Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 696, the watershed moment of "Interstellar Travel"

Beijing, the headquarters building.

The smoke in the small, private conference room was even more intense than at the meeting two days prior.

The heads of major cinema chains gathered together again, but this time, Zhang Hongsen, who was presiding over the mediation meeting, sat in the main seat.
"Everyone can be a little more casual, but just one thing: keep it to a minimum when it comes to behavior, and don't create a mess in public."

After Zhang Hongsen finished speaking, he waved his hand, indicating that the production company and the theater chain could begin their dialogue.

Han Sanping naturally came as well, sitting among them, holding a thermos cup, looking very calm.

Zhang Weiping sat at the other end of the long table with a stern face, as if everyone owed him eight million.

Yu Dong didn't come.

After Han Sanping gave him a thorough dressing-down, he knew he would be criticized if he came to today's meeting, so he simply didn't show up.

Xu Dong's seating arrangement was quite particular.

In theory, as the head of Starry Night Cinemas, he should be on the side of the cinema chain. However, since he also represents Starry Night Pictures, the production company cannot be ignored either.

So he simply sat in the middle of the two sides, but his buttocks were still slightly tilted towards the production team.

Everyone here is a shrewd person, especially in this kind of setting in mainland China, where you can tell a lot from just one seat.

"Mr. Xu, would you like to move over a bit? We have plenty of seats here."

Ye Ning from Wanda secretly turned her head and asked in a low voice.

Although Ye Ning was only communicating in secret, many eyes in the room were watching her, both openly and secretly.

After "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" turned against him, what ability does Zhang Weiping have to make theaters back down with just "The Flowers of War"?

But there is one exception: Wu Chen, who has not yet expressed his opinion.

"President Ye, there's no need to be so sensitive," Xu Dong replied with a faint smile. "President Wu sent me here on behalf of Xingchen. We have both production and theater chains, so it's better to sit up straight."

To be honest, he shouldn't have been here at all.

But since the boss had sent him, he had no choice but to follow the boss's instructions and put on a good show.

Han Sanping glanced at Xu Dong and felt a little regretful.

Back then, Xu Dong was still working for a cinema chain under China Film Group. What a pity.
If he had had the chance to see Xu Dong's potential back then, he might have been able to nurture him into a key member of the China Film Group.

The atmosphere was tense at the beginning of the meeting.

On the theater side, everyone was indignant, listing Zhang Weiping's "crimes".
"Mr. Zhang, this isn't the first time we've dealt with each other. Ever since 'Hero,' every time one of your movies was released, it caused chaos and confusion."

"Back then, when you said you wanted to save the market, our cinema chain didn't hesitate and gave you the best resources to screen your films."

And what happened? At the celebration banquet, you took all the credit, saying that without you, Chinese cinema wouldn't be what it is today. What have we cinemas become? Workers for you?

"Exactly! And 'A Simple Noodle Story,' is that even a movie? That thing doesn't deserve to ask us for a high share of the profits!"
Regarding "The Flowers of War," we acknowledge that it's a good film and Zhang is a good director. But you can't be this unethical.

The theater representatives started talking about "Hero" and then moved on to "The Flowers of War".
He gave Zhang Weiping a good scolding.

Zhang Weiping's side was equally unyielding, repeatedly citing the same few phrases: "risk theory" and "adding ingredients theory."

"Stop complaining about being poor!" Zhang Weiping slammed his hand on the table, spitting as he spoke.

"Don't you know what the Chinese film market has been like since the 1990s?"

Who raised the ticket price from thirty yuan to one hundred yuan? It was me! Who got audiences back into the cinema? It was me! Without me, Zhang Weiping, you'd still be showing those lousy films that only grossed a few million yuan!

"Now I'm asking for two more points, so what? I added extra ingredients, so I can't charge more? When you go to a restaurant, do you get an extra egg for free?"

Zhang Weiping's side was also unwilling to give an inch.

After arguing for almost an hour, everyone was getting thirsty and started gulping down water.

Zhang Hongsen and Han Sanping exchanged a glance, clearly wanting to speed up the pace.

"Alright, have you finished talking?" Zhang Hongsen looked around, his gaze finally landing on Xu Dong. "Xu Dong, Wu Chen said you represent Xingchen Pictures and Xingchen Cinemas. Do you have any explanation for that?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes immediately turned to look at them.

Zhang Weiping's expression was priceless; he looked annoyed but helpless.

"Damn it, I've been arguing with them for so long, and then we argued for another hour. I'm totally convinced I've gotten the short end of the stick."

He was really in pain.

However, "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" stabbed him in the back, and now he dares not make any rash moves.

If they cause any more trouble, it's questionable whether "The Flowers of War" will even get a higher revenue share, or even be excluded from theaters.

Suddenly, he felt a pang of regret.

If they had known Wu Chen had the same idea, they would have started sooner while Wu Chen was still in mainland China. The theater owners, on the other hand, had a gloomy expression.

On the one hand, they are considering what to do if Wu Chen firmly sides with the theaters.

"If Wu Chen does the same thing, should we back down?"

"Refunds are possible, but not too much. Otherwise, the production company will take advantage of us."

"."

Wang Zhonglei, Wang Changtian, and the others naturally looked over as well.

Wang Zhonglei also asked Wang Changtian in a low voice:

"Mr. Wang, did Director Wu speak to you about this? What is he thinking?"

"How would I know?"

Wang Changtian shook his head.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't tell you now.

"Leaders, executives, what our General Manager Wu means is actually very simple."

Xu Dong stood up, smiled modestly at the bigwigs, and then spoke slowly.

"I hope everyone can compromise."

"Everyone take a step back?"

Everyone was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

"Mr. Wu believes that the production company and the theater chain are not enemies, but partners who are interdependent."

Therefore, he suggested that a tiered revenue-sharing model could be adopted, which, simply put, uses box office revenue as the dividing line.

For example, if the box office is under 500 million, the production company takes 45%; if the box office exceeds 500 million, the production company takes 41% of the portion exceeding 500 million.

"The higher the box office, the more the theaters earn. This ensures the producers' initial returns and also incentivizes theaters to work harder to schedule screenings and promote the films. Everyone benefits."

After Xu Dong finished speaking, the entire conference room fell into an eerie silence.

Every CEO was quickly calculating the costs in their minds.

This plan sounds feasible!
It gives producers the possibility of making more money while protecting the interests of theaters.

Moreover, it has more closely tied the interests of both parties together.

Zhang Weiping frowned and remained silent.

He was certainly not satisfied; he wanted 45% from start to finish.

But he also knew that after Yu Dong stabbed him in the back, this was probably the best outcome.

"Let's all say something," Han Sanping spoke up at this moment, clearly representing the production company.

"Results must be available today."

Seeing that they were stuck at this juncture, Zhang Hongsen was already urging everyone to hurry up.

"I agree."

Ye Ning from Wanda was the first to raise her hand.

"We agree too!" Several other cinema chains echoed their sentiments.

"The watershed for 'The Flowers of War' is 500 million."

Seeing this, Zhang Weiping quickly made his demands, wanting to strike while the iron was hot and pocket as much profit as possible.
"Too high!"

"right"

Despite the theaters' desire to lower prices, Zhang Weiping became unyielding again.

He even said that the tiered revenue-sharing model he just mentioned was already a concession on his part, and now he is asking the cinemas to take a step back.

Everyone was speechless.

In the end, after thinking it over, he agreed to the 500 million yuan request for "The Flowers of War".

Immediately afterwards, everyone's attention fell on Xu Dong.

Ye Ning asked, "Then what is the watershed moment for Director Wu's 'Interstellar'?"

"Mr. Wu said, 'One billion.'"

(End of this chapter)