Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

On November 15th, filming for "Buried Alive" wrapped up!

The filming went so smoothly that Zhao Yanxi felt it was all too real.

After all, it is an art film that is aiming for awards, which still tests the director's skills and the actors' abilities. Although the original work only took 13 days, Zhao Yanxi still reserved 20 days in her plan.

I didn't expect Ryan Reynolds and I to perform so well, and we got it done in just two weeks!

When the entire crew looked at Zhao Yanxi, waiting for him to speak, he finally snapped out of his daze.

"Filming for 'Buried' has officially wrapped! Thank you all for your hard work over the past two weeks."

As Zhao Yanxi finished speaking, the filming of "Buried Alive," which had lasted for more than two weeks, came to a complete end.

Ryan Reynolds looked somewhat awkward and walked towards Zhao Yanxi.

"Director, thank you for giving me this opportunity. This film is completely different from anything I've made before; it's very special, and I will always remember this period."

"Ryan, you've worked hard these past few days~" Zhao Yanxi smiled and patted his shoulder. "You can finally rest for a while now. Wait for my news, and we'll go to Berlin together!"

With the exceptional performances of both the director and the lead actor, Zhao Yanxi is full of confidence for "Buried Alive" on its journey to Berlin!

This time, the name YanXi will surely shine in Berlin!

"Thank you, Director. I'll be waiting for your call anytime!"

Ryan Reynolds said cheerfully, though he still seemed a little down.

"Ryan, just to be on the safe side, I advise you to talk to your doctor again to make sure there are no mental health issues."

"Yes, I will go."

Filming can be really tough sometimes. If the lead actor isn't dedicated and can't get into character, the film won't turn out well; but if they get into character and take it too seriously, it can be very damaging to the actors.

For example, Ryan Reynolds directed "Buried Alive," and Liu Yifei directed "The Return of the Condor Heroes."

......

The editing of "Buried" was not complicated, but the post-production processing of some narration and sound effects took up some time.

Finally, at the end of November, Zhao Yanxi completed the post-production of "Buried Alive" and successfully registered for the Berlin Film Festival.

"Paul, the 'Ghost' project is in your hands!"

"Don't worry," Paul said, patting his chest. "I'll make sure those damn theater chains pay us our share, every single penny!"

"Um."

Zhao Yanxi nodded. Although the box office of "Ghost Shadow" did not reach a new high, it could still earn about 2000 million yuan per week.

Currently, the total box office revenue in North America has reached approximately $5000 million.

Even after deducting theater revenue sharing, marketing expenses, and distribution costs, Zhao Yanxi will still receive $1500 million.

This is not the limit of "Shutter"!

BOP, a professional box office prediction website in North America, estimates that "Shutter" will gross around $1 million in North America.

Meanwhile, Paramount's overseas distribution division is also releasing "Shutter" outside of North America, and this part is estimated to gross no less than $8000 million.

Besides box office revenue, there are other sources of income!

In North America, where the entertainment industry is highly developed, a film's box office revenue often accounts for only a small portion of its total revenue.

Special effects blockbusters like "Spider-Man" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" have various IP derivative products, but their box office revenue is generally only around 20%.

This is why a film with an investment of one or two hundred million US dollars can excite the production company if it grosses three or four hundred million US dollars worldwide.

Horror films that emphasize atmosphere and visual experience may have a larger share of box office revenue, but at most only around 40%. The rest of the revenue mainly comes from streaming media such as DVDs and Blu-rays, as well as television broadcasting rights.

Some of these benefits can be realized in one go, while others are a gradual, long-term process.

Since Zhao Yanxi couldn't stay in Hollywood permanently, he could only leave these matters to Paul. All he could do was oversee things and distribute profits accordingly.

If you want a horse to run, you have to feed it grass!

"By the way, could you please compile a list of some currently bestselling American novels that still have their copyrights intact?"

.....

The first time he came, he was a poor young man, and he brought back $50.

The second time they came, they were a well-off family and brought back $500 million!

Zhao Yanxi couldn't help but sigh that America was truly a wonderful place. The only pity was that the fees for transferring the US dollars earned in America back to China were just too high.

Of the more than seven million US dollars that were finally received, only five million remained.

However, if you calculate it, 500 million US dollars is more than 4000 million, which is enough for him to splurge for a while.

When I go there next time, I can not only collect another batch of royalties, but also settle the proceeds from "Ghost Shadow".

By then, I reckon I'll have earned a few small fortunes!

......

Even before leaving the airport, Zhao Yanxi could feel the fierce competition in the December Lunar New Year film season.

On the airport's GG sign, "The Promise" and "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" are equally prominent.

In magazines, the media dubbed this month the Trojan War of the Lunar New Year film season, with Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, Chen Kexin, and Liu Zhenwei forming a four-way rivalry.

"Perhaps Love" took the lead, premiering on the 1st, far from the center of the competition; while "The Promise" followed closely behind.

Zhao Yanxi finally got to enjoy the treatment of a big shot. After coming out of the VIP channel, she got directly into the company's private car.

The box office revenue from "You Are the Apple of My Eye," plus import fees from South Korea and Japan, and GG fees, totaled approximately 6000 million.

In order to offset taxes, Zhao Yanxi generously approved the purchase of a batch of business vehicles, such as the Audi A6 that came to pick him up this time.

Back at the office, there was already a stack of documents on my desk, mostly invitations to premieres and events.

Those who are placed on Yang Siwei's desk are basically those who have been screened and deemed necessary for him to go over.

Zhao Yanxi quickly flipped through them, and the top ones were invitations to the premieres of films such as "Perhaps Love" and "The Promise".

The premiere of the former is in two days, while "The Promise" has some time to run.

"Let's skip Chen Kexin."

Zhao Yanxi didn't have a good impression of Chen Kexin. She claimed that "the mainland market is the final destination for Chinese entertainment directors" and was one of the first Hong Kong directors to go north to work.

However, behind the scenes, they are all thieves and prostitutes, only wanting to use mainland funds and markets, and mainland A-list stars to play supporting roles, to promote Hong Kong stars and increase their status and market value.

Films such as "The Warlords", "Bodyguards and Assassins", and "Wu Xia" all feature one or two top mainland actors in supporting roles, while heavily promoting Hong Kong and Taiwan stars.

Even in "The Guillotines," Huang Xiaoming and Wen Zhang were used as supporting characters to the newcomer Ruan Laoqi from Taiwan, making him the male lead.

It's important to know that back then, Huang Xiaoming wasn't the greasy, domineering CEO he is today. The influence of "Master Ming" was even more terrifying than that of Wang and Xiao later on.

Wen Zhang has starred in three hit TV series on the small screen: "Struggle," "Dwelling Narrowness," and "Snow Leopard," as well as films like "Ocean Heaven" and "Love is Not Blind," making him an absolute A-list star.

At that time, mainland directors did indeed like to use Hong Kong and Taiwan stars as the main characters.

However, they mainly use popular A-list and B-list celebrities. I use your fame, you get my salary, and everyone gets what they want.

Where else can you find a company like Chen Kexin, using two A-list celebrities as supporting actors for a newcomer?!

That's absolutely ridiculous.

"As for 'The Promise,' I'll give you an answer. I'll probably go, unless there are any special circumstances."

"The Promise" is a project strongly supported by Han Sanping. For the premiere of "The Promise", Han Sanping had already mobilized his connections and relationships.

Before Zhao Yanxi returned to China, he received a call from Han Sanping, inviting him to the premiere of "The Promise".

There probably aren't many people in the industry who would receive a personal invitation from Han Sanping.

Zhao Yanxi knew very well that if the film and television industry was a class, the State Administration of Radio and Television was the school leader, and Han Sanping was the nominal head teacher.

School leaders can manage homeroom teachers, but under normal circumstances they will not bypass them unless they intend to replace them.

In such situations, those who attend may not stand out, but Han Sanping certainly knows who those who don't go are.

Zhao Yanxi and Han Sanping didn't have any conflicts. The distributor of "Those Years" also helped them, so Zhao Yanxi didn't need to be a troublemaker.

Let's just go and see what's underneath that dress.

After all, the person Old Zhao saw back then wasn't wearing any clothes...