The other co-productions with Hollywood include The Expendables 3. Shooting is expected to begin in September.

Unlike The Expendables 2, which involved Zhang in several tough negotiations with Avi Lerner, one of the company's co-founders, the second project only took half an hour before an agreement was reached.

"I think the trust we established with them through cooperation in The Expendables 2 made the negotiations more smooth," said Zhang.

"I don't think how much you could earn from a film has a big impact on the prospects for your company, but establishing commercial trust with major players from across the Pacific Ocean has a lot to do with your reputation and business integrity," said Zhang.

Le Vision Pictures hired Michael Andreen, a former Walt Disney Studios and Warner Independent Pictures executive, as director of its Los Angeles branch, Zhang announced at the company's summit in April in Beijing.

Comparing Enlight with Le Vision, Zhang said: "It's completely different, especially regarding my state of mind and the phases the industry is going through. When I was at Enlight, it was more of a survivor. Currently it's more of an initiator," he said. However, his experience at Enlight has benefited him tremendously in his current role with Le Vision.

"Zhang's rich experience with Enlight Media has made it possible for Le Vision Pictures to catch up with the leading rivals in a short time in the industry," said Cai Ling, a cultural industry researcher at the Shenzhen-based CIC Industry Research Center.

The "genes" in Enlight Pictures' corporate management can be found in Le Vision Pictures' business model. For example, the focus on the content, said Cai, who added that Le Vision Pictures has also made some innovations in its distribution. These days it combines online and offline platforms, an area it regards as very promising.

Besides the business modes, Zhang has also brought Enlight's virtue of austerity and simplicity to Le Vision. For example, staff offices in Le Vision Pictures are small. Only the meeting room takes up a large space. Unlike other film and entertainment companies, film posters cannot be found in Le Vision Pictures' offices. Instead, only pictures of audiences are visible.

"Film posters make employees associate themselves with glory but pictures of audiences remind them that they have to make customers the priority," he said.

However, the company's rapid development has attracted more and more attention. Its employees show so much more pride on their faces — and more often. However, that causes Zhang more anxiety than happiness.

"I know it's extremely difficult to keep such a simple style in the entertainment industry, but I hope they can also take pride in the defeat and suffering we have experienced rather than just the success," said Zhang.