"Mr. Qin, let me introduce you, this is Mr. David Rubenstein, the founder of the Carlyle Group, and Carlyle plans to invest at least $2 billion in China in the next few years, mainly in the field of machinery and heavy industry. ”

Inside a hotel ballroom in Midtown Manhattan.

The time is the evening of December 19, and a celebration reception is being held here for China Telecom's successful listing on the NASDAQ.

Chen Qing introduced David Rubinstein to a senior executive of Telecom, while helping to translate, patiently accompanying Rubinstein and Mr. Qin to greet each other, Chen Qing remembered one thing and asked: "David, is there any progress on Carlyle's side in the matter of Ukraine?"

David Rubinstein nodded, "I just sent Simon a piece of information about this this afternoon. ”

Chen Qing paused, didn't ask any more, but planned to ask his boss for documents.

After chatting a few more words, Chen Qing waited for Rubinstein to leave, and explained to Mr. Qin next to him: "I just asked Carlyle about the import of technology from Ukraine to China, Mr. Qin, I hope you don't mind," said and lowered his voice slightly: "You know, Mr. Qin, Ukraine's Black Sea shipyard has an aircraft carrier, and the country intends to buy it, but there is a lot of resistance." And Carlyle has a lot of connections in Washington, D.C., and if they helped, we would have a much better chance of success. ”

Mr. Qin, who was indeed a little dissatisfied with Chen Qing getting rid of his conversation with the American just now in English, suddenly shook his head when he heard this, and his voice was subconsciously lowered: "Of course I don't mind, this is a big deal." ”

Chen Qing smiled slightly, and gestured not far away: "Mr. Qin, over there is Mr. Helton, the president of Nokia's American branch, let me introduce you." ”

"Of course, I happened to know some things recently, about some of the past between Mr. Westeros and Motorola, China Telecom is about to start a big expansion, in order to thank Mr. Westeros for his support for this telecom listing, we will definitely increase cooperation with Nokia in the future, reduce the purchase of Motorola. ”

'It's really good news and I'll let Simon know as soon as possible and he'll be happy to find out. ”

After the party was over, Chen Qing and Lin Su returned to their residence on the Upper West Side.

After a busy day, Chen Qing's mood was still high.

After taking a shower and calculating the jet lag, it was not yet nine o'clock on the West Coast, so I tried to call my boss, I didn't expect anything, but I didn't expect to be connected unexpectedly, and after chatting a few words, I learned that my boss was at the premiere party of "Breaking Bad".

Chen Qing also paid attention to Hollywood, and her boss mentioned it, so she remembered.

Of course, it's just knowing.

Chen Qing doesn't have the energy to pay too much attention now, and after confirming that his boss is not too anxious to hang up the phone, he talked about the general situation of China Telecom's listing today.

Although China Telecom (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., the predecessor of China Mobile, plans to be listed in Hong Kong and New York at the same time, the listing time in New York is one day earlier, and the next day is Hong Kong. Of course, if you calculate the time difference, there is actually only 12 hours apart, and the stall where the two are talking is about to open in Hong Kong.

Overall, the IPO was a great success.

With the full support of the Westeros system, due to the good feedback from the previous global roadshow, the final issue price of China Telecom's new shares issued on the NASDAQ was determined to be US$5.35, and the amount of financing reached US$2.675 billion based on the launch of 500 million new shares in North America, and the financing scale in Hong Kong is comparable to that in North America.

Converted, China Telecom's listing has raised a total of more than $5.3 billion.

Although the actual amount of capital received was less due to the existence of several major Hong Kong conglomerates and Westeros, which were cornerstone investors who subscribed for a large number of shares at a discount in advance, the successful completion of the US$5 billion financing was definitely a big win.

On the first day of listing in North America, due to being labeled as a Westeros concept stock, coupled with the fact that the Instagram listing some time ago had just re-stimulated the technology stock market, even though it was inevitable that it would be subject to a lot of negative reports as a Chinese concept stock, China Telecom stocks rose by 27% on the first day, and the closing market value of the day was as high as $26.9 billion.

Westeros and a group of Hong Kong capital, as cornerstone investors for China Electric Trust, invested $500 million in advance to buy a large number of shares, and according to the discount of these shares and today's single-day increase, the book profit has been close to 50% in just one day.

Of course, profitability is only secondary.

The 500 million US dollar has increased by 50% in a single day, which is only a small amount of money for Simon, and the key is that the success of this IPO has paved the way for further cooperation between the two parties.

In any case, the listing of China Telecom this time is much better than the previous situation in the history of the IPO failure due to the financial turmoil and even the tragedy of the first day of the break, and the same proportion of shares, the amount of financing has increased by nearly 1 billion US dollars.

Quite a happy ending.

After chatting for a while, Chen Qing brought up Carlyle and Ukraine again, and Simon hadn't had time to read the document from David Rubinstein, but he also promised Chen Qing to let Girl A take the time to transfer a copy to her.

The scene of a party at a hotel near the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Simon stood in the corner of the hall and talked to Chen Qing on the phone, and listened to the girl's last remark that the team of "Vogue" magazine in China had given an affirmative reply, saying: "Then I will say hello to Semel tomorrow, and you can do the rest yourself...... You know I'm not going to be available in China...... So be it...... Well, goodbye. ”

Hanging up the phone, Simon sorted out a little, and didn't continue to pay attention.

After all, it is only one of its many layouts in China, and when China Telecom took a step towards the roadshow, Simon was not worried about the follow-up.

handed the mobile phone to Girl A next to her, and just took a glass of champagne from the female assistant, and several girls led by Elizabeth Jagger hula around not far away, which made Kate Beckinsale, who happened to come forward, obviously depressed.

Reaching out and rubbing the head of the girl who was getting more and more slim, Simon pretended to be in pain and said, "Every time you have to run over to watch the premiere like this, and a group at a time, the cost is a bit big, what should I do?"

Elizabeth was very dissatisfied with Simon messing with his hair, shook his head and shook his arm, and said confidently: "I call you dad, isn't it enough?"

“......”

Elizabeth's eyes rolled, and she reached out and grabbed Nikki Hilton next to her: "Nikki, you come too, call Dad." ”

Nikki Hilton was originally looking at the man in front of him with sparkling eyes, but he subconsciously shook his head when he heard this: "I don't." ”

Elizabeth grinned: "I know you like my dad, but, you know, men actually like to be called dad, it will be very exciting." ”

Nikki is not a little chick who doesn't know anything, and when she heard this, two blush suddenly flew on her face, and she glanced at Simon shyly.

Simon raised his hand and gave Elizabeth a chestnut, watched the girl cover her head in pain, and said, "Okay, if you make any more trouble, I'll have people kick you out." ”

Elizabeth immediately restrained her little expression, looked very insincere, and asked, "Dad, do you have any arrangements for the weekend?"

"Yes, work, and it won't be your turn if it's not arranged," Simon said, waving his hand: "Go play, you can only stay here for half an hour longer, and you must go back to your lodgings by ten o'clock." ”

"Well, it's ruthless and verbose. ”

Simon turned to the female assistant next to him: "A, help them arrange the car." ”

Elizabeth immediately covered her ears and pretended not to hear, and left frolickingly with a group of girls.

When this group of girls merged into the crowd, Barbara Brookley, the female producer of the 007 series, was the first to come over and raise her glass: "Simon, I have to admit that this movie is really good. ”

Simon smiled: "It seems that you think that "Breaking Bad" is qualified to link with 007, right?"

Barbara Brookley immediately felt a little resentful: "Can I say no?"

"Unfortunately, no. Moreover, just talking about "007: Ghost Party", the facts have proven that the plan I gave is a wise choice. ”

Although Barbara Brockley did not agree, she already approved of a certain man's statement in her heart.

The summer file "007: The Ghost Party", after half a year of release, has now exceeded 750 million US dollars at the global box office. Even if the inflation factor is calculated, this movie also surpasses any other film in the 007 series, you know, after calculating inflation, the most successful "007 Thunderbolt" before, according to 1996 standards, is equivalent to only $680 million at the global box office.

Not only that, but after watching "Breaking Bad" today, coupled with the success of the DC Cinematic Universe series and the Conjuring Cinematic Universe series, Barbara Brockley is also full of expectations for planning the equally grand Secret Agent Cinematic Universe series.

The main thing is that "Breaking Bad" is really good.

First of all, the three heroines, Kate Beckinsale, Machen Amick and Catherine Zeta-Jones, not only have their own characteristics, but their respective roles are also distinctive, completely surpassing the shackles of the TV series version of just three vases, whether it is the strong fighting ability of the characters played by Kate Beckinsale, or the top female gunner played by Mechen Amick, and even the wisdom and thief of Catherine Zeta-Jones, all of which are eye-catching.

Secondly, although the beginning of this series is still a high-concept story routine, roughly telling the story of three angels who accidentally become involved in a huge human trafficking network and dismantle it through a hostage rescue incident, many of the scenes, such as Kate Beckinsale's restaurant fight scene, Meychen Amick hitting a bouncy point at the same time and penetrating the wall, Katherine Zeta-Jones's crossing the infrared alarm network, etc., are all full of innovation.

Finally, this opening also makes a perfect foreshadowing for the fusion of the Secret Agent Cinematic Universe.

The human trafficking network that the three angels worked together to destroy is one of the huge industries under the Ghost Party, so in the ending easter egg, the Ghost Party not only came to the door, but also many details in the story, it is not difficult for people to find that even Charlie behind the scenes of the three angels may be inextricably linked to the Ghost Party.

As for whether it is a positive or negative connection, we can only wait for the follow-up to be revealed.

Thinking so, Barbara Brookley couldn't help but ask: "Simon, after "007" and "Breaking Bad", which project does MGM plan to develop next, "Spy"?"

"It's still a bit early for 'Spy Shadows', at least there's a sequel to '007' and 'Breaking Bad' before I think about other series. ”

Barbara Brookley didn't know whether to be happy or regretful for a while: "It seems that I'm going to speed up the development of the next 007." ”

Due to some schedules, MGM chose the Thursday before the large-scale opening of the film for the premiere. However, the next day, the word-of-mouth and popularity of "Breaking Bad" still fermented rapidly, and there was also the Agent Cinematic Universe plan that was confirmed again through the film.

The two major cinematic universe series have already occupied a large and fairly fixed market share, and now, there is another one, how can it not make everyone feel more stressed.

What's more, the final comprehensive media score of 8.2 points in the "Breaking Baby" series is higher than that of "Game of the Brave", which opened last week.

With the opening of "Breaking Bad" in North America on December 20 with 3,136 screens, it is the box office data of the first week of the high-profile Christmas schedule that has just ended.

In the first week of Christmas from December 13th to December 19th, "Jumanji's Game" reached the top without suspense, with a box office of $63.35 million in the first week, an opening scale of 3,539 screens, and an average of $17,900, even if it can't be compared with "Wonder Woman 2", it still perfectly meets the expectations of the two producers.

Exceeding $60 million in the first week, it is not surprising that "Game of the Brave" basically locked in a domestic box office of $200 million.

The production cost of "Jumanji" was 82 million US dollars, and the publicity and distribution investment was 35 million US dollars, totaling 117 million. Therefore, just local, this project is expected to recoup all costs and enter a profitable cycle.

At number two on the list is Wonder Woman 2.

Due to the re-entry of the Christmas hot cycle, although it suffered the impact of "Jumanji", the box office of "Wonder Woman 2" this week still fell by only 35%. Of course, if you look at it carefully, this is actually still a very high decline, because in previous years, many films at the end of the year even reversed when they entered the Christmas file.

In any case, in the fourth week of its release, "Wonder Woman 2" continued to earn $38.81 million, with a cumulative box office of $353.11 million.

Third place is "Soul Catcher".

This literary drama film, which once achieved a dazzling box office under the crushing of "Titanic", still shows a dark horse posture this time.

In the first week of its large-scale release, "Soul Catcher" earned as much as $23.92 million with just 1,746 screens, with an average of $13,700, which is almost a small miracle compared to the theme and volume of the film. Counting last week's screening, within two weeks of opening, the cumulative box office of "Soul Catcher" reached $29.35 million.

With a total investment of $20 million in production and promotion, the film will recoup its full cost and become profitable next week. After a successful start to the first week, Heighton Pictures also responded quickly, increasing the number of screens screened to 2,125 in the new week.

Under the dominance of the three strong films of Daenerys Entertainment, the most direct consequence is the dismal start of the other two large-scale opening films last week.

No. 4 on the list, "Jingle All the Way", a family comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, only grossed $12.17 million in the first week, and the production cost of $30 million is equivalent to three times that of "Soul Catcher", but the box office is only half of that of "Soul Catcher". With such a start, the film's domestic box office is only expected to be $30 million to $40 million, and the producer Fox can only expect to recover its costs overseas and in the surrounding areas. And Schwarzenegger's voluntary salary cut by half of the sharing contract has basically become a piece of waste paper.

The fifth-ranked Disney black comedy "Angel Bodyguard" has a production cost of $40 million higher than "Jingle Bell All the Way", and the box office did not even break 10 million in the first week, and the seven-day income was only $9.69 million, which was even more bleak.

Finally, it should be mentioned that "The British Patient", which was screened in the Los Angeles area on 10 screens last week, not only won praise from critics in terms of word-of-mouth, but also reached $49,000 in a single week for small-scale screenings, basically following the award-winning route set by Simon.

December 20th.

In addition to the menacing "Breaking Bad", this week there will also be an animated film from Paramount, "The Deflated Four and the Big Head" and Madonna's "Madame Peron".

"Breaking Baby" doesn't need to say much.

"The Deflated Four and the Big Head" is a film version of a popular serialized animation adapted by Paramount, with a 2D style and a style similar to "The Simpsons", which is simply a cannon fodder.

"Madame Peron", which Queen Mai let go, was screened.

Although it has been nominated for a series of Golden Globe Awards, and the queen has also received endorsements from Simon, Paramount still adopts this rather conservative distribution strategy in order to avoid being crushed by a number of strong films at the end of the year, and even plans to continue to screen it on New Year's Day next week until the end of the year.

In addition, this week's "The English Patient" is still screened, but the scale of screenings has increased from 10 screens last week to 27, and it is planned to open on a large scale next week.