Chapter 315: Seeking Advice

Because there was no suspense, this year's Oscar ceremony could be described as calm and uneventful. The only thing people talked about was *The Lord of the Rings 3* winning all 11 little golden men, which was breathtaking.

Another thing people remembered was that the South African diamond Charlize Theron also won the Oscar for Best Actress for *Monster*. Her Oscar win this time could be said to have collected all the "award-winning codes": gaining 30 pounds to look ugly, the character being a prostitute layered with being a lesbian—a vulnerable group—childhood abuse, mental illness...

Although it was adapted from a true story, one could completely see that this movie was tailored to cater to the Academy's award-winning labels, and it was also the only path for vase-like celebrities to win an Oscar.

However, Wu Yuchen was more interested in another piece of news that happened after the Oscars: Peter Jackson had reached an agreement with Universal to serve as the director of *King Kong*, and his salary was a top-tier treatment of $20 million plus 20% of the global box office share.

As of now, *The Lord of the Rings 3* had accumulated $900 million in global box office revenue. Although it hadn't reached $1 billion yet, because of this Oscar boost, Universal knew that breaking $1 billion was definitely no problem, so they didn't drag their feet and directly agreed to the conditions Peter Jackson put forward.

Wu Yuchen smiled when he heard this. Now that Peter Jackson had already obtained these conditions, how far behind could he, Wu Yuchen, be? He also had an Oscar, and now he was just one movie with a box office breaking $1 billion away. He now had even more motivation for the post-production of *Pirates of the Caribbean 2*!

Time entered April. As the lights in the theater came on, whether it was Spielberg or the representatives of the theater chains who came to watch, they couldn't help but stand up and applaud.

"A very exciting sequel!"

"The special effects are amazing! I can't tell at all that Davy Jones used CG technology; it's too realistic!"

"And that giant octopus, it's shocking! It will definitely scare quite a few children!"

"The introduction of the *Flying Dutchman*, and the sea monster swallowing Jack, all pulled the suspense of the film to the max!"

Spielberg also hugged Wu Yuchen's shoulder and said somewhat excitedly: "Wu, you really brought an unparalleled sequel. *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* will definitely ignite this year's summer season!"

Actually, Spielberg had been a bit anxious a while ago. After all, the post-production time for *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* didn't seem that abundant, and Wu Yuchen was also occupied by *Spider-Man 2*, which once made him worry that something might go wrong with the post-production of *Pirates of the Caribbean 2*.

But now, after watching the finished film, Spielberg's mood suddenly soared to heaven.

Although his words just now had elements of exaggeration, from his perspective, the quality of this *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* was far above the passing line, undoubtedly capable of scoring 80 or even 90 points. Then its box office would absolutely not be lower than the first one, and even the word-of-mouth was guaranteed, so there was no need to worry about the box office of *Pirates of the Caribbean 3*!

Wu Yuchen smiled and said to Spielberg: "Steven, I've done everything I can do now. Next, it depends on the promotion from you and Universal. I'm still counting on *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* to hit $1 billion at the box office~"

One billion?

This number wasn't impossible for *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* to think about. After all, *Pirates of the Caribbean 1* had already set a global box office of over $800 million. With the high quality of the second one, $1 billion should be its goal!

Spielberg laughed loudly: "Wu, I'm going to send out this quote of yours to the media today!"

"*Pirates of the Caribbean 2* aims for $1 billion!"

And so, this news about *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* spread to the whole world today, attracting the attention of many fans.

"Wow! *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* is finally coming! I've been waiting for 3 years!"

"Finally able to see dear Captain Jack again!"

"Looking forward to it, looking forward to it. I want to see what more mysterious veils Wu will reveal for us in the pirate world~"

"*Spider-Man 2*, *Pirates of the Caribbean 2*, *The Bourne Supremacy 2*—this summer is truly too happy!"

This summer indeed had many heavy-hitting blockbusters to be released. Aside from *Spider-Man 2* and *Pirates of the Caribbean 2*, there was also *Troy*, which had already begun large-scale promotion. This epic film, led by Brad Pitt and costing $180 million to build, would be released in early June.

After all, May had *Spider-Man 2* and July had *Pirates of the Caribbean 2*; these were the big guys everyone wanted to avoid.

Originally, *Harry Potter 3* also wanted to join the fun this summer, but when discussing the schedule at the beginning of the year, seeing these two popular sequels, it gave up the idea of the summer season and honestly returned to its Christmas slot. It wasn't that it was afraid of these two movies, but there was really no need to crash into them.

*Harry Potter 3* could retreat to the Christmas slot to dominate, but other movies couldn't; they could only survive in the cracks.

For example, the disaster film *The Day After Tomorrow*, filmed by Fox for $130 million, chose to be released at the end of May, while the fantasy monster blockbuster *Van Helsing*, built by Universal for $160 million, chose mid-June.

There were also movies led by big stars, such as *The Terminal*, directed by Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and the beauty Zeta-Jones, in mid-May; Cheng Long's *Around the World in 80 Days* was set for late June.

From the perspective of later generations, the summer of 2004 in Hollywood was really lively, and movie fans were still very happy.

After Wu Yuchen completed the post-production of *Pirates of the Caribbean 2*, he finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Well, it could only be said to be slight, because the work on his hands hadn't stopped; he had already invested in the post-production of *Pirates of the Caribbean 3*. He intended to take this opportunity to finish *Pirates of the Caribbean 3* in one go, to save trouble later.

However, the time for *Pirates of the Caribbean 3* was very abundant, and Wu Yuchen's entire work rhythm was much more relaxed.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen was making a transoceanic call:

"Congratulations, Pony, on finalizing the listing of Tencent. You've worked hard on the IPO path!"

Pony Ma on the other end of the phone was also very happy:

"I still have to rely on the support Wu has always given! Wu, are you really not planning to come and ring the bell?"

Wu Yuchen shook his head: "Forget it, I'm a bit busy on my hands right now and can't get away. You guys take my share and ring it even louder~"

Wu Yuchen hung up the phone with a smile. Pony Ma had just called to tell him that Tencent's listing had been completely finalized. Two months later, in June, it would be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and he had taken the opportunity to invite Wu Yuchen, a major shareholder, to go to the scene to ring the bell together.

However, Wu Yuchen thought about it and refused. On one hand, if he went, he would steal the spotlight from Pony Ma and the others. On the other hand, he still wanted to remain behind the scenes for the time being. Although information would be public after Tencent's listing, what would be public to the public was the Bai Xiong Venture Capital Company, and Wu Yuchen wouldn't be revealed.

Currently, Wu Yuchen still wanted to show himself as a director and didn't want to reveal too much to the public. Of course, those who should know about his status as a major shareholder already knew.

It was just a normal investment; no one would do anything to him. As for the talk of forced buying and selling, that was really thinking too much. With Wu Yuchen's international influence, is he really not afraid of the country's image plummeting after he exposes it?

If a great director who is currently winning glory for the country, bearing national honor, and representing the Chinese image is forced to emigrate, who will bear this responsibility? That would really be a huge joke internationally. No one with a brain would dare to do this to him.

In Los Angeles at the end of April, the weather was great. Wu Yuchen was wearing casual short sleeves and shorts, sitting with Jobs drinking tea.

"Steve, I heard you recently started a secret project in the company called Project Purple. Can you tell me about it?"

"Oh, Wu, it's nothing big, just a small attempt of my own~" Jobs wanted to brush it off.

Wu Yuchen smiled and said: "Steve, you know, if I ask about the details of the project at the board meeting, you won't be able to hide it~"

Jobs spread his hands: "Okay, Wu, I can tell you, but you must keep it strictly confidential and guarantee not to reveal a word to anyone."

Wu Yuchen didn't promise directly, but smiled at Jobs: "Hey, Steve, actually I can probably guess what you're doing. Is it a mobile phone project?"

Jobs was shocked upon hearing this, then his face immediately changed color, and he questioned Wu Yuchen: "How do you know? Did someone tell you?!"

Jobs was naturally suspicious. He was very worried that his move to develop mobile phones would be targeted by some big manufacturers, such as Motorola and Nokia. Therefore, he listed the iPhone project as a highly confidential project within the company. He only recruited people from within the company and didn't tell them what they were developing until after they signed a confidentiality agreement. Moreover, he required the project team not to reveal a word to the outside world.

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his finger: "No, no, no one told me, you said it yourself~"

"Myself?!" Jobs looked puzzled.

"You just said in public two days ago that Apple doesn't look favorably on mobile phones, thinking that mobile phones are complete garbage with no development prospects. Combined with the secret project you organized, it's not hard for me to guess~" Wu Yuchen said with a grin.

"Oh! Damn it, is my intention that obvious?!" Jobs cursed. He now felt that the iPhone project was no longer confidential. Even Wu Yuchen could guess it, so what about those other people?

Wu Yuchen comforted Jobs: "Steve, don't worry, I'm a director of the company, which is why I thought of these things. No one outside will doubt your words. Moreover, I have always paid close attention to Apple personally."

Jobs thought of Wu Yuchen's views back then and felt a bit relieved.

Back then, Wu Yuchen had the Bai Xiong Charity Foundation invest in Apple. When visiting Apple, he told Jobs that the iPod needed to be compatible with the Windows system to completely open up sales. At first, Jobs insisted on his own opinion, but eventually, in the second generation, he compromised with the market and became compatible with Windows. Then iPod sales began to explode, and Apple had a large cash flow and completely embarked on the right path. Last year, Apple opened the iTunes store, which was also a move with profound influence on the future.

Jobs looked at Wu Yuchen and asked: "Wu, you will support this project of mine, right?"

Wu Yuchen revealed a somewhat helpless expression: "Steve, you've already taken action, could I still stop you?"

Jobs revealed a happy smile upon hearing this: "Wu, the mobile phones on the market now are all garbage. We at Apple will definitely bring something new that will shock the entire market!"

Wu Yuchen revealed a sincere smile: "I don't doubt your words at all!"

Apple's market value had already risen back to $15 billion. The $400 million Wu Yuchen invested back then had already risen to over a billion. However, Wu Yuchen didn't intend to sell. He knew that the secretly launched iPhone was the beginning of Apple's true path to dominance. This 7.23% stake in Apple would become his greatest wealth in the future.

That's right, in the future. Because his Miracle Pictures company in America already had a valuation as high as $3.5 billion. If he were willing to sell, big manufacturers would definitely be willing to buy it, provided that he, the director, must establish subsequent cooperation.

Afterward, Wu Yuchen smiled and asked Jobs: "Steve, you didn't come to me to chat about Apple, did you?"

Jobs didn't hide it either and asked directly: "Are you also cooperating with Disney now?"

Wu Yuchen nodded: "Miracle Pictures and Disney are cooperating on *The Princess Diaries*, which will be released in June this year. What's wrong?"

Jobs thought for a moment and said: "Has Disney mentioned the acquisition of your Miracle Pictures to you?"

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this: "Iger is indeed a good guy, but he hasn't been that direct for the time being, but has tentatively mentioned establishing a closer cooperative relationship."

Jobs didn't hide it from Wu Yuchen either: "He found me and talked to me about Disney acquiring Pixar. I'm a bit hesitant now."

Wu Yuchen undoubtedly had a good eye for movies, and his Miracle Pictures was now a hot commodity in the industry, so Jobs came here to seek his opinion.

Wu Yuchen asked Jobs: "Steve, isn't Pixar developing quite well now? Why do you want to sell Pixar?"

Jobs sighed and said: "Wu, the risk of movies is still too great. Even if Pixar has achieved success one after another, I can't be sure about its next movie. After all, the tastes of the audience and the market are always changing."

Actually, there was one thing Jobs didn't say, which was that what he cared about most was always Apple. Pixar was something he accidentally created. At first, he started Pixar because he wanted to sell software. He had thought about selling Pixar several times in the middle, but it didn't happen because the price was too low, until *Toy Story* achieved huge success later.

Therefore, Eisner wasn't wrong about one thing back then: Jobs actually wasn't that good at the animation and film industry. Apple was his favorite, which he poured his energy into and could truly develop according to his own ideas.

Then Jobs said again: "Moreover, you should know that I have been diagnosed with cancer." ===== CHAPTER 316 =====