Global Film Emperor

Chapter 75 New Play (No more tonight)
As Lu Ze pushed open the company door, a blast of cool air hit his face, instantly invigorating him who had been suffering from the high temperature. He felt as if every pore had opened up and was releasing heat.

"Brother Lu is here? Director Han is already waiting for you in the conference room."

"I know, thank you Xiaomei, I'll be right there, wait a minute. Your eyebrows look really nice today."

Han Chen called him at noon today and asked him to come to the company. Han Chen is the only contracted director of Qian Shijia and the director who interviewed Lu Ze.

Lu Ze was completely confused and didn't know what Han Chen wanted to see him about. After all, the two of them had only met once at the company, during the job interview, and had no other interaction. But this also meant that Han Chen really had something to say, so he quickly went downstairs, hailed a taxi, and ran over as fast as he could.

Upon arriving at the conference room, Lu Ze discovered that not only Han Chen was sitting there, but also Gao Jian, the Minister of the Business Department. Gao Jian's role was to negotiate and reach business cooperation agreements with other companies or individuals, and he also had little contact with Lu Ze.

Han Chen knocked on the glass, turned his head, saw Lu Ze outside, smiled and waved to Lu Ze. After Lu Ze pushed the door open and went in, Han Chen quickly invited Lu Ze to sit down.

"Director Han, I'm sorry. I live a bit far away. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. Minister Gao, I'm also sorry."

"It's okay, we didn't wait long. Hey? Where are you staying now?"

Han Chen's attitude was very good. After all, he and Lu Ze were both signed by Qian Shijia and were on their own side, so there was no need for him to put on airs or show any displeasure.

“I live in Huangpu District, and I just moved there a couple of days ago.”

"Ah, the reason I called you here is that General Manager Hu gave us the quota. Minister Gao and his team negotiated a contract, just spent nearly four million, and then got a document back."

Lu Ze suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and many things connected: the business secrets Gao Wanzhi mentioned, the script that President Gao bought, and Director Han contacting him. It was simple: he was going to have a film to shoot.

"What do you mean?"

Han Chen took out cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to Gao Jian and Lu Ze. Lu Ze got up and lit them for the two of them, then waited for Han Chen to continue.

"That's right. You're the lead actor, and your own company is investing in the film. Who else would you give it to if not your own actors? But don't overthink it. It's a small investment, a test film. I'm the director, and you're the lead. It's that simple."

Han Chen smiled happily. He hadn't expected to be assigned a role so quickly after signing with Qian Shijia. Although the investment was a bit small, he wasn't picky! He really wasn't picky!
Moreover, he only gave himself Lu Ze as the male lead. Lu Ze's acting skills are very good, and he is quite a good match for the character setting. This solved his problem of casting the lead role. How could Han Chen be dissatisfied?

Lu Ze was a little puzzled. How could the investment be small when a script cost four million? Five or six years ago, the cost of a script accounted for about five percent of the total expenditure. In the era of popular online content, the price of scripts has not increased, or rather, the increase is not significant, accounting for about two or three percent of the total expenditure.

"Who wrote this script? How could it sell for such a high price?"

Han Chen and Gao Jian both laughed, leaving Lu Ze completely confused. Han Chen was the first to stop laughing, his expression suddenly changing to a very serious one.

"Who told you I bought a script?"

"Huh? Didn't you say Minister Gao bought a script? If it's not a script, what else could it be but some kind of adult film?"

Lu Ze was quite relaxed, after all, they were his own people and not too old, so he made a joke that the two of them might not understand. Who knew that Han Chen actually knew it and coughed because Lu Ze made him choke.

"Ugh! What nonsense! Let me tell you, it's novels, intellectual property, web series, understand?"

Lu Ze then realized that web series are something everyone has watched in recent years.
Lu Ze had been paying attention to web dramas for five or six years, but back then web dramas were just a synonym for poorly made productions. Lu Ze watched mostly dramas that featured explicit sexual content. After all, he was a young man, and after working, he always liked to go to internet cafes to watch some random stuff.
Until four years ago, a hugely popular drama appeared. That drama was adapted from a novel, and it was this drama that started a wave of novel remakes, which are IPs that even the elderly know.

Lu Ze didn't see anything wrong with Qian Shijia's first investment targeting the online drama market; on the contrary, he felt it was the right move. After all, Rongchuang Group already had its own online companies, including Wandou Video, which wasn't very popular and wasn't a mainstream video website. Wandou Video's main traffic source was sports content: live broadcasts of football and basketball, as well as boxing, combat sports, rugby, ice hockey—many of which were sports that ordinary people had no idea how to play. This limited the website's development and destined it to remain unpopular.

"So Mr. Hu wants you to film a web series and then stream it on Wandou?"

"Yes, after all, it's a sister company, and he's practically the older brother of Qian Shijia, but everything is still profit-oriented. The first one definitely has to make money."

Lu Ze nodded thoughtfully, and the topic returned to the main point: "Which novel was it adapted from?"

Han Chen stubbed out his cigarette, pulled a book from a folder, and threw it in front of Lu Ze with a bang.

"The Eleventh Finger? Is it a suspense film?"

"Oh right, take the book back and take a look. Get ready to start writing the biography. Although the investment has been secured, after deducting the later promotion, we only have a budget of ten million, which is not much."

Lu Ze flipped through the book, not paying much attention. Ten million to make a web series, how is that too little? It's already a lot, okay?
"Ten million is not a small amount; it just depends on how many episodes you plan to film, Director Han."

"We plan to film 20 episodes. I've done some research, and this number of episodes seems reasonable."

Lu Ze estimated that small investments have their own way of being spent; ten million yuan would be more than enough for twenty episodes.

"It should be about right. If we spend less on other things, there shouldn't be any problems."

"But I've already spent four million to buy the novel's copyright."

"what?"

Lu Ze suddenly looked up, staring at Han Chen in shock. This bastard's got some nerve! Six million for twenty episodes? How much per episode? Three hundred thousand! Including actor fees, daily expenses, equipment, crew salaries, and location costs, three hundred thousand per episode? Is that even possible? Han Chen, you're only thirty-something and you're already tired of living?
Han Chen was also helpless. After all, it was a physical publication and had a considerable reputation. Selling it for four million was actually a normal price. If he didn't make this film, he wouldn't have the confidence to make other IP adaptations well.

"I've done the math. Two cameras will be enough for this film, so we'll have two cameramen. There are only three main actors. The company is going to audition a batch of new actors soon, so I'll see if I can find them there. For the others, I'll find actors with special roles. Since you're being sent by the company, you can't ask for high prices, right? As for the locations, they're not in the city center. Many of them are in the middle of nowhere, so we don't need to pay rent. Indoor locations are easy to arrange; we can rent apartments for a single day."

Lu Ze realized that directors really come in all shapes and sizes. Guo Mingde has a fiery temper and is demanding when it comes to acting, Cheng Yuan is worldly-wise and good at directing, and Han Chen? Shameless.

Listening to him calculate such trivial matters, Lu Ze covered his face, really unwilling to listen, his head was really hurting, but what he said made sense, how much money could his company invest in the film, and he wasn't a star yet, so he couldn't ask for more.

Han Chen seemed to be playing the victim with Lu Ze, but he was actually threatening Lu Ze. Lu Ze had no choice but to fall for it. No wonder he came to talk to Lu Ze instead of Shen Jinghan. He knew he couldn't win over Shen Jinghan, so he could only keep Lu Ze under his thumb.

Rubbing his face, Lu Ze sighed: "Alright, Director Han, the investment approved by President Hu is in your hands. You're the director, and if I'm not mistaken, Minister Gao is the producer, right? Spend the money however you like. I accept the company's arrangements."

"Alright, the contract isn't ready yet. We'll sign it in a few days. The production team isn't big, so the preparations will be finished soon. I'll also try my best to get sponsorships, since modern dramas can have a lot of commercials. If we can get that money, it won't be small. We've already started revising the script. There aren't many episodes, and it'll be ready soon based on the original work. As for the title, I've already thought of one."

"what is it call?"

"Forensic doctor Qin Ming."

I can't go on anymore, I'm too sleepy. That's enough for today.
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(End of this chapter)