Brothers] clearly understands that now is the time to control and integrate the upstream and downstream of the film industry chain and take the opportunity to consolidate its market position!
They must take control of Zhou Yang, this key figure, as soon as possible.

"Hello, Mr. Liu!"

Zhou Yang stood up, shook hands with Liu Jinghua, and personally poured Liu Jinghua a glass of water.

After looking at the plain water and the extremely simple furnishings in the room, Liu Jinghua's expression paused slightly, but she seemed to return to normal and silently took a document and some information from her assistant.

"Mr. Zhou, our purpose in coming here today is very simple. We hope to reach a strategic cooperation agreement with your [Xuan Shi Entertainment] and [Movie House]. Mr. Zhou, as you are probably well aware, in 2003, [China Film Group] had an import quota of 10 films, and in 2004, that number had increased to 12..."

"Yes, I know."

"Following our [Huashang Brothers] listing in March and its dazzling performance in the capital market, Hollywood film companies are now paying more attention to [Huashang Brothers] than they did to [Tianyu]. Of these 12 films, [Huashang Brothers] expects to secure 6, and each of them will be a blockbuster with an investment of over 100 million US dollars..." Liu Jinghua handed the documents to Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang took the documents and carefully flipped through them, seeing a list of imported overseas films, with "The Lord of the Rings" at the top...

"The Lord of the Rings movie has received very high ratings and scores in the Hollywood market and the global film market. It's no exaggeration to say that it's a gold mine..."

"Yes!" Zhou Yang closed the documents and nodded.

Sunlight streamed through the blinds and fell on Zhou Yang's face, which remained perfectly calm.

Liu Jinghua tapped lightly on the photocopy of the import permit for "The Lord of the Rings" with his fingertips. The embossed seal on the edge of the paper gleamed coldly in the light. "President Zhou should know that cinemas across the country are vying for the screening rights to these six films... We are very sincere this time. If President Zhou is willing to cooperate with us, then we can authorize you with the 'simultaneous premiere rights.' We can even place the premiere theater below your Feihe Cinema to help your Feihe Cinema soar to new heights!"

“President Liu, the condition is…” Zhou Yang remained unmoved, instead staring at Liu Jinghua with a smile.

"Let's get straight to the point!" Liu Jinghua suddenly stopped smiling and took a gold-embossed contract from her assistant: "We are willing to use the screening rights of 'The Lord of the Rings' and a series of subsequent films, plus ten million RMB, in exchange for 35% of the shares of [Movie House]..." She paused for a moment: "Of course, the revenue share from theatrical releases can be 52% for your company, which is already the maximum allowance for a listed company..." Zhou Yang did not say anything when he heard this.

Liu Jinghua then added, "President Zhou, I know you have a marketing team behind you. We, [Huashang Brothers], have already secured the marketing agency for 'The Lord of the Rings' merchandise. We are willing to share with you the full-channel copyright licensing and sales beyond the 'Lord of the Rings' movies, including but not limited to revenue sharing from game adaptations, merchandise production, and theme park development..."

Silence fell over the office.

Before coming here, Liu Jinghua had already investigated Zhou Yang.

She knew very well that someone like Zhou Yang, who could rise to prominence in such a short period of time (within six months), was definitely a ruthless and ambitious figure.

Throughout history, any powerful and ambitious person has always had a big appetite. Therefore, before the IPO, Liu Jinghua, as one of the shareholders of [Huashang Brothers], had already prepared the most generous terms to negotiate with Zhou Yang!
Now, Huasheng Brothers has gained new power, but it has not completely controlled the discourse power of the Chinese film industry. They need a "mad dog" like Zhou Yang to get things done.

but……

Liu Jinghua didn't see any excitement on Zhou Yang's face; on the contrary, he was unusually calm.

"Mr. Liu, giving us these things isn't just about wanting to invest in our [Movie House], is it?"

"It's so much easier talking to smart people, Mr. Zhou. Take a look at this contract. Besides [Movie House], we're willing to invest 3000 million RMB to acquire a 35% stake in our [Xuan Shi Entertainment]..."

Zhou Yang took another contract and looked at the clauses written on it.

He saw the copyright clause in the investment agreement: "After investing in Xuanshi Entertainment, Huasheng Brothers will have absolute rights to use all film copyrights under Xuanshi Entertainment." Below that was a legal clause that essentially stated that after Huasheng Brothers' investment, all derivative copyrights of Xuanshi Entertainment's films would be automatically granted to Huasheng Brothers, and Huasheng Brothers would have voting rights over the "production" of Xuanshi Entertainment's new films…

This legal clause is written in a very complicated way, and if Zhou Yang doesn't understand the law, he could easily overlook it.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Yang looked up at Liu Jinghua: "After signing, the film rights to 'The Spirit of Zhao Zilong' and 'Guan Yu' under my ownership will all belong to you?"

"We'll collaborate on development; after all, we've already licensed 'The Lord of the Rings' to you, [XuanShi Entertainment]..."

At that moment, the air in the office suddenly froze.

Zhou Yang tapped lightly on the copyright clause in the contract, then suddenly chuckled, "President Liu, your [Huashang Brothers]'s appetite is even bigger than I imagined..."

Liu Jinghua adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, a sharp glint in his eyes behind the lenses: "President Zhou, this is a win-win situation. That's how Hollywood operates; resource sharing is how you grow the pie. 'The Lord of the Rings' is projected to gross $8 million worldwide, and merchandise revenue could double that. Besides 'The Lord of the Rings,' we also have a series of tokusatsu film resources from Japan, such as the upcoming 'Ultraman Deckard.' You should know the influence of Japanese tokusatsu films among young people in China..."

"So you're even taking away the filming rights to the sequel to my 'The Spirit of Zhao Zilong'?" Zhou Yang suddenly interrupted her, flipping the contract to page seventeen and jabbing his finger heavily at the densely packed supplementary clauses. "This clause says 'Party A has the priority right to develop all of Party B's IPs.' Does that mean that if I film 'Guan Yun Chang' in the future, I'll have to consider your opinions first?"

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside, and Li Cheng from the technical department rushed in, carrying a stack of data reports: "President Zhou! [Movie House] has just received invitations from thirty-seven brands, and they hope you can come forward..."

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, and upon seeing Liu Jinghua, awkwardly withdrew.

This brief interlude, however, made Liu Jinghua's eyes light up: "President Zhou, what you lack most right now is a stable content output channel. After our IPO, we will have ample cash flow, which can help you turn the 'Martial Soul' series into China's 'Lord of the Rings'..."

"You mean, you want to use our bones to make your soup?" Zhou Yang suddenly blurted out.

Liu Jinghua frowned when he heard this: "President Zhou, you should be aware of your current situation. 'A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime'..."

"How to say?"

"Hollywood films are controlled by the five major studios, and Chinese films are also under their control. To put it bluntly, we currently control 90% of the resources... I admit that your monetization system is relatively complete, but unless you have a continuous influx of profitable films to nourish your system, collapse is only a matter of time. At that time, everything you rely on will be worthless..."

"..." Zhou Yang remained silent.

"Haven't you noticed that, regarding the new film support you mentioned at the Golden Broom Awards, not many directors have been willing to publicly stand by your side so far?"

"..."

"Let me reiterate, 90% of the resources are in our hands. These resources include director resources, market resources, overseas film sources, and even some overseas film award resources... The remaining 10% are all the ones we have repeatedly rejected... And you, can you survive with these 10% of resources?"

"..."

To put it simply, after "The Mine" ends, will you still have any movies? Can you guarantee that all of them will have an impact? Can they all support the theaters behind you?

"..."

"Too much rigidity leads to breakage; too much sharpness will only make you an enemy of the world sooner or later... Now is your best chance! If you disagree now, all the conditions I propose tomorrow will be reduced..."

(End of this chapter)