Hollywood, I became a legend with special effects.

Chapter 13: Acquiring Tencent and Summit Entertainment

Just a few days after New Year's Day, Jiang Yu stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, holding a cup of coffee that had gone cold. So much had happened in the past five months.

Filming for "Taken" in Paris wrapped up last December, and special effects production is now more than halfway complete.

Fox Searchlight's marketing team predicts that, if all goes well, the film could be released globally this summer.

Director Pierre sent me an email last week saying he was so excited after watching the rough cut that he couldn't sleep.

Jiang Yu wasn't thinking about any of that today. The first-generation Apple phone had just been released, and Apple's stock price was soaring.

Two lines of numbers were displayed on the computer screen:

Apple stock price: $121.47.

Number of shares held: 1,737,337.

From 37,337 shares in May last year to more than 173 million shares now, most of which were achieved through leveraged rolling operations.

The risk is high, but the reward is even higher; based on the current stock price, the portfolio is worth over $2.2 million.

My phone vibrated; it was an encrypted message from Chen Jingming: "Eight accounts are ready. As planned, we will build positions in Tencent in batches when the market opens tomorrow."

Jiang Yu replied: "Received. Remember, diversify, keep a low profile, and hold for the long term."

Chen Jingming is the team leader he poached from Goldman Sachs last month through Chen Wei. He is 34 years old, has a bachelor's degree from Guanghua School of Management at Peking University and an MBA from Wharton, and worked at Goldman Sachs Hong Kong for seven years analyzing Chinese technology stocks.

Jiang Yu's task for him was simple: to invest the funds borrowed from Apple stock as collateral into Tencent's Hong Kong stock in the most discreet way.

Why Tencent?

Jiang Yu knew that Tencent's stock price hovered around HK$8 in 2007, but ten years later, that number would exceed HK$700.

Even more excitingly, in August 2007, Tencent will release its second-quarter financial report for 2007, which will disclose for the first time that QQ's concurrent online users have exceeded 30 million. This number will shock the market and trigger a bull market in its stock price that will last for ten years.

Jiang Yu couldn't tell Chen Jingming these things. He only said, "I am optimistic about the future of China's Internet. Tencent is the foundation for the entire Light Chaser Group to return to China in the future."

Chen Jingming didn't ask any more questions. People in the financial industry have an unspoken understanding: don't ask what you shouldn't ask, as long as the performance looks good.

Jiang Yu offered him a compensation package of $100 million per year plus 2% performance bonus, which is top-tier even at Goldman Sachs.

......

There was a knock on the office door, and Zhou Mu poked his head in: "President Jiang, David is here."

"Let him in."

David, 42, is an American citizen who previously worked as a producer at Paramount for ten years and was involved in the early development of Transformers.

Jiang Yu recruited him to serve as CEO of Light Chaser Pictures because he valued his deep understanding of Hollywood rules and his dissatisfaction with the status quo.

"Boss." David walked in, laptop in hand. "Two pieces of news. First, filming for 'Insidious' wrapped yesterday. James Wan said it was a week ahead of schedule, and the budget was reduced by 10%. Second..."

He paused, then said, "Rob Friedman from Summit Entertainment asked us to meet next week to talk about Twilight."

Jiang Yu's eyes lit up: "They've finally arrived."

“They moved faster than we expected.” David sat down. “The Twilight novel just hit the New York Times bestseller list last month, and they already had a hunch. As you instructed, I released some development materials and turned down initial offers from several companies.”

"Well done." Jiang Yu walked to the whiteboard and wrote the four characters "Peak Entertainment." "Do you know what Peak Entertainment lacks most right now?"

"They lack an IP that can define them," David replied immediately. "They've made a lot of low- to mid-budget films, some profitable, some not, and they've always been a second-tier player in the industry. They need their own 'Harry Potter,' a film series that will make audiences remember them."

"So they're even more anxious than we are." Jiang Yu drew a scale on the whiteboard. "On one side is the potential of 'Twilight,' and on the other side are our conditions. What we need to do is convince them that accepting our conditions is the best path for them to advance to the top."

David seemed thoughtful: "The collaboration plan you designed is rare in Hollywood. Copyright holders usually either sell it all or keep it all. Can they accept this 50/50 joint control model?"

"If they really want to grow big, they have to accept it."

Jiang Yu said, "Moreover, we need to offer substantial incentives: the investment in special effects services, the script already in its third draft, and even a shortlist of suggested actors for the lead roles. This preliminary work is valuable."

The two discussed the details for another half hour. As David was leaving, Jiang Yu called out to him, "By the way, how's the progress with Yang Siwei?"

"We just had a video conference yesterday."

David said, "We acquired the full rights to 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' for 50 RMB, and the contract has already been signed. We've bought out the film and television adaptation rights to 'The Three-Body Problem' and 'The Wandering Earth' for 80 RMB, with screenwriters receiving a 1% cut of future development rights. We also acquired the television adaptation rights to 'My Sunshine' for 10 RMB, and Gu Man is very satisfied with our sincerity."

Jiang Yu nodded. In the past six months, the BJ team has quietly acquired 27 online literature IPs, spending less than 200 million RMB in total.

If we look at this ten years from now, the total value of these IPs will exceed one billion.

This is the power of time, and also the benefit of being a prophet.

........

February 5, 2007, Monday, 10:00 AM.

When Summit Entertainment CEO Rob Friedman walked into the Light Chaser Studios conference room with two assistants, David was already waiting.

Jiang Yu watched remotely from his office via camera; this was a strategy he and David had agreed upon: David would test the waters first, and then he would step in at the crucial moment.

"David, it's been a long time."

Rob was a middle-aged man in his fifties with gray hair, wearing a well-fitting dark blue suit. "The last time we met was at Paramount's annual party."

"Rob, welcome."

David shook hands with him. "I heard that Summit did quite well last year. 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' had a very impressive box office performance."

"It's all thanks to Angelina and Brad."

Rob sat down with a smile. Peak Entertainment did make a profit last year, but it was all thanks to projects driven by celebrities. The company itself had not established a sustainable content system.

After exchanging pleasantries, Rob got straight to the point: "David, let's get straight to the point. We're very interested in Twilight. Stephanie Meyer's novels are on the bestseller list, and our market analysis shows there's a huge gap in the teen fantasy romance genre."

"We think so too." David handed over a document. "This is the development package we've worked on over the past six months: the third draft of the script, visual concept art, character analysis, and even... we conducted a small-scale reader survey, and the feedback from the target audience was very positive."

Rob quickly flipped through the documents, becoming more and more serious with each reading.

The completeness of this development kit exceeded his expectations; usually, for such early-stage projects, having even a script outline is considered good enough.

What Light Chaser Pictures has done is almost at the level of pre-production.

"You've invested a lot of resources," Rob said, looking up.

"Because we believe in this IP," David said, "so we're not planning to simply sell the rights. We're looking for partners to work together to build this series."

Rob and his assistant exchanged a glance, and the assistant spoke up: "David, Summit has a complete production and distribution system. If you're willing to sell the rights, we can offer a very competitive price: $5 million, plus 500% of the box office revenue."

David laughed: "Rob, if we just wanted to make money, we wouldn't have done such in-depth development. Our plan for Twilight is a five-part series, a franchise that can last for five years. We don't want a one-off deal, we want a long-term partnership."

The negotiations lasted for two hours, with Summit attempting to lower the price, gain more control, and downgrade Light Chaser Animation to a role of "copyright holder + visual effects supplier".

David adhered to the bottom line set by Jiang Yu: the copyright would not be sold, and the two parties would jointly control the copyright, each owning 50%.

During the lunch break, Rob went to the restroom, and David returned to Jiang Yu's office.

"They won't give up easily," David said. "Having 50% control is practically unprecedented in Hollywood."

"So they need time to process this." Jiang Yu looked at the top female assistant touching up her makeup on the monitor. "I'll join the meeting this afternoon. There are some things I need to say personally."

.......

The meeting resumed at 2 p.m.

When Jiang Yu walked into the conference room, Luo Bu was clearly taken aback. He hadn't expected that the actual controller of Light Chaser Pictures was so young.

"Mr. Rob, I am Jiang Yu, the founder of Light Chaser Pictures and Light & Shadow Digital."

Jiang Yu shook hands with him, using a standard American-style firmness.

"Mr. Jiang is younger than I imagined." Rob looked him over again. "David said you have a complete vision for Twilight?"

"It's not just a vision, it's a roadmap." Jiang Yu sat down at the table, opened his laptop, and said, "Please allow me to show you something."

A chart appeared on the screen, titled "Twilight Series Development Timeline":

2007: First film production

2008: The first film was released, and development of the second film began simultaneously.

2009: The second film was released, and the third film was launched.

2010: The third film was released.

2011: Production of Part 4 (divided into two parts)

2012: Part 4 (Part 1) was released.

Five years, five films.

Jiang Yu said, "If our collaboration goes smoothly, the total box office of this series could exceed $20 billion. More importantly, it will bring Summit a stable cash flow, an enhanced industry standing, and a new generation of audiences."

Rob stared at the timeline, his Adam's apple bobbing.

$20 billion is an astronomical figure for the top.

Their company has been established for over a decade, and the total box office revenue of all their films combined doesn't even reach this much.

"A very ambitious plan," Rob said, trying to remain calm. "It will require a huge investment to realize, the production and marketing costs for each installment..."

"So we designed this collaboration plan." Jiang Yu switched slides, "The budget for the first film is $3500 million. Light Chaser Pictures will contribute full copyright, pre-production development packages, and $1200 million worth of visual effects services from its affiliated company, Light & Shadow Digital, as equity, taking a 50% stake. Summit will contribute $1800 million in cash, also taking a 50% stake. The two parties will form a joint production committee, with Light Chaser Pictures having the core creative veto power, and Summit responsible for production and distribution. Copyright will always belong to Light Chaser Pictures."

Rob's assistant spoke first: "This isn't fair. We pay cash, you provide the service, yet we get 50% each? And the copyright doesn't even belong to us?"

"Whether it's fair or not depends on long-term value," Jiang Yu said calmly. "Without our copyright and early development, how much money and time would you have needed to reach this point? Without our special effects services, how much would you have needed to outsource? More importantly, without our overall planning, are you sure you could have made this series worth $20 billion?"

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Mr. Rob, what Summit needs right now is an IP that can define the company. And what we need is a partner with production and distribution capabilities. It's a win-win situation, but not a traditional client-vendor relationship; it's a true partnership. Besides, we just finished working with Searchlight and Lionsgate, and I'm only talking to you first because of David."

Rob remained silent for a full minute.

Finally, he said, "We need to discuss this internally. Give me three days."

.......

Three days later, on January 8th.

While waiting for a call in his office, Jiang Yu received an encrypted email from Chen Jingming: "Tencent's position building is complete. Eight accounts hold a total of 107.5 million shares, with an average cost of HK$8.2, and a total investment of approximately HK$880 million. The holdings are diversified and have not triggered the disclosure threshold."

He replied, "Good job. Keep monitoring and report to me quarterly."

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Rob called.

"Jiang, we accept the proposal." Rob's voice held a do-or-die determination. "There are two conditions: First, if the first film's box office is less than $1 million, the priority cooperation rights for subsequent films will need to be renegotiated; second, we need to send an executive producer to the joint committee."

"Sure," Jiang Yu readily agreed.

"make a deal."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yu walked to the window.

The evenings in Santa Monica are beautiful; the sunset paints the sea a golden-red hue.

David pushed open the door, carrying two glasses of champagne: "Want to celebrate?"

"To celebrate." Jiang Yu took the wine glass.

The two cups clinked together.

“Jiang, I still want to ask,” David took a sip of his drink, “how can you be so sure that Top Club will accept? This offer is revolutionary in Hollywood.”

"Because they need success more than we do." Jiang Yu looked out the window at the sea. "Rob is fifty-three this year, and he's been CEO at the top for ten years. He needs to leave a legacy, a project that will make him memorable. Twilight is that project. And what we need to do is give him an offer he can't refuse, one that has the potential to succeed while also saving face for him."