Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

 Chapter 512 Clippers owner

 “This ball is good.”

In the auditorium of Staples Arena, Link saw Chris Paul of the Clippers and Griffin working together. Griffin used a tomahawk dunk and successfully hit the opponent Nuggets' basket. Got 2 points in the basket, turning the score into 73:67.

The current main players of the Clippers are point guard Chris Paul, center Lamar Odom, small forward Matt Barnes, point guard Chauncey Billups, power forward Griffin and others.

Among them, Chris Paul currently has the highest salary, US$107 million in five years, and Griffin ranks second, with US$95 million in five years.

Ranked third is Jamal Crawford, worth 27.5 million in four years. These three are also the current core of the Clippers, and most of the others are second-rate role players.

The Clippers are currently ranked third in the Western Conference. The Thunder and Spurs are first and second, and the Lakers are seventh.

"Link, do you have a favorite player?"

Frank Dewar asked, clapping his hands.

"Kobe, James, and Yao Min."

It's a pity that Yao Min retired last year, otherwise it would be good to be traded to the Clippers as a center. Odom is too old, not active enough on the court, and his scoring is relatively low.

"How come you like Kobe and James at the same time?"

Frank looked at him with strange eyes. Currently, Kobe fans and James fans often start scolding wars on the Internet to see who is better.

"I like strong characters, and they're both pretty good."

Link shrugged and smiled.

"Okay, do you have any promising rookie players? I can ask the management to trade them to the Clippers."

"Rookie players? I haven't noticed, but there are a few young players that I am more optimistic about. The baby-faced Curry of the Warriors is very accurate in three-pointers, and Durant and the bearded Harden of the Thunder are also good."

Link thought of three later famous NBA stars and said.

Curry, Durant, and Harden are all young players who have just entered the NBA. They have good skills, great development potential, and their current salaries are not high. Trading to the Clippers is definitely a good deal.

However, Durant, Harden and Griffin are all forwards, and Curry and Chris Paul are all point guards. If these three people are really traded, there will probably be some problems within the team.

"Okay, I remember, let the Clippers trade them if there is a chance."

Frank said.

"Frank, we are shareholders, can we get involved in the team's affairs? If the team loses, will the coaching staff put the blame on us?"

Link said.

"Haha, the trade of two or three young players is not a big problem. I am just making suggestions. It is up to them to decide whether to accept or not. For us, in addition to making money, this team is also a more interesting entertainment. If everything is Regardless, if we let the management team play its part, we will have no sense of presence, which is not good either.”

Frank said.

Link thought for a moment and felt that Frank was right.

For billionaires like them, the purpose of buying a team is not only to make money, but also to participate.

Treat the team as a toy and chess piece, intervene in the management and operation of the team, and watch the team become stronger and become a championship team, which will also give you a sense of accomplishment.

If you don't care about anything and let the team management team play its role, the sense of participation and achievement will be less.

In addition, NBA players and boxers also have something in common in terms of profit methods - players become more famous through competitions. As players become more famous, in addition to higher ratings, tickets, etc., they can also be traded. Make more money.

It would also be a good investment to sign potential players such as Curry and Harden to the Clippers, let them grow into stars, and then sell them in a few years.

Taking this into consideration, Link decided to wait until he had the opportunity to buy shares in several more teams, including rugby teams, soccer clubs, baseball teams, etc. Although investing in these teams was not as profitable as investing in Internet technology companies, it was It would be more interesting to be able to directly control these teams and affect the development of the teams.

"."

After hearing the words of the two people, the Clippers' new general manager Dave Wall and the head coach and chairman of basketball operations Doc Rivers looked at each other and felt a lot of pressure.

As people in the industry, they have their own plans for the operation and management of the team. What they are most worried about is that the team's board of directors interferes in the team's management and trades some junk players to the team, causing the team's strength to decline and its ranking to fall behind. The team's value has depreciated and profits have decreased, but they are asked to take the blame.

However, considering that the three players Link mentioned, Curry, Harden, and Durant, are all outstanding young players in the current league, trading them does not seem to be a bad thing.

Dudu!

The first game of the NBA 2012/2013 preseason ended with the Clippers. Although Chris Paul and Griffin both played well, the two scored 38 points together, and four people scored in double figures, the Nuggets performed better. , Iguodala and Kenneth Faried scored 45 points together, and the Clippers eventually lost to the Nuggets 92:97. Neither Link nor Frank said anything about this game, but both head coach Doc Rivers and general manager Dave Wall looked unhappy.

The team had just traded. In order to leave a good impression on the new owner, they invited Link and Frank to watch the game. Before the game, they also mobilized the players to perform better and show their best level. As a result, they lost at home. ball.

Originally, the new boss had the idea of ​​​​meddling in the team. Now that Link and Frank really want to intervene, they can't refuse.

After the game, the news that the Clippers lost to the Nuggets at home was also reported by many media. Also reported was the news that the team's new owner Link appeared in the stadium audience.

The Los Angeles Times said in a joking tone that Link was victorious in the boxing ring and never failed, but his newly purchased team lost to him in front of him. This cannot but be said to be interesting. thing.

The newspaper also suggested that Link also join the team. Link is an omnipotent superman. Let him lead the team and the Clippers will definitely reach the NBA Finals.

This was, of course, what the editor of the Los Angeles Times used to tease him.

Link wouldn't take it seriously either.

—

Back to movies, in its fourth week of release, "The Vow" has grossed US$142 million at the box office in North America and US$68.5 million overseas. The total box office has successfully exceeded the US$200 million mark.

"Good People, Good Deeds" has been in theaters for two weeks, with a box office of 31.13 million U.S. dollars in North America and average overseas box office results of only 3.27 million U.S. dollars. The total box office of the film is expected to be around 50 million, and it will earn about 3 to 4 million U.S. dollars at the box office. In the follow-up The revenue from online channels and cable TV copyrights, video tapes, etc. is probably in the millions.

Overall this movie is pretty good.

In late October, Lionsgate's flagship horror movie "The Conjuring" this year was released. This film is a new work jointly launched by director James Wan and Lionsgate after "Saw".

The movie is adapted from the novel "True Story: House of Darkness and House of Light" and tells a series of horror stories that the Warren family encountered when they moved into a house.

Starring Alexandra Daddario, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor and others.

The film had a budget of only 20 million U.S. dollars, but it grossed 41.85 million at the box office in its first three days, making it the best-opening thriller of the year. On the tenth day of its release, the North American box office reached 82 million U.S. dollars.

On Halloween, it grossed 23.39 million U.S. dollars, and the North American box office exceeded 100 million. It also became the third Lionsgate film this year to exceed 100 million in the North American box office.

The overseas box office performance of "The Conjuring" was even better. The overseas box office exceeded 100 million in the 12 days after its release. By the second day of Halloween, the cumulative overseas box office reached 125 million US dollars, which was better than the North American box office.

The total box office is expected to be over US$300 million.

Relative to the production cost of US$20 million, Lionsgate Pictures made more than US$100 million in profit from this movie.

On Halloween, another low-budget horror film "Sinister" from Lionsgate was released in North America.

The movie tells the story of a slightly famous crime novelist who, in order to find creative inspiration, often moves into a haunted house where murders have occurred, and encounters horrific events in the haunted house.

The premiere box office was 20.57 million U.S. dollars. Although it was slightly worse than "The Conjuring", the production cost of this film was only 3 million U.S. dollars. The premiere box office was almost seven times the cost. There is no doubt that it is another blockbuster movie. , the box office profit may not be less than that of "Buried Alive".

Lionsgate Pictures released four movies in the fall, but two of them exceeded 100 million US dollars in North American box office. All three movies were blockbuster movies. With the box office of four movies, Lionsgate Pictures can earn 300 to 400 million US dollars.

After the news was reported, there was another wave of envy and jealousy of Lionsgate in the film industry.

According to annual movie box office data released by "Complete Movies" magazine, the total North American box office of the 14 movies released by Lionsgate this year was US$920 million, which has surpassed Universal Pictures' US$850 million and is second only to Sony, Disney, and Warner Pictures.

According to "Complete Movies", Lionsgate Pictures has three more movies to be released this year, namely "Escape from Tehran", "The Hunt for Bin Laden" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild", including Summit Entertainment's "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" , that’s four movies.

Considering that "The Twilight Saga" is the final chapter of the series, the box office in the North American market is expected to be around 300 million. Together with the other three movies, "Complete Movies" magazine predicts that the total box office of Lionsgate's North American movies this year will be 1.5 billion. Around US dollars.

Based on last year's total box office of US$10.4 billion, Lionsgate Pictures' share of the North American film market this year will exceed 15%, and it has a great chance of entering the top three in the film industry, crushing four of the six major film studios.

Total Film magazine says this is exciting news for the film industry.

Since the bankruptcy of United Artists, the total box office performance of independent film companies has never been among the top six. The film industry has been almost monopolized by the six major film companies, which has overwhelmed independent film companies.

Now Lionsgate has broken through the blockade of the six major film studios and entered the top five or even the top three, achieving a 'diaosi counterattack'. This is definitely a good thing for independent films, and it also proves that film companies do not rely on large studios. You can get good results in the film market without much investment.

But for the six major film studios, this is definitely very bad news.

The Big Six invest billions of dollars in movies every year, but in the end they are stepped on by the tiny Lionsgate.

The executives of the six major film studios feel a lot of pressure. If they cannot suppress Lionsgate Pictures next year, they will inevitably be questioned and criticized by the board of directors.

(End of chapter)