"The province has set up a special working group, and you asked for it to be finalized before March next year. However, based on the current progress, I think most of the process will be completed by the end of the year. After all, it is a US$1 billion project. The current progress of negotiations The information has been sent to you, check your mailbox. Oh, and because of this matter, I haven’t been able to find peace recently. My parents and people around me are also trying to attract investment. There is a shortage of money in the country right now.”
"Then take a closer look and vote if you find something suitable."
"You have a lot of money now?"
"I really can't spend all my money. I just cashed out another $3 billion from Nasdaq this month."
"Oh, big capitalist."
Manhattan, the headquarters of the Westeros Corporation.
The time is September 19th.
Saturday.
After resting with the women for a few days, Simon finally returned to the office. There was no distinction between working days or weekends. At this time, he was having a video call with Lin Su who was far away in China, mainly about the $1 billion refinery he casually agreed to last time. chemical projects, as well as other recent matters.
As he spoke, Simon quickly browsed through Lin Su's email that Girl A had just printed. He only discussed some details and did not have an in-depth chat. After all, this was not an area Simon was familiar with, and it still had to be left to a professional team.
Then he started talking about another topic.
Regarding "Kingdom of Wind" which will be launched on September 11th.
Compared with "Counter-Strike OL" in June, which had 272,000 activated users within three days of its launch, "Kingdom of Wind" had only 173,000 activated users within one week of its launch as of yesterday.
Of course, this is only relative.
For a project like the first large-scale role-playing game in mainland China, considering the current scale of Internet users in China and the size of Lineage Online itself, it attracted more than 170,000 users to enter the game in the first seven days, which is absolutely an outstanding achievement.
Not only that, unlike turn-based games such as "Counter-Strike OL", because "Kingdom of Wind" is a role-playing game with a strong continuity, once players get into the game, it is difficult to get rid of it. Therefore, even in order to adapt to the current situation, Due to the market environment, after the initial three-day free trial period, the strategy formulated by the game operation team did not limit the free player level to level 20 like the previous "World of Warcraft", but continued to provide one hour of free experience every day. game time.
If it exceeds 1 hour, of course you will have to pay.
The problem is that compared to a turn-based game like Counter-Strike OL, where you can enjoy playing a few games in one hour, you can’t do much in one hour in Kingdom of the Wind.
In addition, free players also have restrictions on props and other aspects.
As a result, the payment ratio of the 173,000 activated users of "Kingdom of Wind" within one week of its launch reached an astonishing 27%, far exceeding the 19% of the previous three days of "Counter-Strike OL"'s launch.
Of course, there are still a lot of big promotions such as getting free points by opening a Yifubao-bound account. The proportion of paying users that can truly provide a stable flow of revenue for Paradise Online will have to wait at least one month after the launch and various promotional activities have ended. We will see then.
However, as Simon had considered before, if a certain girl launches the mediocre "Kingdom of Wind" to test the waters, it is very likely to create a phenomenal game in advance like "Legend".
The launch of such a large-scale promotion and various gifts was a strategy decided by Simon himself.
Lin Su had obviously raised doubts on behalf of the operations team before.
Simon also explained patiently.
In other words, if you want to take something, you must give it first.
Free is always the most expensive. First, attract players through various promotions that cost almost no money. When it's time to pay, if you want to leave... then you go.
Walk
Can you leave
"Following your reminder, we have kept a low profile as much as possible. However, several games during this period, from "Counter-Strike Online" to "Farmland" and now "Wind Kingdom", have been released because they are so popular. It attracted the attention of public opinion. Some time ago, there was another incident where a few children were robbed to buy game points. It was almost reported in the newspaper, but was quietly suppressed. Simon, what do you think we should do next? "
"This is mainly a problem of Internet cafes," Simon was also distressed and said: "Try to promote relevant public opinion and push the blame on Internet cafes. Well, you don't have to worry about this matter. I'll let Xiaoqing do it."
On the computer screen, Lin Su smiled and nodded: "She is very suitable for doing bad things. However, I am wondering if we can promote legislation to force Internet cafes to prohibit minors from entering?"
"The legislation is simple, the key is whether it can be implemented," Simon said: "China has issued a ban on game consoles and banned illegal game arcades in the country on a large scale, but I am sure that not only remote areas, even core cities, many places There will still be game arcades and they cannot be banned. The same goes for Internet cafes."
"It's better than nothing, right?"
"Then do it."
Lin Su smiled again and said: "I'm not familiar with this kind of thing, let Xiao Qing do it."
"Well, let me say hello to her."
Then they briefly discussed a bunch of things about the Suzhou-Hangzhou Expressway, Xiaoshan Airport, the fast-growing Nongfu Spring brand, a real estate company called Greentown in Hangzhou, etc. More than an hour passed, and when the call was about to end, Lin Sucai pretended to be unintentional. Asked: "Last time you said you were coming to China?"
"Don't worry, everything has been arranged. I will leave next Monday."
Lin Su couldn't hide her joy: "Next Monday?"
Simon Xiaoxiao broke the cold water: "Let's go to Europe first, and then China."
Lin Su rolled her eyes slightly, but she was relieved to get confirmation from the man and followed his words: "Is it about Russia?"
"I'm going to Moscow this time."
Lin Su also lamented: "I never expected that the Soviet Union had existed side by side with the United States since I was a child. I never expected that it would be reduced to this so quickly."
Simon said: "It's your own fault."
Lin Su was slightly confused: "Is it your own fault?"
Simon said: "There is a saying in the business field that it is too big to fail. It is said that when a company reaches a certain level, it will not fail. Although this theory has been falsified in South Korea in the past year, it actually has a certain rationality. . Extended to the country, the size of the Soviet Union was difficult for external forces to bring it down. In my opinion, the collapse of the Soviet Union was a considerable historical accident. In the last few years, the top leaders of the Soviet Union made too many mistakes. In the end, it destroyed itself, including the various actions of the former Soviet Union countries in recent years, which can only be described as stupidity."
Lin Su listened carefully and finally said: "I thought you were going to say that the Soviet Union was defeated by the United States?"
"Yes, Americans all think so, and I think they will pay the price sooner or later," Simon said. Seeing Lin Su's doubts again, he explained with a smile: "As a Westerosian, I am now more accustomed to looking at many things from God's perspective. , the United States, the Soviet Union, China, or today’s Russia, all have something to do with me, and they have nothing to do with me.”
Lin Su curled her lips: "No wonder Xiaoqing said when chatting with me recently, you always say strange things from a very strange position."
"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Bad words."
"You dare to say bad things about me in private. I'll deal with her next time."
"hehe."
"Don't be too happy too early. Those who complained will also be dealt with."
Lin Su's face turned red: "Then you come to China first."
After chatting for a few more words, the video communication ended, and Simon began to review a pile of documents at hand.
First up is a recent film industry briefing.
The summer season has come to an end, and Daenerys Entertainment’s movie releases are continuing.
Last Friday, Woody Allen's "Celebrity" produced by Gomen Pictures was released.
In order to pay tribute to the master and commemorate the golden age of the past, the original version of "Celebrities" was made into a black and white film by Woody Sr. As a result, despite the guest appearance of Leonardo DiCaprio, who had just reached his peak with "Titanic", the box office was still dismal.
When the project started last year, Simon personally intervened, not only giving up Woody Allen's idea of a black and white film, but also going the opposite direction and focusing on color.
The results were pretty good.
In the first week of its release, with a stronger lineup and a bunch of guest appearances by big names including Leonardo DiCaprio, the new version of "Celebrities" received a comprehensive media score of 8.1 points and earned US$9.67 million in the first week.
Compared with summer blockbusters, this result is obviously deserted.
However, considering the type of film, the first week's US$9.67 million is expected to be around US$30 million in the long run.
The production cost of the project is 15 million U.S. dollars. The local box office is 30 million U.S. dollars, which basically repays the cost. It sells a little more overseas and the marketing budget can be recovered, and then it enters the profit cycle.
Moreover, Daenerys Entertainment’s investment in Woody Allen is not mainly to make money.
The key is to support people.
I have to admit that Woody Allen is indeed one of the directors who is best at photographing women in Hollywood. For young actors, as long as they can show their faces in Woody Allen's movies, they will quickly attract attention in the circle. attention and get more opportunities.
Then there’s the new box office week that started yesterday.
A director whom Simon also values has released a new film of his own.
Christopher Nolan.
After rising to prominence with "The Following" last year, Christopher Nolan and Guy Ritchie both received a lot of offers from other Hollywood studios. However, neither of them were stupid, and ultimately they chose to continue cooperating with Daenerys Entertainment.
Compared with the psychedelic plot of the first "Following", Nolan's second film is much more satisfactory.
It is also a crime suspense film.
The script was originally about a serial murder case that happened in Florida. It was a very mediocre story, a bit imitating the "Silence of the Lambs".
Simon got it and made some modifications himself.
First, the location of the story was changed from Florida to Alaska, and then the name was changed to "White Nights."
That’s right, it’s the movie “White Nights” that Nolan collaborated with Al Pacino on. In fact, the official English title is literally translated as “Insomnia”, but Simon still feels that the Chinese translation of “White Nights” is better. , so I switched from Chinese back to English.
I changed some details slightly and then left it to Nolan to fiddle with.
A $25 million investment, low to medium level, no big deal if it messes up.
In addition, due to Simon's intervention, the leading actor this time was still replaced by Al Pacino, but Robin Williams was not invited to guest star as before. Influenced by Simon's big butterfly, he once nine Robin Williams, who was popular in the 1900s, is also tepid now.
Al Pacino is equally tepid.
In short, this is also the reason why the project can control the cost at US$25 million.
In Hollywood, movie stars don't last a lifetime.
Probably because it was his first time taking control of a standard Hollywood project, Simon didn't interfere too much, and Nolan still shot quite restrainedly. However, as a personality director, even in his second film, his own style has been clearly defined.
The results were also pretty good.
After New World Pictures combined the influence of last year's "The Following", the media gave it a comprehensive media score of 7.7, which is not as good as last week's Woody Allen's "Celebrity", but it is enough to support its reputation.
There are 2,387 opening screens. According to yesterday’s first-day box office data, the film’s first-week box office is expected to be around US$20 million.
With the current lack of strong competitors, it is easy to find a good long-term schedule. With 20 million in the first week, it is conservatively estimated that the total domestic box office can easily reach 40 million, 50 million or even higher 60 million is not impossible.
All in all a quite successful film.
In addition to the new films worthy of attention in the past two weeks, there is also the Venice Film Festival, which has concluded.
This year's Venice Film Festival opens on September 3 and ends on September 13, lasting 11 days.
Simon is paying attention to three films related to Daenerys Entertainment. In Hollywood, there is a new film called "The Other Side of the Sea". The subject matter is a bit large and tells the story of an ignorant sadomasochism between two women. .
Well, Lily.
Then there is "Jing Ke's Assassination of the King of Qin" directed by Chen Da from China. This film was supposed to debut in Cannes, but was pushed to Venice by Simon in order to make way for "Heroes".
Not a single splash of water was made.
Finally, there is "The Day a Pig Fell into the Well" from South Korea.
Simon specifically confessed that although he missed out on the three major awards: the Golden Lion, the Silver Lion and the Special Jury Award, he still won a Best Debut Award.
Clearly comforting.
However, for Korean movies, this is also an honor worth mentioning.
There has been a lot of publicity in South Korea recently. For South Korea, which is in a bleak economy, it can be regarded as a good inspirational talking point.
The pacifier kind.
To Simon's surprise, because of the award, the overseas copyright sales of "The Day a Pig Fell into the Well" were very good, and the revenue in Europe alone was equivalent to US$1.7 million.
Of course, that's just Europe.
It is mainly Asian films that have formed a stable market demand in Europe.
There was nothing happening in the United States, so they didn't even plan to enter the theater chain. Blockbuster won it directly for US$50,000 and flowed into the video tape market.
Considering that the film's cost of 600 million Korean won is equivalent to less than 400,000 US dollars at the current exchange rate, in terms of investment return, just doing this overseas will directly make a lot of money. It is conceivable that even if it is a dull movie and the honor is added to it, Koreans will definitely support it very much.