January 2004.

A time that is commonly used for inventory.

At the internal high-level meeting of the Oriental Media Group, Xiong Chengchao held the report materials dictated by him and made with the help of his secretary, and read them slowly and leisurely.

Because there's really nothing to boast about.

Although Oriental Media Group has many businesses, the cinema chain is certainly the most important piece.

The performance of the theater chain is not very good, and the performance of the entire company has fallen.

Although there are many people who understand what is going on inside, not only within the company, but also on the outside, after all, such performance will be written into the resume of his personal career.

In the fiscal year of 2003, the domestic film market was thriving in the first half of the year and slightly sluggish in the second half of the year, but in the whole fiscal year, the country's large, medium and small cinema chains, except for a few cases of poor management, almost without exception achieved profits, or even made large profits.

This is definitely another golden year for the cinema industry.

However, the leader in the domestic cinema industry, the leader of the non-state-run cinema chain, Oriental Cinema Line, lost 7 million in the first half of the year, and in the second half of the year, especially with the release of several Hollywood blockbusters during the summer vacation, it barely achieved a profit, and flattened the accounts for the whole year, achieving a profit for the entire fiscal year - only 4.33 million!

Xiong Chengchao entered the Oriental Cinema Line in 1993, served as the deputy general manager in 1996, and took over the position of general manager in 1997.

However, this year in the golden year, Oriental Cinema is almost about to lose money.

“…… Next year's domestic film industry is still full of variables, Li Qian's "The Matrix", Zhao Meicheng's "Blood", Liu Chengzhang's "Flying Sky", Wu Han's "Laughing Heroes", Guo Yulong's "The Princes of the Beacon Opera", it is said that it may be directly called "Beacon Fire", all of which we should pay close attention to, at the same time, there is another film, which I think is necessary to mention, that is, Jin Han's "Dragon Gate Inn". ”

"Jin Han, the director, has always been obsessed with literary movies in the past, but this time, he made a commercial martial arts movie, not only Li Qian personally wrote the script for him, it is said that even the actors are Li Qian's personal generals, He Yingyu, Zhou Zhiyu and Cheng Suping are partners who must not be ignored. And according to the news I received, Li Qian personally came to the door and invited Liu Chengzhang's art director Fang Baijin to serve as the art director of this film, so I think this movie is very likely to become a dark horse in the film market next year!"

In addition, it is said that Zhao He's new movie will start filming this year, that is, in the spring of 2004, and as far as the news received so far is concerned, it will also be a martial arts movie! Zhou Baoshan should definitely join, and it is said that there is also a Jiang Yiyi who will join! Judging from the current trend, she is the little flower that Minghu Culture will support next, and once "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is released, she, the actor of Huang Rong, is likely to become popular! At present, we don't have any definite news on whether this movie can be released in 2004, but since there is a pair of Zhao He and Zhou Baoshan, I think this movie is already worth our close attention, and when it is released in the future, we will strive to give it more canvases!"

"In addition, of course, like Qin Wei and Feng Bicheng, it is said that there are no new film plans yet, so we don't have to discuss them for the time being in the 2004 film market. ”

"In addition, there is one thing I want to say, and that is, I think we should face up to one thing from now on, and that is the huge impact of the acquisition of Columbia Pictures by Minghu Culture on the domestic film market. ”

"The "Hulu Baby", which is currently being screened, has fully proved that Li Qian himself has a huge appeal to domestic fans! At present, we don't know whether the negotiations have been completed or not, and how the talks are going, but as far as we know, this matter has received strong support from the national level, so once this matter is completed, what should we do?

"Internally, once Minghu Culture completes the acquisition of Columbia, the Great Wall Cinema Line is likely to be a reward for Minghu Culture from the government! According to the inside information we know, of course, it may not be reliable, so a large cinema chain, including those land located in downtown areas that were attached to the name of cinemas when the cinema was built, will be sold to Minghu Culture at an extremely cheap price. ”

"Therefore, once this deal is reached, in addition to the existing loose cinema alliance, Minghu Culture will get a very large national cinema chain before their cinema expansion plan begins to start large-scale implementation, Minghu Culture is not the gang of Great Wall Cinemas, Qi Jie, or their distribution department, they all know movies, and they are not bureaucrats, so once Minghu Culture completes the internal integration of their cinema chains, everyone is also concentrated in the cinema layout in the prosperous areas of big cities, which will lead to a very serious customer competition between us and the other party。 ”

"From the outside, Minghu Culture itself is very strong, they have long had enough strength to get the approval of radio and television, and they have the qualifications to introduce films in the form of batch films, and even in the introduction of account-sharing films, they can easily get a certain share, Minghu Culture has not done this before. ”

"But then, it is said that when they were talking about the North American distribution of "Hulu Baby", they had already negotiated a two-way distribution agency agreement with Columbia, and once the acquisition is completed, they will surely spare no effort in the introduction of Hollywood films!

"What should we do in the face of this situation? I think this should not only be something that we theaters should consider, but also the entire Oriental Media Group, and all of us here should think about. On our cinema side, I will organize a certain number of people to draw up a preparatory plan to deal with various situations, and then bring it to the meeting for everyone's reference and discussion after it is completed. ”

"Our situation this year seems less than ideal, but ......"

…………

Xiong Chengchao's speech was a little lengthy, a little dull, and even a little overstepping.

Because he felt that in the past year, he and the Oriental Cinema Line under his control really had nothing to summarize and brag about.

Therefore, he can only talk more about his outlook and expectations for next year.

As he spoke, the meeting was particularly dull.

It wasn't until he finished saying that Zong Chengze, the general manager of the group, took over the conversation and said a few words of praise for the theater, and the atmosphere of the entire conference room became more lively again.

At the end of the year, the big summary, the year-end bonus, everyone wants to be happy, no one wants to listen to some pessimistic things, or even things like ringing alarm bells.

Besides, your theater chain is still profitable, isn't it? This is already worth boasting and bragging! Why are you so pessimistic and depressed!

On the side of the production department, "Lonely Smoke in the Desert" lost like that, and Wu Han's new film was forced to become a joint investment of three companies, and they didn't listen to people's complaints!

It's a big New Year's holiday, it's really a disappointment!

However, Mr. Zong didn't say anything, just praised, everyone peeked, it seemed that the chairman didn't mean to criticize, during Xiong Chengchao's speech, he nodded frequently, with a smile on his face.

So no one wants to stand up and refute anything.

It's just that if Xiong Chengchao still had some friends within the company, then now, he really doesn't have many friends.

However, the chairman still admires him.

…………

The year-end summary meeting lasted for two hours, and when it ended, it was already past twelve o'clock.

After the chairman finished speaking and announced the end of the meeting, everyone stood up and prepared to have lunch, and then they were going back to the department they were responsible for for a meeting.

Then, in the evening, there is a company dinner, which is considered an annual meeting.

Xiong Chengchao also stood up like everyone else, holding his speech in his hand, and turned to leave, but when he heard Zhou Yanghua calling him, he turned around and saw him waving, "Chengchao, come, don't be in a hurry to leave!"

So Xiong Chengchao had no choice but to stand still and watch the other colleagues walk out one by one.

In the end, Zhou Yanghua and Zong Chengze came over one after the other, Xiong Chengchao was tall, Zhou Yanghua stretched out his arm and couldn't hug his shoulders to make an intimate gesture like he did to others, so he could only pat him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't you rush to eat, let's go, go to my office for a drink!"

As he spoke, he walked forward and said, "Year-end inventory, be happy!"

Xiong Chengchao thought to himself: How can I be happy!

However, after the chairman had said everything, he still smiled reluctantly, followed him and Zong Chengze, went to the chairman's office, and then took a glass of red wine poured by Zhou Yanghua himself.

After sitting down by himself, Zhou Yanghua first smiled and asked the theater what small program the theater had prepared for tonight's group dinner, laughed and talked with each other, and then said with a smile: "Cheng Chao, the questions you just said at the meeting are very good, very sharp, but also very practical." ”

After a pause, he shook the wine glass in his hand and said with a smile: "What about a few things this year, I know you have emotions! Blame me, blame me! What about next year's theater chain, I won't interfere, you have the final say, okay?"

Xiong Chengchao raised his head and asked, "Talking counts?"

Zhou Yanghua smiled, a slight displeasure flashed in his eyes, but he still smiled and raised his wine glass, "Of course it counts, if I don't interfere, I will definitely not interfere!

Xiong Chengchao hesitated when he heard this, raised the cup in his hand, touched it with Zhou Yanghua, and said: "Thank you for your trust! I will hold a year-end summary meeting next year, and I will definitely be able to give you a particularly good performance!"

Zhou Yanghua said "yes" when he heard this, and immediately laughed.

seems to be very satisfied with Xiong Chengchao's military order.

However, after taking a sip of wine, holding the cup in his hand, he said: "However, there are some things that you should pay more attention to in the future." Isn't that right? The company held a year-end summary meeting, and everyone was happy, saying something happy, how good it was? Right? You're good, you start to be pessimistic! You almost pointed to my nose and said, this year is all because of Lao Zhou's fingers, so that the performance of our cinema here is very unsightly! If you think about it, the impact is not good! You always want to save me some face, right?"

Xiong Chengchao's mouth pursed a few times, but finally put down the wine glass and said sincerely: "Chairman, I really didn't mean to accuse you. The cinema chain belongs to the group, the group belongs to you, of course I know the problem of small interests subordinating to big interests, but I am a professional when I do cinemas. You can't ......"

"Hey......"

Before he could finish speaking, Zong Chengze interrupted him with a rude frown, "Old Xiong, what are you talking about! Don't talk nonsense! Oh, you are the most professional in the cinema line? You are the best in the world? Don't forget, it was the chairman who single-handedly developed the cinema line back then, he was the founder, the pioneer, you were all pulled out by him, can he still be inferior to you? When it comes to the operation and management of the cinema chain, the chairman is more expert than anyone else! Last year, it was just a vindictive! We are trying to suppress the rise of Minghu culture, and strategically speaking, there is nothing wrong with what the chairman has done!"

Xiong Chengchao always frowned, and couldn't help but want to interrupt his words a few times when he heard the words, but at this time, Zong Chengze's words had just finished speaking, and before he could speak, Zhou Yanghua had already waved his hand with a smile, "Oh, okay, okay, what's so noisy about this! Don't talk about it! Let's let it pass when we go to the past! Let's look forward together, wouldn't it be good to do a good job in 2004?"

So, Zong Chengze stopped talking, and Xiong Chengchao couldn't say anything if he held back his stomach.

At this time, as if to ease the atmosphere, Zhou Yanghua suddenly lowered his voice and laughed quietly: "But, Cheng Chao, the thing you just said at the meeting is the impact that Minghu Culture's acquisition of Colombia has brought us, I think it is very likely that we are all worried in vain!"

After a pause, he said with a smile on his face: "I will tell you the news, I just inquired from the radio and television side this morning. It is said that because the voice of popular protest in the United States has always been large, the White House seems to have hinted at something to Coca-Cola, and now, it is said that the negotiations are going very hard!"

"Even the internal meeting of the Colombian side is said to be extremely opposed to being acquired! So if you think about it, even if Coca-Cola wants to sell it, the pressure is very high! This deal is very likely to be lost halfway!"

Xiong Chengchao's eyes were shining when he heard this, and he asked, "Really?"

Zhou Yanghua Maitreya Buddha smiled, "The internal news should be true! Anyway, the acquisition of Minghu Culture has encountered interference and opposition from all sides, and it should be about to go on!"

Xiong Chengchao looked relieved when he heard this, but soon, a disappointed expression flashed on his face.

Although everyone is in a hostile state, even if Du Yihua has won him over several times on behalf of Minghu Culture, he still wants to continue to stay in the Oriental Media Group, and is unwilling to help them form any Minghu Cinema Line, but after all, everyone is Chinese and Chinese filmmakers.

When it comes to the outside world, of course, everyone should be on the same side.

Therefore, even if it is an opponent, Xiong Chengchao is excited and excited to hear that Lake Culture is going to acquire Colombia - in his opinion, once the acquisition is completed, it will represent a big step forward for Chinese films!

But obviously, there are not many people in the Oriental Media Group who share his views.

At this time, Zong Chengze said: "It's normal! Chairman, when this matter just came out, didn't you say it, no matter how downtrod Colombia is, it is also the Big Seven in Hollywood, Minghu Culture is pretending to be too big this time, a Chinese company wants to buy the Big Seven in Hollywood in the United States...... Tsk, how is that possible!"

Zhou Yanghua laughed heartily when he heard this.

"That's right, I can't do it!"

Hearing such a conversation, Xiong Chengchao turned his head to look at Zong Chengze, and then at Zhou Yanghua who was smiling, and suddenly lowered his head and fell completely silent.

…………

Los Angeles International Airport, USA.

The plane landed smoothly.

This is the fourth time Li Qian has come to the United States in the past two or three months.

This time, Liao Liao, who went back to China to rest for a few months, returned to the United States with him on the same plane and continued to carry out her various careers here.

Li Qian, on the other hand, just made a transfer at Los Angeles Airport, and after saying goodbye to Liao Liao, he immediately boarded another passenger plane and flew directly to Atlanta.

It is where the headquarters of the Coca-Cola Group is located.

So far, Qi Jie's negotiation team on the Minghu culture side and Morgan Stanley's leading negotiation team have been negotiating with Coca-Cola in that city for half a month.

Affected by this incident, "Gourd Baby" has sold well at the box office in North America and in China, and its influence on the world seems to have increased a lot all of a sudden.

But the takeover negotiations themselves seem to have reached an impasse.

And for the current Minghu Culture, the acquisition of Columbia Pictures is already on the line, and it has to be sent - and it can't even tolerate any excuse for failure.

Therefore, despite Qi Jie's presence, Li Qian was actually very relieved, and knew that maybe even if he came, he wouldn't be able to help anything, but in the later stage of "The Matrix" in China, he always felt restless, and it happened that Liao Liao was about to fly over, so he immediately decided to fly over with him.

See for yourself what this negotiation is all about!

***

In the book review area and chapters, there have always been brothers tearing up monthly tickets, I don't object to this, but please pay attention to public health, tear up the ticket, don't care if it's a monthly pass or a recommended ticket, remember to throw it into the ticket basket of a perfect life!

Let us work together to make our own contribution to the world's environmental protection!