America: My Time

Chapter 491 System
Chapter 491 System

John's arrangements for Cherie Chung quickly spread throughout Phoenix Media Group and even the entire Hong Kong entertainment industry. This brought Cherie Chung, who had already faded from public attention, back into the spotlight with numerous "friends." Many people were paying close attention to the integration of Phoenix Media Group, as it was a consolidation of a multinational media and entertainment conglomerate, which was bound to bring about significant changes.

Putting aside everything else, Phoenix Cinemas alone was enough to entice many people. The director didn't want to cooperate with Phoenix Cinemas, so Cherie Chung's social interactions increased, and these interactions included many familiar figures from the entertainment industry.

This change put considerable pressure on Ye Qianwen, even making her doubt whether her decision was wrong and whether she should give up her career in the entertainment industry. However, she quickly dismissed the idea. Unlike Chung Chuh-hung, their experiences and personalities were vastly different.

John had discussed this matter with Sally Yeh, but she preferred to pursue a career in the entertainment industry and was unwilling to participate in the management of the group, nor did she believe she had the ability. It was precisely because of this that the two embarked on different paths and made different choices.

John knew that the Japanese would have something to say about his trip to Hong Kong. Both Universal Studios Hong Kong and the integration of Phoenix Media Group would make them uneasy. After all, the timing of his trip was very sensitive and would touch on their minds. It would be strange if the media giant Phoenix Media Group suddenly made changes and chose Hong Kong instead of Tokyo or the United States as its headquarters.

However, John no longer needs to worry about these guys' reactions. He also needs to make changes to his development in Japan. Otherwise, those bastards will think they are easy to bully and will keep testing him. It is necessary to give them a warning now, at least to make them restrain themselves and not affect his plans.

The changes at Phoenix Group have also brought about changes in Hong Kong's entertainment industry. Owning cinema chains throughout Asia and North America, and continuing to expand in Europe and South America, Phoenix Group can be said to be the world's largest cinema chain. Now, the management of Phoenix Group has changed, which has a huge impact on the entire Hong Kong entertainment industry. Elite Talent Agency has been completely merged into Phoenix Group and has become a member of Phoenix Group.

The integration of resources has given Phoenix Media Group more talent and more resources. Not many people knew how powerful Phoenix Media Group was before, after all, Phoenix Media Group developed in a decentralized manner. Now that it has achieved success, people in Hong Kong have realized that it is a media giant, a multinational media giant, far beyond what they imagined.

While consolidating, Phoenix Group is also expanding. There has been little change in Hong Kong, but changes have occurred in Taiwan and South Korea. Elite Talent Agency, Phoenix Pictures, Phoenix Records, and cinema chains have all entered the market.

Unfortunately, John's time in Hong Kong is limited, and he can't wait for the integration of Phoenix Group to be completed. After all, there are more important things to do in Taiwan. Now that the US-Japan semiconductor agreement has been brought forward, John also needs to prepare, at least by training more employees to increase the competitiveness in the market.

Many people only see ASUS's semiconductor chip manufacturing and the emergence of ASUS personal computers, but they don't realize that ASUS has made much more investment in manufacturing. In manufacturing, it's not just semiconductor chips, but also electronic processing plants, all to meet its own needs, reduce production costs, and gain a favorable position in the market.

The reason why those Japanese companies have seized the global market is because of their low production costs and high quality, which has made other global companies look like they're being ripped off. They practically dominate the home appliance market. With the semiconductor agreement between the United States and Japan, this situation will change, and more importantly, an opportunity will soon emerge.

"Mr. Shaw, since Shaw Brothers Studio has ceased production, would you be willing to accept the acquisition by Phoenix Film Company?" Before leaving Hong Kong, John met with Mr. Shaw to discuss the acquisition of Shaw Brothers Studio and Shaw Cinemas.

With the continuous expansion of Phoenix Group, Mr. Shaw has focused all his energy on TVB. After some consideration, John decided to talk to Mr. Shaw again. If they could acquire Shaw Brothers Studio and Shaw Cinemas, it would increase Phoenix Pictures' strength in Hong Kong, which led to today's meeting.

“Phoenix Group already has its own cinema chain and Phoenix Pictures, so why is it so determined to acquire Shaw Brothers? With Phoenix Group’s resources, it shouldn’t lack this kind of strength!” Old Master Shaw did not directly answer John’s question, but instead asked Phoenix Group about its intentions in acquiring the company.

“Phoenix Group certainly doesn’t lack these resources, but we don’t want this strength to become an asset to our competitors. Moreover, acquiring Shaw Brothers Cinemas would strengthen our cinema presence in Hong Kong and give us a larger market share. I have no reason to give up. I just don’t know if you’re willing to accept Phoenix Group’s acquisition!” “This is our second meeting. The first time, I rejected you, thinking that Shaw Brothers still had a chance. Now it seems I was wrong. Perhaps my thinking is outdated. I agree to your acquisition.”

John breathed a sigh of relief at Mr. Shaw's answer. Shaw Brothers still had a lot of resources. Although the big directors had been brought to TVB by Mr. Shaw, many employees were still there. This could make up for the talent problem after Phoenix Group's expansion and could provide some assistance to both Taiwan and South Korea.

"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Shao. Hong Kong is too small. TVB still needs to find new ways out. It can't support the development of a TV station by relying solely on Hong Kong!" At this moment, John also gave Mr. Shao a reminder: although Hong Kong dramas have a good market in Taiwan and Southeast Asia now, everything will change in the long run!

After reaching an acquisition agreement with Shaw Brothers, Phoenix Group quickly completed the full acquisition and officially took over Shaw Brothers Studio and Shaw Cinemas. With the talent from Shaw Brothers Studio, the pressure on ATV and Phoenix Studio was instantly relieved, and Phoenix Cinemas immediately became the largest cinema chain in Hong Kong, causing a shock to the entire Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Phoenix Films was already a powerful force in Hong Kong, but its acquisition of Shaw Brothers has made it even stronger, drawing more attention to Phoenix Films and its cinema chain. The biggest impact is on Golden Harvest and Cinema City, whose pressure has increased significantly in the face of Phoenix Films' growing strength.

Phoenix Group's resources are far superior to those of Golden Harvest and Cinema City. Moreover, Phoenix possesses a vast network of its own cinemas, giving it an absolute advantage in distribution. It's fair to say that the integrated Phoenix Pictures is even more powerful than they imagined, making this acquisition all the more worrying. Competing against Phoenix Group is simply impossible; the disparity in strength is overwhelming!

"Xi Zhao, you need to speed up the improvement of Phoenix Film's system. The Hong Kong film market has become chaotic. If Phoenix Film is not prepared, it may fall into trouble soon, just like in the past. A market without order is not sustainable. Now too many forces have poured into the Hong Kong film industry, all thinking about making quick money. This will exacerbate the destruction of the market. According to the current development, the Hong Kong film market may decline in ten years. We must prepare in advance. Phoenix Film's productions must be of high quality. That is our requirement."

"Boss, I will speed up the arrangements for Phoenix Pictures, but it won't be easy to turn things around. It will take a step-by-step change. After all, everyone is used to the old shooting methods, and it's not something that can be changed overnight."

“I know and I understand, but we must change, starting now. Whether it’s Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, or South Korea, any film produced by Phoenix Pictures must be a masterpiece. We need to establish a concept in the minds of the audience that any film produced by Phoenix is ​​a masterpiece. Only in this way can we occupy a favorable position in future market changes.”

"If that's the case, should we still make many art films or not?"

When Huang Xizhao asked, John frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "The film market is dominated by commercial films, and fewer art films are made. At least we need to ensure that we don't lose money. We can learn from Hollywood's model and evaluate each director. If there is a big failure, we need to pay attention. Moreover, each project has an independent review process. Phoenix Group also needs to establish its own review team, otherwise we will also fall into a predicament."

John knew how bad Wong Kar-wai was, and he didn't want Phoenix Pictures to be the same. Businesses need to make money, not produce films that audiences can't understand and waste their investments. No matter how many awards you win, if the box office is a disaster, it's unacceptable; no company can accept that.

Phoenix Pictures must avoid this situation: blindly following Hollywood's lead and prioritizing profit above all else. Without box office success, the company will stagnate and may even go bankrupt. Phoenix Group doesn't need such investments! The Asian market is vast. As long as Phoenix Pictures maintains a good reputation, with its current structure, even changes in cultural market policies across different countries won't significantly impact Phoenix Group. By then, Phoenix Group's domestic companies will have firmly established themselves and possess strong autonomy, making everything much easier. Only a sound system can allow Phoenix Pictures to go further and prevent it from suffering devastating blows should a crisis in the Hong Kong market occur.

(End of this chapter)