First Arrival in North America
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Wei Jin returned to Beijing. He spent the day "visiting relatives and friends" and strengthening his connections, then returned to 501 at night to enjoy Gao Yuanyuan's tenderness.
On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Zeng Li returned to Beijing.
Seeing Zeng Li before him, full of a rustic country air, Wei Jin was moved. Sister Li really did hold herself to high standards in her work.
They hadn't seen each other in a long time, so naturally they came together like dry tinder and a raging fire. With Zeng Li joining another production in a few days, they seized every moment they could to be intimate.
After the clouds dispersed and the rain subsided, Zeng Li lay on top of Wei Jin, thoroughly satisfied, her fingers gliding back and forth over his abs.
"Did you miss me while I was away?"
"Of course. Couldn't you feel it just now?"
Wei Jin answered with a grin.
"Aren't you always as strong as a bull? Who knows whether you've been sneaking bites elsewhere?"
Zeng Li had always been curious about Wei Jin's physical makeup for one simple reason: he had far too much energy.
"Good thing I had Jingjing keep an eye on you. Otherwise, who knows how many vixens would have thrown themselves at you..."
Wei Jin was a little speechless. Oh, Sister Li, your best friend stole what she was supposed to guard and even made it all the way to home plate, yet here you are, still taking her at her word. I really worry about your intelligence.
On the tenth day of the first lunar month, Tangren sent Wei Jin a breakdown of the overall earnings from Chinese Paladin.
The Taiwan version of Chinese Paladin had 34 episodes, priced at 120,000 per episode, for a total of 4.08 million.
The mainland version of Chinese Paladin had 38 episodes and was purchased jointly by multiple stations. The first, second and third broadcast rounds brought in a combined 900,000 per episode, for a total of 34.2 million.
The series brought in 38.28 million in sales, a modest profit.
On the eleventh day of the first lunar month, Xiang Wenlong called to say that the game studio had recruited its staff and asked whether Wei Jin wanted to meet them. Wei Jin said they could discuss it after he returned from North America.
On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, Zeng Li officially joined the cast of The Infiltrator, while Wei Jin set out for North America. This time, he was going to pull off something big.
After more than ten hours in the air, Wei Jin finally set foot on North American soil.
Hunter, Summit Entertainment's film and television director, had come to meet him. He was a middle-aged white man who had put on some weight.
"Hey, Wei, it's been a long time. Oh, my God, you're really strong."
Hunter immediately gave Wei Jin a bear hug.
Wei Jin and Hunter had met at the Berlin International Film Festival, where the North American rights had been sold to Summit Entertainment.
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Summit Entertainment was an independent Hollywood film production company.
But the company had never made much of a splash since its founding. Its path had been rocky, and it had remained stuck making low-budget productions, unable to break through the constraints imposed by Hollywood's Big Six.
Hollywood's Big Six were the six major film companies that held an overwhelming share of the North American film market: Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Disney.
Each year, the films produced by these six companies accounted for at least 80% of the North American box office. Calling them a film oligopoly was no exaggeration.
Independent film companies had a hard time in Hollywood. Without money, they could scarcely afford major productions, and without major productions, it was hard to build market recognition.
At the same time, good scripts were generally submitted to the Big Six first, and only reached independent film companies after they had been sifted through. As a result, Hollywood had thousands of independent film companies, but only a handful turned a profit each year, while those that went under were too numerous to count.
That was why selecting films from overseas had also become an important means of development for Summit Entertainment, allowing it to break through those restrictions and gain access to outstanding films and scripts from other parts of the world.
After Hunter brought the film back to North America, Summit Entertainment chose not to release it in theaters. Instead, it put the film on DVD and distributed it across the United States, where the market response was quite good.
Seeing this, Summit Entertainment decided to make a remake. After discussions with Wei Jin in May of the previous year, it paid three million dollars for the remake rights and began filming that same month.
The remake had been released in North America in July 2004 and had taken in a total of 63 million at the box office. Summit Entertainment's executives were overjoyed: it was already the highest-grossing film the company had produced itself since its founding.
Several executives promptly realized that one smash hit could not change Summit Entertainment's situation, and seeking long-term cooperation with Wei Jin became an urgent priority.
Thus, since August 2004, Summit Entertainment's executives had repeatedly invited Wei Jin to visit North America, with great enthusiasm.
"Hunter, that's enough. You know I don't like men. Could you send a lady next time?"
Wei Jin had been known for his humor and wit in Berlin.
"Oh, Wei, you're certainly practical. But are you sure you want one of our female colleagues who weighs over two hundred pounds to come meet you?"
Hunter put on a wounded expression.
"Come on, let's get going. I can't wait to see how you plan to entertain me. After all, I've brought your company tens of millions in profit."
Wei Jin had already learned that the North American version of Buried Alive had cost only two million dollars to make. Summit Entertainment had really made a killing.
"Don't worry, the boss has made all the arrangements. I guarantee you'll get a taste of the Hollywood ladies' hospitality, heh heh."
Hunter wore an expression every man would understand, and he was also somewhat moved. It was the first time the company had ever given an Asian such high-level treatment, but he could bring the company profits, after all. Perhaps even that miserly boss would be willing to offer up his wife.
After a drive of more than an hour, Wei Jin finally arrived in front of an office building in downtown Santa Monica. It was Summit Entertainment's headquarters.
In the conference room, Wei Jin finally met Summit Entertainment's current president, Friedman, a somewhat small and thin white man. Of course, he might simply have looked older than he was.
"Welcome, Wei. We at Summit have been looking forward to this meeting for a long time."
As the president of a film company, Friedman had come to meet Wei Jin in person, showing how much importance he attached to the meeting.
There was no other reason: Summit Entertainment was close to being unable to hold on.
"Hello, Mr. Friedman. I also believe our cooperation will bring Summit a new chapter."
After taking his seat, Wei Jin spoke in an easygoing manner, his words carrying a double meaning.
"Of course, I have no doubt. You have ideas of genius, and we at Summit have well-established production capabilities and distribution channels. Our cooperation would be a union of strengths."
Friedman spoke with some excitement.
"By the way, Wei, what kind of new scripts have you brought this time?"
"Of course, I spent a long time preparing for this meeting."
Wei Jin took two scripts out of his bag and placed them on the table, then casually took out a cigarette and lit it.
"You can read them first. There's no rush."
For a while, the only sound in the entire conference room was the rustle of pages as they read the scripts.
Half an hour later, Friedman, one of Summit's screenwriters and Hunter had all finished reading them.
"Whew... Wei, I was right. You really are a genius. These two scripts are fantastic."
Friedman spoke with some excitement.
"Sell both scripts to Summit for five million dollars. What do you think?"
Friedman had offered a very high price. In fact, many veteran screenwriters in North American writers' unions earned only 200,000 to 300,000 dollars for a script.
"No, no, no, Mr. Friedman. I don't think you understand what I mean. I don't want money."
The moment he said that, the atmosphere in the room suddenly grew tense.
"You want a share?" Friedman's eyes widened, and Hunter also stared at Wei Jin in shock, an incredulous expression on his face.
Wei Jin didn't care at all. His real objective hadn't even been revealed yet; this was only the beginning.
"Wei, films are risky. Believe me, this isn't a good choice."
Hunter also tried to persuade him. As he saw it, money in the pocket was safe, and he was looking out for Wei Jin.
"No, I think I should put it more directly. What I want is an ownership stake in Summit Entertainment."
Wei Jin finally unrolled the map and revealed the dagger. It was a negotiating technique: first offer the other party what they wanted, then strike from an angle they could never have anticipated.
"Oh, God, that's an outrageous idea, Wei. Summit has no intention of giving up any ownership."
Friedman bristled all over like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"No, my friend, don't be in such a hurry. Hear me out, all right?
"Summit isn't in a good position right now. Even with last year's Buried Alive, that success may well have been a flower blooming for only a moment.
"At least so far, Summit hasn't found a new source of profit. Am I right?
"And I, your friend, a Silver Bear-winning director from across the ocean, have brought funds and projects and am willing to grow alongside Summit and weather the storms together. I don't know why you would refuse such a thing.
"Or do you think my scripts can't find another company to take them without Summit?
"You should know Shimen Pictures is right here in this city. Do you think they might be interested?"
In fact, if he hadn't dealt with Summit in Berlin, Wei Jin would have preferred to work with Shimen. After all, Shimen had made its name in Hollywood with low-budget horror films.
After listening to Wei Jin, the three people from Summit fell silent for a long time. Wei Jin didn't press them.
"Wei, I can see you know Summit well. So, let's hear your proposal."
Seeing the negotiations fall into his own rhythm, Wei Jin felt more confident. In fact, if Hollywood hadn't been so hostile to outsiders, he would have wanted to go it alone too. Wouldn't keeping the whole feast to himself have been better?
After a moment's thought, Wei Jin laid out his proposal to the three of them.
Wei Jin intended to invest 100 million dollars to acquire a 70% stake in Summit Entertainment, either by injecting capital or through a transfer of shares.
At the same time, Wei Jin would make all his scripts available to Summit Entertainment free of charge and promised that, for his future films, Summit would have priority in participating, whether in distribution or investment.
"You can discuss it with the other shareholders first. Believe me, I'm entirely sincere."
Wei Jin then picked up the scripts from the table and put them in his briefcase.
"Now then, can you take me to experience some of Hollywood's special attractions?"
Friedman was distracted and left in a hurry without even attending the dinner that had been prepared, leaving only Hunter and another executive to accompany Wei Jin.
That night, Wei Jin experienced the flavor of North America. He had to admit that the two female models had incredibly hot bodies and were incredibly uninhibited.