This top celebrity got drunk and acted crazy, and everyone in the Chinese entertainment industry bur

Gangzi and the others could understand Lü Ming's desire to cross over into other fields.

Let alone Lü Ming, nine out of ten actors in the entire industry want to become directors, and the remaining one is already on the path to becoming a director.

After all, in the entertainment industry's ecosystem, directors are undoubtedly at the top.

However, despite the desire, very few people actually manage to transition from acting to directing. The main reason for this is that acting and directing are two completely different jobs.

Gangzi and his team recognized Lü Ming's acting talent; in fact, they believed that Lü Ming was the most suitable candidate for the male lead in "Detective Chinatown," and they would not accept anyone else playing the role.

However, Gangzi and his team were not entirely convinced about Lü Ming's appointment as the director of "Detective Chinatown".

Does Lü Ming think that directing is like acting, something that can be controlled at will?

Or is it that Lü Ming has become a bit arrogant because of his current achievements?
"Lu Ming, the job of a director is completely different from that of an actor!"

"Just because you can make movies doesn't mean you can become a director!"

"As for directors and such, whoever you want to invite, we'll do our best to get them for you!"

After thinking it over, Gangzi decided to try to persuade Lü Ming again, hoping that Lü Ming could give up his idea of ​​making and directing his own film and settle down to be an actor.

As for directors and such, they tried their best to invite Lü Ming over.

Given the status of Tencent Video and kiwifruit in the industry, they could definitely do it if they really wanted to.

As long as Lü Ming can give up his idea of ​​becoming a director, then everything is negotiable.

"I know you're worried that I won't be able to handle the job!"

Seeing the worried look on Gangzi's face, Lü Ming knew what Gangzi was afraid of, but he didn't explain anything.

If this were before "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," Lü Ming truly wouldn't know how to be a director, which is why he chose Lu Hao to direct.

After the hit series "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," Lü Ming gradually obtained many valuable items from the system, including directing skills.

Moreover, with the help of various skills and experience gained over the past few days, Lü Ming's directing skills have reached the intermediate level, and he is only one step away from the advanced level.

With the knowledge and experience of directing that Lü Ming currently possesses, he is at least several levels better than Lu Hao sitting next to him, if not comparable to the top directors in the industry. Directing a film like "Detective Chinatown" is definitely not a problem for him.

Upon hearing Lü Ming's words, Gangzi and Hu Tao fell silent, unsure how to respond.

For them, investing in Lü Ming's "Detective Chinatown" movie was naturally desirable. This wasn't just because the script Lü Ming provided was excellent and clearly a box office hit, which would significantly help their film companies, owned by iQiyi and Tencent Video, establish a foothold in the film industry. On the other hand, they had high hopes for Lü Ming. If he could make a name for himself in the film industry, then befriending him would be even more sensible.

However, Lü Ming's current attitude has made them hesitate. If Lü Ming were to direct this "Detective Chinatown" film, they would suddenly have little confidence in the movie.

It's important to understand that while actors and scripts are important for a film, they are by no means the most crucial factors.

The director is the soul of a film or television work.

A great director can make a seemingly ordinary script shine, and make an otherwise ordinary actor seem like a completely different person.

For example, if a seemingly ordinary script and actors were directed by Zhang Yimou, it would definitely elevate the film to a whole new level.

A second-rate, mediocre director can turn an excellent script into a illogical mess with no entertainment value, and make a naturally talented actor appear wooden and mechanical.

This is why directors hold such an important position in the film industry.

Many entertainment companies don't even look at the script or the actors when they invest in a movie; they only care about which director is in charge.

"that."

"May I say a few words?"

Just as the room fell silent, Lu Hao, who was sitting to the side, suddenly raised his hand like a student in a classroom and said in a slightly trembling voice.

After seeing the agreeing looks in Lü Ming and Gangzi's eyes, Lu Hao finally spoke up: "To be honest, I think Lü Ming's directing ability is no worse than mine, and may even be a few points better!"

This isn't Lu Hao praising Lü Ming!
During the filming of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City", Lu Hao often felt overwhelmed and unsure how to handle the problems that arose.

Whenever this problem arose, Lü Ming would inexplicably help Lu Hao solve it.

Lu Hao hadn't paid attention to it before, but now that he suddenly heard Lü Ming mention that he was going to film and direct his own "Detective Chinatown" movie, Lu Hao remembered these things.

Looking back now, Lu Ming may have already possessed these abilities, but they were not revealed before because of him.

Gangzi and Hu Tao didn't take Lu Hao's words to heart. In their opinion, it was probably just Lu Hao praising Lü Ming, since Lu Hao was now considered one of Lü Ming's employees.

Is becoming a director so easy?
If becoming a director were so easy, there wouldn't be so few directors in the Chinese entertainment industry now, and top directors would be extremely rare.

Gangzi and his team originally planned to invest in Lü Ming's "Detective Chinatown" movie, but Lü Ming's current attitude made them hesitate.

This is no longer a question of success or failure; rather, Lü Ming simply treats this matter as a child's play.

After all, given Lü Ming's popularity and buzz, even if he produced a terrible film, he would still make a profit thanks to the support of his fans.

Not to mention the quality of the script revealed so far and Lü Ming's acting skills, the final product won't be too bad at all.

Judging from Gangzi and the others' expressions, Lü Ming could guess what they were thinking, but he didn't seem to want to explain at all.

For Lü Ming, he has great confidence in this "Detective Chinatown" movie, and he also has great confidence in his directing ability, so this "Detective Chinatown" movie will definitely not fail.

If Lü Ming were willing to agree, countless people would want to invest and become shareholders.

The reason Lü Ming was willing to give Gangzi and Hu Tao the opportunity to enter was entirely because of their relationship. Even if others wanted to enter, Lü Ming might not necessarily give them the opportunity.

How do you plan to allocate those investment shares?

Gangzi suddenly spoke up and asked Lü Ming a question, which surprised Hu Tao, who was standing to the side. He didn't know why Gangzi would say that. In Hu Tao's opinion, Lü Ming was playing around with this completely, and there was no point in investing at all.

Business is business, and personal relationships are personal relationships!
As a businessman, Hu Tao really couldn't see what was so good about investing in this.

If it's just for a small share of the box office revenue, then that's really ridiculous.

Given the size and scale of companies like kiwifruit and Tencent Video, they don't care about such a small amount of profit. What they want is to truly enter the film industry and establish a firm foothold.

Clearly, Lü Ming's film could not achieve the same effect for them.

Moreover, if Lü Ming's film becomes a flop, then perhaps his dream of entering the film industry again will become just that—a dream.

Hu Tao even harbored a slightly wicked idea: if Lü Ming failed this time, Lü Ming might become more dependent on them in the future, allowing them to gain some control in their cooperation with Lü Ming.

It's important to understand that, given Lü Ming's popularity and influence, he currently holds a dominant position in collaborations with iQiyi and Tencent Video. For instance, in the case of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City," despite being the major investor, they have no say in the selection of actors or the filming process, leaving the decisions entirely to Lü Ming.

This is definitely not the outcome that Hu Tao and his team wanted to see. As one of the leading figures in the film and television industry, they almost always hold a dominant position no matter who they collaborate with.

Only because of Lü Ming's current popularity and status, and the extremely excellent "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City", can Lü Ming make them suffer.

If Lü Ming fails to enter the big screen this time, then they can regain control of the situation.

Hu Tao believed that Gangzi must have had the same thought, but what puzzled Hu Tao was why Gangzi suddenly changed his attitude and seemed to be planning to invest.

"The initial budget is 100 million. I will personally play the male lead, plus the director's fee. My studio will contribute an additional 10 million, accounting for one-third of the investment!"

"As for you two, I've given you one-third of the investment. That means you two will jointly invest forty million! As for how you divide that share, that's none of my business!"

Lu Ming briefly shared some of his thoughts, which he had already considered.

Before Gangzi could speak after hearing Lü Ming's words, Hu Tao, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but gasp.

Hu Tao felt there was no problem with Lu Ming's ten million yuan salary for the male lead.

Given Lü Ming's current popularity, a fee of ten million yuan is not reasonable, and even seems a bit cheap. You know, these days, if Lü Ming participates in a variety show, the production team will offer him an appearance fee of ten or twenty million yuan.

According to the information Hu Tao and his team gathered, Lü Ming's appearance fee for just one episode of "Running Man" was over 20 million yuan, and that was only for one episode.

Hu Tao was somewhat surprised that their investment of 40 million yuan only accounted for one-third of the total investment.

Even for a large and established company like Tencent Pictures and iQiyi, 40 million is not a small sum.

It's not that Hu Tao and his team couldn't come up with the money, but rather that Hu Tao couldn't just watch this be a failed investment and still put out so much money.

If such a large sum of money is spent and the desired results are not achieved, then even Hu Tao will be held accountable by the parent company.

"What about the remaining third?"

Hu Tao suddenly remembered that Lü Ming had only mentioned two-thirds of the share. What about the other one-third share?

"Of course, we should bring in other investors!"

Upon hearing Hu Tao's question, Lü Ming replied casually.

The distribution of a movie is not like that of a TV series, where you can simply put it online or sell it to a TV station. Movie distribution requires channels.

It is clear that Lü Ming does not have many connections in the film industry, especially compared to those top-tier film distribution companies.

Therefore, if Lü Ming's "Detective Chinatown" is to be released smoothly, it must bring in some distributors. Lü Ming already has some options in mind and has arranged a meeting time with his assistant.

"We at Tencent Video are an example."

After thinking for a moment, Hu Tao shook his head, instinctively wanting to refuse Lü Ming's 'request'. However, before Hu Tao could finish speaking, he heard Gangzi say from the side, "We kiwifruit have voted!"

"If Tencent Video isn't interested, then Kiwi will take all 40 million!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Tao's face was full of surprise, wondering what Gangzi meant.

Could it be that Gangzi really believed what Lü Ming said earlier, and was willing to invest tens of millions even if Lü Ming insisted on making and directing it himself?

Why?

Hu Tao was filled with doubt and couldn't understand Gangzi's thoughts at all.

This is clearly a bad deal, so why would Gangzi make such a decision?

do not care!
I'm taking the gamble!

"We at Tencent Video also invested!"

Although Hu Tao didn't know what Gangzi was thinking, he was at a loss. It wouldn't be a good thing to suddenly back down at this point.

Instead of being so indecisive, it's better to just take the gamble.

Besides, it's only a few tens of millions!

If this "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" becomes a huge hit, then losing tens of millions is no big deal. At worst, I'll get a few scoldings from the higher-ups, but I'm not going to get fired.

"I believe you two will be extremely grateful for the decision you made today!"

Lu Ming originally thought they were about to give up, but to his surprise, the two of them agreed and said to them with a smile.

This is not a lie!
In Lü Ming's view, the final result of "Detective Chinatown" will definitely surprise them, and only then will they realize how correct their decision was. (End of Chapter)