Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 266 You probably can't afford to play this game!

When Yang Shoucheng saw Gu Bei casually mention a small goal, his gaze changed slightly, and he gave Gu Bei a deep look.

Emperor Entertainment Group is not unable to come up with an investment of 100 million.
After all, at the current exchange rate, it would only cost $1400 million in US dollars. The Sun Also Rises in the previous two years also cost $1000 million.

What made Yang Shoucheng hesitate was Gu Bei's last sentence. Gu Bei clearly wanted to condone Jiang Wen's overspending behavior!

It's common knowledge that Coco Kang goes over budget when making movies.
Without Coco Chiang's overspending, there would be no Sunrise at Emperor Investment.

Among the producers of The Sun Also Rises, Emperor Motion Pictures suffered the least losses because they were a last-minute addition to the production team and were given priority in recovering their costs. The other producers, on the other hand, lost everything!
Now, Gu Bei's Linlang Entertainment is like Emperor Motion Pictures back in the day.

If Yang Shoucheng insists on taking control,
The movie is profitable, everything is good, and he benefits the most.
If the film incurs losses, Gu Bei will lose the least, but will gain Jiang Wen's greatest friendship.

Yang Shoucheng couldn't help but exclaim, "Gu Sheng is truly a formidable young man!"

After a pause, he decisively said, "Since Mr. Gu likes this movie so much, I might as well back down a bit."

I heard that Mr. Gu is preparing to make a sci-fi blockbuster with China Film Group, called "Gravity"?

Now that the risks have been recognized,
Faced with such an aggressive Gu Bei, it wasn't impossible for him to back down.
The key is what we can get in return for taking this step back!

"You want to invest in Gravity?"

Gu Bei glanced at Yang Shoucheng with a hint of surprise.

Unexpectedly, Yang Shoucheng is quite ambitious, daring to get involved in such a dangerous project.

"That's right, Emperor Entertainment also wants to contribute to the localization of Chinese science fiction films."

Yang Shoucheng's words sounded very nice, but he also saw the public opinion effect caused by gravity.

The title alone is enough to generate such a huge public discussion.

So once the movie is released, the pre-release publicity can be twice as effective, and it might even be possible to make a profit.

"Mr. Yang, you should give up on this idea!"

Gu Bei naturally understood Yang Shoucheng's thoughts, and he simply replied, "I'm afraid you can't afford to play this project!"

Are there any projects that Emperor Entertainment can't afford?

Yang Shoucheng sneered: "Gu Sheng, you've underestimated Emperor Entertainment Group, haven't you?"

"The production budget I set with China Film Group for the 'Gravity' project is one hundred million US dollars!"

Gu Bei raised one finger with his left hand and placed it in front of Yang Shoucheng.

Before Yang Shoucheng could speak, Gu Bei raised a finger with his right hand again and placed it in front of Yang Shoucheng: "Then there's the global marketing budget, which is also one hundred million US dollars!"
Furthermore, this $100 million does not include the distribution and marketing budget in mainland China. Distribution in mainland China was entirely handled by China Film Group, which also bore the costs of distribution and marketing.

Play so big?

When Yang Shoucheng heard the first hundred million US dollars, he was still somewhat unconvinced.

It's only 100 million US dollars. The production cost of the two Red Cliff movies was 600 million, which is equivalent to 85 million US dollars. It's not much more.

But when the second $100 million was thrown out...
Yang Shoucheng finally understood Gu Bei's ambition: "You want to launch a large-scale global distribution?"

Only with large-scale global distribution,

That's why such a huge amount of publicity and marketing expenses are needed.

Even at its peak, Xiangdu Cinema never had a film distributed globally on a large scale.

Aside from Hong Kong's local market, most films are distributed in places like Taiwan and South Korea where Hong Kong films are already accustomed to them. All other distributions involve selling the copyrights.

Selling copyrights is a guaranteed income, regardless of market conditions. Even if the price is low in a single location, the total amount adds up to a considerable sum.

However, stability also means the absence of excess returns.
To achieve above-average returns, one must take on higher risks.

Global distribution is a double-edged sword; you can lose more money if you lose, but you can also make more money if you win.

However, most movies don't even have this option.
Currently, only Hollywood movies are eligible for this option.

But after Gu Bei showed this option to Yang Shoucheng...
He still hesitated to choose, and quickly backed down, saying, "This kind of drive is something only young people like you can possess."
"I'm an old man, I still wouldn't dare to do that!"

Who just said I looked down on you?

Seeing Yang Shoucheng's flustered appearance, Gu Bei smiled and promoted the product, saying, "Actually, it's not that difficult to recoup your investment."
With a production cost of only $200 million, the global box office reached $500 million, meaning the box office alone was enough to break even.

The rest of the copyright operations are pure profit!

"Forget it, forget it!"

Yang Shoucheng waved his hands repeatedly, "An investment of 1.5 billion yuan, my heart can't handle such a shock!"

Yang Shoucheng could only be thankful that he and Gu Bei were talking in a private space, with only the two of them in the room.

If someone outside saw him actively seeking investment in a project, only to be scared off by the investment amount, wouldn't he lose face as a big shot in the Xiangdu business district?
But such a high investment, with 10% of the share being HK$120 million, is just too risky!

"Mr. Yang, this isn't a case of me refusing you on my own initiative!"

Gu Bei emphasized with a smile.

Gu Bei was not surprised by Yang Shoucheng's rejection, because this was not the first time that Gravity had been treated this way.

Only China Film Group and Han Sanpin could disregard profits and stand firmly behind Gu Bei.

Both Summit Entertainment and Sony Pictures declined to distribute Gravity for Gu Bei due to the uncertain prospects of the film.

Finally, after discussing it with Han Sanpin, Gu Bei came up with the current plan.

A global marketing budget of one hundred million US dollars,

Of this, $4000 million was allocated to marketing and promotion in North America.
Global marketing and promotion funds excluding mainland China totaled US$6000 million.
The production company bears the risk, while the distributor significantly reduces its share of distribution fees.

Gu Bei also knew the future box office performance of Gravity.
Furthermore, knowing how much global moviegoers have lacked high-quality 3D special effects films since the release of Avatar,

Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to spend two hundred million dollars to gamble on the success of his version of gravity.

Looking at Yang Shoucheng, whose expression seemed to indicate he had escaped a disaster,
Gu Bei thought to himself, "I hope you won't regret your decision in the future!"

The next segment,

Gu Bei and Yang Shoucheng continued to struggle for a while.
It was ultimately decided that the distribution of "Let the Bullets Fly" and "Gravity" would be handled by Emperor Entertainment.

Gu Bei's Linlang Entertainment successfully secured the controlling position in Let the Bullets Fly.

For Gu Bei, the controlling position is not just about a higher share of investment, but also about control over the film copyright.

The copyrights to movies like "Let the Bullets Fly" will become increasingly valuable as copyright laws improve.

Especially after piracy is largely eradicated in the future,
The exclusive streaming rights to such movies can even influence users' choices regarding video website memberships.

"Mr. Gu, it's a pleasure doing business with you!"

Yang Shoucheng shook hands with Gu Bei, then hinted, "If you have the chance to come to Xiangdu, you must come to Emperor Café for tea."

The entertainment industry in Hong Kong isn't just about Edko Films; Emperor Entertainment is in no way inferior to Edko!

"Of course, we'll have more and more collaborations!" Gu Bei replied calmly.

He wouldn't rule out having another partner in Xiangdu.
As Linlang Entertainment grows larger in the future, it will also need to unite the people from the north.

After saying goodbye to Yang Shoucheng
Gu Bei arrived at the van in the parking lot downstairs.

Hearing the car door open, Liu Yifei looked up from the book on her lap and at Gu Bei outside the car: "Finished talking? Let's go, let's go, let's go to the Olympic Games opening ceremony!"

Snapped!
Liu Yifei turned around and looked pitifully at Liu Xiaoli: "Mom, why did you hit me?"

"I only touched you!"

Liu Xiaoli was somewhat helpless.
The look she gave Liu Yifei was completely wasted!

After a pause, she could only ask Gu Bei herself with concern, "Gu Bei, how did the talk with Boss Yang go?"

After asking the question, Liu Xiaoli gave Liu Yifei a wink, signaling her to learn from it.

Before Gu Bei could speak,
Liu Yifei eagerly answered, "Mom, there's no need to ask for the answer. With Gu Bei involved, success is guaranteed!"

After saying that, she turned her head and looked at Gu Bei expectantly, her face full of confidence: "Right? I'm right, aren't I, Gu Bei?"

"Guessed it right!"

Gu Bei got into the car and couldn't help but pat Liu Yifei's head.

Liu Yifei shook her head, brushing Gu Bei's hand away, and said with dissatisfaction, "I'm not just guessing! I believe that as long as you're involved, we're guaranteed to succeed!"

"Okay, then I was wrong!"

Gu Bei took Liu Yifei's soft, boneless hand in his and squeezed his fingers between hers.

"Hum~"

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes at Gu Bei.
Their fingers intertwined, tightly clasped.

Seeing the two of them being all lovey-dovey, Liu Xiaoli had only one thought in her mind: Is this still my daughter?
teach?
This doesn't need to be taught at all!

Watching the two of them so skillfully displaying their affection, Liu Xiaoli felt like she was really old and couldn't keep up with the young people's ideas about dating anymore!

She shook her head and said to the driver, "Let's go, okay?"

Liu Yifei then remembered Liu Xiaoli and her assistant sitting in the third row.

I'm used to my assistant, so I didn't even notice that Liu Xiaoli is here now.

However, when she tried to break free from Gu Bei's grasp, Gu Bei held her firmly, preventing her from doing so.

Liu Yifei simply rolled her eyes at Gu Bei, then turned her gaze to the window, burying her head in the sand.

quickly,

The group then arrived at the Bird's Nest.

After getting off the car, the group entered the backstage area through a special passage.

"Director Gu, I never imagined that we would meet for the first time in a place like this." Zhang Yimou greeted Gu Bei with a touch of emotion.

"I didn't expect that either!"

Gu Bei looked at Zhang Yimou in front of him.
After today's Olympic opening ceremony, Zhang Yimou will be elevated to the status of a national strategist in the hearts of the entire nation.

And more than a decade later,
This golden statue almost shattered again because of the "Man Jiang Hong" incident.

However, Gu Bei knew that although "Man Jiang Hong" was terrible, the accusation of stealing box office revenue was indeed unfounded, because at that time, China's box office system was already connected in real time, making it difficult to steal even a few million yuan, let alone hundreds of millions or billions of yuan.

As for the screenshots of ghost games circulating online...
Actually, it was done by the cinemas to fulfill their screening agreements.
These ghost screenings are not counted in the box office. Some directors of art films have criticized the phenomenon of ghost screenings because cinemas have used this method to meet the minimum screening requirements of the National Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas for art films.

"Director Gu, Yi Mou still has work to do. How about I take you to your seat?"

The middle-aged man next to Zhang Yimou spoke up.

Gu Bei glanced at him; this was Zhang Weipin, one of the two Zhangs.

No wonder he said Zhang Yimou was so busy with the Olympic opening ceremony today.
Why did Jiang Wen say that Zhang Yimou wanted to meet him backstage?
It turns out that it wasn't Zhang Yimou who wanted to see him.
It was Zhang Weipin who wanted to see him!

"no problem!"

Gu Bei readily agreed.

Before saying goodbye to Zhang Yimou, he smiled and extended an invitation to Zhang Yimou: "Director Zhang, you should have heard about my film collaboration with Director Jiang."

If Director Zhang is interested, he can also collaborate with Linlang Entertainment. Please trust that Linlang Entertainment's comprehensive support for directors far surpasses that of other film companies!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yimou was slightly taken aback and turned to look at Zhang Weipin.

Given his personality, he was somewhat unsure how to handle Gu Bei's explanation.

"Director Gu, Yi Mou is a director from our New Pictures Film Company!"

Zhang Weipin became anxious and hurriedly emphasized.

The reason he wanted to meet Gu Bei so much was because he saw how generous Gu Bei was with his money and how successful he was in Hollywood, so he wanted to see if there were any areas where they could collaborate.

I never expected Gu Bei to be such an unethical person, sneaking up on a fifty-year-old man like him, trying to uproot him!

"Is that so!"

Gu Bei turned to look at Liu Yifei beside him, as if asking her if it was true or not.

Liu Yifei suppressed a smile and nodded.

Gu Bei feigned great apology: "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhang, I'm not familiar with the situation in China. I thought directors in China would have more freedom!"

Zhang Weipin breathed a sigh of relief.

At least Gu Bei's attitude was quite good; it was probably just an unintentional mistake!
at this time,

Gu Bei then said to Zhang Yimou, "Director Zhang, let's talk about cooperation again after your contract with New Pictures expires!"

"I have no agency contract with New Pictures."

Zhang Yimou glanced at Zhang Weipin, who was about to jump up and down, and sighed, "Director Gu, I have to go now. You and Jiang Wen can come to my house for a visit sometime in the future!"

"Go, go, go!"

Gu Bei smiled.

He did not continue to apply eye drops to Zhang Weipin.

It'll be fine after playing for a while.
The two Zhangs will have to wait until the movie "The Flowers of War" is almost finished filming before they break up!

After all, they've worked together for so many years, and their friendship is still there.
The shocking story of "A Simple Noodle Story" created a huge rift between the two people.

But in the subsequent film *Under the Hawthorn Tree*, Zhang Weipin immediately made up for Zhang Yimou's shortcomings.
But when the "Thirteen Beauties of Jinling" rekindled their old ways, it finally led to a complete break between the two.

(End of this chapter)