Huayu: Starting from Fahrenheit

Chapter 405 Two Films Begin Filming

Having determined the company's development plan for the second half of the year and into next year, the company immediately began working towards that goal.

The company first approached Huayi Brothers to discuss investing in their company.

Huayi Brothers, of course, disagreed.

However, Zheng Jianfeng pointed out that if Legendary Pictures cannot participate in Huayi Brothers' film investment, then Legendary Pictures' films will exclude Huayi Brothers.

This statement is really damaging.

The following day, Huayi Brothers agreed to let Legendary Films participate in the investment of Huayi Brothers' projects.

Following Wu Zhuo's choice, Zheng Jianfeng selected the Tangshan earthquake as the next investment project.

Although Huayi Brothers was reluctant, they ultimately gave up 7% of the share to Legendary Pictures.

It's not that Legends doesn't have the money to invest more.

Rather, the project "Tangshan Earthquake" simply couldn't find a suitable quota.

These past few years have been the heyday of small, powerful cars.

Almost every film he directed was a huge hit, achieving phenomenal box office success.

On the surface, Zhang Yimou is considered the number one among China's four top directors.

In reality, the film company considers the little cannon the most popular one.

With so many successful examples, "Aftershock" naturally became a hot commodity.

Firstly, Huayi Brothers is unwilling to give up too much of its market share.

Secondly, too many companies have gotten involved.

Every company in China with some strength wants to get involved.

Seven percent is already considered a lot for Legendary Pictures.

In fact, Huayi Brothers lost money by exchanging its investment share in "You Are the Apple of My Eye" for "Aftershock".

Part of the reason they were willing was because of Wu Zhuo.

Although Wu Zhuo is not involved in this film, Legendary is, after all, his company.

If Huayi Brothers doesn't participate in this project, it will mean they won't have the opportunity to participate in any subsequent films starring Wu Zhuo.

Therefore, rather than exchanging shares for shares, it's more accurate to say that Huayi Brothers used its investment share in "Aftershock" to gain Wu Zhuo's favor, in order to ensure that Huayi Brothers would have the opportunity to participate in future films starring Wu Zhuo.

This is one of the advantages of a company having a star performer.

Even if your other movies are of mediocre quality, as long as this star actor can carry the show, your films will never lack investment.

Other companies even proactively offered money in order to establish a connection.

They acquired their entry ticket to invest in films featuring star actors by losing millions of dollars.

Once you're inside, making that money back becomes much easier...

After settling things off with Huayi Brothers, Zheng Jianfeng then approached the production team of Jiang Wen's "Let the Bullets Fly".

After some negotiations, Legendary Pictures received 1.3 million yuan out of the 3000 million yuan investment in "Let the Bullets Fly," accounting for a quarter of the total investment.

The reason this film was so easy to negotiate and was able to secure such a large share is...

Aside from Legendary Pictures having a good relationship with its two main investors, China Film Group and Emperor Entertainment Group.

Another factor is that the major companies don't have that much confidence in Jiang Wen.

The addition of legends can help alleviate the pressure.

Investment matters are progressing very quickly.

Meanwhile, two projects from Legendary Pictures have entered production.

The budget for "You Are the Apple of My Eye" was significantly lower than that for the previous film, "Fleet of Time".

The reason, of course, is because of Wu Zhuo.

In "Fleet of Time," Wu Zhuo's salary accounted for almost half of the film's investment.

Without Wu Zhuo's participation, Calvin Chen's salary for the film "You Are the Apple of My Eye" was only 200 million.

All other actors were newcomers, with a maximum salary of no more than 30 yuan. Lower actor salaries naturally meant lower investment.

The total investment for this film was only 1200 RMB.

However, despite the small investment, many companies participated, including Legendary Entertainment, Enlight Media, Huayi Brothers, and eight major television stations in Taiwan.

This time, the Legend has already taken up the majority of the investment, but not as much as the previous film "Fleet of Time". Instead, 60% was given to the other three companies, and the company only took 40%.

Of the other three, Enlight Media invested 280 million, accounting for 24%.

Huayi Brothers invested 2.4 million, accounting for 20%.

The final eight major TV stations did not provide cash investment, but instead provided all the expenses of the production team in Taiwan, publicity, and venue management, etc., in exchange for 16%.

The film "You Are the Apple of My Eye" held its opening ceremony in Taiwan on July 13th, and then officially began filming.

After much deliberation, the female lead ultimately chose Michelle Chen from her previous life.

Wu Zhuo didn't pay any attention to this.

The fact that the production team chose her means she's really suitable.

As long as it doesn't affect the movie, it doesn't really matter to him who plays the female lead.

On the other hand, Liu Shishi was angry with Wu Zhuo for several days after hearing that he had personally told her not to act in the movie "You Are the Apple of My Eye".

She's been kept at the company by Wu Zhuo to take acting-related courses lately, and she's hardly had any acting opportunities to go out and film.

Even after the huge success of "Chinese Paladin 3", Wu Zhuo suppressed some of the offers that came his way.

This left her with a lot of emotions.

It was only after Wu Zhuo explained things to her that she finally understood.

Then, Wu Zhuo dragged her to participate in his concert in Shanghai.

Anyway, she said she was very free, so Wu Zhuo simply let her be a guest at the concert and enjoy the cheers of tens of thousands of people.

Wu Zhuo's tour is still in full swing.

He maintained a pace of two games per week.

This way, the time won't be too rushed, and the performance won't drag on for too long.

Even so, Wu Zhuo's concert tour will take about 5 months.

Fortunately, there are two shows a week, so Wu Zhuo has some time to do other things; otherwise, he would probably be too busy in the second half of the year.

As the number of concerts increased, the concerts gradually got into their rhythm, and each time they went to a new location, they caused a frenzy among the local fans.

It's August.

In August, another Legendary Pictures film, "Lost in Thailand," also officially began filming.

Apart from the two main characters, the rest of the cast has undergone some changes.

This time, Wu Zhuo didn't let Liu Shishi stay at the company, but instead had her make a cameo appearance as a con artist teacher.

The role of the mistress was played by Yang Mi.

Yang Mi was recommended by Liu Shishi.

The two had a good relationship, and Yang Mi also wanted to act in movies, so she asked Liu Shishi to recommend her.

This role was just a minor one, but for Yang Mi, that wasn't the role she wanted.

Rather, it's a stepping stone. Although this character has few scenes, he is still an important one.

By playing this role, she has laid the foundation for future collaborations with Legendary Entertainment, and they will definitely prioritize her for suitable roles in the future.

On the day the filming of "Lost in Thailand" started, Wu Zhuo personally came to the scene to promote it.

Of course, he will also make a cameo appearance.

He played the role of the handsome guy he met on the road.

He doesn't have many scenes; all he needs to do is look handsome.

(End of this chapter)