My wife is in my arms

Chapter 1341 Pre-sale Box Office Eight

But they haven't even managed to hit that person in the face yet.

However, trouble struck first with "Night Diner." At that moment, Huang Qi, who had just finished filming a scene, received a call from an investor. After listening to the call, he was furious and said, "We've been filming for two months now, and you're saying you want to withdraw your investment? Is this how you do things?!"

"Teacher Huang, please don't be angry."

The person on the phone didn't want to antagonize Huang Qi, so they explained, "I have no choice. My other investments are losing money one after another. A few days ago, my employees even blocked the door. If I don't pay their salaries soon, I don't know what they might do. Besides, we agreed before that I could invest, but if I wanted to withdraw my investment, you couldn't stop me."

"You think I don't know your employees blocked the door? You think I don't know that the two projects you invested in last year made a lot of money?"

Huang Qi didn't bother with further pleasantries and went straight to the point, asking, "Is it because of Zhang You?!"

"How can it be!?"

The person on the phone vehemently denied it, saying, "I did hear him comment on the film, but it really has nothing to do with him. I'm genuinely facing difficulties; otherwise, I would never choose to withdraw my investment at this time. We've had a friendship for so many years; how could I possibly give up on working with you just because someone says the film is bad?"

"Is there no room for maneuver?!"

Huang Qi asked with a gloomy face.

"I'm sorry."

The person on the phone said an apology.

"That's okay!"

Since the investors decided to withdraw their investment, Huang Qi had no good solution. The main reason was that, in order to attract investment, he had promised these investors that they could withdraw their investment at any time before filming was completed.

He originally thought it was impossible for such a thing to happen, but it still happened.

After hanging up the phone, Huang Qi felt that the afternoon sun on New Year's Eve was so bright that he could hardly open his eyes. This investment was 20 million, while the total production cost of the show "Night Diner" was around 80 million.

He personally took 30 million, and the remaining 30 million was brought in from other people. He was indeed very confident in this film, but no matter how confident he was, he didn't dare to invest alone because the risk was too great, especially since this was the first film he personally invested in, and its significance was immense.

It was also his first step from a professional actor to an investor. If he succeeded, his status in the entertainment industry would rise again. If he failed, he would also suffer.

Huang Qi knew why this investor chose to withdraw his investment at this time. It was simply because the pre-sale box office of "Crazy Stone" that the investor had invested in was so high that it inadvertently increased the credibility of his words.

For someone who has invested in three consecutive successful films, saying that a project is not promising will undoubtedly become an important factor in others' judgment of that film.

Because they understand this industry; they're not a complete novice, and more importantly, they're extremely knowledgeable about it.

Besides his own investment, Huang Qi poured a lot of effort into this film, basically using all his connections. Every episode featured big stars. Huang Qi probably knew that the withdrawal of investment was just a prelude. After the pre-sale box office of "Crazy Stone" came out, it became uncertain whether the stars who had originally agreed to make cameo appearances would still choose to do so.

Now that the investor has withdrawn 20 million, Huang Qi can imagine that as the pre-sales of "Crazy Stone" increase, if the box office of this movie becomes as explosive as the other two after its release...

The comment about the play will inevitably be brought up again, and this time it will spread much faster than before. Huang Qi now hates the person who spread Zhang You's words. It's unclear whether it was one of the other three guests or a staff member from "The Field" who spread it; it's impossible to verify now. But many people know that Zhang You once said that his play had no future.

They wouldn't even take on a cameo role.

Huang Qi rubbed his head. He knew very well that if this investor chose to withdraw his investment, given the current situation of "Night Diner," even if he personally went to wealthy people with whom he had good relationships, no one would agree to invest.

Zhang You's words had a huge impact on the show; they basically sealed its fate. In this society, no matter how reasonable an ordinary person's words are, others will treat them like a fart. But when a successful person farts, everyone will think it's full of wisdom.

This is the case now.

Zhang You farted, which scared away an investor in "Night Diner." It's estimated that only he can secure the 20 million yuan investment.

If we don't stop filming... we've already been shooting for two months. If we choose to give up, the compensation from the advertisers will be a huge sum, and all the previous investments will be wasted.

Fifty million!

This is not a small amount for Huang Qi, and after filming, there is still the need for promotion, which is another considerable expense. All things considered, it would cost at least 70 million.

The thought of this number made Huang Qi dizzy. If he lost money, he would suffer serious consequences, especially considering the huge long-term impact.

Having decided to personally cover the cost of the withdrawal, Huang Qi stood in the sun for a while before returning to the filming location. He was determined to show Zhang You that while his success was not accidental, he hadn't been able to predict the show's doom from a mere plot summary without even reading the script.

The more he acted like this, the better he could perform, making Zhang You understand that he was still young, had only invested in a few films, and had a long way to go before he could fully understand the industry, and needed to learn more from his senior.

Filming is proceeding normally.

But before long, Huang Qi's phone rang again. Because he was filming, he didn't answer, but the other party kept calling. Fortunately, his phone was on silent mode, so it only vibrated slightly and didn't affect the filming.

Huang Qi waited until the scene was finished before taking out his phone. When he saw that it was another investor calling, he immediately tensed up and waited for the call to connect.

"Teacher Huang, I'm so sorry to bother you!"

The investor apologized over the phone, saying, "It's like this, I'm facing a funding shortfall right now, so I can't invest in 'Night Diner.' I have to withdraw that ten million investment to fill the gap. That's all for now, I'm sorry. When you have time later, I'll treat you to a meal to express my apologies. I have some things to take care of, so I'll have to talk to you later. You're busy, you're busy."

The call was immediately disconnected.

Huang Qi's head was buzzing.

Another investor withdrew their investment, which amounted to 30 million. If they were to add more... it would be 60 million. With the added publicity, even Huang Qi himself was starting to panic.

Fortunately, the subsequent investors did not choose to withdraw their investment.

This made him feel a little relieved despite his nervousness, as it was clear that there were still investors who were optimistic about his film.

(End of this chapter)