Huayu Entertainment: You have been directing for three generations, are you comparing your qualifica

Chapter 165: Amazing Profits, Filming Completed!
With New Year's Day approaching, a rumor suddenly began circulating within the industry.

Fan Binbin, the current top female performer at Huayi Brothers, will not renew her contract upon its expiration.

Huayi immediately denied the matter.

Even if it's true, this kind of thing happens all the time in the industry; people try to use contract renewal as leverage to get better contract terms.

However, with the casting announcement for "The Forbidden Kingdom" circulating, it's highly likely that the news that Fan Binbin, as the top actress, is not getting projects from the company and will not renew her contract is true.

When asked by the media, Fan Binbin's agent did not deny it and said that he would respect her decision.

For a time, Fan Binbin became the target of other film and television companies. As one of the most popular actresses in mainland China, she was among the top in terms of brand endorsements and film and television remuneration.

Once you sign her, she'll be the face of the company, the kind of person who can make money without lifting a finger.

Some media outlets have speculated that the top-tier project, "Kung Fu King," might be secured by another Binbin, along with Zhou Xun, who was just signed this year.

···
The Hunting crew.

Tian Xiaole saw the message from Fan Binbin; she had decided to leave Huayi and start her own business.

His words were full of flattery; without the Wang brothers as his backers, he had no choice but to cultivate good relationships with the big directors.

Fan Binbin's ambition is always written on his face; he's already working hard towards awards.

I heard they made an art film, and it's quite explicit.

After a period of adjustment, the actors got into character, and filming proceeded smoothly.

Efficiency has improved significantly without us even realizing it.

The protagonist, who lost his job, interviewed for many positions but was rejected by all of them.

In this small town, he became someone everyone despised.

Zeng Li, who admired him and always believed in him, was secretly warned and her family was threatened because of her close relationship with him.

When Wang Jinsong returned home, Arthur cried and made a fuss, saying he didn't want to go to school anymore.

Only after careful questioning did we learn that he had been ostracized and bullied at school.

In the footage, Wang Jinsong looks dejected, sitting on the sofa with his hands holding his head.

He couldn't understand why everyone was targeting him when he hadn't done anything.

His friends distanced themselves from him, the residents were malicious, his ex-wife questioned him, and even his dog was poisoned.

Guan Xiaotong has already admitted to lying, and the police have proven his innocence, yet everyone continues to harbor this malice.

Wang Jinsong fully immersed himself in the role, delivering an exceptional performance worthy of an award-winning actor.

"Teacher Wang, Cannes should award you the Best Actor award," Tian Xiaole said, clapping his hands.

Wang Jinsong composed himself and said humbly:

"As long as the performance meets your requirements, I'll be satisfied with just being nominated, as for awards."

"Professor Wang is too modest. It is a blessing for the students of Beijing Film Academy to have a teacher like you."

Chen Hong smiled and praised, "If Arthur wants to pursue an acting career, he will definitely need to go to school for further studies. It won't stop her from building good relationships with people early on."

After observing for a period of time, she began to question life itself. When Chen Kaige was making movies, he was meticulous and demanded all kinds of details in order to create the perfect artistic conception.

Tian Xiaole gave her the feeling that everything was very smooth, and even in very ordinary scenes, she could perfectly express the actors' emotions.

"Let's take a ten-minute break, then we'll film the next take," Tian Xiaole said.

···
During her break, Tian Xiaole checked the news online.

Despite its poor reputation, "Curse of the Golden Flower" managed to gross 2.5 million yuan at the box office thanks to Zhang Yimou's star power and Jay Chou's massive fan base.

Compared to the investment cost of 3.6 million, this box office revenue is far from enough, and profits still need to be made from overseas markets.

The film "Confession of Pain," which claimed it would gross 100 million yuan in the mainland market, was proven wrong by its producers. It only earned 53 million yuan, less than "Infernal Affairs," which was released two years ago.

Night at the Museum performed well at the Chinese box office, earning 1.2 million yuan and becoming the highest-grossing imported film of 06.

James sent an email to Tian Xiaole: "[The Museum] grossed $2.5 million in North America and $5.6 million worldwide."

They also mentioned "Curse of the Golden Flower," which was released in North America and was pulled from theaters early due to poor box office performance.

Tian Xiaole felt a little regretful. The overseas market that Zhang Yimou had opened up with "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers" had been shut down by him.

He told James to keep a close eye on the box office revenue sharing, and not to produce a loss-making bill, or things would get really messed up.

A seemingly insignificant message caught Tian Xiaole's attention.

Feng Xiaogang actually invited Hu Jun to make a cameo appearance in his new film. Does this mean Huayi Brothers has reconciled with Wong Jinghua?

The premiere of a movie attracted people from the film and television industry, the cultural industry, and the crosstalk world.

Tian Xiaole checked the movie information and found that it was a film called "Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots" starring Zhao Benshan. That made sense.

Zhang Yimou, Song Danshan, Guo Degang, Song Zuying, Xu Jinglei, Ge You, Gu Changwei, Ning Hao...

The attendees that day were all big names from various fields, all there for Grandpa Zhao, while film director Zhang Yang looked like a greenhorn.

···
The overseas box office figures for "Curse of the Golden Flower" have been reported back to China. North America, a major box office market, only grossed 6.6 million, causing a stir both inside and outside the industry.

The most eye-catching figure is the box office of "Night at the Museum," with a remarkable $5.6 million worldwide.

Huayi responded very positively, pinning the news to the top of their official website and mentioning "Kung Fu King".

"Huayi's future plans will focus on exporting films, collaborating with more Hollywood companies, and continuing to invest in and participate in more film productions..."

Wanda currently only has cinemas, which doesn't offer any real added value to it.

In contrast, the two state-owned enterprises, China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group, simply sent a congratulatory message, but their internal reporting meetings were much more lively, showcasing their tangible achievements in cultural export.

Ren Zhonglun, the head of Shanghai Film Group, slapped his thigh in regret and muttered, "I'm afraid I won't be able to get Tian Xiaole's projects anymore."

CJ's team sent a message saying that "Extreme Job" has attracted 12 million viewers, making it the highest-grossing film in South Korea.

Tian Xiaole was not surprised. The main actors were all top-tier South Korean actors, so it was reasonable to achieve half the effect of the original film.

In South Korea, the ticket prices for movies are the same as in Xiao Rizi, and they like to use the number of admissions to describe box office revenue, which he finds very difficult to accept. He has to do the conversion to find out how much money he has made.

With 1,200 moviegoers, that translates to 640 million yuan in domestic box office revenue.

He took a 50% share, and after deducting the theater's share and various taxes, he would receive around 190 million yuan. The specific figures still need to be confirmed with the finance department.

Given the outrageous box office performance of "Extreme Job" in South Korea, it was also reported in China, and someone even thoughtfully calculated how much Tian Xiaole earned.

After the results came out, many people started to feel sour. The revenue of one movie was more outrageous than that of many listed companies, not even including the revenue sharing from other films.

“Xiao Le, there are a lot of people outside who are jealous of you, not only from the profits in South Korea, but also from the [Museum] and [Thieves]. When you add it all up in a year, everyone is shocked by your achievements.”

Hearing Han Sanping's envious tone, Tian Xiaole was in a good mood. He also wanted to keep a low profile, but his strength wouldn't allow it.

"Uncle Han, this isn't right. We've made quite a bit of money helping you guys, why are you only targeting me?"

After calming down and thinking about it, I realized that if things continued like this, I would need bodyguards when I went out, as public security is a serious concern these days.

"Several major domestic directors have suffered critical and commercial failures. Now, not only the media is watching you, but everyone is watching you. The more the outside world praises you, the more you need to keep a stable mindset..."

Han Sanping gave him instructions in the tone of an elder, but he felt very tired. After looking around, he realized that there was no one available for his big-budget film project.

Tian Xiaole scoffed at the seemingly unattainable achievements of outsiders, believing that being a bully at home was no real skill.

When the market grows rapidly and audiences become more discerning, films that fail to keep up in terms of quality will only be criticized. "How's the filming going? Will you be at the premiere of [Extreme Job]?"

"The progress is surprisingly fast. It should be completed before the Lunar New Year. I won't go to the premiere; it would be a waste of time to go back and forth."

Tian Xiaole had planned to finish filming in two months because of the child actors, but she didn't expect them to get into character so quickly and not cause much trouble, which greatly improved the efficiency.

···
The domestic investors of "Extreme" have raised the publicity level to the highest level, not to mention replicating the South Korean box office miracle, they are even hoping to achieve half of the success.

A month in advance, Ning Hao led the main cast on various promotional tours and gave numerous interviews to ensure the publicity was thorough.

"What kind of magic does this script have in South Korea that makes those Koreans so excited, breaking their film history records?"

"What's wrong, feeling the pressure?"

Listening to Ning Hao's nagging, Tian Xiaole laughed and joked.

"Of course, the box office over there is so high, it went straight to more than 6 million. The highest domestic record is still held by you at 3.6 million."

Ning Hao had carefully studied the South Korean version of "Extreme Job," and the plot was filmed according to the script, with nothing particularly surprising.

Tian Xiaole comforted them, saying, "The others are all A-list actors with extremely high national recognition, so it's not hard to understand why their box office is so high."

Your version has a lower budget and fewer big-name actors; if it grosses over 100 million, that's a victory.

"I'll do my best. I have to go now, I need to go to the next stop for promotion."

Ning Hao hung up the phone and continued leading the main cast on the roadshow. The lead actors were all determined; if others could do it with the same version, there was no reason why they couldn't.

The film crew continued shooting.

On the monitor, Wang Jinsong's facial expression switched instantly. He put away his helpless and disappointed look, forced himself to cheer up, and pretended to be calm in front of his son.

Arthur has new scars on his face and is being bullied by his classmates at school again.

"The name 'Hunting' is well chosen. It depicts a group of people hunting down the male protagonist, or that everyone is the target of the hunt."

Chen Hong sat next to Tian Xiaole, watching the footage on the monitor together. The actors performed well, and the script was even better.

"I'll just take it as Sister Hong praising me," Tian Xiaole said without turning her head.

"You're still young, don't be arrogant. Don't be like some people who lose sight of themselves after being praised a few times."

Hearing Chen Hong's complaint, Tian Xiaole turned around and said jokingly:

"The person Sister Hong is talking about, could it be Director Chen?"

It seems that she, as the director's wife, understands Director Chen well; winning the Palme d'Or early on made him arrogant.

You can take a few random photos and a bunch of people will praise them.

As a result, he gradually let himself go, and with no one on set to restrain him, he decided how to film the movie.

He may not have the talent to be a screenwriter, but he has the ailment of one, and he likes to interfere and revise the script, resulting in disjointed content in the final product.

"I didn't say anything, and you didn't hear anything, otherwise..."

Chen Hong glared at him and threatened him in a pretentious manner.

"I heard everything. Sister Hong, you wouldn't kill me to cover it up, would you?"

Tian Xiaole pretended to be scared and patted her chest.

"As long as you know."

Seeing a staff member approaching, the two tacitly stopped their previous conversation.

"Director Tian, ​​the lifeboat is ready and we can start filming at any time."

"Notify the actors to change scenes."

In the original film of "The Hunt," the protagonist goes hunting in the mountains and is shot from behind, but he escapes by sheer luck.

Since gun ownership is definitely prohibited in China, the film was adapted for local conditions, amplifying the malicious aspects of human nature.

Wang Jinsong lost his job, and in order to make a living, he went out to sea with fishermen to fish.

Suddenly, he felt himself being pushed and thrown into the sea.

Fortunately, he could swim, and he quickly calmed down and asked the people on the boat for help.

The people on the boat looked at him with cold indifference, as if he were a dead man.

He realized that these people wanted him dead.

Someone threw a lifebuoy down there, preventing him from dying.

“Crack!

Lifeguard, get them out of there quickly!

For this scene, Tian Xiaole filmed it directly on location at the beach.

I specifically filmed two establishing shots.

The first act is like surging seawater, like the uncontrollable malice of human nature, ready to swallow the protagonist at any moment.

Another scene depicts a calm, still sea, evoking a sense of despair and helplessness.

After being pulled out of the water, Wang Jinsong didn't rush to change his clothes; instead, he went to the monitor to watch the footage that had just been filmed.

He knew the importance of this sequence of shots; it was the most grotesque display of human nature in the entire film.

Do we need to insure one of them?

Wang Jinsong asked while drying his sparse hair with a towel.

"No need, I'm very satisfied with this one."

Tian Xiaole hesitated about whether to kill off the male lead, but he finally made up his mind.

If the male protagonist were allowed to live, and all those who made malicious speculations lived in constant guilt and fear, the plot wouldn't be so depressing.

The fact that the male protagonist is alive proves his innocence and that he has a clear conscience.

Or perhaps it's a deeper, darker expression, because it's in this kind of environment that one feels most hopeless.

His existence is a punishment for the entire town, ensuring that everyone will never forget this incident, and that even darker things may happen in the future.

If the male protagonist were killed off directly, the whole film would be dark, oppressive, and suffocating, just an ordinary drama.

"Xiao Le, wouldn't it be better if the protagonist died? That would better highlight the ugliness of human nature."

When Arthur wasn't filming, Chen Hong would leave him in the care of her assistant, as she wanted to know the final ending of the series.

“Sister Hong, think about it carefully. If the male protagonist dies, the molestation that was originally fake will become real because no one will be there to prove his innocence.”

Tian Xiaole explained the other layer of meaning behind the film's use of blank space.

Chen Hong nodded; having worked as a producer for so many years, she understood immediately.

"I hereby announce that [The Hunt] is now complete! Thank you all for your hard work over the past month. Enjoy the wrap party tonight!"

Tian Xiaole announced this through a small megaphone, and the crew erupted in cheers.

(End of this chapter)