Rebirth: I'm filming extra scenes on the set

Chapter 139: The Siege of the City in October, Co-director
"Chen Cheng, I have bad news for you."

A few days later.

Chen Cheng received a call from Chen Kexin.

Upon hearing the bad news, Chen Cheng reacted calmly: "The co-director didn't invite me anymore."

"Hahaha, how do you know?"

"It's bad news, but if the co-director doesn't want me, please give me the assistant director role."

"Ah, Assistant Director, you want one too, do you like it?"

"What do you mean by looking down on me? If you can't be a co-director, being an assistant director is also good. You can earn a little salary to support yourself. Besides, your film should have a lot of investment. I'll just brush up my qualifications."

"Good boy, you've got it. OK, come to my place tomorrow and we'll discuss it."

"Oh my god, Director Chen, you really gave it to the assistant director."

"Since you've said so, and we're all so familiar with each other, I'd be embarrassed not to give it to you."

"No, I'm just saying...Are you guys so casual?"

"How do you mean casually? At that time, we were considering letting you be a co-director, and now you are just an assistant director. What's wrong with that?"

"That……"

"Okay, I'm not kidding you. I'm not the assistant director, I'm the co-director. Are you coming?"

Chen Cheng thought he had heard wrongly.

"What? Director Chen, you didn't lie to me, did you?"

“Am I a liar?”

"You just fooled me."

"I was just joking with you. If you don't believe me, forget it. I'll find someone else."

"No, I believe it, Director Chen, how can I not believe it?"

hang up the phone.

Chen Cheng shouted excitedly.

Co-director.

Although he can't be a completely independent director.

But co-director is equivalent to independent director.

This is already a big step forward for me.

……

The next day.

Chen Cheng came to the hotel where Chen Kexin was staying.

Meet Chen Cheng.

Chen Kexin handed Chen Cheng a script and said, "Read it first while I take care of some things."

Chen Cheng nodded.

Open the script.

Chen Cheng was very familiar with the name of the script: "The Siege of the City in October".

The October Siege has nothing to do with Qian Lao’s Siege.

He was talking about the story of a group of revolutionary heroes from all corners of the country who risked their lives to protect Sun Yat-sen in 1906.

The story is outstanding.

Especially these revolutionary heroes, they are not all those high-profile big names.

in contrast.

In the October Siege.

In this revolution, the script mainly revolves around those small characters.

Among these little people, there are gamblers, beggars, coachmen, students, businessmen... and so on.

They joined the revolution for various reasons.

Or.

They didn't even know that this was a revolution, nor did they know who specifically they were protecting.

but.

However, for the justice in their hearts, they chose to protect Sun Yat-sen.

Even at the cost of one's own life.

Finished in two hours.

Chen Cheng closed his eyes.

Chen Cheng was very familiar with this script in his previous life.

At the same time, Chen Cheng also knew that this script had gone through a lot of hardships.

In fact.

He came up with this script ten years ago.

But because the investment was too huge at that time, no one dared to take over this script.

finally.

This script was favored by Chen Kexin.

"How's it going? Have you finished reading the script?"

Two hours later, Chen Kexin finished the matter at hand.

He poured Chen Cheng a cup of tea and asked.

Chen Cheng thought for a moment and said, "It's a very good script, and the plot is no worse than The Warlords. The characters are also very rich. If this movie wants to achieve good box office, in addition to the strength of the behind-the-scenes production team, it also needs corresponding actors."

"The actors are not the focus right now. The focus is that we must first attract investment."

Chen Cheng was overwhelmed: "Director Chen, please don't tell me that this script hasn't attracted investment yet."

Chen Kexin said: "We can't say that we haven't attracted any investment, but we have only attracted half of it. For the other half, we can only find a way ourselves."

"Vote yourself?"

Chen Cheng asked.

Chen Kexin was choked by Chen Cheng's words: "Chen Cheng, why did you think of voting yourself?"

"Didn't I hear that some people sold their cars and houses to invest in movies?"

"The results of it?"

“Some succeed and some fail.”

"That's it."

Chen Kexin nodded: "If it succeeds, everyone will be happy. If it fails, it may take 10 years for producers like us to recover. Besides, I don't have that much money."

This is not nonsense.

There are some bigwigs in the industry who value the films they have too much.

Then some sold their houses, some borrowed money, some took on high interest rates... and then invested in movies.

As a result, the film was not as good as expected after it was released.

Then, you will see that in order to pay back the money, these filmmakers worked like crazy to make money in the following years.

He will make money as long as he can.

Like Director Er.

In my previous life, I invested in a movie called "Random Thoughts", but suffered terrible losses. I had no choice but to appear on variety shows every day to pay back the money.

This is not bad.

Passerby A's total investment was only 3000 million.

But these 3000 million have already been spent by Director Er.

And there is King Liu.

I also invested in quite a few films, but ended up losing money.

Later, King Liu had no choice but to take on a series of bad movies.

As far as I can remember, the investment in The Siege of the City in October was as high as 1.5 million.

Now we have even got half of the investment.

There are still more than 7000 million.

More than 7000 million is not a small number.

Not to mention, this was more than 2006 million in 7000.

Even if Chen Kexin sold his house, his car, and everything he had... he still couldn't raise more than 7000 million.

"Ok."

This is a real issue.

"Chen Cheng, are you interested in Hengdian?"

"Let me ask."

This is what Chen Cheng said.

But let's be honest.

He does not recommend investing in Hengdian.

This is not because Chen Cheng is not optimistic about this movie.

Chen Cheng is still very optimistic about this film.

However, with the current investment of 1.5 million yuan, it is still difficult to recover the cost.

Chen Cheng can’t say that he directed the film and then drag Hengdian to invest in it.

Directing a film and investing in it are two completely different things.

This is just like Chen Cheng's optimism about the pledge of allegiance.

Whether the pledge of allegiance was a loss or not had nothing to do with Chen Cheng.

But it is undeniable that The Warlords is a good movie.

So Chen Cheng was very interested in the token of allegiance.

"Director Chen, the company said the investment amount might be a bit high."

Symbolically, Chen Cheng made a phone call to Hengdian.

undoubtedly.

Since Chen Cheng did not recommend investing, Hengdian would not invest either.

“It’s a bit high indeed.”

Chen Kexin also nodded: "But the budget is such a high investment. Without such a high investment, the film will be greatly discounted. So, in a few days, you will accompany me to Hong Kong."

"Going to Hong Kong to look for investors?"

"Yes, but we don't just look for investors in Hong Kong. There is an Asian Film Investment Association in Hong Kong, and many films will go there to look for investors."

"Ok."

Chen Cheng nodded.

……

A few days later.

Chen Cheng accompanied Chen Kexin to Hong Kong.

After going to Hong Kong, Chen Kexin also called the chief director Chen Desen.

As soon as he saw Chen Cheng, Chen Desen warmly shook Chen Cheng's right hand and said, "Chen Cheng, I have long heard of your great name."

Chen Cheng was a little surprised: "Has my fame spread to Hong Kong?"

Chen Kexin laughed and said, "That's not true. Several crews have reported that you beat up a group of Hong Kong producers."

"My God, what kind of news is this?"

Chen Cheng was helpless.

It's just a little contradiction, how did it become like this?

But Chen Cheng couldn't explain this kind of gossip, nor would he explain it.

The two of them laughed.

"Let's go."

After picking up Chen Desen, the three of them went to the Asian Film Investment Conference.

It's called an investment meeting.

But in fact, this is a more private trade fair. The participants are film investors, producers, bankers, buyers, and film fund managers.

If these investors are interested in certain films during the meeting, cooperation will be reached.

As a well-known director in Hong Kong.

The emergence of Chen Kexin attracted many investors.

However, when they saw the investment amount of 1.5 million yuan mentioned by Chen Kexin, many investors began to back off.

An investment of 1.5 million is not the highest in the circle.

But as things stand now.

The only person who invested more than 1.5 million and recovered the cost was Zhang Yi.

Even Feng Xiaogang has not achieved this.

The box office failure of his "The Banquet" left many investors with lingering fears.

“This is not a good year.”

Seeing many investors leaving, Chen Kexin was somewhat helpless: "The night banquet set a bad example."

"It's not just the night banquet, Wuji is also at a loss."

Chen Desen added.

"Director Chen, isn't your investment too high?"

The three were chatting.

At this time, an investor came.

Chen Kexin said: "It's not that high. This year I also filmed a movie called The Warlords, and Jet Li's salary alone was 1 million."

"It's different. Jet Li is worth 1 million. Also, Director Chen, don't be angry. The Letter of Invitation may not be able to recoup the cost."

"..."

If looks could kill.

I'm afraid Chen Kexin has killed that guy eighteen times by now.

It's wrong to bring up this matter.

Fortunately, The Warlords has not been released yet.

If it is released, you can say that it would be like rubbing salt into the wound.

However, the investor is still very interested in "The Siege of the City in October": "I remember that this script was circulated ten years ago."

"Mr. Xiao, you have a really good memory."

"Haha, I paid attention to it at that time. Ten years ago, the investment amount seemed to be 6000 million."

"Ten years have passed, and now it has risen to 1.5 million, which is normal."

“It’s normal.”

The investor said: "Can the Central City be reduced in size?"

Looking at the use of funds for "The Siege of the City in October", the investor said again.

The Central City here is a scene from The Siege of the City.

This scene is also what Central City looked like 100 years ago.

in reality.

This scene is long gone.

and so.

In order to restore this scene, it has to be rebuilt independently.

The funds for reconstruction are also huge.

According to preliminary estimates, the construction of Central Ring City will require 3000 to 4000 million yuan.

Clearly this investor is taking this very seriously.

If you calculate it this way.

If the Central Ring City is not built, the investment amount will be between 1.1 million and 1.2 million.

"Boss Xiao, come closer and talk."

Seeing that Mr. Xiao was interested in October Siege, Chen Kexin pulled Mr. Xiao aside and said, "Mr. Xiao, this Central City no longer exists. If it is not rebuilt, it will be difficult to find a suitable scene in Hong Kong."

"I understand. But an investment of 3000-4000 million is still too high."

"This is how we think about it. It is indeed a bit wasteful to build a Central City for filming at a cost of 3000-4000 million yuan. But the Central City we are building will not be used after construction. We will carry out later commercial planning here."

"Hey... that's a good idea."

Mr. Xiao touched his chin and thought about it.

If you look at it this way.

Then, when combined with the funds earned from the later commercial planning of Central Ring City, it is still somewhat exciting.

"Mr. Chen, I need to make some specific calculations. Bye."

Mr. Xiao thought about it and did not give an answer.

Chen Kexin and the other two had no choice but to continue waiting. At this time, Chen Cheng saw Han Sanping.

"Director Han, you are here too?"

Chen Cheng greeted Han Sanping.

"Of course I'm coming. After all, this is what we do at China Film Academy."

Han Sanping said with a smile.

Then he asked Chen Kexin: "Director Chen, how is it going?"

"There are some. Just now, an investor was interested in us. But he was a little hesitant, thinking that it would be too expensive for us to spend 3000-4000 million to build a Central City. However, I said that the Central City could be used for commercial purposes in the future, and he was ready to go back and do the math."

“I guess it’s unlikely.”

Han Sanping said.

Chen Cheng asked, "Director Han, this is too discouraging for us."

Han Sanping said, "I'm not trying to discourage you. Although the idea of ​​commercial development of Central Ring City in the later stage is good, you are not engaged in commercial development. You don't understand the business rules here. Even if Central Ring City is valuable in the later stage, the value is not high. There may even be risks. After all, late development is also a risk, isn't it?"

Worthy of being an old man.

Han Sanping directly pointed out the crux of the problem.

really.

Half an hour later, Mr. Xiao sent an assistant to come and said that after calculation, there was still great uncertainty in this investment.

This is a polite refusal.

……

"Chen Cheng, talk to Director Han."

With a look, Chen Kexin signaled to Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng understood what Chen Kexin meant.

"Director Han, will you invest in China Film Group?"

Chen Cheng and Han Sanping came to the other side and asked in a low voice.

"You kid, you're here to take advantage of me."

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "This is your business. I forgot to tell you that I am the co-director of The Siege of the City in October. Please invest in it."

"The risk is too great to consider."

Han Sanping still shook his head.

"Director Han, the investment amount for The Investment is even greater than that for The Siege of the City in October. You all invested in it."

"This is different."

Han Sanping said: "Although The Warlords has big risks, Jet Li is an international superstar and there are still some expectations for him internationally. As for October Siege, the international market can be ignored."

of course.

Han Sanping couldn't speak.

Previously, when China Film invested in "The Warlords", it was also partly due to Chen Cheng.

But Han Sanping won’t do that again.

China Film Corporation does not belong to Han Sanping alone; he cannot do whatever he wants.

Even if Han Sanping was alone, he couldn't have done it again and again.

However, although Han Sanping refused, Chen Cheng did not give up.

China Film Group is the most powerful film investor in China, bar none. If China Film Group can invest.

Even if China Film only invests a little, they can use the influence of China Film to attract other investments.

After thinking for a while, Chen Cheng said, "Director Han, your China Film Group has invested in quite a few films recently. "Confucius", "Crazy Racing", "Divine Doctor An Daoquan", "Keep Talking"…"

Chen Cheng counted them one by one.

Among them, Chen Cheng likes "Crazy Racing" very much.

But this belongs to Senior Brother Ning Hao.

How could Chen Cheng have the ability to snatch this film away from him?

It's useless even if you snatch it away.

Because Chen Cheng didn't have "Crazy Stone" before.

It can be said.

Without Crazy Stone, there would be no Crazy Racing. The two films are in the same vein.

This is why capital trusts Ning Hao.

Find someone else.

Sorry, no chance.

"You've been staring at our Zhongying."

After hearing what Chen Cheng said, Han Sanping said.

"Why would I keep an eye on you? China Film Group is so big, any little movement will attract a lot of media attention."

"Well, whatever you want to say, if you want us to invest in China Film Group, it's impossible."

Han Sanping told the truth and asked Chen Cheng not to waste his time.

"No, Director Han, I just want to chat with you. I'm wondering what China Film Corporation does."

"That's another question. I'm mainly responsible for film production, distribution, design, agency, import and export business."

"Director Han, this is just the business of China Film Group on the surface. In reality, what does China Film Group do?"

"Oh, you are talking about this, it is simple, this is to promote the development of Chinese films."

Chen Cheng added: "It is mainly to promote the development of mainland films."

"You could say the same thing."

"So... you don't want to vote?"

Chen Cheng winked at Han Sanping.

Han Sanping didn't understand for a moment, then he touched his head and said, "You have a very high level of ideological awareness."

at this time.

Han Sanping couldn't help but admire Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng's words have a very profound meaning.

What does China Film Corporation do?

It is to promote the development of mainland films.

This promotion does not necessarily mean high box office, nor is it necessarily for the purpose of making money.

More importantly, it has promoted the rise of the entire mainland film industry.

This rise can be considered from many aspects.

In order to promote the development of domestic films, sometimes it is okay to invest in some movies even if they lose money.

"The Siege of the City in October" is undoubtedly a good book.

Although it is possible to lose money in investment.

But with such a camp and such a production, it will definitely be a good movie.

For the sake of the greater good.

With China Film Group investing in "The Siege of the City", everything seemed to be a natural progression.

(End of this chapter)