Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 671 March in a hurry
"How is the girl over there?"

In bed, the first thing Han Sanping said after receiving the call was to express his concern for his precious daughter.

"Yes, I'm planning to increase her pay recently." Gu Wei said in a daze. Miss Liu next to him seemed to be disturbed and turned over.

Only then did Gu Wei take his cell phone and check the time. It was only half past five.

"Mr. Han, you can't change this bad habit of yours. You make phone calls without even looking around." Gu Wei muttered.

"Haha, you still have the nerve to criticize me. My daughter told me that you are the boss and she and Guo Fan do all the work. The girl complained to me because she was so tired." Han Sanping's tone became colder and colder, and Gu Wei came to his senses instantly.

"This is nonsense. I'm such a big director, but I just let go of everything. Why doesn't the crew disband? Rumors, all rumors, haha." Gu Wei felt a little uneasy.

"Stop talking nonsense. Use it, but don't tire her out. It's time to let her know how difficult this line of work is."

Han Sanping came from that era. He understood the principle of raising sons in poverty and daughters in wealth, but he also understood the principle of a master bringing someone in to practice on an individual basis. In Han Sanping's view, Gu Wei was like the Han family's daughter's master, the kind who taught her hand in hand.

It was also because of this that Han Sanping was not angry after hearing his daughter’s complaints.

"Hehe, junior sister has always been thinking about the screenwriter's matters, and I am just helping her change her mind." Gu Wei continued to tease.

"You are worthy of being a great director. You say one thing in front of her and another thing in front of me. You wouldn't say the same thing in front of Yifei." Han Sanping was amused. It seemed that the other party was taking credit for it!

"How can that be possible, Mr. Han!"

"Forget it. It's a good thing to learn more. Also, don't call me Mr. Han. The document has come down from above and I'm officially retiring." Han Sanping's tone was a little bleak.

Hearing this, Gu Wei instantly understood. Although the top people in the circle all knew it, Han Sanping had retired since September last year.

But it was not until today that the relevant departments and China Film Corporation officially issued a red-headed document to announce the matter to the outside world.

To sum it up simply: "La Peikang succeeded Han Sanping as the new chairman of China Film Group."

"Hey, it's good to retire. You can enjoy yourself more when you have time. The club we went to last time thought it was pretty good. We'll have time to go there again in the future." Gu Wei was also a little sad, but he still said a few words in a teasing tone.

After finishing speaking, Gu Wei asked again, what should he call Han Sanping from now on?
"What are you talking about? Even if you're retired, you're still a public official, and you still have the title of consultant. If you go there too often, you'll still be invited to have tea." Han Sanping retorted, and then continued, "Call me uncle from now on."

"Uncle?" Now it was Gu Wei's turn to laugh. It turned out that other company leaders and directors called him brother, but I had to call him uncle, which made me feel a generation lower than him for no reason. If the two Wangs knew about this, they would laugh their heads off.

"Well, I'll continue to call you Mr. Han. After all, there are some people and some things that we should always keep in mind."

"It doesn't sound like a good thing to me!"

The two chatted for a while, and Han Sanping suddenly mentioned La Peikang. "Boss La complained to me about you a few days ago, saying that you took the investment for a movie and exchanged it for two import film quotas from him."

"Haha, that's because they signed a bet agreement. If Ning Hao's movie doesn't make over 1 billion, China Film Group will be able to make a fortune just from the compensation." Gu Wei said dimly.

"Yes, I've also read the agreement. It's you. If it's anyone else, I think they're either plotting something or are crazy." Han Sanping sighed. He saw the mainland market getting better and better, but it was a pity that he had nothing to do with it.

Later, Gu Wei learned from Han Sanping that his immediate superior in the film industry, the Director of the Film Bureau, had been replaced.

But this is not bad news, because Tong Bureau is still Tong Bureau.

He was promoted from director of the Film Bureau to deputy director of the General Administration, and he holds real power!
"Good news, very good news." Gu Wei said happily.

"That's a good thing, but I would also like to remind you to inform Mr. La first if you have anything to say. After all, China Film has a lot of say."

"I understand. I will definitely treat Mr. La as my dearest friend, brother, haha."

...

The two chatted for more than an hour. After Gu Wei hung up the phone, he saw the young lady staring at him.

"Are you awake?"

"Yeah." Miss Liu had a puzzled look on her face, but she continued to ask, "You won the prize, you're so happy."

"It's no big deal. Mr. Han has retired completely. Haha." After saying that, Gu Wei felt something was wrong.

Unfortunately, the young lady didn't continue to pay attention to him, but instead asked about the next movie he mentioned in the interview yesterday.

"Why? You want to act?"

"What you said is quite interesting. I want to take a look at the script first, hehe."

"Well, with this attitude, how can the director be satisfied?" Gu Wei said pretending to be serious.

"Well, what does the director want from me?" Liu Yifei threw a wink and said in a delicate voice.

"It depends on your performance."

Next, there are scenes that are not suitable for children.

After a day of rest, Gu Wei returned to the crew of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and the shooting progress needed to be accelerated.

Liu Yifei and others returned directly to China. After talking with Gu Wei, the young lady got the incomplete script and prepared to go back and study it carefully.

Just when many domestic reporters were still waiting for Liu Yifei and her group, news about Lu Yang's new movie came out.

Among them, Zhao Wenzhuo is naturally the male lead. The female lead in the previous film was replaced by Su Chang who went to the crew of "Red Sorghum". Moreover, the script of "Assassins 2" also sets a new character, who is the biological sister of Miaotong in the first film, named Hokusai!

Star Film and Television Company.

Lu Yang hummed a song and pushed open the door of the general manager's office. After entering, he saw Song Ge sipping tea.

"Hey, Mr. Song is not busy." Lu Yang greeted him and picked up the teacup to pour water to drink.

"I'm waiting for you. How can I transfer the money without your signature?" Song Ge took a sip of tea and handed the other party a document.

Lu Yang took it and looked at it. Wow, the investment cost is 100 million?
"Mr. Song, isn't it 90 million?"

The specific cost of "Assassin's Blade 2" was determined after communication between Lu Yang and Song Ge. I have only seen investors who were stingy, but I have never seen investors who added extra money.

"Director Gu said to add another 10 million to improve the quality. Besides, you are a big director now, so you can make it a round number. Besides, a 100 million budget is not considered a particularly large production in the industry nowadays."

Looking at the rising costs, Song Ge felt a little emotional. Not only are the actors' pay rising, but prices in all aspects are rising.

"Look at what you said. How about adding a little more and getting some more big-name stars to star in the film?" Lu Yang got a bargain and was still acting cute. He got the 100 million yuan in investment and felt very comfortable at the moment.

"Go away, tell me about the cast. Apart from Vincent Zhao, have you decided on the others?"

"I haven't decided on the female lead yet. Su Chang doesn't have time, so he's not suitable. Ning Hao recommended Lei Jiayin to me, and Sister Hua sent me a list of names, including Guo Jingfei, Huang Zhizhong, Li Guangjie..." "Female lead?" Song Ge thought for a while and suggested a candidate, "What do you think of Tong Liya? It just so happens that she has time now."

"Liya?" Lu Yang thought about it for a while and felt that it was a good candidate. The male lead was Zhao Wenzhuo, who was not an artist from Xingchen Film and Television Company, and it would be okay to choose someone from his own family for the female lead.

But Tong Liya has had two box office hits in a row, and she just finished filming "One Step Away" directed by Jiang Wen. She is definitely a top actress in the domestic entertainment industry, second only to a few big stars, so her pay will definitely not be low.

"Shit, this can't be the reason why the cost increased by ten million." Looking at Song Ge's smiling face, Lu Yang became more and more certain that he guessed right.

“Also, after the main creative team is decided, go to Running Man first, and then go again after the movie is released. We have to keep up with the popularity, hehe.” Song Ge interrupted Lu Yang as he saw him deep in thought.

Speaking of Running Man, after more than half a year of broadcasting, this variety show has deservedly become the number one reality show in mainland China.

Thanks to this program, the ratings of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Satellite TV have soared, even surpassing Mango Channel.

"No problem, Mr. Song, but I think Liya is definitely suitable. It's just that the price is beyond my expectations. How about you add a little more?" Lu Yang asked shamelessly.

"How much?" Song Ge looked at Lu Yang strangely.

"Add another 2 or million, and the goal of "Blade of the Assassin " is to hit a box office of billion..."

Five minutes later, with Song Ge saying "impossible", Lu Yang happily left the office.

As soon as he walked out of the door, he met Ning Hao who was coming towards him, and Lu Yang couldn't help but show off his skills.

As a result, after more than an hour of coaxing and persuading, Ning Hao successfully extorted an extra two million from Song Ge.

The excuse is that filming might be very hard for the crew, so the money is used to improve the food.

...

Early March.

After "Assassins 2" passed the review, Lu Yang immediately started public auditions in the circle.

Following Zhao Wenzhuo, Tong Liya, Lei Jiayin, Zhang Yi, Jin Shijie, Guo Jingfei and others have announced their participation.

At the same time, Ning Hao announced the launch of his latest film "Lost in Thailand".

But what attracts the most attention is not the low cost of this movie, but the name Gu Wei behind the script.

For a time, the 2 million-budget "Lost in Thailand" attracted more attention from celebrities and artists than the million-budget "Knife of the Assassin ".

At the same time, "One Step Away" announced that it will be released during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the other party is heading straight for the Lunar New Year box office, and they have reserved such a long period of promotional time in between, which shows their ambition and appetite.

Everyone in the mainland film industry can see that he is clearly trying to repeat the path of "Let the Bullets Fly" and to achieve breakthroughs and surpass others at the box office.

Who knows, by the end of this year, there may be another big director in the circle who is in the 10 billion box office club!
"'One Step Away' is scheduled to be released in North America, and we are negotiating with a suitable distributor..."

Gu Wei also saw the Hollywood news reports while on the set of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes".

At least Jiang Wen had mentioned to him that the movie would be released in North America. Thinking of this, Gu Wei dialed the other party's number.

"Director Gu, when will the next movie be launched? Has the male lead been decided?" As soon as the phone was connected, a serious voice sounded, and Gu Wei almost couldn't react.

"Director Jiang? You're under too much pressure. Take some time to go to the hospital." Gu Wei joked.

"Hahaha."

Sure enough, after hearing this, Jiang Wen instantly became normal, "Brother, I'm the second Oscar winner. Do you think I have the potential to become an Oscar winner?"

"Come on, unless you change into another race."

"Uh." Jiang Wen was choked and speechless. After thinking it over, he still felt that he could not endure this torture.

"Let's get down to business. There are only two options for North American distribution. Either hand it over to Warner, or let my company give it a try. Which way do you think is feasible?" Gu Wei stopped teasing the other party. Long-distance calls are quite expensive.

"I know Warner's distribution channels, but the key is when will you start distributing it in Hollywood again?" Jiang Wen was shocked. After all, the surprise Gu Wei gave him this time was a bit big, but he didn't know the scale of the other party's distribution.

"It's not about distribution, but we have a few new theater chain partners." Gu Wei corrected. He really didn't have the ability to develop his own theater chain in Hollywood, and he couldn't compete with these capital giants.

"Then let's choose Warner." Jiang Wen instantly lost interest after hearing Gu Wei's answer. He subconsciously felt that the scale was very small and even the early publicity and promotion might become a problem.

"The Revenant was released by my company, and now the contract for New World in South Korea has also been signed. In fact, my company's channels are also quite good, and it can at least guarantee the opening of more than a thousand theaters."

Facing his partners, Gu Wei did not hide the truth, and more than a thousand stores were indeed not many.

But Jiang Wen on the other end of the phone was in a dilemma. Yes, one thousand theaters was not a lot for a movie to be released, but it was expensive to charge Warner Bros., and the other party also wanted a share of the box office, which was not a low percentage.

"How about this, brother? Let's see how the box office of 'The New World' performs before making a decision. You know that although Warner charges a lot, it has a lot of advantages in publicity and distribution."

The investment in "One Step Away" is so huge and many people are involved. It is impossible for Jiang Wen to make a decision on impulse.

"I understand, but you can release more information to create momentum."

"no problem."

.........

Throughout March, the mainland film market was almost dominated by imported films.

The total box office of "Journey to the West: Havoc in Heaven", which was postponed for 20 days, barely exceeded 800 million yuan, and then dropped to an average of one million per day.

The producer's billion-dollar speech became a joke, and even many people in the circle felt that the other party wasted the extension key.

Yu Dong of Bona even said openly: "If Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy had a delay key, 1 billion would not be a problem at all. As for Journey to the West, haha, even if it was delayed for 20 days, it would not be much higher than our box office."

at the same time.

Ning Hao’s “Lost in Thailand” was announced to be launched, and Guangguang’s latest film “My Deskmate” started filming in a high-profile manner.

The Chinese blockbuster "Iceman: Rebirth", which has an investment cost of 3 million yuan and is known as a 4D magical masterpiece, is scheduled to be released on April 25th.

This is also recognized as one of the two blockbusters during the May Day period. As for the other one, it is naturally "Swallowed Star" jointly produced by Xingchen Films, Light Media and Wanda...

...

(End of this chapter)