Huayu started as a substitute director

Chapter 500 Make a friend
After everyone knew each other well and exchanged greetings, they took their seats in the sofa area one after another.

Chen Zhixi sat alone on one side, Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian sat together, and opposite them were Stephen Chow and Xu Ke.

The secretary served them tea and coffee.

"I'm old now. If I can't drink coffee, I'll drink tea." Old Monster Xu picked up a cup of tea and drank it, motioning for you to chat first.

Mr. Xing leaned forward and said, "I have a movie project called The Mermaid, and I'd like to work with you guys."

"How much budget do you plan to use for the filming?" Fang Hong asked.

"More than 2 million."

Mr. Xing thought this was inaccurate and added: "I am not sure about the exact amount right now, but if you are not willing to invest more, there are other investors who will join in."

What this means is that 2 million is definitely not enough to spend. You can invest as much as you can, or even a portion of it. He will also bring in other investors to join.

"Who is investing now?" Fang Hong asked again.

"Not yet. I need to contact you first. Once you agree to cooperate, I can attract other investors." Stephen Chow said directly.

That is to say, first pull Yutu up, and then pull in other investors, which is equivalent to raising the Yutu flag.

Look, Yutu has invested. The principal’s vision has never failed. You all should come and invest.

This movie was short of money during its previous filming, and it was only when Mr. Zheng said he needed a role that additional investment was made. I remember the production cost was around 300 million yuan.

This is normal. After all, with such a huge investment, everyone is afraid of failure and money being wasted, so big-investment movies like this share risks in many ways.

Stephen Chow has failed before and is not invincible. His previous movie “CJ7” was a loss.

"What do you think?" Fang Hong asked Chen Zhixi.

"I am definitely inclined to cooperate. Whether it succeeds or fails, just think of it as making friends." What Chen Zhixi said sounded very nice.

The essence is that Stephen Chow’s reputation is still very valuable, and it is not yet at the point where it will decay.

As long as she managed it well, she could reap some profits even if it was a bad movie. However, the investment was too huge and she couldn't make a decision, so she called in to talk to Mr. Fang.

The movies shot by Stephen Chow cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Who can afford that?

Liu Tianxian didn't say anything the whole time, just listened with her back straight. In fact, she quite likes acting in comedies, especially those by Stephen Chow, and feels that she can learn a lot from them.

After all, many people cannot imitate Stephen Chow's performance style, so she wanted to experience how he could act freely.

It seemed like Fang Hong had no intention of recommending her to act in this movie, and of course she hadn't seen the script either.

"Since Mr. Chen said let's make friends, then let's make friends. You don't have to run around for other investors. We at Yutu have invested in all of your "The Mermaid." Fang Hong was very generous.

Of course he knows that this movie will make money, a sure thing!
These words made Old Monster Xu choke on his saliva and almost spit it out. The principal was too generous and not ambiguous at all.

Unlike that stingy Bona, who raised funds to shoot "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" and shared risks with others after getting the project, no wonder Fatty Yu felt insecure when he saw the principal.

The two are not equal in strength and magnanimity.

Chen Zhixi also turned his head to look at Mr. Fang. This was no small amount of money. They said the budget was 200 million, but 300 million was possible, because even Stephen Chow didn't dare to say that he could make a movie with 200 million.

Originally, she said that she would invest tens of millions or even hundreds of millions to get the controlling rights.

Liu Tianxian is the most calm here, as she has no idea about money.

"The principal is really rich, I'd like to make friends with you." Stephen Chow also sighed that the principal was so generous and he felt that he had met him too late.

If he had met someone like the principal earlier, he wouldn't have to worry about money to make a movie, and he wouldn't have to consider other people's feelings. He could just cooperate with Yutu directly.

In fact, Fang Hong was just talking, there was no such thing as friends or not.

"If my movie becomes a hit, I need to take a portion of the dividends," Stephen Chow said again.

This is about wanting market share and wanting to make more money.

"How much do you want?" Fang Hong asked.

"I want a 20% share." Stephen Chow held up two fingers. If the box office reaches 7 billion, that would be about million in dividends.

Fang Hong and Chen Zhixi looked at each other. They were indeed very greedy. If the box office exceeded 1 billion, plus his director's salary, Stephen Chow could earn about 80 million.

I didn’t make such a large sum of money from Huayi last time, and I want to make it from Yutu.

It seems that the rumors are true, Stephen Chow is a very greedy person, but everyone is greedy, so it is understandable, otherwise why would he work so hard to make movies, is it to realize his self-worth.

The value has been realized, and people now just want to make money.

"How about this, you don't have to worry about 20% or not. As long as the box office exceeds 20 billion, I will give you million as dividends." Fang Hong waved his hand, very generous.

Damn, this made Xu Ke so excited. He could get more than 100 million yuan for making a movie. Who wouldn't be excited?

Even Chen Zhixi wanted to stop the principal from doing this, as he might not only not make any money but also lose money.

Because if the box office exceeds 1 billion, Stephen Chow will be given 100 million directly as dividends, which means that after deducting the investment from the 1 billion box office of this movie, Yutu will not make much money. Unless the production cost is controlled, it can only make money through subsequent copyrights.

Excluding theaters and distribution, the profit from a billion box office is only more than 300 million.

Of course, what they don’t know is that this market is on the rise. A movie with a box office of 10 billion this year is considered impressive, and 20 billion or 30 billion next year and the year after will become the norm.

So Fang Hong didn't negotiate with Stephen Chow about any share. As long as the revenue exceeded 1 billion, he would give him a dividend of million, which was fixed.

In other words, the subsequent 20 billion or 30 billion box office revenue has nothing to do with Stephen Chow, just take your million.

Liu Tianxian was still the same, with no emotional fluctuations. If she wanted to know something, she could just ask Fang Hong in the evening without having to guess.

She was curious about what the movie that Stephen Chow was going to be like. She heard it was about a mermaid, and she really wanted to play a mermaid.

Now she wants to play everything except being a fairy.

"Are you serious, Principal?" Mr. Xing was very surprised.

"Seriously, we can just sign the agreement and stamp it." Fang Hong said seriously.

"it is good!"

Hearing this, Master Xing felt relieved. He regretted not signing with Huayi last time. He will probably regret it again after the movie is released.

No one would have thought that "The Mermaid" would reach a box office of over 3 billion.

"Of course, in order to protect my interests, the investment amount must have an upper limit. 3 million is the upper limit budget, and you cannot exceed this budget." Fang Hong set a limit for him.

Who can afford to spend so much money to make a movie?

"If it's 3 million, we won't make any money, we'll even lose money." Chen Zhixi couldn't help but speak.

Even if the box office is 10 billion, after deducting the 8.3% tax and the 55% share of the theater chain, there will only be about 36.7% left.

That is to say, out of a box office of 10 billion, there are only 3.67 million profit points, not to mention the distribution points, which also account for 4 points.

In addition, the 1 million dividends given to Stephen Chow only amounted to more than 2 million. After all the calculations, they still lost tens of millions.

It's really about making some money from copyright.

However, if the box office does not exceed 10 billion, then those who make 8 million or 9 million will not have to give Stephen Chow a dividend of million, which is equivalent to gambling.

Old Monster Xu could basically figure out the account and felt that the principal was doing charity.

They didn't expect high box office results for the movie because it is very difficult given the current market.

"It's okay. Whether or not we make money is secondary. It's just to make friends. My principal can get to where he is today thanks to his friends." Fang Hong said in a very down-to-earth manner.

I don't know where his friends came from.

"Since the principal is so straightforward, I won't say anything. I agree with your plan, and I will try my best to keep the filming cost within 3 million yuan." Stephen Chow expressed his opinion.

It’s better to cooperate with the principal. He is straightforward and generous, and what he says is heartwarming. Those two brothers are really far inferior to him.

Moreover, there is a lot of room for fund operation, from the mentioned 200 million, the upper limit is raised to 300 million.

"Okay, but I have two things to explain to you. First, we have to use Yutu's special effects team. Second, the male and female leads should give priority to our Yutu artists." Fang Hong said.

"It's fine to use Yutu's production team, but I also have my assistants." Master Xing meant that he needed his assistants to help manage the production team.

"You can use your assistant." Fang Hong said.

"Okay then. As for actors, if you have any recommendations, that would be even better," said Stephen Chow.

"That Shen Teng is pretty good, you can introduce him to Master Xing when the time comes." Fang Hong said to Chen Zhixi.

"That one doesn't have any representative works. It depends on whether Stephen Chow is satisfied or not." Chen Zhixi said.

"Isn't 'Lost in Thailand' going to be released on National Day? Let's go and watch it then. Master Xing, you should watch it too." Fang Hong said.

Shen Teng definitely has a talent for comedy. In the movie "The Richest Tomato", he played a loser rich second-generation character, which was very funny. At least he is no worse than Deng Chao.

"Okay, I'll observe it then." Master Xing agreed.

He is not averse to designating actors to star in his films, as long as their appearance is not too different from what he imagined, their acting skills can be honed.

This is true. Even he can hold a toothpick. What moral integrity do you think Stephen Chow has?
Mr. Xing asked again: "As for the female lead, do you have any recommendations?"

These words made Liu Tianxian raise her head and chest high, hoping that her man, Stephen Chow, would look at her. She knew she could act.

"It's up to you to decide on the female lead. Anyway, priority will be given to Yutu artists. If there are none, you can hold an open audition." Fang Hong didn't care.

"That's fine." Master Xing thought it was okay and still gave him a lot of autonomy.

However, neither of them looked at Liu Tianxian, which made Liu Tianxian a little discouraged, but it was not easy to say anything since there were people present, so he decided to talk about it later.

Old Monster Xu noticed her, after all, she was going to play the female lead in his movie, so he didn't say anything.

In fact, Fang Hong knew what kind of movie it was, but it couldn't bring any help to Liu Tianxian. It was too abstract and anyone could play it. It might ruin her image.

Can you imagine Liu Tianxian yelling “Huh?” Fang Hong couldn’t imagine it anyway.

Stephen Chow also knows what kind of stuff his movies are. They require people to take off clothes. But she is so pure and innocent, how can she take off her clothes?

"We have finished discussing our business. The next thing to discuss is Lucy 2." Fang Hong looked at Old Monster Xu.

"I've read the script you gave me. To be honest, it's very imaginative. It's just that you won't let me change the script, which makes me uncomfortable." Old Monster Xu put down his teacup, feeling that his freedom was challenged.

When he makes a movie, he shoots it the way he wants. But in Yutu, the script cannot be changed easily and must be supervised by the producer.

"There's nothing I can do about it. This is how it is here." Fang Hongcai doesn't indulge these big directors.

If we shoot according to their ideas, who knows what it will turn out like? It's impossible to predict at all. What if it turns out to be weird?

At least according to the script, the story line is complete.

Old Monster Xu lowered his head and remained silent, as if hesitating.

"Old Xu, don't think about it. Don't show off your storytelling ability." Stephen Chow patted Old Weird Xu's shoulder and joked.

"I'm also a very good storyteller, and I have things I want to express." Xu Laoguai said rather stubbornly.

But he acted like a little old man who wanted to prove himself, and his behavior was a bit funny, which made everyone else laugh.

"Hey, don't laugh. I'm telling the truth. If a director doesn't have something he wants to express, then the movie has no soul." Xu Kuang said again.

"Yes, yes, you express yourself." Master Xing smiled and motioned him to speak to the principal.

Of course, he thinks what Xu Zheng said makes sense, and great directors all have their own unique style and soul.

"You can express your own images, camera language and so on, but the plot still has to follow the script," said Fang Hong.

"Okay, but the producer needs Nanshen Shi. I'm used to working with him and can't do without him." Xu Kuang also made a request.

Even though he was divorced, Shi Nansheng still worked with him and served as his producer. The two had worked together for decades, but even after all this, you still couldn't live without me and I still couldn't live without you. Most people couldn't do that.

"No problem, our producer will only supervise your expenditure budget." Fang Hong said.

(End of this chapter)