Chapter 485: The First Clash with Boss Ma

Martial arts films seem to be a genre that directors from Hong Kong and Taiwan can never bypass.

At the end of last month, when Hou Hsiao-hsien held a press conference in Taipei for *The Assassin*, it created quite a stir.

Many production companies and directors in Mainland China posted on Weibo to offer congratulations and express their anticipation, and Huayi went to great lengths to praise the lead actress, Shu Qi.

And in the last two days, as the film officially started shooting at Wudang Mountain, the spectacle was even greater; many directors and Producers actually went to the scene to show their support.

As a super die-hard fan of martial arts films, Lu Yang also went, and when he returned, he chatted with Wei Jin about this production.

"Senior brother, Director Hou is truly worthy of being a veteran director; he has such great ideas."

Watching Lu Yang look as if he had been swindled into a limp, Wei Jin was speechless.

"Not all content can be compatible with martial arts."

As everyone knows, the decline of pure martial arts films has become an indisputable fact.

Looking at the few successful cases currently, the *Brotherhood of Blades* series belongs to the official power-struggle type of martial arts film, *Flying Swords of Dragon Gate* belongs to the special-effects martial arts film, and the *Detective Dee* series can barely be classified as detective martial arts films.

But Hou Hsiao-hsien has great ambition, attempting to create a brand-new track through the new concept of art-house + martial arts.

However, Wei Jin is not optimistic about this new attempt.

The essence of martial arts is the flash of swords and shadows, and the romance of children; it can be compatible with power struggles, history, and even detective themes, but it is the only thing that has nothing to do with art-house.

Because, at the end of the day, martial arts films are commercial films; if you incorporate too many artistic elements, what does that become?

Lu Yang was about to argue a couple more points when a knock sounded outside the office door.

"President Wei, there is a banquet invitation sent by Ali, specifically naming you to attend."

"Hmm? What is Lao Ma plotting again?"

Wei Jin was a bit confused; ever since the acquisition of Weibo shares was rejected last year, the two companies had almost no interaction, so why invite him? "It is said that many film companies in the industry have received invitations."

The secretary handed the invitation to Wei Jin and then retreated.

"Internet Era + Film and Television Cultural Industry Summit?"

Looking through the content, Wei Jin had a strange expression on his face; are these internet hooligans about to enter the market? Lu Yang, on the side, was curious, leaned over to take a look, and started laughing.

"Senior brother, this Ali is really interesting. An internet company invites the film and television industry to a meeting to discuss the development of the film and television industry, but it turns out they are the ones giving the lecture? Isn't this a typical case of a layman directing an expert?"

"Pretty much. Why? Interested?"

"Yeah, senior brother, take me to see it. Everyone says Boss Ma's PPTs are well-made; I want to see who is more impressive between him and Boss Jia."

"Hahaha, you kid..."

This idiot's words made Wei Jin laugh out loud, but this idea was not bad; he also wanted to know whose skills were higher between the two masters of deception.

"Fine, we'll go join in the fun when the time comes."

In the TV drama market, the ratings for *Chuqiaozhuan* continued to rise; currently, it has been airing for half a month, and the plot has not yet passed the halfway point, but the average rating has already broken 2.

Regarding the subsequent ratings, both the production side and the television station were full of confidence.

Just at this time, another drama from Shanhe Media announced it had started filming, and the media gave it extensive coverage: "The idol romance drama *Silent Separation*, jointly produced by Shanhe Media and Qiao Zhenyu Studio with an investment of 60 million, started filming in Shanghai today."

"The drama is adapted from the work of the same name by best-selling novelist Gu Man, starring popular male star Qiao Zhenyu and A-list female star Yang Rong, with the newly promoted Four Young Dan Luo Jin and former Mou Girl Ni Ni joining with passion, telling the story of..."

Looking at the news online, Yang Mi was a bit speechless.

When casting earlier, she had read the script; this play was actually quite suitable for her to perform in, but unfortunately, the schedule was really a bit awkward.

"By the way, Jia Jie, we have an investment share in that remaining *Dragon Snake*, right?"

"Yes, that's what Director Jiang said, 10%."

Ceng Jia nodded; the company's rules were like this: if there is a studio artist starring, they can usually get a 10% share.

If not, this portion of the share would be assigned by Wei Jin to other studios; for example, *Dragon Snake* had no studio participation, so it was assigned to Yang Mi.

Thinking of this matter, Yang Mi felt a bit complicated; although that man was heartless after the deed, he really kept his word and was good to her, but unfortunately, why couldn't she walk into his heart?

"By the way, Mimi, there seem to be some bad rumors recently; Director Guo and that male actor who was poached back... anyway, you had better stay away from them..."

Ceng Jia gave a reminder; the entertainment industry was truly too chaotic, and there was no helping it when encountering these eye-stinging things.

"Jia Jie, you are overthinking it. Aside from official business, I won't have much interaction with them, and besides, don't you think this is safer? Haha."

Yang Mi responded with a smile, and then a touch of pride appeared on her face.

"Besides, I am a partner of Shanhe Media; no one dares to look for trouble for no reason, so you can put your heart at ease."

It had only been a few days since the Dong Bailian incident; no one dared to touch the bad luck of Shanhe Media.

Furthermore, Yang Mi was also very clear-headed; how those directors played was their business, she just didn't need to pay attention, and even if she saw it by accident, she would just pretend not to know.

"Hmm, what you say also makes sense, but still be careful; we aren't afraid of trouble, but it's disgusting if we run into it."

Yang Mi nodded, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Yeah, it is a bit disgusting; I will be careful."

Wei Jin did not know about the gossip Yang Mi and Ceng Jia were discussing; he was currently attending Ali's summit with Lu Yang.

2012 could be called the "blowout" year for e-commerce; statistics show that the sales of Taobao and Tmall in the first three quarters of this year approached 1 trillion yuan.

What kind of concept is this? This sales figure is equivalent to 5% of the total national retail sales of consumer goods in the same period.

In other words, Ali has money, extremely a lot of money, so much money that they spent nearly 20 billion to complete the privatization and delisting from the Hong Kong stock market.

So, almost no one in the entire film and television circle refused the invitation to today's summit.

It was just that Lu Yang was a bit regretful now; compared to Boss Jia's "suffocating for dreams," Boss Ma was truly too rational.

It was always data analysis, as if everything could be solved with a formula, including making movies.

This made him feel that it was not passionate or romantic enough.

Wei Jin felt it was alright; they were internet enterprises, basically they all played this game.

At this moment, he was chatting with Lao Wang beside him. "Brother, are you saying that Ali is about to enter the market?"

"Hehe, Brother Wang, ever since they invested in Huayi, Ali has never hidden their optimism about the film and television industry, but they probably won't enter the market directly for the time being."

Wei Jin's words were also a wild guess; in his impression, the internet's entry should be after the release of *So Young*, starting to film these types of youth movies one after another, directly milking this genre to death.

Wang Changtian nodded, then seemed to recall something.

"Brother, speaking of Huayi, are you really not participating in the matter they initiated?"

"No, Brother Wang. I advise you not to get too deeply involved either. Pulling chestnuts from the fire for others—the cautionary tale of Zhang Dapao is a lesson not far off."

Seeing Wang Changtian looking thoughtful, Wei Jin said no more.

It would soon be November, and the curtain on the New Year Slot was about to rise. Huayi, leading several distributors, wanted to negotiate with theater chains to modify the box office revenue-sharing model.

As the top production company in the domestic entertainment industry with the highest output and highest profits, and also possessing distribution operations, Shanhe Media's influence could not be ignored. Wang Zhonglei had called Wei Jin about this two days ago.

Don't let Wang Zhonglei's playboy reputation fool you; he had plenty of schemes. He could spout flattery at the drop of a hat, wanting Wei Jin to take the lead as the head of the distribution alliance to negotiate with the theater chains.

Unfortunately, the previous leader who negotiated with the theater chains, Zhang Weiping, had effectively vanished from the industry; how could Wei Jin easily fall into the trap? More importantly, according to their plan, they intended to bundle 10 films from the New Year Slot—including *1942*, *The Last Tycoon*, *The Guillotines*, *Chinese Zodiac*, *Gravity*, *Lost in Thailand*, and *The Grandmaster*—together as leverage for the negotiations with the theater chains.

And their ultimate demand was to raise the base share from 43% to 45%.

To Wei Jin, this was simply taking off one's pants to fart—an unnecessary effort. Wasn't the gambling-style agreement he had signed with the theater chains more cost-effective than this?

To risk his own two films as leverage and work for someone else's benefit? Boss Wei was not that noble.

Furthermore, the so-called alliance, while seemingly full of big shots and including the five major distributors—China Film Group, Bona, Enlight, Huayi, and Xingmei—actually had conflicting interests. Wei Jin did not believe they could stay united.

Besides, with the example set by Zhang Dapao last year, the theater chains only needed to sow discord among one or two of them, and this loose distribution alliance would immediately collapse; it could never amount to anything.

To put it bluntly, it was ultimately a failure to guarantee film quality. Otherwise, like Shanhe Media, which drove the entire market and produced billions in box office revenue every year, the theater chains would naturally give them face.

On stage, Boss Ma was still speaking eloquently and forcefully.

Just as Wei Jin had guessed, Boss Ma stated that Ali currently lacked experience and would not rashly enter the field, but was willing to provide capital and promised not to participate in the production or operation of projects.

This statement piqued the interest of many filmmakers present. After all, film and television projects were indeed expensive, especially large-scale productions that often required hundreds of millions in investment. Having Ali's support could indeed disperse significant risks.

However, Wei Jin did not believe a word of what Boss Ma said.

If one only invests without intervening or controlling, the return on investment would be too small. Could Boss Ma possibly be satisfied with that?

The morning summit ended, and it was time for the banquet.

Most of the heads of film and television companies surrounded Boss Ma, as if stars surrounding the moon, looking infinitely glorious.

"Brother, this is usually your treatment, right?"

Enlight was a listed company and not short on money; coming today was just to give face. Thus, he was sitting with Wei Jin now, eating and chatting idly.

"Hehe, it's fine. I enjoy the peace and quiet."

Wei Jin was telling the truth. Aside from women, he wasn't too interested in other forms of entertainment, and he was generally too lazy to participate in the various gatherings within the circle.

It was just that while Wei Jin didn't want to bother with others, others were increasingly concerned with him.

Sure enough, before long, the lean-bodied Boss Ma walked over holding a wine glass.

"Chairman Wang, long time no see. And this must be our first meeting with President Wei and Director Lu. Young and promising, indeed."

As he spoke, Boss Ma sat down naturally, and the people surrounding him dispersed tactfully. He truly had the air of a leader.

"Chairman Ma, you are too kind."

At this time, Boss Ma hadn't yet become so inflated, and his words weren't arrogant. Wei Jin didn't mind giving him a smile.

"President Wei, Ali has always been optimistic about the development of the film and television industry. I wonder if there is an opportunity for cooperation?"

"Chairman Ma, there are many companies in the circle, and the number of projects is countless. A large number of high-quality companies are waiting for Ali's investment, hehe."

Wei Jin was extremely wary of internet companies. Cooperation, investment, holding shares, and then kicking the original owners out—it was a smooth, practiced combo. He had no intention of getting deeply involved.

"President Wei, Shanhe Media is different. Every project is the highest quality in the circle. Ali really hopes to cooperate, even if it means a premium."

Honestly, Wei Jin felt he had already made himself very clear. Even Zhang Zhao, after being politely declined, would have either left or changed the subject.

One could only say that Boss Ma lived up to his reputation; his ability to endure humiliation was truly powerful.

Given this, Wei Jin stopped being polite.

"Chairman Ma, the cake of the film and television industry is still too small. I am actually quite optimistic about internet finance. Taobao and Alipay under Ali are both quite good. I wonder if there is an opportunity for cooperation? I don't mind a higher valuation."

Boss Ma was stunned, clearly not expecting Wei Jin to say this. However, he was a billionaire who had started from scratch, so he quickly controlled his emotions and shook his head with a smile.

"President Wei is joking. This is Ali's core business, and we are not short on money."

"Hehe, Chairman Ma is also joking. Content production is also Shanhe Media's core business."

Having said this, Wei Jin paused, the smile on his face fading.

"And, I am not short on money either."

It was rare to see Wei Jin so sharp and exposed. Wang Changtian was very surprised, but Boss Ma continued to exercise his spirit of enduring humiliation, laughing at himself.

"President Wei is right. It was my intrusion. However, my promise remains valid forever. Whether it is President Wei's projects or company, as long as you speak up, Ali will absolutely not haggle."

This time, Boss Ma left tactfully, leaving only Wang Changtian and Lu Yang giving Wei Jin a thumbs up.

"Senior brother (Brother), awesome!"

The banquet ended, and the media began to report on it extensively.

"Ali makes a big move, reaching cooperation agreements with many production companies in the industry, and will invest in dozens of films..."

The industry was discussing that with Ali's scale, once it entered the film and television industry, it would definitely be a behemoth-level existence.

But Wei Jin was not worried. His layout over these years had long been effective. Shanhe Media had almost formed a complete ecological closed loop from production to distribution, and even long-video websites.

No matter how large Ali's scale was, it could not cause an impact on Shanhe Media!

(End of this chapter)