I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 356 Two Hundred Million Yuan Salary!

In fact, over the years, Li Zhengtao has been pondering the same question: Why has it been so difficult for Chinese films to go global?
From *Qin* to *Chrysanthemum Terrace*, he has consistently experimented with blending Eastern and Western elements in his works, striving to win over audiences both at home and abroad. With each creation, he reflects, summarizes, and seeks possibilities for breakthroughs…

Finally, with this accumulated experience and reflection, he came up with the idea for the script of "The Great Wall: Taotie".

Great Wall……

In a sense, it has long been a totem of China, and it inherently possesses box office appeal.

This time, he chose to focus on foreigners and adopt an overseas perspective in order to make it easier for global audiences to empathize with the characters.

Furthermore, he meticulously analyzed the globally popular "humans versus monsters" genre and collaborated with Industrial Light & Magic to create top-notch special effects, vowing to make this film rival any Hollywood blockbuster.
If they could put more effort into the cast, then...

He specifically invited two heavyweight Hollywood actors to play the leading roles, while the Chinese actors...

……

Early in the morning of June 3.

Li Zhengtao silently flipped through one list of China's most important actors.

From veteran actor Wu Zuliang to the recently popular Chen Jianfeng, from Best Actor Liang to the fresh-faced young actresses...

From established actors to idols, from professional actors to crossover artists...

Countless faces flashed through his mind, and photos and information kept refreshing his email inbox, covering almost all the actors who had emerged in the Chinese film industry in recent years.

But his brows furrowed even more deeply—

These actors all seem suitable, but when it comes to finding someone who can carry a film and guarantee box office success, it seems that none of them quite fit the bill.

With a budget of $1.5 million for the film, Li Zhengtao naturally wanted to make everything as perfect as possible.

Finally, a name suddenly flashed into his mind!
Zhou Yang!

The moment he thought of Zhou Yang, he suddenly stood up, overwhelmed with excitement.

The more Li Zhengtao thought about it, the more he felt that Zhou Yang was the most suitable candidate!
Whether it's box office appeal, overseas influence, or attraction to young audiences, Zhou Yang is undoubtedly the number one figure in the Chinese film industry.

But then, Li Zhengtao shook his head with a wry smile.

Zhou Yang is a completely different person now. After the global success of "Dark Knight," his salary has soared to at least 100 million RMB. Moreover, the key point is that Zhou Yang is not an ordinary actor, but a boss and investor...

"If we can get him to agree, the film will be halfway to success. But the price will probably be painful even for the investors..."

Moreover, several production companies, including Tianyu Media and Huasheng Entertainment, as well as the capital behind them, all have past conflicts with Zhou Yang.
The key issue is that while it's possible to persuade Tianyu Media and Huasheng Entertainment to make concessions, given Zhou Yang's personality...
Thinking of this, he sighed.

unless……

They brought him into the industry and offered him an exorbitant salary and a share of the box office revenue...

Li Zhengtao opened his eyes, his gaze resolute. He had to do his best for this film!
I didn't sleep all night...

As soon as it was light, he drove away from the villa and began the difficult negotiations.

All day long, he shuttled between the meeting rooms of Tianyu Media and Huasheng Brothers, repeatedly emphasizing Zhou Yang's box office value to everyone's astonishment: "A salary of 1 million plus a 5% share may seem expensive, but with him in the cast, the global box office can be increased by at least 3 million US dollars!"

Unsurprisingly, the investors' representatives were stunned!

Chen Lei initially thought Li Zhengtao was joking, but when he saw the determination in the other man's eyes, his expression changed drastically: "Director Li, wake up! Do you know what this movie means? Let Zhou Yang into the game? Are you crazy? This project is meant to suppress his influence, and you just stab him in the back!"

"I'm only responsible for the film," Li Zhengtao interrupted coldly. "If you want me to direct, you must meet my conditions; otherwise, find someone else!"

"you"

Getting bitter rivals to cooperate on the same stage is a pipe dream, but Li Zhengtao's unyielding attitude dragged the meeting from dawn till late at night.

"I'm saying this for the last time! I only care about the film itself. Without Zhou Yang, this project is off the table!"

"Either sign Zhou Yang according to my terms, or I'll take the script to [Xuanshi]. The choice is yours!"

The meeting room erupted in chaos.

Some representatives slammed their fists on the table and stood up, pointing at Li Zhengtao and cursing him. Some even smashed their cups!
But as the anger subsided, looking at Li Zhengtao, whose face was flushed red, a terrible thought arose in everyone's mind—

If this mega-project really falls into Zhou Yang's hands.
Directed by Li Zhengtao, starring Zhou Yang
Its influence in the Chinese film industry...

Oh shit!

It's worth it!

At 3 a.m., the deadlock was finally broken.

The investors ultimately chose to compromise.

"The revenue-sharing ratio must be renegotiated! Zhou Yang can only participate in the production; he is absolutely not allowed to bring his own investment. His salary is capped at 100 million, and must be lower than that of Hollywood lead actors! This is our bottom line!"

However, after obtaining the signature, Li Zhengtao turned and left without looking back, completely ignoring the ugly expressions on the faces of the investors behind him.

..............................

It was nine o'clock in the morning. The door to Zhou Yang's office was pushed open.

Li Zhengtao walked into the reception room of [Xuanshi Entertainment] and sat down opposite Zhou Yang.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating his slightly tired face.

"Mr. Zhou, this is a golden opportunity for Chinese films to go global." Li Zhengtao had none of the airs of a big director; his voice was deep, sincere, and he looked directly at Zhou Yang: "A salary of 1.3 million yuan, plus 5% of the global box office revenue, is the limit the investors can offer. Your role is that of a defender of China, with screen time on par with, or even more significant than, Hollywood leads. This is unprecedented treatment for Chinese actors, and even for investors."

"In addition, I sincerely invite Mr. Shen Hu from your company to serve as the music composer for the film... For some of the special effects, we will invite our [Special Effects] team to come in..."

Zhou Yang took the script with a smile, casually flipped through a few pages, and his originally calm expression gradually became somewhat complicated. He even choked for a moment, and after holding his breath for a long time, he couldn't utter a single word.

Damn it, isn't this just a remake of Zhang Yimou's "The Great Wall" from the original world?
This movie...

Special!

Seeing this, Li Zhengtao's tone became even more urgent: "I know you have a grudge against the investors, but this movie is different! It uses the Taotie setting from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and the Great Wall is our totem! If you participate, overseas audiences will pay attention to Chinese culture because of you, which is more effective than ten 'Dark Knight' movies!"

Seeing that Zhou Yang remained noncommittal, Li Zhengtao suddenly stood up: "President Zhou, I know you may not care about money, but Chinese cinema needs this victory! Hollywood used 'Eragon' to target you, and now they're using 'The Great Wall' with the same intention. But these things are irrelevant to me. I just want to make a good film. President Zhou, as long as you agree, the special effects, distribution, and screenings will all be handled at the highest standards. I can even put you on the list of co-producers... I can increase your salary a bit more, up to 1.5 million!"

The air froze for a few seconds.

Zhou Yang closed the script and gently pushed it back onto the table.

"Director Li, this isn't about the pay; it's about why this foreign explorer in the script can command the Great Wall defenders. When the Taotie attacks, why should the Chinese soldiers obey a foreigner's orders? A Chinese monster movie, yet it has a foreigner as the savior... This kind of 'going global'..."

Li Zhengtao's expression changed drastically, and he wanted to explain something.

Zhou Yang had already turned and walked to the window, but shook his head: "Director Li, forget it, this movie..."

"Mr. Zhou! If you agree, the salary can be increased to 2 million RMB! The profit-sharing ratio can also be negotiated! If you think it's not suitable for foreign actors to play the lead role, you can play the lead role, and all the scenes will be arranged for you, with foreigners playing supporting roles! If you have any opinions on the script, we can even let you participate in the creation as an assistant director!"

"Director Li, it's really not about the money." Zhou Yang shook his head, his gaze falling on the mountain of project documents piled up on his desk. "I have 10 projects to follow up on at the same time, and I simply can't manage them all."

"President Zhou!" Li Zhengtao interrupted urgently, "Your 'Devil Knight' has opened a new chapter for Chinese special effects blockbusters. Now is the crucial moment when you need to continue leading this era! Since the millennium, since my 'Qin,' I have always hoped and longed for a Chinese film to enter the hall of fame of global film history. Now, everything is ready, President Zhou! So, name your terms, name your terms..."

"..."

In the conference room.

There was silence.

Li Zhengtao watched Zhou Yang's retreating figure with a complicated expression.

Zhou Yang gave a wry smile: "Director Li, it really isn't..."

Just as Zhou Yang was speaking...

The office door opened.

Immediately afterwards...

Xu Tingting awkwardly peeked out, glanced at Li Zhengtao, and hesitated for a moment...

"Mr. Zhou, that director from Hong Kong, Wu Jiansen, would like to have a chat with you..."

"Wu Jiansen?"

Zhou Yang frowned slightly when he heard the name.

In recent years, due to a series of events related to the Golden Wing Award, he has become less and less interested in directors from Hong Kong.

I have absolutely no connection with the director, Wu Jiansen.

"Forget it, I won't see her!"

"it is good!"

Just as Xu Tingting nodded, the door was suddenly pushed open rudely.

"Mr. Zhou! Hello!"

"I am Wu Jiansen..."

"Mr. Zhou, we are preparing a big-budget film called 'The God of Kung Fu' with an investment of 3 million yuan. It is one of the top ten key film projects in Hong Kong Island in 2006, and also a major project of the China Film Co-production. We have invited many Chinese superstars to join us!"

"After watching your 'Demonic Knight,' I was deeply impressed and truly felt the rise of Chinese commercial special effects blockbusters!"

"Therefore, we sincerely invite you to participate in this film. If you are willing to act, we have prepared a salary of 1.3 million yuan plus 10% of the box office revenue; if your schedule is inconvenient, we also hope that you can be credited as a screenwriter..."

"Of course, Mr. Zhou, we will not let you participate for nothing. As long as you agree to participate, we can transfer the 1.3 million RMB fee immediately. We come with the utmost sincerity."

"President Zhou! The era of Chinese blockbuster films needs leaders like you to create it together!"

"Mr. Zhou, name your terms!"

"..."

Before Zhou Yang could even open his mouth, a portly Hong Kong director with broken Mandarin barged in and rattled off a long string of words that made Zhou Yang's ears ring.
(End of this chapter)