Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 285 The Grandparents' Plan for 10 Billion Yuan Box Office (34)

Shen Yan was thoroughly annoyed by Dong Tianda…

His words were full of arrogance!
I don't know what's with all this arrogance...

After more than a decade in the industry, he has never worked on any blockbuster projects and is only known as a Hong Kong filmmaker.

Why are you showing off to Shen Yan?
Shen Yan is the highest-grossing Chinese-language film this year—even if films like *The Flowers of War* and *Flying Swords of Dragon Gate* surpass his…

But the combined box office of "Our Times" and "The Beauty Inside" exceeded one billion...

How can you compare to him?
Dong Tianda was furious after being rebuked like that, but he didn't know what to say in response...

After a long pause, he finally managed to say, "High box office numbers don't mean anything... movies are about art!"

Shen Yan replied directly, "Then go study your film art. Oh, 'Time Raiders' is very artistic. I heard it made 350 million? It has a really high artistic value!"

Dong Tianda was almost internally injured by Shen Yan's retort...

"...Mr. Lu, please excuse me for a moment..."

President Lu nodded indifferently: "Okay, you can go out now!"

"Mr. Lu, let's find someone else... I feel like he's not quite grasping the situation!"

After Dong Tianda left, Shen Yan sincerely offered a suggestion.

"He wasn't like this before; he seemed to have a clear understanding of the market..."

Shen Yan shook his head: "He looks down on mainland films and mainland filmmakers. He still doesn't acknowledge the achievements right in front of him... He's still stuck in the so-called glory days of Hong Kong films from decades ago... This kind of person is out of touch with the times... Did he analyze with you why 'Time Raiders' didn't do well at the box office?"

He said... there were scheduling issues, and the distribution and promotion weren't keeping up...

"Nonsense, he's just incompetent, and the movie is bad!"

"He definitely can't tell me that...that movie cost me over ten million!"

"How many?"

Shen Yan couldn't hold back this time...

What a piece of crap! "Time Raiders" has Huo Jianhua as its biggest star, while Guo Pingchao is less well-known than Jing Tian!
President Lu waved his hand: "I know it definitely won't cost 1000 million, but relatively speaking, it's not considered greedy... at least they finished filming the movie in less than two months!"

Shen Yan was speechless...

They're so easily satisfied!

With the cast of "Time Raiders," the production cost would be at most 500 million...

After thinking for a moment, Shen Yan said, "President Lu, you should really consider collaborating with Director Zhang... At least Director Zhang is a decent person; he's been working with that jerk Zhang Weiping for over a decade..."

"...How much investment do you estimate your science fiction film will require?"

“I need to build a Mars base, an air station, a space station… and I also need to bring in several special effects companies… It will cost at least three or four hundred million,” Shen Yan paused, then added, “But once this base is completed, we can shoot many other movies!”

"Oh? You have a plan?"

"Currently, four projects are tentatively planned: *The Martian*, *The Earth*, *The Wandering Earth*, and *Ball Lightning*... The total investment will definitely exceed one billion..."

"A billion?"

“Hmm…” Shen Yan nodded: “Therefore, ‘The Martian’ is very important; its success or failure is related to the subsequent plans…”

"What if we fail?"

"...If it fails, just do another project, make money, and keep going!" Shen Yan smiled. "Besides, I estimate there's a high probability of failure...the worst outcome is a break-even..."

"You'll be the male lead yourself?"

Shen Yan shook his head: "I can't act like that... The male lead should ideally be around thirty-five years old!"

"Then who should we look for? Hong Kong actors?"

"I won't say for now... you'll find out in a while!"

"Alright," President Lu glanced at him, "If you need anything, just let me know!"

……

Who can we use?
Shen Teng!
Shen Yan's plan is to first film "Goodbye Mr. Loser," and then use the money earned from "Goodbye Mr. Loser" to film "The Martian"...

That's right, he has no intention of collaborating with other film and television companies!

The reason is simple: the cost of explaining it is too high…

He has to tell everyone about his science fiction dreams... It's pretty pointless!
And it might not even make sense...

I'll just play by myself!

It's not like we can't afford to film it...

Oh, it's confirmed that Jing Tian will star in "My Love from the Star"!
On the one hand, Mr. Lu is so willing to spend money that he offered to invest in his science fiction film!
On the other hand, Da Tian Tian is actually quite good too…

His appearance in "Si Teng" was very elegant.

I bet if I use her, I'll definitely be ridiculed...

After all... at this stage, having a sugar daddy is still a shameful thing.

When this comes up, the actresses all give a look that says, "Don't talk nonsense, I didn't, it wasn't me."

I don't know when it started, but having a sugar daddy is now considered a plus...

They practically have "I have connections" written all over their foreheads, and their fans also think it's a good thing that their idols have the means to be influential...

It just goes to show how fast times are changing!

Oh, if Da Tian Tian were to play the role, the character of Cheon Song Yi could be modified to portray her as someone who rose to fame through connections... Many people are speculating that she has a mysterious sugar daddy or something like that.

We should try to emulate Da Tian Tian herself...

But it can't be completely realistic either...

Hmm, the sugar daddy is portrayed as a warm-hearted second male lead…

Wait, it seems that Lee Hwi-kyung, the second male lead who's a simp for Cheon Song-yi, is the sugar daddy...

That’s okay!

……

Shen Yan didn't stay in Beijing; he flew back to Changsha that very night and then went back to his hometown…

It feels great. "Battle of Changsha" was filmed on Moon Island. If you don't mind the trouble, Shen Yan can go back to his hometown every day - Moon Island is less than 20 kilometers away from Gaotangling Town!

But Shen Yan would definitely find it troublesome…

I go back home at most twice a week…

The next day at lunchtime, Shen Yan looked at his grandmother and suddenly remembered something: "Grandma, do you want to become an actor with me?"

Is it possible to turn Grandma into a box office sensation with billions in revenue?
It's obvious that there's a chance.

Grandma was clearly taken aback: "Me?"

"Yeah, you're bored at home anyway..."

Grandma shook her head: "I have to take care of your grandpa!"

"Grandpa can come with you..."

"I can't act at all..."

“Acting is very simple…” Shen Yan waved his hand: “I’ve never acted before, and I’ve never studied acting. It’s purely talent… I think you have this talent too!”

Grandpa interjected, "Can't I do it?"

Shen Yan immediately said, "...Grandpa will definitely be fine too...Look at my artistic talent, it's definitely hereditary. Where did I get it from? It's definitely from you two..."

"Forget it, my grandma and I are both so old..."

“So what if you’re old? Jiang Ziya came out of seclusion at 73, and you two are only 65…” After a pause, Shen Yan continued, “My second uncle has an anti-Japanese war drama to film called ‘Arrow on the String’… You two can go and play supporting roles first, just a cameo, to get familiar with the camera angles and blocking…”

"Anti-Japanese War dramas?"

"It's like 'Anti-Japanese Heroes,' a martial arts version of the anti-Japanese war, with characters tearing apart Japanese soldiers with their bare hands and stuff!"

Grandpa clearly knew about "Anti-Japanese Heroes" and was very angry: "How could your second uncle make such a show?"

“On the one hand, my second uncle is a new director and needs to hone his skills… On the other hand, he also needs to earn some money!” After a pause, Shen Yan added, “Anti-Japanese war dramas are now rampant. I heard that out of 70 production teams in Hengdian, at least 30 are filming anti-Japanese war dramas!”

"...Why make this kind of drama?"

"First, it's relatively easy to pass censorship; second, the market is quite receptive to this kind of approach; and third, there are familiar formulas in the filming techniques. As for investors, the first choice for investment is whatever kind of drama is easy to film and quick to make money."

(End of this chapter)