Compared with the uncertain "Spider-Man", Sony Pictures, which has achieved a balance between the box office and drought and flood income, Twentieth Century Fox, which has achieved sweetness, is not willing to give up the adaptation rights of "X-Men", and Song Chen is unwilling to pay a better price than Sony, so he can only settle for the next best thing, first spend $50 million to take back the rest of the adaptation rights such as "Fantastic Four", and then reach a consensus with Twentieth Century Fox to modify the previous strange agreement with Marvel Entertainment.

In 1994, Marvel and Twentieth Century Fox reached an agreement on the copyright of the "X-Men" movie, which was a 7-year contract! And this 7-year period does not refer to the time zone from 1994 to 2001, but to the fact that as long as there are "X-Men" movies in 7 years, the adaptation rights will not lapse - Marvel Entertainment and Sony Pictures also have the same agreement, a 5-year period!

During the bankruptcy protection of Marvel Entertainment, the agreement of Twentieth Century Fox was revoked, and after the reorganization, the two parties renewed the contract again. So in the future, we will be able to see that Sony Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox do not want to lose this sweetheart, and carefully fulfill their promises: the "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" trilogies were followed by prequels, and the same is true of "Wolverine".

After Chenxing Culture Group acquired Marvel Entertainment, it took back the copyright from Sony Pictures, and coerced and induced Twentieth Century Fox to stop the work, and finally forced Twentieth Century Fox to agree to revise the agreement, and after filming three films, the copyright of "X-Men" was returned to Marvel - in exchange, Twentieth Century Fox allowed Song Chen to invest in "X-Men", and after the copyright returned, Twentieth Century Fox also obtained the corresponding rights.

Following Sony Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox, Song Chen took back the adaptation rights of "The Incredible Hulk" from Universal Pictures for 50 million US dollars, so far, the privatized Marvel Entertainment has finally recovered all the superhero copyrights that were left out except for "X-Men".

The New York Times jokingly said: "Song Chen spent an additional $230 million and the distribution rights of ten films of undetermined value in order to 'wipe Marvel's ass'." Even in the most conservative way, its value exceeds the price of Marvel Entertainment itself! We are always amazed to see that this young man continues to work miracles, and hopefully this time will be the same! ”

However, just when public opinion had mixed evaluations of Song Chen's acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, another eye-popping news suddenly came: Song Chen was talking to Time Warner's new AOL CEO Richard? Parsons reached out for an informal discussion about acquiring DC Comics!

One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and public opinion was in an uproar again.

Wall Street securities analysts exclaimed: "Since the beginning of the new century, no person or company has been able to make big news so frequently and briefly like Song Chen and his Chenxing Group!" It is no exaggeration to say that the two months of heavy dà economic, technological and technological news are related to him! ”

The British Times ridiculed: "If Song Chen buys DC Comics again." He will control more than 90% of the comic market in the United States, and superheroes with tens of millions of fans since the last century will be completely controlled by this Chinese man! ”

Compared to being fed by Ron? Perelman and Karl? Marvel Entertainment, which was destroyed by speculators like Icahn, was acquired by Time Warner as early as 1969 by DC Comics! Backed by Hollywood giants, DC Comics brought its American-acclaimed superheroes to the screen, a brilliant strategy for Warner Pictures – and at the time, Marvel's heroes were still asleep!

In 1997, the fourth part of "Batman" gathered stars but had a poor reputation, "Superman", "The Flash", and "Wonder Woman" were dismal at the box office, and the status of DC Comics collapsed. Nolan brought Batman back into the spotlight. DC Comics simply can't compete with Marvel "heroes".

The reason for this result is that Warner Bros. Pictures, the owner of DC Comics, bears an unshirkable responsibility. Unlike Perlmut, which actively promotes its comics to new fields such as movies and online games, DC Comics still follows the old path of paper comic distribution; Warner Bros. has not only intervened in this. The big and small affairs of DC Comics are still being run by publisher Paul? Levitz is in full control, and he doesn't bother to pay attention to opportunities when they come to his door, allowing his comic image to decay day by day.

This is an important reason why DC Comics will find it difficult to compete with the Marvel world in addition to Nolan's "Batman" trilogy in the future!

Ultimately. Belonging to a conglomerate has pros and cons to DC Comics: on the plus side, the development of all projects is monopolized by the branches within the group, and every cent of the money is earned. Every miller draws water to his own mill; The downside is that DC Comics barely benefits from the profit - before Song Chen's acquisition, "X-Men" was a big hit, and Marvel Entertainment could at least get a little soup from Twentieth Century Fox!

The background of the current era is the rapid development of Hollywood's special effects technology, and Song Chen is just in time for the critical window period of "comic book filmization", at this time, Warner Bros. Pictures does not pay attention to DC Comics in view of the fiasco of the superhero series of movies!

Of course, not paying attention to it doesn't mean that Time Warner is willing to give up DC Comics' resources: Twentieth Century Fox's "X-Men" was a $150 million box office success at a production cost of $75 million; Sony bought the rights to superheroes such as "Spider-Man" from Marvel Entertainment and is ambitiously preparing to launch a trilogy plan...... Although it was strongly withdrawn by Marvel Entertainment of Song Chenkong before the release of the movie, in a way, it also means good news!

Because the person who is optimistic about comic movies is "Song Chen", who is recognized as a master of strategy all over the world! What can be favored by him, the prospect seems undoubted? It's just that Warner Bros. Pictures is also not good enough to adapt DC superheroes, because he has a better card in his hand.

Harry? Potter. Harry? Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released in the United States on November 18 last year, and was released in 3,672 theaters across the United States in the first week of release, earning $90.29 million at the box office, while in the first week of its release in the United Kingdom, it was screened in 507 theaters and received a box office of 16.33 million pounds, which is extremely eye-catching!

So, when Song Chen came to visit, Richard? Parsons has just moved from former CEO Gerald ? Shortly after Li Wen took over the banner of Time Warner AOL, as the former chief operating officer of Time Warner [Note: In the era of "Time Warner USA Online", the power structure is one CEO and two COOs, Richard? Parsons manages Time Warner. Robert? Pittman is in charge of AOL, Gerald? Mr. Li Wenzhang] Richard? Parsons has the best authority to decide whether or not to sell DC Comics to Chenxing Culture Group.

The fiasco at the end of the last century made Warner Bros. Pictures nervous about adapting DC superheroes; However, when Song Chen revealed that he wanted to buy DC Comics, Richard? Parsons was very reluctant, but in the position of a businessman, he still wanted to hear Song Chen's offer!

At Time Warner headquarters, Song Chen grinned and said. "Mr. Parsons, my quote is based on the recent earnings report of Time Warner AOL and although it is not accurate, at least there is a reference number! Considering the dismal nature of DC movies, I am willing to give DC Comics a fair price of $630 million on the basis of Marvel Entertainment! ”

Richard? Parsons's heart moved, and he had to admit that the price was very attractive, and he groaned a little and said, "I don't deny it." It's a sincere price! But it doesn't tempt me to convince investors to give up on DC Comics, Mr. Song! ”

Song Chen smiled slightly: "Mr. Richard, we all know what those investors want. It can't be 'money, stock price and ROI', I promise the $630 million will keep them happy for a long time! Think of Mr. Richard, a deal that acts like a strong shot to get Time Warner AOL out of the shadow of the Nasdaq crash. Push the stock price up! And you, who have just taken this position, must be eager to exert your influence on the Group and the world! ”

Richard? Parsons stared at Song Chen and said, "Short-term good news doesn't make the company stronger, but you are at least right about one thing. Do I need a reason to prove that Gerald was in the first place? Levin's decision to let me take over was the right one, and I was better than AOL Robert? Pitman is even better! ”

Speaking of which, Richard? Parsons said lightly: "So the topic is back up!" Mr. Song, let's have a frank and open conversation, I know you have a lot of money, and I know that your vision is unmatched! If you're going to take down DC Comics, you can! With your $130 million and 10 movie distribution rights to reclaim the rights to Spider-Man, if your price can convince me and the investors and Warner Bros., then I'm willing to give you the green light all the way! ”

"In order to give Superman and Hulk a showdown of the century, I have to pay a lot of price!" Song Chen laughed to himself.

Richard? Parsons shrugged: "Fair enough! ”

Song Chen took a deep breath, and he said slowly: "$780 million in cash!" ”

Richard? Parson Jinyu shook his eyebrows slightly, he smiled and said, "Cash!" Everyone loves cash, but let's be honest, we at Time Warner AOL are not short of money! I have a mention yì, 400 million cash plus 20% equity of Chenxing Pictures, how about it? ”

Song Chen grinned: "If you are willing to transfer 30% of the distribution department of Time Warner Bros. Pictures to me, I am willing to accept it and give Warner Bros. Pictures more cash compensation!" ”

One is the equity of a new company that has not even begun to be built by the management, and the other is a mature distribution network in Europe and the United States, even if Song Chen is willing to make up the difference, it is unacceptable! If he agrees to come down, there will be a ghost, Warner Bros. will have to swallow him alive!

Richard? Pasenkin's expression froze, and he smiled dryly: "I'm afraid this is not a good idea!" ”

"It's exactly what you want!" Song Chen said slowly, "Mr. Richard, the acquisition of Marvel and DC is because these two companies have the resources I need, and I am willing to pay the price for the acquisition of DC Comics!" But the price must not exceed the bottom line, just as my purchase price must be satisfactory to you and the investors of Time Warner AOL! ”

Richard? Pasenkin was silent for a long time before he said, "I can't give you a decision right away!" ”

Song Chen smiled and said, "I still need to stay in New York for a while, you and the board of directors have plenty of time to consider my request!" ”

……

In March of 2002, American public opinion and fans all over the world passed in an uproar.

At the beginning of April, Taobao was launched in a very high-profile manner. Elliot declared: "Open a store on Taobao, free of store opening fees, free of product listing fees, and the sales commission is 1.5% regardless of the grade!" ”

AS SOON AS THE WORDS FELL, EBAY PLUMMETED 20% IN JUST TWO DAYS, ONLINE RETAILERS SUCH AS AMAZON AND OVERSTOCK FELL BY 4.3% AND 6.8% RESPECTIVELY, AND EVEN TAOBAO'S FELLOW BROTHER 8848 EVAPORATED 3.2% OF MARKET VALUE!

Correspondingly, small and medium-sized sellers in Europe and the United States are cheering, because they have more choices outside of EBAY, at the moment, whether it is Amazon or 8848, the strategy of opening up to third-party merchants is biased towards large and medium-sized brand manufacturers, and it is not possible to take care of small and medium-sized sellers for the time being!

ALTHOUGH IT WAS KNOWN THAT THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT COULD NOT SANCTION TAOBAO AGAINST THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE, EBAY DID NOT HESITATE TO RAISE THE BANNER OF JUSTICE, WHILE COMPLAINING TO THE COURT ABOUT TAOBAO'S UNFAIR COMPETITION, AND TERMINATING THE COOPERATION WITH PAYPAL ON THE GROUNDS OF STEALING TRADE SECRETS; On the other side, Meg? Whitman had to lower all kinds of fees!

WHAT'S EVEN MORE LAUGHABLE IS THAT WHEN MILLIONS OF SELLERS FOUND THAT THEY AND CONSUMERS COULD NOT TRANSACT WITH PAYPAL, THEY LAUNCHED A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AND ALSO TOOK EBAY TO COURT FOR TWO REASONS: ONE IS THAT PAYPAL IS NOT AVAILABLE, AND THE OTHER IS THAT EBAY ARBITRARILY RAISES PRICES - IN RECENT YEARS, EBAY HAS RAISED SALES COMMISSIONS AND TRANSACTION FEES MORE THAN ONCE! [Note: The sales commission is the share between the website and the seller, the transaction fee is the agreement between the payment department or the company and the seller, although Taobao is free, the price of PayPal is still unchanged]

ON THE ONE HAND, AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION HAS FOLLOWED UP AND REPORTED ON THE ACCUSATIONS OF CONSUMERS, AND ON THE OTHER HAND, IT SYMPATHIZES WITH THE DILEMMA EBAY, AND AT THE SAME TIME SECRETLY SHOCKS THAT CHENXING GROUP IS REALLY PREPARED, SONG CHEN CLEARLY SEES THAT EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN SELLERS HATE EBAY LIKE A VAMPIRE, AND BECAUSE THERE IS NO EXTRA CHOICE, TAOBAO IS BROUGHT TO THE UNITED STATES!

EBAY'S TERMINATION OF COOPERATION WITH PAYPAL IS EQUIVALENT TO BREAKING ITS ARM TO SURVIVE, AND THOSE WHO HAVE LONG BEEN DISSATISFIED WITH EBAY HAVE THE CHOICE OF TAOBAO, AND ABANDON EBAY TO THE EMBRACE OF TAOBAO WITHOUT ATTACHMENT, BUT MORE PEOPLE HAVE OPENED A SECOND ONLINE STORE ON TAOBAO - JUST LIKE THE Chinese OPENED STORES ON TAOBAO AND TMALL AT THE SAME TIME!

THE EMERGENCE OF TAOBAO ONLY GIVES THEM MORE CHOICES, NOT THAT THEY BELIEVE THAT TAOBAO CAN DO BETTER THAN EBAY! (To be continued......)