I really don't want to make bad movies!

The meeting has been going on for half an hour.

The entire conference room was as silent as a tomb.

Wang Hui rubbed his brow with his two thumbs.

If he didn't speak, no one dared to say anything.

Throughout the entire meeting, only Huang Xuke dared to sneak a peek at his phone, thinking to himself, "They're going too far."

This massive online campaign of condemnation was clearly fueled by someone, otherwise public opinion wouldn't have shifted so quickly.

This is no longer a simple project failure, but has evolved into a public opinion crisis for Kiwi.

This is many times more serious than the previous "Big Hornet" incident!

Wang Hui had just finished an online meeting with the board of directors when he immediately summoned all the regional presidents, and they all sat quietly for half an hour as punishment.

"Tencent's move was too ruthless."

The first to break the silence was surprisingly Yang Xianghua.

Wang Hui slowly raised his head, his voice seemingly containing thunder: "You think Tencent is spending money to play a game of public opinion warfare?"

"It is obvious that as soon as we withdrew our online operations, a large number of low-quality accounts posted the same remarks and guided public opinion."

Listening to Yang Xianghua's report, Wang Hui opened the DB website and saw that the rating of "Sword and Fairy 4" had dropped to 3.2, which meant it was completely beyond saving.

To be effective, one must be strong oneself. This time, Tencent Capital seized their weakness and struck hard, leaving them with no choice but to suffer in silence.

Hiring online trolls to counter public opinion or creating other topics to divert attention will not save "Sword and Fairy 4" from complete collapse.

Ultimately, the quality is so poor that it's simply beyond repair.

Online criticism of the platform can be downplayed; as long as it releases other high-quality works in the future, its reputation will gradually recover.

The most pressing issue right now is facing the threat of being crushed by GG merchants.

The latest episode only garnered a million views, and the retention rate plummeted to single digits. All the profits from the previous three quarters will have to be offset by this massive public relations crisis.

And that's not enough!

"Which district will be so voluntary as to share some of its funding?"

All the senior executives within Wang Hui's sight silently looked away.

Only Huang Xuke, who was sitting at the end, exchanged glances with him.

"Xu Ke, how many short videos can you produce...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Huang Xuke calmly replied, "Mr. Wang, don't we also have a film project?"

"The movie can't be cut!" Yang Xianghua suddenly raised his voice.

Wang Hui was so angry that he was beyond words, unable to feign anger. He simply looked at Wang Hui calmly and said indifferently, "Why are you so agitated? I didn't realize you were a film major."

"Mr. Wang, this is a project we brought in for quick returns, have you forgotten? We can't cut it!"

Huang Xuke immediately interjected, "Fifty days to shoot a movie, fifty days for post-production, and another month for theatrical release. Would GG Pictures be so kind as to wait over a hundred days for us?"

Wang Hui was moved.

Compared to other complex projects that involve various partitions and are intertwined with each other, this is a significant improvement.

This fledgling film project not only has a simple relationship, but also ties up a huge amount of cash flow.

"You're the producer, so castrate yourself."

Wang Hui's resolute voice sent a chill down Yang Xianghua's spine.

This project involves the interests of myself and two celebrity studios, and I also have a bunch of shady characters working under me to leech off the crew.

It involves economic interests, resource exchange, and interpersonal relationships; we absolutely cannot let the movie be canceled!

Moreover, he has already embezzled funds from the budget without any cleanliness. If the production team has to tear down the project and liquidate it, there will inevitably be a lot of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Where does the money come from?

They can't really sell the house or the equity, can they?

"If I remember correctly, we initially invested 60 million in the production team and 10 million in marketing and distribution. How much is left now?"

"Mr. Wang, how about you hold on a little longer? I still have an S-level drama series that I can squeeze out a bit of."

Wang Hui frowned: "You're so convinced that this film project can make money? You're even willing to cut the budget for an S-level film?"

"I don't just believe in the film project, I believe in Director Xia's abilities! You must also think highly of Director Xia, right?"

When Xia Ming was mentioned, Wang Hui hesitated slightly.

Xia Ming is indeed exceptionally capable.

However, Wang Hui had no idea about the specific progress of the film project.

"Go check on the situation on set. At the very least, you need to allocate some funds to help out. You need to pay the money to GG Media before the show airs next week."

"If there's any hope for the film, we'll discuss how much money to keep the project afloat, and restart it once the cash flow picks up."

"I'll go right now!"

Yang Xianghua hurriedly got up from his seat and rushed into the elevator.

He was the sole authority on the production team. As long as Wang Hui didn't go out and investigate, he could manipulate the finances.

Huang Xuke watched him leave the meeting room with a smirk, secretly typing on his phone under the conference table.

When they reached the parking lot, Yang Xianghua took out his phone and called Xia Ming.

As soon as the call connected, Yang Xianghua immediately switched to a fawning tone: "Director Xia, are you busy?"

"Oh? I'm not that busy. What's up, Mr. Yang?"

Yang Xianghua placed his hand on the car door handle and said with a smile, "It's like this, there's been a small problem at headquarters recently, so the budget for your movie might have to be cut a little more."

As he opened the car door, Xia Ming also pushed open the conference room door. Amidst the astonished gazes of the executives, he walked to Yang Xianghua's seat, sat down comfortably, and turned on speakerphone.

"Mr. Yang, just tell me, how much should we cut?"

"Hehe, um... I've calculated it carefully. Actually, as long as we keep 15 million, plus the 20 million from Ju Jingyi's studio and the 14 million from the QuanQuan platform, it's more than enough for the shoot!"

"Isn't this a humanistic film? Forty-nine million, how could it not be enough to make it?"

Xia Ming gestured for silence and replied with a doubtful tone, "Mr. Yang, are you kidding me? This cut directly from the first investor to the third investor, reducing it by 45 million. How are we going to proceed with the bidding?"

"Besides, the filming hasn't been going smoothly these past few days. The operations alone have cost five million, and Wang Yuan's salary is still ten million. We don't have that much money to cut for you."

"It's not forty-five million. With the publicity and marketing costs, it's fifty-five million in total." Yang Xianghua drove his Bentley and stopped at a traffic light. "Don't worry, I'll help you with the publicity and marketing. The buzz will definitely be there."

"I'll replace some of the equipment in the crew for you later. There's no need to use such a high-end ARRI model, is there? Shooting is mainly about the people, not the equipment."

"Mr. Yang, isn't this a bit unfair? I came here with the goal of creating a domestic science fiction project with a budget of 100 million yuan. Now the budget has been halved, and even the equipment is being cut. I really have no creative enthusiasm left."

"Hahaha." Yang Xianghua laughed warmly, feeling very comfortable. "We'll have plenty of opportunities to collaborate in the future. Young people mainly need to accumulate experience; sooner or later they'll be able to create masterpieces, right?"

"Sigh, I'll just have to make do with this."

For some reason, Yang Xianghua felt that Director Xia was unusually easy to talk to today.

Thinking of KIKI's assertive behavior on set, he immediately felt relieved.

Creative passion? That's a joke.

Even the most ambitious new directors will be worn down when they encounter Ju Jingyi's studio.

A salary of three million is quite high; many new directors don't even get that much!

"I'll hang up now, I'll be on the set right away."

……

Upon entering the film set, Yang Xianghua casually picked up a staff member's megaphone and interrupted filming: "Cut!"

Hundreds of people turned around in unison to look at the uninvited guests who had barged into the film crew.

They were stunned, and Yang Xianghua was stunned too.

Sitting in the director's chair was a well-dressed young man, who, although young, was clearly not a college student.

"Where's Director Xia?" Yang Xianghua asked, puzzled.

"We were about to ask you the same thing!" KIKI stormed over, furious. "Director Xia has been missing for days! Where is he?!"

"This assistant director is completely incompetent; he ruined Ju Jingyi's performance! Director Xia told me the assistant director is your classmate's son, and we should give him face??"

Yang Xianghua was completely confused. Although Xiaobai was indeed his classmate's child, how did Xia Ming know that?

How come it's Xiaobai's turn to direct again?

He stepped forward, grabbed Xiaobai by the collar, and demanded aggressively, "Where is Director Xia?"

Xiao Bai didn't dare to speak loudly: "I, I don't know. He said I have a lot of artistic talent and asked me to direct for two days to see how I do."

"Isn't this fucking ridiculous?!"

Yang Xianghua took out his phone, preparing to call Xia Ming again.

The phone screen lit up, and it was a call from Wang Hui.

Composing himself, Yang Xianghua left the film set and found a quiet place to make the call.

"Hey, Mr. Wang, I've arrived at the film set, but it seems Director Xia has gone to the restroom. Could you wait for me a bit?"

"How much money did you recover? Ah, I've already calculated it, forty-five million. That should be enough to deal with GG, right?"

"There's nothing we can do. Director Xia's equipment is all top-tier. Every day, just turning on the camera and doing nothing burns through 100,000 yuan. The special effects production over there is also top-tier, costing tens of thousands of yuan per second. This is all we can recoup."

"The movie can still be made, but we need to recover our investment and revise the revenue-sharing agreement."

"beep--"

The phone call was suddenly disconnected.

……

On the other end, Xia Ming placed three documents on the table: the financing contract, the production crew restructuring plan, and the investment risk assessment, and gently pushed them with his right hand.

The protective film on the document made a slight rustling sound as it scraped against the solid wood conference table, until the thick stack of papers stopped turning in front of Wang Hui.

Wang Hui didn't immediately look at the contract. Instead, he silently raised his head and stared at the smiling young man beside him.

"Director Xia, judging from your expression, you must have guessed what we were talking about, right?"

"The crew has ruined the film like this, how can you even make the movie?"

Xia Ming patted the dust off his knees and sat up straight.

"It's filmable, and it's profitable."