During my years at China Entertainment

Chapter 843 Earned 50 Billion in Ten Minutes When He Was Eighteen

As we enter mid-December, the annual art college entrance exams are about to begin again.

The Beijing Film Academy, one of the three major art colleges, was the first to release its admission brochure for the 16 cohort online.

But after seeing the contents of the document, countless art students were devastated.

Compared to last year, the number of students admitted to the Beijing Film Academy's Class of 16 has been drastically reduced, a dramatic drop!
The entire undergraduate program at Beijing Film Academy admits just over 400 students, and the acting department admits even fewer, with only 30 students including those in the vocational program.

It's easy to imagine how fierce the competition for art exams will be two months from now.

This resulted in Wei Jin receiving frequent calls and messages on his phone ever since the admission brochure was released.

Without exception, they were all people I knew in the industry but wasn't very familiar with, who wanted to use connections or get preferential treatment.

It's no wonder. As an internationally renowned director, the head of China's leading entertainment group, and a prominent figure and professor at the Beijing Film Academy, Wei Jin, though not involved in the entrance exams, could certainly get people in.

Whether it's directing, literature, acting, cinematography, or even management, they all have something to say about it.

Guo Fan, who was also in the same production crew, received the same treatment and was frequently harassed by phone calls.

Even if you know the chances are slim, the glamour of the entertainment industry is indeed enticing, and who wouldn't want to try to take a shortcut?
"Luckily, we're on a film set, far away from home. I heard from Lu Yang that people have been going to his house to give him gifts, which is driving him crazy."

During lunch, Guo Fan brought up Lu Yang's complaints, which made Wei Jin laugh.

"Who told him to be a director who graduated from Beijing Film Academy, a lecturer at the Central Academy of Drama, and about to become an associate professor?"

What's more, there's also the influence of his father. Tsk tsk tsk, all of that combined, his doorstep must be thronged with visitors.
But he's still considered lucky. The people at the school are the ones who are being courted and corrupted. I wonder how many more people with connections have been slipped in this time.”

As soon as Wei Jin finished speaking, Wu Jing, who had just finished eating, wiped his mouth and added a comment.

"No matter how many connections they have, they'll get in anyway. I bet they're the ones with the strongest connections, since there are only a limited number of spots, right? Hahaha."

“Yes, that makes sense.” Wei Jin nodded, agreeing with Wu Jing’s words.

With limited enrollment quotas to begin with, the number of places that schools can reserve in advance for those with connections is even smaller.

If a big-name director like Wei Jin, Guo Fan, Lu Yang, Zhang Yimou, or Ning Hao asks, then there's definitely no problem; we'll definitely find someone to take on a role.

But when others speak, it's not necessarily the case that they have absolute certainty.

After all, the film and television industry is so big, and there are differences between different connections. Even those with connections have varying levels of influence!

Of course, there are exceptions, such as Ma Sichun, who is sitting at another table right now, whispering to Sun Qian. Her relationship with him is strong enough.

I don't know what she was thinking, but she insisted on applying to the directing department, only to be decisively rejected by her advisor, Tian Zhuangzhuang, and she couldn't even get into the Beijing Film Academy.

If this girl were from any other department, she would be qualified to call Wei Jin "senior brother".

"Alright, if you've all eaten, take a break. We'll start filming promptly at 2 PM."

"it is good."

In the film market, it took only 10 days for "Fame and Fortune" to break the 13 billion yuan mark at the box office, reaching 13.48 billion yuan.

However, in the second week of its release, the daily box office inevitably dropped, and it is currently only slightly over 60 million.

It is foreseeable that daily box office revenue will continue to decline until the film is taken off the screens.

Even so, "Fame and Fortune" still holds the top spot in the daily box office share by a significant margin.

In contrast, "The Master," directed by Xu Haofeng and starring Liao Fan and others, which was released last Friday, performed far below expectations.

After grossing just over four million on its opening day, the box office has been declining ever since, with a total of only 1360 million grossed over the first four days of the season.

The key issue is that its online reputation is barely passable, scoring only six points on Impression.com, and showing a severe polarization.

Many people praise it and offer insightful analyses, most of whom are directors in the industry, such as Jiang Wen, Lou Ye, and Zhang Li.

Clearly, this is a very good film in the eyes of a director who likes to express himself!

However, viewers who pointed out its numerous shortcomings were equally assertive: the plot was outdated, the dialogue was poor, the action scenes were too realistic, and the protagonist's transformation was too abrupt.
Based on current reviews and first-week box office performance, it's completely impossible for "The Master" to make a comeback.

Compared to the production and marketing costs of over 50 million, the production company is destined to suffer a huge loss.

This truly proves the point made in "Fame and Fortune"—don't impose your own preferences on the audience, that's disrespectful to the audience (and the box office)!
Meanwhile, after nearly fifty days of filming, Wu Jing's scenes in "The Wandering Earth" have finally wrapped up.

"Director Wei, this piecemeal shooting is making me feel really uncomfortable. If we were to shoot in one go, it wouldn't even take a month, right?"

On set, Wu Jing was taking off his spacesuit while accepting a "death" red envelope from the crew member, muttering something under his breath.

"Get the hell out of here! Do you think I need to accommodate your schedule?"

Wei Jin admitted that Wu Jing's words made sense; in his previous life, Guo Fan had taken a month to film the scene.
But his filming plans were completely different, so how can we generalize?

"Besides, who was it that said they wanted to stay on set to work on the script for 'Wolf Warrior 2' and learn camera movement techniques? I'm giving you that opportunity."

At this point, Wei Jin paused, looked Wu Jing up and down, and said with a mocking expression.

"It's only just dawning on me, you're over forty, aren't you? You're so eager to stay on set, are you trying to avoid Xie Nan?"

"Ok?"

Wu Jingchu didn't react at first, his face full of confusion.

But seeing that many people on set were trying not to laugh, he quickly realized what Wei Jin meant and immediately broke down in tears.

"Who do you think you are? My firepower is formidable! This is slander, this is provocation."

Seeing Wu Jing, the actor from Wolf Warrior, patting his chest to prove his masculinity, the entire crew couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha"

Wu Jing's completion of filming also means that the filming of "The Wandering Earth" is more than halfway done, which is actually much faster than originally expected.

Wu Jing, who had finished filming, did not leave the crew. He stayed by Wei Jin's side, learning camera movement techniques and discussing the script of "Wolf Warrior 2".

According to his estimate, the script should be fully completed around the Spring Festival.

To be honest, this efficiency is really low. After all, he had an idea half a year ago, and Wei Jin couldn't help but want to write a script for him directly.

In comparison, Baoqiang was more efficient; he announced the project for "Buddies in India" and even had preliminary ideas for the roles.

The total investment was a little higher than initially expected, reaching 1 million.

When Lao Wang from Fiber Optics visited the set, he specifically explained the reason to Wei Jin. "Brother, it's mainly because actors' and stars' salaries have risen too much. In just a few months, they've increased by at least 20% or 30%."

"It's okay, I understand. They invited all big names, including Teacher Liu. Even though it's a cameo, it's still a rare treat, hahaha."

"Baoqiang invited quite a few guest stars, but Teacher Liu is definitely the key one, after all, he's related to Journey to the West, so it can be considered a tribute to the classic."

At this point, Old Wang picked up the tea his assistant had brewed, took a sip, and continued:
"However, with Liu Xiaotong joining the cast, the popularity of 'Buddies in India' will definitely be high when it is released. He's going to be a star for a year!"

"Ok?"

Wei Jin was momentarily stunned; how had he become so popular in just one year?

"Hey bro, you're only focused on filming and not watching the news? Next year is the Year of the Monkey, and these past few days the whole internet has been urging CCTV to invite Liu Cixin to the Spring Festival Gala!"

Wei Jin suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Baoqiang has thought of everything. Just based on the hype surrounding Teacher Liu and Journey to the West, the box office will be tens of millions more."

"That's right, so even though it's just a cameo, his pay is quite high, even higher than that chubby guy who does crosstalk."

Moreover, I've heard that the press releases have been filled with invitations to various TV stations' New Year's Eve galas recently.

Without exception, they all made him play the monkey. That's truly one role for a lifetime, tsk tsk tsk.

Old Wang's tone was full of emotion, and Wei Jin also admitted that the 86 version of Monkey King was indeed a classic, and its influence was unparalleled.

Unfortunately, I was too young then and all my attention was focused on the monkey, which was a waste of all those beautiful and alluring female demons and benefactors.
Old Wang came and went in a hurry. After having lunch, he toured the film set and then left.

But this guy is really good at getting along with people. Before he left, he even asked Wei Jin if he should be given a role in "Buddies in India".

Wei Jin politely declined, saying that the show was just for making money and wouldn't make anyone famous.

As for the original Liu Yan, she has now moved behind the scenes, so there's absolutely no need for her to get involved.

Coincidentally, when the investment in "Buddies in India" was finalized, it coincided with the listing of Nuclear Power Pictures, which made a fortune in the capital market.

The project was only just announced, and Shanhe Technology went public the very next day.

Although Mr. Wei did not attend the bell-ringing ceremony, he paid special attention to the capital market situation on the day of the listing.

As he had predicted, the company had achieved excellent asset performance, with revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan for three consecutive years and net profit not less than 30%.

Upon its listing, Shanhe Technology was favored by shareholders and investors, and its stock price soared.

It took only 10 minutes from the opening bell to the daily limit up, and the market value soared from 68 billion to 98 billion, almost breaking 100 billion!
During lunch, the way the actors in the crew looked at Wei Jin changed, even the usually carefree Sun Qian.

No wonder, according to the published shareholder information, Shanhe Media still holds more than 54% of the shares after dilution.

Wei Jin's net worth skyrocketed by over 50 billion in just ten minutes—that's terrifying!

Wei Jin, on the other hand, was quite calm about it. After all, this was the third time this year, and a net worth of 50 billion was only about a tenth of his net worth.

Besides, there's a long sales restriction period, so how easy is it to cash out?
What's even more troubling is that, most likely, it will be difficult for Pony Ma and Wang Jianlin to shake Wei Jin's position as the richest man in the next year or two. What can be done?

But as the saying goes, good fortune never comes in pairs, and misfortunes never come singly. While Shanhe Media made a fortune in the capital market, it suffered a setback in the film market.

In the afternoon, the State Administration of Radio and Television announced that the application for an extension of the screening key for "Fame and Fortune" had been rejected and the film must be taken off the screen on January 3.

The reason given is simple: to maintain market and industry stability and to protect the survival space of small and medium-sized production companies.

"Damn it, when I called the bureau, all they said was to consider the bigger picture and ask me to understand. What does this have to do with my feather duster?"
So having good box office results is wrong? Then why not just change the rules and only allow extensions for companies with terrible box office performance.

As expected, Wei Jin received a call from Ning Hao that evening, and Ning Hao was swearing and spewing profanities.

Ning Hao even bluntly stated that if any film invested in by a state-owned enterprise receives an extended key, he will file a complaint!

"Alright, senior brother, it's already over 15 billion, and the daily income is still around 40 million. 2 billion is still a possibility. Don't get upset."

Wei Jin managed to calm Ning Hao down after much persuasion, but he probably won't be in a good mood during the last few days of the roadshow.

Not to mention Ning Hao, even Wu Jing spent the afternoon on set cursing for a while, clearly feeling it was unreasonable.

But sometimes you really can't reason with them. Who can blame them when Shanhe Media and Golden Harvest have grossed nearly 150 billion yuan at the box office since the beginning of the year?

It's fair to say that the entire industry is full of complaints, so let's just consider these minor "grievances" as a contribution to the industry's development.

"Director Wei, I'm done washing up."

Just as he hung up the phone, a clear voice rang out. Wei Jin looked up and saw Sun Qian, whose hair was still a little damp, standing timidly at the bathroom door.

"Are you really sure? You still have a chance to back out."

Honestly, Wei Jin never expected this girl to be so bold, coming straight to his door after dinner.

"Director Wei, I've made up my mind, and I won't regret it."

As Sun Qian spoke, he walked towards Wei Jin.

She knew very well that, having only attended a year-long advanced course at the Central Academy of Drama, she had neither resources nor connections in the industry.

This time I was lucky enough to get the role and rise to the top overnight, but what about the future?

Therefore, after joining the group, she had been mentally preparing herself, and it wasn't until today that she knocked on the door, which was also somewhat influenced by the direct stimulation of the stock market.

Earning 50 billion in a single day was something she never dared to dream of; the shock was immense.

She was thinking of entrusting her most precious possessions to Wei Jin. She didn't dare say that he would become a big star in the industry, but at least he could live a life of comfort and security.

Moreover, given the generosity of the Wei and Jin dynasties, they would likely not shortchange themselves in terms of resources.

Many female celebrities in the industry have already set an example in this regard!
"Okay, if you've thought it through, then it's fine."

Wei Jin nodded and looked Sun Qian up and down.

The 18-year-old girl had a delicate face and a tall, straight figure. Her beautiful legs, partially hidden by her white shirt, were incredibly long.

Although she said she had thought it through, Wei Jin could tell that the girl was still very nervous; her fidgety little hands were the best proof of that.

So he reached out and lifted the little girl's chin, saying gently, "Don't be nervous, just leave everything to me."

Looking into Wei Jin's deep eyes, Sun Qian bit her red lips and nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Um"

(End of this chapter)