Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 130: Money is spent too quickly, I need to go to the Americans to withdraw some money
Coming out of Dongzhimen, the early summer breeze was warm. Wu Chen was driving while silently calculating his accounts.

Although buying copyrights is not expensive now, it will definitely cost a lot to buy first-line high-quality copyrights and exclusive long-term copyrights.

But "Buried" seemed to make a lot of money, roughly close to 15 million US dollars, but it couldn't withstand his continuous investments.

A large sum of money went into "Now You See Me" and a small amount went into "Black Peony".
Now, the actual liquid funds that can be mobilized are only more than 2 million US dollars.

This money is like the yellowed stubs on the last few pages of a passbook, which may be swallowed up by a sudden budget at any time.

As for the domestic box office of "Buried" - it looks good, more than 26 million yuan, but the 13% share is really disappointing.

Fortunately, it is a gross box office share, without deducting taxes or funds, so the actual amount received is about 3 million. However, this money has to be redistributed again in the end, so it can only be said that it is better than nothing.

"If you want to make money now, you have to go to Hollywood."

Wu Chen sighed, and his heart moved, remembering a small-scale production script that had been on his mind. If it wasn't "Now You See Me", this should have been the one to be filmed.

After thinking about it, he decided that he still needed to make two more movies to earn some money.

I might as well take advantage of this North American filming trip to figure this out.

Back at Beijing Film Academy, Wu Chen opened his notebook and began typing the title for the script cover: "Get Out."

Then he picked up the phone and dialed Blum's number.

"Wu!" Blum said immediately on the other end of the line, "The film is still looking for people to set up the set and coordinate the schedule, so it won't be that fast."

"I didn't call about that." Wu Chen smiled. "I'm planning to continue preparing for a low-budget film. I might as well take advantage of my time in Hollywood to shoot it."

Jason Blum was stunned when he heard this. Why did this sound so unfamiliar? What did he mean by "taking the photo while he was there"?

"Is that the smaller-budget script you mentioned at the Buried premiere?"

Jason Blum recalled that he remembered Wu Chen had two ideas at that time, and then the current "Now You See Me" came into being.

I thought the other party would start planning after the filming of "Now You See Me" was completed, but I didn't expect that the other party would actually want to prepare at the same time.

Thinking of this, Blum suddenly felt a little embarrassed and whispered: "Wu, I'm running out of money."

"Ah?" Wu Chen was stunned, then laughed.

However, considering Jason Blum's recent series of actions, including the investment in "Now You See Me" and the establishment of Blumhouse Pictures, the other party's coffers are probably running out of money.

And you always have to leave some emergency budget, otherwise if something really happens and you can't spare any money, you'll be doomed.

"That's fine. I'll pay the lion's share and you'll pay the smaller portion. The cost isn't high," Wu Chen said immediately. Then he thought for a moment, "The subject matter might be a bit sensitive. I'll come over later and you can discuss it with me. We might need to change the distributor."

"Oh?"

Jason Blum was stunned and a little curious, but Wu Chen didn't continue speaking, so he could only wait for the other party to come.

A few days passed in a flash, but the attack from the light side did not slow down at all, and it almost kept attacking Song Zude.

People in the circle were all stunned and began to discuss it in low voices in various group chats and dinner parties.

"Which great god did Song Zude offend? Does the light show that he's planning to beat him to death?"

"I guess I've pissed off three companies. Now I've learned my lesson. They're relentless and show no mercy."

"You can mess with anyone, but you dare to pick a fight with China Film, Star, and Guangguang on a project you've been collaborating on. You're simply courting death."

And Song Zude, who was "seeking death", has also been feeling frightened these days.

Although he seemed to be holding on on the surface, he was actually in a state of anxiety.

Fortunately, there was no further bad news, and he once imagined that the storm was over.

Until Wu Chen received a call from Li Feng.

"Director Wu, we've got it done. We've found the source. It's a good thing you came early, otherwise the surveillance would have been overwritten a few days later."

I'll find someone to hand it over to you." Wu Chen's expression changed after hearing this, and he immediately called Wang Changtian.

"The chain of evidence is complete, including the video footage on the show, the source of the post, and the dissemination record. It is enough to prove that he committed malicious defamation, causing widespread dissemination, and the circumstances are serious. A case can be filed." Wang Changtian responded.

Wu Chen's eyes narrowed when he heard this: "Boss Wang, you've forgotten the most important point."

"Ok?"

"His actions have severely damaged the economic interests of the tripartite collaboration project between Star Pictures, China Film Group, and Enlight Media. If an actor delays filming due to emotional issues, and publicity and distribution are postponed, do you know how much loss this would cause?"

Wang Changtian was stunned for a moment, then reacted, and his laughter became more fierce:
"Director Wu, that's a good reminder. I actually forgot about that. Okay, I'll have the legal department prepare the materials right away."

"I also notified President Han and asked the legal department of China Film Group to come forward." Wu Chen hung up the phone with a serious look in his eyes.

In such incidents, the final outcome depends entirely on how serious the victim is.

Most companies usually don't bother to investigate further if they see the other party is willing to kneel down and apologize. But if they really take it seriously, the associated impact caused by this will be enough to make Song Zude suffer a lot.

What this world fears most is actually people who are too picky.

In the evening, the windows of the practice room were not closed tightly, and a ray of setting sun slanted in, falling on the wooden floor, emitting a gentle golden light.

The air was filled with a faint smell of dust and sawdust, mixed with a hint of the bitter scent of sweat.

Wu Chen pushed the door open gently without making any sound.

The hall was empty, with only Liu Yifei standing alone on the practice bench.

She was wearing a plain training suit, light grey with a hint of white, her eyebrows were lowered, her arms were hanging naturally, and her feet were standing together, as if she was doing "immobilization" training.

This is a very basic yet extremely challenging lesson.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window lattice and fell on her.

The light slowly slid down from her shoulders, casting a gentle halo on her profile, and also illuminating the dense beads of sweat on her temples, as crystal clear as morning dew.

Zhang Jiqing stood aside, a hint of satisfaction hidden in the corner of his eyes. Seeing Wu Chen come in, he smiled and said, "You've made rapid progress. It seems you've put in a lot of extra effort."

Wu Chen responded softly, "Teacher, how did you see it so quickly?"

"I know her state best at the end of each day," Zhang Jiqing said slowly, "For most things in the world, you can't lie to people about whether you've tried your best or not, because the results won't play along.

Many people lament that they have no talent, but they don’t realize that most people don’t even need to compete for talent yet.”

Wu Chen smiled and looked at Liu Yifei in front of him, "Teacher, you're always right on target."

"I heard she had an accident a few days ago?" Zhang Jiqing asked casually.

"It's been resolved." Wu Chen said calmly, as if he didn't care at all.

Zhang Jiqing nodded without asking any further questions.

"Okay, take a break." She clapped her hands.

Liu Yifei let out a breath, and when she turned around, her forehead was covered in sweat, her breathing was a little rapid, but she still walked lightly towards Wu Chen.

Her cheeks were flushed from training, but there was light in her eyes.

"Junior brother, you're here."

Wu Chen looked at her and nodded, "Senior Sister, the matter has been resolved. We'll just have to wait for the result."

"Ah."

Liu Yifei responded softly. At that moment, there seemed to be a soft light flowing in her eyes, and the clarity was like the melting spring water, which passed through her heart silently.

(End of this chapter)