Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 163, Section 161: Ambition

December 25, 1997, Thursday, Christmas Day.

This imported festival had not yet developed into the strong commercial atmosphere it would later become in the capital at that time; only a few shops on the streets were decorated with red and green.

Inside the Beijing Film Studio, everything was the same as usual, except that the small conference room in the administration building was filled with an atmosphere that was different from the holiday, a mixture of excitement and solemnity.

News of Zhu Yongde's anger reached Beijing and the Beijing Film Studio yesterday afternoon.

Han Sanping received a reprimand from the ministry but did not receive any punishment.

now.

At this closed-door annual summary meeting, attended only by Han Sanping and a few of his core confidants, the topic of "Zhu Yongde's anger" became a minor interlude at the beginning.

"Old Zhu is getting impatient again." Han Sanping picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and said with a hint of mockery in his tone: "Last time we formed the film studio alliance, we didn't include them, and he got so angry that he rallied the provincial film companies to stir up public opinion and came to Beijing to confront us. In the end, it was all bark and no bite, and nothing came of it."

The deputy director in charge of publicity and distribution chimed in, his tone tinged with regret: "To be fair, General Manager Zhu is quite capable. He united the provincial companies and indeed secured extensive distribution channels for Shanghai Film & Television across various provinces, not just for movies, but also for television dramas. If we could have secured those channels, they could have complemented our alliance..."

"Stop fantasizing."

Han Sanping put down his teacup and interrupted him, saying, "Old Zhu and the faction he represents have never been on our side."

Not to mention, Old Zhu is quick to act; last year he spearheaded the establishment of the 'Shanghai Film and Television Company,' a legitimate conglomerate operation.

He looked around at everyone present and gave a brief introduction: "Shanghai Film & Television Group has integrated the original production resources of Shanghai Film Studio, monopolized film and television production in Shanghai, and more importantly, they firmly control the cinema chains in Shanghai and are deeply tied to local television stations such as Shanghai Oriental Television. This is a powerful opponent, not a partner that can be easily won over."

Han Sanping tapped his fingers lightly on the table and emphasized, "Everyone must understand that for our film studio alliance to function, the Beijing Film Studio must maintain absolute core and dominance."

Within the alliance, besides our Beijing Film Studio, there cannot be a second 'warlord' with strong influence.

He paused, then used a historical anecdote to highlight the crux of the matter: "Otherwise, with our forces scattered and each harboring their own agendas, we will inevitably repeat the mistakes of the 'Eighteen Warlords' campaign against Dong Zhuo in history—seemingly a formidable force, but in reality, internal strife made it difficult to achieve anything significant, and ultimately led to our collapse. The alliance we have painstakingly built cannot follow such an old path."

Upon hearing this, a deputy factory director in charge of administration and logistics couldn't help but sigh, his tone full of regret: "What a pity! If it were last year, we could have achieved this level of success, with so much real money sitting in our accounts. Maybe we could have taken the opportunity to acquire the Beijing Film Company and created our own 'Beijing Film Group'! The situation would have been completely different!"

These words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up ripples in the hearts of all the senior executives of Beijing Film Studio present.

Yes, in the past year or so, following Wang Sheng's lead, we've made more money from wedding videos, TV movies, VCD releases, product placements... all sorts of things, than we've made in the previous ten years combined.

Although the exact figures have not been fully released, a rough estimate puts it at several hundred million.

To say I have no ambition would be a lie.

Who wouldn't want to expand their power and hold onto their position more firmly?

Another deputy director chimed in, "Yes, Forbidden City Film Studio beat us to the punch. But there's nothing we can do. They're backed by several powerful departments in Beijing, including culture, propaganda, and broadcasting. They're like our own son. Although our Beijing Film Studio is a long-established company, we really didn't have the same strength to compete with them last year."

Someone murmured with regret: "If we could have done what we have this year last year, directly supporting nearly 10,000 employees and indirectly creating tens of thousands of jobs in related industries in Beijing, and using projects and funds to carve out the prototype and name of 'China's Film Capital' in this area in western Beijing... perhaps we would have had more confidence in negotiating with the city."

Han Sanping raised his hand and pressed it in the air, interrupting the crowd's sighs: "Let bygones be bygones; there's no going back. Right now, our cooperation with Forbidden City Film Industry and New Film Union Film Industry is going smoothly, so let's maintain this situation for now. Let's think about the main issue—"

He turned his gaze to the head of the finance department: "Old Li, could you give everyone another figure for the factory's revenue this year, mainly for the second half of the year, calculated before tax?"

Finance Director Li adjusted his glasses, opened the ledger, and clearly stated, "As of December 24th, our main revenue streams are: 'Personalized Customization' high-end wedding videography business; after deducting all costs and internal alliance revenue sharing, the profit attributable to our factory is approximately 60 million. Television and film business, including internal alliance revenue sharing, VCD sales revenue sharing, and ad placements, after deducting production, distribution, tax reserves, and alliance operating expenses, yielded approximately 350 million for our Beijing Film Studio. Other miscellaneous items, such as some product placement, equipment rental, and technical training output, add up to over 50 million. The total is approximately 460 million. This is all pre-tax profit. The after-tax profit is approximately 3.082 million."

Despite being mentally prepared, a collective gasp still filled the conference room when the number was clearly announced.

Having hundreds of millions of yuan in cash sitting in the books would have been unimaginable a few years ago.

"Now that we have the money, how do we spend it?"

Han Sanping raised the core issue: "Money lying in the account is dead money. We must invest it out to generate more money and consolidate our foundation."

A deputy factory manager in charge of production immediately said, "We definitely need to continue to produce a lot of theatrical films! This is the foundation of our business and the basis for consolidating our relationship with New Film Union, and even for the possibility of building or acquiring cinema channels in the future. Without a stable and high-quality source of films, everything is just empty talk."

Han Sanping nodded: "The direction is right. So what should we film? How many films should we film?"

His gaze naturally fell upon Wang Sheng, who had been somewhat silent since the start of the meeting, seemingly lost in thought. At this moment, someone added, "Speaking of film sources, '30 Days' has already grossed 3051 million yuan in total box office revenue as of yesterday! And that's just in nine cities!"

This statement further highlights the importance of high-quality video sources.

Wang Sheng was indeed somewhat lost in thought.

He was just mentally reviewing some of the major events that were about to happen in 1998...

He felt the gazes directed at him, collected his thoughts, and slowly raised his head.

"Director Han, leaders," Wang Sheng's voice was as calm as ever, "My idea is to continue our successful experience in television films and directly upgrade those mature television film production teams."

He specifically stated: "Directors Huo Jianqi, Huo Zhuang, Wu Yiyi, and Zhang Yang have each developed their own style after nearly a year of honing their skills, which has also proven their efficiency and control capabilities."

Promote them and form a formal theatrical film production team, with each person in charge of a genre they are good at.

Next year, we will set a task for them: each person must complete at least one or two theatrical films.

"We can continue with the themes they're familiar with. For example, Huo Zhuang leans towards warm and realistic themes, Wu Yiyi can continue with dark humor, and Zhang Yang excels at urban themes... In this way, we can at least stably produce four to five theatrical films with a certain quality next year."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "As for me, before the end of next year, I will take the lead in making another Lunar New Year film to continue the brand of '30 Days'."

Based on this calculation, and considering other potential collaborative or investment projects, the film supply for cinemas led by our Beijing Film Studio is basically secured.

This will not only meet some of the needs within the alliance, but also support our own screenings in Beijing and other partner cinemas.

This plan was sound and efficient, making full use of existing talent reserves and successful experience, and was unanimously approved by everyone present.

"Wang Sheng's idea is good! It makes the best use of everyone's talents and the risks are controllable."

"Yes, let's do it this way! First, increase the volume and thoroughly train the team!"

Han Sanping made the decision: "Okay! Wang Sheng, you will take the lead in this matter. Talk to these directors as soon as possible to finalize the project approval and budget. We should see their first draft of the script next spring."

Once the core issues were identified, the atmosphere at the meeting became much more relaxed.

The discussion then turned to the issue of equipment upgrades.

With the money in hand, upgrading and replacing outdated equipment was put on the agenda.

The deputy factory manager in charge of technology produced a list: "The factory plans to purchase a batch of new equipment, mainly including: ARRI 535B 35mm cameras (the high-end main models at the time), at least three more."

Matching Zeiss Ultra Speed ​​series high-speed lens group;

For digital non-linear editing systems, consider introducing Avid Media Composer or the more advanced Discreet Logic fire/smoke system (for high-end special effects editing and compositing).
There is also a Dolby digital stereo recording system, which represents the future trend of cinema sound effects.

In addition, lighting and motion components (such as tracks and rockers) also require extensive replenishment and updates.

The initial budget estimates an investment of approximately 30 to 50 million.

Although this investment was huge, it was no longer an unbearable expense for the well-funded Beijing Film Studio at that time.

Han Sanping glanced at the list and approved the procurement plan in principle, asking the technical department to refine the plan and conduct a bidding process.

The closed-door meeting ended, and everyone left the conference room with hopes for the future and heavy responsibilities.

Han Sanping invited Wang Sheng to his office to discuss the possibility of acquiring Beijing Film Company and its son, New Film Union.

Wang Sheng's attitude is that as long as the China Film Company is still in Beijing, it will be difficult to achieve this. The higher-ups cannot just stand by and watch such a state-owned enterprise, the hegemon of the era of unified purchase and sales, completely collapse.

However, with the Shanghai Film and Television (Group) Corporation as a precedent (formed by other Shanghai film production institutions such as Shanghai Film Studio and former Shanghai Film Company), Beijing Film Studio is now financially powerful and can use this as a whetstone to "bark" at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to see if anyone supports it.

Han Sanping said he would think about it.

(End of this chapter)