Twelve years ago, Wang Zhongjun was on his way back to China from America. In his pocket he had his university diploma as well as US$100,000 he had earned working as a part-time cartoon artist and photographer. His heart was swirling with dreams of fame and success.
Unlike other Chinese mainland students, Wang spent his money setting himself up as boss of a privately-owned company that he believed could one day be the "Chinese Warner Bros."
Since its creation in 1994, Wang and his brother Wang Zhonglei have grown the Huayi Brothers Media Group from a small advertising firm into a media conglomerate running film, television, music, advertising and talent management operations.
They brought talented Chinese directors on board and made a succession of hit films.
Their latest hit The Banquet, a US$20 million film starring Memoirs of a Geisha actress Zhang Ziyi, is a loose adaptation of Hamlet. It tells the tragic story of an empress who is destroyed in a struggle for power inside the palace.
Like the empress, Wang is a person with strong ambitions.
"My ambitions change and evolve, but right now I want to make my company the largest private entertainment group in China. Then maybe we can become number one in Asia and even in the world."
Like many Beijing residents, Wang loves playing cards. Two or three times a week he sits around a table with friends such as Feng Xiaogang, the acclaimed "Fifth Generation" Chinese director, and Ge You, China's most famous male actor who took on a new screen personality when he played the tyrannical usurper in The Banquet.
Feng once complained, "Wang's really mean when he plays cards, even if it's just for a few bucks."
Wang is also obsessed with cars. His garage boasts a Toyota Camry, Mercedes-Benz E300, 560 SEL, S600, SL600, BMW Z8, Z3, X5, 740... the collection is even more impressive if you count in his sixty horses and a houseful of paintings.
Some people say Wang is a "hands-off boss", meaning that he delegates a lot to other people and doesn't get too involved in his company's day-to-day operations.
Yet he has a sure instinct for business, preferring to focus on issues that affect the long-term health of the company.
"Currently I'm working on company finances, on restructuring the company and adopting overseas management practices."
"No entrepreneur knows exactly what he wants until he does it," said Wang, who has dabbled in the medical industry and the auto industry, not to mention the thriving advertising business.
But he clearly has his heart in the film industry.
Wang understands that in the cinema world "stars rule". He encouraged his star director Feng Xiaogang to make six films, all of which have been successful both at the box office and with critics.
"We have a brand, we have money and we have stars," said Wang. "We have spent 600 million yuan (US$75 million) making films and TV series, which is unprecedented for a Chinese private company."
