Chapter 789: Everything will be easy if you give in
Gu Wei posted a message on Weibo to “strongly support” Feng Xiaogang, which prompted many directors in the circle to take action.

Coupled with the support of the majority of netizens, Feng Xiaogang feels a little elated at the moment. However, looking at Gu Wei’s Weibo post, he always feels that the “bad movie” the other party mentioned is a veiled criticism of Huayi’s “Dragon Blade”.

Having said that, with Gu Wei taking the lead, Feng Xiaogang was more confident in his attack on the daily newspaper.

After thinking for a while, he posted on Weibo: “Compared to variety shows like ‘Where Are We Going, Dad 2’, people should support movies like ‘Wolf Totem’ and ‘Dragon Blade’!”

Seeing many filmmakers in the circle giving likes and support, Feng Xiaogang smiled with satisfaction.

After all, “Wolf Totem” has always had a very good reputation, and bringing the other party along to promote “Dragon Blade” at the same time is a perfect operation in his opinion.

It also avoids the perception that he was making comments against variety shows just to promote “Dragon Blade”.

…

As time goes by, the information about Ning Hao’s new movie “Lost in Thailand” which is about to be released has once again attracted the attention of the entire industry.

“The road comedy “Heart Flower Road” co-produced by Xingchen Films and Bad Monkey Films, directed by Ning Hao, and starring Huang Bo, Xu Zheng, Zhao Liying, Tong Liya, and Zhang Li, will be released in major domestic theaters on March 3.”

“It is reported that the investment promotion meeting for the first season of “Running” has ended recently, but the specific total investment amount is unknown.

But the advertising fee for the title sponsorship is as high as 3.6 million, far exceeding the 3.12 million for the second season of Where Are We Going, Dad?

“The number of applicants to Beijing Film Academy has broken through 2.5, an unprecedented number, an increase of nearly one-third over last year.

The number of art students taking exams at the Central Academy of Drama, Shanghai Theatre Academy, Beijing Dance Academy, and art schools of major universities in the capital has also increased dramatically.”

“Directed by Zhou Xingchi and co-produced by Xinghui, China Film Group, and Shanghai Film Group, the sci-fi comedy romance film “The Mermaid” was officially approved by the Film Bureau this morning.”

“The third film in the Lost in Hong Kong series, produced by Xingchen Films and directed by Xu Zheng, starring Huang Bo, Wang Baoqiang, Jing Tian and others, has passed the review smoothly.”

“Jointly produced by Shanghai Film Group, Huayi Brothers, and Ali Pictures, and directed by Wu Ershan, the second installment of the “Grave Robbers’ Chronicles” series has passed the review of the General Administration today and is currently in preparation for the start of filming.”

“Jointly produced by Bona and China Star, the “God-themed” movie “Legend of the Gods” submitted its script today…

It is reported that the investment in this film is as high as 500 million RMB. The person in charge of China Star revealed that many big-name artists from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong have been invited to star, including Li Lianjie, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Fan Binbin, and Louis Koo…”

“Produced by Huayi, starring Andy Lau, Jing Boran, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Sandra Ng and others, the anti-trafficking film “Lost and Love” has been advanced to the 20th of this month…”

“Imported blockbusters Jupiter Ascending, Cinderella, and Kingsman: The Secret Service will be released on the 6th, 13th, and 27th of this month, all in the March schedule. Many domestic films are facing huge challenges!”

………

In the outside world, there is a constant stream of news about the completion and establishment of various films, coupled with the sudden release of imported blockbusters, the entertainment industry is bustling with activity.

As for “The Battle of Nantianmen”, a gathering was held before joining the crew, which was euphemistically called a “mobilization meeting”!
Sofitel Wanda Hotel.

It can be said that except for the three Hollywood actors Will Smith, Morgan Freeman and Scarlett Johansson who played supporting roles, Liu Dehua who was currently training with the crew of “The Great Wall”, and Gong Li who was still filming “Journey to the West: The Three Strikes of the White Bone Demon”, everyone else was gathered together.

Including the stage staff and the assistants of the actors and artists, there are more than 200 people in total.

Together with the special effects engineers who made up the majority of the group, there were more than a thousand people gathered at the scene, making it an extremely lively scene.

Around six o’clock in the evening, the entire sixth floor of the Sofitel Hotel was booked by Song Ge, with hundreds of tables set up to accommodate more than a thousand people.

For Denzel Washington, Emma Stone, Megan Fox and others, attending a Chinese-style dinner for the first time was a little bit uncomfortable. After all, in Hollywood, there are usually various cocktail parties from the start to the end of a movie.

As for Leonardo, he has gradually adapted to this kind of occasion and is now happily chatting with Cheng Long and Liu Yifei.

Although it was just a dinner to kick off a work session, everyone was very particular about where they sat.

When all the superstars from Hollywood got together, except Liu Yifei, Cheng Long and Li Lianjie, no one else could get a word in.

Zhao Wenzhuo, Huang Xiaoming, Qin Hao, Hu Ge, Huang Haibo, Su Chang, Tong Liya, Zhao Liying, Chen Minghao, Yuan Quan, Wang Qianyuan, Han Xue, Chen Long, Yu Bo, Yang Junyi, Zhang Jin and other young people gathered together and sat at two separate tables.

Li Xuejian, Chen Daoming, Chen Baoguo, Feng Yuanzheng, Jiao Enjun, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Wu Jing, Jiang Wen and others, plus Wen Zhang who is much more low-key now, a group of older artists and directors, are happily chatting at the moment.

As for Hong Kong people such as Zou Zhaolong, Chin Siu-ho, and Chin Kar-lok, they gathered together. It was not that they did not want to fit in. Firstly, except for Zou Zhaolong, the others were not very familiar with the celebrity artists present. Secondly, they were from two different eras and had nothing to talk about.

At Gu Wei’s table, there were naturally several CEOs of investing companies, including Han Sanping of China Film, Ye Ning of Wanda, Wang Changtian of Guangxian, Mike, vice president of Warner, and representatives of state-owned enterprises such as Jinling Art Center, Navy Zheng, and Golden Shield.

“Brother Xiao Ming, your domineering drama “The Splendid Adventure” is going to be aired in the next two days.”

Gu Wei had not arrived yet, so Miss Liu was naturally considered half the host at this moment. After a while, Liu Yifei went to chat with every table for a while, leaving no one out.

Although people always complain that movies and TV series featuring domineering bosses are childish, for those who play the role, it is a real enjoyment.

In addition, the ratings of such film and television works have always been high, which is enough to show how wide the audience is.

Therefore, the competition for the online broadcasting rights of this drama was so fierce that Tudou did not get the exclusive rights, but shared them with platforms such as Youku.

“It starts tomorrow night at 8 o’clock!” Huang Xiaoming replied cheerfully, but he didn’t want to say more in front of so many big names. After all, everyone was talking about movies, and I always felt a little embarrassed to film a TV series about a domineering president.

Seeing this, Liu Yifei didn’t mention the matter again, and ran to Li Xuejian’s table again. As soon as she saw Feng Yuanzheng, she immediately called out “Teacher”.

A group of veteran artists did not dare to be arrogant towards Liu Yifei, the wife of a famous director. They greeted and talked to each other with great enthusiasm.

Tong Liya, Zhao Liying and others who watched this felt a little emotional. Although they are also first-line actresses, how could they receive such treatment in front of this group of veteran artists?
While everyone was chatting and laughing, Gu Wei came. Someone with sharp eyes saw that the person walking side by side with Director Gu was none other than La Peikang!
“Director Gu, Director La!”

There was an endless stream of people standing up to greet people. Leonardo and other Europeans and Americans nearby thought that all Chinese people looked the same, so they couldn’t recognize La Peikang at this moment. However, after being reminded by Cheng Long and Li Lianjie, they still stood up.

All I can say is that no matter where you go, you can’t escape the rule of following the local customs!
“Everyone, take a seat. Today is Director Gu’s home game. I just came here to take a look and chat with you all.”

La Peikang seemed very casual in everything from his dress to his speech, which did not make anyone feel too restrained.

Seeing that everyone was there, Gu Wei had to go on stage and say a few words amid the crowd’s cheers.

“Let me make it clear first. Just say two sentences, no more.” Gu Wei said with a smile while holding the microphone.

“Director, I’ve said one sentence.” Huang Xiaoming from the audience took the opportunity to shout, causing others to laugh.

Gu Wei smiled and pointed at the leader, “Those who can come here today are the artists, staff and investors who participated in “The Battle of Nantianmen”. In the next eight to ten months, everyone…”

Gu Wei only spoke a few words, but he continued speaking for more than ten minutes amid the constant clapping and shouting of the crowd.

Seeing that he was going to talk too much, Gu Wei waved his hand and said in the most Chinese way of ending: “Everyone, enjoy your meal tonight!”

After he finished speaking, the audience naturally responded with another round of applause and cheers.

Afterwards, a dinner party that could be described as a “fusion of East and West” officially began, which included many domestic and foreign superstars, film and television company bosses, and the chairman of China Film.

…

the next day.

The news that “The Battle of Nantianmen” was officially launched firmly occupied the top of the hot search list, although reporters did not have the opportunity to attend the “mobilization meeting”.

However, the various gossips obtained through insiders still sparked discussions among many netizens.

However, many film and television companies in the circle have turned their attention to Ning Hao’s “Lost in Thailand”.

After all, although “Lost in Thailand” did not choose to be released in the first half of the Spring Festival, thus avoiding internal friction with seven or eight domestic blockbusters, the film was under considerable competitive pressure once the release dates of three Hollywood blockbusters that suddenly appeared were announced.

“Don’t feel stressed. ‘Lost in Thailand’ is obviously not on the same track as several imported films. Don’t worry.”

After getting Gu Wei’s encouragement, Ning Hao could only put his mind at ease. After all, he would have to wait until the film was released to see how the box office would perform.

……

Leaving aside the training for the crew of “The Battle of Nantianmen”, Ali’s contact with Feng Xiaogang was extremely smooth.

For the wealthy Tai Chi Ma, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on the director’s salary, and the 8 million yuan spent on inviting Wang Shuo to serve as a script consultant is not a big deal at all.

In Taiji Ma’s opinion, although Feng Xiaogang and Gu Wei cannot be compared, “Feng Ku Zi”, one of the top five directors, can still compete with the new director Wen Muye. After paying a few million yuan, Feng Xiaogang finally agreed to take on the film.

Although the contract between the two parties has not yet been finalized, Ali and Huayi have already announced the general content to the outside world through the media.

“It is reported that Ali Pictures has successfully invited Feng Xiaogang and Wang Shuo to serve as the director and screenwriter consultant for “The Ferryman”…”

“According to information revealed by Ali, Feng Xiaogang’s salary for directing The Ferryman was as high as hundreds of millions, not including the box office share…”

“Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai expressed his welcome to Director Feng Xiaogang to direct The Ferryman. He believes that with his participation, the film will create a domestic box office legend…”

“Feng Xiaogang said in an interview that he would do his best to direct The Ferryman with the same spirit as when he filmed The Big Shot and A World Without Thieves…”

Gu Wei, who was at the Wanda Film and Television Base, naturally saw the interviews and news on the Internet.

We have to say that Ali’s spending this time was indeed quite large, with the director’s salary alone costing hundreds of millions, plus the invitations to many big names from Hong Kong, so the cost was enormous.

In the original time and space, the investment cost of “The Ferryman” was about 400 million yuan, while in this time and space, it is estimated to be at least 500 to 600 million yuan.

However, it is unknown how much money the other party will ultimately spend on the filming of the movie as they are cooperating with Huayi and Feng Xiaogang.

On the other hand, the director of “Mojin: The Lost Tomb” Wen Muye is a newcomer and his pay is not good.

Huang Bo’s salary is not the highest in the industry. In order to realize his dream of becoming a director, he even took the initiative to reduce his salary.

Even if we add the pay of Tong Liya, a first-tier actress, and find a first-tier male star from the circle, and add the pay of other supporting roles and veteran actors together, it is estimated that it will be about the same as Feng Xiaogang’s pay.

In other words, more than 80% of the funds for “Mojin: The Lost Tomb” will be used for the filming of the movie itself. This ratio is almost impossible to find a second time in the current domestic entertainment and film and television circles.

While I was thinking about all this, Big Wang, nicknamed “Entertainment Circle Gossip Girl”, called again.

“Director Gu, I have a little news for you. The cost of Ali’s The Ferryman is estimated to be at least 600 million.

Tsk tsk, this time you two families are betting big.”

“Only 600 million? I thought Zhang Qiang was going to invest 1 billion or 8 billion. Sigh!” Gu Wei started to act, his tone a little exaggerated.

“Six hundred million is not enough?” Wang Changtian didn’t know what to say.

“Haha, just kidding. Investing nearly 100 million US dollars to make a domestic film, Ali is really generous this time.”

“Only Xingchen Films has the strength. If it were Guangguang, they wouldn’t dare to follow at all.” Wang Changtian replied sourly.

…

La Peikang asked Gu Wei to find time to go to China Film Group. His boss called him, so even if Gu Wei had a lot of other things to do, he had to find time to go there.

At ten forty in the morning, Gu Wei drove to China Film Studio.

Just like the General Administration, there are many insiders coming in and out every day, including people from foreign film companies.

After all, only China Film Group has the power to decide which foreign language films can enter the mainland, be released in the form of split films, and participate in the box office split.

When I got there, I saw that Han Sanping and La Peikang were both there.

“You haven’t had lunch yet! I asked the canteen to cook some delicious dishes. Let’s eat and chat at the same time.”

Hearing this, Gu Wei turned his head and looked at the desk, which was filled with a lot of scattered things.

“It’s noon now, let’s not drink white wine, let’s have some beer.” After everyone sat down, Han Sanping said directly.

“Boss Han, I drove here.”

“It’s okay, Mr. La’s assistant will drive you later.” Han Sanping waved his hand carelessly.

Seeing this, La Pei just smiled and said nothing.

“I read the news about Lu Yong’s case. It’s a good subject! The country needs such a movie, but I thought it would be Jia Zhangke or Zhang Yimou who would be interested in making it. I never thought you would be interested in making this kind of movie!” La Peikang took a sip of beer in his glass and said with emotion.

Gu Wei glanced at Han Sanping, who nodded slightly. It seemed that the two of them must have had a private conversation about writing the script for “Dying to Survive”.

Come to think of it, if Han Sanping wanted to use the power of China Film Group to do this, he wouldn’t have to wait to say hello to the current boss.

Thinking of this, Gu Wei took a bite of food and said with a smile: “I can’t say I’m interested, I just mentioned it to Director Han.”

La Peikang pointed at Gu Wei and didn’t believe what he said at all. After all, Han Sanping told him that Gu Wei wanted to take this movie to Oscars.

The Oscar-winning film has come out, how can you say you are not interested?

So, La Peikang continued to test him, “This kind of film doesn’t make money, and it’s easy to cause public dissatisfaction. The higher-ups may not be happy either. It’s a thankless task no matter how you look at it. It doesn’t seem like your character!”

Han Sanping also chimed in: “Well, award-winning movies really have nothing to do with box office success.”

Gu Wei laughed as the two of them sang along. After thinking for a moment, he also decided to release some smoke bombs. “Who says this type of movie can’t be a big hit?”

“A huge hit at the box office?” La Peikang repeated, laughing, “Director Gu, when it comes to making special effects movies and commercial blockbusters, you are the one!”

When he said this, La Peikang raised his thumb and praised: “You are the best in China. All other directors put together are not as good as you! But when it comes to domestic realistic themes, I think it has to be Zhang Yimou. The movie To Live is amazing!”

“But if I make this movie, it will be a real box office hit!”

La Peikang still didn’t believe it, and said, “How do you define explosion?”

“It should start at least 2 billion!”

“Two billion?” La Peikang almost laughed until his stomach hurt. He said, “As for you, if you say “Battle of Nantianmen”, I believe you, but your tragic art film, how could it have a box office of two billion?”

“Two billion is not enough for “The Battle of Nantianmen”, double that is about right.” Han Sanping took the opportunity to make a joke.

Gu Wei took a sip of beer and said calmly: “Everything depends on human effort!”

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, La Peikang slammed the table and said, “If the box office really reaches 2 billion, then the script review will be handed over to China Film. However, the premise is that this film must be directed by you, and China Film will get at least a four-tier share. How about that?”

“Fuck, why don’t you just tell China Film to take half?” Gu Wei secretly complained in his heart, but said: “It’s useless for China Film to get the script approved now. Let me direct it myself, but I have to wait.”

“Haha, I didn’t ask you to shoot now. You can probably do it next year or the year after next.” La Peikang naturally knew that Gu Wei would have many projects coming up. All he wanted was a promise.

“It’s hard to say. I went to Hollywood and a lot of people came to see me.”

“Hey, we’ll talk about the share later. The key now is to get the script approved.” Han Sanping spoke again, reminding La Peikang to distinguish the priorities and not to start dividing the cake before the script is submitted.

La Peikang also felt a little anxious after hearing this, and took advantage of the fact that there were no outsiders around to continue, “Actually, getting this script approved is not difficult, but it’s not easy either.”

“Oh.” Gu Wei, acting as the supporting actor, uttered a surprised sound.

“Haha, if you take the initiative to participate in Golden Rooster Awards, Huabiao Awards and other activities, I guess those old guys won’t make things too difficult for you.” La Peikang is in the system, so he naturally knows that these people are extremely concerned about their reputation. As long as Gu Wei gives in, no one will refuse the goodwill of this international director.

“Stop, Mr. La, you called me here today, it’s not because of this matter, right?” Gu Wei stopped eating and stared at the other party.

“Of course…not.” La Peikang felt a little guilty at the moment and would definitely not admit it.

However, he still reminded Gu Wei to think about this matter carefully. After all, making movies in the country cannot avoid contact with these people.

“No need. I’ll make my movie and they’ll continue to be so high and mighty. Let’s not bother each other and it’d be best if we never meet again.” Gu Wei’s attitude was extremely tough.

Seeing this, La Peikang had no choice but to return to the script issue.

Finally, they decided that China Film Corporation would submit the script and see the reaction first.

………

(End of this chapter)