The most frustrating thing was that, even in this situation, Mr. Li still insisted on limiting the investment amount from Luke's side.
This meant the slice of the pie they could get was much smaller than what Luke's team had expected.
Originally, Luke planned to invest $400 million, but now they were only allowed to spend a quarter of that.
To be honest, Mr. Li's conditions didn't surprise Luke at all.
From the company's perspective, bringing Luke on as an investor had huge benefits.
Not only could Mr. Eisen and Luke provide a massive amount of foreign capital, but they also carried significant influence in the industry.
It's like when internet companies in the future accept funding: if you take $100 million from a regular investment bank, it's just $100 million.
But if you take $100 million from a giant like Penguin, it's not just the money—you also get access to their resources and a ticket to ride their fast-moving train.
However, maximizing the company's interests didn't mean maximizing Mr. Li's personal interests.
He wasn't willing to give up too big a slice of the pie to share with Luke, nor was he ready to lose absolute control of the company.
For many entrepreneurs facing a crisis, they'd rather let their company die than risk it being taken over by someone else.
It's not that Mr. Li was wrong, but it definitely put negotiations in a deadlock from the start.
Mr. Li wouldn't budge—company control was his bottom line.
Luke's side couldn't back down either. They weren't about to pour in real money and then wait for someone else to decide whether they'd get a share of the rewards.
"We need to discuss this internally," Mr. Eisen said, signaling for some privacy.
Hearing this, Mr. Li was taken aback. He hadn't expected that, on such a major issue, Mr. Eisen would still need to consult with Luke before making a decision.
"Of course, this way, please."
So, he led Luke and Mr. Eisen to a side room, then stepped out and closed the door, leaving them space to talk.
"Can we speak freely? No bugs in here, right?" Mr. Eisen asked.
Luke rolled his eyes—he knew Mr. Eisen was joking.
Who could've imagined that the stern, Godfather-like old man from before would now act so casual, like an old friend, in front of Luke?
This was Mr. Li's residence, and the room was a spur-of-the-moment choice for discussion. There's no way it'd be bugged, so they could definitely talk freely.
"What do you think?" Mr. Eisen asked directly.
"No deal. The gap between our bottom lines and goals is too wide," Luke said, shaking his head.
"I get where he's coming from, because I'm the same way. If I had to give up control of my company, I'd rather let it go bankrupt," Mr. Eisen replied.
"It's only human, but it's still a shame."
"Looks like this trip was a bust," Mr. Eisen said.
"Not so fast," Luke replied. "If I'm remembering right, besides Hengdian, there are other film studio projects in China, aren't there?"
Luke and Mr. Eisen's trip to China was aimed at investing in the future of Hollywood, riding the wave of the rising film industry to further boost their influence.
So, even if they walked away from Hengdian Film City, it didn't mean their goal was out of reach.
In 2002, Hengdian wasn't the untouchable giant it would later become. It was still in its early stages, though it was already the largest in China. But that didn't mean it couldn't be surpassed.
Luke's thinking was simple: investing in the biggest player, Hengdian, would be ideal.
But if that didn't work out, why not start from scratch and build their own?
It's not like they had to eat hairy pork just because the butcher named Zhang was out of the picture.
"There's a half-built film studio in Ludao City. Construction started in 1998, and it's now a 3A-level tourist attraction," Mr. Eisen explained.
"I know that one. The guy behind it, Fat Lai, ran off to Canada, so the project ran out of funding and stalled," Luke replied.
"Should we consider that one?"
"Nah, the economic conditions there aren't great. Operating costs would be too high in the long run," Luke said, shaking his head.
Mr. Eisen understood what Luke meant by "economic conditions." Ideally, a film studio should be near a thriving commercial and industrial city.
Take Hollywood, for example—it's in California, the economic powerhouse of North America, right by the major city of Los Angeles.
That means Hollywood can tap into California's—and LA's—infrastructure.
Plus, LA's local population provides a solid base of visitors for Hollywood.
Relying entirely on out-of-town tourists is way riskier than a model that combines local and outside visitors.
Given Ludao's economic scale and population, it couldn't sustain a film studio's operating and construction costs just with local tourists.
So, Luke ruled it out right away.
By that standard, Hengdian's economic conditions weren't exactly stellar either. Sure, it was in Zhejiang, a strong economic province, but it was still pretty far from a major hub like Lin'an City.
Hengdian's later dominance as China's top film studio was mostly due to its first-mover advantage.
Once Hengdian had momentum, it was nearly impossible for others to replicate it from scratch.
But right now, with Hengdian's dominance not yet set in stone, Luke saw a chance to build a new film studio and leapfrog the competition.
"I get what you're saying," Mr. Eisen said. "There's a film studio project in Nanyue City's Fanyu District, in Guangdong Province. It's got construction approval but has been stalled due to lack of funding. We could look into taking it over."
Hearing that it was in Nanyue City's Fanyu District, Luke nodded immediately.
As one of China's top four first-tier cities later on, Nanyue City had an ideal population and economic scale.
Take the Changlong Wildlife Park in Fanyu District, for example—it thrived in later years.
The logic is simple: asking tourists to make a special trip just for Changlong Wildlife Park? Most wouldn't bother.
But if they're already visiting Nanyue City and can swing by? That's an easy sell.
In the off-season, when tourist numbers dip, Guangdong Province, with its huge population, and Nanyue City, as an economic powerhouse, provide enough local visitors to keep a project like that afloat without relying entirely on out-of-towners.
Local visitors create a steady base of foot traffic. In later years, Luke saw online that many Guangdong elementary and middle school students picked Changlong Wildlife Park as a field trip destination.
With local visitors alone covering over 30% of revenue, you've got a solid foundation, and the whole project starts running like a well-oiled machine.
"Alright, I'll set things up to reach out to folks in southern Nanyue City and try to secure that project," Mr. Eisen said with a nod.
"That's going to increase our funding needs, though," Luke pointed out.
Mr. Eisen winked and grinned. "If we're starting from scratch, why not go big?"
"How big are we talking?"
"How about $10 billion?"