Chapter 402 Someone Wants to Take Advantage of the Fire
Hu Xiaoxiao obtained Zhang Huai's evidence, and it turned out just as she had expected. Zhang Huai had made several decent films in his youth, but his talent had faded, and to maintain his position, he resorted to plagiarism. His most famous and highest-grossing films were all based on plagiarized ideas or directly copied scripts.
Hu Xiaoxiao once again sent the news to gossip magazines. With the media publicity, Zhang Huai's reputation in the circle became ruined.
Hu Xiaoxiao also compiled some evidence and sent it to those who were plagiarized. It depends on their intention whether to sue Zhang Huai or not.
Compared with Yan Weikan’s bad behavior, the news of Zhang Huai’s plagiarism has attracted less attention among the public, but it is very popular in the circle, especially among famous directors, who are very disgusted with this behavior.
The film industry is competitive not only among actors but also among directors. Zhang Huai has been involved in such a serious plagiarism incident, and he has already run out of ideas. It is estimated that he will have no chance to work in the film industry in the future.
Everything was almost settled. Seeing that "Royal Queen" was making a decent amount of money at the box office, Hu Xiaoxiao sent the evidence to the Financial Investigation Division. Within two days, officers arrived to investigate Fang Jing for money laundering. Fang Jing hadn't yet been able to transfer the laundered funds, so they were caught red-handed and all the money was frozen.
The evidence also pointed to Fang Jing's previous involvement in money laundering, so they froze Hongguang Film's corporate account.
The evidence was irrefutable, and Fang Jing had been caught red-handed. Just after Chu Yinggang had been sentenced to twenty years, another leader of the Changxing Society had been arrested. The Changxing Society was currently facing a period of uncertainty, and Fang Jing's arrest was undoubtedly another significant blow to the organization.
Seeing this, Huang Yuliang paused his turf war with the Changxing Society, seemingly giving up, but in reality, he shifted his focus to covert bribery. Meanwhile, Luo Cheng, intent on taking advantage of the situation, accelerated his encroachment, using more drastic tactics, determined to pull off a final, decisive move.
Seeing that the Changxing Society was struggling to recover, and Luo Cheng's greedy pressure was increasing, Liu Yaofang was forced into a desperate situation. He simply became ruthless and vowed to fight Luo Cheng to the death. The fight between the two sides became more and more intense.
Huang Yuliang sat on the mountain and watched the fight between tigers.
The Spring Festival period passed quickly, and Shengshi Entertainment's attempt to acquire or lease a cinema did not go smoothly. Either the bid was too high and not cost-effective, or the scale was too small.
After visiting the marketing department, the number of cinemas willing to sell or rent was very small, less than five, which was a drop in the bucket for Shengshi Entertainment's current predicament. Of these five, three were offering ridiculously high prices, making even someone as generous as Hu Xiaoxiao feel that it was not worth it.
The predicament of Shengshi Entertainment is also known to its peers. Some are gloating over it, while others want to take advantage of the situation.
Hu Xiaoxiao received an unexpected call from Lin Zhanbo, the general manager of Sihai Company.
When Hu Xiaoxiao received this call, she was surprised. She had no friendship with him, but he actually called her to invite her to dinner.
Logically speaking, now that Shengshi Entertainment is in trouble, for the sake of box office profits, it should be her or Huang Yuliang who takes the initiative to find him, invite him to dinner, and curry favor with him.
It turned out that it was Lin Zhanbo who called first, and he spoke in a nice voice. There must be something wrong when something is unusual.
After Hu Xiaoxiao exchanged pleasantries with Lin Zhanbo calmly for a while, Lin Zhanbo revealed the purpose of his visit.
"You want to invest in Shengshi Entertainment?" Hu Xiaoxiao suddenly realized, that's it.
On the other end of the phone, Lin Zhanbo laughed heartily and said, "It's not me. I'm not as wealthy as Sister Xiao and Mr. Huang, who built such a large company. It's our company, Sihai Industrial. We are very optimistic about Shengshi Entertainment and would like to cooperate with Sister Xiao and Mr. Huang. No matter how much equity you offer, we can sit down and talk."
Hu Xiaoxiao crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair, his expression lazy. "Thank you for your kindness. We are not short of money for the time being."
"You don't lack money, but you lack the market," Lin Zhanbo said, showing great goodwill. "You have the strength, and we have the market. If we work together, we will definitely create a miracle in the film market."
Hu Xiaoxiao's fingers twirled around the phone cord in boredom as he asked, "How much equity do you want?"
"At least 51% of the shares are needed. If Sihai becomes a shareholder of Shengshi Entertainment, we can schedule more screenings for Shengshi Entertainment's films. Sister Xiao also knows the strength of our Sihai Cinema Line. If we invest in Shengshi Entertainment, you and Mr. Huang will definitely not lose out."
"Really?" Hu Xiaoxiao asked him, "So you're boycotting the release of 'The Princess Diaries 2' just to get shares in Shengshi Entertainment?"
"Hey! One thing is one thing, how could you call it a boycott before? There are too many blockbuster films during the Spring Festival, and we simply can't schedule them all. There are too many films, the market is only so big, and there are only so many theaters. We can only prioritize our friends' and our own films. This is also human nature, right? Whether it's friendship or business, there must be distinctions between close and distant relatives.
However, if Sihai becomes a shareholder in Shengshi Entertainment, then Shengshi Entertainment will also be our family, our own son. No matter when Shengshi Entertainment's films are released, they will be given priority in scheduling, and no matter what time slot you want, Sihai Cinemas will be there to serve you as soon as possible."
Lin Zhanbo repeatedly assured that after Sihai acquired a stake in Shengshi Entertainment, film scheduling would not be a problem. "With Sihai as your backing, you don't have to worry about scheduling issues with Ji's and Baoguang Cinemas. The three major cinema chains have the same interests. If they dare to block Shengshi Entertainment's film schedule, Sihai will dare to block their film schedules as well."
Hu Xiaoxiao uttered a soft "oh" and asked, "Doesn't Sihai have a Qilin Film and Television company under its umbrella?"
"Qilin is Qilin, and Shengshi Entertainment is Shengshi Entertainment. There's no conflict between the two. Sihai is such a large enterprise, and they have invested in more than one company. In short, with Sihai, Shengshi Entertainment's future film schedule will definitely be no less than Qilin Film and Television's. You two are both blood brothers, so we treat each other equally."
"No matter how many screenings there are or how high the box office is, in the end, I'm just working for you." Hu Xiaoxiao didn't understand why everyone wanted her to work for them. Did she look like someone who would sacrifice herself for the benefit of others?
Lin Zhanbo disagreed and said, "How can you say she's working? Sister Xiao is also a shareholder. She earns her own money and spends it herself."
"Since you earn your own money and spend it yourself, why should I share most of the profits?"
Si Hai wanted more than 51% of the shares, which meant that she, Huang Yuliang, and Dong Peiyu's combined stakes would be less than 50%. Who would then have the final say in Shengshi Entertainment? She worked so hard filming and training newcomers, only to help others?
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