Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 250 Targeting Huayi
"Let's talk about Taken. I'm planning to release it on November 1st..."

"Why not the Lunar New Year period? Isn't the National Day period too conservative?"

The company invested a lot in "Taken", so Dong Jianqiang naturally wanted to maximize the profits.

There are two best seasons in a year: the summer vacation and the Lunar New Year vacation.

The other May Day and National Day are okay, but still inferior to the first two.

Zhang Chen shook his head. “There’s The Promise during the Lunar New Year holiday, so we’d better avoid it. The Promise is China Film’s key annual project, and although Taken also has their investment, if both are released at the same time, they will definitely pay more attention to The Promise, so we’d better avoid it if we can.”

Director Chen’s halo has not been shattered yet, and at this stage both the audience and the official recognize him very much.

There is no need for Zhang Chen to confront him head-on.

Although his current reputation is better than that of Chen Kexin back then, he is probably not enough to compare with poet Chen.

Besides, Han Sanping probably wouldn't allow the two blockbusters he invested in to collide. Even if it's scheduled for the Lunar New Year holiday, it will most likely have to be changed later.

"Okay~"

Dong Jianqiang accepted this reason, but at the same time said: "But Eleven has Cheng Long's "Myth"..."

"That's great. We can use Cheng Long's story to promote it. Besides, Taken is not bad. It may not lose to The Myth. You will know when you see the finished film."

After a few more words, the release dates for the two films were finalized.

Zhang Chen's face suddenly turned serious: "Let's talk about this matter next. Kaiyu, can you tell me first, which companies are targeting us this time?"

Li Kaiyu's expression brightened: "Chengtian, New Picture and Huayi Brothers..."

"No Boner?"

"I didn't find Bona involved in this matter~"

"He's smart." Zhang Chen originally thought that Yu Dong would also be involved, but he didn't expect that he didn't participate at all.

"Well, the above three companies are our opponents and our key targets in the next stage."

Since war has been declared, Zhang Chen will definitely fight back.

"What has Chengtian done recently? I heard that he and Wu Yusen are going to make a film based on the Three Kingdoms?"

Zhang Chen was asking Li Kaiyu. After all, the latter was in charge of distribution and was well aware of the information about competitors.

Li Kaiyu did not disappoint him: "Yes, Chengtian and Wu Yusen have cooperated on a project called "Red Cliff". It has been filed with the Film Bureau, but I heard that the script is still being revised..."

Zhang Chen nodded and said that it would be fine to just call it "Red Cliff". As long as history did not change, it would still be the same terrible movie from the original time and space. He would have a hundred ways to criticize it then.

"Where's the new picture?"

"New Picture has no blockbuster this year, only "A One Man's Journey", which is scheduled to be released on the 11th slot. But I heard that it is a feature film and the investment is not large." Li Kaiyu knew all the relevant information at will.

"Eleventh is better, check what day it is, we will release it on the same day as it."

"A Solo Journey" is not a typical Zhang Yimou film at all and was not well-known in his previous life.

Zhang Chen’s real target is next year’s "Curse of the Golden Flower", which is a big production of New Picture, and Zhang Chen decided to snipe it when the time comes.

He could imagine how Zhang Weiping would be jumping up and down when the time came.

"We've already secured Orange Sky and New Picture, and the only one left is Huayi. I'm actually a little confused. Huayi just invested in our "Taken". If they ruin our reputation, their investment will also be affected. Logically, they have no reason to do this. Kaiyu, are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I have repeatedly confirmed the list of opponents who attacked us. Huayi Brothers is 100% involved..." Li Kaiyu said very confidently.

"Then why do they do this?"

Dong Jianqiang saw it most clearly: "Taken was only a temporary gain or loss, but if we were allowed to continue, he might be worried that we would threaten its leading position, so he did this...

After all, Wang Jinghua’s departure this year has dealt a heavy blow to Huayi, while we have been successful one after another. As a result, within two years, Huayi will have to call us their younger brother when they see us…”

So that's how it is. Zhang Chen couldn't understand before. Why did Huayi suddenly stab them in the back when they were clearly cooperating with them? It turns out that this is the reason.

"The most important thing right now is to kick Huayi out of the Taken project. I think it's a loss if they make even a penny from us."

Dong Jianqiang was indignant. “Don’t worry about copyright. We are planning to make Taken into a series, so from the beginning, all investment agreements have stated that the investment only accounts for the share, not the copyright.

So we have the final say on who can invest in the sequel. But even so, I don’t want to make money with him this time.”

Everyone hates traitors.

The film and television industry is all about dividing the cake. If you eat alone, you will die a miserable death.

It’s not that you can’t eat it. If you can handle all the aspects such as production, distribution, publicity, and theaters by yourself, then it’s up to you.

If you can't handle it, you will face all kinds of difficulties, both open and covert attacks.

They block you in the scheduling, block you in the review, smear you in the publicity, arrange big movies to compete with you, throw dirty water on your main actors, and even prevent your movie from being released, etc.
There are too many ways to trip someone up. So, behind every blockbuster movie, there are basically dozens of co-producers. Why? Because this is how the pie is divided.

Everyone can get a share, although it’s not much, but everyone will benefit. This way, even if someone jumps out to cause trouble, there will be people to help you.

It was for this reason that Zhang Chen gave away a large share of "Taken".

"Taken cost 1.2 million yuan, including the cost of publicity and distribution. Xingchen Entertainment contributed 4000 million yuan, China Film Group contributed 3000 million yuan, Guangguang Film Group contributed 1000 million yuan, Huayi Film Group contributed 1000 million yuan, and cinema chains such as Star Media, United Films, New Film Association and Wanda Film Group contributed the remaining 3000 million yuan. Of course, cinema chains will not use all real money, they will generally use part of their resources for exchange."

Chen Xi added: "Our actual share is 2000 million, because Jing Tian paid another 2000 million for us.

The estimated advertising sponsorship is 6000 million, plus copyright and other things, this film is sure to make a lot of money. If Huayi is not kicked out, they will make a fortune. "

"How can the advertising revenue be so high?" Zhang Chen couldn't believe it.

Chen Xi smiled confidently: "This is just a prediction, because I plan to take it to the United States to negotiate with the weapons company there after the film is completed. If you don't pay the protection fee this time, then when we make the sequel, I will arrange for your gun to jam, or replace it with a competitor's weapon. What am I afraid of? Anyway, our movie will definitely be a big hit..."

Zhang Chen was shocked and observed a moment of silence for those weapons companies.

He, a reborn person, didn't think of these things, so how did Chen Xi think of them?

All I can say is that Chen Xi is indeed gifted when it comes to raising money.

But then she frowned and said, "It's just that we have signed a contract with Huayi. Now that the film has been completed, it may not be easy to kick them out. It would be best if Huayi withdraws on its own. And I guess they should have sold part of their share."

Generally, film and television companies will not take up all the shares of large projects. They will sell a portion of them at a premium.

Take Huayi for example. He invested 1000 million yuan. As long as he sold half of it at a premium of 500%, his cost would be recovered. It was equivalent to not spending a penny and getting a million yuan share for nothing.

This is basically how investments are done in the circle. There are specialized companies that do this, selling at each level, with a premium at each level.

Otherwise, how could there be dozens of co-producers?

Dong Jianqiang has no pressure at all: "Don't worry, there are many ways to solve the problem. For example, if we keep delaying the release of the film, and they can't bear the financial pressure for a long time, they should find a way to sell their shares.

Or we could create a false impression that Hurricane is likely to lose money, such as failing to pass the review or being involved in a scandal. The Wang brothers would definitely be worried, and then we could find someone to buy the Wang brothers' shares, and they would most likely sell them..."

As expected of an old hand, Dong Jianqiang's method left Zhang Chen and Chen Xi stunned.

Zhang Chen has never been exposed to these operations in his entire life, otherwise he would have known how complicated this industry is.

Not to mention Chen Xi, she just graduated not long ago and has never been exposed to this.

If anyone else, it has to be Dong Jianqiang, the old hand.

"It's a good idea to have it fail to pass the review. There's already public opinion, so we can guide them a little bit and spread the news that Taken can't pass the review because it's too violent. They will definitely believe it.

We will release the news later. In order to pass the review, we need to reshoot some scenes, which will require additional investment. At this time, if we let Wanda or the coal boss pretend to be the sucker and buy Huayi’s shares, they will most likely sell them…”

Li Kaiyu is indeed a talented person. He came up with a nearly complete plan in just a short time.

Especially the part about being taken advantage of, the inherent impression of coal bosses in the circle now is that they are stupid, rich, and have their own buffs.

Zhang Chen even thought of the candidates, which was to look for his father's friends or Lao Li.

Lao Li is the most suitable.

My dad's coal boss friends were all new faces. They went to Huayi to buy shares. In order to maintain the inherent impression that they were stupid and rich, they had to pay a premium.

But Lao Li has already entered the circle. Wang Jinghua’s Shijiu Culture has his investment. If he comes forward, Huayi will not be able to ask for a high price.

Yes, just do it!

The more Zhang Chen thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

His goal was to kick Huayi out of "Taken" and prevent them from making a single penny from the project.

When "Hurricane" becomes a hit later, see how they regret it.

There’s a saying in investment banking that money not earned is money lost, and it’s pretty much the same in the film industry.

Huayi shortsightedly sold a big project that it knew was a sure win. Not only did it not make any money, it will probably become a laughing stock in the industry, which is a very serious problem for a company.

……

Starting from the next day, there were sporadic rumors online that "Taken" might not pass review because it was too violent.

There are ways and methods to do things.

The entertainment industry is a big sieve. In order to ensure the final effect, this matter must be kept secret from everyone.

So when the news spread, it not only irritated the nerves of Huayi Brothers, but also the nerves of all investors.

Therefore, you must be gentle and silent at the beginning.

(End of this chapter)