The pinnacle showdown between Jackie Chan and Jet Li has excited Chinese fans, and now a Lin Qingxia has been killed out of thin air, and the film was released simultaneously in 6,000 theaters in China, and all the tickets for the premiere were sold out, and the popularity was staggering.

A month after its release, "The King of Kung Fu" became the first Hollywood blockbuster to break the $200 million mark at the cross-strait box office in China with a total of $230 million, and $400 million in the entire Asian region.

In contrast, the film's performance in North America seems to be a bit "dismal", and the box office of $180 million is obviously not far from Lionsgate's previous expectations for the film. Some Hollywood even asserted that this was the failure of Chinese film themes in Hollywood, and the arrogant Felix Lin finally tasted the box office "Waterloo".

It's a pity that these media haven't been proud for a few days, Lionsgate announced the global box office revenue of "The King of Kung Fu", the total box office of 760 million US dollars made the media who were ready to watch jokes collectively "dumb", and the Asian market finally "raised eyebrows" for a while, twice the box office revenue of North America, finally showing the market potential contained in this region with the world's largest population base.

In the face of facts, the media changed face faster than turning a book, and yesterday's newspaper also satirized the failure of Lin Mingyang's "China complex", and the next day's front page praised Lin Mingyang as a hero who "opened up territory" for Hollywood movies. Coveting the huge profits of the Asian film market, those Hollywood studios who were still waiting on the sidelines have set their sights on the other side of the ocean, and a profit-driven "China fever" has quietly risen in Hollywood.

And the initiator of this trend is having a headache at this time, but there is another problem.

After being absent from school for more than two months without any reason, Lin Mingyang finally received an invitation letter from the Harvard president's office, and Lin Mingyang was invited to drink tea for two hours. The president of Harvard is a knowledgeable scholar, and after talking to Lin Mingyang and Hu Tianhai, the president reminded Lin Mingyang implicitly before he was about to leave that if Lin Mingyang's current frequency of absenteeism is conservatively estimated to take ten years, he will be able to graduate from Harvard smoothly.

"So you've made up your mind?" It's still the café that he frequents, or the window seat, Ex looked at Lin Mingyang, who was sitting opposite him, and sighed with some regret. There have been two very famous dropouts in the history of Harvard, and Lin Mingyang is mentally prepared to become the third at this time.

Lin Mingyang pursed his lips and replied noncommittally: "I have already talked to my parents very seriously..."

"So they have agreed..."Ex had already guessed that this would be the result, and he estimated that Lin Mingyang's parents did not expect Lin Mingyang to become a psychiatrist after graduation, so it no longer made sense for Lin Mingyang to continue to study at Harvard.

"Do you have any plans for you after you leave school?"

"I'm going to start a film company... Make my own favorite movies. ”

Lin Mingyang was not surprised to say this, in fact, he had already shown a tendency in this regard as early as when he invested in the filming of "Gossip Girl". Although Lin Mingyang's involvement in "Gossip Girl" is inextricably linked to Blake Freyey, Ex is well aware that Lin Mingyang has deeper considerations in this matter.

"Didn't you plan to work with Lionsgate for a long time?"

Because of the outstanding performance of "The King of Kung Fu" overseas, Lin Mingyang's cooperation with Lionsgate is in the honeymoon period, and he is ready to set up his own door at this time, so Ex asked.

The corners of Lin Mingyang's mouth rose, revealing an intriguing smile: "Before, there were some things because I was too lazy to do them, so I had to throw them to others, but now I suddenly have more time, in addition to filming, I have to find something to do for myself, right?" ”

"At this time, you are not worried about the current economic situation in the United States?" In the United States, the subprime mortgage crisis has begun to have a bad impact on the entire world economy, and everyone is in danger at this time, but Acks looks at Lin Mingyang's appearance and doesn't seem to be worried about this matter at all.

"It's Wall Street and the White House that should be anxious about this, I'm a moviemaker, people need entertainment more in the economic depression, and at this time, the entertainment industry is developing the fastest."

Lin Mingyang looked at Ex with a "gloomy" evil smile: "I have long advised you to sell those fund bonds, you should have lost a lot this time, right?" ”

Ex was full of bitterness, and at this time he could only shrug his shoulders helplessly, Lin Mingyang had a premonition about the financial crisis, so he withdrew his funds from financial derivatives since last year, and Ex thought that this was just a small fluctuation in the financial cycle, and he didn't care about it at first, and when he found out that the situation was wrong, he had lost hundreds of millions of dollars.

"The money I have worked hard to accumulate in the past few years has almost been lost, and you guy has not lost a penny, so naturally he doesn't have a backache when he stands and talks."

Lin Mingyang smiled disapprenously, "I also earned most of that money for you, it's a big deal if you give me a few more years of work, I guarantee that you won't earn less than before." ”

Joining Lin Mingyang's newly established company, Ax's status is definitely not low, but he is not so easy to be "fooled", Lin Mingyang is as cunning as a fox, and he will suffer a "big loss" if he is not careful.

"You don't want to look at Lionsgate's infinite scenery now, in fact, Hollywood Reading Productions is not having a good time... I might as well continue to run my brokerage company if I work in your company. ”

Lin Mingyang was not in a hurry, and increased his chips step by step: "The president doesn't do it either?" ”

Ex shook his head resolutely, "With a lazy guy like you controlling the company, being the president will definitely be exhausting!" ”

"What if it's MGM's president?" Lin Mingyang winked at Ex, "You don't want this either?" ”

Ex shook his hand and poured the coffee he was about to pour directly into his crotch, and he hurriedly asked the waiter to bring the paper towel over, while looking at Lin Mingyang with wide eyes.

"What do you say... I heard you right, you're talking about the president of MGM? ”

Lin Mingyang pretended to shrug helplessly, "If you don't want to, forget it." ”

"Aren't you going to set up a new company?" Ex looked shocked this time with not just surprise, "Are you going to buy MGM?" ”

Lin Mingyang's breezy expression was like what he wanted to buy was not a prestigious film company, but a bottle of mineral water from a roadside store, and his tone was indescribably relaxed: "Since you want to play, of course you have to play with a big ticket!" ”

If it were someone else, Lin Mingyang would definitely be regarded as a madman, but Ex calmed down at this time. Despite MGM's deep debt crisis, it is not as easy to acquire the 83-year-old film company with 170 Academy Awards as Lin Mingyang said, and the most important thing is to have sufficient acquisition funds.

"Where do you get all that money?"

"I'm ready to sell my stake in Facebook, and I've already talked to Mark about that, and the money is more than enough to buy MGM at a discount to Facebook's current market value."

"Are you going to sell your stake in Facebook?" Hearing the news, the expression of surprise on his face was even more than just now, compared with MGM in the West Mountain, Facebook's business potential for growth is even greater, Lin Mingyang only invested 200 million US dollars before and after, and now the total value of equity in his hands has exceeded 6 billion US dollars. With the current growth rate of Facebook, it is likely that in a few years, Lin Mingyang's equity will become tens of billions. Selling Facebook's stake to buy the bankrupt MGM would be a fool's choice.

"I agreed with Mark before I invested in Facebook, and I won't hold a stake in Facebook for long. At present, most of the shares I transferred are still bought by Mark, but he doesn't have that much money in his hands now, so I will pledge this part of the shares to the bank first to obtain the funds for the acquisition of MGM. ”

Ex could see that Lin Mingyang was determined to acquire MGM this time, but he couldn't help but shake his head: "Which one between Facebook and MGM is more worth investing in, I think you know better than me in your heart." ”

"Continuing to hold a stake in Facebook, maybe I'll get richer, but that's just a string of numbers for me, and by acquiring MGM, I can give my dream a broader platform, and I've always insisted that I'm not a qualified businessman." Lin Mingyang's words actually imply another meaning, no matter how well Facebook develops, it is only Mark's dream that is realized, and Lin Mingyang always feels that he is taking advantage of Mark's "advantage".

In fact, Lin Mingyang doesn't really attach much importance to owning a film company, and in a sense, buying MGM and running it well is just a way for Lin Mingyang to prove his success to the world. As he himself said, the left and right are playing, so you might as well play a big ticket.

"Do you think you'll be able to manage MGM after the acquisition?" Ackes asks a very real question.

"Can't!" Lin Mingyang shook his head directly, "That's why I need your help!" ”

Ex sighed softly, "If you really want me to be the president of MGM, you think highly of me!" ”

Lin Mingyang asked puzzledly: "Isn't it your dream to be the head of a film company?" ”

For Lin Mingyang's statement, Ex does not deny it, but he is not a three-year-old child, no matter how beautiful the future Lin Mingyang weaves, it must have the conditions to be realized. He looked at Lin Mingyang very seriously: "I admit that you are indeed very good at making movies, but do you really know the current situation of MGM and the distribution of the entire Hollywood industry pattern?" ”

Lin Mingyang shook his head, and Ex continued to ask: "Then do you know why MGM has come to this point?" ”

Lin Mingyang didn't shake his head again this time, "I know this, because MGM's debt problem has not been completely solved over the years!" ”

Aix smiled, "Debt is only a superficial problem, and the most critical reason is MGM's shareholders!" ”

If Lin Mingyang is an investor with idealistic overtones, then Ackes is a realist businessman through and through. Lin Mingyang is accustomed to focusing on the future, so he has never made a mistake in the choice of general direction; Ex, on the other hand, likes to focus on the present, so he often has to see the problems of reality more thoroughly.

"Gone are the days when studios controlled Hollywood. The eight major film companies of that year are now basically vassals of multinational business groups: Colombia belongs to Sony; Warner became Time Warner; Murdoch owns Fox; Paramount was acquired by Viacom; GE controls the world's... MGM is just the unluckiest of the Big Eight studios and didn't make the transition at the right time. With the strength of the film company alone, it is no longer possible to withstand the risks brought by this blockbuster or blockbuster era or seize the opportunity. With no cable channels, television networks or broadband networks, and no media conglomerates to back them up, it's no surprise that Reading Power Studios like MGM are at the mercy of others. ”

"MGM is on the verge of bankruptcy, and ordinary people can only watch the excitement, but in fact, it is hedge funds and investors who are playing and operating behind it. These hedge funds don't know enough about how Hollywood works, and they've been trying to get big studios on a low-cost basis. But in the future, these Wall Street people will move deeper and deeper into Hollywood's territory, turning studios into assets under hedge funds. ”

"I've always thought that part of MGM's problem has always been that a lot of its shareholders are financial investors who are more short-term than long-term; Investing in the entertainment industry is generally long-term, which is due to the nature of film distribution and the sheer scale of the capital required. In 2005, MGM sold it for $2.58 billion due to excessive debt, and the acquirers included Comcast Corporation, Sony Corporation, Providence Equity Partners, and Detai Investments. However, the acquisition was also not a cash acquisition, so MGM's debt and funding problems were not fundamentally resolved. ”

Lin Mingyang's understanding of Ex's words is that MGM's biggest problem now is lack of money!

"It's not a lack of money, it's a lack of a lot of money!" Ackes corrected his claim: "After MGM filed for bankruptcy protection, according to the court's investigation, MGM currently has $2.67 billion in assets and up to $3.77 billion in debt. At present, only Warner's plan is a cash acquisition, and the rest of the companies want to merge or acquire by means of stock swaps. Warner's bid was only $1.5 billion, which fell far short of the current value of MGM's assets. Obviously, MGM will not be able to get the financial support it desperately needs, and at most it will only delay the debt crisis. ”

"Should I make a move now, or should I wait until MGM goes bankrupt and reorganizes before making the acquisition?" Now that the "prey" has been determined, when to make a move is the question that Lin Mingyang is most concerned about.

"If you're willing to spend more than $5 billion to realize your acquisition plan, then we can negotiate with MGM right now," said Exx without hesitation. ”

Lin Mingyang asked puzzledly: "Isn't it more beneficial for us to acquire MGM after it goes bankrupt?" ”

"I've heard that Carl Icahn, the well-known corporate investor behind Lionsgate, is interested in buying 20% of MGM's debt and then pushing for the company to merge with its own, Lionsgate, and you're going to have to get MGM before he does!"

-- At the suggestion of Ex, Lin Mingyang did not go directly to talk to MGM, but first found several major creditors of the company and proposed to buy their MGM accounts.

Someone is willing to take over this hot potato, and MGM's major creditors are naturally overjoyed, the key is that Lin Mingyang is very generous and directly buys all the bonds in their hands with cash. By the time MGM reacted, Lin Mingyang had become MGM's largest creditor. The situation of MGM's bankruptcy suddenly became delicate, and now it is not whether MGM wants to go bankrupt or not, but Lin Mingyang's disagreement with its bankruptcy.

After having enough chips in his hand, Lin Mingyang began to wait for MGM to make a takeover request, and the initial purchase price he gave was $1.5 billion with Warner, but MGM refused to do anything, and the two sides were at a stalemate.

Lin Mingyang dragged on to prevent MGM from going bankrupt, and then patiently raised the price little by little, and when he offered $2 billion, MGM's executives collectively fell silent.

"It's not a thing to drag on like this, if the company really goes bankrupt, after the reorganization, Felix Lin, as the largest creditor, will definitely control most of the equity of the new company..."At the board meeting, the first to break the silence was MGM's president Stephen Cooper, although after Lin Mingyang acquired MGM, he would definitely not let him continue to stay in the position of president, but he still recognized Lin Mingyang's acquisition from the heart, the key is that the bid of $2 billion is not low.

"I agree!"

"I agree!"

…… As soon as one of the directors stepped forward to support Cooper's proposal, most of the directors took a stand, and in the end, only MGM's chairman Bob Kurat sat alone in the huge office.

Under the gaze of everyone, he slowly raised his head, his eyes swept over the faces of everyone in the office one by one, and then said with a wry smile: "Since everyone supports it, is it still useful for me to oppose it?" ”

(To be continued)