During my years at China Entertainment

Chapter 725 "Loss of sovereignty and humiliation of the country" Are you itching for trouble?
In a blink of an eye, the seven-day National Day holiday is over.

In the film market, "Operation Mekong" took 9 days to reach a box office of nearly 14 billion yuan, closing at 13.88 billion yuan.

This achievement has surpassed "Rogue Alliance", which broke "Avatar" and regained the top spot on the box office list that year; it also surpassed "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", which proved itself in mainland China with Stephen Chow.

Similarly, it also surpassed "The Unknown", which won Ning Hao the domestic film box office championship this year.

The only two domestic films ranked ahead of "Operation Mekong" are "Gravity" and "Big Shot".

In other words, the top three spots in the domestic film rankings are all taken by Wei Jin alone.

More importantly, it has only been released for nine days, and the potential of "Operation Mekong" has not been fully released. After all, the official decision has not yet been made.

Countless people in the industry are lamenting the terrifying appeal of Wei Jin; countless production colleagues are envious of the profits of the major producers; and a large number of celebrity artists are envious of the creative team who are able to participate in this drama.

Especially those who participated in the audition but were screened out felt like they had missed an important opportunity and were extremely upset.

But before the industry could continue to express its admiration, a press conference held by China Film Group Corporation directly attracted the attention of the entire film and television industry.

Because unless there is something big, China Film Corporation rarely holds press conferences.

Especially when media and online live broadcast reports showed that two Hollywood giants, Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures, also appeared at the press conference, the industry began to get uneasy.

When the complete news appeared on Weibo, countless production companies in the film and television industry were so envious that their eyes turned red.

The actors and actresses were so excited that it was no exaggeration to say that their eyes were shining and they were drooling!
"This morning, China Film Group, Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures held a press conference in Beijing, and the film "The Great Wall", a Sino-US co-production jointly produced by the three companies, was officially announced!"

"It is reported that the movie "The Great Wall" is a big-budget film with themes of magic, action and adventure. The film will be produced and shot in IMAX-3D, and the initial investment budget is as high as 1.5 million US dollars!"

"The preliminary plan for the movie "The Great Wall" is that it will be produced by a top Hollywood production team, directed by a top international director, with Chinese and Hollywood superstars participating in the performances, and released worldwide."

"At the press conference, China Film Group Chairman La Peikang said: This will be the largest film project ever invested in by China Film Group. US$1.5 million is just the initial budget, and the possibility of additional investment later is not ruled out."

"Defend the Great Wall and resist the gluttony! As the title suggests, the film's story is set entirely in China, most of the leading and supporting roles will be played by Chinese actors, and the film's director will also be a famous Chinese-speaking director."

The Sino-US co-production with a guaranteed investment of 1.5 million US dollars has set the entire film and television industry on a whirlwind.

If you are lucky enough to get a piece of this big pie, wouldn't you be full in an instant? ?
Thinking back, the last time we encountered such a large-scale Sino-US co-production project was "Interstellar", which was filmed last year and is currently being promoted.

But compared to "Interstellar", Liu Shishi was only the second female lead and not so eye-catching. This time, "The Great Wall" is even more eye-catching.

Because La Peikang has clearly stated that Chinese actors will make up the majority, and the leading female role is very likely to be Chinese!
But when people think of the sentence: The director of "The Great Wall" will come from among the great Chinese-language directors, many people start to worry again.

After all, when it comes to big Chinese-language directors, Wei Jin, who has occupied the top three spots on the domestic box office list and whose single film has grossed over 10 billion US dollars worldwide, is definitely an unavoidable candidate!
Once Wei Jin takes on this project, he will have a lot of say in the crew. Will anyone else have a share in the female lead role?
But even so, no actress is willing to give in. They have to fight for such a big production!
At this moment, all the actors from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong are eagerly following the news of the project.

Gong Li, who broke into Hollywood and enjoyed international fame, was automatically kicked out of the queue of competitors because she had just joined the crew of "The Monkey King 2".

The rest of the popular actresses, from Zhang Ziyi, Li Bingbing, Zhou Xun, Zhao Yanzi and others who are part of the Four Dans and Two Soldiers, to Yang Mi, Yang Ying, Bai Bin and others who are among the younger actresses, are all taking action to inquire about the news.

Even Fan Bingbing, who was still filming for the TV series "To Be Famous", was also moved.

She knew very well that for such a large-scale production, the time interval from project establishment to start of filming would not be short. According to the progress of Ning Hao, she definitely had a chance.

While the crew was taking a break, she called Wei Jin immediately, but unfortunately the call was not connected.

"How come this bastard man failed at the critical moment?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ren, there are too many calls."

In the office of the chairman of Shanhe Media, Wei Jin calmly pressed the lock button of his phone, with a hint of apology in his tone.

In just the short time I was drinking tea, seven or eight phone calls came in, which really affected my mood.

"It's okay. I'm afraid the whole circle is going crazy now."

Ren Zhonglun took a sip from the teacup to show his understanding.

He is well aware of the appeal of this kind of project to artistes. For those with backgrounds and companies, if they don't run around now, when will they wait?
This includes those who have no background or company, but can become the first-line players in the circle and have their own connections, which must be used.

Even I, when I heard about the co-production worth 1.5 million US dollars, rushed all the way from Shanghai to negotiate, didn't I?
Unfortunately, these Hollywood companies are really going too far!

Wei Jin, who was standing opposite him, sighed as he saw Ren Zhonglun's changeable expression.

The two sides have just had a brief chat. Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures have no objection to Shanghai Film Group's joining, but the conditions offered are really hard to accept.

They actually only accepted financial investment from Shanghai Film Group, and all other matters including daily management of the crew, shooting, creation, post-production, etc. will be handled by the professional team of Legendary Pictures.

In other words, Shanghai Film Group doesn't have to do anything and can't do anything except sending a producer over!

Isn't this fucking hilarious in 2014, especially with several successful co-productions to go along with it?

The key point is that La Peikang actually agreed to such a condition that could be described as "losing sovereignty and humiliating the country"!
"Director Ren, tell me, what does Director La want?"

After holding it in for a long time, Wei Jin couldn't help but asked the question in his mind.

"Alas, Wei Jin, you are not from the system, so you won't understand."

After Ren Zhonglun sighed, he went on to explain: "Previous co-production projects have achieved unprecedented success, but that was Han Sanping's political achievement."

"I know that, but didn't we talk about other projects before? Including Pacific Rim 2, we've also agreed to try to start it by the end of the year. Is there any need for Mr. La to be so anxious?"

“So, you don’t understand.”

Ren Zhonglun shook his head and said, "Is riding on your coattails better than leading a project like this myself? He La Peikang is more dazzling than Han Sanping. If he wants to secure his seat in the next term, this is what he has to do!"

“Well, that’s too far-sighted.”

Shaking his head, Wei Jin really couldn't understand it, so he simply didn't bother with it. But he soon became curious about another thing.

"Logically speaking, I have rejected it, and Ang Lee should be the best choice. Why do you think we still need to select the director now?"

"Well, they were planning to invite Li An at first, but I heard from the people at Legend yesterday that Li An has a project on hand and is trying to attract investment everywhere, so he is not considering contacting other projects." "Huh?"

Wei Jin's mind was full of question marks. "No, Mr. Ren, are you kidding me? Is Li Ang's project still lacking investment?"

As the Oscar-winning best director, Ang Lee's status in Hollywood is definitely not low, even if it is not as high as his own, who has both capital and the Grand Slam.

It is no exaggeration to say that if a director like Ang Lee still needs to raise investment himself, then more than 90% of Hollywood directors will be unemployed!
"I don't know the details, but I heard that this script is a bit special. It's about the Iraq War, and the Hollywood companies are not very optimistic about it."

"I see, no wonder."

Wei and Jin understood it almost immediately. Americans keep saying they advocate freedom, but they are the ones who like to put shackles on themselves the most.

With this kind of subject matter, it’s no wonder that Fox, which has always been associated with Ang Lee, did not lend a helping hand. Tsk tsk!
"By the way, Wei Jin, what do you think of my proposal?"

Ren Zhonglun looked at Wei Jin with bright eyes full of anticipation.

After suffering setbacks from China Film Group and Hollywood, the reason he stayed in Beijing was because he was thinking about the script in Wei Jin's hand!
Compared with Legendary Pictures' so-called professional team with a global vision, Wei Jin's many records in co-productions convinced him even more.

"Director Ren, there is no problem with cooperation, but I want to make something clear in advance. I really don't plan to make this project a co-production. At most, I will invite some foreign actors to participate, but it may not even be possible."

At this point, Wei Jin paused and continued, "Also, the launch time of the project has not yet been determined. It is estimated that it may be within one or two years."

Ren Zhonglun had no opinion on any of this, he was just curious about one thing.

“Will the project attempt global distribution?”

"should be."

Wei Jin also hopes to bring his first original script to the global market. Even if the final result is not satisfactory, he can still accumulate experience, right?

"That's fine with me. I'll wait for your notification on the details. Just don't forget to go on the film, hahahaha."

It has to be said that compared to the larger China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group is more cost-conscious and will definitely not miss out on any project it comes across.

"Mr. Ren, you're worrying too much. It won't happen."

As expected, with the call from the ministry, the Film Bureau was very efficient and the application for key extension was not blocked at all and was approved on the same day.

A new batch of keys is already being produced and will soon be distributed to major cinemas.

At the same time, support from relevant departments also arrived, and theaters across the country welcomed a large number of group moviegoers.

There are even reports online of veteran detectives with sharp eyes catching criminals and even discovering drug addicts in movie theaters.

One can imagine how great the support is!

Under such circumstances, even on weekdays, the single-day box office of "Operation Mekong" did not drop much, and still remained at a high level of 80 to 90 million.

In just 11 days, the total box office of the film broke through the 15 billion mark, closing at 15.51 billion.

While successfully reaching a 47.5% revenue-sharing bet with the cinema chain, it also broke the record of second place among domestic films held by "Big Shot"!

But this kind of super-strong administrative support also makes all film companies jealous.

At this moment, many people are looking forward to "Guardians of the Galaxy" which will be released on the 10th, hoping to dampen the popularity of "Operation Mekong" and curb its box office potential!
Sometimes, human hearts are just like this, especially when facing their own people!
However, the focus of the industry is still on the Sino-US co-production project "The Great Wall".

After all, looking at the history of domestic films, it is really rare to have such a co-production with an oriental background, and it is such a large-scale production!
An initial budget of US$1.5 million, investment from two major Hollywood companies, top directors, global distribution, and IMAX 3D special effects
All of the above are definitely great opportunities for actors to rise to the top, break into Hollywood, and enter the international market!
The previous blockbuster productions that China participated in such co-productions were "Pacific Rim" and "Inception".

But whether it is the former or the latter, the main selling point is not the actors, but the monsters and mechas.

So even among the top actors, "The Great Wall" is undoubtedly a super big cake!
In the past two days, the industry and the Internet have never stopped discussing the selection of directors, and many directors have even begun to recommend themselves to China Film.

For example, Sunglass King publicly stated on Weibo that he wanted to read the script and was very interested in the project;
Fatty Wang, who is still filming "Famous", also posted an analysis post about the angles from which to direct a fantasy film.

Including poet Chen, who had just started post-production work on "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain". Although he did not take the initiative to speak in order to maintain his status, Chen Hong also liked the post promoted by people in the circle.
However, at this time, there were rumors that Wei Jin had rejected the play as early as the National Day holiday.

You know what, the report is quite detailed and very convincing.

What time did he go to the Central Film Studio, what time did he leave, and he did not attend the small party arranged by the Central Film Studio that night.
Wei Jin estimated that there must be a paparazzi who was working overtime that day and was lurking nearby, and was photographed, but he didn't know what happened and chose to suppress it.

As expected, after the news came out, many calls came in.

Wei Jin knew without even thinking that these people just wanted to further confirm the news so that they could make subsequent efforts!
After rejecting calls from Zhang Ziyi, Li Bingbing and others, Wei Jin finally answered the call from Zhou Gongzi.

"Old Wei, are you really refusing?"

"Well, Legendary and Universal are going to adopt the producer-centered system, where the director is just a tool. I'm not interested."

Wei Jin's words were slightly embellished. After all, one couldn't just say that the script was bad, as that would be a slap in the face of China Film Group and La Peikang.

In fact, if he didn't make major changes, or even drastic changes to the script, he would still be able to enjoy great power in the "The Great Wall" project.

You know, even in Hollywood where the "producer-centered system" is prevalent, there are still big-name directors who run projects with the concept of "director-centered system" and are supported by producers.

For example, Spielberg, James Cameron and others are all like this.

And today's Wei and Jin dynasties obviously deserve this treatment!
"What a pity! My agent asked me to ask you. What if you were the director? Maybe you and your sisters could have a surprise and return to Hollywood?"

"Come on, you're going back to Hollywood? Are you going back to continue playing supporting roles? Besides, Hollywood is going downhill now, otherwise why would you come here to make a co-production?"

Wei Jin rolled his eyes and complained without any hesitation, then added: "You'd better prepare yourself. Red Sorghum will be aired at the end of the month, and you will be busy then."

"Damn it, you just know how to exploit me. I'm so unlucky to have a boss like you."

"What did you say? Your skin is itchy?"

"Lululu~~You take care of me."

(End of this chapter)