Chapter 402: Stop pretending, I'm a billionaire, I'm telling you.
The impact of the film and television winter on the entire industry is reflected in all aspects, the most obvious of which is that the number of film and television projects filed and started during this period has obviously decreased a lot.
Take movies as an example. Before 2014, the number of filed projects announced by the Film Bureau was basically around 2,000 each year. By 2015, this number soared to 3,500, and it is still growing rapidly at a rate of one to two hundred new projects per year.
When Meng Bai just graduated, creators like him had to take the script everywhere to attract investment. But by the time Arclight Film and Television was established, it had become the investors who took the money to look for scripts everywhere.
The value of IP quickly became a consensus in the industry, and all film and television companies, regardless of size, were scrambling to buy copyrights everywhere.
And these copyrights have become chicken ribs in the hands of these companies now.
If you want to shoot, you don't have the money, and it's a waste to leave it there. If you want to resell it, go out and see that other people's sales are cheaper than yours. Even if you bargain at a loss, no one will buy it, after all, everyone's situation is similar.
In the past, the major acquisitions were from several major video platforms and leading film and television companies. Now that capital is receding, all companies have entered a cooling-off period and have no money left.
The same question that these industry practitioners have been thinking about every day recently is where to find a new big money sponsor.
Just at this time, Mr. Meng of Arclight appeared on a colorful cloud, oh no, on the halo of a "billionaire".
For the film and television industry, which is now in a period of transition, Arclight Film and Television, which is strong and well-funded, is like a beacon that illuminates the entire industry, attracting everyone.
More importantly, Arclight Film and Television did not stop acquiring external projects like several other leading companies, which is great news.
For a time, a large number of small and medium-sized companies that could not survive began to send their projects to Arclight Film and Television, and sincerely said that they would just give a few melons and two dates.
The IP that used to be worth millions can now be sold for hundreds of thousands, and if it is too expensive, it can be reduced. Some even directly offered to give it away for free, as long as they could leave some money for the project if it could be established in the future.
The person in charge of Arc Light Film and Television Department initially planned to talk to each of them one by one as before. However, he soon found that even if he split one day into two days,
he could not finish the talks. In desperation, he could only ask the boss for instructions. Meng Bai waved his hand and said that no matter who sent it, they should accept it first, and then they should screen it again, keep the projects that they think are okay, and then take a look at it themselves.
Of course, we have to make it clear to those companies first,
so as not to complain after being rejected later. Meng Bai retrieved several project books from the company's system library and took a rough look. There were all kinds of themes, and the quality was also good. It can be seen that the film and television department was still very serious in the screening, but the number was "a little bit" more than expected.
After thinking for a while, he said to Hua Yan, "Go talk to the film and television department later and make the screening criteria stricter, and reduce the number to one-fourth of the current level. In addition, when selecting, give priority to projects with innovative content. For projects with decent quality but old themes, just exclude them directly."
"Okay, I'll go and tell them now."
Watching Hua Yan leave, Meng Bai casually looked at a few more, and then a sense of irritation rose in his heart.
The scale of Arclight Film and Television is getting bigger and bigger, and he has more affairs to take care of. Now he doesn't have much energy to pay attention to such trivial matters as project selection. But he is not at ease to hand it over to others, always feeling that some good projects might be missed.
Alas, I have to find someone to share the burden. It would be best if it is a talent with a good vision and a full understanding of the needs of the industry.
Within Arclight, Liu Zhi is one of them. This guy has worked his way up from the bottom with Meng Bai, and he has been an independent producer in the past two years, with good results, and no problem with experience.
But for him, it's okay to be responsible for the web series, but it's a bit of a stretch to add TV series and movies.
Speaking of movies, Meng Bai thought of Chen Zhixi. It must be said that this elder sister has a great eye for blockbuster movies, and she dares to think and gamble, but it's a pity that she is already in Ruyi.
Do you want to poach people?
It doesn't seem necessary. After all, Arclight doesn't have much film business, and it would be a waste to poach people. It's better to maintain the cooperation like now.
Weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Meng Bai remembered the plan of investing in Ruyi that this elder sister had mentioned before.
Thinking of this, he called Gu Fei over.
"Boss, after you talked to me last time, we investigated some information about Ruyi." Gu Fei said, "Currently, their shares are mainly divided into two parts. One is the founders, brothers Ke Jiuming and Ke Liming, and the other is the Houyang Zaihong Fund that entered the market earlier."
"If you, boss, don't plan to acquire it completely, then we can first invest in Houyang Zaihong Fund. About 30% of the shares will be enough to achieve actual control, and then use this to indirectly control Ruyi. This is the most cost-effective method at present."
Meng Bai thought about Gu Fei's plan, and asked by the way: "What is your research rating on investing in Ruyi?"
"We have studied it. For Arclight Films, investing in Ruyi is a very good project, both in terms of capital operation and industry expansion."
Gu Fei handed the analysis plan that she had prepared to Meng Bai. Then, she thought for a while and said, "In addition, boss, we heard a piece of news when we were researching."
"What news?"
"I don't know if you have heard of Hengten Network, an Internet service company jointly established by Evergrande and Tencent. They seem to have expressed interest in Ruyi before, but because of the current downturn in the film and television industry and the recession of the capital market this year, they have suspended the planning of this project."
At this point, she lowered her voice: "I heard that Hengten Network's original Internet service business has been somewhat blocked, and Evergrande has always wanted to enter the film and television industry, so it has never given up on Ruyi. When the situation in the capital market improves, it is very likely to restart this acquisition plan."
"We are investing in it now, on the one hand, to achieve cooperation, and on the other hand, to enhance the attractiveness of Ruyi. If Hengten Network restarts the acquisition in the future, then we will make a lot of money on this deal. Even if there is no acquisition, the cooperation itself is not a loss. I think we can give it a try."
Meng Bai thought about Gu Fei's words and felt that it was indeed as she said. Ruyi's own value is still good, and it is even more favorable to buy it at this time when the film and television industry is in decline. If you can really bet on the acquisition later, it will be a big profit.
"How much money do you need?"
"The current asset value of Houyang Zaihong is not high. To complete the actual holding, it will not exceed 150 million."
"US dollars?"
Gu Fei was stunned when he heard this: "Renminbi... In US dollars, it is about 20 million."
"Ahaha, that's really cheap."
Meng Bai laughed dryly. Recently, he has been reading news about his ranking and other things. The asset units are all in US dollars. For a while, he was a little unresponsive.
The price of 150 million is indeed not expensive. Of course, the control power of this indirect shareholding is definitely not as good as direct capital injection. But this is the common way of playing in the capital market. The emphasis is on making a small investment for a big gain.
Meng Bai's previous habit of directly throwing money in is actually quite alternative.
Perhaps this is the difference between doing real business and doing finance.
After considering for a long time, Meng Bai initially affirmed Gu Fei's plan, but there is no rush for this matter. He plans to go back with Gu Fei to Ruyi to talk to Chen Zhixi and Ke Liming in detail, and then decide on the final plan.
——The
speed of several official media is quite fast. Only one day after the interview, exclusive interviews with Meng Bai were released one after another.
"The new wave is coming! The "first generation of entrepreneurs" born in the 1990s show the power of youth"
"Exclusive interview with Meng Bai: From the rise of Chinese dramas to see the cultural confidence of a great country"
"Meng Bai: In fact, I am just a creator"
""No fear of the 'cold winter', the future of the film and television industry lies in the quality of content""
"..."
The official reports are still relatively formal, and the content is basically biased towards the main theme, without the gossip that netizens love to read the most. However, Meng Bai's momentum is high at the moment, so even if it is an official report, the traffic is not low at all.
And on the Internet, his popularity is even higher.
Meng Bai's Weibo account, which only posted one message in half a year, has now been certified, and the number of fans has increased to more than 4 million.
Contrary to public expectations, this Mr. Meng does not seem to be as cold as imagined. First, he posted a Weibo with a picture of Shen Teng's famous scene in "The Richest Tomato" -
no more pretending, I am a billionaire and I will show my cards.
Netizens who saw this Weibo post were confused at first, and then they couldn't help laughing.
It must be said that this sentence is so appropriate here.
By the way, everyone also felt a sense of identity with this "rich peer".
Nowadays, it is indeed a more popular personality for rich people to be down-to-earth, but it also requires a method. If you say that you eat very simply while sitting on a private plane, people will just think you are pretending; but if you drink happy water at the board meeting, it will be more natural.
Of course, Meng Bai's memes are not just for personality creation, after all, he does not intend to become an Internet celebrity. Immediately after the first Weibo post, he posted another lucky draw.
[Now there are four million fans, so I set up four hundred winning places, 200 men and 200 women. You only need to forward the topic #The first day of the new year to watch "The Wandering Earth"# to participate in the lucky draw. Each winner can get a red envelope of 500 yuan, plus a ticket to the premiere of the Spring Festival movie "The Wandering Earth". ]
As in the previous interview, promoting the movie is his main purpose. The money was not paid from the production crew's publicity and promotion funds, but from his own pocket.
The lucky draw worth 200,000 yuan is still very attractive. In just one day, nearly 100,000 people have participated, and "The Wandering Earth" has also received a lot of attention.
Guo Fan took advantage of this popularity and released a trailer for the movie, officially starting the movie preheating.
There are still quite a lot of viewers attracted to it, but most people subconsciously calmed down when they saw that the movie was a science fiction theme.
There is no way, "domestic science fiction movies" are really a big pit, and the audience has been deceived more than once or twice, and they are almost ptsd.
Look at the production team, director Guo Fan, a name I haven't heard of. Check the previous works, a 6.4-point "The Adventures of Li Xianji" and a 6-point "My Deskmate".
You are a youth film director, and you cross the industry to shoot science fiction? Who would think it reliable? The
same is true for the cast. The two young leading actors are unknown. Uncle Da surprised everyone for a while, but that's it. When I saw Wu Jing again, wow, isn't this "Wolf Warrior", this time it's changed to a space version?
It can be said that judging from the information on paper alone, this movie reveals flaws everywhere.
Of course, not everyone is so pessimistic. After watching the trailer, some viewers felt that it was not as bad as they imagined.
[Don't mention it, the snowflake special effects and the freezing effects look okay. ]
[Fuck, is the distant view at the end of the trailer the "planetary engine" in the novel? The modeling quality doesn't seem to be bad. ]
[I advise you to be cautious. Who knows if this is a trailer or a "trailer scam." ]
[That's right, these movie crews are really good at it now. Who knows, the whole movie that can be watched was cut in. ]
[Da Liu is the same, why doesn't he find a reliable team. Guo Fan is a youth film director, what does he know about science fiction. ]
[……]
It can be seen that everyone still recognizes the effect shown in the trailer, but they are worried about being deceived.
Meng Bai, Guo Fan and others have no way to deal with this. Unless the movie is brought up, it is definitely useless for them to explain it themselves.
Anyway, everything that can be done has been done. Now we have to wait for the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the audience will know after entering the theater whether this movie is the beginning of "domestic science fiction" or just adding dirt.
——Blue
Island, Oriental Film Studio.
"Chi-"
The sound of the gears turning rapidly sounded, and Li Qin, wearing a black motion capture suit, suddenly stepped to the ground, and then flew up quickly under the traction of the wire. Then he did a forward flip kick in the air and landed accurately on the predetermined high platform.
"Very good, everyone's cooperation this time is very good."
On the ground, Lu Yang chatted with the action director for a few words, then praised everyone on the scene, and then hurriedly asked the wire personnel to let Li Qin, who was still on it, down.
"Teacher Li, the movements this time are very beautiful. When we start shooting, we just need to keep this level." Director Lu Yang took the initiative to greet him and said politely.
This is the set of "Assassination of Novelist", but it has not officially started yet. Everyone is practicing and running-in the early stages of the action.
"Sorry, director, I'm sorry for bothering you."
Li Qin's forehead was covered with sweat, and her face looked a little pale due to physical exhaustion. She said with some apology: "I don't have much experience in action scenes, so if there are any inappropriate places, just let me know."
"No, no, it's fine now." Lu Yang hurriedly smiled and said: "As for action scenes, we are not familiar with them at the beginning, otherwise we don't need to practice in advance."
After that, he looked at Li Qin's face and told her: "Teacher Li, take a rest first, and continue in the afternoon."
Li Qin thanked her and then walked to the edge of the training ground.
A girl with short hair and a sweet smile was standing here. Seeing Li Qin walking towards her, she hurriedly waved: "Qinqin!"
"Yixin!"
It was Tang Yixin who came.
"Why are you here?" Li Qin asked in surprise.
"I wanted to ask you something, and then I remembered that you were filming here recently, so I came to see you." Tang Yixin looked at Li Qin's motion capture suit with envy, "You looked so handsome just now!"
Li Qin smiled bitterly, "I've been practicing for two days, and you just saw the best one."
Before, she thought that she had some basic drama body movements, and action scenes should not be difficult. But when she actually arrived at the scene and saw the demonstration of the action director, she found that things were far from as simple as she thought.
There was no way, she could only film the demonstration of the action director while practicing privately.
"It's so hard." Tang Yixin said puzzledly, "I saw that your director was very polite to you."
"It's because he was polite that I have to practice to the standard." Li Qin sighed, "Otherwise, it would make it difficult for that guy."
"Oh-it turns out to be the power of love."
Tang Yixin smiled jokingly, and she naturally understood who the "that guy" her best friend was talking about.
"Oh, it's really unbelievable. I knew that our Mr. Meng was rich, but I didn't expect him to be so rich. Mrs. Meng, why are you still working so hard to film? Just let your Mr. Meng support you."
"What Mrs. Meng? That sounds weird." Li Qin suppressed a smile and acted arrogantly, "Besides, who needs him to support me? It's not like I can't make money."
"Tsk tsk, a woman who says one thing and thinks another. I guess you were so happy when you heard 'Mrs. Meng' just now." Tang Yixin exposed her without hesitation.
Li Qin angrily responded, "How dare you say that about me? Humph, I don't know who is talking about 'my Mr. Zhang' all day long..."
The two besties exposed each other's "weaknesses" and hurt each other.
"Okay, you just said you had something to talk to me about, what is it?"
Tang Yixin stroked her hair and said a little embarrassedly: "Well - Mr. Zhang proposed to me two days ago."
"Wow!" Li Qin's eyes widened instantly: "So, are you planning to get married?"
"Yes." Tang Yixin smiled happily, "It's currently scheduled for June next year."
"So early!"
"It's not too early, actually, I'll be thirty next year."
"Ah, this..."
Li Qin was a little dazed. Although she knew her age, she still felt like she was traveling through time when she suddenly heard the news of her friend's marriage.
Fortunately, she was only twenty-two years and seventy-two months old, still very young.
Well, she was embarrassed to start counting from the age of eighteen now.
"Is the wedding in Beijing North?"
"No, go to Ireland."
"So far?" Li Qin asked in surprise.
Tang Yixin smiled: "It is said that there was a law in Ireland in the past that prohibited lovers from divorcing."
"Well, so romantic..."
Li Qin's eyes flashed, and she couldn't help but imagine the scene of Tang Yixin and Zhang Ruoyun getting married in her mind. After thinking for a while, the two faces turned into herself and Meng Bai again.
If Meng Bai proposed to her, should she say yes, yes, or yes? It's really annoying.
"Hehehe..."
Tang Yixin looked at her best friend who suddenly laughed: "What are you laughing at?"
"Ah, nothing." Li Qin shook her head and threw away the fantasy picture: "June, right? I will definitely be there then."
"Uh, actually I want you to be my bridesmaid."
"Bridesmaid? Okay!" Li Qin agreed without thinking.
"Hehe, I know Qinqin you are the best to me."
"Should I tell Meng Bai?"
"No, my husband Zhang has gone to find him."
...
"Get married?"
In the villa, Meng Bai paused the game, put down the controller, and looked at Zhang Ruoyun in surprise: "Get married next year?"
"Yes, it's settled."
"No, brother..." Meng Bai patted his shoulder, "You are in your prime, why can't you think of getting married?"
Zhang Ruoyun glanced at him: "I'm in my thirties, it's normal to get married."
"Okay, that's right..."
Meng Bai sighed, then stood up, looked out the window, and made a praying gesture with his hands: "Today, a friend is leaving, may he enjoy happiness in the future..."
"Hey, that's enough." Zhang Ruoyun said helplessly: "I'm getting married, not dying."
"That's enough." Meng Bai waved his hands, "Forget it, everyone has to take this step. You've grown up, and I'll be relieved after you find a wife..."
"Fuck you!" Zhang Ruoyun cursed with a smile, then said, "It's agreed that you have to come when the time comes."
"No problem." Meng Bai said readily, "Be your best man?"
"Well, if you come to be the best man, I'm afraid no one else dares to be one." Zhang Ruoyun said, "How about you be our witness."
"Fuck, I suddenly feel a great responsibility." Meng Bai said, "Anyway, if Teacher Tang has no objection, I don't care."
"I've told her, it's settled."
Come to think of it, although the witness is usually an elder, there is no strict rule. And with the complexity of Zhang Ruoyun's family, it may not be easy to find an elder to come out.
"Next June, Northern Ireland."
Meng Bai raised his eyebrows: "China is so big, can't it accommodate your love?"
"She likes that style." Zhang Ruoyun said: "And it is said that there is a law in Irish history that once a couple gets married, they cannot divorce. It can be regarded as a good omen."
"Hmm--" Meng Bai nodded, "The marriage rate in this place should not be high, right? No wonder it has become a legend."
"Fuck, what you said... seems to make sense."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
