Huayu: When the director changed his major

Chapter 148 I hope your box office can exceed my budget
After Cheng Xi and the other three went out, he started writing and drawing on paper by himself.

filming?
This was the big thing Cheng Xi wanted to do on the first day after his rebirth.

He even remembered the half-joking promise he made to his childhood friend Gao Chunyang on the cat movie.

Even if you, Lu Chuan, didn't tell me, I would still do it.

As for his first film, Cheng Xi had actually been thinking about it since he started filming "Wan Wan".

Whether it was signing up for a painting training class during the summer vacation before the college entrance examination, or later learning editing, photography, and music composition with partners.

He writes novels, works as a screenwriter, and serves as a producer, and is familiar with every aspect of a film crew's operation.

It's not all for this day.

Can make a good movie.

It’s just that it has been accumulating before.

And now is the time to draw your sword.

As for what kind of movie to make, Cheng Xi's ideas are becoming clearer and clearer.

But the specific one must be determined.

My first film, preferably a drama.

The more experience Cheng Xi gained, the more he felt the amplifying effect of taking the right path.

Therefore, the first movie must be positive, and it is not appropriate to use strange tricks like "Wan Wan" and "Diao Si".

It also needs to be both commercial and profound, making the audience laugh and cry.

I gained something after reading it.

I remembered the elective course taught by Professor Zhang Chong that I took with Reba before - "Cultural Construction in Film and Drama".

It would be great if we could address the pain points of Chinese culture.

"Charlotte's Troubles" is too commercial and a pure comedy.

The logic of time travel is not closed, and the characters do not have a growth arc in the end.

"The Labyrinth of the Heart" and "The Donkey Gets Water" are a little bit obscure.

It's a good movie, but it's not very friendly to ordinary audiences.

Both commercial and in-depth.
It would be best if it could win box office and awards.
Cheng Xi was thinking while looking at the news criticizing him on the computer screen.
Suddenly, it dawned on me that movies are the director’s big deal.

So what are the big things that ordinary people and audiences pay attention to?

If there is only one.

That must be birth and death.

When Cheng Xi thought of this, his eyes suddenly widened.

The dying scene of an old man and a classic line from a distant place struck Cheng Xi.

"In life, there is nothing more important than death."

Then Cheng Xi seemed to be startled all of a sudden and paused.

He leaned over the table and began to write furiously.

Cheng Xi wrote faster and faster with the pen in his hand.

There was hardly any pause along the way.

Finally, Cheng Xi wrote at the end:
Movies are a director’s big event, and we also have big events in our lives.

Only after Cheng Xi finished writing did he feel tired.

It was getting dark outside and my stomach was rumbling when I remembered that I hadn't eaten yet.

In the middle of the meal, Zhang Tianai also came in and asked the boss if he wanted to eat. Cheng Xi just raised his head.

Then I shook my head to indicate no, and no one bothered me anymore.

Unexpectedly, after coming out, Zhang Tianai was still waiting for him in the office outside.

And almost everyone has gotten off work.

As soon as Zhang Tianai saw the boss come out, he immediately walked towards him and asked:

"Boss, do you want to eat?"

"The food I bought for you earlier is getting a little cold. I'll go heat it up in the microwave for you."

Watching Tianai lift her butt to heat up the food for herself.

Cheng Xi was still touched.

I guess she was also scolded badly today when the news about Cheng Xi came out.

I also checked out the Weibo accounts of the artists from Zuibai Studio, and they were all attacked quite badly.

But Tianai was still concerned about not having eaten, which was good.

Thinking about the difference between my attitude towards her and Reba, it seems that I am a little biased.

So after Tianai heated up the meal, the two of them ate in the studio's lounge.

"Xiaotian, you haven't eaten yet?"

"Yeah, I'm waiting for the boss."

Seeing Tianai mumbling in reply to him while eating, Cheng Xi couldn't help but feel warm in his heart.

Before Cheng Xi could express his gratitude, a call suddenly came in on his cell phone.

It turned out to be Reba who came and knocked on Cheng Xi's office door first.

After seeing that there was no one there, he called Cheng Xi again.

I only heard the anxious voice say:

"Brother, when I got off work, I couldn't get through to you on the phone, so I asked Brother Tao. He said you were busy in the office and hadn't eaten yet."

"I bought some food specially and brought it to your office."

"Brother, where are you now?"

Cheng Xi heard Reba's slightly anxious tone and said softly:
"My brother is in the lounge."

"Thank you, cutie."

So the three of them sat together in the lounge, and Reba and Zhang Tianai ate silently without saying a word.

It seems like the atmosphere is a bit awkward.

The food that Reba brought to Cheng Xi was all his favorites.

Rice in a bowl, pheasant legs and a bowl of clay pot soup.

Southern taste.

However, Zhang Tianai didn't know enough about Cheng Xi in this regard.

But Cheng Xi still took care of both parties and ate half of their dishes.

After all, it's all from the heart.

We can't be too biased about this.

After dinner, Cheng Xi suddenly suggested that we go to the movies.

When Reba and Zhang Tianai heard this, they guessed that Cheng Xi suddenly wanted to go to the movies because Lu Chuan criticized "Go Princess Go" during the day.

Originally, Zhang Tianai wanted to leave after dinner, but then she thought that she was also a party to this matter.

So there was no mention of leaving.

So Reba and Zhang Tianai looked at each other and neither of them refused.

After arriving at the cinema, Cheng Xi discovered that the summer season in June and July was basically dominated by foreign blockbusters.

"Fast and Furious 5", "Pirates of the Caribbean 4", "Kung Fu Panda 2", "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part ", "Skyrim", etc.

It seems that the only domestic film with good attendance rate is "The Founding of a Party".

Domestic films are a bit weak.

Cheng Xi glanced at the two of them but didn't ask them any questions.

He probably couldn't get to the bottom of it.

So I decided to watch "The Founding of a Party".

Cheng Xi came to the cinema just to see what the current situation of the cinema chain was like, and he saw that all the movies were foreign blockbusters.

So I chose to support "The Founding of a Party".

Cheng Xi felt that the film was well-made and had the feeling of an epic story.

Just think of it as reviewing the difficult and glorious years of our party with two popular stars.

They should remember that they are where they are today thanks to the people.

In his previous life, Cheng Xi was a movie lover and a patriot.

Of course, I have watched the other two parts of the "Founding of a Republic Trilogy", "The Founding of a Republic" and "The Founding of an Army".

The movie was playing, Reba was sitting on the left, and Zhang Tianai was sitting on the right.

The two originally had a good relationship and had participated in cosplay performances together before.

But today, when Reba entered the lounge, she suddenly saw Zhang Tianai and her brother sitting together, talking and laughing.

And my brother hasn't answered my call yet.

In addition to the recent criticisms, the studio also strongly supports Zhang Tianai.

So Reba felt a little jealous.

Cheng Xi looked at Reba's silent expression and thought:
This is not the mentality of a wife.

But Cheng Xi also understood that becoming a wife requires time, after all, Reba is only 19 years old.

Besides, Cheng Xi had just celebrated her birthday at the beginning of the month.

Thinking of this, Cheng Xi reached out his hand to Reba and let her lean half on his shoulder.

Said softly:

"What's wrong, little cutie? Are you jealous? Brother was really busy today, so he didn't notice the phone call."

"I'm not jealous. I'm angry that my brother didn't finish the food I brought."

Wow, this is not jealous at all.

I have to eat one more bite of the food you brought.

But you still have to coax her. Girls don't need you to say or do anything right now.

Just express your attitude:
"Then after the movie, buy me some food, and I promise to finish it."

"Humph, you'll be stuffed to death."

"It doesn't matter if my brother dies of starvation, as long as the studio princess is happy."

"Brother, don't talk nonsense!"

"You have to be the big one in the future. Don't bother with the small ones. Do you understand?"

"Brother, you are so bad. What do you mean by being the big boss and the small boss?"

Although Reba said this, she still felt happy when she saw her brother hugging her and saying these things to her.

My mood couldn't help but improve a lot.

As for whether it was big or small, the cute Reba probably thought her brother was joking to ease the atmosphere.

As for whether she knew the relationship between her brother and Zhang Tianai, only God knew.

Zhang Tianai, who was standing next to him, was watching the big screen while keeping an eye on Cheng Xi.

Seeing Cheng Xi hugging Reba, I don’t know why I feel so sad.

In my boss's mind, it turns out that I am different from Reba.

Just as she was thinking this, Cheng Xi's other hand quietly reached out to her.

Tianai was delighted and immediately held the big hand tightly.

These past few days, Cheng Xi continued to copy the movie script he wrote yesterday into a computer document while continuing to improve and revise it.

Cheng Xi has watched this movie many times, so he has a very deep memory of it.

But while writing it down, Cheng Xi also incorporated some of his own thoughts.

After all, I have made great progress after so many times of screenwriting.

Although it only took a few days, the script was already very complete.

After finishing, Cheng Xi immediately took the script and visited Mr. Zeng and Senior Brother Lu.

Ask them if they are interested in the new film and invite them to invest in it together.

Let’s get rich together.

After reading the script, both of them were shocked.

When I looked up at Cheng Xi, it was as if I was meeting him for the first time.

He is so young, has he already started to think about life and death?

And the first movie will challenge the theme of funeral.

This will touch the sensitive nerves of many Chinese people.

If you don’t take a good shot, you’ll probably be met with a barrage of abuse.

But the high quality and completeness of the script undoubtedly impressed the two of them.

If I had previously looked up to Cheng Xi, it was more because of the original script and marketing level.

This time they had a new understanding of the depth of Cheng Xi's thoughts.

You should know that Cheng Xi used to star in dramas like "Wan Wan" and "Diao Si", and recently he also starred in "The Rise of Phoenixes".

So they were really surprised by the sudden appearance of such a script.

So after discussing the details with each other and knowing how big Cheng Xi wanted to make it, they all said that they would hold a meeting to discuss and report as soon as possible.

Let Cheng Xi give them a few days to confirm. At the same time, Cheng Xi also asked Mr. Zeng and Senior Brother Lu to see if they could contact the people at Wanda Cinema.

Let them act as a middleman and introduce the executives of Wanda Cinema.

Cheng Xi’s idea was to invest the bulk of the money himself, and have Mr. Zeng and Senior Brother Lu invest a portion.

Then find a company that owns a cinema chain to invest in it to facilitate subsequent releases.

His first choice is of course the current Wanda Cinema Chain.

If not, then settle for the next best thing.

After finishing everything, Cheng Xi went to the College Management Department and first found the counselor Cao Jinnan.

Then, Lao Cao and I visited Yu Jianhong, the director of the college’s management department.

Cheng Xi had come to Director Yu's place before to make himself familiar with him, but after all, he was just a student and he was like the dean.

And he is much older than me, so I definitely don’t communicate much with Lao Cao.

There was no special academy to help before, so this big Buddha was rarely bothered.

This time, Cheng Xi came for his new movie, and he planned to invite Director Yu to be the producer.

Because Cheng Xi knew that it would be very difficult to get a movie released in theaters without the guarantee of a big boss.

You must have a hilltop so that people can see where you come from.

As Cheng Xi was from the Film Academy's Management Department, which was well-established, it was natural for him to find the head of the Management Department, Yu Jianhong.

You should know that the Management Department has produced a large number of producers, supervisors, and producers over the years, and they all have their own direct seniors in major theaters and film and television companies.

I found the director of the Management Department to protect me, and all the seniors had to give him some face.

Otherwise it would be a slap in the face of the college.

This is also the reason why Cheng Xi wanted to come to the Film Academy in the beginning. This network can help you solve many problems.

At least it gave it an orthodox identity.

Just like Huang Bo, who is already famous, he still comes to the vocational class of the Film Academy to gild himself.

Get a good background so that you can be a film academy student wherever you go in the future.

Yu Jianhong himself is a person who is good at both practice and theory.

Not only does he frequently publish articles in the academic world, he is also the planner, producer and supervisor of many films and television programs.

So it is very appropriate to ask him to be the producer.

Yu Jianhong saw that he was the most proud student in his management department.

After knowing that he was going to make a movie, of course I was happy to be his mentor.

He knows Cheng Xi's potential better than anyone else.

His age alone means he still has 50 years of directing career ahead of him, which is an advantage.

Even if you lie down now, you can still get good qualifications in the future.

Besides, he was just beginning.

And he had heard about the disputes in recent days.

I feel that you, Lu Chuan, a senior in the directing department, are evaluating your junior fellow student in this way.

Do you think the management department is easy to bully?

After Director Yu finished reading the script, he threw away even the last bit of hesitation.

If I don’t protect the young students who can write such a wonderful script, who else can I protect?
When Cheng Xi saw Director Yu finally agreed, he felt relieved.

With Director Yu as my guarantor, the rest is up to me.

Next, Cheng Xi reported the follow-up plans to the two.

Director Yu also gave detailed and specific instructions on some details of the film's shooting, preparation, and promotion.

After all, he is a professional at this.

He also told Cheng Xi about some established rules, industry practices, etc.

After listening to it, Cheng Xi felt that he had gained something, and it could help him avoid some detours.

It is true that an old person in the family is like a treasure.

It seems that I will have to visit Director Yu’s office more often in the future.

And in a later conversation, I learned that Cheng Xi was also considering impacting the box office at theaters.

I want to win both awards and box office success with this movie.

So I immediately contacted several executives of Wan Da and organized a party for everyone to get to know each other.

At this point, Cheng Xi's side has basically arranged everything.

We are just waiting for the final decision from Sohu, Youku and Wanda.

While waiting, Cheng Xi was not idle either.

The first is to develop a detailed plan for the next steps of the film.

The second is to come to Mahua Company to provide guidance and supervision, and to see how everyone’s skits are prepared.

By the way, let's give everyone some confidence.

Because Happy Twist has now been renamed Zuibai Twist.

Now everyone basically knows that it was Zuibai that acquired it.

And because of the storyline and performance style of Mahua's drama, it is actually somewhat similar to "The Rise of Phoenixes".

Therefore, many people have recently criticized Mahua as cultural garbage.

Some people even bought tickets specifically to cause trouble during the show and affect the audience and the actors' performances.

The fans of Mahua really didn't expect that they would not get any good things after joining Zuibai.

I didn’t even see the 50 billion, but I got scolded.

Who told them to sell tickets publicly? People can come in and be the audience master for just a hundred dollars and satisfy their urge to curse.

The people in Zuibai Studio are all working in the office, and ordinary people don’t know where to go to curse.

So when everyone at Mahua saw the new boss coming to inspect, they all looked at him.

He looked aggrieved and a little resentful.

In fact, it’s the same when I go back to class now. Everyone keeps looking at me.

After all, since we are so familiar with each other, can't you just look at me openly?

But everyone probably knows about Lu Chuan's recent criticism of him.

I didn't expect Zuibai to be criticized like that by a famous director.

It’s a cultural tragedy. Who can withstand this criticism?
And the boss hasn't responded yet. This is not like a young person's style.

"I've already registered for the CCTV skit competition under the name Zuibai Mahua through my connections. We still have two months to prepare."

"As long as the script is good, I will make sure everyone can appear on the show, so everyone needs to speed up the process."

"With the current level of this program, there's no way it's going to win an award."

Everyone at Mahua saw that the young boss seemed calm and composed, and didn't seem to care about the attacks from the outside world at all.

Suddenly I felt that my vision was too low compared to my boss's.

So they all nodded in agreement.

"I see everyone is worried about me, so I'm here to reassure you."

"Some good things have happened recently, both for us."

"So don't worry about what's happening outside, just perform the play well and do the show well."

"Besides, the audience's scolding can also train your ability to cope with stress and respond to emergencies. You have to thank me for this."

When everyone heard what happened before, they said that the boss was worthy of being the boss and had already thought of a solution.

When they heard the last sentence, everyone was speechless.

But no matter what, the Mahua crowd began to calm down and returned to their original track.

Five days later, Zuibai Studio, Wanda Film, Sohu Video and Youku finally reached an agreement.

The nominal investment for the new film is RMB 9000 million, but the actual investment is RMB million, which are:
Zuibai Studio actually invested 5000 million yuan, and the cost of Zuibai's script, director, etc. was valued at 1000 million yuan.

The nominal total investment is 6000 million, and the profit accounts for 60%.

Sohu's actual investment was 1500 million, accounting for 15% of the profits.

Youku’s actual investment was 1500 million yuan, and its profits accounted for 15%.

Since Wanda Film was collaborating with Cheng Xi for the first time, even though Director Yu had introduced him to the company, they were only willing to invest 1000 million.

The revenue accounts for 10%.

And they were only willing to invest after signing an agreement with Cheng Xi to guarantee a minimum box office of 2 million yuan.

After all, they really lacked confidence in Cheng Xi.

Even if your script is excellent.

But right at the beginning, the first movie cost 100 million yuan.

No one can stand this!
So they calculated based on 10% of the revenue, the box office must reach 2 million, and Wan Da Movie can only recover its costs.

Of course, his cinema chain can also get a share of the money, but that is the profit he makes from operating the cinema chain himself, not the investment itself.

So, if the box office really reaches 2 million, Wanda will definitely make a profit.

Lao Wang really doesn't do business that would put him at a disadvantage.

My one hundred million investment is just a small goal you mentioned.

Really are.

Cheng Xi couldn't help but complain in his heart.

In fact, the investment of 100 million is over-allocated because Cheng Xi has great ambitions.

It is planned to be a masterpiece. Although this film had an investment of 6000 million in the previous life, it earned 17 billion at the box office.

But the processing in some places is still rough.

Cheng Xi has more time and energy to polish.

And we are preparing to launch stronger publicity and promotion.

So we prepared an investment of 9000 million.

If it is not used up by then, invest it all in publicity and promotion.

Either don’t do it, or do it big.

So it started with Lu Chuan criticizing Cheng Xi and ended with the signing of the contract by all four parties.

Exactly one week has passed.

And "The Rise of Phoenixes" also ushered in the finale today.

People's criticism of the drama is still going on and on, and there is no sign of it stopping.

Zuibai Studio's overall ostrich-like attitude of avoiding conflict makes netizens feel that they are right.

So he became merciless.

Some of the fans who had been defeated before also joined the crusade.

It seems to be making a comeback.

Those who are fanning the flames and have ulterior motives are doing their utmost to do so.

This means that they want to discredit Zuibai in one go.

When Cheng Xi's friends came to ask if he needed help, Cheng Xi refused one by one.

Because Cheng Xi knew that people's attacks on "The Princess Weiyoung" had hit a certain point.

And you can't refute the fact that Cheng Xi has no film works.

If you start a war of words that you can't win, you will only lower your own status.

But today is different. After the agreement was signed, Cheng Xi had already formulated counterattack measures.

Sifang and Cheng Xi announced the news of the new movie together.

Didn’t you say I don’t have any movies?

I'll start shooting now.

Isn’t it said that my culture is sad?
Aren’t you just constantly abusing and attacking?

I want to show everyone, and let those who are trying to take advantage of the situation see—

While you are forcing and complaining.

The preliminary preparations for the new film have been completed.

Funding is already in place.

Once everything is ready, wait until one minute before 12 noon.

Cheng Xi logged into Zuibai’s Weibo, edited the message briefly, and sent it.

Drunk White:

[Director Lu Chuan said that making movies is the most important thing for a director, but I beg to differ.

There are bigger things in our lives.

The new movie "Life Events" will begin preparations today with a budget of 100 million!

I also hope that Director Lu’s box office revenue this time can exceed my budget.

@Zuibai Studio @Youku @Sohu @Wanda Films @Lu Chuan】

　The first movie is finally here, great directors, please give me some votes!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)