Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 138: A bargain! (44)

Well, Shen Yan wasn't shooting in the dark...

This is their usual trick!
They try their best to create a situation where even the most popular mainland actors can only play supporting roles to the new generation of Hong Kong and Taiwan actors, and mainland newcomers are even unworthy of playing the leading role, in order to confuse investors...

The reasons are ready-made: Hong Kong and Taiwan actors have the ability to sell their films overseas!
The truth is, apart from a few veteran A-listers, most Hong Kong and Taiwan actors have no ability to sell their foreign influence...

But that's what they did. The most classic operation was in "Red Cliff": using Zhao Yanzi and Song Jia to carry the sedan chair for the newcomer Lin Zhiling!
With this victory, Lin Zhiling rose to become one of the top actresses in the Chinese film industry.

Then, of course, continue!
Rumor has it that the Taiwanese film industry has specially launched a "Heavenly Banquet" plan, which is to promote Ruan Jingtian, Zhao Youting and Peng Yuyan, three new generation Taiwanese male stars, through the joint efforts of Hong Kong and Taiwan directors. By co-producing films and "suppressing the ranking", they strive to protect their status and resources and suppress mainland male stars of the same age!
The first person to be promoted was Ruan Jingtian.

This year's Golden Horse Awards, the nominees for Best Actor are Wang Xueqi, Ni Dahong, Qin Hao and Ruan Jingtian!

However, in the end, the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor was given to Ruan Jingtian...

This is blatantly stepping on mainland actors to promote Taiwanese newcomers and using awards to "gild" his acting skills.

With the title of Golden Horse Award winner, "The Guillotine", produced by director Chen Kexin and directed by Liu Weiqiang, gathered a large number of stars from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, and Ruan Jingtian was the first protagonist surrounded by stars!

And two top male stars from mainland China, Huang Xiaoming and Wen Zhang, one plays the villain and the other plays the male fourth...

If the movie is successful, Ruan Jingtian will be promoted immediately.

Later, a battle for the leading male role in "The Guillotine" broke out, and Huang Xiaoming joked that he looked like a clown.

However, the movie "The Guillotine" is terrible. It had almost no box office, poor reputation, and few people discussed it afterwards...

……

Shen Yan decisively declined Huang Xiaoming's invitation, but Wen Zhang might make a cameo appearance...

After all, he still wants to get in touch with Chen Kexin!
The dinner ended and Brother Xiao Ming left.

The article then asked Shen Yan: "What are your plans?"

"I'm going to Shenzhen the day after tomorrow to film 'The Beauty Inside'... and attend a few events while I'm there!"

“…What about you tomorrow?”

"Going to Hengdian to visit the class tomorrow!"

Uh, to be more precise, we're going to have a go...

After all, I haven’t seen Shishi for a week, and I have plenty of ammunition, so I need a new round of shooting!
Wen hesitated for a moment, then said, "...There's a play called 'Love Is Not Blind', directed by Teng Huatao, and I starred in it..."

He talked about the plot of Love Is Not Blind and told Shen Yan, "The leading actress is Bai Baihe, a newcomer in the film industry!"

Shen Yan was confused: "Do you need actors?"

“I need money!”

"Huh?" Shen Yan was surprised: "You're the lead actor, but you can't get investment?"

"The main reason is that Teng Huatao has never directed a hit movie before..."

Ji Xiang asked: "How much is the total investment?"

"About 800 million..." Wen explained: "I'm not planning on taking a salary... I'm just going to sign a profit-sharing contract!"

"How much difference now?"

"...Teng Huatao was able to raise around 200 million... I think this movie is good and might be a box office success."

Shen Yan interrupted: "Whatever is left, our company will take care of it!"

"Your company has covered it?"

"Brother Ji and I have set up a company called Spark Studios, which specializes in investing in film and television works... Since Brother Wen Zhang thinks it's good, let's invest!" Shen Yan looked at Ji Xiang and said, "...This project happens to require a small amount of funds. If it exceeds 10 million, we won't invest!"

Wen Zhang quickly grabbed Shen Yan's hand and asked, "Are you telling the truth?"

"...Of course it's true," Shen Yan looked at Ji Xiang: "What do you think?"

Ji Xiang looked a little reluctant, but finally nodded: "You are the major shareholder, you have the final say!"

Shen Yan's expression was very calm: "Then you stay and deal with this matter..."

"to make!"

Wen Zhang said to Ji Xiang, "Then I'll take you to meet the director tomorrow?" "Um... when are you going to shoot?"

"April..."

……

Love Is Not Blind...

Holy shit, this movie is so famous, it cost 900 million to make, but it ended up grossing over 3 million...

Shen Yan remembers it very well.

How could such a lucrative movie be in need of investment?

To be honest, Shen Yan is a little confused...

And it only costs 800 million...

If it really doesn't work, can the director or actors chip in some money?

So, he asked Ji Xiang: "How could Zhang Yimou, the lead actor, be so short of investment?"

"Ocean Paradise," Zhang Yimou and Li Lianjie's box office was only over 20 million..."

Shen Yan shrugged, "Ocean Paradise is a public welfare film with a unique theme... It's never been a commercial film, so it's a wonder it's a box office hit!"

Ji Xiang shook his head: "...If you let me decide, I won't invest in Wen Zhang's movie!"

"why?"

"He has not proven his marketability..."

Shen Yan was speechless: "Isn't Snow Leopard popular enough?"

Ji Xiang argued: "Snow Leopard is a TV series. TV actors and movie actors cannot be equated. Zhao Yanzi was so popular before, but she was also a box office poison!"

Shit, he even gave examples!
Zhao Yanzi was indeed a box office poison for a while...

Green Tea: 400 million, Making a Girlfriend: 650 million, Jade Guanyin: 500 million, Lovers: 512 million, Shanghai Nights: 350 million...

Including "Heroes of Heaven and Earth" with 4100 million, but with a cost of nearly 8000 million, it is still not enough.

All losses.

In fact, in those years, apart from blockbusters, the box office was not high. Zhang Ziyi's "Purple Butterfly" took 300 million, and "Jasmine Flower" only took 520 million...

But who made Zhao Yanzi the most famous?

Shen Yan retorted, "So... you mean we can only invest if you prove your market value?"

"Yes."

"...He's already proven his market value, so are we qualified to invest?"

"...I can invest in it..." Ji Xiang added, "Besides, this drama is a female lead drama, and they actually found a newcomer to star in it...Do you think it's promising?"

"Come on... who doesn't start out as a newcomer and slowly grow up?" Shen Yan shook his head: "'Love Is Not Blind' will definitely be a success. I listened to the synopsis of the script and knew it was right..."

"The reason I agreed to your investment is that I think recovering the cost shouldn't be a problem... Even if the box office is only 1000 million, we can almost make back our investment by selling the copyright and online copyright!"

"Don't worry, I won't make any unnecessary investments."

Shen Yan didn't expect to convince Ji Xiang...

After all, Wen Zhang can actually pay for this play!
His current salary has increased to 70 per episode...

Investing in a movie with a budget of 800 million is nothing to him...

Maybe he is not that determined!

Indeed, at this stage...few directors and actors will take the initiative to pay subsidies for a play.

The most important thing is that "Naked Marriage" has not been released yet... Although Wen Zhang is famous, he is still far from being a huge star!
In short, Shen Yan got a bargain!

(End of this chapter)