It's reasonable for me to be a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning director and an all-around

Chapter 105 Big-budget productions by renowned directors... Please call me "Godfather!" (Seeking monthly votes)
"After 30 days in theaters, the suspense film 'The Prestige,' directed by Lü Rui and starring Jiang Wen, Hu Jun, Zhou Yun, Fan Bingbing, and Zhang Jingchu, officially ended its run yesterday."

"The 04 Lunar New Year box office champion has been officially announced! 'The Prestige' – 2.4 million RMB!"

"Reprinted from Warner Bros. announcement: The Prestige will hit Hollywood theaters on February 25th."

"Reviewworld announces new film project plans: 'Crazy Stone' with a 400 million investment, 'Click' with an 800 million investment, 'The Pursuit of Happyness (US version)' with a 5000 million investment, and 'I Am Legend' with a 1.5 million investment!"

"The animation studio [Ruiyue Animation], founded by Lü Rui, has been officially established and will enter the domestic animation/anime market..."

A bombshell start to the year!

Compared to Huayi Brothers' mere $2000 million budget for "The Banquet," Ruishijie's "opening success" has truly blown up the entire film and television industry!

The fact that "The Prestige" grossed 2.4 million at the box office was already quite impressive!
But no one expected that Vision's connection with Hollywood was so deep.

The Pursuit of Happyness (US version) is a collaboration between Sony Columbia and the company, with an investment of $5000 million.

"I Am Legend" has reached a preliminary cooperation agreement with Lionsgate, with an estimated investment of $1.5 million.

These two projects alone represent a total investment of $2 million, equivalent to more than 16 billion RMB!

What is this concept?
It's worth noting that the total box office revenue for domestic films in 04 was only 10.55 billion RMB.

Even including imported films, the total box office revenue in China only reached 16 billion yuan.

And now, Vision has only collaborated with Hollywood on two film projects, yet they've already generated a total budget of $2 million (approximately 16 billion RMB). Isn't that just too outrageous?!

New Picture Company.

Zhang Weiping originally wanted to show off and mock "The Prestige" for not surpassing "Hero" at the box office.

But after reading today's news headlines and comparing the investment costs of the two films, he immediately gave up the idea.

The film "Hero" had a budget of $3000 million, equivalent to about 2.4 million yuan, but its domestic box office was only 2.5 million yuan.

If it weren't for the Hollywood market and various copyright revenues, this movie would definitely have lost money based solely on box office revenue.

In contrast, "The Prestige" had a budget of only 7000 million but grossed 2.4 million at the box office!
This doesn't even include box office revenue from Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as copyright revenue from Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States.

With these added, the profits will absolutely crush "Heroes"!
Thinking of this, Zhang Weiping couldn't suppress his excitement and subconsciously murmured:
"With 'The Prestige' just finished its theatrical run, they've already announced four new films. They're really going all out... I wonder if New Vision will have a chance to get involved?"

His eyes darted around, and he picked up his phone to start making calls and trying to find out more information.

Having tasted success with "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers," he now desperately wants to continue producing big-budget films and rake in the profits.

However, Zhang Yimou insisted on making "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles".

He couldn't dissuade him, so he had no choice but to let him do it, thinking that the other party would naturally turn back after hitting a wall.

Feng Xiaogang has his sights set on "Hamlet," while Zhang Yimou is interested in trying out "Thunderstorm," but the script hasn't been finalized yet...

Unbeknownst to Zhang Weiping, while he was making the call, others had already taken action.

Han Sanping, Ren Zhonglun, Dong Ping, Wang Zhonglei, Yu Dong, Wang Changtian, Ye Ning and others gathered at Ruishijie early in the morning, as if they had made an appointment.

Lu Rui was well aware of their purpose, but he did not bring up the topic of the new project.

With everyone present, he decided to start by talking about the follow-up plans for "The Prestige".

"We don't need to worry about distribution in Europe and America. Warner Bros. will ensure that the film's marketing and distribution budget during its Hollywood run is no less than $200 million, and guarantee that it will be shown in no fewer than 2000 theaters..."

Logically speaking, the best time to release a Sino-foreign co-production should be when it is released simultaneously in China and abroad.

However, this kind of rule is usually reserved for "big-budget" movies.

If "The Prestige" were made in China, its budget of 7000 million yuan would be quite impressive.

But in foreign countries, it wouldn't even reach $1000 million; at best, it would be considered a small to medium cost.

Therefore, Warner Bros. naturally wouldn't bother with the effort of simultaneous domestic and international releases.

Moreover, doing so is quite risky; if it flops at the domestic box office, it will only do worse overseas.

Therefore, ensuring a strong domestic box office performance before releasing it in Hollywood theaters at a suitable time is the best option.

The reason for choosing February 25th was to avoid blockbusters like "The Aviator," "Meet the Parents 2," and "The Polar Express," while also taking advantage of the Oscar buzz.

Alan Horn promised Lu Rui that he would try to help secure an award at the Oscars.

This will also boost the film's popularity in North America.

After outlining the distribution plans for Europe, America, and Southeast Asia, Lü Rui added:

"Currently, the film has grossed 2.4 million yuan in mainland China, 4636 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong, and 1.25 million NT dollars in Taiwan."

After sharing revenue with the theaters and deducting the corresponding taxes, the production company can receive a total of 1.16 million yuan in box office revenue. You can rest assured that I will arrange to make the payment as soon as the theaters receive their share.

Including advertising and sales fees, I will transfer them to your accounts in installments as agreed in the contract…

To date, based on a 30% investment ratio, "The Prestige" has brought Ruishijie a revenue of 3480 million.

After deducting the 1400 million investment cost, adding the 1060 million investment premium, and then the director's salary...

In total, Ruishijie made a net profit of 3140 million!
In addition, there are also sponsorships from advertisers, revenue sharing from opening and closing credits ads, etc., totaling more than 3800 million.

As for subsequent box office revenue and distribution rights revenue in Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States, it is estimated that it will at least double!
In other words, this movie can bring Ruishijie at least 8000 million yuan in net profit!

If the external box office performance is good, breaking 100 million is not out of the question!

In addition to the revenue from the two movies, "The Pursuit of Happyness" and "Hitch," Ruishijie's net profit in 04 reached 2 million RMB!

Although the money won't arrive all at once, it's a guaranteed profit, and there's no way it's going to disappear!
Thinking of this, Lü Rui was overjoyed.

Inside the meeting room, everyone else was also all smiles.

Wang Zhonglei secretly rejoiced that he had made the right bet!

Although Huayi invested more resources than other investors in order to get back on board.

But at this moment, the investment has almost been fully recouped, and he has gained both fame and fortune!

Even if you don't earn as much as others, as long as you can get back on board, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Thinking of this, he immediately asked with a smile, "Director Lü, now that this project has come to an end, shouldn't we move on to other projects?"

He also wanted to try Hollywood projects, such as "The Pursuit of Happyness (US version)" and "I Am Legend".

If the opportunity arises, I might consider investing some money to test the waters.

If all else fails, "Crazy Stone" and "Click" will do; he's not picky.

Upon hearing this, everyone became interested and stared intently at Lü Rui.

Especially Yu Dong!
During the competition for investment shares in "The Prestige," he was unfortunately squeezed out of the boat and could only watch others make a fortune while he drooled alone.

So this time, he secretly made up his mind before he came that he must get back on the ship!

However, to everyone's surprise, Lü Rui suddenly shook his head.

"For the two Hollywood projects, there are still some details of cooperation that haven't been finalized, so we haven't needed to find investors yet."

As for "Crazy Stone" and "Click," I plan to produce them myself. After all, the total investment is only 1200 million, and Ruishijie has the capability. However, the marketing and distribution will still depend on you all…”

These words caused everyone's expressions to change slightly.

do it yourself?
So now they've got enough confidence to keep it all to themselves? Are they not going to share it with everyone?
Everyone couldn't help but think of Zhang Weiping.

He is a typical example of someone who "hogs everything." For instance, he holds onto several of Zhang Yimou's blockbusters tightly and refuses to share them no matter what.

And now, judging from Lü Rui's words, it seems that he is also preparing to do so?
For a moment, everyone had different expressions.

If Ruishijie also chooses to follow this path, then a second Xinxiangjian (New Vision) company may emerge in China.

At that time, competition and fierce battles will certainly be inevitable...

However, at this moment, Lü Rui added, "This kind of low-budget production isn't very meaningful. If everyone shares it, they can only get a sip of soup. So I'm planning to continue with big productions!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

Especially Han Sanping!

One film, "The Promise," was not enough for him, and "I Am Legend" was an international investment project that was currently under the responsibility of Yang Buting, and the business had not been handed over to him.

A few days ago, Wu Yu secretly came to the mainland and met with him at China Film Group.

Both parties have reached a preliminary agreement to work on a new film project centered around the "Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms," with an initial budget of 4 million yuan!

The evaluation department is currently assessing whether the project is suitable for investment.

If nothing unexpected happens, it should be possible!
In this way, China Film Group had two projects: "The Promise" and "Red Cliff".

It would be even better if I could participate in the new project that Lü Rui mentioned!

Facing the expectant gazes of the crowd, Lü Rui smiled and said, "The script is almost finished. It's an action film, and it involves filming in Hollywood. I plan to make it a Sino-foreign co-production, with an estimated investment of 100 million..."

Before he could finish speaking, Han Sanping and Ren Zhonglun stood up at the same time and said in unison, "We can vote!"

The others also stood up, each expressing their determination.

Let alone 100 million, given Lü Rui's current earning power, even if he offered 200 million, everyone would throw money at him without hesitation!
"Please don't rush, everyone. Once the script is written and the project proposal is completed, I will invite you all to discuss it in more detail..."

After calming down the group of agitated people and seeing them off, Lü Rui returned to his office and could no longer contain his joy, bursting into laughter.

The initial budget for the new project, even if it's a Sino-foreign co-production, wouldn't actually cost more than 100 million.

Like "The Prestige," if you're frugal, around 7000 million should be enough.

Moreover, the partner he chose was his own overseas "Ruixing Film Industry".

This strategy still focuses on profiting from both ends!
They need to make money from the audience's box office, but also from other investors...

Lu Rui plans to learn from Zhang Weiping's approach, aiming to make money for himself with investors' money without spending a single penny, and also to win over some allies along the way.

Of course, this doesn't count as "betraying" an ally.

He would make sure that those who followed him would definitely make money, at most just a little less.

This can't be called a scam!

Filmmaking is inherently a high-risk investment; a slight misstep can lead to financial ruin. Directors like him, who consistently ensure their projects never fail, are often referred to as:
"Father!"

...

After "The Prestige" was taken off the screens, "Kung Fu Hustle" saw a surge in its daily box office revenue.

However, it is absolutely impossible for them to break through 2 million like the former!

Therefore, no one felt it was inappropriate for the media to announce in advance that "The Prestige" would be the box office champion during the Lunar New Year season.

However, Stephen Chow harbored some resentment about this.

After all, during this Lunar New Year film season, he and Feng Xiaogang were completely crushed by Lü Rui.

Although he wasn't like Kuzi, who had no sense of propriety and made inappropriate remarks in public, he did express his "dissatisfaction" to many people behind their backs.

He felt that "The Prestige" was not necessarily much better than "Kung Fu Hustle" in terms of quality; it was just that the marketing was better.

These words inevitably spread within the industry.

When Shen Ao arrived with the budget sheet for "Remote Control," he was still indignant on behalf of Lü Rui: "A loss is a loss, why say it's an overblown hype?"
I think he's just jealous, always gossiping and spreading rumors. He has none of the demeanor of a great director…

Lu Rui smiled and explained as he signed the document, "Don't just think of him as a director. Directing is just one of his professions. In essence, he is a businessman."

As a businessman, it's inevitable to feel resentful when your products can't outsell your competitors.

Shen Ao curled his lip: "I used to quite like Stephen Chow. His acting and directing skills are really strong. I didn't expect him to be such a sore loser. No wonder so many people say he has a bad character..."

"Alright, ignore him, it's just the impotent rage of a loser." Lu Rui changed the subject, "The project for 'Remote Control' has been approved. You and Zhao Peng will be in charge of the auditions and casting. I have to go to Hollywood."

With "Lurking" nearing its end, we also need to move forward with "I Am Legend" and "The Pursuit of Happyness (US version)".

He's probably not going back until before Chinese New Year's Eve next month, so the follow-up work will have to be left to his subordinates.

With the help of Zhao Peng and Hou Hongliang, plus his remote assistance, the audition should go smoothly.

"Okay, Brother Rui! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Shen Ao nodded repeatedly, unable to hide his excitement.

The time to test yourself has come. Whether you're a dragon or a worm, this movie will tell!

"Okay, get busy."

About half an hour after Shen Ao left, Ning Hao knocked on the office door with a budget sheet.

It's no exaggeration to say that the 400 million yuan investment budget for "Crazy Stone" was extremely frugal.

Lu Rui admired Ning Hao; the guy was indeed very experienced in "saving money".

The novels "Incense" and "Green Grassland" taught him how to make the most of every penny.

Seeing Lü Rui sign and stamp the budget sheet, Ning Hao finally felt relieved.

Once this process is completed, the 400 million yuan will be in his account, and he can then begin casting auditions and subsequent filming.

Putting away the documents, Ning Hao pressed on, "By the way, what are the company's requirements regarding casting?"

“No.” Lu Rui shook his head. “Rui Vision doesn’t do artist management. You can decide for yourself and choose the actor you think is the most suitable.”

Ning Hao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Without any messy vested interests involved, he can cast actors entirely according to the script requirements, which undoubtedly increases the film's success rate.

That's the advantage of the company not managing artists; there's not much to worry about, and they can focus solely on controlling the quality of the film.

"Oh, right." Lu Rui suddenly remembered something he had heard recently, looked Ning Hao up and down, and asked with concern, "Are you alright...?"

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because the moment he did, Ning Hao blushed.

Last year, while filming "Green Grassland", he encountered a series of "tragic" events.

First, the investors withdrew their funding, and the budget of 150 million was reduced to 10. He had to empty his savings to scrape together 40 to continue filming.

Later, when the crew went to Inner Mongolia to film on location, the van transporting the actors overturned into a deep ditch.

Although no one was in mortal danger at the time, one child suffered a broken hip and required six stitches to his head, and an actress suffered a broken collarbone...

Due to a shortage of funds and harsh conditions, the crew of over 100 people was reduced to only 11.

After filming on the grasslands for several months, we encountered a series of disgusting incidents, such as the yurt we stayed in being burned down by the stove and the jeep we drove stalling and breaking down as soon as we entered the desert.

After finally getting the movie filmed to a close, I did the math and found that we had overspent by more than 100,000 yuan.

He borrowed money from all over the place and finally managed to fill the hole, almost losing all his savings.

If he hadn't eventually sold the copyright overseas, he probably would have been burdened with debt and become a defaulter!
Not many people knew about this originally, but it was dug up by gossip media after Ruishijie announced its investment in his film "Crazy Stone".

Ning Hao thus became No. 2 on the list of "most unlucky directors" in 2004.

No. 1 is Lu Chuan. The plagiarism controversy surrounding "Kekexili" has dragged on for a long time, causing him to miss the Golden Horse Awards and the Berlin Film Festival.

The entire investment in the film went down the drain, and there were even rumors that he owed the actors their salaries and didn't dare to show his face. He was incredibly unlucky.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. The injuries from filming have long since healed..." Ning Hao quickly assured him.

But Lu Rui's gaze fell on him again.

Besides the embarrassing incidents during the filming of "Green Grassland", he also heard that Ning Hao "had water in his head"?
This isn't an insult; it means the water has really gotten in!

According to gossip media reports, Ning Hao had a particularly wide forehead when he was a child, and his relatives praised him for being smart, which made his parents very proud.

It wasn't until he grew up and went to the hospital for a checkup that he was finally diagnosed with hydrocephalus.

The doctors back home diagnosed him with ventricular atrophy, and the situation was not optimistic, so they told them to go to the capital for a checkup.

Everyone suddenly realized: having a big head is a medical condition that needs treatment!
The family rushed to Tiantan Hospital. The doctor carefully examined the CT scan and then looked at his naturally large head, offering two suggestions:
One approach is to "release water" surgically, but this could lead to a drastic change in the patient's personality.

Secondly, it can coexist with water. After all, it hasn't spread for so many years, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

After thinking it over, Ning Hao finally chose the second option.

Others only get water in their heads after taking a shower, but he's born with water in his head. Isn't that just a natural beauty that's hard to ignore?
Of course, there will definitely be some impact.

For example, his color blindness is caused by hydrocephalus.

So Lu Rui was very curious at this moment: wouldn't having water buildup in his head affect his normal life?

"I'm fine in the head!"

Seeing Lü Rui staring at his head, Ning Hao became somewhat frantic.

These paparazzi don't report on important matters; they only nitpick these messy things. It's so annoying!

Now everyone in the film and television industry knows that he is a director who is "brain-dead" and "bad lucky".

In contrast, his film "Crazy Stone" didn't attract much attention.

After all, this is a movie he wrote and directed himself, so people only paid a little attention to Ruishijie's investment, and had no interest in anything else.

The only thing that netizens seem to enjoy is the gossip.

"Ahem, it's good that you're alright. You can go back to your work now."

Lu Rui coughed twice, indicating that he could leave.

This guy is really unlucky; hopefully, "Crazy Stone" will bring him some luck.

After Ning Hao left, Lü Rui didn't rest; he continued writing the script non-stop.

Before January 20th, he successfully completed the script for the first installment of the "Qin's Moon" series, "Hundred Steps Flying Sword," and then went to Ruiyue Animation to hand it over to Tian Xiaopeng.

At this point, the animation company's equipment and software had all been debugged.

After receiving the script, Tian Xiaopeng immediately held an internal meeting to record Lü Rui's requirements, and then officially started the animation production.

Compared to live-action TV dramas, the production cycle for 3D martial arts animations like "Hundred Steps Flying Sword" is much longer.

Lu Rui didn't rush them and gave them plenty of time.

However, Tian Xiaopeng took the initiative to make a pledge, promising to deliver the finished film by the end of this year.

Lu Rui encouraged him with a few words and then flew to the set of "Crossing the Guandong" to visit him.

Liu Yifei's cameo appearance has ended, and she has now returned to the "The Return of the Condor Heroes" set to film her remaining scenes.

It is expected that the scenes featuring "Little Dragon Girl" will officially come to an end at the end of February.

After confirming that the filming of "Crossing the Guandong" was going smoothly, Lü Rui dragged his suitcase and boarded a plane to Hollywood.

Sitting in first class, he went online and browsed the news for a while.

The first season of "Chinese Paladin" is about to premiere, and there's a lot of heated discussion online...

But the real headline at that moment was the news that Jay Chou and Taiwanese host Hou Pei-cen had traveled to Japan together and their relationship had been exposed.

Thus, the "Double J" romance completely vanished...

This matter has actually been exposed for several days, but it is still a hot topic among netizens, which shows how significant its impact is.

It's understandable, really. After all, it's a love triangle between two top-tier singers of the new generation. If the media doesn't hype it up for ten days or half a month, it's not considered a success.

Hong Kong media, in particular, were jumping for joy!
After getting a general understanding of the situation and eating the melon, Lü Rui lost interest.

Being in the entertainment industry, he had seen and heard far more sensational things than this, so there was no need for him to join the online discussion.

He shut down the portal website, but didn't go to sleep, intending to stay awake until the early hours of the morning.

This way, once we arrive in Los Angeles, we can avoid the hassle of jet lag.

Bored, he opened the document and prepared to continue translating the new script.

As luck would have it, at that very moment, a new system task suddenly popped up in my mind:

[Ding! Please translate a Hollywood movie into Chinese and get it approved by the Film Bureau.]

[Reward upon completion of the mission: C-rank talent: ...]

(End of this chapter)