Actor: Thank you.

Li Yang and Guo Fan were surprised to find that Zhang Yuan, this big star, was completely unpretentious and very talkative.

I talked a lot with the two of them about animation and special effects.

From Toy Story to Transformers.

The two could clearly sense that Zhang Yuan was different from many directors and industry professionals they had encountered before.

He is young, and his thinking is young too.

The conversation topics are the most fashionable things right now, instead of constantly talking about Akira Kurosawa and Martin Scorsese.

Their previous conversations were mostly with people from the Beijing Film Academy.

Information in education is often outdated; the content of textbooks used may remain unchanged for 10 or 20 years.

Back in the Windows 7 era, some school computer classes still taught the Office suite.

While CAD drawing is now ubiquitous outside, university architecture departments are still teaching hand-drawing.

The same applies to Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama. Stanislavski remains constant; there's nothing wrong with the old man's teachings, but you can't just learn from him.

We still need to put it into practice and combine theory with work.

"Alright, I'll get straight to the point." After chatting for a while, Zhang Yuan stared intently at the two of them.

"I've seen the animation, it's called 'The Adventures of Li Xianji'."

This film is adapted from an animated short film created by Li Yang, and the story itself is quite creative.

Using a science fiction setting and time lag as a starting point, the story tells of the male protagonist's continuous search for the female protagonist.

It's jet lag syndrome, not actual time difference syndrome.

Zhang Yuan occasionally experiences jet lag, especially after flying international flights, as his body cannot adapt to the irregular changes between day and night.

The concept of time lag syndrome was "invented" by Li Yang.

Basically, the male protagonist's perception of the flow of time is different from that of ordinary people; it can be either faster or slower.

This caused him great pain until one day he met the female protagonist who shared the same plight.

In the movie, the male protagonist loses the female protagonist forever due to a car accident.

So when he learned that there was a game that allowed him to travel through time after completing it, he resolutely sold his kidney to get an iron hand and kept playing through the game and traveling through time.

The content, however, is a prophetic statement.

Because the iPhone 4 was released soon after, some people actually sold their kidneys to buy the phone...

Back then, giving someone an iPhone 4 was enough to win over the vast majority of ordinary college girls.

Zhang Yuan recalls that the most memorable character in the film was the elderly Li Xianji, played by actor You Benchang.

That performance was absolutely stunning from the moment she appeared on stage.

A group of young actors are on a completely different level from him.

What does it mean to act with your eyes? It means that without lines, you can convey emotions completely through your eyes, facial expressions, and body language.

With a background in stage plays, this was her first time performing a pantomime on the Spring Festival Gala, and her skills are no joke.

The main problem is that the protagonist, Fang Zuming, isn't very good at the game...

“I’m interested in this animated adaptation, but it’s impossible for me to invest too much money in it,” Zhang Yuan stated frankly.

"Your first consideration should be how to accomplish a lot with a little money."

"To be honest, I think it will be very difficult for this kind of work to make a profit."

"The setting is very postmodern, and not everyone can understand it. The animation itself has a high viewing threshold."

"So I don't have high hopes for the film's box office performance."

Hearing him say that, the two looked at each other, still not quite understanding.

"So are you willing to invest?" Guo Fan finally mustered up the courage to ask.

"I'll invest, but I don't think this project will necessarily make money."

"I can only consider it as me funding a creative project," Zhang Yuan stated calmly, acknowledging that he knew he would lose money.

He said that to put less pressure on the two of them.

The main pressure came from Guo Fan, whose friend Yin Le bought the adaptation rights after watching the animation and wanted to make a stage play.

After chatting with him, I wanted to change the movie again.

They were all from the Beijing Film Academy group. Guo Fan majored in management, while Li Yang pursued animation for his own interest and went to the Beijing Film Academy to study animation. That's how they came together.

It's easy to make a play, and the cost is low; a play can be made with a maximum of one million.

Making movies is a huge business, which is why they come knocking on our door to make money.

Zhang Yuan told them to make a budget for themselves, because the prerequisite for industrialization is to make a budget and a plan.

Filming like Wong Kar-wai's, filming wherever he happens to be, is like a family workshop—completely unreplicable.

Zhang Yuan personally saw the two of them off at the door, then turned back to ponder.

"Could Guo Fan's stinginess be a lingering effect of this drama?"

After all, he's the director who's best at begging—no, begging for alms—in all of China.

He was willing to invest in this production, even knowing full well that it would be difficult to recoup the costs, because he was drawn to Guo Fan.

I'm a little tempted by his body...

It's no exaggeration to say that the Beijing Film Academy produces directors.

However, it's not entirely true that the Beijing Film Academy doesn't produce many actors.

It should be said that the Beijing Film Academy produces stars, not actors.

Yang Mi, Xixi, Kunkun, and Xiaoming are all from Beijing Film Academy.

Guo Fan's practice of "begging for alms" is actually a tradition in the film industry.

Ridley Scott is the director of Gladiator and Alien. He also directed Blade Runner, a landmark film in cyberpunk visual effects.

This film is the first to use visuals to depict the high-tech, low-life future of cyberpunk.

The streets in the film are dirty and chaotic, and neon lights are everywhere. This visual effect is inspired by the streets in Hong Kong movies, because the origin of cyberpunk is Kowloon Walled City.

Since so many neon lights are very expensive, most of the light tubes in the film were second-hand ones that director Ridley Scott brought from the set of "The Godfather" by Francis Ford Coppola.

Coppola gave it all to him.

The long shot at the end of the film, showing the male and female protagonists driving in the sunlight between mountains and grasslands after escaping the city, was ultimately not filmed due to budget constraints.

He directly asked Kubrick for footage, and Kubrick gave him a bunch of long shots that he had shot for "The Shining" but hadn't used, all for free.

He made a movie and managed to snag two top Hollywood moguls.

That's how sci-fi filmmakers are.

Therefore, begging for alms is not only not a shortcoming of Guo Fan, but also his unique and great advantage!

Is saving money a bad thing?
The other party was very efficient and quickly gave him a rough budget.

It will cost around 1300 million, and the film will be presented using a combination of live-action and animation.

Zhang Yuan thought about it and realized that the work had a bit of a student experimental project feel to it.

As for the female lead, Wang Ziwen's performance was quite good, and her image was also suitable.

But Ah Zu from Uncle Long's family is another story; he was later banned, which affected the dissemination of his works.

And this person's acting skills aren't great either.

So he plans to arrange for one of his own people to play the role.

The day after receiving the budget, he flew to Hong Kong to discuss recent matters with other shareholders of the film companies on both sides of the strait.

"This film, 'The Piano in a Factory,' is considered an art film. Although you're in it, can it guarantee profitability?"

After reviewing the information he provided, the Hong Kong business leaders raised their own questions.

"No," Zhang Yuan said while eating his dessert.

"The Adventures of Li Xianji was directed by an unknown director."

"Regarding the cast, the male and female leads... who is this Zhang Yu?"

Zhang Yuan called over Zhang Yu, who had been frequently freeloading at his house lately, and asked him to look at the script.

This guy's acting skills are definitely better than Jackie Chan's eldest son's, and he's cheaper too.

The "11 Degrees of Youth" project has been quite popular recently, and he acted in the short film "Li Lei and Han Meimei" in it. Of course, it wasn't as popular as "Old Boys," but he still managed to become a familiar face.

Acting in this kind of low-budget film is not a big problem.

"My friend has good acting skills and great potential."

"The female lead is also a newcomer, but she has potential."

"So the director also has potential?" Xingmei's boss frowned.

"Congratulations, you've already mastered answering questions quickly," Zhang Yuan replied with a smile.

"But that's all you've said. We can't see any potential for it, but can this film make money?"

"Not necessarily." Zhang Yuan still did not give a definite answer.

"Also, you're planning to spend 5000 million to buy Ning Hao out of his bond, and then we'll all chip in to cover that cost?"

"Yes."

"And then there's Stephen Chow's project, which requires an investment of over 100 million?" another boss asked, looking up.

“That’s right, just as the information I provided states.” These people did the math in their heads and realized that bringing this proposal would cost over a hundred million, but none of it would generate a return on investment in a short period of time.

Two of the low-budget films cannot guarantee profitability.

Ning Hao is your brother, not ours. Why should we share the cost of his release?

Zhou Xingchi was someone you insisted on bringing in to do the project, and at such a high price.

So none of these people showed any good looks; they were very dissatisfied.

Zhang Yuan glanced around, but neither Yang Shouchen nor Jiang Zhiqiang had expressed their opinions.

No attitude is an attitude in itself; it means they're not really willing.

We're all getting together to make money. If you're now talking about spending money, especially a lot of money, people will definitely have some opinions.

Zhang Yuan knew very well that the same tricks he used to control Hua Yi had now fallen on his own head.

This is where the problem lies!
He absolutely cannot allow himself to fall into the same shareholder trap as Hua Yi.

Therefore, he must strengthen his control over the company and become the absolute decision-maker.

Otherwise, it would be too easy to be hampered.

To this group of people, Zhang Yuan's four proposals included three directors who were from the North, and one director who, although from Hong Kong, was "disliked" in Hong Kong.

They were naturally somewhat resistant.

But that's exactly what Zhang Yuan wanted to achieve; I had to cultivate "my own people."

“I would like to propose a ‘Pillar Project,’ similar to a support program for emerging directors,” Zhang Yuan said proactively.

"Both 'The Piano in a Factory' and 'The Adventures of Li Xianji' will be included in this plan."

"Since it's a support program, it's acceptable even if it doesn't make money; consider it a grant to newcomers."

"Andy Lau's new Asian director, Ning Hao, has emerged."

"We may also be able to produce talented people."

"A company needs fresh blood to last."

"I've already covered the costs of these two short films. Now it's up to everyone to see if they agree to turn them into company projects."

"As for Ning Hao himself, he has already proven his ability. I think it's worth it to buy him for 5000 million."

“I have already discussed this with him. The film ‘No Man’s Land’ will continue to be revised, but we will also start a new project at the same time, so that we will not leave empty-handed.”

With others adding this extra layer, the budget for mental calculation will exceed 2 million.

"It's not that he's not worth it."

"It's a loss for us to have to pay for this together."

Why should we pay for Ning Hao's actions?

"Because I will make him a contracted director for film companies across the Taiwan Strait," Zhang Yuan revealed his purpose.

"He will become one of the company's 'assets'."

How did Huayi manage to go public and attract investment?

"In addition to filming, we also brought in a group of stars, and most importantly, director Feng Xiaogang became the company's anchor, providing a stable source of box office revenue for Huayi every year."

"Ning Hao will become our Feng Xiaogang."

"I will also give Ning Hao some stock options, just like Hua Yi, as a reward for signing the franchise agreement."

Xingmei's boss, Qin Hong, looked up and stared wide-eyed.

He finally understood why Zhang Yuan wanted to buy the 7% stake in Xingmei that he owned.

So that's what it's for.

"Paying money to redeem him from his bondage, and then giving him shares?" Huang Baiming smiled insincerely as usual: "Aren't you being too good to him?"

"And it's not necessary to sign a director to take the company public."

"We have so many film and television companies, and we still managed to go public without any signed shareholders or directors."

“But none of your companies have a stock price higher than Huayi,” Zhang Yuan immediately retorted.

"If you're going to do something, do it the best!"

"I not only want to do it, but I want to surpass Huayi and any other domestic film and television company." Zhang Yuan's eyes were sharp, and he spoke with absolute certainty.

Jiang Zhiqiang looked at him. After temporarily dealing with Huayi and making the other party suffer a great loss, this kid has become increasingly unstoppable.

"I always make long-term plans."

"Don't worry about the few hundred million investment in front of you."

"This money will be earned back a hundredfold after the IPO!"

"Wow, what a boastful tone." Huang Baiming knew that he was riding high recently and wanted to use the intimidation he had just gained by dealing with Huayi to overwhelm them.

Of course, I won't let you succeed!
To reiterate, we're here to make money, not to spend it.

I usually listen to you because you can make money.

Let's not talk about these things now.

"Yes, yes, we'll talk about the future later."

“That’s right, we should discuss the project first.”

Everyone unanimously adopted the tactic of stalling, just like Zhang Yuan's repeated proposals to open an office in the capital.

drag!
If they don't confront each other, they're just stalling.

I'll drag this out until it turns yellow.

"What about Stephen Chow's movie?"

"With such a large investment, requiring 100 million yuan, is it even possible to make a profit?" Huang Baiming changed the subject.

"I think it's a good idea. After all, Stephen Chow hasn't lost money in recent years, and he has a good reputation."

There's a reason this movie had a high budget: Stephen Chow started using special effects in his movies, and he used more and more in each one.

Because he discovered this market trend, audiences loved watching it, especially after Avatar.

He has big ambitions for the movie "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".

When he first read the original novel, he mentioned that Sun Wukong had 72 transformations, and he even wanted to find 72 actors to play the role.

And they plan to hire all the celebrities.

How much does it cost?
This is not the most exaggerated.

He originally thought that if he were to film Sun Wukong and surpass his own performance in "A Chinese Odyssey," it would be like achieving self-transcendence, which would be very difficult.

If it's difficult, you have to come up with a sensational story to grab attention.

He came up with a top-notch bombshell.

They want Ma Yun to play Sun Wukong...

In the original novel, Sun Wukong is depicted as a monkey with a hairy face and a thunder god's mouth. He is not good-looking and is not tall.

To be honest, Teacher Liu's portrayal of Sun Wukong definitely beautified him.

And if Ma Yun were cast, she wouldn't even need makeup.

This kind of trick is something only Stephen Chow could come up with, and no one would dare to think of.

The idea alone is worth hundreds of millions.

And he not only thought about it, he also took action!

He had his subordinates contact Jack Ma.

However, after Ma Yun learned about it from her secretary, she immediately denied it, thinking that someone was trying to scam her.

The idea was so outlandish that even Ma Yun didn't believe it.

Even if she personally came to him, Ma Yun wouldn't act it out.

Jack Ma has always cultivated his image as a "superior man," so how could he possibly play a "clown" role?

Now that Stephen Chow and Hua Yi have been broken up by him, it's even more impossible.

Stephen Chow himself expects the film to gross over 4 million yuan, and ideally surpass the 6 million yuan grossed by "Aftershock".

The final result was more than double what he expected!

Therefore, Zhang Yuan answered everyone with great certainty.

"I'm absolutely certain that it can make money."

"If we lose money, I'll take full responsibility for all the consequences." He even patted his chest to make that guarantee.

These words silenced everyone.

If you want to be the boss, you can't do it without taking responsibility.

"Okay, I'll listen to you... Let's eat."

The group toasted each other, preventing him from mentioning anything about being a director or a shareholder.

Zhang Yuan wasn't in a hurry at all.

A spinning top won't make a sound unless it's spun. If you disagree with my reasoning, that's fine.

One day, I will give you a reason you will have no choice but to agree… (End of Chapter)