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

Lin Bufan walked into the production team of "2012" and carefully looked through the footage that had already been produced.

"kindness!"

Lin Bufan nodded in satisfaction. The finished product was exactly what he wanted, just as he had requested.

"BOSS!"

"How much longer do you expect it to take to complete?"

"It won't take more than a month!"

For the next week, Lin Bufan spent the entire week at TIANGONG Special Effects guiding the special effects teams to refine the effects according to his own ideas.

"noob!"

After finishing his business, Lin Bufan picked up the phone and called Bai Bing.

"Boss!"

Xiao Bai's voice was somewhat languid. It was late at night in China, and she had just fallen asleep when the phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was Lin Bufan calling.

If it were anyone else, she would have started cursing long ago.

"Notify the distribution team that '2012' is set for the Lunar New Year release!"

"Yes, boss!"

All things considered, Lin Bufan has never competed in the Lunar New Year film season: "By the way, check out the films scheduled for the same period this year and send them to me."

Not long after, Bai Bing compiled a list of films released during the Lunar New Year holiday season and sent it to Lin Bufan's email address.

The Lunar New Year film season covers the period from the end of November of the current year until the Lunar New Year of the following year, with the most popular period being mid-December.

Starting from the end of November, the first film to compete in the Lunar New Year film season this year is "Call for Love," which will be released on November 29th. It is directed by Liu Yiwei and stars Ge You. Originally, the female lead of this film was Fan Bingbing, but she is currently on the set of "Taken" and has not yet finished filming.

However, even if filming wraps up, Fan Bingbing will not take this role. She is now an "international star," and she will definitely be very selective when it comes to scripts.

Next up is "Apple," which was released on November 30th. This movie became quite famous in later years, but now that Fan Bingbing is no longer in the movie, it's uncertain whether it will still have such a big impact.

Entering December, "The Warlords" was released on December 12th, "Assembly" was released on December 20th, and then a few obscure films were released.

It wasn't until January that Zhao Benshan's "Getting Home" was released. This film is considered a classic road movie in later generations, but in this era, it only grossed a little over ten million at the box office.

"Love Transfer" was released on February 8th, and "Protégé" was released on February 14th.

Of these films, only "Assembly" and "The Warlords" truly posed a threat to Lin Bufan.

but……

Lin Bufan glanced at the soon-to-be-completed "2012," a special effects blockbuster that would surely crush all other movies.

……

After a busy day, Lin Bufan returned to his Beverly Hills mansion around 7 p.m. He glanced at the time and then made a phone call.

"Chairman Han!"

"Wow, what brings you here so early?"

Han Sanping glanced at the time. He had just arrived at China Film Group when he received a call from Lin Bufan. This was the first time he had ever received such a call.

Normally, if Lin Bufan has something to do, he can come directly to China Film Group to find him.

"Han Dong's '2012' will be completed in a few days and ready for release during this year's Lunar New Year season!"

"real?"

Han Sanping had just picked up his teacup when he heard the news. His hand slipped, and the tea spilled out of the cup, landing on his leg. He didn't care at all that his leg had been burned.

"2012" is a Sino-US co-production led by Han Sanping, with China Film Group also participating in the investment.

Now that the movie is being released, how could he not be happy? If the movie is successful, it will be a political achievement for him.

"Your schedule is fine. Which date are you planning to book?"

"Let's set it for September 20th!"

December 20th was the release date of "Assembly", which is why Lin Bufan chose this day.

He doesn't have a conflict with Feng Xiaogang, but rather with Huayi Brothers.

Since those old guard members invested in Huayi Brothers, the company has been revived and launched several projects in just a few months.

Although Huayi Brothers also invested in "The Warlords," it was a co-investment, unlike "Assembly," which was a core project for Huayi Brothers.

"Okay, no problem!"

Han Sanping did not hesitate for a moment.

He knew, of course, that there was a conflict between Lin Bufan and Huayi Brothers. He didn't favor anyone publicly, but he definitely favored Lin Bufan in private.

Han Sanping understood perfectly well that favoring Lin Bufan would bring him political achievements, while favoring Huayi would bring him nothing.

"Mr. Han, there's one more thing. I have an animated film that's scheduled for release on the first day of next year. Could you perhaps arrange a co-production?"

Currently, there are two models for importing Hollywood films into China: one is revenue-sharing films, with a quota of only 20 films per year, and the other is buyout.

There is generally no fixed quota for buyouts, but only a dozen or so films can be imported per year, and the total number of imported films cannot exceed 40.

For revenue-sharing films, the foreign partner receives a percentage of the box office revenue, typically between 13% and 17%.

Whether it's a revenue-sharing film or a buyout film, only China Film Group is qualified to import it, meaning it requires Han Sanping's approval. The difference is that revenue-sharing films can only be distributed by China Film Group.

For films bought out, China Film Group can resell them to private entertainment companies for distribution.

Besides these two types, there is a final type: co-productions. These are not included in the 20-film quota for revenue-sharing films. According to domestic requirements, the model must be a joint investment and production by Chinese companies and Hollywood companies.

The strict requirements are that Chinese investment accounts for no less than 30%, and that the project must include Chinese elements, Chinese actors, and Chinese scenes.

A certain proportion of the main creative team and crew are Chinese.

The treatment is the same as that of domestic films; they do not occupy import quotas, profits are shared according to investment, and they can also enjoy the same release date protection as domestic films.

Just like the upcoming film "2012", it is a standard co-production, with Chinese investment (Kyoto Animation + Crystal Films + China Film Group) accounting for 40% of the investment.

During filming, many domestic actors were used, although none of them were famous, but they were all within the rules.

"What movie are you talking about?"

Han Sanping thought for a moment and did not refuse immediately.

He'll help if it's feasible, but he can't just agree if the gap is too large, since so many people in the industry are watching him.

"It's an animated film..."

Lin Bufan was also slow to realize that he had forgotten the benefits of co-productions at the beginning. Fortunately, Kung Fu Panda was an animated film, so the investment could be increased later, which was not a problem.

Moreover, this film was not shot with any real actors. When it was released in China, they found domestic actors to dub it, which met the requirements. As for Chinese elements and scenes, it was even simpler, since this was originally a film full of Chinese style.

When Lin Bufan first saw it in later years, he thought it was a domestically produced animated film, until he later learned that "Kung Fu Panda" was a Hollywood movie.

Since Lin Bufan had already said so, Han Sanping only considered it briefly. If it was feasible, he agreed immediately. Moreover, the current New Year's season had not yet been fully developed, so it would not cause too much controversy.