Jack Ma Goes to Hollywood
(Bloomberg Gadfly) -- Wide shot of Alibaba's campus in Hangzhou, China. Pan across as workers walk past. Close up of staff chatting happily.
FADE IN
INT. ANTECHAMBER AT ALIBABA'S HEADQUARTERS, HANGZHOU - DAY
Alibaba Chairman JACK MA and Hollywood director STEVEN SPIELBERG are seated around a low table. Thimble-size teacups rest on dainty saucers, a teapot sits on a wooden tray. JACK wears a white shirt, yellow cardigan. STEVEN has a gray shirt, blue cardigan. They both look as if they've been dressed by their mothers.
JACK
Steven, I really appreciate you taking the time to visit me all the way out here.
I hope you enjoyed the campus tour.STEVEN
My pleasure. It could make good scenery for a movie.
(beat)
So, Jack. How can I help you?JACK
I want to make movies.
Jack picks up a tea cup, takes a sip, and slowly places it back on its saucer. He pauses, for dramatic effect.
JACK
(voice rises)
I NEED to make movies.
Steven smiles and leans back in his plush red velvet seat.Â
STEVEN
(mimicking Jack)
You NEED to make movies?
Why do you NEED to make movies, Jack? You're doing very well already.
Movies are a tough business. High risk. You could lose a lot of money.JACK
Money? I don't care about money. I have plenty of money.
I'm the richest man in China.
Jack takes another sip of tea, and ponders how much he should reveal about his true motivations. He puts the cup down firmly, as if he's made the decision to tell the whole story.
JACK
(sighs)
I built Alibaba with own hands, then listed it in the U.S.Â
I made buckets of money. Everyone made buckets of money.
But e-commerce isn't cool anymore and selling stuff online is getting boring and profits are falling.
I want to do something different. I've been spending billions to invest in startups, but they're all so incredibly tame. It's just a lot of dull dating apps and fitness trackers.
I'm even pretending to be excited about VR.
Steven watches patiently while Jack gathers his thoughts. He can see Jack has to get something off his chest, and he doesn't want to ruin the atmosphere. Jack leans forward, as if to share a secret.
JACK
Movies, Steven. Movies aren't boring, and we Chinese love Hollywood. You know the government restricts the amount of foreign films to 34 per year. So the competition is limited, if you can get them in the door. I already bought a movie outfit, and we invested in Mission Impossible.
Jack leans back, crosses his arms.
JACK
But it's not enough.
That Wang Jianlin guy. Damn.
He boughtSteven sits up. He's moved by the passion and the desperation in Jack's words.
STEVEN
I understand, Jack. I understand. But it'll take a lot of money.JACK
I have money, no problem. How much do I need?STEVEN
(chuckles)
How much do you have? 10 billion?JACK
10 billion yuan? No problem.Â
Can I make a lot of really good movies with that?
That's about 1.5 billion dollars, is it enough?STEVEN
Oh yeah, that's enough. You can definitely make some movies with that.JACK
Great! I'll set up a big fund and start pumping money into movies.
(smiling)
I'm going to make movies. LOTS of movies.FADE OUT
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.
To contact the author of this story: Tim Culpan in Taipei at tculpan1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Katrina Nicholas at knicholas2@bloomberg.net.
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