I really don't want to make bad movies!

"Refinancing?"

Marco is indeed in Jinghai; he's been busy with the promotion and distribution of "Let the Bullets Fly" lately.

The marketing budget for "Let the Bullets Fly" accounted for one-third of the film's total budget; Marco and Jiang Wen were determined to make the film a hit.

He had been managing relationships in Jinghai for the past few months when he suddenly received a call from Xia Ming.

The two found a late-night restaurant and sat down to talk in detail.

"What do you mean by 'refinancing'? Didn't your movie already have three investors?"

Ma Ke was truly envious of Xia Ming's return on investment and also believed in Xia Ming's business acumen. However, he hesitated for a few days before the investment slots were filled.

Xia Ming poured tea for Marco and shook his head, saying, "The funding chain may be about to break down."

"Is Kiwi your primary investor? Can their funding chain be broken?"

"It depends on the viewership of 'Chinese Paladin 4' next week. If it doesn't meet expectations, iQiyi will have to pay GG a lot of money."

Marco could probably understand how things were unfolding.

As a producer, he knew this was an opportunity with both risks and rewards.

As a mature film and television platform, iQiyi had already helped set up the production team. When its funding chain broke down, iQiyi joined in with financing, which saved it the effort of setting up the team, but it also had to bear the risks of rebuilding the production team.

Changes in audiovisual style caused by the disintegration of the creative team and deviations in work content resulting from changes in crew members are all huge risks.

Xia Ming noticed his deep thought and offered him the script: "After the reorganization, I will serve as producer, director, screenwriter, and executive producer. The style will be absolutely consistent."

Marco was taken aback: "Are you Superman?"

Xia Ming smiled and said, "To be honest, it's a very low-quality commercial film, but with Wang Yuan and Ju Jingyi joining, it's definitely not a loss."

These two names are truly legendary.

She's considered a top-tier celebrity in the fan community.

Marco took the script and saw the contents of "Atlantic Rim 2".

The plot is simple and straightforward: the main characters pilot mechs to fight monsters.

"How much could you possibly earn by doing a rating?"

Marco is a very mature commercial producer, so getting him involved in the refinancing of the production team was not an easy task.

Xia Ming put down his chopsticks, crossed his arms, and pondered.

The purchasing power of the fans of those two fan leaders is undeniable.

"Around three hundred million." After careful consideration, Xia Ming gave a figure.

"What about the cost?"

"We need to raise around 70 million in new funding."

Xia Ming needs at least 60 million for special effects production, with 10 million left for unforeseen circumstances.

"How many are there now?"

"If Kiwi completely withdraws its investment, the second investor will likely also withdraw, leaving only a little over ten million in the accounts."

"At least another fifty million?!"

Marco quickly did the math.

With a box office of 300 million, after the money is divided among all parties, they only make a small profit.

"Why would you take on a role in a production like this?"

It won't make much money, the script quality is predictable, and the lead actors are two popular celebrities.

"I thought I could control the crew, but reality taught me a lesson."

Marco listened with a smile: "You suffered a loss? This is a lesson all directors must learn. Awards, fame, funding, and directorial authority are the three essential elements; none can be lacking."

"If you ask me," he said, stirring the noodles in his bowl, "you learn from your mistakes. Don't worry about how this production ends up. Anyway, there was no performance-based agreement. Just coast along and finish filming to get it over with."

"Producer Ma, you hang out with Director Jiang, how could you say something like that?" Xia Ming propped his elbows on the table, looking at him with great interest.

Marco chuckled and pulled a cigarette case from his pocket: "Stop talking nonsense. Life has already worn me down. As long as I can make money steadily, that's enough."

Xia Ming leaned back in his chair at the food stall: "Sigh, I just wanted to make money at first."

Marco stopped lighting his cigarette and laughed heartily: "Let me guess, are you trying to make money standing up?"

When they talked about lines from the movie "Let the Bullets Fly," they both burst into laughter.

As his smile faded, Marco lit a cigarette, shook his head, and said, "Face reality. Our industry is full of scoundrels. You think you can make money with dignity? Impossible!"

"Is money more important, or is Huang Silang more important?"

Faced with Marco's question, Xia Ming smiled without saying a word, and simply presented a contract.

"It's very important to me that Huang Silang isn't around."

Marco flicked off the ash, staring in astonishment at the young man before him, the cigarette butt moving up and down with his lips: "Are you serious?"

Xia Ming's smile faded, and he slowly said, "I want to give it a try."

Marco sat up straight, his previous smile gone.

"It's hard to imagine what you went through on set."

He pulled the contract in front of him and wrote down 20 million for the financing amount.

"Twenty million, I'd risk my life for you!"

Xia Ming clasped his hands in a fist and said, "That's enough!"

Picking up the contract, Xia Ming got up to pay the bill and waved goodbye to Marco.

Marco hadn't finished his noodles when he asked with a smile, "Where are we going?"

"Goose City!"

……

Tencent Video Headquarters.

Even at 10 p.m., the lights were still on and the workstations were packed with people.

Marketing Operations Director He Junyan was about to leave work after finishing a meeting when he looked up and saw his subordinate leading a young man toward him.

"Isn't this Director Xia?"

He Junyan sensed something was wrong and turned back to push open the conference room door again.

Xia Ming took the opportunity to sit down at the conference table, reiterated the financing details, and then presented the contract.

He Junyan glanced at Xia Ming and believed that what he said was true.

As a competitor of iQiyi, he is more concerned about the data of "Sword and Fairy 4".

With recent controversies surrounding the game, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy 4" is practically on the verge of being canceled.

"Producer Ma raised 20 million, but is still short over 30 million. You want us to step in and cover that?"

Unlike Marco, He Junyan doesn't care about the affairs of the entertainment circle.

He only cares about profits.

"300 million in box office revenue is too little; that's not much return on investment..."

He Junyan pushed the contract back without even thinking.

Xia Ming was not surprised. To persuade Tengzi, one had to offer tangible benefits or long-term gains.

"Mr. He, there's no need for you to refuse so quickly."

"The novel 'The Swindler' is currently airing on our website, with over 100 million viewers following it..."

These words made He Junyan's eyes light up: "Director Xia, are you thinking of trading the second season of 'The Swindler' for investment?"

If this condition were added, He Junyan would have invested 100 million, let alone 30 million.

Xia Ming smiled and shook his head.

The second season of "The Swindlers" is a cash cow, and it's definitely not meant for this kind of resource exchange; it can play a much bigger role.

However, the second season of "The Swindlers" can serve as a starting point.

Xia Ming pulled two thick notebooks out of his bag, stacked them on top of the contract, and pushed them in front of He Junyan again.

"President He, I know that Tencent has been incubating high-quality dramas, but it has never had a complete system."

"I have an idea: how about creating a theater specifically to incubate high-quality dramas and set a benchmark for the online drama industry?"

"I don't have any ideas for a second season of 'The Swindlers' yet, but here are two scripts that are just as good as 'The Swindlers' and could be used as the main productions for the theater."

He Junyan lowered his gaze, his pupils fixed on the names of the two scripts.

The Untraceable Crime

Day and Night

As you can tell from the name, this is also a genre that Director Xia is good at: urban crime web dramas.

What surprised He Junyan even more was not Xia Ming's simultaneous release of two scripts, but what he said.

"Director Xia, do you want to change the landscape of the online drama market?"

He Junyan picked up one of the scripts, flipped through a few pages at random, and was immediately amazed by its quality.

If the entire film can maintain this level of quality, it has the potential to be just as good as "The Swindlers".

If a theater can produce such high-quality works, that would be incredible!

He Junyan has a long-term vision. He doesn't care about the two scripts in front of him, but about who will be in charge of the so-called high-quality theater!

When I looked up again, I saw Xia Ming's smile.

The answer is obvious.

He is perhaps the only one with the ability to direct, write, and produce "The Swindler".

When He Junyan looked at the contract again, his expression changed.

"So, this 30 million investment is my stepping stone into the theater world?"

What Xia Ming didn't know was...

After "The Swindler" became a hit, Tencent immediately launched the clone project.

Repackaged TV series like "A Scammer" and "Spear Scammer" are all being put on the agenda.

However, after filming two episodes, the project was immediately scrapped by He Junyan.

The reason is simple: it was filmed terribly!

This genre can only be truly effective when directed by Director Xia! Only Director Xia can make it a huge hit!

He Junyan wields considerable power and has access to a large amount of funds. He wouldn't mind using that money to gain Director Xia's favor and gradually cultivate a relationship with her.

Xia Ming picked up a pen and drew an "X" on the paper.

"X Theater will usher in a new era for web dramas."

He Junyan smiled and nodded, wrote down 36 million in the financing amount column, and signed his name forcefully.

When he finished writing, he deliberately made the strokes very long.

"Bad money drives out good; *The Legend of Sword and Fairy 4* must be stopped!"

……

A week later, episodes nine and ten of "Chinese Paladin 4" aired.

"The Swindler" followed closely behind, airing its seventh and eighth episodes.

At the same time, viewers can pay to watch episodes nine and ten ahead of time.

After a month of anticipation and build-up, Chen Kun's scenes have finally been released!

At that moment, the phrase "Chen Kun's appearance" instantly became the top trending topic, and even the paid viewing threshold did not diminish its popularity.

Even Chen Kun himself didn't miss this opportunity, publicly promoting "The Swindler" on various occasions.

The month-long, battlefield-style marketing campaign has come to an end.

The most elite troops on Weibo—fandom fans—have finally entered the fray!

Chen Kun's fan base has been watching the back-and-forth between the two sides for a month, just waiting for the right moment to step in.

If Chen Kun's performance in the drama is lackluster, they will turn around and attack the "Mao Pian" production team.

However, if Chen Kun amazes everyone as soon as he appears, they will tear the fans of "Chinese Paladin 4" who previously criticized "The Swindler" to shreds!

Zhanli's fan base is like a nuclear weapon!

Clearly, "The Swindlers" won the approval of this group of fans with its quality.

They fought against hundreds of opponents, each with at least four or five accounts, using Weibo as their main battlefield to indiscriminately attack all viewers of "Chinese Paladin 4".

This is a typical example of a minority giving voice to the vast majority of opinions!

A large number of swear words and prohibited words were filtered out by the system, and the final trending topics were very civilized.

#This is the level that web series should be at#

#ChenKunIsSoHandsomeItMadeMeCry#

#The Third Force Enters the Scene in "The Swindlers"#

But once you step inside, it's a scene of carnage!

[The fans of "Chinese Paladin 4" number over 40,000, and they're constantly praising their idol's semi-permanent Korean-style face, wasting resources feeding the audience garbage. Ugh, I suggest tattooing that makeup onto their breasts so all their future children will look like that, so they can see it to their heart's content every day.]

Even the most casual observer, after seeing these extremely violent and accusatory remarks, wouldn't dare to click into "The Legend of Sword and Fairy 4" again.

This marks the first time since the premiere of "Chinese Paladin 4" that its viewership has failed to surpass 10 million on a single day.

Wang Hui looked ashen-faced and convened an emergency meeting.