Chapter 152【Shortlisted for Cannes Film Festival】

“Investing in building a factory…”

Li Yishu asked, “Have you calculated how much money we need to invest?”

“The total investment is about 2000 million US dollars, but we can get a loan from a local bank in Hefei. We only need to pay a few million US dollars.”

The country is still vigorously collecting foreign exchange. As long as the foreign exchange investment is in place, the corresponding loans will be easily released.

A considerable number of people who got rich in the 1990s started their business with the help of large-scale bank loans in those years.

It can be said that these days, if you want a loan, you only need to find a bank loan approval leader and arrange things with him, and you can easily get a loan of hundreds of thousands of yuan, whether you want to use it to start a business or do something else…

For larger amounts, a few million is not impossible, but you have to show something to others, whether it’s land or a factory, as long as you have these, you can still get a loan.

Huo Wenxi called because he wanted to find someone to find out about the situation.

“What do you want to do?” Li Yishu understood the meaning behind Huo Wenxi’s words.

Huo Wenxi hesitated and said, “I… I think we can give it a try. You are very optimistic about this technology, and the policy in Hefei is also very good. If it is difficult to sell in the mainland, I think it will not be a big problem to export it to Hong Kong and Taiwan.”

“And I’ve thought about it. I think we can refer to the format of video halls and find some people to discuss cooperation. We will sell DVD players to them and provide different discs. They can then open a small video hall at home or in the yard…”

She really wanted to give it a try, but the money was too much, several million dollars. But when she thought about how her boss spent more than 5000 million to buy a luxury house in Mid-Levels, it was not impossible to open a factory to give it a try.

What’s more, they have previously acquired a large number of old movies from Hong Kong and Taiwan, totaling almost 300 films.

Moreover, Huo Wenxi felt that there was nothing wrong with his idea. An average family could not afford a DVD player that cost several thousand dollars, but if it was invested in a business, it would be a different story.

A DVD player worth three thousand yuan and a second-hand color TV, totaling five or six thousand yuan, is enough to set up a small cinema at home.

A movie costs 10 cents, and if 5 people watch it, that’s yuan. Over time, it will definitely pay off.

Moreover, Huo Wenxi specifically asked the local people in Hefei, and they found out that the television penetration rate here is not high, and perhaps only one out of ten households has a television.

“It’s a good idea, but it’s not realistic.”

Li Yishu shook her head. Huo Wenxi was still too young. She thought that she could sell better by doing this, but there were already video halls on the market that could show some Hong Kong’s third-level films. Who would go to watch your old movies?
What’s more, the market for video halls was already very competitive, and your DVD player didn’t have much of an advantage. Moreover, the reason why DVD players sold so well later was mainly because of the rampant piracy of discs. Within a few days of a new movie being released, you could buy a pirated disc for a few dollars.

In addition to the newly released movies, you can also enjoy Japanese and Korean masterpieces at home and practice your craftsmanship, which is not available in video halls.
So in the final analysis, Huo Wenxi still failed to grasp the market demand for VCDs.

“Ah~ Sorry, boss. I took it for granted.”

After hearing what Li Yishu said, Huo Wenxi’s face turned red instantly. She thought her plan was perfect.

“It’s okay. It’s good enough that you can think.”

Li Yishu smiled and said, “How about this, don’t rush to agree. Whether to invest or not will be decided after I return to China. You can arrange for someone to register the relevant technical patents and intellectual property rights first.”

“Especially international technology patents, let people see if there are similar technologies, buy them all together, build technical barriers, and don’t let people circumvent it from other places.”

“Boss, what is a technical barrier?”

Huo Wenxi didn’t quite understand what technical barriers and similar technologies were.

“How about this, you go back to Hong Kong first and find a law firm that specializes in registering technology copyrights. Call me when the time comes and I’ll tell them.”

Li Yishu was not surprised by Huo Wenxi’s performance. If he hadn’t often seen news about domestic technology on the Internet later, he wouldn’t have understood what technological barriers were.

“Good boss.”

After chatting for a few more sentences, Li Yishu hung up the phone and started to wonder whether he should try to build a factory.

Li Yishu actually doesn’t really want to get involved in the physical business because he has never done it and doesn’t think he has the ability to do it well.

Make some movies, play with female stars, and earn some box office revenue. Such a life is much better than being an entrepreneur with all the hardships.

Moreover, with Li Yishu’s current ability to make money, he can wait until the millennium and invest in Alibaba and Penguin. He doesn’t ask for a lot, as long as he can retain 1% of the shares after they go public. Then he will basically never have to worry about food and drink and will never lack money for the rest of his life.

As for fame and fortune, Li Yishu, who works in the film industry, will never lack them. And as long as he makes steady progress, he may become more famous than the national master Zhang Yimou in the future.

There are many wealthy entrepreneurs, and even more famous entrepreneurs.

But there are very few people who can truly leave a lasting legacy. How many people can achieve the level of Hu Xueyan?

In the millennium, Boss Huang was known throughout the country as the richest man, but what was the outcome later?
Boss Ma has not been sanctioned yet.

Belt Brother is not an ordinary person either. After all, he went bankrupt and owed trillions of dollars.

When private film companies are allowed to be established, Li Yishu will directly set up a film company and then do some agent business. It would not be a bad idea to make the company bigger and stronger in the future and become the Disney of China.

So Li Yishu never thought about opening a factory or starting a business.

The only thing you need to do is to do well in the film and television industry.

But Huo Wenxi said one thing very correctly, the policy offered by Hefei is really good.

The first two years are tax-free, and the reduction is 50% in the next three years.

And the corresponding loans are also interest-free.

Li Yishu didn’t mind spending a few million dollars to give it a try, but he didn’t know much about business and wasn’t interested in it. Although Huo Wenxi was good, he had a low degree and no management experience, so he had to find a professional to manage it. Thinking of this, Li Yishu’s desire to give it a try was instantly reduced by half.

However, whether or not to invest will depend on whether or not to invest.

This morning.

After Lee Yi-su came out of the editing room of Columbia Pictures, he followed Monica Bellucci, who came to have dinner with him, to a nice restaurant nearby.

“You’re going back to Italy?”

Li Yishu raised her eyebrows: “Why are you thinking of going back to Italy when everything is fine?”

Monica Bellucci sighed: “My mother is sick, I have to go back to take care of her.”

“Is Auntie okay?”

“It’s nothing, I just need a minor surgery.”

“Then when will you come back?”

“I guess we’ll have to wait until May.”

Monica Bellucci said helplessly: “I have been in the United States for almost a year. It is time to go back to see my parents. I will take this opportunity to stay back for a while.”

Li Yishu nodded and said, “It would be nice to go back and stay for a while. I will be attending the Cannes International Film Festival in France in May. I will go to visit my aunt then.”

“Really?”

Monica Bellucci’s eyes lit up: “Great, I can introduce my family to you then. They will definitely be happy that I know such an outstanding man like you.”

Li Yishu smiled and said, “They won’t blame you for finding a Chinese man, right?”

Monica Bellucci shook her head: “Of course not, they are very open-minded, and I have learned that China is also a country that attaches great importance to family, just like us in Italy.”

“That’s true.” Li Yishu smiled.

Italians attach great importance to family, which can be seen from “The Godfather”.

Some movies that depict Italian family backgrounds often feature a large family living together.

This is very similar to what is happening in China. In the ancient society, including the current rural areas, people generally would not split up the family unless it was absolutely necessary.

Because once the family is divided, to some extent, it means alienating oneself from this “big family”.

The two chatted while eating. After finishing lunch, Li Yishu returned to the editing room. After arranging everything, she accompanied Monica to the mall to buy some gifts for her parents.

By the way, he also bought a lot of gifts for himself. He was in such a hurry when he returned home last time that he didn’t prepare any gifts.

It’s not easy to go abroad these days, so Li Yishu bought a lot of gifts and had them sent out separately.

Parents and relatives from her hometown in Sichuan, Jiang Qinqin’s family in the mountain city, Yu Feihong who was preparing for the graduation exam at Yenching University, Gong Li who returned to Shandong to build her own cultural exhibition hall, and Izumi Sakai who was far away in Japan.

In the past two months, Izumi has truly stepped into the ranks of first-line singers in Japan. On January 1, she released the single “Don’t Give Up”. After more than a month, “Don’t Give Up” topped the Oricon charts, with single sales exceeding 27 million.

Compared with the small fire in the previous year and the medium fire last year, this year’s Izumi Sakai can be said to have accumulated strength and is truly a breakthrough.

Li Yishu only learned about this incident when she contacted her by phone a few days ago.

It is such a happy thing, but I can’t go to congratulate them in person, so naturally I have to send a gift to express my feelings.

In early November.

Li Yishu was still doing the final finishing work on the post-production of the film.

Far away in Europe, the Cannes International Film Festival in France has officially announced this year’s shortlist.

A total of 25 films were shortlisted.

There are three Chinese films, namely Lee Yi-su’s “Farewell My Concubine”, Chen Kaige’s “Tree”, and Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “A Pedestrian Life”.

In addition, there was another person who was shortlisted that surprised Lee Yi-su, and that was the work “Sonata” by Japanese director Takeshi Kitano.

Li Yishu also received the call from Xu Lu as soon as possible.

“Yishu, did you know that our movie was shortlisted?!”

“Well, I’ve seen Sister Xu. I saw it in a newspaper here in the United States.”

“Great, you’re nominated this time, I believe you’ll win the prize.”

“Haha, thank you very much for your kind words, Sister Xu.”

Li Yishu smiled cheerfully and said, “By the way, Sister Xu, please arrange the main creative team of the crew in advance and try to get them to attend. This opportunity is rare, and we will charter a special plane to Cannes to attend!”

“Okay! I’ll arrange it!” Xu Lu agreed generously.

This was the first film invested by Xu Lu that was shortlisted for the Cannes Film Festival. In addition, Li Yishu had made a lot of money for her before, so as the main investor, she naturally generously covered all the expenses for going to Cannes this time.

(End of this chapter)