Chapter 60 Huayi Investment Rejected
Chapter 60 Huayi Investment Rejected
"Okay, now let's talk about investment. What's the budget for your new film?"
Zhang Chen didn't expect Han Sanping to agree so readily. After thinking for a while, he replied, "About 1000 million."
He remembered what Dong Jianqiang had told him before, if he was going to do it, he had to do it well. 600 million could only get him above the passing line, so he might as well go straight to 1000 million and improve the quality of the film.
Only if the quality of the film is good enough can it become popular and break 100 million.
"Of these 1000 million, how much do you plan to use for special effects?"
"About 700 million."
Zhang Chen had already made detailed calculations on this point.
Apart from the special effects, the biggest expense in the entire film is Fan Binbin's salary.
In 04, it was not the era when film pay skyrocketed as it has in later generations, and the actors’ pay was not that outrageous.
He remembered that four years later in the film "Painted Skin", Zhao Yanzi's pay for her role was only 120 million. Fan Binbin's status was not as good as Zhao Yanzi's, so 80 should be enough.
Hearing that Zhang Chen was going to spend 700 million on special effects, Han Sanping nodded. He felt Zhang Chen's sincerity in making a special effects monster movie.
Director Chen next to him was even more delighted. It was a huge order of 700 million. The spring of the special effects production center was coming. They had never received such a big order since their establishment.
"Then how about we at China Film invest 200 million, accounting for 20%, and invest 200 million in special effects. We also invested this amount in "Kekexili"."
Han Sanping's meaning is very clear. China Film Group has always supported new types of films, such as "The Shallows" and "Kekexili".
He doesn't believe that "The Shallows" can make over 100 million yuan, but he still has to support it.
China Film Group’s mission is to revitalize the film industry. If we want the film market to prosper, then we must allow a wide variety of subject matter to flourish.
It’s not enough to just have blockbusters, there must be a wide variety of subjects.
Of course, this cannot be accomplished overnight, and some sensitive subjects will certainly be restricted, but China Film has been working in this direction.
The reason for investing in "Kekexili" was this. Do you think he couldn't see that the film would flop, but China Film Group invested in it anyway.
The film market cannot have only one voice. Minority themes also need to be supported. Private companies cannot do this, except for China Film.
Lu Chuan next to him then remembered that China Film Group did invest in "Kekexili", also 200 million, and the cost of "Kekexili" was exactly 1000 million, exactly the same as "The Shallows".
"Director Zhang, we at Huayi can also contribute to the investment in The Shallows."
At this time, Wang Zhonglei next to him suddenly said.
Making friends with Zhang Chen was his eldest brother's strategy, but he didn't expect Zhang Chen to dare to boast that the box office of Hai'an would exceed 100 million yuan.
But this is better.
When Wang Zhonglei heard that Han Sanping agreed to invest, he felt a little uneasy. If China Film entered the game, other companies would not be able to get any meat and could only get some soup at most.
But he could only smile bitterly in his heart. China Film Group was too powerful. Its tentacles covered every aspect of the entire film ecosystem, including production, distribution, import of foreign films, and theaters. It also had an unclear relationship with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and was both a player and a referee.
They have no way of opposing whatever China Film wants to do.
But now that China Film has taken up 20%, it is hard to say whether Zhang Chen is willing to let others share the cake.
As expected, Zhang Chen rejected him: "I'm sorry, Mr. Wang, I'm not going to give up too much of my investment share in The Shallows, but I would like to ask Huayi to help with the distribution. Not only Huayi, but also Guangguang. I would like China Film, Huayi, and Guangguang to jointly distribute the film."
Zhang Chen strictly adheres to the bottom line of investment share and only invites theaters to join.
China Film Group alone accounts for 20%, and he is also planning to bring in Wu Hehu's Shanghai United Film Group to give it a maximum of 10%, no more.
Mr. Wang was a little disappointed when his investment was rejected, but it was also good to be able to participate in the issuance.
The distribution fee is also divided according to the box office ratio. Although it is divided among three parties, it is better than nothing. The most important thing is that it has a relationship with Zhang Chen. Hearing about Guangguang, Han Sanping knew that it was the distribution company of Zhang Chen's previous film. It was understandable that Zhang Chen wanted to bring the other party with him, but he was a little confused:
"Zhang Chen, why didn't you ask China Film Group to distribute the film when you were making Dark Invasion?"
There is no doubt about China Film’s distribution capabilities. If he says he is second, no one dares to say he is first.
But he was very sure that the producers of "Dark Invasion" had never contacted them, so he was a little confused.
Zhang Chen immediately looked embarrassed: "When I first approached for investment, China Film rejected me, so I thought you guys wouldn't be interested in distributing it either."
"Oh, is that true?" Han Sanping obviously heard of it for the first time.
But then he realized that it must be Zhang Chen who came to solicit investment, but the people below rejected it because they thought it was a horror movie.
It’s a bit embarrassing to talk about it. I was just complaining that they didn’t look for China Film Group, but I was slapped in the face in the blink of an eye. It’s not that they didn’t look for me, but that I rejected them.
Han Sanping's face turned red, and he immediately changed the subject:
"Director Chen, you have worked so hard during this period. Cooperate with Director Zhang to promote the reputation of our special effects production center."
"Okay, Mr. Han."
"Don't worry, Director Zhang. We will definitely do our best for your new film."
Director Chen was very happy that he could keep this God of Wealth.
Moreover, Zhang Chen vowed that he could break 100 million, and Director Chen was even more looking forward to it.
If a special effects film that really grosses over 100 million yuan comes out of their hands, their special effects production center will immediately become a special effects company on par with Xiantao Digital, and will be first-rate in the industry.
……
After leaving China Film Group, Wang Zhongjun discovered that Zhang Chen did not drive, so he invited him to join them and chat.
Zhang Chen came here by subway, so of course he was happy to take the free ride.
"Lu Chuan, you sit in the front. Director Zhang and I will sit in the back to talk about something."
Lu Chuan was placed in the co-pilot seat, and Wang Zhonglei and Zhang Chen sat in the back seat.
"Director Zhang is in such a hurry to make a new movie, isn't he trying to catch the Lunar New Year holiday?" Wang Zhongjun tested him subtly.
Although Fan Binbin said that she and Zhang Chen had confirmed that the other party was not rushing to rush the Lunar New Year holiday, it would still be better to confirm it in person.
"How is that possible? The Lunar New Year movies like A World Without Thieves by Director Feng and Kung Fu by Stephen Chow are already enough. How dare I get involved? Do you think I'm not dying fast enough?"
Zhang Chen was very humble.
Wang Zhongjun finally felt relieved after receiving Zhang Chen's personal assurance, and said politely: "Director Zhang, please don't underestimate yourself. You are now a hot new director in China. I don't know how many people are looking forward to seeing your new work.
I am just worrying about nothing. I am afraid that all the works of you excellent directors will be rushed together and affect each other's box office, which would be more trouble than gain."
I have to say that Wang Zhonglei's words sounded really nice. Zhang Chen knew they were not true, but he still enjoyed listening to them.
"By the way, I haven't congratulated Mr. Wang yet. Both of this year's Lunar New Year blockbusters were won by Huayi Brothers. Huayi is indeed the leader of our private film and television companies."
"No, no, it's just a joint release."
Wang Zhonglei smiled and waved his hand.
The two Lunar New Year blockbusters mentioned by Zhang Chen, "A World Without Thieves" and "Kung Fu", were both jointly distributed by Huayi and China Film.
The only difference is that "Kung Fu" was purely distributed, while in "A World Without Thieves", in addition to distribution, they also invested 40%.
(End of this chapter)