Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 293 Project Establishment
The 64th Venice Film Festival has opened.

Zhang Yimou served as the chairman of the jury, with four Chinese-language films competing for the Golden Lion, alongside Li An and Jiang Wen.
These messages, taken together, have certainly generated a lot of buzz.

Li An's film "Lust, Caution" finally had a media preview screening, becoming the most eye-catching focus since the opening of Venice.

Although it was designated "NC-17" in the United States, the media preview still sparked countless discussions.

The next morning, the homepages, entertainment sections, forums, and online communities of major portal websites in Beijing were all buzzing with excitement:

[The daring of "Lust, Caution" is beyond imagination; Tang Wei displays a multitude of techniques!]

[How intense is "Lust, Caution"? The film is 2 hours long, with half an hour dedicated to intense scenes!]

[A complete overview of "Lust, Caution". A complete overview!]

The articles were written in a way that was ambiguous and suggestive, showcasing the usual tactics of entertainment media. It was as if everyone in the world could see those scenes through the screen, and the netizens' voices instantly exploded.

"Wow, this is so exciting! To be honest, I want to see it!" Zhou Xun has always been outspoken on set, without any attempt to hide her true feelings.

Yuan Quan smiled at her from the side and said nothing.

Huang Xiaoming was both amused and exasperated: "Sister Xun, aren't you afraid that if this gets out, it'll be written as gossip?"

"Tch, it's not like it hasn't been written about before!" Zhou Xun curled his lip nonchalantly, a hint of slyness in his eyes. "By the way, Yuan Quan, Tian Yu, and Tang Wei now..."

"I don't know!" Yuan Quan quickly shook her head.

Although this matter has already caused a huge uproar in the Central Academy of Drama's online community, it cannot be discussed here, otherwise it will spread throughout the entire industry in an instant.

Meanwhile, back home in the afternoon, Jiang Wen was also complaining to Wu Chen:

"To be honest, I didn't expect Li An to film it like this. The producers of the movie 'Lust, Caution' initially approached me to direct it, but I turned it down."

By doing this, Li An actually benefited; he gained fame, since he's the director. But what about the actors?

Jiang Wen saw it very clearly: with this kind of filming, Lust, Caution may have gained a lot of fame and buzz, but that came at the cost of a lot of passionate scenes.

“Let’s not talk about him. I heard that your film ‘The Sun Also Rises’ premiered, and some media outlets complained that they couldn’t understand it,” Wu Chen asked with a smile.

"Hey, the audience is very smart. In fact, this is all just media worrying. This worry is unfounded, and Director Zhang definitely understands it!"

Jiang Wen wasn't worried at all; in fact, he was quite confident. "You'll see when it's released. Come and see for yourself when you have time."

However, what Jiang Wen didn't know at the time was that Zhang Yi was also overwhelmed by the questions from the judges.

"Zhang, I don't understand this movie. You have to tell us what story it's about."

"The visuals are great, but I don't understand the background at all!"

"He's good at taking pictures of feet, and he does them very beautifully, but I can't vote for him just because he can take pictures of women's feet!"

"."

With the Venice Film Festival closing ceremony still a week away, David Lyndon of Universal Pictures and Jason Blum of Blumhouse Pictures quietly appeared at the China Film Group building.

Ren Zhonglun also arrived, but he looked quite displeased. Upon seeing Wu Chen in the building, he immediately complained about Han Sanping: "A real tightwad!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen couldn't help but chuckle and asked with great interest, "So, Chairman Ren, you must have gotten something this time, right?"

Although Han Sanping is domineering, he must have paid a price to get the domestic distribution rights from Ren Zhonglun without giving him a penny.

"We, Shanghai Film Group, will take the lead in the distribution of 'Painted Skin,' so Director Wu can rest assured. We don't have many films on hand next year, so we will definitely allocate distribution resources to 'Painted Skin' and do our best to boost its box office."

Ren Zhonglun solemnly guaranteed the quality of the release.

Wu Chen smiled and nodded. David Lyndon and Jason Blum had come to finalize the various agreements for "The Martian."

At this moment, several agreement documents were laid out on the conference table.

The negotiations, which lasted for more than a month, are finally coming to an end: Wu Chen invested $3200 million, accounting for 40% of the stake;

Blumhouse Pictures invested $500 million, representing a 6.25% stake.

Universal Pictures invested $2400 million, representing a 30% stake, and is responsible for global distribution channels excluding China;

China Film Group invested US$960 million, accounting for 12%, and obtained the distribution rights in mainland China;
The remaining 11.75% was allocated to Shanghai Film Group.

Wu Chen was a little surprised by the proportion of Shanghai Film Group's film budget. He didn't expect Ren Zhonglun to have maintained such a firm grip on the proportion and not give up too much.

After the agreement was signed, everyone stood up, shook hands, and exchanged polite greetings with smiles on their faces.

Afterwards, everyone took a group photo in the meeting room.

"The project launch press conference will be held tomorrow afternoon." Han Sanping couldn't wait to announce the news, so he asked the others for their opinions on the press conference.

With David Lyndon, Jason Blum, and Ren Zhonglun nodding in agreement, Wu Chen naturally did not refuse.

"Send the message to the media immediately, tomorrow afternoon. Oh, and quickly make a poster with a picture of Mars. Have the banner made right away."

Han Sanping was particularly enthusiastic about this matter and immediately gave instructions to his secretary.

As Jason Blum walked out of the conference room, he joked with a relaxed expression: "Wu, I think the casting for 'Black Swan' could have been a little slower. The rivalry between those women is really exciting; I haven't seen anything like it in years."

Wu Chen chuckled upon hearing this and shook his head: "Things will get out of control if we drag this out. Paramount has already set the audition date."

The moment China Film Group sent out its invitation, it was like dropping a bombshell in Beijing's media circles.

"Did you see that? It's an invitation from China Film Group."
"I see, what's going on? Universal, Blumhouse, Obsidian, Starry Sky, China Film Group, and Shanghai Film Group are all involved?"

"There's no smoke without fire. We were too conservative before. This is definitely a big-budget Sino-US co-production."

Internal groups and phones of various media news teams rang one after another. Reporters showed surprise. In just half an hour, almost all film and television media professionals in Beijing knew that China Film Group would hold a project launch conference tomorrow afternoon.

Almost simultaneously, different atmospheres permeated the major film companies:
"No, it's already decided?"

"Wasn't this just a rumor that circulated a while ago? How come the partners have been finalized so quickly?"

"We can only watch others eat meat again."

"."

The heated discussions within the media caused the matter to spread rapidly within the industry, and almost every media outlet simultaneously convened brief internal meetings:

"Immediately arrange for reporters and photographers to follow up! We must secure the front page for tomorrow afternoon's press conference!"

"Notify our colleagues in the entertainment sector to send a few more people tomorrow. This press conference is of paramount importance!"

Although the invitation did not reveal the specific film title or genre, this did not prevent the media from using eye-catching headlines to immediately generate a huge buzz within the industry:
[Breaking News! Wu Chen Joins Forces with Universal, China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Blumhouse for a Top-Tier Blockbuster Film?]

[Project launch conference to be held tomorrow; Wu Chen brings in another Hollywood giant!]

[A major Sino-US co-production was suddenly announced at a press conference; industry insiders say it's unprecedented in scale!]

[With an incredibly impressive lineup of collaborators including Universal, Blumhouse Film Group, China Film Group, and Shanghai Film Group, what kind of blockbuster is Wu Chen about to create?]

Within just one hour, headlines of all kinds had taken over the page.

An unprecedented sense of anticipation and curiosity quickly swept through the entire film and television industry.
(End of this chapter)