Chapter 192 Film and Television Media Company
Feng Qiang sat across from Lin Ruoyan and said with a happy expression, "Boss Lin, I've convinced Old Dai recently and also met someone from Hua Na. They're looking for partners in the mainland to set up a film and television company together."
Lin Ruoyan wasn't surprised that she was able to convince Old Dai. After all, after the award-winning success of the previous film, Old Dai's artists had new development opportunities. If he could keep them in check and expand the company's reach, he could become more than just an agency, producing and distributing his own films and TV series.
But I don't know where the name "Huana" came from. Lin Ruoyan asked curiously, "Is "Huana" the same as the one in Hollywood?"
"Yes, that's the one. The domestic film industry hasn't been doing well in the past few years, but now the country is encouraging cultural industries. The old studios have all been restructured into groups, and Hong Kong isn't doing well either. So they're all thinking about developing in mainland China, wanting to take over our big screens," Feng Qiang said. "Can you guess who introduced them to Hua Na?"
"Could it be Luo Sihai?" Lin Ruoyan only knew one person with an overseas background who was dedicated to the film and television industry.
Feng Qiang exclaimed, "Mr. Lin, you're so predictable. That day, Luo Sihai invited me over. I thought it was another film festival or the second phase of some film and television town, so I didn't want to go. But then he said we could meet at a big hotel in the city, and I agreed without hesitation. When we met, I discovered Luo Sihai had brought two foreigners in suits and ties. I'm not good at foreign languages, so I was a little nervous. Mrs. Luo translated very well, which helped alleviate a lot of the awkwardness."
Upon chatting, I discovered that the person on the other end was a representative from Hua Na, who had come to the mainland specifically for an inspection tour. This representative was a classmate of Luo Sihai's and knew that Luo Sihai had returned to China to invest in a film and television town, but they felt it was too small, given that he was planning to develop a cinema chain. To put it bluntly, they wanted to encompass the entire industry chain, including film and television investment, production, distribution, exhibition, and even peripheral products. Hua Na is one of the eight major companies in Hollywood, and its model is well-established.
However, domestic cultural and entertainment regulations are quite strict, and foreigners are not allowed to freely participate. Even if a foreign blockbuster is imported, the entire process of review, editing, dubbing, etc. may result in a release date at least six months later than overseas. If they can localize the content, with mainland China bearing some of the risks and costs, they can actually do it more smoothly.
Lin Ruoyan was puzzled: "I heard that there are now large-scale film and television groups in Beijing and Shanghai. Wouldn't they consider cooperating with this kind of thing?"
"The big groups want to be inclusive, even those eight Hollywood studios and others, both well-known and unknown, all want to import film resources. Working with just one company would make it impossible to strike a balance. The two representatives from Hua Na ran into obstacles everywhere before they decided to find a private company and start from scratch. They would provide a certain percentage of the capital, bring in advanced technology, and also demand certain operating rights."
Feng Qiang had been working on this for months. Not only had he used his father's connections to verify whether the two representatives had actually discussed discussions with the major film and television group, he had even flown to Hollywood and hired someone to investigate Hua Na. While he remained silent, he hired relevant individuals to secretly investigate Hua Na's sincerity and true intentions in developing its business in the mainland.
While Feng Qiang lacks any specific expertise in the film and television industry, he has been exposed to a wide range of topics since childhood, has a wide circle of friends and is well-informed, having heard both good and bad. He's been caught up in all sorts of illicit activities, like making films to launder money and engaging in other illicit activities. Therefore, if Hua Na is simply seeking to raise money in mainland China and invest in dud films, acting not to promote cultural development but to provide cover for certain illicit industries, such a partnership should be avoided.
After months of inquiries, Feng Qiang, having synthesized the opinions of some veterans and sorted out his thoughts, finally reported to General Manager Lin. He explained his methods, process, and final analysis.
Lin Ruoyan nodded frequently. Feng Qiang wasn't particularly adept at traditional subjects like math, physics, chemistry, directing, or screenwriting, but he mastered everything his teachers couldn't teach him, and he handled it with ease. He had his own unique approach and logic, knew how to verify hypotheses, and understood the intricacies of both dark and gray areas. He wouldn't be fooled by bad actors simply because he was a bookish person.
Fortunately, Feng Qiang did not go astray back then, otherwise with his talent, he would probably be able to thrive in society and make money by doing both good and bad things.
When Lin Ruoyan heard Feng Qiang thought this project was feasible, she was also planning to develop this business, so of course she took it seriously. "Then we'll establish a joint venture with Hua Na to form a film and television media company. However, from the outset, we'll want more than 51% of the shares, as well as the right to invest in domestic films and select topics. We don't have the final say on what films we import from overseas; it all depends on national approval. By the way, the most important thing is, let's sign a contract for about three years, not too long."
Feng Qiang was puzzled and asked, "Why not sign a longer contract? This is a rare opportunity for Hollywood's eight majors."
Lin Ruoyan said the contract couldn't be long because the original book's protagonist is the film-winning actor Wei Xu. The description also touches on some information about the film and television industry. The book mentions the release of "Several Opinions on the Introduction of Foreign Investment into the Cultural Sector" in the second half of 2005. These guidelines highlight two key points: a requirement that Chinese capital must account for at least 51% of Sino-foreign joint ventures in film and television companies, and various restrictions on what foreign investors can do. As a result, many film and television companies that had partnered with foreign investors terminated their agreements after the guidelines were released.
Instead of hastily giving up interests and talking about withdrawal at that time, it would be better for both parties to have an exit mechanism at the beginning of the cooperation. During these two years, she would build up the film and television company and train the team. Then she could clear out Hua Na and take full control of this field.
However, Lin Ruoyan would not express these thoughts now: "After all, you also said that Haocaiwu has eight major companies. We have the experience of cooperation once. We can compare prices with others and then negotiate. Maybe we can find a more ideal partner. Or maybe we are growing very fast. China has a large population and a huge market share. Why let foreigners take advantage? Let our own team mature and do it ourselves."
Feng Qiang didn't expect Mr. Lin to be so domineering. To put it another way, before they even got married, he was already taking stock of the family property and signing an agreement before getting married, just to plan how to divide the benefits when they divorced.
Now that President Lin had laid out the general principles, Feng Qiang's plan for future operations was clear. There was no problem discussing cooperation now. When establishing a company, they would maintain a minimum of 51% ownership, and the higher the stake, the better. After all, the Lin family would be the major contributor to future cinema construction, and the various connections within mainland China would be handled by members of the Lin family.
"So, Mr. Dai actually knows the news and isn't opposed to a joint venture. It's just that Luo Sihai isn't very easy to arrange, so he's acting as a middleman. He must be hoping to make further progress in the film and television industry."
Lin Ruoyan knew Luo Sihai, a man who had always been devoted to the film and television industry. Although he was no longer a registered resident in China, his heart was still in his career there. This kind of person might have originally immigrated abroad because they thought the moon was rounder and the air was more fragrant, but now that they see the mainland's economic development, they want to return to China to pursue their careers. This invisibly promotes the domestic economy and should not be completely excluded.
Although Luo Sihai suffered a loss due to his lack of talent in the real estate industry, he was a graduate of a prestigious foreign university in the film and television industry and had many classmates. In recent years, they have cooperated with foreign capital, and it might be more appropriate to use him to deceive the foreigners and relieve some of the pressure.
When Hua Na withdraws in the future, we will have to wait and see whether Luo Sihai stays or leaves.
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