Chapter 273

Tudou originally had a solid foundation, and with the addition of sufficient capital support, it had quickly fought its way back into the top three in the industry.

When Wang Wei met with Lin Nan, Wang Changtian, and the others, he no longer looked like the decadent, discouraged, weary, helpless, and struggling person he had been for the past year or so.

Today's Wang Wei gave off a feeling of high spirits and ambition.

In a daze, Lin Nan recalled the scene of his first meeting with Wang Wei; the latter had been calm, composed, confident, and full of fighting spirit—exactly the same as he was now.

"Now that Tudou is back on track, we just need to maintain this rhythm. I have confidence that sooner or later, we can become number one in the country."

This sounded simple, but it couldn't be done without the support of massive capital and resources. Fortunately, the three companies Lin Nan represented didn't lack those.

Wang Changtian was also very satisfied with the current situation. If it continued to develop this way, Tudou would definitely be a large listed company in the future.

Lin Nan set down his teacup; he still had serious business to discuss today.

"What does Mr. Wang think of that smartphone from Apple?"

Not just Wang Wei, but even Wang Changtian and the others beside him were stunned. How did the conversation get to mobile phones?

"An epoch-making product, simply incredible. In their industry, all the major manufacturers are scrambling to imitate it..."

Wang Wei nodded and evaluated it objectively.

"That's about right. Tudou must enter the market early."

"Do what?"

"Mobile video software for phones."

Lin Nan looked at Wang Wei, then glanced around at Wang Changtian and the others, saying seriously.

"Everyone should be able to foresee the speed at which smartphones will become popular.

Currently, 3G networks are fine, but looking ahead to 4G, it will no longer be limited to local networks. There will be too many things smartphones can do: watching shows, watching movies, competitions...

Therefore, Tudou needs to make a move early to capture as much market share as possible on the mobile side."

Seeing Wang Wei frowning in thought, Lin Nan knew he hadn't placed much importance on this area.

"But Youku and those others haven't made any moves..."

"That's exactly why we need to make a move early. Being the first mobile video software on the market—that gimmick is loud enough; it will leave a deep impression on people.

Even if the first software is slightly lacking, being first is being first. Market share is the key; Tudou can slowly improve it later..."

Lin Nan interrupted Wang Wei with an unquestionable tone.

In Lin Nan's view, the earlier one enters the market to lay the groundwork, the lower the cost, and the rewards would definitely be enormous.

The few people present all looked at Lin Nan; it was rare to see him place such importance and emphasis on one thing.

"Sounds good, then... let's do it!"

The person from Wanda took a sip of tea and spoke up in support. Wang Changtian nodded, indicating his agreement.

Wang Wei was also the person who founded Tudou; he didn't lack this foresight.

After thinking for a moment, he had a plan:

"This kind of thing involves a lot of gambling. But since you major shareholders have all spoken, I will immediately establish a new department after I go back and start working on this..."

…………

The production companies hadn't been happy for many days before they were hit again by "The Avengers."

The 64 million box office on the first day made films like "Pifu" feel suffocated again.

This time, there were also films like "Yu Qi Shu," "Zhui Xiong," and "Feiyue Laoren Yuan" being sanctioned together—it was hopeless.

"Half a month, 150 million box office. After the split, the capital is back, and there's a small profit of 10 million."

On the phone, Ning Hao's tone carried a sense of relief. The box office split for the next half month or so would be pure profit.

"That's very good. Everyone in the circle is calling Director Ning Hao an 'anti-Hollywood' hero, haha..."

"Also, you didn't exhibit at the Beijing International Film Festival a while ago. Are you planning to go to Cannes?"

Lin Nan joked and followed up.

"I'm preparing to learn from Lin Dao and go to the Cannes Film Festival to exhibit and try to sell it for a good price."

"Fine, we'll meet up there then."

…………

Lin Nan noticed "Shadow of Love," starring Miss Jing Tian Tian and Zhang Baizhi; this film was shot a long time ago.

When promoting it a while ago, it seemed the producers even pushed Miss Jing Tian Tian, the second female lead, to the front to ride the popularity of "Pacific Rim."

But the film's plot was truly weak; the audience didn't buy it at all. The first-day box office of about one million explained all the problems.

Miss Jing Tian Tian stayed with the crew and didn't cooperate with the promotion anymore.

That film "Special Identity" hadn't wrapped yet, and "Kung Fu Jungle" had just started filming in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong media finally found something to do: every day it was just paparazzi, fabricating stories, and playing favorites.

Reports like "The 'Kung Fu Jungle' crew is unprofessional, rudely driving away and pushing reporters, having no manners, and cursing..." appeared one after another.

On the other hand, the reports on "Special Identity" were completely different: the Hong Kong crew was professional and tacit, the fight scenes were hard-hitting and clean, and the actors were dedicated with great acting skills...

When Lin Nan saw these news items online, there were already a large number of replies and comments underneath, all cursing the Hong Kong media.

A blurry paparazzi photo of a crew could actually be used to write a negative report of hundreds or thousands of words—this was no longer just fabrication, but malicious smearing!

Lin Nan called Yue Jun:

"Go tell Emperor Motion Pictures that we can sue those media outlets one by one. We don't lack that bit of money or time..."

"I understand, Lin Dao. I will pass this on to Huo Wenxi later. Actually, Emperor has already warned them several times..."

After hanging up, a thought suddenly popped into Lin Nan's mind.

"How about keeping an eye on 'Special Identity' when setting the release schedule later?"

Lin Nan immediately shook his head with a smile, feeling it was a bit childish.

At this moment, the other party's film hadn't even wrapped yet; let's talk about it later.

Emperor's efficiency was very high; the next day, news appeared online about several Hong Kong media outlets being sued for malicious smearing, rumors, and defamation.

Many Hong Kong filmmakers criticized Emperor's behavior as making a mountain out of a molehill. Yang Shoucheng completely ignored these people, letting them bark however they wanted.

…………

Everyone knew the summer slot was good, so everyone rushed into it.

Chen Kaige's "Caught in the Web" and that film "Wu Dang" were both scheduled for July 6th.

The two films definitely wouldn't have much direct conflict with Lin Nan's "Bad Genius," but between them and "The Four," it was a head-on collision.

"I'm going to Cannes in a few days. Are you coming with me?"

Looking at Liu Qianqian, who had returned from a charity event, Lin Nan asked softly.

Liu Qianqian knew Lin Nan had to finalize copyright matters during the film festival. She shook her head, looking slightly tired:

"I can't get away. I have two commercials to shoot in those few days, and other announcements..."

"Alright then."

Lin Nan saw today's entertainment news.

At the charity event, Liu Qianqian and other actresses born in the 80s were all present, and the topic was full of buzz.

What was most interesting was the seating arrangement by the organizers.

Yang Mi, Liu Shishi, Tang Yan, and others were all sitting together, with no communication throughout.

Liu Qianqian, on the other hand, was with the big stars like Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun, and Li Bingbing, being greeted and chatted up by people around her from time to time, which was very conspicuous.

The media reports were very direct:

"Liu Qianqian is already in a completely different class from actresses of the same age. She is already a top-tier star and, even more so, a capitalist..."

Liu Qianqian suddenly remembered something: "Last year in Cannes, the person who presented the award to us was Teacher Shi Nansheng, right?"

Lin Nan knew what she was going to say. Last year in Cannes, Liu Qianqian had a very good impression of Shi Nansheng.

And today, another entertainment headline in the circle was related to Shi Nansheng.

Tsui Hark, who was in his early sixties, was caught by paparazzi holding hands with a young, beautiful woman, acting intimately.

Subsequently, Zhuo Wei of Fengxing also spoke out to confirm that they had already taken many photos of Director Tsui Hark and this woman last year; the two were exactly in that kind of relationship everyone thought.

Once the news was reported, it quickly spread in the circle and online.

One must know that Tsui Hark and Shi Nansheng hadn't divorced yet, and the latter was still the producer of "Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon," which was currently filming!

Industry insiders were already used to this situation, but the internet was full of curses.

After all, Tsui Hark was indeed talented, but back in the day, Shi Nansheng was his mentor.

It could be said that without the woman's support, it would have been very difficult for Tsui Hark to get ahead...

For a time, many male directors in the circle became targets of public criticism; even Chen Kaige was dragged out to be talked about!

"Don't let your imagination run wild!"

Liu Qianqian looked straight at Lin Nan and said stubbornly: "I wouldn't. I just think Teacher Shi Nansheng lives very freely..."

"Still saying you're not letting your imagination run wild? Don't worry, I'm committed to you!"

"Are you saying I'm a block of wood?"

Lin Nan was petrified. What kind of logic was this?

Not until the next second, seeing the playful smile at the corner of Liu Qianqian's mouth, did Lin Nan realize he had been teased by her! Today she wasn't being slow; she was being sharp.

…………

3D movies had become a hot topic in the film and television circle.

Teacher Liu came out to speak again, calling for the construction of a "Journey to the West" theme park. He bluntly asked, since there is a Disneyland in the country, why can't there be a "Journey to the West" theme park?

"Next month, I will go to Hollywood to meet with heavyweight filmmakers and invite Hollywood groups to create a 'Journey to the West' script.

I will contact big directors like Cameron and Spielberg and strongly invite them to direct the 3D version of the 'Journey to the West' movie... I will definitely play Sun Wukong again!"

In the past, hearing this, everyone would only sigh and admire Teacher Liu.

But now, hearing this, Lin Nan felt Teacher Liu was too utilitarian.

Don't theme parks cost money? Who pays? Don't 3D movies cost money? Who pays?

Teacher Liu never talked about these objective things; he just shouted slogans!

His impassioned remarks might have had the most important, most core part at the very end: "I will definitely play Sun Wukong again!"

Lin Nan discovered a problem: Teacher Liu seemed to be able to step on the hot spots of the film and television industry every time, then drag "Journey to the West" into it to get some exposure.

…………

"The rich guy!"

It was estimated that the entire domestic film industry was cursing these three words, and the media were all reporting it crazily.

It seemed as if the domestic film industry was about to completely step out of the country and move toward the world!

"Wanda spends a huge sum of 3.1 billion USD to acquire the North American AMC theater group and assumes all its debts."

"... of which 2.6 billion USD is used to acquire 100% of AMC's shares, and 500 million USD is new operating capital."

……

Such a big move made the industry gasp!

"Lin Dao, in the future, if you need help with film scheduling in the North American market, you can come to us, hahaha..."

Lin Nan admitted he was a bit jealous, but this was indeed a good thing. At the very least, Wanda was his ally and partner!

But Lin Nan wouldn't really take this statement to heart. If he took it seriously, he would be lowering himself.

"Mr. Ye, congratulations to Wanda." Lin Nan congratulated him over the phone.

"You're too kind, Lin Dao. Haha..."

…………

(End of chapter)