Chapter 557 Going to Hangzhou
Early morning on the 28rd.
Until the last moment before boarding the plane, Xu Kun was still on the phone with Liu Qiangdong, discussing who should own Weibo.
Apart from watching the young girls fight for the microphone, he has focused most of his energy on collecting information from Sina, Baidu and Fanfou these days.
To be honest, these three companies are not actually very good partners. Baidu was at its peak at the end of 2008, and Sina also became the top of the four major portals thanks to blogs.
One of them feels that he is in a dominant position by controlling Tieba, while the other is complacently resting on the laurels of his blog. Before the Weibo + celebrity strategy generates enough momentum, it is just icing on the cake for them.
Although Xu Kun's status as the country's top commercial director does carry some weight, he has no idea whether he can negotiate a suitable price.
But ideas are worthless once they are revealed.
Xu Kun doesn't want to make things difficult for others.
As for Fanfou, the biggest problem lies in its operational direction.
When ordinary people say something in the comment section, the higher-ups will turn a blind eye and not take it too seriously. At most they will ask for the comments to be deleted or controlled.
But if you get a bunch of "opinion leaders" and put them in the most conspicuous place every day, you are actively seeking your own death - it is estimated that when Fanfou really becomes popular, it will be not far from its glorious funeral.
Liu Qiangdong was so dissatisfied with none of the three that he even had the idea of starting a new business.
But his energy is currently focused on , while Xu Kun is just a talker in this regard. Besides, they already have ready-made channel resources, while you are starting from scratch. What if your product is pirated and cloned by others just when you are getting started?
Anyway, Xu Kun and Liu Qiangdong had been discussing until the 28th, but they still couldn't make up their minds. Fortunately, the matter was not so urgent. What Liu Qiangdong cared about most at the moment was when Xu Kun's million investment would arrive.
Xu Kun has already promised that the money will be ready by January 1 at the latest, and he will sign the contract and get the money at the same time without any delay.
After hanging up the phone, he boarded the plane alone and rushed to the Magic City.
The reason why he didn't fly directly to Hangzhou was because he planned to meet up with Jiang Yiyan first, and then go to Alibaba's headquarters to keep an appointment.
After all, he and Boss Ma will be competitors in a few days. Although Boss Ma is such a big shot, he shouldn't use any despicable means.
But as the saying goes, it’s better to be prepared, so bringing Jiang Yiyan along can at least provide some support.
Speechless all the way.
When we arrived in Shanghai, not only Jiang Yiyan, but also Cai Yinong and Xu Jinglei were there to pick us up.
Needless to say, Cai Yinong and Xu Kun are old friends who know each other well.
When Xu Jinglei saw Xu Kun again, she felt that things had changed a little bit.
A few months ago, when she discussed the cooperation with Xu Kun on "Go Lala's Job", as a well-known female director, one of the four Dan and two Bing, and the blog queen with over ten million fans, she did not think that her status was much lower than Xu Kun, so she argued for the copyright of "Go Lala's Job".
Who would have thought that in just a few months, Xu Kun would become both the Venice Film Festival Best Actor and a billion-dollar box office director. Now the two are on completely different levels. Perhaps it cannot be said that there is a huge gap between them, but there is also a chasm between them.
Although Xu Jinglei finds it a little hard to accept, she is able to thrive in the circle and her emotional intelligence is naturally not to be underestimated.
When she met Xu Kun in the terminal hall, her attitude was even more enthusiastic than Cai Yinong's, and she strongly invited Xu Kun to the crew of "Du Lala's Promotion" to "inspect and give guidance."
Xu Kun originally did not have this itinerary arranged, but later he found out that the crew was located on the road leading to Hangzhou, so he agreed.
Seeing this, Cai Yinong also said that she wanted to go for a visit - although Tangren did not take a stake this time, they were the ones helping out with many things.
Before the New Year, the outdoor scenes of "Du Lala's Promotion" were almost finished, and the following scenes were basically filmed with the company as the background.
In order to make it appear more realistic, Jiang Yiyan and Xu Jinglei decided to temporarily rent a newly renovated office building, which cost a lot of money. However, since the building will not be put into use until next summer, the film version can also be shot here.
Overall, it’s not a loss.
Although the director Xu Jinglei and the producer and second female lead Jiang Yiyan both came to Shanghai to pick up the crew at the airport, the shooting progress did not stop. Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner under the command of Chen Sicheng.
In front of Xu Kun, Xu Jinglei also praised Chen Sicheng for a rare occasion, saying that when the drama version was first filmed, the main storyline she designed was more inclined towards the emotional drama between the male and female protagonists.
But after Chen Sicheng took over as executive director, he insisted on adding more plot points about business intrigues in the workplace, and he also personally collected relevant materials to enrich the script.
The plot shot in this way appears much more solid and not as superficial as those pure idol dramas.
"Director Xu, thank you for the compliment."
Facing Xu Jinglei's praise, Chen Sicheng was very apprehensive: "Shooting like this actually has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it is more in line with the atmosphere of a workplace drama, but it is also likely to raise the threshold for watching, causing some viewers to choose to abandon the show."
"so what?"
Xu Jinglei said disapprovingly: "If we can set a benchmark for workplace dramas, then when people talk about urban workplace dramas in the future, they can't avoid us, just like Director Xu's "Boss" has become a general term for genre films."
Hearing her say this, Chen Sicheng smiled and said nothing more, but Xu Kun could clearly see that he did not agree with this statement, at least not completely.
However, Xu Jinglei said that from her own perspective there is actually no problem, because compared to ratings and box office, she is more concerned about the film's evaluation and whether it can win awards.
As we were talking, Jiang Xin, who had simply removed her makeup, came over - the photo just taken was a close-up, and the makeup on her face was baked to crispness by the fill light.
Although she was wearing a double-breasted blazer and a side-slit knee-length skirt, looking like a professional scoundrel, she still spoke in a carefree manner: "Director Xu, are you here to inspect our crew, or are you here to inquire about the progress of the selection of concubines?"
"All."
Xu Kun smiled and said, "As the president of the Youth Directors Association, I must get to know the talents of the three major film and television academies in advance. Even if they are not suitable for my own films, I can provide them as a reference for young directors in the future."
Then he turned to Chen Sicheng and said, "Our Youth Directors Association is planning to hold a talent show for directors in the first half of next year. Do you want to give it a try? As long as you win a place, you can make a movie that is completely your own."
"Of course!"
Chen Sicheng was overjoyed. Although Xu Kun did not say that he would give him preferential treatment, how could the person personally invited by Director Xu be the same as the ordinary contestants who registered for the competition?
He couldn't help but secretly feel fortunate that he had resolutely joined his idol. Now that Xu Kun has soared to fame with "Operation Kunpeng", people like them will naturally be able to follow suit.
But after thinking about it, he hesitated again: "Director Xu, then... can we make a TV series?"
As he spoke, he frantically pulled out a large stack of manuscript paper from his briefcase and explained to Xu Kun: "When I was collecting materials for the crew, I also came up with a story, a story about drifting to Beijing."
"TV drama?"
Xu Kun took the pile of manuscripts in surprise: "Are you sure you want to give up movies and choose TV series?"
Although he has also decided to shoot "The Way of Heaven" in the second half of next year, for most people, the style of a movie is far superior to that of a TV series.
"This, I..."
Chen Sicheng looked struggling, and after a while he gritted his teeth and said, "I'm sure!" He is a truly smart man and knows how to make choices.
Even if directors selected through this kind of talent show can get investment, there won’t be many of them - the champion may be an exception. However, this talent show was sparked by Xu Kun after he established the Youth Directors Association. As long as he doesn’t make any mistakes, he will definitely not push someone like himself who has connections to the position of champion.
But he doesn't have a suitable low-budget script at the moment. Instead of forcing a movie to start just for the sake of prestige, it would be better for him to be down-to-earth and shoot his own script first, accumulate experience, connections, and fame, and then find a suitable opportunity to enter the big screen.
"alright."
Seeing him say that, Xu Kun said, "Anyway, the talent show has only just come up with a concept, and the specific details haven't been finalized yet. At worst, we can just give it another chance to be selected later."
What is a guanxi household? This is a guanxi household!
Chen Sicheng was so excited that he thanked Xu Kun profusely and even wished he could hug Xu Kun and take a bite of him.
After coming out of the crew at around half past ten, Cai Yinong, who hadn't been able to talk to Xu Kun for a long time, suggested going to a nearby restaurant to eat and chat.
Now that we are here, Alibaba’s annual meeting is held at 3 pm, so there is still time.
So after making three rules with everyone - they could eat, but not drink alcohol, Chen Sicheng led the way to a nearby restaurant.
At the dinner table, Cai Yinong finally found the opportunity to explain her purpose. It turned out that she wanted to stir up some old news before the release of "Chinese Paladin III".
To be specific, when the New Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio was being filmed, Tangren and Rong Xinda teamed up to hype up the scandal between Xu Kun and Yang Mi.
At the time, this scandal did not cause much waves, mainly because Xu was used to being a playboy and everyone was somewhat used to it. Yang Mi was just the second female lead in the drama and there was really nothing eye-catching about her.
But things are different now. Xu Kun is at the peak of his career, and Yang Mi has also taken on the main role of "Chinese Paladin III". Bringing out the old story and rehashing it, coupled with the complicated relationship between the second female lead Liu Shishi and Xu Kun, it will definitely attract a lot of attention.
Xu Kun now has a semi-official status and doesn't really want to hype up any scandals.
But since it's old news, it shouldn't be a big problem.
After a little hesitation, he finally agreed to Cai Yinong's request.
After discussing this matter, Cai Yinong asked about Xu Kun's pre-sale of LeTV stocks. The implication of his words was that he was a little worried that Xu Kun was forced to leave, and in that case, Tangren would not be able to hold on for long.
"So, you Tangren don't plan to cash out and leave?"
"Of course!"
Cai Yinong said without hesitation: "Video websites are developing so fast now. LeTV may not be worse than ordinary satellite TV in the future. It may even be better. Compared with cashing out, it is more important for us Tangren to have control over this channel."
Cai Yinong still has some strategic vision.
According to what Xu Kun heard from his cellmates in his previous life, it seems that after a dozen years or so, the televisions in most people's homes have become mere decorations. Even if they want to watch TV series, they mainly watch them on computers, tablets, or simply on their mobile phones.
"I took the initiative to cash out and leave, but I'm not sure whether you, Tangren, will be forced to leave. It may depend on how much say Jia can have after LeEco goes public. If he can make the decision, Tangren should be safe for the time being."
After hearing this, Cai Yinong became a little worried, but Tangren’s relationships were all in Shanghai and Hong Kong Island, so even if he wanted to support Lao Jia, it was out of reach.
In the following time, everyone just chatted and gossiped.
However, when she was about to leave, Jiang Yiyan silently handed Chen Sicheng a business card. After Chen Sicheng read the content on it, he immediately put it away with great care.
Xu Kun didn't say anything at the time. It was not until they were on the way to Hangzhou that he asked, "The business card you gave Chen Sicheng was from Nantianmen Studio, right?"
Jiang Yiyan answered the question irrelevantly: "Brother Kun, after the new year, let's adjust the shares of the studio. I will take 30% and you will take 70%."
When she first set up her studio, she just wanted to emulate Fan Bingbing. It was not until recently that people started to come to her and sign contracts that she decided to make it bigger and stronger.
If Jiang Yiyan wants to make the studio bigger and stronger, or even become the next Huayi, she knows exactly who is the most important link.
"Why do I need your shares?"
Xu Kun said disapprovingly: "If you think highly of Chen Sicheng, then sign a bet agreement with him. As long as his own script can achieve a certain result, you can sell him part of the studio's shares at a low price."
After a pause, he continued, "Baoqiang, Lao Chen, and Brother Li can also subscribe for some."
Although she failed to give the shares to Xu Kun, Jiang Yiyan felt relieved when she heard that Xu Kun wanted to bring his old brothers into the game, and she quickly said, "Then I'll discuss it with them later."
About an hour later, the two arrived at Alibaba's headquarters.
It was barely one o'clock.
Xu Kun originally wanted to ask Alibaba’s staff to help him arrange a place for a simple rest so that he could come over when the annual meeting was held.
Unexpectedly, he was taken directly to the chairman's office by the staff.
After entering the room, Ma Yun first glanced at Jiang Yiyan, and after recognizing her identity, she didn't care.
He first warmly invited Xu Kun to sit down, and then suddenly asked, "I wonder if Director Xu is interested in working with Alibaba to develop a video platform?"
“Video platform?”
Xu Kun was a little caught off guard. He didn't expect that Ma Yun posted this message to him for this purpose.
"Yes, it's a video platform like LeTV and Tudou." Ma Yun said with a smile: "To be honest, I have always been interested in the film and television industry, but I don't know much about the traditional film and television industry, so I have been hesitant to get involved.
But the video platform is different. It is also Alibaba’s core business. I believe that as long as there are professionals like Director Xu at the helm, the future of this new platform will not be worse than LeTV.”
Boss Ma speaks with great confidence and is very infectious.
And with the strength of Alibaba Group, Xu Kun believes that what he said will definitely come true in the future.
But Xu Kun didn't hesitate and rejected him directly: "Mr. Ma, you also know that Jia Yueting of LeTV and I are old friends..."
"But haven't you decided to cash out?"
Tsk~
It seems that there is no impenetrable wall in this world.
"Even if I cash out and leave, Lao Jia and I are still friends, and..."
Xu Kun hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the truth: "To be honest, I have already made an appointment with Liu Qiangdong of to invest 100 million yuan in after the new year."
(End of this chapter)
