China Entertainment: Been working as a director since 03

Chapter 446: Making TV series is more profitable than making movies
The script for the first season of the Chinese version of Game of Thrones hasn’t even been written yet.

People's attention to Li Yu and Liu Heping was immediately focused.

A large number of investors and actors in the circle contacted Li Yu or Hualiu Company.

Investors waved their money around to invest, and actors thought about getting roles in this new play.

Wang Jing, who had just rushed over from Hong Kong Island, was full of envy: "Director Li, you are really amazing. Even at my peak, I couldn't catch up to half of you."

"Director Wang, are you the one flattering me now?"

Li Yu shook his head.

"Director Li, why do you think I'm trying to flatter you? Everything I said came from the bottom of my heart.

I'm just telling the truth. At my best, I'm not even half as good as you."

Wang Jing's expression became serious, giving people a very honest feeling.

Wang Jing was very powerful during his heyday. He couldn't say that he could choose any of Hong Kong's top movie actors, but first-rate and powerful actors could definitely break down his door.

For example, his unforgettable "The Demon Cult Master" brought together a number of very representative movie stars of Hong Kong's golden age, including Li Lianjie, Zhang Min, Qiu Shuzhen, Hong Jinbao, and Lai Zhi.

Unfortunately, due to the unsatisfactory box office performance of "The Demon Cult Leader", there was no second part.

This has become a regret in the hearts of many movie fans.

Wang Jing’s reputation has been severely damaged due to the fact that he has made too many bad movies, and he is no longer as good as he used to be.

Now he wants to invite a superstar like Andy Lau to make a movie, but the other party has to think twice and seriously consider whether this fat guy will make another bad movie to cheat them.

However, the superstars' suspicions could not faze the clever little Wang Jing.

Wasn't the other party hesitant because he was afraid that he would make a bad movie? He simply didn't ask him to play the leading role, but asked him to make a cameo appearance.

The other party thought that it was just a guest role and not the main character, so even if Wang Jing wanted to make a bad movie, he couldn't blame a guest role.

Then the cool move happened. Wang Jing turned his guest appearance into the leading role through editing.

Seeing that Wang Jing was serious, Li Yu did not refute.

Maybe Wang Jing really thinks so in his heart.

Wang Jing is a person with a very clear self-awareness.

He felt that it was normal that there was a big gap between him and Li Yu.

At the peak of his career, he was not even among the top three directors in Hong Kong Island.

Li Yu is different.

Li Yu is one of the top three directors in the current Chinese film industry.

Whether in terms of the depth of his works or his achievements, Li Yu's position among the top three has been recognized by many people.

This time, Wang Jing set out from Hong Kong Island to the north with the purpose of coming to Li Yu to urge him to work on the script of "Detective Chinatown 2".

He is a famous quick shooter, even though "Detective Chinatown 1" is released just over a year away.

But Wang Jing has made several bad movies in a row in the past year or so.

This does not include the films he participated in writing and producing, and there will be more if those are counted.

Therefore, after indulging himself for more than a year, Wang Jing decided to work hard and make a good movie to restore his reputation.

After hearing Wang Jing's words, Li Yu did not rush to answer, but thought about it seriously.

Li Yu remembered that the box office of the original version of "Detective Chinatown 2" was more than 30 billion.

The current film market is not that big. Let alone Wang Jing, even if Li Yu, Zhang Yingmou and Chen Kaige joined forces to make a movie, they couldn’t even reach the 30 billion threshold.

Therefore, it is a bit of a waste to shoot "Detective Chinatown 2" at this point in time. At least several hundred million yuan will be lost. Several small goals are equivalent to one medium goal. Li Yu dare not say that such a huge profit is not worth it.

Therefore, Li Yu decided to stabilize Wang Jing first and let him not think about filming "Detective Chinatown 2" for the time being.

“Director Wang, as you can see, I have been busy supervising the post-production of Operation Nujiang River recently.

You know how important this movie is. In order to make it well, I didn't dare to slack off throughout the whole process.

Plus, I want to make a Chinese version of Game of Thrones, so I think I’m willing to help you, but I’m not able to do so.”

Li Yu did not reject Wang Jing directly, but found a good reason to reject him tactfully.

Wang Jing couldn't find any fault with it.

He could understand that Li Yu was indeed extremely busy now.

He just felt a little regretful.

Li Yu doesn't have time to write "Detective Chinatown 2" for him, so he can only go back to making his bad movies, such as "Macao Storm 2", which is just a rehash of his old stuff.

Just when Wang Jing was feeling discouraged, Li Yu spoke again: "Director Wang, let me ask you, why do you make movies? It can't be for your ideals and beliefs, right?"

Wang Jing didn't understand why Li Yu suddenly asked such a strange question. He shrugged and said, "I am a pure businessman. I make movies to make money. If it is for ideals and beliefs, why don't I make art films?"

“You don’t have to make movies to make money, and I’m going to be honest.

Most of the movies you make nowadays have terrible reviews and so-so box office performance. They make money, but not a lot.

Why not change your mindset and make a TV series?
As a veteran director, Director Wang must know that a hit TV series can make more money than a box office hit movie, right? "

Li Yu said calmly.

Take "The Great Wall: Part Two" for example. It had an investment of 3 million yuan and a total domestic box office of 15.1 billion yuan. Producers like Li Yu could only get about one-third of it.

After deducting 5 million yuan in costs from 3 million yuan, only 2 million yuan in profit is left.

If you divide the 2 million with other investors or investment companies, you really won't make much money.

It is no exaggeration to say that Li Yu does not make as much money from filming "The Great Wall" series as he does from TV series.

"I understand what you're saying, but the filming cycle for a TV series is a bit too long."

Wang Jing smiled bitterly.

During the worst period for Hong Kong films, he, like many Hong Kong directors and actors, went north to the mainland to shoot TV series.

"The Number One Under Heaven" is a work he wrote and produced, and "Little Fish and Flower" is a work he directed.

Looking back now, both works are definitely a bit awkward, which are the tears of the times.

For example, in "The First Under Heaven", the assassin can enter and exit the Forbidden City at will, which makes the audience's IQ rub the ground.

However, these two dramas were very good at that time, and Wang Jing made a fortune from these two works.

Wang Jing knew that making TV series could make more money than making movies, but the prerequisite was that the TV series could become a hit.

The production cycle of a TV series is too long. A TV series often starts with dozens of episodes. Even if he is a famous quick shooter, he still has to shoot for several months.

Including post-production and communication with the TV station to arrange the broadcast, almost a year has passed.

He also heard that there are too many TV dramas in mainland China now, and a large number of them are piled up in inventory and have not yet been premiered.

If he's unlucky, he'll have to wait three or two years before his TV series premieres. Won't he cry his ass off?
If the TV series doesn't become popular, he will faint in the toilet crying, and two or three years of his time will be wasted.

For him, movies are still better. If he makes a bad movie, a quick shooter like him can finish it in less than a month and release it in a few months to make a lot of money.

Quick results and low sunk costs.

(End of this chapter)