Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 708: Comrade Again? (Two in One)

La Peikang of China Film Group is having a headache at the moment. The incident happened just as the casting for "The Mermaid" was finalized, and several investors are considering whether to replace Zhang Yuqi.

The investors held a meeting to discuss the matter. Zhou Xingchi insisted on not changing the person and took a tough attitude, and the meeting ended in a bad mood.

Gu Wei tried to persuade Zhang Yimou to take over the co-production but to no avail. Now the Hong Kong media is attacking Zhou Xingchi more and more vigorously. La Peikang is a little regretful that he should have asked the other party to help suppress public opinion.

Just as La Peikang himself said, deleting the news is a piece of cake, but China Film is half a referee in the domestic entertainment market. Once China Film takes action, it will be both a referee and an athlete, and the companies below will definitely have opinions.

Moreover, when the heroine of "The Mermaid" was being selected some time ago, China Film, Shanghai Film and Star Overseas held a press conference.

At that time, the representative of China Film Corporation also implicitly warned the group of Hong Kong people, but unfortunately they relied on the fact that China Film Corporation could not intervene directly and pretended not to hear it. Now the online attacks on Zhou Xingchi are getting more and more intense, and more Hong Kong artists have joined in.

Now the matter is getting bigger and bigger, seriously affecting the launch of "The Mermaid".

Zhou Xingchi continued to endure it as he did before, which made La Peikang and Ren Zhonglun anxious.

Wang Changtian even complained privately: "Why don't you say something? We can't speak directly when you are so submissive."

...

Compared to La Peikang's headache, Han Sanping was in a good mood at the moment.

Gu Wei, who had not left his house for several days, was asked out by him. "Boss Han, are you in such a hurry? I want to wait until after the New Year!"

"It's not a matter of urgency. It's been a long time. We can start preparing." After saying that, Han Sanping seemed to remember something and continued, "You are really interesting. You asked me to talk to the people in Columbia while asking Song Ge to recruit people?"

"Business is business, and everyone has their own aspirations. If they really want to come here, doesn't that mean they are optimistic about the future development of Xingchen Films? Mr. Han, you should be happy for me." Gu Wei joked.

"Come on, I can't argue with you. Come over here quickly. I've sent you the address."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Wei went to the study and got a document, which was the script for the next movie.

As soon as I went downstairs, I met Liu Yifei who was also preparing to go out.

"Going to find Changchang?" Gu Wei asked subconsciously when he saw the young lady with exquisite makeup.

As a result, Miss Liu said that she would temporarily attend an event as an investor of Red Star Wu.

"What activity?" Gu Wei had to ask one more question, for he was afraid that the young lady would be sold and help others count the money.

"I heard that the banquet was full of actors and directors. I guess they were discussing investment." Miss Liu said proudly.

"Okay then, take your time. Be careful when it comes to investment, hehe."

"Yeah, well, anyway, I won't express my opinion. At most, I'll go back and think about it."

Liu Yifei nodded obediently. During this period, she followed Li Binbin's advice, studied film-related issues, and was committed to being a qualified director's wife.

"If someone really comes to you for investment and you like the script, you can bring it back and I will help you look at it..." After thinking about it, Gu Wei continued to remind him worriedly.

Hearing this, Liu Yifei immediately laughed out loud, "Oh, okay, I know."

……

It was the same private club as last time. When Gu Wei arrived, he was surprised to see quite a few people there.

The first person to say hello was the director of Jinling Art Center. Gu Wei had an impression of him. They had had dinner together during the filming of Wolf Warrior and they had called each other twice afterwards.

"Gu Wei, this is Director Wang from the Navy, and this is Director Liu from Golden Shield." Han Sanping began to introduce them.

"Hello, Director Wang, Director Liu." Gu Wei shook hands and greeted them one by one, then sat directly next to Han Sanping.

"Director Gu is really young and promising. I've heard of your name before, but today is the first time I've met you. It's true that hearing about you is not as good as meeting you in person, haha."

The person who spoke was the leader of Golden Shield. He had a dignified face and it was obvious that he was the kind of person who had been in a high position for a long time and issued orders. Even when he spoke, there was a sense of oppression.

However, Gu Wei had met too many people of high status, so he was neither humble nor arrogant at this moment. "Director Liu, you are too kind. It is true that I am young and promising, but I don't dare to take it. After traveling around China and abroad for so many years, I found that I still have a lot to learn, haha."

It has to be said that Gu Wei's humility left a good impression on the leaders of Golden Shield. Director Liu even thought that at least he had achieved such great success at the other person's age, so he would definitely be proud of himself.

"Director Gu is too modest. I think it's other people who should learn from you." Director Chen of Jinling Art secretly praised him.

The huge sales of Wolf Warrior have brought sweet rewards to Jinling Art Center. The investment of 30 million yuan will soon yield several times the return. Although he cannot get the money himself, it is a definite political achievement.

There is already news from above that Director Chen might make a step forward by the end of the year. To put it bluntly, he really regards Gu Wei as a benefactor now.

Hearing this, Director Wang and Director Liu were moved. Their goals were almost the same. Who wouldn't want to cooperate with someone who had the ability to influence their career?

As a result, the scene immediately became lively.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Han Sanping waved to the wait staff. After they left, everyone completely relaxed.

Anyone who can be a leader, no matter what his ability is, at least his alcohol tolerance is impeccable. At this moment, Gu Wei's face is flushed and he is about to take his place.

The purpose of several people eating together was naturally not to get Gu Wei drunk. Now that they felt that it was about time, Director Chen poured Gu Wei a glass of water.

"Thank you." Gu Wei took it and took a sip, feeling much better.

Han Sanping glanced at the others and slowly said, "Director Gu, several leaders are here today. If you have any ideas, just tell us directly."

He was well aware of the limitations of filming military-themed movies, especially when shooting them as special effects blockbusters. It would probably not be easy starting from the script review.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone else turned their eyes to Gu Wei. Director Liu of Golden Shield even nodded, signaling Gu Wei to tell the truth.

"Everyone, this project started with a casual chat with Director Han, and then Director Han made a plan and submitted it within three days... Later, Director La called me and said that Director Han had ignored the film market and suddenly started studying military plans..."

Gu Wei first explained the reason for the start of the project, and sure enough, everyone laughed after hearing it.

Then, Gu Wei took out a few documents and said, "This is the script I just finished. You can take a look at it first. After reading it, you will roughly understand it."

After receiving the script, several people started reading it directly. They were all heads of the cultural publicity department and had the ability to judge the quality of a script. When they saw Gu Wei's grand plan, they were attracted at first sight, including Han Sanping.

At this moment, Old Han was reading carefully word by word, and the only sound in the private room was the sound of turning pages.

Seeing that everyone was sometimes frowning and sometimes clapping their hands in applause, Gu Wei smiled slightly. While going to the toilet, he asked the waiters to prepare a new table of dishes. It would take at least an hour to finish watching this.

After a long time, so long that Gu Wei was almost drunk, there was movement in the private room.

"The ancients said that when you see a good article, you should understand everything. Director Gu's script is no less good." Director Chen from Jinling put down the script first and praised it.

Gu Wei waved his hands, feeling a little embarrassed.

To be honest, the story content of this script is not novel, and it is even a bit cliché. It is nothing more than a story about alien civilization invading the earth and the Chinese government resisting foreign enemies.

However common the routine may be, the fact that so many directors continue to use it shows that it is a classic!

"The script is good, but can it be filmed with so many high-tech weapons in it?" Director Wang of the Navy Political Department was a pragmatic man, and he asked with some concern at this moment.

Han Sanping was also reading the script for the first time. He agreed with the other party's concerns. After all, he had never heard of many of the terms and weapons. If the script was used to shoot the script, the scenes would be too grand.

"Hmm." Gu Wei pondered for a while, then said: ""

"I spent nearly $200 million in Hollywood to buy this camera system, and it took a lot of effort. They are quite strict about the technology blockade."

This is just Gu Wei pretending to be pitiful. The Americans are imposing a technological blockade, but that is aimed at science and technology. They have no such concept for things used for filming, and those capitalists are eager for you to buy more so that they can make more US dollars.

But the crying child gets the milk, Gu Wei can't just say it's easy, don't worry.

Sure enough, these people had all experienced the "embargo" era, and their expressions when they looked at Gu Wei changed after hearing this.

"These guys have always had this look on their faces. It was like this in the past, it is like this now, and it will definitely be like this in the future. Damn it." Director Liu of Golden Shield said bitterly.

"Okay, Lao Liu, Director Gu is planning to shoot this movie in China now, and he still needs your support." Director Chen of Jinling Art said.

At this time, Han Sanping said: "The script is good, but there is one point that may be a little troublesome."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone, including Gu Wei, looked at him.

Han Sanping did not hesitate, "I saw that many scenes were very destructive, such as the land battles in the later stages, where many iconic buildings in China were destroyed. I am afraid that even if I shoot it, it will not pass the review."

This is exactly the reason why Gu Wei asked several relevant departments to join in. As he said before, the reason why domestic special effects blockbusters have not been able to make it to the top is that they dare not let go like Hollywood.

If you keep blowing up the Great Wall or the Forbidden City, they will come up with a lot of excuses, saying that you are maliciously smearing the country.

In short, the final situation is likely to become a thankless task, which seriously restricts the development of domestic science fiction blockbusters.

"Well, I'll take the script back to discuss it first. As for the issues mentioned by President Han, Lao Chen, and Lao Wang, everyone can go back and discuss them in a meeting. Then we can jointly submit it for review. I don't think there will be any major problems." Director Liu of Golden Shield said.

"Yeah, I think so too. We should keep up with the times, no matter what..." Director Chen of Jinling Art Center echoed. "Haha, I mean we can shoot it as a promotional film. The Publicity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security will participate in the joint production and help with the promotion. Once the slogan is changed, the meaning will be different, and of course the nature will be different too."

Before coming here, Gu Wei had already thought of a good excuse: to use the country's name to produce the film in mainland China, and to present it as a commercial blockbuster when it was released overseas, thus killing two birds with one stone.

As soon as these words came out, the eyes of the other people lit up.

"It's suitable. I think it's very suitable. Since Director Gu has mentioned it, let's try our best to get it done in the next two days." Director Chen of Jinling Art Center was enthusiastic. If this matter can be done, it will improve his career even more than "Wolf Warrior".

The other people also reacted instantly, but Han Sanping felt a little dejected. Having left the position of chairman of China Film Group, no matter how much he did, it would only be a waste of his remaining energy.

Gu Wei naturally noticed Han Sanping's abnormality, but he had already expected that this movie would let Han Jianv be one of the assistant directors to improve her resume.

Han Sanping nodded upon hearing this, and then said with a little excitement: "Director Gu, please talk about the cost. Let's discuss it first."

When it came time to divide the cake, Gu Wei's expression turned serious. "The cost is estimated to be no less than 1.2 to 1.4 billion RMB, not including the subsequent publicity and promotion costs..."

No one was interested in listening to the professional terms that Gu Wei said later. The cost of 1.2 billion alone was not a small number.

Director Chen of Jinling Art Center was a little confused. The cost of six to seven "Wolf Warriors" films meant that if he wanted to get the same share as "Wolf Warrior", he might have to pay 150 to 200 million yuan, not including the additional costs required for later production.

Apart from Han Sanping, the other two performed similarly. They originally wanted to get a 20% to 30% share, but it turned out to cost so much money that the risk increased exponentially.

"Of course." Seeing everyone's expressions, Gu Wei took a sip of water and continued, "These are just preliminary estimates. It will take a few days to calculate the exact amount of money."

Several people breathed a sigh of relief, which meant there was still room for improvement?
"But I can assure you that this number will only be less, not more."

Everyone here has experienced storms. From the brief shock at the beginning to now being expressionless, it’s just money. There will always be a way if we think of it.

...

"Filming with 3D cameras... motion capture systems... intelligent digital systems all require..."

"Since it's a big production, there will be no shortage of superstars invited to star in it, including Hollywood. However, the majority of the roles will still be played by Chinese actors..."

"The filming period is planned to be about two years. I plan to divide it into several groups to carry out the filming simultaneously. The speed may be faster than The Wandering Earth... It will be released in the second half of 15 at the latest..."

"This involves a lot of science and technology. I will invite some personnel from the Institute of Space Technology to participate. I need all the leaders to come forward to coordinate..."

In the private room, Gu Wei didn't stop at all and described every detail in detail.

Regardless of whether people can understand it or not, at least it proves that Gu Wei is professional, which is very important in the country.

"Inviting so many stars from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas to join will invisibly increase costs greatly." Han Sanping suddenly said.

"Mr. Han, since it's a blockbuster, we have to consider global release. Do you think the box office can be guaranteed without any foreign participation? Xingchen Film and Television is not China Film Group, which can let celebrity artists star in the film for free." Gu Wei joked.

Hearing this, Han Sanping also laughed. Yes, now the pay of celebrity artists is getting higher and higher, and the investment cost has increased a lot.

"What I mean is that we must ensure the quality, and the actors' salaries cannot take up too much of the cost." Han Sanping continued.

"Yes, President Han is right. I saw a news report a few days ago saying that some actors were paid 100 million yuan each, while the entire project only cost more than 100 million yuan to produce. How can good effects be produced with this?" Director Liu of Golden Shield shook his head and said.

In recent years, the high remuneration of celebrities has become an issue repeatedly criticized by film and television practitioners. However, because the "star effect" is still very powerful in attracting audiences, TV stations also watch celebrities when buying dramas.

In addition, China produces a large number of films and TV series every year, so big stars have always been in short supply in the market. The calls to limit star pay have become nothing more than empty talk and have never really been implemented.

At present, there are many dramas in which the main star's salary accounts for more than 50% of a drama's investment, and in some cases, the proportion is as high as 70%.

As a result, the production costs of movies and TV series have been squeezed invisibly. The pay of directors, screenwriters and other jobs that truly control the quality of a drama has been squeezed, not to mention affecting their creative enthusiasm. In addition, all kinds of five-cent special effects have flooded the screen, making the audience's scalp tingle.

Although Xingchen Film and Television Company has always been famous for its special effects, no one knows whether inviting so many people to perform will affect the quality of the film in the end.

"Haha, don't worry, everyone. I know this. If it doesn't work, I'll attract more investors to increase costs."

With such a high investment, Gu Wei plans to give up half of his share, otherwise if he suffers a loss, it will be very painful.

"If we increase the cost further, wouldn't it be a bit like the original "2012"? " Han Sanping said suddenly.

The cost and promotion of "2012" was as high as million US dollars, but the revenue so far has exceeded billion US dollars. The risk and reward are proportional.

And once a Chinese film can surpass "2012", the impact it brings is self-evident.

"Director Gu, there is no problem with what you said. I will organize a meeting as soon as I get back." The person in charge of Golden Shield seemed to have seen the scene of his own promotion, and he couldn't wait to pat his chest and make the promise.

"Yes, let's do it this way. If you want people, give them; if you want money, give them money. I can't do that. We can't make movies as well as those foreigners." The head of the Navy Political Department waved his hand in support.

"Director Gu, tell me the truth, is it possible for this work to surpass 2012?" the person in charge of Jinling Art Center asked cautiously.

"Old Chen, you have to believe in Comrade Gu Wei. He can create miracles."

Hearing the word "comrade" again, Gu Wei, who was drunk, also waved his hand and said, "I can't guarantee that I can surpass it, but I can promise to do my best to make this movie well and leave the words "Made in China" in the history of world cinema."

"it is good."

"Ambitious."

In an instant, the small private room seemed unable to contain the huge and lofty words of everyone.

.........

The night at the end of October was already a little chilly, and Han Sanping sent Gu Wei to the door of the villa.

After getting off the car, Gu Wei did not rush home, but walked and chatted with Han Sanping, followed by several assistants.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself." Han Sanping handed Gu Wei a cigarette, and after lighting it, the two of them started puffing smoke.

"Huh." Gu Wei exhaled a puff of smoke. The nicotine entered his lungs and then rushed out. This feeling made people feel comfortable.

"Boss Han, if I tell you that I also have a dream, would you believe it?"

"Haha, if it were someone else I would be skeptical, but I believe you. After all, even if you don't make movies, the money you earn is enough to live on for several lifetimes." Han Sanping said happily.

"The company will start the early special effects production by the end of the month at the latest. Once Jindun and his team have contacted the Academy of Aerospace, we will immediately start the weapon model design..."

"But we have to wait until after the New Year to start filming. Otherwise, if it delays the wedding, I'm afraid Yifei will beat me to death, haha."

"Haha, that's true. Don't worry. We will probably have to hold several meetings later. The allocation of capital and shares are big issues. What do you think?" Han Sanping said with a smile.

"I originally wanted to keep half of the share, but if it is to be released worldwide, I plan to bring in one or two major Hollywood companies."

"Well, that's right. Don't just consider the mainland. The mainland market cannot support such a large investment for the time being. The overseas market is the main target." Han Sanping nodded. It's okay as long as Gu Wei doesn't get carried away. He is afraid that he will be provoked by his "comrades" to only consider the domestic situation, which may lead to bad things.

"I'm just afraid that they will object at that time." Gu Wei smiled. Chinese people pay attention to plots, and he also wants to make it completely domestically. However, under the current global situation, it is obviously unrealistic to want a high box office but not to bring in foreigners.

"Hey, what's so difficult to understand? The worst that can happen is that we can put Jindun and the others in front on the thank-you list, haha." Han Sanping is an old veteran in the system and knows that this group of people care about face. As long as they do things on the surface and do not violate the principles, the problem can be easily solved.

Hearing this, Gu Wei's eyes lit up. It turned out that Old Han had a solution.

"That's a good idea indeed. Let's do it."

After resolving the last layer of worry, Gu Wei completely relaxed.

While walking with Han Sanping, the two talked about more details, and the more Han Sanping listened, the more he felt that this movie was of great significance.

"Why don't we let our daughter be an assistant director in another movie? After all, China Film Corporation is involved in the investment, and it would not sound good if it gets out." Han Sanping said with some concern.

"Boss Han, I'm not just doing this for favors. Xiao Han has learned a lot in Hollywood after so long, and I need her help."

"Don't we have Guo Fan? You have always been optimistic about him." Han Sanping asked.

"Oh, I plan to let him know about The Wandering Earth 2."

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Sanping lost his composure and looked at Gu Wei carefully. The look in his eyes seemed to say, "You are kidding."

"Really, but the other party hasn't agreed yet, so I need to think of a way to force him." Gu Wei said seriously.

"You are awesome. You entrust such a huge investment to a complete newcomer. Aren't you afraid of objections from other investors?" Han Sanping gave a thumbs up and said this after a long time.

"Don't worry, I don't have time. If they don't agree, I'll just wait five or six years, haha."

"You, you, hahaha."

In the dark night, the laughter of the two people could be heard far, far away...

.........

(End of this chapter)