Chapter 419

On the white wall of an office, a super-large high-definition TV screen was broadcasting a news segment.

The top left corner showed the time: "11:32:49". The "LIVE" logo in the bottom right corner indicated that this was a live broadcast.

This office was extremely luxurious. Behind the boss's desk sat an old bald white man. Beside him, seven or eight middle-aged white men in dark suits were sitting or standing, staring intently at the screen.

On the screen, a brown-haired, brown-eyed anchorwoman with exquisite makeup was saying to the camera:

"Time Warner (TWX) stock price opened slightly higher this morning, currently quoted at 18.82 USD, up more than 5.1%. Over the past month, the stock has accumulated a rise of over 30%. And the core driving force behind this round of gains is undoubtedly the global box office performance of *Inception* from its subsidiary, Warner Bros."

"Next, let's connect to Michael Connor and hear his report from Huaerjie."

As the camera turned, the scene cut to a street, where a man wearing glasses and a dark gray suit was holding a microphone with the NBC logo, facing the screen.

"Hi, Michael."

"Hi, Marisa."

"Talk about the situation you understand now, Michael."

"Okay, Marisa, I'm outside the New York Stock Exchange. From the opening until now, Time Warner's stock has ushered in another round of gains. The reason is precisely the *Inception* produced by its subsidiary Warner Bros., which has been advancing triumphantly since its North American premiere on July 8th."

"As of today, its cumulative global box office has exceeded 1.87 billion USD, becoming the third in film history box office rankings—second only to *Avatar*'s 2.788 billion and *Titanic*'s 2.18 billion."

"Its North American box office is currently entering its sixth week. Shockingly, in the past week, it still had a performance of 79 million USD and a box office drop of 23%, taking its fifth weekly box office championship! To date, its North American box office has accumulated 548 million USD, one of the strongest performances since last year's *Avatar*."

"However, the overseas market better proves its success."

"In Japan, it has topped the weekly box office chart for four consecutive weeks, with a cumulative box office of 152 million USD, approaching *Avatar*'s 156 million. Some box office analysts even believe that it is very likely to eventually surpass *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone* to become the highest-grossing foreign film in the Japanese market."

"The Korean market is even more aggressive, having taken 87 million USD to date, surpassing *Avatar*'s record in Korea in one fell swoop, becoming the highest-grossing imported film in Korean film history."

"It is worth specifically pointing out—this week, the box office performance in the Chinese market shocked all analysts."

"Since its official release on August 8th, in just one week, the film broke the first-week box office record for imported films in Chinese film history with a first-week performance of 73 million USD, surpassing the 67.8 million USD previously set by *Transformers 3*, becoming the new champion of first-week box office in Chinese film history."

The anchorwoman asked: "In other words, the explosion of the Chinese market is the core driver for Time Warner's stock price to rise again this time?"

"Yes, you could say that. Huaerjie analysts believe that the frequent good news from the Asian market has formed a spontaneous 'secondary dissemination' on social media platforms, which may drive further fermentation in the European and Latin American markets."

"UBS just released a new research report this morning, having significantly raised Warner's 12-month target price from 16 USD to 21.5 USD, the reason being precisely the reverse marketing effect brought by the Asian market."

The scene cut back to the studio, and the anchorwoman smiled and said: "Thank you, Michael. It seems that movies not only make audiences excited but also make investors' hearts beat faster."

"That's it," said a white man in the office.

Someone next to him was picking up the remote control, when suddenly, the old bald white man behind the boss's desk said: "Wait a minute."

The female host on TV didn't know that the NBC *Morning Financial News* she was hosting almost lost a little bit of ratings.

She continued calmly: "Next, let's connect to another guest—Mr. Mason Collins, a senior analyst at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, to hear his judgment on the subsequent trend of Warner's stock price."

As the scene turned, a middle-aged white man with neat hair and a calm expression appeared in the split column on the right side of the screen.

"Good morning, Mason."

"Good morning, Marisa."

At this time, most of the people in this office looked at the man on the TV with displeasure.

"Warner's stock price soared again today, but, Mason, you seem to hold a different view?"

Mason Collins nodded: "Yes, Marisa. I believe the current market stock price reflects that investors' earnings expectations for Warner are too high. You have to know, although *Inception* is a joint production structure. Warner is actually only one of the three main producers in this film."

"According to the contract filing materials we obtained, the largest source of funds comes from China's Re-Born Pic, holding a 45% investment ratio, and another Chinese production company, Hengdian, also participated, accounting for 15%. This means the two together hold more than 60% of the share."

"In other words, Warner's box office revenue share in this film is not as high as the market imagines."

The anchorwoman asked: "So, you think this round of Warner's stock price rise is overvalued?"

Mason Collins nodded: "Absolutely. I think the current stock price of 18.8 USD has fully or even prematurely reflected the box office benefits of *Inception*; it is actually somewhat overheated."

The anchorwoman nodded: "I see."

Mason Collins said seriously: "I also have an extra piece of news—everyone in Hollywood seems to be singing praises for Warner now, but in reality, on the *Inception* project, they showed surprising stupidity and indecision."

"My sources tell me that they originally had the opportunity to independently invest in this film, just like 20th Century Fox invested in *Avatar* back then, with full control. But they voluntarily gave it up."

"And, in a key additional investment meeting, they could have expanded their share, but they were still hesitant. In the end, they introduced another company from China—Hengdian Film. It was precisely this attitude of constant retreat that led to them now holding less than 35% of the production share."

"This makes one have to wonder: under the control of Barry Meyer, Warner Bros. is turning into a monster with a huge torso but slow reactions. In contrast, there is Re-Born Pic. It showed amazing action in several key investment decisions. In the end, it occupied nearly 50% of the share and is the real big winner of this *Inception* hit."

"Perhaps, many people have never heard of this company before, but I can tell everyone that it is actually a private Chinese film and television company wholly owned by Chen Nuo."

The anchorwoman said in amazement, "Wow, so that's how it is. It turns out it's Chen's own film company. Then, Mason, how much money do you think Chen will earn from the success of *Inception*?"

Mason Collins shook his head: "I don't know exactly how much equity he has in Re-Born, I have no way to calculate the exact figure because the equity structure of this enterprise has not been disclosed yet, but one thing is certain: it will definitely not be a small number."

The anchorwoman asked unwillingly: "The specific number, how much do you estimate it could be in the end? Mason."

NBC's morning financial news cannot be considered a popular program, and the daily morning ratings only maintain around 2.3%. However, today, the popular phenomenal movie obviously increased its attention.

Therefore, at this time, about 7.5 million Americans were concentrating on listening to Mason Collins's answer.

This also included everyone in this luxurious office.

Mason Collins seemed to know this too. He seemed to think for a moment, then looked straight at the camera, a smile that could definitely not be called kind appeared on his face, and he said: "If *Inception*'s final box office really reaches over 2 billion USD, according to the current generally accepted industry revenue-sharing structure... Chen Nuo might be able to get 300 million USD."

"OMG!" The anchorwoman said in surprise, "300 million!? Did you calculate wrong?"

"No. I swear. 300 million, at least." Mason Collins shook the calculator in his hand, the numbers on it couldn't be seen clearly, only a long string of 0s that seemed to have no end.

After Mason Collins finished speaking, he smiled at the NBC live camera.

He only felt that the resentment of missing out that had accumulated after he cleared his position at 16 USD was finally vented fiercely through these words.

Motherfucker, no one is going to have a good time!

……

The TV screen had been black for a while, but no one in the office spoke.

As if the sound of "300 million USD" was still echoing in the room.

Finally, the old white man behind the boss's desk spoke, "If one day, you let me be mocked by this son-of-a-bitch Mason Collins on an NBC program, calling me by name, you'd better shoot me first."

"No, it won't happen, honorable Mr. Murdoch."

"Absolutely impossible! We are definitely not those idiots at Warner."

"Mr. Murdoch, I swear, I will definitely die before you."

The white men in the office started talking all at once.

"I hope so." Rupert Murdoch was already 80 this year, but his spirit was still good. He fixed his gaze on the man closest to him and said: "Tang Mu, how much do you think its final box office will reach? Will it exceed *Titanic*?"

Tang Mu Rothman, the head of Fox Filmed Entertainment, said without hesitation: "Very likely. Especially in Asia, the trend of the Chinese market has exceeded expectations. If North America maintains its fermentation momentum, seeing 2.2 billion is not a fantasy."

"Then what do you think Fox should do now?"

"I will contact Quentin Tarantino immediately to ask about that new film he has in hand."

"Very good. Then you go now."

"Yes."

"Wait."

Tang Mu Rothman stood still and looked back: "Rupert?"

Rupert Murdoch looked at him deeply and said: "News Corporation is not Time Warner, I don't have a second chance to give to people who make mistakes. Remember that."

"Yes!"

Tang Mu Rothman went out, and Rupert Murdoch looked around again and said: "Alright, gentlemen, let's talk about another thing now. Fox TV, what can it get from this Warner movie."

"Gentlemen, Warner is a large zombie in Mason's mouth, but Fox will never be."

"So, now you all get moving for me!"

……The *Bible* always says that when the end of the world comes and God begins to judge all living beings, he will settle accounts for sins, "Man shall be rewarded, and evil shall be punished."

This morning, when Mason Collins calculated a bill for Americans who were never good at math, fearing that the world wouldn't be chaotic enough, and poked through the veil in front of many people, many people seemed to have ushered in their own day of reckoning.

In this, it was not just the general office of 20th Century Fox.

Charlize Theron looked at her stock account and wanted to cry without tears.

The few million USD for filming *Dorp*, as of today, only had this pitiful 400,000 USD left. If she hadn't listened to Chen Nuo and bought 100,000 USD of Warner back then, she would be even worse off today!

Everything she bought fell, everything she sold rose.

So much so that now, TWX Warner became the only red stock in her account, while the others were losing so much she didn't even want to look at them.

If only she had bought all TWX back then!

This thought often appeared in her mind this month, and became more intense as Warner's stock price rose all the way. Today, when she saw Fox's popular host on TV news, in a tone announcing the resurrection of Jesus and the arrival of Judgment Day, saying: "... 300 million USD," she felt as if she had fallen into the eighteenth level of hell.

The man who bought her house and moved into her bedroom now earned 300 million because of a movie!

And her entire net worth now was less than 300,000!

This made her stunned for a long time, then she subconsciously picked up the phone and dialed a number.

This time, as long as he was willing to help her one more time, she would be willing to do anything.

But only a busy signal came from the receiver.

At this time, the one listening to the busy signal on the receiver wasn't just the South African Pearl, but also a gentle middle-aged white man.

In this office, the only one in Silicon Valley, California, he put down the phone in his hand, shrugged at the man and woman opposite, and said: "Didn't get through, busy line."

Reed Hastings laughed triumphantly and said: "Reed, I told you long ago."

Reed Hastings said helplessly: "It's not too late yet, by the way, Reed, do you have time to help me ask him why the script on his side hasn't come out yet? Do we need to let people help? Have you communicated with him about the final cast? Can he star in it himself? Can it start filming within this year?"

Hearing Reed Hastings's series of questions, looking at the impatient expression on his face, Reed Hastings felt extremely comfortable.

However, she didn't answer immediately, but looked at the dull-looking man next to her, laughed and said: "How about it? Ted? How did I tell you before? Chen has no precedent of failure. Please think about your own wallet before you bet with me. And what did you say? You believe in yourself? Hahaha, OK, thank you for believing in yourself, I'll take your 100,000 USD, thank you."

Ted Sarandos tried desperately to calm himself down in his heart, but he still couldn't control it, and couldn't help but retort: "Don't be too happy too early, Reed, his movies and his TV dramas might not be the same thing, you..."

"Haha, I just like to see you so stubborn, little Ted, how about we make another bet this time? 500,000 USD, I bet..."

"Shut up, Reed." Ted Sarandos couldn't listen anymore, stood up and said: "Reed, I'm going out first." After saying that, he walked out of the office with a pale face.

Reed Hastings said helplessly: "Reed, you are too mean to him."

Reed Hastings didn't know what mean meant. The education she received since childhood was not to leave any room for the enemy to breathe. She said: "Don't worry about that coward, Reed, now the facts prove that Chen never jokes about his work, his undefeated record continues. So, I strongly suggest shelving *House of Cards* and concentrating on doing this one thing well! I don't want a half-finished product that is half-hearted!"

If it were a month ago, Reed Hastings would definitely not have taken these words seriously, but now... he rubbed his temples and glanced at the documents piled on the table—Qwikster's PR draft, user churn report, CW's content contract. 800,000 users canceled subscriptions, stock price fell from 42 USD to 9 USD. While the other party was walking to the peak of life, his reform of Netflix looked like a complete failure.

Huaerjie analysts were like sharks smelling blood, all clamoring "Netflix is seeking its own death."

And Chen Nuo? Made Warner's stock price rise by nearly 50% in a month, and earned 300 million USD hard with one movie!

No wonder when he went to Nevada, he didn't even blink, and set the GS550 he dreamed of, and also did a luxurious customization that made him gasp.

He should probably re-evaluate the importance of a project proposed by such a person.

Reed Hastings finally made up his mind and said: "Let me consider it again, Reed. Now, let me finish this damn congratulatory call first. I don't understand why he's always busy!"

……

The reason for Chen Nuo's busy line was of course nothing else.

It was that he was really on the phone all the time, hey.

Hengdian in the night of August, undoubtedly, was not cooler than anywhere else.

Especially when a person was furious.

"MTF, who exactly is that Mason Collins!? Can you buy a killer in America? Is there a channel? I really want to find someone to kill him..."

"Calm down, Chen."

"Alison, do you know how many calls I've received in the last 3 hours? James Cameron called a few minutes ago to ask me if it's true. Do you know what time it is in China now? I was already prepared to sleep, but now I'm still walking on the street blowing the cool wind telling you these things."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"Deny the rumors."

"Impossible. Because this is not a rumor. So this will only get us into bigger trouble. In the future, the Forbes list won't care about your statement. They have plenty of ways, Chen. So don't lie. Calm down, now listen to my advice."

Chen Nuo took a deep breath and said: "You say."

"You should adapt to life in the spotlight earlier. I mean, you have to be prepared that in the United States, in the future, it will be the same as in Japan, Korea, or China."

"From today on, everything about you, when you walk out the door, what clothes you wear, who you meet, might be captured by countless lenses lurking in the dark. Every time you appear in public, every social media post, every time you stand on the red carpet, every choice of cooperation partner, will also be magnified and interpreted under a microscope."

"Your relationship with this world has completely changed."

Hearing these gloomy words, Chen Nuo smiled, looked back, Linghu was following silently a few steps away, besides that, there were only dim and lonely street lamps, and the shadows of street trees swaying in the wind.

Damn, alarmist.

"So scary?"

"Yes. But, this change is also what countless Hollywood actors dream of."

"Oh?"

"This means that from now on, even in Hollywood, you have the qualification to fail. Before this, no non-European or American actor had achieved your achievements and status today. You are no longer that little actor who would be beaten back to his original shape if he lost one or two movies. Even if you film again and again, and fail again and again, there will always be someone who believes that you will return to the peak one day."

Chen Nuo laughed: "Like Nicolas Cage?"

"And John Travolta."

"And Leo."

"Aha, yes, so, from today on, you must adapt to it as soon as possible. Otherwise, next time you step on American soil, you will definitely be startled."

"Alright, I know."

The phone hung up. At this moment, without the voice on the other end of the phone, only the wind rustling in the treetops remained in his ears. The street lamp was shining lonely.

Chen Nuo suddenly wanted to laugh a little. All the struggles, all-in bets, and betting everything in the past were now rewarded in this sentence "You have the qualification to fail."

The phone rang again.

But he didn't answer, nor did he look.

Instead, he enjoyed this quiet night, enjoying the sense of security he felt from the inside out.

It can be said that before this, he was running wildly to reach the current state, and the pursuit of success was endless, because he didn't know when a failure would take everything away from him.

Now, according to Alison, he can finally rest.

He picked up the phone that had been vibrating, looked at the name on the screen, and then was stunned for a moment.

Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrives.

He answered.

Leonardo DiCaprio's voice was like he just heard the Queen was pregnant, "WHAT THE FUCK! I just watched the news, saying that you earned 300 million USD from this movie this time!? Tell me, this is all a rumor."

"It is indeed a rumor," Chen Nuo laughed.

"Phew, I said..."

"300 million is too little," Chen Nuo interrupted, "400 million, I have confidence."

"... Are you joking with me?"

"No, I invested over 100 million USD, and I earned 400 million back, is it incredible? This is clearly very normal."

The other side of the phone was silent for a while, followed by a burst of profanity,

In Hengdian under the street lamp, Chen Nuo was like a little extra who didn't return home at night, listening to the jealous cursing of Little Leo on the phone, feeling refreshed and floating, and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The laughter echoed on the empty street.

Life is at its peak, nothing more than this moment.

(End of chapter)