Chapter 650 A small witch meets a big witch
In March, the weather in the port city is quite comfortable.
It happened that I asked someone to come to my house for car washing and maintenance today. Luxury cars such as Ferrari Enzo, Porsche GT, and Rolls-Royce Phantom were parked in the yard.
In addition, there was a newly delivered Bugatti Veyron in black and orange colors, which he was allowed to experience for a limited period of three months. This really opened the eyes of Wang Jinghua and Da Bingbing.
In particular, the mansion at No. 89 Repulse Bay Road itself has become one of the most valuable mansions in Hong Kong. Last year, it ranked second with a rental value of several million Hong Kong dollars a year. The first place is Li Ka-shing’s mansion on Deep Water Bay Road, which is only a few minutes’ drive from Fan Wumian’s home.
When being led into the house by Pu Jiajing, Wang Jinghua couldn't help but look at Da Bingbing and sighed in a low voice:
"They are both celebrities, but look at Mr. Fan."
Da Bingbing's eyes were full of energy. She just stared at the Bugatti Veyron, which she had never seen in real life, and felt like she was drunk. She said in a melancholy tone:
"Unfortunately, I am a few years older than him. I have met him a few times at events before, but he didn't seem to be interested in me."
This is a way of giving you a heads-up, suggesting that you probably won't be able to help much today.
Wang Jinghua interacted with other people all day long, so how could she not understand what Da Bingbing meant? She just replied:
"Mr. Fan has a lot of top actresses under his command. What kind of beauties has he not seen? I'm not asking you to mess around. Just help to keep things going. At least you have to let him know that investing in my company can really make money."
"I understand, Sister Hua. I will be more careful."
Da Bingbing wanted to do something messy with Fan Wumian, but unfortunately she never had the chance. His thighs were so thick that even Da Bingbing was deterred and had no confidence that she could take down Fan Wumian.
Putting aside other things for now, just looking at Liu Yifei, Zhuang Muxi, Feng Ying'er and others, Da Bingbing has no confidence that she can win. The only slight advantage she has is that she is more mature and more understanding than these young girls.
Pu Jiajing listened to the entire conversation. Seeing Da Bingbing, whom she had watched grow up, she was not surprised. She had already seen many so-called top stars who took turns to try different ways to get close to Fan Wumian.
This made Pu Jiajing a little complacent, mainly because she was close to the water and got the moon first. Maybe just getting some resources from Fan Wumian would be enough to make those celebrities outside envious.
Walking around the mansion and coming to the backyard, Da Bingbing adjusted her clothes and hairstyle, and calmly pulled down the neckline of her skirt. She was quite confident in herself in this regard.
At the same time, Fan Wumian was sitting at a round table by the swimming pool. Not far away, the cherry blossoms, yellow bell trees, and tulips were in full bloom.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, he first looked at Wang Jinghua and asked an irrelevant question:
"If I remember correctly, the actor who played the 'You Zao Gui' who used the Wu Lang Bagua stick in the movie 'Kung Fu' was Wang Jie's husband, right? I re-watched the movie and it didn't seem to explain whether he died in the end. Only the coolie who used the Twelve-Way Tan Kick had his head chopped off and died. If they start filming 'Kung Fu 2', maybe they will invite your husband to come and make a cameo appearance."
Wang Jinghua had not expected this at all, and asked back:
"Is there going to be a sequel to Kung Fu? I have no idea. My husband was famous before, but it was Kung Fu that made many young people know him. Recently, he has been busy taking care of our son at home. Mr. Fan, if you need anything, please tell me directly. He can come over to help at any time."
Fan Wumian nodded and said:
"It should be a start. Columbia Pictures, which holds the copyright to Kung Fu, has offered $850 million. I am ready to sign a contract with them. But I haven't figured out how to write the script yet. I guess even if we want to shoot Kung Fu 2, we have to wait until next year."
Da Bingbing smiled and said while drinking black tea:
"Looking at the entire entertainment industry, it seems that you, Mr. Fan, are the only one who has the ability to become a guest of honor in those Hollywood companies and a big boss on equal footing with them. The "A Quiet Place" series helped Mr. Fan earn more than a billion Hong Kong dollars. It's a bit of an understatement to describe you as a great talent. Usually, whenever there is an opportunity to go to Hollywood to film, a group of people will surround you. How can those Hollywood bosses give us face?"
In the past, China's economy and military were beaten by Europe and the United States. Many people felt inferior to foreigners when they saw them. Fan Wumian was different. He preferred to think about how to secretly remove the bricks and smash them to death after the wall collapsed.
As for the phenomenon that Chinese stars are trying their best to get into Hollywood and win awards at international film festivals, he can only say that it is really unnecessary.
Many directors and stars who have won numerous international awards will eventually fall into obscurity. In the end, it is their works that speak for themselves.
But around 2007, celebrities could not make much money in the domestic and Hong Kong entertainment industries. It was only the international celebrities like Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, and Jack Long who went to Hollywood to become rich overnight. Sensing a hint of sourness in Da Bingbing's tone, Fan Wumian did not respond, but only said:
"As for me now, I can only be considered mediocre at best. If I want to gain a firm foothold in the international market, I have to think of other ways."
Just chat about things in a normal way.
When Wang Jinghua mentioned that she wanted to start her own business, Fan Wumian didn't bother to care about what happened between her and the company she was working with. After thinking about it, he just asked:
"How much money do you need, and how much can you afford?"
Wang Jinghua usually makes a lot of money compared to others, but she still tries to hide it. However, in front of Fan Wumian, she is nothing compared to him. She told:
"I did a preliminary calculation before, and it will probably cost around 2500 million. I can contribute 500 million, which is about 20% of the shares. Some resources are very popular in the eyes of others, but they are nothing to you, Mr. Fan. If we start a company together, we will need your help from time to time. Now many actors dream of getting a contract with Bandit King Entertainment."
What this means is that Wang Jinghua invests in the company with artists and funds, while Fan Wumian provides funds and some job opportunities, and the two calculate their shares based on their investment ratio.
It's a fair deal, can't fault it much.
However, Fan Wumian happened to know that the era when domestic entertainment artists would set up their own businesses and establish studios on a large scale was about to come.
He got straight to the point and said:
“Times are a little different.”
"In the past, artists followed the arrangements of the company and were in a passive situation. Some people started to register their own studios, hoping to gain more control over their acting careers, be able to choose projects and roles independently, and at the same time get involved in production, investment and other fields to get more profit sharing."
"If they take jobs in the name of the company and use some tricks to change their personal income to corporate income tax, the income they get will be much higher than if they signed with an agency. How does Wang plan to prevent her artists from switching jobs en masse?"
After saying this, Fan Wumian also glanced at Da Bingbing.
Previously, Wang Jinghua took a large number of artists to leave Huayi Brothers, but Da Bingbing chose to stay in Huayi.
But this woman has high emotional intelligence and has the support of noble people in Hong Kong. She still maintains a good relationship with Wang Jinghua and often cooperates in some business matters.
Some time ago, Da Bingbing had contact with Fan Wumian's company, but was not satisfied with the conditions he offered. Recently, she is considering leaving Huayi to start her own business, which is to set up her own personal studio.
With her current high profile in the mainland, plus the connections she has built up over the years, she does not need to rely on anyone more than Gao Yuanyuan, Liu Yifei and others, and the cash on hand is enough for her to try to make her own way.
After listening to this, Wang Jinghua said decisively:
"It is better to open up than to block. If anyone thinks they can do it, our company can even invest in them and support them to set up an independent studio. In this way, we can still make money. The only difference is the way of cooperation."
"But after the artists leave, some resources must be allocated to the contracted artists to ensure that most of the profits remain in our own hands. We must also be careful not to be implicated because of tax issues."
"I have brought up dozens of artists. Whether a person can become famous depends mainly on resources. If I can get your support, President Fan, I believe that even if you drive some artists away, they will not leave easily."
Shanzeiwang Entertainment and Shenghuo Miaomiao Agency took the elite route and took over the resources in Wang Jinghua's hands as a supplement, which was slightly beneficial to Fan Wumian. It could reduce the cost of filming while seizing a higher market share.
A mere 2000 million RMB is not enough to buy a Bugatti Veyron in the mainland. Fan Wumian looked at Da Bingbing and asked:
"What about you? Will you choose to join this company?"
Da Bingbing had a smile on her face and quickly made a decision. She said:
"I plan to open my own studio. If Mr. Fan and Sister Hua are willing to invest in me, I would be more than happy to do so." (End of this chapter)