The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Shen Qing finally appeared, and the subsequent negotiations went smoothly, with the allocation of large investment shares quickly reaching a consensus.

Shen Qing invested 14 million yuan, representing the remuneration of the screenwriter, male lead, and director, for a 40% stake. Shen Qing's company then contributed 3.5 million yuan in cash for a 10% stake, giving Shen Qing's company a total of 50% ownership.

The remaining 5% share was jointly funded by several companies, including Dingxin, China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Zhejiang Film Group.

The signing process took a total of 3 days.

When Dingxin Chairman Zhao Hongwei completed the signing process, he was momentarily distracted.

He was too familiar with Shen Qing. Dingxin Films had participated in all of Shen Qing's films that propelled her to fame, and the two met very frequently. But precisely because of this, he didn't really notice the changes in Shen Qing.

Just like with colleagues or classmates you see every day, you're not as sensitive to whether they've grown taller or gained weight. But when you suddenly meet someone you haven't seen for weeks or months, you're more likely to notice the changes.

The same goes for Zhao Hongwei.

Shen Qing rose to prominence quickly, but since they met every day, he had gotten used to it. It wasn't until the moment he signed the contract that he was momentarily stunned by the figure of 1400 million.

The lead actor received a salary of 1000 million, while the director and screenwriter received 400 million each!

A 1000 million yuan salary would put you in the top tier even in Hong Kong, let alone in mainland China.

Taken grossed over 1.1 million yuan at the domestic box office, $1960 million in its opening weekend in North America, and $1800 million in overseas rights sales.

These numbers, which he already knew, flooded his mind along with the 1400 million figure on the contract, making him momentarily dazed and suddenly realize that Shen Qing had actually developed to this point.

This junior student, whom I discovered from among the students at the Beijing Film Academy to act as my assistant director, has actually developed into this!

"How did I manage to be so confident and chat with him like before a few days ago?"

Shen Qing's arm around his shoulder interrupted his reverie.

"Brother Zhao, wanna grab a drink tonight?"

Zhao Hongwei snapped out of his daze, looked at the still incredibly familiar face in front of him, and smiled, "Shall we go to my place?"

"It's settled then."

……

When will filming begin for the new movie?

"It will take at least one or two months."

The following evening, at Shen Qing's home, Fan Bingbing attentively served Shen Qing food.

Has the female lead been chosen yet?

Fan Bingbing coughed lightly to draw Shen Qing's attention to her, then looked at Shen Qing with an extremely charming gaze.

Shen Qing reached for the prawns on the plate, and Fan Bingbing quickly peeled one and fed it to Shen Qing.

"The female lead in 'Ip Man' is just a pretty face, not very interesting. Besides, you've already played the female lead in 'Taken,' and there will be a sequel to 'Taken.' I can't have you as the female lead in both series; the audience will get tired of it."

"I was just asking casually. Actually, I've been very anxious lately, not knowing what the future holds. You're the person I'm closest to and trust the most. You'll help me, right?"

"What do you have to be anxious about?"

"Sister Hua's departure from Huayi is irreversible. She wants me to go with her, and Huayi wants me to renew my contract immediately. What should I do? Should I stay at Huayi?"

Rumors have been circulating for over ten days that Wang Jinghua and a large number of her artists have collectively defected to Huayi Brothers. Wang Zhongjun of Huayi Brothers has only stated publicly that no artists have resigned yet, and that Huayi Brothers can function without anyone.

Fan Bingbing's name is on the list of people who have switched jobs that has been circulating online.

"Huayi is no longer very interesting. With Wang Jinghua gone, Li Xue will inevitably take over. You know better than me how much Li Xue is willing to work hard and sacrifice for his sister Li Bingbing. If you stay at Huayi, the most likely outcome for the brothers is to remain the third-place winner forever."

"How did I become the third oldest? Even if I can't beat those two sisters, shouldn't I be the second oldest?"

"I've heard that Zhou Xun joining Huayi Brothers is now a done deal."

"real?"

"Absolutely true."

Fan Bingbing was taken aback at first, then suddenly said with a smug look, "So that means even if I leave, Bingbing can't have all the power. There's still Zhou Xun to compete with her?"

Shen Qing shook her head and said, "What's there to be happy about?"

Fan Bingbing peeled another shrimp for Shen Qing and happily fed it to her, saying, "Anyway, I don't want them to be smug just because I'm gone."

"Your contract still has more than half a year left, right? Think about whether you stay or leave slowly. Let's just put things off with Huayi for now."

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say."

Fan Bingbing looked at Shen Qing with a deliberately ambiguous gaze and said.

Shen Qing felt a surge of warmth in her heart as she was looked at.

Fan Bingbing's face also turned rosy without her realizing it.

"Taken" grossed $1960 million in its opening weekend in North America, and she is the female lead in "Taken"!

The moment she heard the news, she contacted Shen Qing, saying she would come over that evening to "serve" him properly.

On the phone, she used the word "serve" directly.

When she arrived at Shen Qing's house, she learned that the "Ip Man" project had been launched, and that Shen Qing's salary as screenwriter, lead actor, and director had been exchanged for 1400% of the project's shares for 4 million yuan. Her eyes immediately lit up when she looked at Shen Qing.

Throughout the meal, she went to great lengths to please him, just like a maidservant in ancient times who had a personal dependency relationship with Shen Qing. Whichever dish Shen Qing looked at, she would immediately feed it to him by hand.

The biggest beneficiary of this series of achievements is clearly Shen Qing himself, but Fan Bingbing seems to be even more excited than him.

Shen Qing looked at Fan Bingbing, who was trying hard to please him, and thought to himself, "My energy lately is so high it's almost frightening. Go ahead and tempt me. If I don't give you a good hard time tonight, you won't get through."

……

In early September, Shen Qing was pondering the cast of the movie "Ip Man" when he suddenly received news that made him immediately put down all his work.

"Spiro has come to China?"

Shen Qing suddenly stood up and said.

Zhao Hongwei did not expect Shen Qing to have such a big reaction. He said, "I heard it from a classmate who works at CCTV. In a few days, Spielberg will come to Beijing to be interviewed by CCTV's 'World Film Tour' program. I heard that director Zhang Yimou will accompany him throughout the interview."

Shen Qing unconsciously rubbed her hands together and said, "I really like Spielberg's movies. It would be great if I could take a picture with him."

"Hey, that's easy! I'll just talk to my classmate in charge, and you and director Zhang Yimou will accompany us on the day of the interview, right?"

"May I?"

"Why not? Have you forgotten you're a famous director too?"

"Yeah?"

"Um!"

"Alright, Brother Zhao, you can't forget about this. It's really important to me."

Shen Qing's reaction was a bit excessive, but Zhao Hongwei could understand it; after all, it was Steven Spielberg, one of the world's most commercially valuable directors.

Shen Qing sat back on the sofa, various thoughts flashing through her mind.

"Taking a photo with Spielberg and getting 99% of his expertise shouldn't be a regret, right?"

"Once I have Spielberg's abilities, will I be able to direct 'Inception' and 'Interstellar'? What about 'Gravity'? And 'The Martian'? Can I handle all of them?"

"With Spielberg, you can't think about Nolan anymore. Is it worth it?"

There are only four opportunities to take photos together. He has already used one each on Zhang Yimou and Cheng Long. He wants to reserve one spot for someone with comedic talent, and his initial idea is to take a photo with Stephen Chow.

In other words, he only had one more opportunity to take a group photo, and now Spielberg is in China for an interview for "World Cinema Tour". Isn't this fate?