Chapter 723: Chapter 131: Taking the Initiative
The sound of the door opening echoed, and Adrian didn’t turn around until Ivanka’s voice rang out, “It’s almost time, Ed, do you need to go down now, or wait a bit longer?”
“Let’s wait a bit longer,” Adrian walked up to her and gazed at her slightly tired face, “You don’t need to go, just rest well in the room tonight. The jet lag isn’t easy to adjust to, and we’re not going to talk about work. Besides, everyone will be speaking Chinese, so you wouldn’t understand.”
“Charli wouldn’t understand either.” Ivanka rolled her eyes.
Adrian shook his head with a chuckle. Although Charlize was flourishing at ABC–her originally conceived “How to Marry a Millionaire” was delayed due to 9/11, she had come up with new ideas, and Adrian planned to discuss them with her when he had time to see if it was feasible to broadcast on NBC, as they were currently short on reality shows. But Ivanka always saw her as a rival, whether at work or in bed, so she felt the need to compete in everything.
“Alright, if you’re feeling stuffy, why not take a walk in the square outside? It’s one of the largest squares in the world.” He smiled and pinched her cheek.
Adrian’s lodging was at the Beijing Hotel, an established venue located in the center of Beijing adjacent to the Forbidden City. It was a five-minute walk to Tiananmen Square, and the layout was grand, befitting its century-old legacy—if one counted the small tavern from 1900, it could still justifiably bear this title. Because of its prestige, Adrian chose the Beijing Hotel over China Hotel, which also had hosted many important figures. Last year, the Three Tenors who performed a concert at the Forbidden City also stayed at the Beijing Hotel.
“By the way, where is Nicole?” Adrian asked before Ivanka could respond.
“She’s resting in the room. Why, do you want to go check on her?” Ivanka replied irritably. She didn’t care much for the women around Adrian, except for Charlize, who she somewhat respected, and then Kate, Sarah, and the endearing Lily, with whom she got along fairly well. She disliked the others.
However, as Adrian’s secretary and assistant, she inevitably had to interact with them and manage Adrian’s schedule with them, so she couldn’t show her disdain and had to keep a stern face all the time. This highlighted the difference between her and Charlize. Even though Charlize often disliked some women and tended to have a somewhat proud, cold demeanor, she still maintained due respect in her words, unlike Ivanka who blatantly displayed on her face: I don’t like you; I deal with you only for work.
Of course, Ivanka was born into a wealthy family, and her father, a man fond of dalliances, was something she greatly disliked. She had even made rules with her father not to date women younger than her. Considering this, she was already doing quite well, and it was unreasonable to expect more.
“No need,” Adrian smiled. “Let her rest well. Besides the premiere of ‘Moulin Rouge’ tomorrow, she also has interviews to attend.”
“I don’t understand, Ed,” Ivanka sighed. “If you intend to survey the Chinese market, you could just come blatantly; there’s no need to use attending the Chinese premiere of ‘Moulin Rouge’ as an excuse. And if you just wanted to attend the premiere, why keep it so low-key that you didn’t even notify the media?”
“It’s complicated to explain. You should know China and the United States are completely different countries,” Adrian smiled. “Maybe someday I’ll come in a grand way, but definitely not now, and as the head of the conglomerate, it should be Claude coming, not me. I’m good at grasping the big picture, but he should handle the specific negotiations.”
“So basically, you mean you want to be lazy,” Ivanka pursed her lips.
“If you want to put it that way, sure,” Adrian raised his hands. “We’ve always grown like this—even if I come as a director, it’s still the same. Anyway, I’m still the chairman of AC Media’s board. Chinese need to promote themselves internationally, so once I appear publicly, there’ll be a lot of trouble, and I didn’t bring a professional team.”
“After all this time, you still haven’t mentioned the purpose of our visit here. I don’t even know what to prepare for,” Ivanka sighed.
“Don’t worry, Innie, we’ll stay here for at most three days and then go back. All you need is to improvise and…” He smiled, glanced at the large bed inside the room, pinched her chin and leaned in to kiss her.
Ivanka was about to say something with a hum when the doorbell rang, and a middle-aged man in his early forties entered. He wore a formal suit and rimless glasses, looking quite refined, except his slightly sunken cheeks and prominent cheekbones gave him a slightly sharp and sleek look.
“Hello, Mr. Cowell, it’s a great honor to have you here. I’m Wang Zhongjun.” He approached with a welcoming smile and an outstretched hand, speaking fluent English. No wonder—he had ventured in the United States and even earned a Master’s degree in mass media at SUNY.
“Hello, Mr. Wang, it’s great to meet you. I hope this low-key visit hasn’t caused you any trouble.” Adrian responded in fluent Chinese.
This made Mr. Wang raise his eyebrows. From the airport to the hotel, Adrian had been communicating in Chinese; he couldn’t have not heard about it, but he clearly didn’t expect Adrian’s Chinese to be so fluent, perhaps even comparable to that of a native.
“I’m very surprised, Mr. Cowell, I didn’t know your Chinese was this good,” Mr. Wang didn’t hide his astonishment.
“I know quite a bit about Chinese culture, so I’ve learned some,” Adrian replied nonchalantly with a smile.
“That’s great, it will make communication much easier,” Mr. Wang then stepped aside, making a welcoming gesture, and then turned his gaze to Ivanka.
“Just make yourself comfortable, Innie,” Adrian tactfully advised in English.
“Yes, sir.” Ivanka had resumed her expressionless demeanor after opening the door, now even more officially indifferent.
Then, Adrian took the elevator downstairs to the private dining room of the restaurant, accompanied by Wang Zhongjun and his secretary, as well as the head of the AC Media Beijing office. At the same time, some of the celebrities from the mainland film industry had already been waiting there, such as Wang Zhongjun’s brother Wang Zhonglei who co-founded Huayi Brothers with him, and others like Yu Dong, the president of Bona Film Group, and Zhang Weiping, the chairman of New Pictures, along with Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Yimou.
Adrian had come to Beijing under a very low-profile guise, ostensibly to attend the premiere of “Moulin Rouge” in China, not intending to take advantage of China’s WTO entry to meddle in the mainland’s media market. No country would allow foreign capital to enter this industry so freely—even the United States has laws preventing non-Americans from owning television stations, and Murdoch had to become a U.S. citizen to buy FOX, let alone China.
It was also Murdoch who, in 1993, bought the Chinese-language satellite channel from Li Zekai, eagerly seeking to expand into the mainland, but ultimately he had to accept a series of demands from the mainland, raising funds from people like Liu Changle, and then getting pushed into the third shareholding position when setting up Phoenix TV. Although he still owned most of STAR Media’s stock, his influence was limited to the Pearl River Delta for sure, and it was almost impossible to penetrate deeper into the mainland, not even Murdoch’s marriage to a Chinese woman could prevent him from making a disheartened exit years later—an undertaking Adrian did not want to embark on.
Thus, his visit to Beijing was merely to closely observe the mainland film market—despite his understanding in his previous lifetime, it was different looking from the bottom up, and now, with a different status, he needed to look from the top down. If it had been ten or five years ago, coming to the mainland would not have been as troublesome as now, but as he previously told Ivanka, even though he was now a renowned international director, he was also the chairman of AC Media’s board. In the eyes of the common people, Adrian’s name as a director might be more recognized, but at the national level, they knew him as the head of one of the world’s largest media groups.
Though relations between China and the United States had warmed rapidly after 9/11, it wasn’t time for him to formally visit China with great fanfare, so he needed a reason to discreetly come and take a look. Conveniently, when “Moulin Rouge” was introduced to the mainland, China Film contacted Nicole, hoping she would attend the premiere in China, and they also contacted Adrian. Nicole initially intended to refuse as she, like most Westerners, lacked understanding of China, thus had little interest. However, Adrian repeatedly advised and persuaded her, briefly explaining the prospects of the Chinese market, which didn’t entirely convince her, but Nicole still agreed, as most of Adrian’s advice was accurate.
As for the invitation sent to him, he declined it. China Film wasn’t so persistent, knowing that having the head of AC Media come to China for film promotion as a director felt somewhat inappropriate, so Adrian was not worried that his discreet, low-key visit would cause them any discontent.
Of course, the Chinese government would be aware of his entering and leaving the country, especially since he used his private jet and had already notified a few invested private media companies beforehand. Therefore, when Wang Zhongjun was introducing everyone in the room, the introduction of a middle-aged man named Chen was very vague—it was either someone from a certain bureau or possibly from a certain department, likely matching with his own high-profile status, right?
Adrian didn’t mind and, after sitting down, immediately started to exchange pleasantries with them. His fluent Chinese sprinkled with occasional idioms surprised everyone. This goes to show, understanding a foreign language is vital—think about it, would they rather cooperate with someone who has a superficial understanding of the mainland, or someone who has a sufficient understanding of China?
At the beginning of the 21st century, the mainland film market was still relatively untapped, although Hollywood movies had begun entering it around 1994 or 1995, this vast market remained largely undeveloped. Adrian distinctly remembered an instance—a sci-fi movie with an investment of around 30 million US Dollars earned 21 million in its opening week in North America and then made 23 million in China! Although this related to scheduling and support from mainland media groups, it adequately highlighted the immense potential of the Chinese market, and thus Hollywood’s Asian villain characters began shifting from Chinese to North Korean—who would antagonize a market that was so profitable?
Therefore, even though this example would occur ten years later, it didn’t hinder Adrian from taking early action. In reality, the big Hollywood studios had already set their sights on this chunk of the market, thus Paramount was the first to enter China. Regrettably, Adrian, who could see the future, acted more precisely, and from 1996 to the present, had invested in several private companies like Huayi Brothers, Bona Film Group, and New Pictures through various means. It was unfortunate that China Film and Huaxia, which was yet to be established, were state-owned enterprises—the long list of shareholders’ names indicated that accepting foreign capital was impossible; otherwise, he would have had a say in the quota for imported movies.
Naturally, these shareholdings were not extensive; Adrian didn’t want to attract too much attention, although they were private enterprises, having a certain amount of influence was sufficient.
“China’s film market is vast, and it already has great potential now. The release of ‘Titanic’ a few years ago proved everything. So when it is fully tapped into later, it will only become more expansive, especially as China’s economy continues to grow, and more people will go to the cinemas to watch films,” Adrian remarked to the CEOs of these promising private film and television companies over dinner.
This meal, specially prepared by Wang Zhongjun and others, was a complete traditional Chinese-style round table banquet, but they made a point of asking Adrian if he wanted to order the alcoholic drinks he usually preferred. Although he had been overwhelmed with strong drinks in a past life, he unhesitatingly chose baijiu, knowing that the best spirits would certainly be brought out on such occasions.
Indeed, as soon as the bottle was opened, the aroma of the liquor filled the air, unmistakably top-grade Moutai. Although there were doubts about the Panama Gold Award, in his previous life, he had heard an old man recount his trip to Guizhou in the late 1950s, where he managed to get a small bottle from the Maotai Distillery using his connections. As soon as he opened it in the hotel, other guests came over to ask what sort of liquor it was and why it was so fragrant.
Perhaps there was some exaggeration, but Moutai was indeed considered high quality. Besides, the dishes were rich, luxurious, and extremely tasty, with various famous dishes served one after the other. There might be slight differences compared to specialized restaurants—for instance, with Peking duck—but the difference was minimal. It must be admitted that the Chinese really knew how to eat; a dish as simple as boiled white cabbage appeared plain, yet tasted exceptionally crisp and tender, delicious and appealing, making Adrian marvel endlessly.
Although he did not utter a single word of praise for the food, his undisguised look of satisfaction was the best compliment, making Adrian seem approachable and making people like Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei feel closer to him. Sometimes, a little gesture, rather than many words, can bridge the gap between people and influence them to listen to one’s own words.
Speaking of which, among the various companies, he was most optimistic about Huayi Brothers, not only because of the future but also after analyzing the current situation. In similar conditions, Huayi Brothers had the greatest potential at the moment.
Not discussing the date of establishment or the time of development, it was just that mainland China’s film industry was still very immature, even lacking a complete circuit—though it would soon be established. Although Hong Kong and Taiwan were somewhat chaotic, their process from production to distribution was very complete. Therefore, the mainland film industry was still centered around directors. Only with a top-grossing, outstanding director could a company have significant influence in the film market, and Huayi Brothers happened to have such a director, none other than Feng Xiaogang.
“‘Big Shot’ is a very interesting movie. Yes, I understood all the jokes and references, whether it was Ge You or Ying Da, both performed splendidly, although Donald was not very remarkable,” Adrian said, sipping tea in the special guest lounge after dinner, while talking to Feng Xiaogang.
As a partner of Huayi Brothers, Feng naturally had the right to attend this dinner and meeting. It was his first time learning that part of Huayi Brothers’ shares belonged to AC Media, a major media group—actually, the Wang brothers had not known long either, as Adrian had initially used some indirect means to avoid a butterfly effect for controlling shares.
“Thank you. If you don’t mind, I now have something to boast about,” said Feng respectfully. After all, the person in front of him was not only the chairman of the board of an international media group but also a world-renowned director, approachable and knowledgeable about Chinese culture. Talking to him felt like conversing with a genuine Chinese person; from every aspect, he ought to behave this way.
“In that case, Mr. Cowell, have you considered helping with the distribution of this film in North America?” Wang Zhonglei suddenly asked direct.
Adrian glanced at him, then smiled slightly, “It’s worth considering.”
With these words, several people showed surprised expressions, and Feng Xiaogang seemed somewhat excited. If ‘Big Shot’ could really be released in North America, he might well be regarded as an international director. Over the past few years, apart from ‘Red Sorghum’ and ‘Farewell My Concubine,’ what other movies had been released in the United States? And their box office was pretty ordinary; if he could manage to secure a good box office through AC Media’s distribution, the resulting influence was imaginable.
“Although this movie fully portrays the image of the Chinese petty citizen, it might not suit the taste of North American audiences, but many of its satirical points are very apt, so initially, what’s needed is an excellent translator. As long as the nuances, such as the two classic lines at the end, can be aptly translated, I believe it could resonate with people,” Adrian said with a light laugh.
“Mr. Cowell, are you planning to systematically introduce Chinese films to the United States?” An agitated person finally spoke up, driven by consecutive stimulations. He was the partner of Zhang Weiping, chairman of New Pictures, who rushed back from the Jiuzhaigou set after receiving a phone call. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to to vote and buy monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)