Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 778: Ali's Plan Yu Dong's Invitation

capital.

Feng Xiaogang’s mansion.

After the filming of "Mr. Six" was completed, Feng Xiaogang once again fell into a period of creative confusion. He drank tea and walked his bird at home every day, scolding whoever he caught, and seemed to be still immersed in the state of "Sixth Master".

"So, Gu Wei and Ma Yun really had a fight?" Feng Xiaogang sat upright on the sofa, looking very imposing.

"Really, Zhang Qiang has signed the gambling agreement, but there is no specific amount. I guess he will have to sign it again after the cost of the two movies is determined.

I think Gu Wei is really arrogant. Isn't he afraid that Ali will pay for the game for the sake of face? If they really fight like this, can Xingchen Films beat Ali?" Wang Zhonglei kept talking with gloating, obviously happy to see this situation happen.

If Alibaba really does this, it might be able to break the box office myth of Star Films and make Gu Wei lose face.

Feng Xiaogang remained calm and said slowly, "That being said, Gu Wei is not someone you can easily mess with. Even if Alibaba has money, the final film scheduling and box office revenue still have to go through the cinemas. Can they compete with Xingchen Films in this regard?"

Wang Zhonglei was stunned when he heard this, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that this statement was true. Even if Alibaba is rich, if they cut off your financial support and don't schedule films for you, you might not even have anywhere to spend your money.

Think about the domestic cinema chains. They have made a lot of money in recent years thanks to the Star Pictures Company. Now, as long as a movie is produced by Star Pictures, the cinema chains will schedule it for screening almost without any hesitation.

Needless to say, Wanda is as good as Xingchen Film and Television, except that they are wearing the same pants.

The China Film Group is definitely on Gu Wei's side, plus they have their own cinema chains. Wow, just think about it, half of the eight major cinema chains in China have close relations with each other.

Thinking of this, Wang Zhonglei suddenly couldn't laugh anymore, and his eyes looked evasive when he looked at Feng Xiaogang.

Actually, Wang Zhonglei took the initiative to come to Feng Xiaogang's house to find him, of course, not just to chat about gossip.

Ever since Gu Wei and Ali openly bet against each other in the ring, Zhang Qiang has also been thinking about "The Ferryman".

Before the conflict between the two sides escalated, Zhang Qiang felt that since "The Ferryman" was produced by Wong Kar-wai, any director could be hired, but now this incident has happened.

Zhang Qiang had the idea in his mind that he could only succeed and not fail, so choosing a great director became a top priority.

Looking at several major directors in the circle, Zhang Yimou is busy with "The Great Wall", and Jiang Wen is expected to direct "The Wandering Earth 2" next.

There is no need to worry about Brother Chen Kai. He is happy to watch the fun and will not get involved at all.

After much thought, Zhang Qiang naturally chose Feng Xiaogang, who had just finished filming "Old Cannon". In addition, Ali was one of the shareholders of Huayi, so Zhang Qiang planned to invite him to direct "The Ferryman" through Wang Zhonglei.

But Feng Xiaogang was a shrewd man throughout his life, and he knew some things clearly before anyone even spoke.

So his words revealed that he was not optimistic about Ali Pictures. On the one hand, Feng Xiaogang has indeed been in poor form in the past two years and has lacked creative energy. He himself has gradually come to realize this fact.

Secondly, Feng Xiaogang was a little afraid of Gu Wei. During the previous Huayi incident, he discovered that Gu Wei was not a good person, and he didn't want to compete with him at all.

To be honest, in Feng Xiaogang's opinion, Gu Wei is indeed something. To put it simply, he can be regarded as a rare genius in the Chinese-language film industry that only appears once in a century. He can make all kinds of blockbusters with ease, whether they are art films or commercial films.

To put it in a broader sense, he has a chance to top the list of world film history in the future, so we really can't afford to offend him.

Seeing this, Wang Zhonglei became a little anxious. Even the most capable and battle-hardened generals under Huayi were scared. How could they fight the "box office war" in the future?

Although Wang Zhonglei does not want his company's films to be released at the same time as the works of Xingchen Film and Television, he does not care if the works of other companies are replaced by them.

Moreover, the war has just begun, and it is still uncertain who will win or lose.

According to Wang Zhonglei's idea, if Feng Xiaogang took over "The Ferryman" and lost, it would not have much impact on Huayi. After all, before this, including big directors such as Chen Kaige, Jiang Wen, and Zhang Yimou, none of them had lost to Xingchen Pictures at the box office, so it didn't matter.

Besides, this movie doesn’t need Huayi’s investment. If it makes a loss, it makes a loss. If it fails, it fails. Who would feel bad about it since it’s not their own money?
But what if they win? Huayi will do a little publicity at that time, and when shareholders see that there is such a big man in charge of the company, won’t the stock price go up?

"Old Feng, actually you know even without me telling you that Zhang Qiang of Ali really wants to invite you to direct "The Ferryman". After all, apart from Gu Wei, you are one of the few big directors in the circle and your box office is guaranteed to be good." Wang Zhonglei flattered directly.

Unexpectedly, Feng Xiaogang laughed at himself and said, "Only you guys are still talking about this. Now Jiang Wen's movie has made over 1 billion yuan at the box office and is competing for the Golden Bear Award in Berlin.

Zhang Yimou won the Best Foreign Language Film Award, shot a Hollywood blockbuster, and is now working on a new movie;
I heard that Chen Kai's "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain" is also good;
I won’t mention this achievement.”

Wang Zhonglei smiled and said: "In fact, it is not just us who are talking about this. Nowadays, many young people who see the rising housing prices and cannot afford to buy houses will think of your classic lines in the movie "Big Shot".

What does this prove? It proves that your work has substance. Just for this reason, I think that Wen Muye can’t compare to you at all.”

Speaking of this, Feng Xiaogang was a little proud. He took a sip of tea and slowly recalled: "We must choose the best prime location and hire a French designer..."

Wang Zhonglei added, “If we build it, we have to build the highest-end apartments, with elevators going directly into the homes, and the smallest apartment has to be at least 400 square meters…”

"Broadband, optical cables, satellites, everything that can be connected to him is connected to him. There is a garden upstairs and a swimming pool inside the building. There is also a British butler standing in the building, wearing a wig, very gentlemanly..."

Wang Zhonglei couldn’t quite remember what happened next, so he could only guess. Finally, the two of them said together, “Do you know what a successful person is?

Successful people buy the most expensive things instead of the best.

Therefore, our slogan in real estate is, not seeking the best but the most expensive..."

The two men laughed loudly after they finished talking. Feng Xiaogang patted the armrest of the sofa and said proudly: "If those young people could understand what I said earlier, how much advantage would they have taken?"

Wang Zhonglei saw that things were turning around, and immediately continued to agree: "Director Feng's advantage is not something that ordinary people can take advantage of."

Unexpectedly, Feng Xiaogang glared at him and said, "You're insulting me, aren't you?"

Wang Zhonglei smiled and said immediately, "How can that be possible? I'm here to beg you.

Zhang Qiang from Ali Pictures called me and talked about you for a long time, trying to persuade me to ask you to come out and make this movie to save the situation. "

The Wang brothers had great confidence in Feng Xiaogang's abilities, otherwise they would not have cooperated with him for more than ten years. Moreover, when Feng was about to leave Huayi to start his own company, they spent a huge amount of money to bring him back.

Although Feng Xiaogang's "1942" lost a lot of money, he turned around and made a low-cost "Private Tailor", which grossed over 700 million yuan and easily made back the money.

But this time Feng Xiaogang waved his hand and refused, "I really can't do it this time. I'm old. Sometimes when I'm writing a script, I get distracted and just sit there in a daze. I don't know what I'm thinking about for a long time, let alone directing a movie with such a big investment."

Seeing that he couldn't convince the other party emotionally, Wang Zhonglei returned to the real topic and said, "Ali has said that you can name the director's fee. The amount is negotiable."

Hearing this, Feng Xiaogang's eyes lit up. After all, no one can resist money.

Although Ali Pictures said they could name any price, Feng Xiaogang was no fool and certainly would not ask for hundreds of millions. However, if they were really determined to hire him, it would be easy for him to make a fortune.

However, Feng Xiaogang felt that this matter needed to be carefully considered. Even if he agreed, he should not be in a hurry. He should give the other party some time to think. After all, he was not the one in a hurry.

"Well, let me think about it later." Then, Feng Xiaogang sighed inexplicably, "It was so good when we were young!"

……

at the same time.

At this moment, the news about the "Mojin: The Lost Tomb" press conference is still hot, and various discussions on the Internet are endless.

Gu Wei, at Yu Dong's invitation, came to the VIP box of a Chinese restaurant near Bona Company.

When I arrived at the place, I saw Yu Dong, Lin Chaoxian, Chen Baoguo and Huang Jianxin gathered together.

"Hey, Director Gu is here, please take your seat."

Seeing Gu Wei arrive, Yu Dong immediately stood up and spoke enthusiastically, and at the same time led him to the reserved main seat. Lin Chaoxian, Chen Baoguo and Huang Jianxin next to him naturally did not put on airs. They dared to confront the richest man in the mainland, so they immediately stood up and greeted him with a smile.

Gu Wei was naturally polite, but he couldn't resist the enthusiasm of the crowd.

If we say that the box office success of "Wolf Warrior" is just making many film and television companies in the industry jealous.

Then Gu Wei's personal directing of the main-theme military-themed movie completely attracted the attention of other companies in the industry to this type of film.

When he made the movie "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy", Bo Na made a fortune thanks to the name of Star Film and Television Company.

Yu Dong invited Gu Wei here today, and the topic they talked about was naturally about this topic.

When Chinese people are at the table, they always drink first and then talk about business, and the situation today was no different.

The wine has passed three rounds, and the food has passed the five flavors.

At this moment, several people started chatting directly in the private room. When Gu Wei heard Yu Dong speak, he naturally did not interrupt. After all, he still didn't know what the specific project was.

"It took us three years to write this script and we went through more than 20 drafts. Fortunately, after going through so many hardships, we finally got it approved." When talking about his emotions, Yu Dong repeatedly emphasized that it was not easy.

It was not until this time that Gu Wei realized that it was "Operation Mekong".

Speaking of "Operation Mekong", this movie is adapted from the real case "The Mekong Case", and in the past, movies adapted from such major cases were generally produced by China Film.

The script was indeed written by Han Sanping himself at the time, and he invited Li Ming from Xiaoma Pentium to participate. He chose Lan Xiaolong as the screenwriter and Gao Qunshu as the director.

The project once quickly advanced to the actor selection stage, and then Han Sanping told Gao Qunshu that the filming could not be carried out because the project was snatched away by Bo Na.

The reason why Yu Dong was able to easily snatch the film adaptation rights from his old leader was mainly because his filming concept attracted the top leaders of the Ministry of Public Security.

Because for this movie, China Film Group had submitted a main-theme script outline and proposed a shooting plan with an investment of 5000 million yuan.

But this kind of production concept can only be described as mediocre, without any surprises.

But it is different for Bona. Yu Dong directly proposed a plan for a commercial blockbuster with a cost of 2 million yuan. He even boasted that he wanted to shoot it like American blockbusters, similar to "Mission Impossible" and "Fast and Furious". It has to be said that this idea made the Ministry of Public Security quite interested.

Finally, Bona obtained the film adaptation rights of the "Mekong River" incident.

Of course, for a movie like this that is adapted from a real case and involves the police, it goes without saying that it is not that simple.

After Yu Dong finished speaking, he looked at Gu Wei and said, "Director Gu, how is it? Are you interested?"

Hearing this, Gu Wei laughed and said, "The script sounds good, but for a major subject like this, the script review unit is different, so I think the process must be difficult. Now that Director Yu has completed the review, it can be said that everything is ready. Are you sure you want Xingchen Films to take a share?"

"Director Gu, what you said is ridiculous. Let's not talk about Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy. Just from The Wandering Earth, Bo Na made a lot of money. Of course I won't forget you when something good happens." Yu Dong said with a smile.

Speaking of which, Yu Dong's plan to bring Gu Wei along this time was not really intended to do something relying on the other party's reputation.

Just as he said just now, Yu Dong did want to thank Gu Wei, and he also wanted to continue to deepen cooperation with Star Films. After all, "The Wandering Earth" made Bona, Wanda, and Light Media famous in Hollywood.

So much so that even other big Hollywood companies know that there are several big film and television companies in China that are no less powerful than Star Films, and the gains in reputation are huge.

Hearing this, Gu Wei smiled without saying anything, while Dante Lam next to him spoke up: "Director Gu, I have actually watched Wolf Warriors. The part in the second half where the characters go abroad is very similar to the Mekong River case!"

“Oh, that’s a little bit true, but the plot is still different, otherwise it wouldn’t have been so easy for Wolf Warrior to pass the review!” Gu Wei replied.

Everyone laughed when they heard this, and Yu Dong sighed, "It's a bit similar, but this movie can't be compared with Wolf Warrior now!"

The Star version of "Wolf Warrior" grossed 1.8 billion yuan in the mainland, ranking second in the box office record of Chinese-language films. From this point of view alone, many domestic films can't compare at all.

“It’s different. When the company was filming Wolf Warrior, it was like crossing the river by feeling the stones. Everyone had only one word in mind: exciting. We wanted to make it as exciting as possible.

The theme of your film, "The Mekong River Case," is that justice will not be late, and there are too many things to consider." Gu Wei compared the two films.

Yu Dong nodded slightly, "Indeed, although the two movies are somewhat similar, they are essentially different."

Speaking of which, Yu Dong also has his own pride in his heart, that is, if Americans can shoot, I can also shoot.

In this regard, Gu Wei is ahead of him, and the special effects blockbusters he directed himself are no worse than those in Hollywood.

But Yu Dong is also proud of something. That is, after the script of "Operation Mekong" was approved, he suggested to the top leaders that they should shoot the film through the north gate of the ministry facing Chang'an Avenue. This gate is usually not opened easily unless it is for the central leaders or important foreign guests.

In other words, when Yu Dong heard what Gu Wei said, he felt a little complacent.

Alas, you, Gu Wei, can shoot the White House and the Pentagon in Hollywood blockbusters, but do you dare to shoot the Ministry of Public Security in China? Do you dare to shoot the square where the flag is raised?

It’s a good thing that Yu Dong didn’t say this, otherwise Gu Wei would definitely slap him in the face on the spot. What is there that I dare not shoot? Do you believe that I can directly blow up the Great Wall in my new movie?

After chatting for a while, the topic naturally turned to the preparations for the film.

Unfortunately, Gu Wei had seen the entire film and had no interest in investing in it. Instead, he asked Chen Baoguo how long the contract was for.

Chen Baoguo naturally understood what the other party meant, and immediately said with a smile: "I don't have many scenes, and I only signed for one month."

"It shouldn't be delayed." Chen Baoguo looked at Gu Wei and asked, then turned to Yu Dong and asked, "Director Gu's movie will probably start shooting at the end of April. When will you start?"

Yu Dong glanced at Huang Jianxin, who said directly: "It should be September. We have too many things to prepare in the early stage."

Seeing that Gu Wei was not very interested in the investment, Yu Dong naturally asked again.

"Well, let me think about it. As for whether to invest, President Song will contact you, Director Yu, later." Gu Wei did not make a promise on the spot, but he did not intend to inquire about the matter personally. As for whether to invest or not, let Song Ge decide.

Anyway, Gu Wei is only thinking about his new movie and "The Ghouls", and doesn't care much about other things.

Hearing this, Yu Dong felt a little disappointed, and at the same time a little angry. He tried so hard to show goodwill, but the other party's attitude remained indifferent, and it was obvious that he didn't take it to heart.

However, in order to continue cooperating with Xingchen Film and Television, Yu Dong had to state again in front of Gu Wei that he would have a good talk with Song Ge about this project later.

Then everyone had a few more drinks. Seeing that it was getting late, Gu Wei found an excuse and got up and left.

After walking out of the door, Gu Wei felt that this trip here was a complete waste of time. He originally thought there would be some good stuff, but he didn't expect it to be just this?

Yu Dong, Huang Jianxin, Lin Chaoxian and Chen Baoguo waited until Gu Wei left and then discussed for a while.

“I think we still need to involve Star Pictures. After all, the subject matter is different from Wolf Warrior, and no one can predict the box office performance after it’s released.” Dante Lam is one of the few Hong Kong directors who can clearly see himself. He won’t act like a big shot and say that we don’t need Star Pictures and we can just do it on our own.

"Director Lin is right. Even if Xingchen Films does not join, I think the film's special effects should be left to them. After all, the audience recognizes them." Huang Jianxin also echoed.

"It is indeed a good thing that Xingchen Film and Television has joined. Look at what Director Gu said at the press conference yesterday. It was very well received by netizens. He is now a golden signboard. There is a huge difference with or without him." Chen Baoguo also nodded in agreement.

Seeing that several people said so, Yu Dong also shook off some of the random thoughts in his mind.

"Well, let's split up. You guys go and make the preliminary preparations, and I'll go talk to Song Ge."

.........

(End of this chapter)