The Birth of the Best Director

Chapter 109: Let Wanda give him all the screenings!
……

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

Although the hotel is still under renovation, in order to cooperate with the filming of this movie, the hotel has specially decorated several scenes in advance.

Several sci-fi style conference rooms were specially set up for the movie "Upgrade".

None of this will go to waste.

It can be left to other large international companies to use to show off their status during remote meetings.

After a night's rest.

Lu Zhiyuan brought the crew members to the hotel to shoot.

These scenes are very simple.

Even a few actors stood there, recited a few lines, and then waited for Keanu to come in, and then they would kill people in a bang bang manner and the filming would be completed.

As long as the movements are sharp enough and the speed is fast enough, these scenes will look very cool when the movie is released.

For Lu Zhiyuan, this level of shot is a piece of cake.

It only took Lu Zhiyuan one day to shoot enough material.

After checking all the materials and ensuring that there were no problems, Lu Zhiyuan announced that afternoon that the entire film was finished!
"Ayuan, congratulations on wrapping up! I've booked a hotel, let's celebrate tonight!"

Miss Jingtian once again displayed the generosity of a wealthy woman.

It turns out that sending red envelopes is indeed very effective.

During this period of time, many female celebrities have come to visit Lu Zhiyuan on set.

But those female stars often appeared near the crew, and Miss Jing Tian would receive dozens of text messages before she even met Lu Zhiyuan in person.

Everyone in the crew was an undercover agent who provided her with clues.

Her position as the boss lady is as stable as Mount Tai.

"Tiantian, I've made you spend money again. Go back and get the bill and let Brother Kun reimburse you. There's no need to save money for the investors."

Lu Zhiyuan controlled the filming costs of the entire movie "Upgrade" very well.

Except for the few days on Weizhou Island, the expenses were a little higher.

He basically tries to save as much as possible on expenses in other areas.

The entire film cost less than $800 million to make.

However, he also knew that for this kind of science fiction special effects movie, the real money lies in the post-production.

The remaining $2000 million budget depends on what kind of super special effects Industrial Magic can produce for him!
To be honest, this feeling of being out of control made Lu Zhiyuan quite nervous.

Fortunately, by the next movie, he will be able to fully control the special effects.

At present, the special effects master named Schwarzschild, who was poached by Brother Kun from Industrial Magic Light, has already formed a team and is polishing the team.

The next movie should be officially ready.

By then, Lu Zhiyuan will be able to strictly control everything from the film project to the post-production special effects according to his own requirements from beginning to end, so that his film will not collapse because of other people's reasons.

"Ayuan, what do you think of the Bayshore Sands Hotel?"

That night, Miss Jing Tian booked a five-star hotel and invited hundreds of people from the crew to a feast.

Spend money like water.

But she herself doesn't care at all.

While eating, Miss Jing Tian asked Lu Zhiyuan with a smile, what did he think of the hotel where he had filmed before?
"I don't think so."

Lu Zhiyuan thought for a moment and shook his head. "Just looking at the exterior, this hotel does have a futuristic and technological feel. But the interior is too luxurious and extravagant, filled with a magnificent atmosphere."

"It was completely different from what I imagined. I even regretted coming to this hotel to shoot the last few scenes."

Lu Zhiyuan sighed, as if he had discovered something: "If, I'm not wrong, this should be a casino."

At this point, he frowned slightly, a little puzzled: "But I remember that Singapore seems to have banned gambling."

"It seems that the economic crisis has had a significant impact on Singapore."

“You actually gave in on this.”

As soon as he entered the Blue Bay Sands Hotel and felt the luxurious atmosphere, Lu Zhiyuan was very sure that this was a casino.

However, he was busy filming at the time and didn't think too much about it.

After the filming was finished, he vaguely thought of the world-famous [Sands Group] from the name of [Blue Bay Sands Hotel].

Isn’t this the largest gambling group in Las Vegas?
"Ayuan, you really see the big picture from the small details. You guessed it right again."

Jing Tian smiled and nodded, and couldn't help but go up and hug Lu Zhiyuan's arm.

She liked that Lu Zhiyuan was like a robot, sharp yet calm, and full of logic when analyzing.

From the interior decoration of the hotel, he could tell that it was a casino. Then, he deduced that there was a problem with the economy of Singapore as a whole and that the casino was needed to stimulate the economy.

Although it cannot be said that Lu Zhiyuan guessed all of it correctly, he was almost right.

"Ayuan, this hotel is actually owned by Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas gambling tycoon."

"He's a big shot who ranks high on the list of the richest people in the United States. I remember in 2006, he was ranked third on the list of the richest people in the United States."

"Besides that, he is also a godfather among the Jews."

The Godfather in the movie is nothing compared to Sheldon Adelson.

Although Jing Tian appears to be a naive person, due to his family background, he knows a lot about the bigwigs in the Western world.

"Tiantian, you suddenly brought up these things with me. Could it be that the core figure of the Adelson family wants to see me?"

Lu Zhiyuan keenly captured something.

His plan B, it seemed, had come into being.

"Real Steel" lacks investors, and an investment of 5000 million US dollars is not a small amount for Lu Zhiyuan.

He adheres to the most basic principles of a director.

I only ask others for investment and never invest my own money in movies.

In this way, he doesn't need to be timid when filming a movie. He can shoot any big scene he wants!

Anyway, it’s not your own money that you’re spending!
No psychological burden.

"Well, he wants to see you."

"He is very interested in your robot competition."

"Your partners shouldn't always focus on Gao Yuanyuan's family."

Speaking of Gao Yuanyuan, Jing Tian felt a little jealous.

This old woman, such a green tea, stares at her man every day, which is really annoying.

The most important thing is that this old woman is quite skilled in tricks.

She didn't try to get close to Lu Zhiyuan by begging for mercy, because she knew that this trick would be useless.

Instead, he catered to his interests and pulled his elder brother out to work with Lu Zhiyuan on the robotics project.

The most speechless thing is that they actually did it.

Now it's completely stuck and I can't get rid of it.

At present, the robotics company that Lu Zhiyuan is collaborating with Brother Gao Yuanyuan has a very good prospect because the technical support is in place.

Just wait until the product is produced and see how it goes.

Once successful, it is equivalent to opening up a business model, and subsequently creating a whole new market.

The company will receive a steady stream of orders.

The old men in their family were optimistic about this project and asked a private equity fund to invest in some shares.

Jing Tian originally wanted to cut off the connection between Lu Zhiyuan and Gao Yuanyuan, but now it seems impossible.

This made her a little unhappy.

However, the company [Yuan Gao Technology] has a good prospect.

But at this stage, it is a startup company after all, and there is not enough money to develop robots. The funds available to support Lu Zhiyuan in making movies will not be much.

"Then meet them."

Of course, the more money there is to make a movie, the better. As long as it is not illegal money, Lu Zhiyuan doesn't care.

Heroes don’t ask where they come from.

The same goes for money.

……

After dinner.

Jing Tian accompanied Lu Zhiyuan to the top floor of the hotel.

In a presidential suite.

A Jewish man with a big belly but a shrewd look in his eyes had been waiting for a long time.

This person is a representative of the Adelson family.

"Hello, Lou. Since we're meeting, you can call me Jared."

Jared first introduced himself.

Then he took matters into his own hands, poured some whiskey for the two of them, and motioned them to sit on the sofa and relax.

He even asked Jing Tian if he wanted some music.
Accompanied by soothing music, Jared took a sip of whiskey and said, "Lu, what do you think of our Bayview Sands Hotel?"

Lu Zhiyuan thought for a while and said, "It is luxurious and can meet the needs of all tourists. After it opens in the future, the casino business will definitely be booming." Lu Zhiyuan did not flatter at all and spoke the truth.

There is everything near the Bayshore Sands Hotel.

In order to open a casino, these people built the supporting facilities to the extreme.

As long as you have money, they can do anything for you.

Casinos are not just about gambling, but also a place where rich people come to enjoy royal service.

"Haha."

Jared laughed a few times, looking very happy, and then said, "Lu, I'm very interested in your robot competition."

"I heard from Miss Jing that in order to make this movie, you even found someone to start a technology company yourself, and reverse-engineered Boston Dynamics' robots, and you've already achieved some initial success."

In order to attract tourists to play, casinos need to constantly innovate their gameplay.

Jared's eyes lit up when he heard the idea of ​​a robot competition.

Why didn't he think of that?
Real-life boxing matches can be used for gambling.

Robot boxing match, why not?

What a genius idea!
"At present, my robot is still in the first stage and is purely imitating Boston Dynamics. But our cost is only 10% of Boston Dynamics's robot."

"I believe that it won't be long before the first generation of robots can be successfully reverse-engineered."

"By next year, when the second generation of robots comes out, they should be able to surpass Boston Dynamics in some areas, such as running, carrying weights, simulating human dance, and of course, boxing."

From a mechanical point of view, the difference in difficulty between dancing and boxing is not that big.

As long as the sensors are sensitive enough and the processor is fast enough, after the code is entered, for the robot, there is no difference between boxing and dancing.

Of course, if you want to play the robot arena, each player needs to specifically deal with various competition situations and equip various armors to increase their ability to withstand beatings.

But what does this have to do with him?
Perhaps, these modifications can also increase orders from supporting manufacturers and make a lot of US dollars.

"Man, you're a genius."

"Hearing what you said, I can't wait to see the robots fight!"

For the Adelson family, gambling is like something that is engraved in their genes.

Lu Zhiyuan said a few words casually, and Jared began to imagine that in a casino in Las Vegas...

No.

There should be a special venue in all the casinos of Sands Group for robot competitions.

10 competitions will be launched every day.

Play the regular season first, and then hold a weekly championship on Friday or Saturday.

Every quarter, there will be another quarterly champion.

Around Christmas at the end of the year, there will be another annual championship grand prix!

Doing this will not only attract tourists to gamble, but may also attract many TV stations to broadcast live.

Just by selling the broadcasting rights, you can make a fortune!

"Dude, when your first generation product comes out, remember to give me a call. I will definitely go to China in person to see your robot."

"As for your movie... as long as the first generation of robots has shown me the potential of ring competition, we, the Adelson family, will always be your best partners!"

"When your robots reach the third or fourth generation and their functions become increasingly sophisticated, we can collaborate and create a robot competition league, just like the NBA and the five major European football leagues."

"Can you imagine how big a business this is?"

"By then, your robots will be sold all over the world, and people everywhere will be playing robot competitions, just like iPhones today."

"You will become the next generation of technology giant! Just like Steve Jobs!"

Jared never mentioned the casino from beginning to end.

People who run casinos also know that this business is not something that can be made public, so of course it needs to be packaged.

Packaged as a dream, packaged as technology, packaged as a professional league.

It sounds high-end and classy!

As for investing in Lu Zhiyuan's science fiction movie... at most it would be only 100 million US dollars, which is completely insignificant compared to the profits he can get later.

"We'll talk about it when the time comes."

Although Jared's description was very beautiful, Lu Zhiyuan knew very well that the other party just wanted to develop a new project for his casino.

But there is a good saying.

You can only be a good person when you have a choice.

If plan C and plan D do not appear next, then Lu Zhiyuan does not mind accepting the sponsorship funds from the Adelson family.

But this is only a last resort.

"Man, I know you're an artist and you're a little prejudiced against me, the casino owner. It's just worldly prejudice, and I don't care."

Seeing that Lu Zhiyuan's attitude was a bit indifferent, Jared could understand.

He didn't care at all and said with a faint smile, "In fact, our family has many charitable funds that specialize in helping poor, lonely elderly people and various vulnerable groups. It's a real charity."

"When the time comes, the funds for investing in your film will come from these charitable funds."

"I promise it won't affect your reputation."

Jared understood what Lu Zhiyuan was worried about.

As a big director, reputation is very important. It is difficult to explain to the public that he is associated with a casino family like his.

Seeing that Lu Zhiyuan remained silent, Jared used his ultimate move.

"Hey, I can even promise you that I can donate 5% of the profits from this project to the impoverished mountainous areas of your country to build schools for your Chinese children and provide them with nutritious breakfasts."

The Jews are indeed smart.

Lu Zhiyuan’s weakness was found immediately!

Faced with such conditions, Lu Zhiyuan felt that he could not refuse.

The gambler's money either goes into this casino or another casino.

There will not be fewer gamblers in this world just because he doesn't hold robot competitions.

In this case, it seems like a good idea to use some of the gamblers' funds to recycle and build some schools for children in mountainous areas.

"Jared, I want $5000 million. It's a sponsorship fee, not an investment."

Lu Zhiyuan would not be polite to the casino owner and would ask for all the filming funds from him at once.

"Man, you're such a great negotiator."

"You didn't say anything, but you kept leading me by the nose."

"Fifty million dollars is a lot of money, but compared to our big business, it's not a problem. As long as you can show me the hope of the robot competition."

There are many robotics companies around the world, and the most famous one is Boston Dynamics. Jared can find someone to acquire this company tomorrow!

He doesn't have to choose Lu Zhiyuan.

But there is one thing that Lu Zhiyuan said is right.

The most important thing for the robot project is whether it can be commercialized and the cost can be reduced.

The cost of Lu Zhiyuan's robot is 10% of that of Boston Dynamics, which he cannot ignore.

If you do a careful calculation, it becomes very clear.

If there are 10 robot competitions every day, at least seven or eight robots will be scrapped.

In a year, about 2000 robots will be scrapped. According to Boston Dynamics' current robot prices, this is hundreds of millions of dollars!
This does not include the cost of modifying the robot.

If you really count it, the money that casinos spend on this every year may exceed 10 billion US dollars.

Even if their family has money, they can't let him waste it like this!
If the cost is only 10%, then he has absolute confidence that he can make a fortune from the robot competition gambling project.

Compared with the huge profits in the future, what is the initial cost of 5000 million US dollars?
……

"Sister Shanshan, Ayuan is really different from others."

Back in the hotel, Jing Tian originally wanted to sleep with Lu Zhiyuan, but Zhao Shanshan came and forcibly pulled her away.

Let her be more reserved.

Don’t force it, sister!
Even if you eat the most delicious food, he will still get tired of it after eating too much.

"Tiantian, Ayuan has been drugging you, right? You stayed up all night, praising him in front of me."

Zhao Shanshan wanted to kick Jing Tian out.

Otherwise, she felt that Jing Tian didn't want her to sleep tonight and kept praising Lu Zhiyuan in her ears.

I know you found a good man, but is it necessary to do this? Show off in front of me every day?
Believe it or not, I want to do it too!

Jing Tian chuckled and changed the subject: "Sister Shanshan, how are your talks with Wanda going? If Upgrade is released during the Spring Festival, can Wanda schedule full screenings?"

What Jing Tian wants is not just a little bit of tendency.

Instead, they want Wanda to give the movie "Upgrade" the best treatment.

Fang Long's "The Big Soldier and the Little Soldier" is a flop, so don't schedule it for screening. Just schedule a few random screenings.

And there's also Zhen Zidan's "The Imperial Guards." In this day and age, they're still making martial arts movies. Who wants to watch that? And don't schedule it for screenings!

The rest are "Love in the City", "All's Well That Ends Well"... After hearing these names, are you interested in going to the cinema to watch them?

So, don’t schedule any screenings for them!
Arrange them all for our robot!
Let him directly break the domestic box office record and reach the top in one fell swoop!
(End of this chapter)