The entertainment empire began with Liu Yifei's premarital pregnancy.

On November 14th, the day after the premiere of "The Ming Dynasty: Hongwu Emperor", Lin Bufan called Zhang Ting to the company.

"Director Lin, you called me!"

"sit!"

Lin Bufan looked at Zhang Ting, and after the man sat down, he personally handed him a check: "Take this!"

With the huge success of "The Emperor Hongwu", director Zhang Ting will receive 5% of the profits, which is 417 million yuan.

"Boss, this number is wrong, it's too much..." Zhang Ting excitedly took the check, glanced at the number on it, and looked at Lin Bufan in surprise.

As the company's contracted director, the amount of money "Hongwu Emperor" sold for was no secret within the company. He had calculated that he would only receive 417 million, but now Lin Bufan was handing him a check for 500 million.

"The extra portion is for you in red envelopes!"

Lin Bufan looked at Zhang Ting with a smile: "The TV series is a huge hit, so it doesn't make sense that the actors get red envelopes while you, the director, don't."

Lin Bufan always believed in the saying, "If you want others to follow you, you have to offer real money."

Nobody's stupid. If you've generated so much profit but don't get a share, nobody would be happy about that.

He himself wouldn't be willing to put himself in others' shoes, let alone others.

For a long-term partnership to work out, profits must be distributed fairly, so that the other party knows that their efforts are being rewarded.

"Thank you, Director Lin!"

Zhang Ting looked at Lin Bufan with a mixture of excitement and anticipation.

Five million is a huge sum of money even in later years, let alone in 2006, when the price per square meter of a villa in Beijing was only a little over 20,000 yuan.

500 million is enough to buy a small villa of more than 200 square meters.

"You've been resting for a long time since 'The Hongwu Emperor' finished filming, it's time to get back to work..." Lin Bufan said, directly tossing the script of the TV series "The Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty" to the other party.

The script for "The Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty" is adapted from the TV series "Ming Dynasty".

If it weren't for the later plot, "Ming Dynasty" would definitely be a masterpiece and a classic TV series.

Therefore, after receiving the script, Lin Bufan cut the rest of the script and had the scriptwriting department make some revisions to the plot.

We guarantee that the storyline will be even more exciting than the original.

Furthermore, after the TV series was renamed "The Ming Dynasty: Emperor Yongle", the plot ended with the ascension of Emperor Renzong of Ming, Zhu Gaochi.

As for the sequel to "The Ming Dynasty", the screenwriting department is adapting it based on some historical documents, and for now they have only finished adapting "Emperor Yongle".

"Director Lin, what is the production cost of this film, 'Emperor Yongle'?" Zhang Ting took the script but didn't look at it immediately. Instead, he asked about the production cost first.

How are high-quality TV dramas created?

They're all built with money; low-budget productions, whether movies or TV series, rarely produce masterpieces or classics.

The success of "The Hongwu Emperor" is inseparable from its 5000 million yuan investment.

When Hu Jun's version of "Zhu Yuanzhang" first aired, its ratings were not high. It was only later that it was hailed as a classic.

Kyoto Entertainment's version of "Hongwu Emperor" became an instant hit upon its release, thanks in no small part to its excellent production and grand scale. And the most important factor in all of this is money.

"The production department has already calculated the budget for this 'Emperor Yongle' series, which is 8000 million. There are several war scenes, which you must film well, as well as the fleet scenes of Zheng He's voyages..." Lin Bufan instructed Zhang Ting step by step.

The reason why the budget for "Emperor Yongle" was 30 million more than that for "Emperor Hongwu" was because it was used for these large-scale scenes.

As for whether he could recoup his costs, Lin Bufan didn't even consider it. Even if he only sold "The Emperor Hongwu" for the price of the book, he could still recoup his costs and make a profit.

And when that happens, the price of the TV series "Emperor Yongle" will only be higher.

"Yes, Director Lin!"

Zhang Ting took a deep breath and replied earnestly.

For him, producing an 8000 million yuan historical costume drama is also a test. However, with the successful experience of "Hongwu Emperor", he is confident that he will not disappoint Lin Bufan.

"And regarding the actors..."

After the broadcast of "Ming Dynasty", no one except Wang Xueqi resembled Zhu Di more, so he was the perfect choice for the role.

Secondly, there are Zhu Di's three sons. The eldest, Zhu Gaochi, is none other than Liang Guanhua. It's just a pity that Yu Haoming, who played the Prince of Han, didn't experience that fire, so his acting skills didn't make a qualitative leap.

In fact, he hasn't even debuted yet. He will only debut after next year's "Super Boy" competition, and then film "Meteor Shower" as Duanmu Lei, which will bring him into the public eye.

The roles of Prince Han, Zhu Gaoxu, and Prince Zhao, Zhu Gaosui, are left for Zhang Ting to choose himself.

The role of Zhu Zhanji is undoubtedly played by Zhu Yawen.

Furthermore, Zhu Yawen would undoubtedly be the perfect choice for the role in the filming of Emperor Xuanzong of Ming.

Wu Yue played the role of the Crown Princess very well, so we can continue to use her.

Finally, only the roles of Sun Ruowei and Hu Shanxiang remained. Tang Wei's performance was considered mediocre, so she definitely couldn't be used again. On the other hand, Deng Jiajia debuted earlier, and Lin Bufan also had high hopes for her, so the role of Hu Shanxiang was reserved for her.

Furthermore, the scriptwriting department also made revisions to the script.

Lin Bufan's biggest criticism of "Ming Dynasty" is that the original virtuous empress Hu Shanxiang was changed into a vicious female supporting character, while the original wicked empress Sun Ruowei was changed into a virtuous empress.

In Kyoto Entertainment's version of "Emperor Yongle," these two characters, though called female leads, are actually supporting characters and are not involved in the later plot, so there's no question of whitewashing them.

However, when filming "Emperor Xuanzong of Ming" later, the character's appearance will definitely be changed back to his original form.

……

With the announcement of the project "The Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty", the entertainment industry is once again in an uproar, with those with connections inquiring about roles.

After all, the TV series "Hongwu Emperor" directly propelled Hu Jun, who was originally a first-tier actor, to become a top male star, with his status approaching that of his seniors.

Therefore, the role of Zhu Di in "Emperor Yongle" has made many male stars eager to take on the part.

Even Li Baoguo personally called Lin Bufan, but Lin Bufan politely declined.

Besides Chen Baoguo, even Director Chen personally approached Zhang Ting to inquire whether he could play the role of Zhu Di.