Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 250 This year is a bumper year for Datang Film Industry

After spending three days in Shanghai, Chen Xiu returned to Beijing.

The effects of that live stream with Ma Yun are still ongoing...

As Douyin's daily new user growth surges, many big-name internet celebrities who originally belonged to Kuaishou have started bringing their fans to switch platforms to Douyin.

"Isn't this a good thing?"

Chen Xiu looked at Su Xiao, who had conveyed the message to her, and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

After tying her hair up and taking off her bathrobe, Su Xiao explained herself while changing clothes in front of Chen Xiu.

“Although we didn’t mean to poach their talent, Kuaishou saw it as a declaration of war. Many of Douyin’s mid-tier and top-tier influencers have been poached by Kuaishou with high prices.”

"Everyone has their own ambitions, let them be."

“Ordinary internet celebrities are nothing special. The key point is that Kuaishou has also discovered the effectiveness of celebrities in attracting traffic and is copying our tactics.”

"With celebrity endorsement fees so high these days, can they afford to hire them?"

Nowadays, celebrities' appearance fees are very high.

Take the lineup when Ma Yun came to Douyin's live stream last time as an example. If it weren't for the excuse of promoting his work, just inviting those eight celebrities, plus He Jiong, would have cost no less than ten million.

Kuaishou is not a large company, and it doesn't have enough funding.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

Su Xiao, who was putting on her pants and buttoning her shirt, turned to look at Chen Xiu.

"Next month, Kuaishou will launch its Series D funding round, which is expected to be $4 million. It seems they are feeling the pressure and want to burn money to start a war."

"A war waged with money..."

Chen Xiu sat up in bed, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.

He wasn't too concerned about Kuaishou's various responses; what really reminded him was the money-burning war, which made him think of Mobike, which had just finished its Series D funding round last week. He should probably contact Wang Xin as well...

As she was thinking this, Chen Xiu suddenly felt a fragrant breeze wafting towards her.

Looking up, he saw Su Xiao standing by the bed, facing him. The top three buttons of her collar were undone, revealing glimpses of her fair skin.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Kuaishou doesn't need to worry about other things. Our user base is already distinct from theirs. Although they may look similar, the market is actually completely different. Many Douyin users will not use Kuaishou at all, but will prefer to use Xiaohongshu instead."

"...I quite like using it too."

"Ok?"

Su Xiao raised her hand to button up her clothes and straightened her collar.

"Xiaohongshu's development model is very good. Compared with Douyin, it can more accurately target users, and I feel it is worth investing in."

"Sister Xiaoxiao, you have such good taste."

"What do you mean?"

“My investment company participated in Xiaohongshu’s Series C funding last March. The share was small, but better than nothing.”

Upon hearing this, Su Xiao looked down and glanced around, a strange light flashing in her eyes, before placing her hand on Chen Xiu's shoulder.

"You said back then that even if I left Didi, I wouldn't be too bad off. Is that what you meant?"

Chen Xiu met her gaze, then reached out and wrapped his arms around her slender waist as they slid down.

"This is only a small part of our investment portfolio."

"Hmph! Stop messing around, I'm going to the company... Want to come with me?"

"I'm not going today. I've been busy with Douyin for the past two weeks, and the film and television company also needs me, the boss, to go back and take care of it."

"Then why don't you get up now!"

Su Xiao's cheeks were flushed, making her look incredibly beautiful. Her anger only accounted for a third of her expression, while the rest seemed more like shyness and bashfulness.

Chen Xiu smiled and withdrew her mischievous hand.

Su Xiao let out a long breath, gave him a cold sidelong glance, and then suddenly pinched the middle of the trapezius muscle on his shoulders, making Chen Xiu hiss repeatedly.

He forgot that Su Xiao's father was the head of orthopedics, and he had a very clear understanding of the structure of joints and muscles...

Back at Datang Film Studio, Chen Xiu found that there weren't many people at work.

Considering that today is only the third day of the Lunar New Year, he felt more like an ox or a horse.

However, the lights in the artists' practice room were on even during the day, presumably because newcomers were practicing basic skills or acting techniques there.

Upon entering the office, Chen Xiu had just made himself a cup of coffee when he was greeted by Wei Feng, who shared the same ox-horse zodiac sign.

"Boss, I just finished organizing this year's work plan..."

"No rush, have you had breakfast yet?"

Wei Feng, who was holding the document, shook his head blankly upon hearing this, indicating that he hadn't eaten yet.

Chen Xiu handed over the coffee and said, "Have a hot cup first! There's breakfast Xiao Luo bought on the coffee table. I can't eat all of it, so could you help me with some?"

"Oh well."

After taking the coffee, Wei Feng waved the documents in his hand, and Chen Xiu simply replied, "We'll talk about it later."

They made another cup of coffee, ate breakfast together, and then started talking about work.

During this period, Chen Xiu was busy with work in the internet sector, and the film and television business was basically handled by Wei Feng, who only needed to approve and confirm.

"Of the projects we invested in this year, 'Eternal Love' will officially premiere tomorrow. The first-run broadcast rights on TV and online have already allowed the project to recoup its costs. Subsequent profits will depend on its performance after the premiere." "Yes, with the live broadcast promotion a few days ago, the buzz should be pretty good."

"Then there's 'Wolf Warrior 2' in July. Wu Jing's idea was to schedule the movie's release before Army Day to generate some holiday buzz."

“We only account for 10% of the investment, so he can handle that.”

After discussing the two projects with relatively small investment proportions, Wei Feng turned the page of the document and began to talk about the projects led or primarily invested in by Datang Pictures.

"Post-production work on 'The Song of the King of Qin' is still underway. It is expected to be submitted for review in March. If all goes well, it can be broadcast online during the summer. We are currently in contact with the head of the TV station's acquisition department."

"As for overseas distribution, there's no rush. We can arrange it after the approval process is complete."

"Okay, I've got it. Besides the TV series, the scripts for 'Better Days' and 'The Unknown' have already passed review. The team behind 'Soulmate' is willing to take on the production work, but..."

"but?"

Chen Xiu looked at Wei Feng strangely, puzzled as to why there was a "but".

Wei Feng nodded slightly and said, "Director Zeng Guoxiang liked the script very much after reading it, but he preferred Zhou Dongyu to play the female lead Chen Nian."

"How did you answer?"

"The key roles have already been decided and cannot be changed."

"Then there's no problem."

Wei Feng held the document in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then went to tell Zeng Guoxiang his request.

"Boss, Director Zeng's idea is to arrange an audition. If the female lead isn't suitable, he thinks Zhou Dongyu could play the second female lead."

Chen Xiu felt there was something odd about what he was saying.

He stared intently at Wei Feng, only seeing the helplessness behind the request to relay the message.

Chen Xiu frowned slightly and said, "Is Zeng Guoxiang really insisting on cooperating with Zhou Dongyu?"

"Yes, I don't know what he's thinking. I've refused him time and time again, but he still insists on getting involved with Zhou Dongyu..."

"Then let's find someone to replace him."

Chen Xiu solved the problem with a single, casual remark.

Wei Feng held the document, and after a moment of surprise, a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

"Boss, should we replace him directly, or go and talk to him again, and only replace him if that doesn't work?"

"You've decided. Anyway, the main cast for the movie has been cast, and the movie needs to start filming as soon as possible. We need to schedule a release this year. Tsang Kwok-cheung needs to give us a reply this week. Let's continue talking about the project."

"Okay, the crew of 'The Unknown' has already started pre-production work and is expected to officially start filming in April, with a release expected this year."

What about Detective Chinatown 2?

Although both "Better Days" and "The Unknown" are good projects, in terms of commercial value, the two combined are not as good as "Detective Chinatown 2".

Upon hearing Chen Xiu's question, Wei Feng glanced down and said, "I've put it at the end of the explanation."

"OK, let's continue!"

"For 'The Wandering Earth,' in which we hold the majority of the investment, we've already started auditions for actors and expect to begin filming at the end of April. Finally, for 'Detective Chinatown 2,' we've officially finalized our communication with overseas partners and will be able to officially begin filming in March."

After reporting on the project, Wei Feng summarized: "This year we plan to release a total of 3 films, namely 'Wolf Warrior 2' during the summer season, as well as 'Better Days' and 'The Unknown,' which are expected to be released in December."

"In terms of TV dramas, there are 'Eternal Love' and 'The King of Qin's Battle Formation,' totaling 5 projects. The release date for 'Detective Chinatown 2' is confirmed to be during the Spring Festival of 18, while 'The Wandering Earth' will be delayed by another year due to post-production special effects issues."

After hearing the whole story, Chen Xiu nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, much better than last year."

The release date of "Detective Chinatown 1" was 15. Even though the box office revenue sharing occurred in the middle of last year, the project still belongs to 15.

Last year, Datang Pictures only produced "The Untouchable" in collaboration with iQiyi, and "Candle in the Tomb" as a co-production.

The two web series, despite their good broadcast performance, generated very limited profits, which can be described as better than nothing.

In comparison, this year can be described as a bumper year for Datang Pictures.

"By the way! Zijin Xu has published a new novel. I read it and thought it was pretty good. Why don't you go and talk to him about the copyright?"

Chen Xiu got up and went to her desk, retrieved the novel "The Long Night" and handed it to Wei Feng.

He no longer needs to personally handle matters like acquiring copyrights.

Wei Feng didn't even need to get involved; he could simply delegate the task to his subordinates.

After finishing their work discussion, Chen Xiu picked up her coffee and suddenly remembered something else: "Xiao Feng, have you made arrangements for the newcomer acting training class?"

"It's arranged! They're having a lesson in the practice room right now, practicing their performance on the spot."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiu also recalled the lights in the training room she had seen when she came in.

"Let's go over and have a look."

"okay."

The two looked at each other, stood up, left the office, and came to the door of the training room.

Looking at the light shining through the glass of the door, in order not to disturb the people inside, I had no choice but to push the door open quietly.

When the door was pushed open a crack, the sounds inside reached their ears.

"Wouldn't it be better if Hu Xiaodie were dead? If she hadn't died, her mother wouldn't have been able to get so much money..."

(End of this chapter)