Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 117 Bao Xiaogang

On the 20th, the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Great Cold, Li Qiutang and his family set out from Yanjing and began their journey to Australia.

Li Qiutang, immersed in the family joy, had no idea what was happening behind her.

"If You Are the One" earned 1500 million on the first day, beating "Mei Lanfang". This result was also the best result on the first day of this year's Lunar New Year holiday. It directly achieved an incredible result of 8000 million in the first weekend, which shocked everyone.

What is Feng style comedy?
What is the father of the Lunar New Year movie season?

Check it out!

Feng Xiaogang doesn't know how proud he is. When he is proud, he wants to show off. This is normal. He doesn't show off when he is proud. When will he show off?

"I am a perennial winner at the box office. There is no other director in China who can claim to have such a consistent box office success as me. What's interesting is that every time the experts predict the box office of my films, they are not very good, but the facts always give them a slap in the face. ... I am really trying to make myself proud and give face to Huayi Brothers. I look forward to giving them a slap in the face again next time."

"I don't care whether I shoot or not. Making movies is just a pleasure for me."

You have good grades and everything you said is right!

He also mentioned his new film, "The Nobles", which he had previously collaborated with Pang Ho-cheung on, but was completely abandoned: "There was no script from the beginning to the end, so I won't do it again."

Feng Xiaogang mentioned that he wanted to film a big earthquake before filming If You Are the One. During an interview during the Lunar New Year holiday, he emphasized again: "I may film a movie about a big earthquake."

"If You Are the One" grossed over 19 million yuan in 3 days after its release, and even "Red Cliff II" which was released on January 1 was no match for it - this movie was really miserable, the first part won at the box office but lost in reputation, which directly affected the performance of the second part. It grossed over 7 million yuan in the first weekend, but the attendance rate and screening rate plummeted, and the dissatisfaction of the audience of the first part was concentrated in the second part and broke out.

At the 3 million yuan celebration party for If You Are the One, Feng Xiaogang sang loudly and did not forget to express his gratitude to the audience: "The audience is so generous."

It was also at the 3 million celebration party that Feng Xiaogang officially announced that the new film would be called "Aftershock" and said that the script had been finalized.

"If You Are the One" broke 3 million, making Feng Xiaogang the most successful director during the Lunar New Year period. With a cost of 6000 million and a box office of 3 million, he became the biggest contributor to Huayi this year.

A meritorious official naturally has the demeanor that a meritorious official should have.

Feng Xiaogang eventually found out about the existence of "In Time", especially when he learned that Li Qiutang had asked Huayi for a budget of 1 million!
How could a shrewd man like Feng Xiaogang not see what Li Qiutang was planning?

I will sign the contract only if you give me 1 million. Otherwise, I won’t sign the contract.

What does Feng Xiaogang think?
Feng Xiaogang, holding the script of "Aftershock", also asked Huayi for 1 million!
It’s not that Huayi can’t come up with the 2 million, but Feng Xiaogang’s meaning is, I want the 1 million that belongs to Mr. Li!
Feng Xiaogang and the Wang brothers have a good personal relationship, but when it comes to the management of the company, Feng Xiaogang knows that the Wang brothers sign new directors in order to check and balance him.

Including the previous priority investment agreement signed with Lu Chuan, it was all to get rid of the company's excessive dependence on him.

When Li Qiutang first signed with Huayi, Feng Xiaogang really looked down on him: 22 years old, just graduated, what did he know about making movies?
Later, Li Qiutang proved that he could compete with Feng Xiaogang with the films "Arrogant" and "Famous".

Especially "No One", critics said the film lacked innovation and had old-fashioned thinking, and Feng Xiaogang said they knew nothing.

The art and photography styles of "No One" are extremely mature. Although it pays tribute to its predecessors, it is used very well and is not stiff at all, without any immaturity of a new director.

It can be seen from "Arrogant" that Li Qiutang did not waste his four years in college and must have worked very hard.

On the contrary, the higher-grossing film "Famous" has some kind of regression in art and photography, but because comedy has a wider audience, it has a higher box office. Although it is a crime to destroy a master, the premise is that the master cannot touch his own cake.

If Li Qiutang was a director of another company, Feng Xiaogang might have been interested in his talent, but unfortunately, he signed with Huayi, and he was his colleague and also a competitor for resources.

If you are the opponent, you must kill him!

Feng Xiaogang has been in Huayi for many years. In terms of internal connections and status, Li Qiutang is naturally no match for Feng Xiaogang.

So when Feng Xiaogang put pressure on Huayi, he certainly wasn't putting pressure directly on the Wang brothers, but on other executives who could influence the company's decision-making, to invest less, or better yet, not to invest in "In Time."

The reason is very sufficient. Judging from the outline and summary that Li Qiutang has brought over so far, the political risk of "In Time" is very high!
What Li Qiutang reveals and satirizes is exposed in front of the camera without any concealment.

When doing business in the country, you can take some commercial risks, but you must never take political risks!

Huayi couldn't possibly use its own money to make a movie. Several investors who had long cooperated with Huayi, somehow learned about "In Time", and also put pressure on the company, saying that they would not invest in such a film with political risks. They also said of Li Qiutang: "Young people are getting cocky after achieving some success. Do you think you are strong enough to do this kind of thing?"

There were originally huge disagreements within Huayi regarding the film “In Time”, including among the Wang brothers!

Movie investment is inherently risky. Even though Li Qiutang has proven her ability through "Arrogant" and "Famous", even Li Qiutang herself does not dare to guarantee that she can make money, especially with blockbusters, which have higher returns but also higher risks.

Now, with Feng Xiaogang's intervention, those who were originally wavering are now opposed to the company's investment in "In Time".

"Li Qiutang's meaning couldn't be clearer. Now is not the time to consider the risks of the film. If we don't pay him, he won't sign a contract with us."

An executive proposed a solution: "He signed a pre-investment agreement with the company, but he did not sign it with the company. So we can discuss with him and decide not to invest in In Time first, but in his later films."

"What if he doesn't sign the contract?"

"We have been working together for more than two years. Just tell him not to tell anyone. If he doesn't, who knows that he didn't renew his contract with us."

“When the media sees that In Time doesn’t have our investment, it will be exposed.”

"The company should have been listed by then. Besides, it's easy to explain. Let's just tell the truth. We signed an investment agreement with Li Qiutang. When we did the internal risk assessment, we felt that the risk was too high. We might have to trouble Mr. Wang later. We said that we would have invested a little more if we had known earlier."

In the eyes of the company's executives, whether it is Wang Jinhua who has already left, Feng Xiaogang who left and came back, or Li Qiutang who wants to threaten Huayi with investment, they are important, but not that important.

As long as Huayi’s golden signboard remains intact, they don’t care if people come and go.

Huayi held three meetings before the holiday, and brothers Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei finally wavered.

Bao Xiaogang.

But Li Qiutang should think of a more comprehensive solution and not hurt his feelings.

At this time, Li Qiutang was learning surfing with his father and his coach. The father and son fell into the sea and were laughed at by their mother.

(End of this chapter)