Chapter 512

This time, their phone call lasted longer; Donna called mainly to offer congratulations, and asking about Oscar was just incidental.

People like them have little desire or sense of honor for such awards; what they want is money—money is the most important, the most real, everything else is illusion.

"I need you to help me with something," Fang Hong said.

"What kind of help? Tell me," Donna said.

"We have a company here called Bonar, listed in your United States; I want to acquire it, but some of its shares are held by 20th Century Fox and several institutions—I hope you can mediate and get them to sell their shares to me," Fang Hong said.

Small shareholders are easy to buy out—just offer a premium—but shares held by institutions and corporations are harder to acquire; whether they sell depends on their mood, not how much you offer.

Of course, Fang Hong doesn't want to pay a sky-high price; his money isn't blown in by the wind.

"No problem, no problem, just wait for my news," Donna readily agreed.

The company behind Universal is Comcast; to understand how powerful this company is, just know it's a global media giant even above News Corporation.

News Corporation is Murdoch's company, Deng Wendi's ex-husband.

So for them, this is a minor matter; although they compete with 20th Century Fox, they also cooperate.

The top executives regularly drink tea together, do business deals, and play with women—they're very familiar with each other, so it's just a matter of doing each other a favor.

To them, Bonar is just an insignificant trifle, not worth mentioning.

There's nothing else; Fang Hong's request to her is merely incidental.

But this will take time—it can't be done immediately after saying it; communication is needed, and whether the mediation succeeds depends on Universal's and Donna's capabilities.

While Big Hero 6 was a massive box office hit, its licensed merchandise—toys, figurines, models, dolls, theme park tickets, and more—sold out globally.

Especially for the "Baymax" character license, Yutu Company earned over $120 million, and over $220 million total from all other character licenses—this was a one-year buyout fee!

Yutu lacks the capability to manage any merchandise or derivatives; it has neither the channels nor the strength, so everything is entrusted to Universal for agency operations.

Yutu only plays the role of producer.

Overseas, the Big Hero 6 merchandise isn't cheap—for example, the Big Hero 6 Battle Set is priced at 300 yuan per set;

the Travel Set is 100 yuan, plus other merchandise like storage bags and "Baymax" hats.

A single "Baymax" plush toy costs 50 yuan!

A single store can sell over 2,000 of these "Baymax" toys in one day.

A thousand stores means 100 million sold per day—3 billion per month; how many stores are there worldwide? Innumerable!

And this is just sales and pricing for one type of toy; add the rest, and the numbers are terrifying.

Although you can't calculate profits this simply, it's enough to prove how profitable Hollywood's merchandise operators are, how profitable Universal is, and how powerful Disney is.

They don't even produce toys—they're just copyright licensors, granting rights to global toy manufacturers, earning money while lying at home.

Cultural products don't make much money domestically, but overseas they're incredibly profitable.

Don't deny it—they have the capability and strength to monitor this globally; if the copyright collapses, the entire Western cultural system would collapse, so Yutu benefits too.

Of course, piracy exists and is rampant, but it doesn't affect their profits.

As long as the copyright stays in Yutu's hands, this will always be a money-making business.

This is why Hollywood companies all make animated films—especially Disney, which started with animation.

Because Big Hero 6 carries the Yutu brand, many domestic companies, including top authorities, have noticed this animated film's success.

CCTV even ran a special report on the global achievements of this animated film; the CCTV News Channel reported:

"Produced by domestic Yutu enterprise, Big Hero 6 has sparked a global cinema craze; the character 'Baymax,' described by audiences as silly and adorable, has become a worldwide sensation, and its merchandise is reportedly sold out."

Not just CCTV—major mainstream media and official outlets have all reported this good news.

"Yutu Film: Big Hero 6—An Eastern Film in Hollywood Garb, Breaking Global Box Office Records."

"A Heartwarming Hero Epic That Touched the World: Big Hero 6, Over $300 Million Globally."

"The Hidden Eastern Culture in Big Hero 6: A Global Animated Film for All Ages!"

"Yutu Has Made Outstanding Contributions to Promoting Cultural Export and Advancing Outstanding Film and Animation Overseas."

"."

News coverage was filled with pride and jubilation.

As of now, Big Hero 6 has earned $416 million globally, equivalent to 2.9 billion RMB—just shy of 3 billion!

With such outstanding results and such powerful box office performance, China simply cannot ignore it.

This is an export, a visible source of foreign exchange earnings.

In other words, Yutu has not only achieved cultural export but also met export quotas—next year's domestic cultural product export targets will likely explode.

Just this one film could double the entire nation's annual film export share—it's that astonishing.

Currently, the country's total film export share is only slightly over 2 billion; now, Big Hero 6 has already earned 2.8 billion overseas.

One Yutu animated film equals the effort of an entire nation!

Next year, the Film Bureau will have a lot to boast about; Zhang Hongsen never expected the Principal to be this powerful—he was right to back this person.

He had always sided with the Principal because the Principal actually does real work, not empty show.

While Big Hero 6 was exploding in popularity, Yan Zi's negative publicity never stopped—then suddenly, a shocking piece of news swept through the industry.

Local judicial officers were coming to arrest Fang Hong for trial, citing ample reasons: defamation of reputation, spreading groundless rumors, and other charges.

The judicial officers were already on their way to Beijing.

This stunned industry insiders, who all wondered what was going on.

"Looks like Yan Zi wasn't joking with the Principal."

"Is that really true?"

The struggle between bigwigs is hard to describe—only gossip remains.

Liu Tianxian was terrified and urgently pushed Fang Hong: "You must leave—go to Hong Kong." "Why should I go to Hong Kong? What law have I broken?" Fang Hong flatly refused.

"Don't be so stubborn! Just go to Hong Kong and hide for now—come back when things calm down," Liu Tianxian pleaded.

"I'm not being stubborn—I haven't done anything wrong. Isn't it just following proper legal procedures to sue? They can accuse me of defamation and spreading rumors, but I can defend myself. I believe in justice. I believe my country is a society ruled by law." Fang Hong spoke with righteous indignation.

He couldn't leave. If he left, it would be fleeing—that would be an insult to the rule of law, a rejection of the state.

"Stop being so naive! Think of me! Think of your mother!" Liu Tianxian shouted.

"If I leave, that's truly not thinking of you two. It's cowardice. It's not the act of a man." Fang Hong stood firm and refused to leave.

"You!"

Liu Tianxian pointed at him, utterly furious, sat down, turned her head away, and ignored him.

"Alright, don't be angry. Believe in me. Have faith in me—and believe in the state." Fang Hong sat behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"It's not that I don't believe anyone—I'm afraid something will happen to you." Liu Tianxian's tone carried worry.

No error! One chapter, one issue, one content, in 69 Book Ba, look!

"It's fine. I'll get through this. If I get through it, I win. They can't touch me then." Fang Hong spoke with certainty.

As the two spoke, Fang Hong's phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw it was Liu Xiaoli calling.

"Hello, Mom." Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian knew who it was and watched him take the call.

"You should hide right away!" Liu Xiaoli's tone revealed concern.

"No, Mom. I can face it." Fang Hong said.

"Oh come on, you're the only man in this family. If something happens to you, what will we do?" Liu Xiaoli worried.

"It's fine, Mom. I won't be harmed. If I run, that proves I'm guilty. If I stay, I have no guilt." Fang Hong said.

"That's true, but—"

Liu Xiaoli fell silent, deeply worried.

They'd just started enjoying good days, and now this happened. Where could they even seek justice?

"Mom, don't worry. I'll be fine." Fang Hong comforted her.

"I hope so!" Liu Xiaoli sighed.

Fang Hong offered more reassurances, telling her to rest easy. Xu Liyun still didn't know about this, and no one had told her.

Telling her would only add more trouble and worry. Let's wait and see how things develop.

After Fang Hong finished speaking with Liu Xiaoli, Zhang Yiming, Zhang Nan, and Zhang Lidong from Chang'e Technology also called to offer their condolences.

Liu Tianxian said nothing, just watched him keep taking calls, her face dark with displeasure—this man refused to leave even when told to.

What justice? What victory? Nothing matters more than one's own safety.

"Don't worry. Follow the process step by step. On the path to rising, who doesn't face storms and waves?" Fang Hong used another line of rhetoric.

He was giving his subordinates confidence, instilling in them the belief that their Principal could shoulder anything.

The Chang'e Technology leadership heard this and thought their Principal was truly too calm, too fearless—even now, he wasn't panicked.

If it were them, they'd already been frantic and fled!

Who knows what will happen after it passes? Everything is unknown. No one knows what charges they'll pin on him.

All one can say is: the Principal is a man who does great things, a man who can bear burdens.

After Fang Hong finished speaking with the Chang'e Technology leadership, he saw Chen Zhixi, Meng Jun, Yao Qi, and Shi Zhimao—the Yutu leadership—walk in.

They saw the couple's serious expressions and couldn't help but feel concerned.

They hadn't expected things to escalate this far—the other side had truly used underhanded tactics. Some had anticipated it, but still clung to hope.

"Principal, we should use public opinion to blow this case wide open," Chen Zhixi suggested.

Right now, the outside public doesn't know anything—only insiders are aware. If we make it public, it will surely pressure those above.

"No need. We've done enough already. Those above will make their own judgments." What Fang Hong didn't say was that Zhang Ju had already called him a few days ago.

So those above certainly knew. There was no need for useless efforts.

The atmosphere in the room fell silent and heavy. If the Principal faced crisis, it would be a massive blow to Yutu.

Yutu rose so fast, grew so steadily, and became a towering force in today's film industry—all thanks to the Principal's extraordinary vision.

And his unyielding, uncompromising spirit.

This spirit was injected into Yutu's very bones. Other entertainment companies were being swallowed by capital, but Yutu remained independent, unmoved.

Some say compromise? Some say cooperation?

Cooperating with capital means obedience. It means following their agenda.

They'll use traffic to teach you how to make films. They'll use Big Data to teach you how to make films. Will you obey?

If you refuse, capital will swallow you whole. You can just leave.

Everyone knows Alibaba has the strongest control.

Look at the film market afterward—how disappointed and heartbroken audiences became. That's the consequence of "traffic as king."

Serving traffic means ignoring what audiences want. Audiences lost all confidence in films.

Fang Hong had been reborn. If he collaborated with them, all his years of effort would amount to nothing.

(End of Chapter)