Huayu started as a substitute director

Chapter 738 There's Still Time
It's time to get that money back. Getting it back will only help Huayi pay off its debts, not help them rise to prominence.

Huayi Brothers currently has a high level of debt, generating substantial interest payments. The future looks increasingly difficult for Huayi, and Feng Xiaogang's career is also waning. Without compelling new themes, they'll be forced to rehash old material.

So he will still make "Cellphone 2", and he will still be targeted by Cui Yongyuan.

As for whether Fan Xiaopang will be sarcastic or not, we don't know.

"You've been saying you'd help us communicate, but it's been over half a year. Surely there's some progress, some resolution by now?" Da Wang was trying to put some pressure on him.

"Are you questioning me?" Fang Hong looked directly at the other person.

"No, I'm not questioning you, it's just that the other party said something about what conditions they would take to get the money back," Mr. Wang explained.

Little Wang dares to talk badly about the principal behind his back, but when he actually faces the principal, he doesn't dare to say anything harsh.

Mainly, they were so afraid of being beaten that they were subdued.

"I told you I'd go talk to them again. If you don't trust me, why don't you go ask them yourselves?" Fang Hong shifted the blame.

“It’s not that we don’t trust you. You see, when you were dealing with Wanda, we made a deal. Besides, my brother and I have helped you a lot, haven’t we?” said the boss.

"Are you trying to take credit from me?" Fang Hong said.

"No, it's just that our debts are due soon, and the debts you lent us are also due soon. We all have to repay our debts and there are project payments to make. So, could you please help me make a call?" Boss Wang lowered his tone considerably.

There was nothing they could do; they were begging for help, and since the principal wouldn't help, they couldn't do anything about it.

"That's it!"

Fang Hong lowered his head and thought for a moment, then looked at the two people opposite him and said, "It's not that I don't want to make the call for you, it's just that I don't speak English. Usually when I communicate with the president of Warner, it's always Qianqian who translates for me. Now that she's not here, which of you two speaks English? Why don't one of you be the translator?"

Unlike Donna, Lao Za doesn't speak Chinese.

The two bosses, Mr. and Mrs. Wang, exchanged a glance. It was indeed a problem. Mr. Wang said, "Brother, don't look at me. You know me. I've never been a good student since I was a child. You've been abroad, so you should know more."

"I haven't been out of the country for twenty or thirty years, who would remember so much?" Mr. Wang had studied in the United States in his early years, and it is said that he delivered pizzas there.

My grades were just so-so; I was only trying to get a diploma so I could go back to China and become a pillar of society. That's how it's always been.

"That's not my fault. I wanted to fight, but you couldn't translate for me," Fang Hong said, shrugging.

"Doesn't your company have any people who can speak English?" Boss Wang asked.

"Of course there is, but I think it's confidential and shouldn't be known by others. Do you want people to know the inside story of how Huayi was cheated out of 6 million by Warner?" Fang Hong retorted.

The king remained silent, which was indeed something he didn't want to do, after all, it was a shameful matter.

Although many people outside the industry knew that they had a falling out with Warner over investment matters, they thought it was just a business dispute and didn't know that they had been scammed.

If it's revealed that Huayi was scammed, its stock price will likely plummet again; it's already fallen badly enough.

"Alright, Principal, we'll wait for your news. We'll come again tomorrow." This guy, Da Wang, is really sticking around.

Anyway, they've learned their lesson now. They don't confront the principal directly, but instead try a softer approach, using gentle persuasion and persistence.

The principal is the kind of person who responds better to gentle persuasion than force.

"Okay, then tomorrow." Fang Hong laughed, determined to keep pestering him.

"Then we brothers will take our leave," said the King, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

Fang Hong waved his hand, indicating that you could leave.

After the two brothers left, Xiao Wang asked, "Brother, do you think the principal will help us?"

“If he won’t help, we’ll wear him down. We’ll come every day. If you’re tough on the principal, he’ll be tough on you too. But if you’re gentle with him, he won’t have a good chance.” The king finally figured it out.

"Brother, great job!" Little Wang gave a thumbs up.

"These are lessons learned in blood," the king sighed.

Having been with the principal for so many years and been taken advantage of for so many years, I should learn something from this.

Just as Fang Hong was thinking about how to talk to Lao Zha about getting money back, Guo Fan knocked on the door and entered.

"Principal, this is the project proposal for 'The Wandering Earth'." Guo Fan held the project proposal in his hand and pushed it across the table.

This project was agreed upon and assigned to him a long time ago, so Guo Fan has been busy with it for the past year or two.

"No need to look, just tell me how much you want!" Fang Hong gestured for him to sit down.

"It will probably cost around 300 million!" Guo Fan said.

"So little?" Fang Hong asked in surprise, picking up the project proposal and flipping through it.

"This movie didn't cast any big stars; it only cast some relatively unknown actors, so their salaries weren't high, with the highest being only a few hundred thousand."

Guo Fan then smiled and said, "Of course, if the principal is willing to give more money, I won't object."

"I'm not kidding you, but this investment is indeed a bit low. If a special effects blockbuster doesn't reach 80 million US dollars, this project won't be possible." Fang Hong closed the project proposal and threw it on the table.

Eighty million US dollars is about 5.6 million. In the previous life, this movie was worth 3.2 million, but there were no stars in the previous life.

Qu Chuxiao is just a newcomer; Zhao Jinmai is still in middle school; Li Guangjie and Wu Mengda are past their prime, and their asking prices are not high.

There wasn't a single actor in the entire film who could carry the film.

Wu Jing joined the cast later, making a cameo appearance and contributing 60 million yuan to add more scenes.

Many of the behind-the-scenes staff were interns; the film was shot by a team of interns hired by the Beijing Film Academy. To put it bluntly, it was a makeshift production.

With such a makeshift team, Guo Fan succeeded.

But to be honest, the special effects were good overall, at a passable level, but the details lacked realism.

The physics simulation, engine and vehicle simulation, as well as the materials and lighting, are not detailed or realistic enough.

There is a gap compared to top Hollywood standards, but that's already their limit, so we can't ask for too much.

But Fang Hong couldn't just let things slide this time; he had to do it the best way possible, since it was one of the top-tier domestic special effects films after all.

"5.6 million?!" Guo Fan exclaimed in surprise!

“Yes, this is the minimum standard of investment; anything lower won’t do.” Fang Hong drew a line for him.

“If it’s 5.6 million, I’m afraid you won’t be able to recoup your costs,” Guo Fan said with concern.

5.6 million! Without a box office of 16.8 billion, it wouldn't make any money at all, and that doesn't even include advertising costs.

If you include that, this movie would be a complete loss if it didn't gross 20 billion yuan. So far, how many movies have grossed 20 billion yuan? You can count them on one hand.

“If you don’t even have confidence in the film you’re making, then there’s no need to start this project. Let’s talk about it when you have confidence!” Fang Hong pushed the project proposal over.

"It's not that I lack confidence, it's that I'm worried the market won't be big enough to support such a blockbuster," Guo Fan explained.

“This is not your concern. What I need is a critically acclaimed blockbuster with special effects to continue to boost market confidence. As for the box office, neither you nor I can predict it. The movie will be released a year or two after it is finished. Who knows what the situation will be like then? All we can do is try our best,” Fang Hong said.

Guo Fan was quite moved by these words. The principal was indeed courageous; he only focused on doing his best in the present and didn't worry about what would happen later.

Anyway, I'll just do my best first. "Okay, Principal, leave this project to me. I'll definitely do a good job. I can't guarantee you'll be satisfied, but at least I won't disappoint you," Guo Fan assured him.

"That's good. This project will be redone, with a budget of 5.6 million. It can't be less than that." Fang Hong made the decision.

Guo Fan said he understood, picked up the project proposal, and went to get it.

Now Chang'e Technology also has Volcano Engine cloud computing, which can provide a large amount of complex computing. In the past, it required an unlimited amount of hardware and manpower.

Now that's no longer necessary. Cloud computing can provide massive computing resources, and a large-scale rendering cluster can be configured in minutes.

This not only reduces costs but also improves image quality to a higher level.

It's not that China can't make special effects movies, it's that it lacks special effects talent in film and television. If it can't make them, how are those amazing game scenes created?

Tencent and NetEase's game CGs are getting better and better, each one more impressive than the last, making players incredibly eager to try them out.

Of course, movie special effects are more difficult to achieve than game special effects, as they strive for the ultimate realism.

Games need performance optimization and strive for real-time performance, since they rely on interactive feedback. If performance isn't optimized, what will happen if the computer can't handle it?

So it's not that large-scale special effects can't be done, but rather it depends on whether you're willing to spend the time, money, and energy, and whether you have the corresponding high-end talent.

Fang Hong had trained special effects talent early on and assigned it to Guo Fan because these people needed to make a living. You can't train talent and then let them go to waste without corresponding projects to sustain them.

Sometimes you have to do it even if you lose money!

Just like aircraft carriers, they need to be built one by one. If they were all built at once, all the skilled workers would be out of work and the skills would not be passed down.

The US built the F-22 and aircraft carrier all at once, even though they had the blueprints, they didn't have the skilled workers.

A senior worker's career spans at most one or two decades. If there's no successor, their skills are essentially wasted. That's the principle.

So there are some things you have to do even if it means losing money!
The same applies to Yutu Animation now, basically one episode a year, with "Big Hero 6" being released the year before last.

Last year it was Inside Out, this year it's Moana. This animated film will be released in December, which is just over a month away.

Other animations are all investments, not self-produced; Jade Rabbit can't possibly monopolize the entire market.

However, as a leader and a technology provider, you can provide whatever technology or talent you need.

This is the only way to maintain the vitality of the entire film and television industry.

Back home in the afternoon, Liu Tianxian, Liu Xiaoli, and Xu Liyun were commenting on the various colorful baby clothes.

"This one looks nice, and it's thick and warm."

"Look at this one, it has a hat on."

"This pink onesie is so cute!"

"Why do boys wear jumpsuits? You're just buying all sorts of unnecessary things."

"It's okay, he's still young!"

The three of them were commenting on a pile of baby clothes.

"How much did you buy? You've moved the entire clothing market here!" Fang Hong said as he approached.

There was a huge pile of things on the ground, lots of bags and packages.

The baby is asleep in the crib.

“The weather is getting cooler now, winter is coming soon, of course we need to buy more clothes for the baby!” Liu Tianxian said, picking out clothes.

"I reckon he won't even wear it much before he can't fit into it anymore; kids grow so fast," Fang Hong said.

"It's okay, we can have another one and the next one will still be worn," Liu Xiaoli said with a smile.

"I'm not going to have any more children. Having even one would almost kill me." Liu Tianxian complained, but her tone was charming and cute.

“It’s too lonely for one person, so it’s good for the child to have a companion,” Xu Liyun said with a smile.

The four of them chatted as they tidied up the baby's clothes, and then put them in a cabinet for later use.

After the family finished eating, they took a walk, looked after their son, and then went back to their rooms to rest. The baby didn't sleep with Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian.

Sometimes he slept with Xu Liyun, sometimes with Liu Xiaoli; it was up to them to decide who he slept with.

That night, Fang Hong leaned against the headboard and watched Liu Tianxian standing by the bed, applying oil to her face and neck.

I told her about the two brothers from Huayi asking for money.

"Will we get this money back? Will Warner give it to us?" Liu Tianxian wondered, as she knew about this matter.

"I don't know, let's give it a try! After all, I'm the one who asked Lao Zha to do this, so we should get the money back. We can't let the foreigners get it for free." Fang Hong wasn't sure if Lao Zha would give it to him.

When Lao Zha was asked to do this, he readily agreed because he saw there were benefits to be had. But now that money is being taken from someone else's pocket, it's not so easy to talk to him anymore.

It's easy for something to go into someone else's pocket, but it's hard to get it out.

"Then let's wait. Their work starts at nine o'clock, so it will take another one or two hours."

After saying that, Liu Tianxian walked towards the bathroom. Her voice came from afar: "You did something unethical. You shouldn't have let those people from Hollywood get involved. They're very greedy."

"There was no other way at the time. Do you think it's so easy to take down an established company? Especially with a major investor behind it." Fang Hong said loudly.

Liu Tianxian didn't say anything. When she came out again, she was wearing a red silk dress. The silk was smooth and slightly transparent, revealing glimpses of what lay beneath, which was quite alluring.

She climbed onto the bed and straddled Fang Hong's lap. The two faced each other, and she tossed her long, curly hair, exuding an alluring charm.

"Does it look good?" she asked, showing off her figure.

"Beautiful, so beautiful." Fang Hong's hand slid down her long dress, feeling its silky smoothness.

"Hehehe, I picked it out carefully myself." Liu Tianxian raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat smug.

Fang Hong got up and moved closer, putting his arm around her waist and sniffing her neck gently; it smelled so sweet.

Liu Tianxian straightened her body and tilted her head slightly back.

She could feel the slight breath on her neck, which gave her a tingling sensation.

"You're getting more and more charming," Fang Hong said.

"What does it taste like?" Liu Tianxian asked.

"Femininity".

"Are you kidding me?" Liu Tianxian chuckled.

"No, really." Fang Hong gently kissed her skin.

Liu Tianxian held his head in her hands, burying him even deeper.

"Take your time...take your time, there's still time!"

(End of this chapter)