Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 837 I really have to pay out of my own pocket this time (4k)

Zhao Jinmai asked Da Tiantian in a tone full of longing about the latter's experience of meeting Zhou Mo.

"Sister Tiantian, I heard that when you first met with Director Zhou, you talked for several hours and discussed a lot of your thoughts on the entertainment industry..."

Da Tiantian pursed her lips, trying hard to control her expression.

When she first met Zhou Mo, they did talk for several hours, but from beginning to end she had no vision of the entertainment industry at all. All she had was Zhou Mo's complaints about her ability to choose scripts and his intention to sell her scripts at a high price.

The two of them walked all the way to the hall, and as soon as they entered the door, they heard Zhou Mo's calm voice.

Judging from the situation on the stage, he should have been talking for a while.

"Science fiction movies are not a new concept for the domestic film and television market. A long time ago, I heard someone say that there is no market for science fiction movies in China and it is impossible to make good movies in China. But at present, this statement is obviously not comprehensive..."

Da Tiantian listened to the joking words on the stage and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

Zhou Mo is still the same Zhou Mo.

Once you start doing something, a casual word will set the pace.

“Of course, if we say that domestic science fiction movies will flourish just because of The Wandering Earth, that’s a joke…A good movie can only prove that there are consumers of science fiction movies in China, and that there are quite a few of them, proving that there will be many people who can make money from science fiction movies in the future.

I always believe that the audience’s preferences are very obvious and their eyes are very discerning, so as long as you really want to make a science fiction movie, you will definitely get something in the end.”

Da Tiantian curled the corner of her mouth. Here it comes. Zhou Mo is really starting to act sarcastic.

On the left, one believes in the audience, and on the right, the other makes movies seriously.

It’s almost certain that someone will try to make money by using the name of science fiction, but the end result will definitely not be good.

Thinking of this, Da Tiantian simply didn't walk into the hall, but stood directly at the door, wanting to listen to Zhou Mo's subsequent speech.

"A few days ago, during the roadshow of Eastern Han, I was interviewed. The interviewer asked me, as a practitioner in the industry, what I felt when The Wandering Earth performed so well, or if I had any plans, such as making a science fiction movie.

Based on my own evaluation, I am not good at making science fiction movies, so it is not realistic to make a science fiction movie directly...

Later, I thought that one of the main reasons for the slow development of science fiction films in China is that the overall special effects level is still in its infancy. Many enthusiasts who want to get involved in science fiction films are often blocked by the expensive and complex special effects technology requirements as soon as they start planning.

As it happens, I have some technical skills on hand, so I'd like to take this opportunity to announce something to my colleagues in the industry. From today on, any company, team, or individual that wants to enter the science fiction field and make serious movies can, after being approved, purchase the right to use special effects technology from Shanhe Company at an internal price.

This can be regarded as my small contribution to the development of domestic science fiction films..."

As soon as he finished speaking, applause broke out in the hall.

At this moment, no matter whether it was someone who seriously wanted to shoot a science fiction movie, or someone who wanted to make a fortune by using the name of a science fiction movie, or someone who had no intention of doing anything but just came to attend the banquet today, all of them were impressed by Zhou Mo's generosity.

The whole world knows that Shanhe Company's technology in the industry is good, but the whole world also knows that it is expensive.

Many companies have contacted Shanhe Company in the past, wanting to use its special effects technology, but were ultimately discouraged by its high prices.

Now, Zhou Mo's decision is no different from directly paying out of his own pocket to promote market development. It is indeed very stylish.

Zhao Jinmai has been following Da Tiantian closely since he entered the door, and after listening to Zhou Mo's speech, he also applauded.

Director Zhou's words made her feel shocked.

She subconsciously looked at Sister Tiantian and found that the latter seemed to be holding back her laughter at the moment, but the next second Sister Tiantian put out her hand to cover the lower half of her face, so she was not quite sure whether the latter was laughing or not.

A moment later, Zhou Mo finished his speech and walked straight towards Da Tiantian after stepping down from the stage.

Da Tiantian walked into the private room before him, and the three of them entered the room one after the other.

As soon as they sat down, Da Tiantian said jokingly, "Boss Zhou, you are so generous. You can open up the internal price technology just like that?"

Zhou Mo said, "Contributing to the development of the market is not grand."

After saying this, the two looked at each other and revealed very similar smiles.

Zhou Mo's speech today seemed to be full of blood and his arms were very big. In fact, if you think about it carefully, you will know that Zhou Mo has put a lot of restrictions on the "technological openness" of his own company -

Not only does it require the subject matter of a science fiction movie, but it also requires a production team that is serious about making movies.

Once these two requirements are met, more than 90% of the "science fiction film" projects on the market have basically been filtered out.

But even if someone noticed this meaning, it cannot be said that there is something wrong with what Zhou Mo said.

Because they have indeed supported the production of a science fiction movie, providing money, people and technology.

"The Wandering Earth" can succeed, but you cannot succeed in the future.

That only means that it is you who has the problem, not Zhou Mo and Guo Fan.

Da Tiantian figured out the twists and turns in the situation immediately, which is why she tried hard to control her smile after Zhou Mo finished speaking, for fear of being laughed out loud in public.

Now back in the private room, she was finally able to release her emotions and smiled happily.

The difference between him and Da Tiantian is that Zhou Mo was indeed relieved at this time.

Today I finally found an opportunity to express an idea that I have not been able to make public for some time.

Ever since the release of "The Wandering Earth", people have been approaching him for reasons of "dreams", "pursuits" and "passion", hoping to receive various supports from Shanhe Company.

Zhou Mo actually doesn't mind helping others or providing various forms of support to others, and he also knows that not everyone is Guo Fan, who can achieve such results in his first science fiction film.

Zhou Mo's psychological bottom line is that as long as the person seeking help can come up with a relatively complete plan and a science fiction script that can withstand basic scrutiny, he will provide financial or technical support.

Although he may not necessarily support people enough to make a movie all at once, TV series or short dramas are not impossible and people can give it a try.

But so far, no script has been able to meet his requirements.

Over time, Zhou Mo began to feel annoyed.

He now finally understood why the successful venture capital rate for science fiction films was less than 10% after the success of "The Wandering Earth" in the previous life.

It’s just four words:
Miserable.

Therefore, Zhou Mo simply made it clear today that he wanted to provide support. If he wanted to get support, he could, but it would have to go through a review. Da Tiantian said to Zhou Mo, "I guess a lot of people are saying that you have changed your ways and are actually starting to support the development of the industry out of your own pocket."

Zhou Mo curled his lips and said, "I have paid out of my own pocket to support the development of the industry many times, but the people I work with usually like to make quick money, and they are often my competitors, so they can only see me making money but not the development of the industry.

When you do things seriously, others ignore you, but when you say nice things, everyone applauds you. "

Da Tiantian blinked her eyes and said, "So you admit that this time you are not paying out of your own pocket to promote the development of the industry?"

Zhou Mo paused. He didn't expect that Da Tiantian would catch him in the middle of the conversation.

But he only paused for a few seconds, and immediately thought of another thing: "Come to think of it, I really need to pay for something out of my own pocket now."

Da Tiantian was a little curious: "What?"

"Movie ticket prices for 'The Bugle'."

"How much is the ticket price for The Bugle?"

……

Two hours later, at the hotel.

After Da Tiantian signed the contract with Zhao Jinmai and sent her back to her room, the first thing she did when she returned to her room was to talk to Zhou Mo about the ticket price.

Zhou Mo did not answer her immediately, but first explained the current situation of "Military Bugle".

"'Military Bugle' is almost finished filming. There are two things we need to do now and then. One is to go back and make up shots occasionally according to the requirements of the post-production. The other is to start discussing with major theaters to get more filming opportunities."

Da Tiantian nodded. After listening to Zhou Mo's introduction, she had already vaguely guessed some of the situations.

"The theater chain is not optimistic about the box office performance of this movie?"

"Yes."

"So our company's cinema chain needs to increase the screening rate of "The Bugle", and in addition to that, we also need to lower the ticket price of the movie itself?" Da Tiantian casually mentioned two typical ways to increase the number of moviegoers.

Increasing the screening rate actually means increasing the number of playbacks.

Lowering ticket prices, in other words, lowering the threshold for watching movies.

These two things can most directly affect the number of moviegoers, but they are also the most costly methods.

"Have you contacted Director Chen?"

Zhou Mo nodded slightly: "I have contacted them on the phone, and I will fly over tomorrow to meet them in person."

"So how many films have been negotiated with theaters for "Military Bugle" so far?" Da Tiantian asked. She wanted to know what the expectations for "Military Bugle" were from the perspective of major theaters.

For a movie like "The Bugle", due to the special circumstances, we usually start contacting theaters very early. The earlier we talk, the higher the screening rate we can get.

Zhou Mo made a gesture, crossing the index fingers of both hands.

"Only 10%?" Da Tiantian was a little surprised. It was obvious that this proportion was lower than her expectations.

Zhou Mo shook his head: "Wrong, it's less than 10%, and it's very likely less than 8%."

Da Tiantian frowned. It's less than 8%. If it's just one cinema, it doesn't mean anything. But if the average level is this, it basically means that the box office expectations for this movie will not be very high.

"No wonder you said you were ready to spend your own money. With this rate of screening, it's really hard to get any good results with just basic publicity."

Da Tiantian's expression was relatively calm when she spoke.

As early as when Han Sanping came to Zhou Mo and asked him to take over the military call, he already had the psychological expectation.

If expectations were not low enough, Zhou Mo would not be asked to take on this task and release the super treasure of "The Decisive Battle".

Unexpectedly, after Da Tiantian finished her sigh, Zhou Mo shook his head and said, "In fact, the situation is not that pessimistic. I think the commercial attributes of "Military Bugle" itself are not that bad. It's just that the target audience they are looking for is not right.

When I contacted Director Chen, he said that the main audience of this movie is urban white-collar workers, because this group of people has a high consumption level and richer life experience than young people, and they may resonate more with the movie. "

Da Tiantian already knew the content of "Military Bugle" many days ago. After thinking about it along Director Chen's train of thought, she found that it actually made sense.

People represented by the three labels of urban, white-collar, and middle-aged should indeed be more interested in this movie.

However, Da Tiantian knew that since Zhou Mo brought up this topic, there must be different opinions.

So she said nothing and just waited quietly for Zhou Mo's next performance.

Zhou Mo waited for Da Tiantian's supporting role for a while, but heard nothing. He looked down and found that the latter was listening. He coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment.

“Well, I think that in addition to white-collar workers, students will also be interested in the content of this film.

The difference is that white-collar workers may have more scattered goals and are more focused on the plot of the entire movie, while the student group, especially college students, are more interested in some key points in the movie, such as the most difficult period for the teacher in western Fujian (recuperating, malaria, no support, leaving the core of the team), the collision of two ideas in the base, the divergence of two ideas, and how the problem is finally solved.

Don't underestimate the pursuit and pursuit of historical events and historical beliefs by today's students. As long as the film captures these contents seriously and presents them objectively and concretely, young people will be happy to watch them...

Of course, the premise is that the box office is indeed cheaper.”

Da Tiantian originally thought that Zhou Mo would continue to speak in such a condescending manner, but she didn't expect that at the end he would actually say that the ticket price should indeed be cheaper.

This strong contrast made her feel like she was on a roller coaster.

However, she didn't think there was anything wrong with what Zhou Mo said.

In fact, ticket prices are indeed a very important issue for young people.

Shanhe Company has conducted dozens of surveys on young people, and its understanding of young people's situations can basically be said to be the best in the entire entertainment industry.

There are some young people who have plenty of money, but there are more who often worry about a dollar or two.

The ticket price of dozens of dollars will indeed become a barrier for many young people to go to the cinema.

Therefore, if we want to promote the movie more among young people, we must lower the ticket price.

(End of this chapter)