Reborn as a tycoon in Hong Kong

Time flies by quickly, and it’s December in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Lin Baicheng came to Morningstar Pictures, and accompanied by Shirley Lansing and other company executives went to the screening room to watch the movie.

Today's movie viewing is an internal movie viewing, watching a movie produced by Morningstar Pictures.

Time has entered December, and Christmas is not long away. At this time, the only film that Morningstar Pictures pays attention to is "Home Alone."

The first part of "Home Alone" was released last year, and the movie was a hit. Although the investment money was Lin Baicheng's personal money, Morningstar Pictures still made a lot of money as a distributor, and it also built the company's reputation.

This year, the second and third parts of "Home Alone" were shot together. Morningstar Pictures and Lin Baicheng both contributed money. Morningstar Pictures and distribution also accounted for about half of the share, so the whole company attaches great importance to this movie. .

Although Lin Baicheng said he is not short of money, if nothing unexpected happens, the second part of "Home Alone" will be able to sell at least four to five billion U.S. dollars at the global box office. He personally can make tens of millions of U.S. dollars just from the box office split, not to mention There is also income from videotapes and other peripherals.

Furthermore, if the second part of "Home Alone" is a hit, Morningstar Pictures will make a lot of money, become more famous, the company will develop better, and Lin Baicheng, the largest shareholder, will benefit even more.

Therefore, Lin Baicheng still attaches great importance to the second part of "Home Alone".

In the "Home Alone" movie series, the most important role is naturally the kid. The guy who plays the kid in this version is Cameron Atlan. This little boy starred in the first movie last year. The current second movie and He also starred in the subsequent third film.

It can be said that there were no substitutions in the three films, which is a prerequisite for the continued success of the latter two films.

Of course, the salary of Cameron Atlanta in the second and third movies is also very high. In addition to the high salary, there is also a certain box office dividend. This is something that can't be helped. If the person is replaced, there is really no guarantee. The movie can be a big hit, so it’s not enough if we don’t spend the money.

No matter which country you are in, the remuneration of actors in sequel movies is a big issue. Actors are not stupid. They know that the possibility of success in sequel movies is very high, and the prerequisite for success is that the original actors star, so the actors will shout out a high price. , just to make a lot of money.

What's more, even if some actors are not smart, they have agents. Agents and agencies are not stupid. On the contrary, they are all very smart and will offer sky-high remuneration.

The video played and Lin Baicheng watched it carefully.

Regarding the movie series "Home Alone", Lin Baicheng had watched the first two movies before his rebirth, and had watched them more than once, so although he could not say that he remembered the plot clearly, he remembered at least half of it, so he provided information when writing the script. Outline.

Now watching the second part, Lin Baicheng will inevitably compare it with the original version in his memory.

After about two hours, the video ended.

"Chairman, what do you think of the filming of the movie?"

Shirley Lansing asked aloud that the film had actually been shot early, but post-editing took time, and it was not completed until a few days ago.

"What do you think?"

Lin Baicheng did not answer, but asked about Shirley Lansing.

"It's fun, it's good."

After hearing this, Shirley Lansing said: "On the whole, it continues the style of the first part. With the results of the first part, I believe the results of the second part will not be bad. This kind of family movie will make both adults and children go." Watch it in the theater.”

"I feel good too."

Lin Baicheng nodded slightly. This second part is definitely not exactly the same as the original version in his memory, but it is about 80% similar. In his opinion, there are so many similarities, and with the success of the original version, the second part is successful. The possibility is still very high.

However, compared to the second part, the third part is a bit hard to say.

In Lin Baicheng's case, there is no original version of the third part for comparison. He also asked the screenwriting department of Morning Star Pictures to write the script by himself, so Lin Baicheng cannot guarantee the results of the third part.

Fortunately, the main actors of the third part are the same as the first two parts, and there are no changes. This makes the success of the third part more likely.

"The film is well made, but we must also do a good job in publicity. Not only must we promote it, but we must also be careful about slandering it by our peers. I think you should understand what I mean."

"Don't worry, Chairman, we will be prepared for these."

Shirley Lansing nodded to express her understanding. She knew very well that the total box office for the Christmas season was there, and there wouldn't be much of a gap. If your movie had a higher box office, then other people's movies would definitely have a lower box office.

Therefore, in addition to doing their own publicity for movies released at the same time, movies of the same type will definitely fight to the death. Even if they are not the same type of movies, they will discredit their competitors for the sake of box office, so that their own movies can harvest more box office.

Shirley Lansing and other senior executives of Morningstar Pictures are in this industry and know the ropes very well, and some preparations have been made in advance.

"I feel relieved when I hear you say that."

Nodding, Lin Baicheng took the lead and left the screening room.

The only person who followed Lin Baicheng to his office was Shirley Lansing, the company president.

"Chairman, we have almost completed our investigation on the current situation of United Artists."

"United Artists has been in decline in recent years and has been operating with debt. However, this huge loss makes it impossible for United Artists to continue to support it."

"Currently United Artists' management is looking for support from banks, creditors and other institutions. However, I heard that banks and other institutions are no longer willing to invest in United Artists. They believe that United Artists is no longer the top eight Hollywood companies it used to be and has lagged behind the times. ”

"Without external financial support, United Artists will embark on the path of bankruptcy and liquidation."

"However, the United Artists label is still very popular, and the company has a large film library, so some peers still value United Artists. Many film companies are interested in acquiring United Artists, so the United Artists brand should not be removed from Hollywood for the time being. disappear."

Shirley Lansing was very emotional. One of the famous eight companies in Hollywood is now in bankruptcy. This was something that was absolutely unimaginable at the peak of United Artists, but now it has become a reality.

United Artists was first established by comedy superstar Chaplin and some friends. It reached its peak in the 1960s and became one of the eight major studios in Hollywood.

However, United Artists' foundation was relatively poor after all. After the 1970s, its development became increasingly difficult, until a movie this year pushed United Artists to the point of bankruptcy.

And this movie is "Heaven's Gate" released last month. This movie, which United Artists invested US$36 million in, only brought US$4.2 million in box office to United Artists. The theater share plus taxes fell to the United Artists. The United States only has US$2 million at most.

In other words, the movie "Heaven's Gate" cost United Artists a huge loss of $34 million.

The film's huge losses meant that United Artists, which was already operating in debt, could no longer sustain itself. After failing to find a sponsor, it had no choice but to go bankrupt and liquidate, leaving banks and creditors to find a sponsor to take over.

Although Morningstar Pictures is developing well, it can only be regarded as the second tier in Hollywood, and it is not at the top of the second tier. There is a big gap between it and the top seven Hollywood companies.

Now that United Artists is in bankruptcy and liquidation, if Morningstar Pictures acquires it, United Artists' film library and channels will be a good complement to Morningstar Pictures.

"It seems that with this acquisition of United Artists, there will be no shortage of competitors."

"Yes."

"So do you have any plans for the acquisition of United Artists?"

"Chairman, in terms of conditions, MGM and the other seven major Hollywood companies will only be better, so if we want to acquire United Artists, we can only offer a higher price."

Shirley Lansing couldn't help but shake her head. For an acquisition like this, in addition to promising better conditions to United Artists executives, price is the most important thing.

Nodding, Lin Baicheng asked: "So, how much do you think it will cost to acquire Lian Mei?"

"Chairman, this cannot be determined when there are competitors."

Shirley Lansing shook her head and continued: "However, we have made a rough assessment of United Artists' assets. If you include the liabilities, the purchase price exceeds 50 million US dollars, which is too high. But if the debts are separated separately, as long as the price is not Anything above US$200 million is acceptable."

"So much difference? How much debt does Lian Mei have?" Lin Baicheng was a little surprised.

"Lian Mei's debt is about US$1.2. Whether it is exactly this number requires the cooperation of United Artists in the investigation."

Shirley Lansing said: "Once these debts are eliminated, United Artists will no longer be a non-performing asset, so there will be a premium."

"So, the bank should split the debt and sell United Artists separately?"

Lin Baicheng thought thoughtfully. The bank is the most powerful among the creditors. He must hope that the price of Lian Mei's sale is as high as possible, so that he can have money to repay all the debts that Lian Mei owes to the bank. As for other creditors, after paying off the bank debt, the remaining money belongs to those creditors.

Those individual creditors or small businesses have no way to compare with the power of banks, and banks are not afraid of them at all.

"That's probably the case." Shirley Lansing nodded.

Lin Baicheng immediately said: "The company shouldn't have more than 100 million or even 200 million US dollars in its account now, right?"

"Yes."

Shirley Lansing nodded. Although Morningstar Pictures has made a lot of money in the past two years, the total is not as much as one or two billion US dollars. What's more, channel expansion and investment in film production cost money, so the company's account actually has Not much money.

"What do your management think?"

Lin Baicheng asked, he could spend all the acquisition funds, but he couldn't do so because he took out 10% of the shares as management rights options. Although the 10% has not been fully paid out, part of it has been divided.

Now that Lin Baicheng is using his own money to acquire United Artists, and then injecting United Artists into Morning Star Pictures, it means that he is spending money to give free benefits to Morning Star Pictures executives, and it is also a big benefit. This kind of thing must not be done.

If this kind of thing is done once, it is likely to happen a second time or even more. In the future, if he, the big boss, pays for corporate acquisitions, and they follow suit, Lin Baicheng's losses will be huge.

"We hope that you, Chairman, can provide a sum of money, and then through your relationship, we can borrow a sum of funds from the bank. Even if the acquisition of United Artists fails, it will be fine. The loan funds can also be used for the company's expansion."

Shirley Lansing carefully observed Lin Baicheng's face. Their plan was naturally good for their management and would cost some interests of Lin Baicheng, the big boss. However, with the current scale of Morning Star Pictures, there was no way to get a loan of two. billions of dollars in funding.

In fact, if it hadn't been for the acquisition of United Artists, there wouldn't be as many things happening now.

But after acquiring United Artists, the scale of Morningstar Pictures will become larger, and the distance between it and the Big Seven in Hollywood will be closer. All executives will benefit from the company's growth, so they still tend to acquire United Artists.

After listening to Shirley Lansing's words, Lin Baicheng was noncommittal. He said: "I can personally lend the company 100 million U.S. dollars. If it is a loan, I will help borrow 100 million U.S. dollars from Goldman Sachs or Citigroup. If it doesn't work, I will ask the people over there in Xiangjiang." Galaxy Bank loaned 100 million to the company, what do you think?"

"Thank you, Chairman, for your support."

Shirley Lansing immediately replied that although Lin Baicheng did not give the money in vain, it would be fine to lend the money to the company, and the interest would not be too high anyway.

"If the company can acquire Lianmei, its scale will definitely become larger, and it will definitely become more difficult to manage. You, the president, will also face more challenges. Are you mentally prepared?"

Lin Baicheng doesn't think things are always smooth in the workplace. Shirley Lansing's gender and age are her disadvantages. She's not much better than Isabella, or even worse than Isabella. After all, Isabella has him. This big boss is supportive.

If Shirley Lansing faces a challenge, as long as it is within the rules and the challenger is strong enough, Lin Baicheng will not mind substituting, and his support for Shirley Lansing will not be too strong.

In the early days of the development of Morning Star Pictures, Shirley Lansing was the best choice, but as the company grew and more capable elites joined, Shirley Lansing was no longer indispensable.

Of course, Shirley Lansing has made a huge contribution to the development of the company and is not bad at it. Even if she is pushed out in the end, Lin Baicheng will not treat her badly.

"Chairman, don't worry, I'm mentally prepared."

Shirley Lansing solemnly responded that although the current Morningstar Pictures is not entirely hers, the company is under her control and she is confident that she can secure her position.

"Just have confidence."

Lin Baicheng nodded and said no more.

Later, Lin Baicheng chatted with Shirley Lansing about the release of the second part of "Home Alone". He mainly listened to Shirley Lansing's report. He felt that there was no problem, so he did not express his opinion.

The acquisition of United Artists will help the development of Morningstar Pictures. Therefore, Lin Baicheng attaches great importance to this acquisition and will pay attention to it. The specific acquisition work will of course be left to Shirley Lansing and other management and the secretariat.