During my years at China Entertainment

Chapter 678: Little Fairy? A Million-Dollar Project

In the Magic City, in a large flat in Cuihu Tiandi.

Wei Jin lay on the big white bed with his arms and legs spread out, enjoying the gentle service from Yang Rong.

I have to say, the older sister really knows how to have fun. She was seen wearing a transparent, tight-fitting frosted bra.

But in such a charming atmosphere, Wei Jin was thinking about the phone call he received in the afternoon.

Since "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" raked in more than 12 billion yuan at the box office two years ago, Stephen Chow has completely proved himself.

Even at the celebration party, the new project he casually mentioned attracted competition from many production companies.

It is no exaggeration to say that apart from Wei Jin himself, if we were to say which director’s projects are most favored by the industry, it would definitely be Stephen Chow.

Under such circumstances, Wei Jin had long thought that the two sides would no longer have any contact, but he never expected to receive a call from him.

However, he came to Shanghai quietly, so it shouldn't be just to talk to me. I just don't know who the other investors are?

"China Film Group? Shanghai Film Group? Fiber Optics? Huayi? Or an Internet company?"

"Bad brother, what are you mumbling about? Can you pay attention? I'm very tired."

Yang Rong pouted her red lips and said something coquettishly, while her little hands moved around a few times, obviously dissatisfied with Wei Jin's lack of effort.

"Or was it drained by the other goblins last night?"

"Where is it?"

Wei Jin smiled, sat up slightly, and reached out to hold the soft and perky big orange. The frosted texture was really fascinating. "Sister Rong, aren't you my little fairy?"

"You can talk~~Hmm~~"

Yang Rong let out a coquettish moan at her nimble fingers, and gave Wei Jin a charming look before continuing with her preparations before turning on the machine.

Sure enough, once the director focuses, the preliminary preparations will come naturally.

Soon, Yang Rong gently pushed Wei Jin back with her small hands, supporting his chest.

"Oh~~"

A new day of shooting begins again
The next morning, after enjoying the big sister's loving breakfast, Wei Jin left the gentle land and went to the official hotel designated by the Shanghai Film Festival.

In fact, Wei Jin also has a room here, but he has been accompanying the little girl and the older sister for the past two days, which makes him feel a little ashamed of the organizer's kindness.

As soon as I arrived, I was greeted by Tin Kai Man, nicknamed Frog, and taken to the conference room - in a high-end hotel, a conference room is essential.

Along the way, Tin Kai Man, speaking slightly broken Mandarin, was very talkative and chatted with Wei Jin, with many compliments in his words.

Speaking of which, this person can be regarded as Stephen Chow's favorite supporting actor. The name may sound unfamiliar, but the role is definitely a classic.

For example, the third brother in "Shaolin Soccer" and the master of the Axe Gang in "Kung Fu".

He is currently working as a senior executive in Zhou Xingxing's company, and his main job is actually diplomatic relations.

After all, Zhou Xingxing is indeed a man of few words and not good at socializing, so it would be much more convenient to have someone with high emotional intelligence and who is talkative to come forward to mediate the situation.

"Wei Jin, you are finally here."

As soon as he entered the door, he heard a greeting, and at this moment Wei Jin could see clearly the people in the meeting room.

As expected, Zhou Xingxing did invite other investors, all of whom were acquaintances.

"Director La, Director Ren, Director Zhou."

Wei Jin greeted the three people as he walked, but Zhou Xingxing stood up and greeted them, "Mr. Wei, long time no see."

"Director Zhou, it's been a long time."

Wei Jin's tone was somewhat emotional, because compared to the meeting two years ago, Zhou Xingxing looked older.

The hair that was originally mottled has now turned gray in large patches, giving people a gloomy feeling.

You know, he is one year younger than King Liu, but he looks much older than the latter.
Putting away his emotion, Wei Jin sat between La Peikang and Ren Zhonglun, and asked Zhou Xingxing across from him, "So the new project will only involve the four of us?"

"Yes, that's the case for now."

"Ok?"

Zhou Xingxing's words left Wei Jin a little confused. Shanhe Media, China Film Group, and Shanghai Film Group are three of the top companies in the industry, and they still can't handle it?

"Wei Jin, listen to what Director Zhou says first." La Peikang reminded with a smile.

He was very happy to receive the invitation from Zhou Xingxing, but at the same time he felt a little complicated because this was the foundation laid by Lao Han.

Especially since Shanghai Film Group was invited this time, it made him even more unhappy.

"Well, Mr. La is right. You can take a look at the project information first, and we will continue the discussion later."

As soon as Zhou Xingxing finished speaking, Tin Kai Man handed the documents to the three people.

As Wei Jin expected, it was indeed the movie "The Mermaid".

"I have said before that the project has two directions, but I have always been more supportive of environmental protection and marine protection, so I made this script. Well, it can be regarded as a fantasy comedy romance."

"Well, it has some implications for protecting the marine environment and animals. The script is quite novel."

After La Peikang finished reading the script, he gave his evaluation and then asked, "Has Director Zhou made a budget?"

"Well, what I just said to President Wei is that because the budget is relatively high, if you three have any concerns, I will find a way to contact other investors."

"The budget is high? How high can it be? Is it as high as The Crossing? Hahahaha."

Ren Zhonglun chuckled and looked at La Peikang, his eyes full of amusement.

Initially, due to Han Sanping’s arrogance, Shanghai Film Studio did not get a share of the film “The Crossing”, but now it seems that this may not be a bad thing.

Because the production cost is 4.8 million, if we take into account the later promotion and distribution, the risk is too great!

At this time, La Peikang's face did not look very good. Even though he shouted the slogan of 20 billion box office, he was really unsure in his heart.

But obviously, these two state-owned enterprise bosses don't think the cost of "The Mermaid" can be very high. After all, it's just a comedy.

But Zhou Xingxing's next words stunned them both, and they exclaimed in surprise.

"How many?!"

Wei Jin looked up at Zhou Xingxing who had a serious look on his face, and Tin Kai Man who was holding his forehead with his hand behind him, and couldn't help but smile softly.

"Director La, Director Ren, Director Zhou said the budget is 4 million!"

"No, Director Zhou, are you kidding me? Can a comedy make 4 million? Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons also has a lot of special effects. I remember the production cost was only 1.2 million, right?"

After La Peikang realized what was happening, he frowned and started to question first.

China Film Corporation has money, but this is not how they spend it!
It's a comedy, and a comedy with a modern background. Even if it has fantasy special effects or even a 3D blockbuster, the budget is really too outrageous!

If the sci-fi script written by Wei Jin was placed in front of him, he would naturally say nothing, not to mention 4 million, even if it was doubled, he would have no objection. After all, Gravity's global box office exceeded 10 billion US dollars, this result is too exaggerated!

However, although Stephen Chow's comedy movies are also high-quality projects, even "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", which has the advantage of subject matter, only had a box office of more than 12 billion yuan.

An original theme like "The Mermaid" is naturally far behind, not to mention the huge gap compared to the science fiction movies of the Wei and Jin Dynasties!

At this time, Ren Zhonglun also echoed, "Director Zhou, it is undeniable that the current market is getting bigger and bigger, but with an investment of 4 million yuan, how much box office revenue do we need to get to make back the investment? How much profit margin is there? The risks involved are indeed too great."

Faced with the repeated questioning from the two big guys, the smile on Zhou Xingxing's face was a little forced, but he still explained patiently.

"Boss La, Boss Ren, this budget includes the cost of post-production promotion, as well as my and my team's remuneration. I will not have priority in the box office revenue this time."

"Even so, the budget is too high." Ren Zhonglun shook his head.

Honestly speaking, the fact that Stephen Chow doesn't use his film pay to convert his investment actually makes people more suspicious, because it means that he himself doesn't have much confidence.

"Are you acting in this play yourself?"

As soon as La Peikang said this, Ren Zhonglun's eyes lit up immediately.

Given Stephen Chow's appeal, the risk would be much smaller if he were the lead actor.

After all, the audience has had a filter for him for more than 20 years!

Unfortunately, facing the eager gazes of the two big guys, Zhou Xingxing shook his head.

"Boss La, Boss Ren, I'm already in my fifties. I don't have enough energy. And it doesn't fit the setting of the script. If I make a cameo appearance, it's totally unnecessary."

“The project would be too risky.”

After Ren Zhonglun finished speaking, he fell silent, and La Peikang on the opposite side was obviously also hesitant.

"Of course, I said at the beginning that if it is not convenient for you three, I will find other investors and will not force it."

Even at this point, Stephen Chow had no intention of cutting the budget, but what he said was really too straightforward!
Of course, Zhou Xingxing does have the capital. For example, a big dog owner like Ali will definitely not refuse him.

"Wei Jin, what do you think?"

As soon as La Peikang said this, Ren Zhonglun and Zhou Xingxing finally realized that Wei Jin had not spoken a word for the past ten minutes.

Facing the gazes of the three people, Wei Jin slowly closed the script and said, "Director Zhou, according to your budget, how much share can you give to the three of us this time?"

Wei Jin did not worry too much about the budget. No one knew the box office performance of "The Mermaid" better than him.

Besides, Wei Jin didn't think he could convince Zhou Xingxing. After all, besides his talent, he was also known in the circle for his obsession with money.

Since he dared to quote a price of 4 million, it means that this is the bottom price and there is no room for negotiation.

"Xinghui will invest 30%."

Zhou Xingxing added: "If the three of you can't invest that much, I will ask other friends to make up for it, so as not to delay the establishment of the Mermaid project."

To be honest, after hearing this, Wei Jin wanted to take up 70% of the share in one go.

But it is obvious that Stephen Chow's purpose of bringing so many people together is to pool everyone's strength to push the box office to a new height.

Moreover, if Wei Jin really dares to ask for the whole deal, not to mention whether Zhou Xingxing dares to give up control again, even the two old masters Ren Zhonglun and La Peikang will definitely not agree.

After all, there are no fools in the entertainment industry, let alone these two old guys? !

Sure enough, after realizing that Wei Jin was optimistic about the project, Ren Zhonglun hesitated for a moment and spoke first: "This is the first time I work with Director Zhou, so Shanghai Film will take 20%."

He decided to take a chance. With 80 million, he might be able to turn his bicycle into a motorcycle!
"China Film Group should also take 20%."

La Peikang spoke up next, saying that Shangying was doing well, so there was no reason why Zhongying would be inferior.

The next moment, everyone in the conference room looked at Wei Jin. He smiled and said, "Okay, I'll take the remaining 30%."

"Okay, I knew it, Mr. Wei is straightforward!"

A smile appeared on Zhou Xingxing's face, and the heavy stone in his heart fell to the ground.

These three companies are his top choices, and it would be great if he could complete the project financing in one go.

Because there are too many investors, it is actually very time-consuming.

After the investment was finalized, the only things left were some details. Wei Jin suggested that the special effects be handed over to Shanhe Shui Mo, and Zhou Xingxing agreed immediately.

La Peikang and Ren Zhonglun had no objections either, after all, Shanhe's ink painting skills were obvious to all.

As for the contract, it will take a few days to sign it, but by then, Wei Jin will no longer need to be involved.

Seeing that it was already noon, the four of them decided to have lunch together in the hotel.

During the dinner, La Peikang thought of something and asked, "By the way, Director Zhou, Wei Jin, are you going to attend the cocktail party tonight?"

"No, I have to rush back to Hong Kong in the afternoon."

Zhou Xingxing shook his head. He himself was not very good at socializing. Moreover, although the project investor had been decided, there was still a lot of work to be prepared.

"I won't go either. I'm not the same kind of person as those two brothers."

The cocktail party that La Peikang mentioned refers to the one held by Huayi Brothers to celebrate the opening of Feng Xiaogang Film Commune.

This cultural and tourism town, which has an investment of 55 billion yuan and covers an area of ​​1400 acres, officially opened to the public on the 8th of this month.

On the opening day, many celebrities in the circle made a special trip to Hainan to show their support, such as Ge You, King Liu, Li Bingbing, etc. The lineup was very luxurious.

Of course, although it is open to the public, in fact, only 1942 Republic Street and the supporting hotels and tourist facilities are currently in operation.

Other planned projects, such as the Socialist Style Street, the Nanyang Style Street, the garden landscape area and the film and television photography base, are still under construction.

Because the entire project requires 100% restoration of nearly a hundred historical and cultural landmark buildings, the construction period is indeed much longer than that of general commercial real estate projects.

However, despite this, the news of the opening has brought huge benefits to Huayi, and the stock price has been rising for several days in a row.

Although he did not calculate how much he earned, Wei Jin estimated that it was more than enough to cover the investment in "The Mermaid".

As for why they are celebrating in Shanghai after the business has already opened?
Of course, they took advantage of the film festival when there were countless investors, celebrities, and Chinese and foreign stars from inside and outside the circle present, so they took the opportunity to hype up the film, or even deceive people!
Wei Jin was certainly not interested in such occasions. If he had that much free time, he might as well do some time management.

"It's better not to go. Huayi's current path is a bit off track." La Peikang's face was a little complicated.

To be honest, he could understand Huayi’s idea of ​​“de-monopolizing movies”, the core of which was to diversify risks.

However, Huayi’s current situation is no longer about risk diversification, but it is no longer able to return to the path of capital operation.

Thinking of this, La Peikang instructed again: "Wei Jin, Shanhe Media is now the pillar of the industry, and the core business cannot be lost."

"Don't worry, Mr. La, it will never happen."

Wei Jin smiled slightly. He knew very well where the foundation of his life lay.

After struggling for more than ten years and stacking countless buffs, how could he go astray?

(End of this chapter)