Huayu Entertainment: Who let him be the director!

Chapter 60: China Film Academy Boards the Ship
Dang Dang Dang!
A knock on the door interrupted Zhou Qing's thoughts, and assistant Xiao Liu poked his head in.

"Director Zhou, Producer Hu is here."

"I see."

Zhou Qing nodded, and without further delay, he went to the reception room to meet the producer.

"127 Hours" is relatively small in scale and has limited funding, so all the work was shouldered by Zhou Qing alone.

But this is not the case with "Departures".

Can't do it either.

Professional work should be left to professionals.

Zhou Qing specially found a producer to be responsible for all the preparations for "Departures".

"Director Zhou."

"Producer Hu."

The two shook hands and greeted each other in a friendly manner.

I started to have an in-depth understanding.

"Producer Hu, I'll leave the production of "Departures" to you."

Zhou Qing felt that Producer Hu had good professional skills and decided to formally hire him.

Producer Hu also showed a hint of joy on his face.

Although this man looks too young, his combat record is quite impressive.

It's just a movie, but not only did it win major awards, it also did great box office both domestically and overseas, which is terrifying.

Producer Hu feels honored to be noticed by such a director.

"It's my pleasure."

Producer Hu also spoke politely.

The two began to discuss work issues in detail.

Afterwards, Zhou Qing handed over all the preparatory matters, big and small, to the other party.

As for producer Hu, he is indeed a professional.

All related tasks were handled in an orderly manner.

Zhou Qing was very satisfied.

Of course, Zhou Qing was not idle either. He was always thinking about the issue of actors.

After some comparison and consideration, Zhou Qing temporarily decided on two candidates for the heroine: Fan Bingbing and Yuan Quan.

In addition, there is the male protagonist’s boss.

As the guide of the male protagonist, this is the most important supporting role in the whole movie.

If you really count, he is still the second male lead.

Zhou Qing decided to find a Hong Kong star to play this role.

It’s still the same reason, to boost the box office.

There's nothing we can do about it. These days, domestic audiences only recognize those Hong Kong and Taiwan faces when watching movies.

People are willing to spend money on those people.

Otherwise, why do mainland stars always play supporting roles to those Hong Kong and Taiwan stars?
Since Zhou Qing was planning to boost the box office, he naturally had to take this factor into consideration.

But for Zhou Qing, it was completely the opposite. He asked stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan to play supporting roles.

As for which Hong Kong and Taiwan star to look for?

After some thought, Zhou Qing tentatively decided on Hua Zai.

With Andy's image and acting skills, there is no problem for him to handle such a supporting role.

Although this character is an old man in the original movie, he could also be a middle-aged man.

"Director Zhou has started a new play."

Han Sanping, who heard the news, came to the door.

Zhou Qing couldn't help but sigh that this man was worthy of being the big boss of China Film Group, but his script filing had not yet been approved.

He knew this in advance, he is really a power-hungry person.

"Boss Han, I really can't hide anything from you."

Zhou Qing could only admire her. There was nothing else he could do.

"I've been waiting for this day."

Han Sanping chuckled.

It wasn't all just polite talk, Han Sanping really thought so.

This person actually has great ambitions and has long been trying to move up further, and he is still eager to achieve some outstanding results.

And the excellent results are closely related to some top directors.

Although Zhou Qing is not a big director yet, he has the greatest potential, so Han Sanping naturally attaches great importance to him.

"I filmed 127 Hours last year, and I've been resting for more than half a year. It's time to shoot a new film."

Zhou Qing nodded in agreement.

"Embarker? This should be a prize-winning film, right?" Han Sanping made such a guess.

"Yes, I plan to go to the three major European countries again."

Zhou Qing nodded and did not deny it.

Zhou Qing was not surprised that this person could see the script information before the script was filed and announced.

After all, this person is not an ordinary person.

"Berlin? Or Cannes?"

Han Sanping asked again.

It is already June now and the registration period for Venice has passed.

So Zhou Qing could only target the remaining two.

"If nothing unexpected happens, let's go to Berlin."

Zhou Qing pondered for a moment and told Han Sanping his plan.

The main reason was that it was a little too late in Cannes and Zhou Qing didn’t want to wait that long.

"This time, bring back the golden bear that you missed last time."

Han Sanping encouraged Zhou Qing and at the same time was full of expectations for it.

After all, Zhou Qing does have this ability.

"Then I'll borrow Mr. Han's good words."

Zhou Qing's words were also full of confidence.

"What is the budget for Director Zhou's film this time?"

After a brief exchange of greetings, the two sides got down to business.

"Eight million. If we can invite a Hong Kong star, it will cost more than ten million."

Zhou Qing thought about it and told Han Sanping the truth.

The budget difference is indeed quite large, but there is no way around it. The prices of celebrities in Hong Kong are indeed higher nowadays.

Take "Hero" for example.

Liang Chaowei and Zhang Manyu were paid US$100 million for the film, while Chen Daoming only received US$10.

Another example is "Infernal Affairs 3".

Liang Chaowei and Hua Zai both received 800 million yuan in pay, while Chen Daoming only received 200 million yuan.

"Who are you going to invite, Hong Kong star?"

With a wave of his hand, Han Sanping automatically ignored the word "if".

It seemed like Zhou Qing could invite anyone he wanted.

"There is an important supporting role in the movie, which is considered the second male lead. I think Liu Dehua is quite suitable."

Zhou Qing told Han Sanping his idea.

"Okay, leave this role to me."

Han Sanping said in a domineering manner.

Although it is a bit difficult to get a big star like Liu Dehua to act as a supporting role, he still has some confidence in this.

"This style is worthy of being a mountain eagle."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart.

"Boss Han, I appreciate your kindness, but Liu Dehua and I know each other, so I'll talk to him myself."

"If he wants to act, then he can act. If he doesn't want to act, that's fine. It's not like we can't live without him."

But Zhou Qing rejected Han Sanping's kindness.

He didn't beg others to act in his movies, it should be others who begged him to act in his movies.

It would be meaningless if Han Sanping wanted to use his power to suppress others.

"also."

Han Sanping nodded and didn't say much.

"Anyway, if you need any help from China Film Academy, you can ask me."

Han Sanping just gave such instructions.

Zhou Qing naturally expressed his gratitude.

Then the two sides talked about the real highlight.

Just as Han Sanping promised when Zhou Qing went to apply for an extension, China Film Group plans to invest this time.

Zhou Qing naturally would not refuse, as he indeed intended to get China Film on board.

As for the investment ratio, Zhou Qing's side will naturally take the lion's share.

After some negotiations between the two parties, China Film Group obtained a 35% share.

It is worth mentioning that Zhou Qing included his own director’s salary in the budget for this film.

(End of this chapter)