Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 758 Audition Request Time (Happy New Year to all the book friends)
China Film Studio, in the conference room.

Representatives from China Film, LeTV, Huayi, Youzu, and Xiaoma gathered together.

"The Crossing: Part One" has been withdrawn from theaters, and its domestic box office has not reached 200 million yuan. Even if the global box office is included, it is unlikely to exceed 300 million yuan.

At this point, it is meaningless to discuss who should take the blame. Today, five investors gathered together to discuss what to do with "The Crossing: Part Two"?
You should know that the total investment of this movie is as high as more than 400 million. Even if it is divided into two parts, the cost of each part starts at 200 million.

According to the current box office sharing ratio in the domestic entertainment industry, the entire "The Taiping Ferry" series must achieve a box office of over 1 billion yuan to barely make a profit.

Han Sanping, who was presiding over the meeting, saw that there was no movement for a long time, and sighed helplessly and said, "Everyone, tell me when the next release date should be set so that we can recover the losses as much as possible."

As for the issue of publicity, the exhausted old Han didn't want to mention it anymore. After all, there was no way to save a blockbuster with such a bad reputation.

Han Sanping now has only one request for "The Crossing: Part Two", and that is to recover as much box office as possible. The cumulative box office of the previous part has reached 200 million. One cannot expect "The Crossing: Part Two" to suddenly become a hit and gross 700 to 800 million when word of mouth is so bad.

Silence, still silence!

The atmosphere in the conference room gradually became depressing and everyone didn't know how to answer.

"Mr. Han, is it possible to adjust the content of the second part by reshooting, deleting, etc." Zhang Zhao of LeTV still had some hope in his heart.

Among all the investors of "The Crossing", LeTV suffered the most serious losses. It first took over part of China Film's shares, and later took over part of Xiao Ma's shares. It can be said that LeTV is the largest investor, without a doubt.

If Gu Wei was present at the scene, he might feel a little emotional. Although Jia Yueting of LeTV is unreliable, his employees really treat the company as their own and everyone is thinking about how to make the company bigger and stronger and create brilliance.

Later, when Jia left, LeTV employees were able to live a happy life, which was largely due to everyone's efforts.

Hearing this, Wang Zhonglei stared at Zhang Zhao like a fool.

"Mr. Zhang, it's easy for you to say that. It's easy to cut scenes, but forget about reshooting. Huayi will definitely not invest more money in it."

Wang Zhonglei made it clear that he would not add even a penny.

"Don't you want to think of a solution and just sit there waiting to die?" Zhang Zhao asked back.

"Unless you change the investment to Xingchen Film and Television Company, don't even think about getting audiences to buy tickets to watch your movie." Wang Zhonglei mocked directly.

Upon hearing this, the representative of Pony.com immediately voiced their support. Today, Pony.com is no longer able to invest in any more movies. Even though it made a comeback with "Fleet of Time", the profit it gained is still a drop in the bucket.

The representative of Youzu Pictures did not dare to say anything, but his silence already represented his attitude.

"Mr. Han." Zhang Zhao looked at Han Sanping, expecting him to nod in agreement. If China Film took the lead, LeTV would be determined to continue investing some money and take another chance.

"Well, let's talk about the release date." Han Sanping had already accepted his fate and didn't want to continue struggling with it.

To be honest, the reality is that even if Han Sanping wanted to make trouble, La Peikang would not agree.

After all, China Film Group has just invested in "The Great Wall", and next up are "The Battle of Nantianmen", "The Wandering Earth 2", and "Painted Skin 4" which may be launched in the second half of the year. Add to that other scattered projects, even if China Film Group has sufficient funds, it won't be able to produce as many projects as it wants.

Hearing this, Zhang Zhao sighed, leaned back in his seat, and accepted his fate.

"Mr. Han, I think we should choose a time period with fewer blockbusters. What do you think of the May Day period?" Wang Zhonglei saw that Han Sanping did not agree, so he relaxed and made a suggestion.

"Painted Skin 3 is scheduled to be released on May st. This is the date set by President La himself." Han Sanping said quietly.

"Where's Eleven?"

"Why not continue to schedule it for the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival? Maybe there will be a miracle..."

Everyone mentioned the release dates one by one, and Han Sanping kept shaking his head, "There are too many imported films during these release dates, and The Crossing can't compete with them."

"Then what time can you tell me, Mr. Han?"

Everyone was getting a little angry. What the hell, you asked everyone to come here to discuss the schedule, and this is the result?

"Is it useful to just shake your head? Can it do something?" Some people also complained in their hearts.

"Let's go for the summer season, in July or August. There aren't many imported films at this time, and the only domestic blockbusters that can be confirmed are Chen Kaige's "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain" and Ning Hao's "Lost in Thailand"...

We try to avoid these two films..."

Han Sanping said it lightly, but everyone was slightly stunned after hearing it, and then smiled bitterly.

"Alas." Someone sighed.

"Then let's set it in early August." Wang Zhonglei suggested a date.

"alright."

When the meeting ended, representatives from several companies looked at each other with only wry smiles on their faces.

When the project of "The Crossing" was launched, no one would have imagined the situation today.

.........

The scenery in the north is beautiful, but you will get bored if you stay there for too long.

After playing for about a week, Gu Wei and Miss Liu returned to the capital in a low-key manner.

Afterwards, the two stayed in the courtyard and Liu's mother's home for three or four days respectively. Towards mid-January, Gu Wei finally came to the company and got down to business.

"Boss, the first round broadcast rights of The Journey of Flower were bought by Jiangsu and Zhejiang TV and Mango TV respectively, with a total price of 2.56 million yuan, which means an average of 440 million yuan per episode.

Tudou Video bought the online satellite TV exclusively, with each episode receiving nearly 270 million yuan, totaling about 1.4 million yuan.”

After hearing the number reported by Wang Chen, Gu Wei was a little confused for a moment. Has the price of a single episode of a TV series increased so fast?
"So all added up, the number of viewers for a single episode of The Journey of Flower exceeded 700 million?"

"Yes." Wang Chen was also a little emotional. This data has exceeded the first two films in the "Ghost Blowing Out the Light" series.

Although the price of a single episode is not much higher, "The Journey of Flower" has 50 episodes, and the total price is more than million higher than the first two parts of "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

Moreover, in the competition for the broadcasting rights of "The Journey of Flower", online video websites have taken an increasingly important share.

If this trend continues, in the future, online video sites may completely suppress local TV stations in bidding for large-scale TV series like this one.

After being stunned for a moment, Gu Wei suddenly came to his senses. After all, the higher the price, the more money the company makes, which is also a good thing.

It cannot be denied that the high price of more than 200 million yuan, in addition to the subject matter, is definitely supported by the "one drama, two stars" policy, and it accounts for the majority of it.

"Yes, the total price of a TV series is higher than the box office of many movies. It is equivalent to the total box office of two "The Crossing (Part 1)", haha." Gu Wei couldn't help but joked.

"Haha, it's true when you think about it." Wang Chen was also amused.

The two of them laughed for a while, and Gu Wei suddenly asked, "Has the premiere time been decided?"

"I have discussed it with the two TV stations twice. If nothing goes wrong, it should be broadcast before the Spring Festival, which is around February 2th."

"Okay." Hearing this time point, Gu Wei felt relieved, as it had met his expectations.

After Wang Chen left, Jiang Xueruo, Chen Guofu and others came in one after another to report on their work during this period.

Basically, they are all major decision-making issues. After all, Song Ge can make decisions on small matters himself.

...

It was not until Zhong Lifang came in that Gu Wei realized that Song Ge had given her the audition and casting job for "The Battle of Nantianmen".

"Boss, you make your request first. After we announce it to the public, we will conduct two rounds of preliminary selections, and then report the suitable list to you...

If there are special audition artists or special requests, we will also make arrangements in advance..."

As soon as Zhong Lifang finished speaking, Gu Wei asked directly: "Special requirements?"

"For example, if you choose newcomers, we will communicate with major art schools in advance, and then screen them according to your specific requirements." Zhong Lifang said with a smile. "No, there are no special requirements. The first requirement for the audition is that the artist must have experience..."

Gu Wei is different from other big directors. He is not very interested in training newcomers. Even when he chose Han Dongjun for filming "The Wandering Earth", he was not a complete newcomer.

Besides, it would be too time-consuming and laborious to choose newcomers to star in a movie with such a large investment. Even if Gu Wei is willing to take the trouble to train them, there may be conflicts between the newcomers and other mature artistes when the filming starts.

"Second, you must be over 25 years old..."

“Third, it is not limited to the mainland… Some celebrities and artists from Hong Kong can also submit their resumes…

The premise is that there has been no statement of independence...”

"Fourth, the celebrity artist who gets the role needs to undergo two months of training..."

"fifth………"

...

Gu Wei said more than a dozen things in a scattered manner. It is better to explain some things in advance, otherwise they may cause adverse effects due to the intervention of someone with ulterior motives.

"Okay, boss, is there anything else you need to add?" Zhong Lifang has now completely found her position in the company and works diligently and passionately.

This was the first big project she was responsible for after coming to the company, so she naturally put her full attention into it.

"Hmm." Gu Wei tapped his fingers on the table and thought for a while. "That's all for now. If there's anything else, I'll add more later."

Hearing this, Zhong Lifang reorganized what Gu Wei had just said, and then continued to ask: "Then when is the audition scheduled?"

"It will be announced three days later, which is on the 15th, and the auditions and casting will be completed by the end of the month at the latest."

"clear."

.........

On the 14th, the Berlin Film Festival announced the latest shortlist. "One Step Away" was successfully shortlisted for the main competition unit as the second batch of submitted works.

At the same time, this is the fourth of Jiang Wen’s five feature films to be shortlisted for the main competition unit of the three major European film festivals.

As of now, the box office of "One Step Away" has exceeded 12 billion yuan. Despite the divided reputation, the film has still been affected to a certain extent.

There is less than a week left before the film is released again. Even though the average daily box office of "One Step Away" is still around 13 million, it seems that it will still be difficult to break billion.

Jiang Wen was naturally not satisfied with this result. After all, he had vowed at the premiere that the film would surpass "Wolf Warrior", but now it seems that he has been slapped in the face.

Gu Wei was quite satisfied with this result. In the original time and space, the final box office of "One Step Away" was only over 5 million yuan, but now it has more than doubled, which is definitely a big profit.

At the same time, when everyone in the circle was discussing that "One Step Away" was shortlisted for the main competition unit in Berlin.

Director Jiang was interviewed publicly. During the interview, he did not explicitly say: "It's the audience's problem if they can't understand my movie."

But he said: I actually don’t care too much if the audience doesn’t understand or accept this movie, and I can’t ask everyone to understand it.

It has to be said that there is indeed a difference between Jiang Wen and Feng Xiaogang. When the latter experienced box office failure and poor reputation, he would only point the finger at the audience.

The former uses Jiang Wen's style of humor, criticizing the audience while also reflecting on himself.

After going to the company for two consecutive days and sorting out most of the piled up things, Gu Wei continued to live his own life with Miss Liu.

In the villa, in front of the dining table, Gu Wei was gathering up his courage as he watched the "dark cuisine" made by the young lady herself, while Miss Liu was blinking her big eyes, holding her chin with her hands and staring at him with a smile.

Just as Gu Wei picked up the chopsticks and was about to put a piece of unknown meat into his mouth, the phone rang.

"Hmm?" Miss Liu frowned, secretly complaining in her heart who was so tactless as to call so late at night.

Gu Wei seemed relieved. He first showed an annoyed expression, then glanced at the "dark cuisine", and then looked at the mobile phone that was vibrating on the table. The meaning was self-evident.

"Okay, okay, answer it quickly." Miss Liu said proudly.

"Shit, who is so timely? He's such a benefactor." Gu Wei was silently grateful in his heart. He picked up the phone with the speed that only a director could use, answered it instantly and turned on the speakerphone.

"Brother, have you read the news? 'One Step Away' has been shortlisted for the main competition unit in Berlin, haha..." Jiang Wen's unique voice rang out.

In the past, Gu Wei would have had to tease the other party, but in this situation, Jiang Wen's bragging and nagging seemed to sound more appealing.

"Haha, I told you you could do it. Congratulations!"

On the other side of the phone, Jiang Wen was a little confused, muttering to himself, "What happened today? Director Gu started to praise people?"

"No, no, I also want to thank my brother for the recommendation, otherwise I wouldn't have passed the review so easily, haha."

"Hey, that's wrong. Director Jiang's talent is obvious to all..."

"Oh, I feel a little embarrassed when you praise me like that."

So, the two of them entered into a state of commercial mutual flattery, and Liu Yifei next to them pouted her lips and made a disgusting expression.

After ten full minutes, just as Gu Wei was racking his brains to think of words to compliment him, Jiang Wen finally got to the point, "Um, brother, do you have time next month? Shall we go to Berlin together?"

Maybe he just said it out of turn, "Time will tell if Director Jiang's movie..." Before he finished, Gu Wei immediately realized what was going on. He glanced at Miss Liu who was staring at him, and quickly changed his words, "I don't have time. The audition for the new movie will start tomorrow, so I'll be busy for the rest of the time."

"Oh, brother, don't forget the role you promised me."

"hehe."

Gu Wei smiled and muttered to himself, "Damn it, I asked you to film Mojin: The Lost Legend but you refused, but you are quick to ask for roles. Impossible."

Hearing Gu Wei's perfunctory response, Jiang Wen didn't take it too seriously. In his opinion, it was impossible to explain clearly over the phone. Such things were best discussed in person. Jiang Wen felt that with his own "wisdom", he would definitely be able to convince the other party.

Afterwards, the two chatted for a while, and Jiang Wen brought up the matter of "The Wandering Earth 2" in a shy manner.

"Um, have you finished drawing the storyboard?"

"Of course. I have not been idle during this period. I have drawn hundreds of pictures. I was thinking of showing them to you when I have time." Jiang Wen said confidently.

"Hmm." Gu Wei was silent for a while. "How about this, I will arrange for a few investors to get together in the next two days so that everyone can talk face to face?"

"Okay, if they agree I'll take it, but if they don't agree I won't make it difficult for you."

Hearing this, Gu Wei breathed a sigh of relief. These words made him feel at ease. Gu Wei didn't want the relationship between the two to become strained because of a movie.

Although Gu Wei could make the decision on his own, he also wanted to see Jiang Wen's true skills.

Otherwise, it would be too stressful for the director of a blockbuster to be decided by the sole decision maker, who is not even a member of the Star Film and Television Company.

He looked at the time and found that half an hour had passed. He turned back to look at Miss Liu and suddenly felt something was wrong.

Sure enough, the moment the phone was hung up.

"Gu Wei, you're going to die. The food is cold." Miss Liu's roar filled the entire restaurant.

"Okay, if it's cold, just heat it up again."

"Why are you so hot? You seem so energetic. Come on, follow me into the house." Miss Liu licked her lips as if she wanted to eat someone.

"what!"

A few minutes later, a series of obscene sounds of "ah ah ah ah" were heard from the bedroom.

.........

(End of this chapter)