Chapter 240 Rating Sites and Consumption

Liu Zhou doesn’t know whether Ningbo Film Studio has the idea of ​​filming “Painted Skin” yet, or whether they may have had this idea already.

So Liu Zhou also asked Zhang Zhao to register and approve the project of "Painted Skin" as soon as possible.

"Mr. Liu, who should we ask to direct the Painted Skin project?"

"Does Xu Ke have any projects on hand now?"

"Not yet. After finishing The Blade of the Dragon King 2, he has been perfecting the script of Detective Dee."

"If not, then give him the Painted Skin project. Since he hasn't even finished writing the script for Detective Dee, let him take his time before working on this project."

In his previous life, Liu Zhou felt that the most suitable director for the movie "Painted Skin" was Xu Ke, who was more suitable than the original director Chen Jiashang.

Among domestic directors, who is best at photographing women?
None other than Xu Ke!
So many classic female characters were created by him.

Brigitte Lin's Oriental Invincible, Mandy Chang's Green Snake and Joey Wong's Nie Xiaoqian are all screen classics.

In history, when Xu Ke was filming "Detective Dee: The Mystery of the Phantom Flame", Yang Ying was such a difficult person, but he still managed to make her breathtakingly beautiful.

The core of the movie "Painted Skin" are the two female protagonists, especially Xiao Wei, who is the focus.

Liu Zhou feels that under Xu Ke's lens, Xiao Wei will become a classic no less than Green Snake and Dongfang Bubai.

"Mr. Liu, what about the actors?"

"We'll talk about the actors later and see what Xu Ke thinks. But let's try to use actors from within our company."

In fact, Liu Zhou preferred Huang Xiaoming for the role of Wang Sheng.

Some people may think that Wang Sheng, played by Chen Kun, is more popular and Huang Xiaoming is not tall enough.

Or some people may think that Huang Xiaoming's acting skills may not be as good as Chen Kun's, and he will not be able to play Wang Sheng as well as Chen Kun.

But all these are not important to Liu Zhou.

The most important thing is that Huang Xiaoming is an artist under Golden Harvest, but Chen Kun is not.

It is impossible for Liu Zhou's own company to make a commercial blockbuster without using the company's actors and looking for them outside.

If the company's artists are really not suitable, then there is nothing we can do about it. But if the company still looks for suitable people outside, then the company's artists will definitely feel a lack of belonging.

In that case, it would be better not to sign the artist.

What's more, the current Huang Xiaoming is not the person who will be ridiculed by the whole network for being greasy later.

At this time, Huang Xiaoming was one of the four most popular young actors in mainland China and one of the most popular male stars in the mainland.

Moreover, after joining Golden Harvest, the company also made detailed plans for Huang Xiaoming and restrained his desire to let himself go.

Therefore, Golden Harvest would not even let him watch idol dramas like "Summer's Desire".

So far, Huang Xiaoming has played the popular character Zhao Zilong in the big production "Red Cliff" and also played the main character Pei Lun in "The Swordsman 2".

He is no longer a newcomer in the film industry and has experience.

Therefore, it is only natural that he is promoted to be the leading actor of the movie this time.

As for the heroine, the role of Xiao Wei, Zhou Gongzi really played it very well.

Although he is not an artist of Golden Harvest, Liu Zhou still couldn't bear to ruin Mr. Zhou's interpretation of Xiao Wei.

As for Peirong, with Zeng Li about to retire and also set to star in Liu Zhou's new film "Room", Zhang Tong is undoubtedly the most suitable person for Golden Harvest.

Zhang Tong is not like she was in her original time and space where she had no fame at all. Although her fame in this life is not as great as that of the Four Dan Actresses and the Two Bing Actresses, she is also a second-tier female artist in the industry.

However, these are just Liu Zhou's ideas. We still have to see what Xu Ke thinks at that time.

After all, Xu Ke is a veteran and famous director with a lot of experience, so we should show him due respect.

Even if Liu Zhou had a candidate in mind, he could only discuss it with him first instead of directly deciding on the person and then notifying him.

If Liu Zhou dared to do this, he was sure that Xu Ke would run away immediately, even if Liu Zhou was the second richest man in mainland China, a big shot in the film and television industry would still run away.

Liu Zhou is also a director. If someone treats him like this, he will definitely flip the table and walk away.

"Okay, Mr. Liu. I'll go discuss this with Xu Ke later."

Afterwards, Liu Zhou asked Gao Jun about the cinema chain company and learned that everything was going well and the cinema would open as scheduled during this summer's film season. He then announced the adjournment of the meeting.

This year, Golden Harvest has tentatively invested in three movies and one TV series.

Ning Hao's "Crazy Racing" is scheduled to be released during the summer vacation, and "Assembly" is scheduled to be released during the Lunar New Year vacation, just like the original time and space.

And I heard that Chen Kexin’s big production "The Warlords" has also been approved. According to the schedule, "The Warlords" should still be released during the Lunar New Year holiday this year.

If nothing unexpected happens, there will inevitably be a battle between "Assembly" and "The Warlords".

As for Painted Skin, the funds will not be in place until after the settlement of Red Cliff, so it is tentatively scheduled for next year's Spring Festival or summer vacation.

However, there is a huge variable this year, that is Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower".

Zhang Yimou now has the reputation of two "Red Cliff" films, and with many superstars joining this movie, no one dares to touch his blockbuster.

The film has not yet been scheduled for release, so everything is still uncertain.

As for Liu Zhou's new film "Room", it will not be selected for release date, it will be released whenever it is suitable after the exhibition. After arranging the work of Golden Harvest, Liu Zhou came to Sina the next day.

At Sina, Liu Zhou also convened a top management meeting.

Currently, all of Sina's businesses are on the right track and he no longer needs to worry too much.

What Liu Zhou is concerned about now is something he arranged late last year.

"Mr. Wang, does Yang Bo agree to sell Douban to Sina?"

When Liu Zhou accidentally saw Douban last year, he immediately realized that there was still a film and television rating website missing in his career puzzle.

So they immediately arranged for Wang Yan to contact Yang Bo on behalf of Sina to see if Douban could be acquired.

Although Douban has many flaws in later generations, it is still the most authoritative movie and TV series rating website in mainland China.

Douban has been established for almost two years now, and they received a 200 million angel investment from IDGVC last year.

Although Douban's user base grew rapidly afterwards, the website had no real profit channels at that time.

One of the main reasons why Douban’s user base has grown so rapidly is that they insist on having an ad-free page.

Moreover, Douban is now not mainly based on ratings, but on making friends, recommending, and sharing. It is more like a forum for fellow enthusiasts to discuss and evaluate.

However, historically, Yang Bo will lead Douban to transform this year and begin to establish a business philosophy based on the ratings of movies, TV series, music and novels.

"He hasn't replied yet."

"It's been more than two months now, hasn't he thought it through yet?"

"In fact, I think his procrastination is obvious. He probably doesn't want to sell."

Liu Zhou took a deep breath and said:
"Go give him an ultimatum and tell him that if he doesn't sell, we will develop a website similar to Douban."

In fact, Liu Zhou could have let Sina set up a rating website on its own.

However, Douban already has quite a few users now, and they are all fans of movies, TV series, music and novels.

If we take over Douban, we can transform directly and save a lot of trouble.

But if Yang Bo refuses to sell it, Liu Zhou can only do it himself, which is just a bit more trouble.

Liu Zhou felt that if Yang Bo was smart, he would not have insisted on doing so. After all, he would not be able to compete with Sina alone.

"Okay Mr. Liu."

"By the way, when will the Zhu Xian online game be launched?"

"We will start the public beta test next month and officially launch the operation in May."

"Ok, this is the first self-developed online game operated by Sina Legu. Pay attention to summarizing experience and improving our distribution channels."

After discussing some other matters of the company, Liu Zhou finally said, seeing that there was nothing else to do:
“After working together for a year, I feel that Mr. Wang is a person of outstanding ability and strong execution, and he has done a very good job in the businesses he is in charge of.

So I decided to step down as CEO of Sina, and President Wang Yan will succeed me as CEO.

At the same time, Cao Guowei will take over as president and continue to serve as Sina's chief financial officer. "

In fact, changes in the company's top management need to be decided by the board of directors.

But now, Liu Zhou basically has the final say on the board of directors, and his power is even greater than Duan Yongji's back then.

Liu Zhou is not only the controlling shareholder of Sina and controls the shareholders' meeting, but also almost all of the board of directors are his people.

If there is anyone on the board who threatens Liu Zhou's position, he can directly convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to kick him out of the board.

Therefore, the formal decision made by Liu Zhou now is the decision of the board of directors, and it will just be a formality when the time comes.

And most importantly, Duan Yongji, who posed the greatest threat to Liu Zhou and whom Liu Zhou had always been wary of, seemed to have completely accepted his fate after being kicked out of the core layer by Liu Zhou.

In the past six months, Duan Yongji has been reducing his holdings in Sina shares and seems to be preparing to cash out completely.

But Liu Zhou will not let down his guard against him. He will only feel relieved when he completely sells out his Sina stocks.

Duan Yongji is lucky to cash out now. When the financial crisis comes next year, most Internet stocks will plummet, so he is cashing out at a high price now.

So at the end of the year, Liu Zhou also planned to cash out part of Penguin's shares.

Not only can you have more cash on hand just in case, but you can also buy some big toys you like when the time comes.

As the second richest man in mainland China, Liu Zhou currently has no power at all.

Before, he had always invested his money in the company and didn't spend much on himself.

So when he has enough money, Liu Zhou also plans to buy a private jet, which will make it more convenient for him to travel.

At the same time, Liu Zhou personally likes basketball, and he will see if he can buy an NBA team to play with.

Moreover, NBA teams are also an investment project with huge appreciation potential.

Buying an NBA team can not only satisfy one's own interests and hobbies, but also make money, which is killing two birds with one stone.

(End of this chapter)