Entertainment tycoon since 83

Chapter 190 Usurpation of Power
"I want to try my best to make a good enough film." Wang Jiawei touched his chin embarrassedly.

But he still feels that he has artistic aspirations.

For the sake of his artistic ideals, he had to fight with his boss and said, "Boss Huang, I'm pursuing a feeling."

“And now, I’m not overspending.”

"Oh?" Huang Ze was amused when he heard the other party say that he had not exceeded the budget and was confident in his argument. "How much content have you filmed?"

"a lot of."

"How much is a lot? I need a number, a percentage?"

“Mostly.”

"more specific."

"Seventy percent."

"So, you used 95% of the budget to shoot 70% of the content?" Huang Ze raised his eyebrows and looked at Wang Jiawei with a smile, "Is the remaining 500,000 enough for you to shoot 30%?"

“Not enough…” Wang Jiawei felt that he had lost confidence and said weakly, “How about Mr. Huang, I should take out my director’s fee and invest it in it. I will live and die with the film!”

"That's not necessary!" Huang Ze refused directly.

What are you thinking?

I have invested so much in you and given you so much support, and you still want a share, a piece of the cake.

What a wolfish ambition!

Of course, Huang Ze knew that Wang Jiawei was not thinking about how much money he could make, this was more of a statement.

Therefore, Huang Ze also put his acting skills into play, "You have been following me for so long, how could I possibly treat you like that?"

"The pay remains the same. Stop saying that."

"But you have to speed up." Huang Ze said earnestly, "With the current progress, the cost will definitely increase to 12 million, and there is also the publicity fee, 13 million."

"Yes, this film mainly relies on selling copyrights to the Big Three, but what if it can't even get into the main competition unit?"

"Do you know how much box office revenue is needed to make back the investment?"

Huang Ze held up two fingers and said, "Considering the overseas revenue, the box office of your Days of Being Wild in Hong Kong must have reached nearly 20 million."

"Zhang Guorong's A Chinese Ghost Story didn't even make 20 million."

"I promise to complete Days of Being Wild within 12 million yuan." Wang Jiawei made the promise.

However, Huang Ze didn't believe it.

So he took the opportunity to say, "Then I will stay here permanently and keep an eye on you."

“……”Wang Jiawei was stunned.

This was a development he had not expected.

Huang Ze, such a big boss, wants to stay in his crew permanently. He doesn't know whether he should be happy that his boss pays attention to him or feel stressed.

"I……"

"No need to thank me, this is what I should do." Huang Ze patted Wang Jiawei's arm, "I'll keep an eye on it for you, let's finish the filming as soon as possible! My time is also very tight, I have to go to Hollywood in a while."

"Then you should just go to Hollywood!" Wang Jiawei wailed in his heart, but he really didn't have the courage to say it out loud.

Based on his last performance, it would be hard for anyone to invest more than 10 million in him to make a movie.

He was still grateful to Huang Ze, although he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Wang Jiawei finally nodded and agreed.

Then, Huang Ze joined the crew of "Days of Being Wild" as an investor.

As for the crew's right to speak...

In fact, it's not just the crew, it's like this in many places. The two things that determine the right to speak are personnel and financial power.

Coincidentally, Huang Ze can make the decision on both aspects with just one word.

Even in terms of professionalism, Huang Ze's status is much higher than Wang Jiawei's. With a Golden Lion and several awards from Cannes and Venice, he has achieved rare results in Hollywood.

When there are disagreements, even Wang Jiawei finds it difficult to believe that he is right.

The right to speak for the crew naturally handed over to Huang Ze.

If Huang Ze says it’s okay, then it’s okay. Once it’s said, it’s done. Wang Jiawei can only start to be a tool.

This made the actors happy.

This is the right way to shoot!

It’s not that we cannot accept the pursuit of perfection, but you are too perfectionist. Who can stand it if you polish every shot?

When I asked you what was wrong, you didn't answer and just acted like a fool over and over again.

"Director Huang, it's really comfortable to work with you."

Zhang Guorong, who had finally escaped from the sea of ​​suffering, felt much better when he saw Huang Ze, and took out a cigarette and handed it to him.

"Haha, let's have a chance to cooperate in the future?" Huang Ze held the cigarette between his fingers and leaned over to light it. "But there is one requirement, practice Mandarin."

"No problem!" Zhang Guorong laughed, "As long as I can work with Director Huang, any language is fine."

He admires Huang Ze's ability to promote people.

Liang Jiahui, who had clearly been banned, still managed to produce one film after another, and his "In the Mood for Love" left quite a reputation in the three major European theaters.

There is also the commercial film "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", which is a global hit.

The other party’s current pay is twice as much as mine.

Not to mention Li Lianjie, who has become popular again and is at the peak of his career. I am jealous of him.

"I'm not kidding you!" Huang Ze looked at Zhang Guorong seriously, "When you speak the Beijing dialect properly, we can have a show."

"Ah? Dubbing is not possible?" Zhang Guorong asked subconsciously.

"So do you want to win the Best Actor award?"

"Yes!" Zhang Guorong did not hesitate. He had dreamed about it. He had been looking forward to winning the Best Actor Award at the Academy Awards for a long time. "Can you help me win the Best Actor Award?"

"What Academy Awards?" Huang Ze frowned, "Oscar? That's impossible. I'm talking about the three major ones."

"..." Zhang Guorong felt his breathing quicken, "Can I really get it?"

"There's a good chance."

"Then I must practice my Beijing dialect well." Zhang Guorong took a deep puff of his cigarette, feeling as if a fire was burning in his heart.

If he can win the Best Actor awards at the three major festivals, then it really doesn't matter whether he wins the Best Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards or not.

Whether or not I get the Academy Award will not affect my status at all.

Just like Director Huang, if the Academy Awards don’t give awards, who would dare to think that the other party is not capable enough?
I didn't even go to this year's Academy Awards.

However, this is a director who made three films with box office revenue of over 30 million in two years.

If the other party does not participate, the credibility of your award will be questioned.

“Give me two years.”

"There's no need to be so anxious. More haste, less speed. Take your time. In addition to practicing Beijing dialect, you can also learn some Peking opera, the female role." Huang Ze said.

"Yeah." Zhang Guorong nodded heavily.

Who would have thought that Huang Ze's words would make Zhang Guorong lose his composure, so Huang Ze handed the power to Wang Jiawei and asked him to start torturing the actors.

The state is back, Huang Ze presses forward quickly.

It took half a month to finish shooting the remaining materials.

The remaining post-production work wouldn't cost much, so Huang Ze delegated power to Wang Jiawei again.

At this time, news came from Warner that the script had been approved and the initial funds had been allocated. Huang Ze could select suitable crew members and actors to start forming a crew.

(End of this chapter)