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

Chapter 114 A Fierce Battle! The Importance of Lü Rui in Liu Yifei's Heart (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"Yesterday, the low-budget comedy film 'Crazy Stone,' invested by Ruishijie with 400 million yuan, officially started filming in Chongqing."

"The main creative team of 'Crazy Stone': Director Ning Hao, actors Guo Tao, Liu Ye, Xu Zheng, Huang Bo..."

"Sina Exclusive Report: Director Lü Rui's new film is in preparation, a Sino-foreign co-production action blockbuster! The investment is as high as 100 million RMB! Stay tuned!"

Throughout history, "taking money to do things" has always been the norm.

As a result, news related to "Crazy Stone" began to appear on major news pages like mushrooms after rain the day after filming began.

From the director to the actors, they all made appearances one by one.

However, only Sina.com managed to grab the attention of the entire internet with its exclusive and explosive report.

Netizens flocked to the site, filled with astonishment:
"A 100 million investment? An action blockbuster? A Sino-foreign co-production? What's going on? Is it real?"

"Suspense, fantasy, art film... and now an action film is coming. Director Lü is aiming for success across the board!"

"Young people are so energetic. Everyone says Zhang Yimou never stops, but I think Lü Rui is just as energetic. 'The Prestige' has only been out of theaters for less than two months and he already has something new to do. That's amazing!"

"..."

As the buzz grew, the number of calls inquiring about the news increased dramatically.

Lu Rui received several calls, some asking about investment, others about casting...

So annoyed by the noise, he simply turned off his phone, shutting himself off from the world around him, and focused on polishing his project proposal.

Besides him, the crew of "Peacock" at the Berlin International Film Festival is also currently being hotly discussed by the media and netizens.

With the closing ceremony and awards presentation approaching, Gu Changwei and Zhang Jingchu once again appeared on the red carpet, attracting the attention and reports of the media present.

The woman wore a strapless long dress printed with peacock and peony patterns, and held the man's arm with a radiant smile.

Little did she know that after this appearance, her path in the mainland film and television industry would become extremely difficult!

Even some people from Lü Rui's side came to say hello, hoping that he would distance himself from Zhang Jingchu in the future.

The news came from the Beijing Film Academy. It has to be said that the wives of directors who have successfully risen to power wield considerable influence.

...

On the morning of the 21st, Lü Rui saw the news coming from Berlin on his way to the company.

Gu Changwei is indeed very awesome!
Her debut film, "Peacock," won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival, shining brightly in Berlin!

His competitor, Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang, won the Alfred Bauer Silver Bear for his film "The Wayward Cloud".

The latter is a purely consolation prize; Zhang Yimou's "Hero" previously received this award.

However, the curse that art films are rarely associated with high box office returns remains unbroken.

"Peacock" has been released in China for 3 days, but its box office revenue has only reached a paltry 163 million yuan.

Thankfully, the copyright can still be sold overseas, otherwise Gu Changwei would probably have lost money this time.

Lu Rui calculated the time difference and guessed that Gu Changwei should be awake by now, so he called to offer his congratulations.

Unexpectedly, after the call was connected, a familiar woman's voice came through the receiver.

"Hello? Director Lü?"

Lu Rui knew it was Zhang Jingchu the moment he heard it!
Where is Director Gu?

"He's taking a shower."

Zhang Jingchu answered the phone only after checking the caller ID; she had also answered Jiang Wen's call earlier.

She didn't dare answer most of the other people's calls.

Of course, she answered Jiang Wenli's call and even exchanged a few sarcastic remarks with the other party on the phone, and then, unsurprisingly, she was scolded.

"Okay, please tell him for me that he's congratulating him on winning the award..."

Lu Rui said a few words and then hung up the phone.

I don't know if Gu Changwei is deeply in love or Zhang Jingchu is just clueless, but these two are getting bolder and bolder!

No wonder Jiang Wenli was plotting to take drastic measures!
If I don't take action soon, my husband might run off with his mistress.

...

Arrived at the company.

As soon as Lü Rui entered the room, his secretary, Liang Lulu, quickly came to greet him: "Chairman Lü, the investors have all arrived."

"understood."

Today is the day to finalize the investment share for "Taken," and everyone has been eagerly waiting, arriving early this morning.

Lu Rui first went to his office to get the project proposal and made a cup of tea before slowly walking towards the meeting room.

Pushing open the door, the previously noisy conference room instantly fell silent, followed by a chorus of greetings:

Good morning, Director Lü!

"Chairman Lü, you look great today."

"..."

After exchanging pleasantries, Lü Rui walked to the front of the conference room and gestured for everyone to sit down.

The secretary stepped forward, turned on the projector, and projected the project proposal for "Taken" onto the screen.

All eyes turned to the curtain.

Project Name: Taken

Project Type: Action, Thriller, Crime

Project Background: Integrating the strengths of Chinese and foreign film production, this project aims to create more internationally-oriented and thrilling action scenes, bringing audiences a brand-new cinematic experience…

Cooperation model: joint production, with both Chinese and foreign parties jointly investing, jointly producing, and jointly sharing profits and risks.

Total investment budget: 1 million RMB, to be used for all aspects of film production, publicity and distribution.

After everyone had finished reading the project outline, Lü Rui took the laser pointer handed to him by his secretary and began to explain the project details:
The protagonist was a retired reconnaissance soldier who worked as a bodyguard in Zhongnanhai. After retiring, he wanted to live a peaceful life with his family, but his daughter was kidnapped by an international criminal organization while traveling abroad.

To save his daughter, he returns to the underworld, using his exceptional investigative skills and intelligence to track down a criminal organization across borders…

The others each had a copy of the script and project proposal, and they easily understood it by listening to Lü Rui's explanation and referring to the documents.

But in reality, most of the people in the room had no ability to appreciate scripts; they were all there because of his reputation.

Successful people are more likely to gain trust, and this is true both in Hollywood and domestically.

"I don't need to elaborate on the advantages of action films, right? Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Li Lianjie have already deeply etched the word 'kung fu' into the hearts of Hollywood and mainland movie fans."

Action/crime genres have a wide audience, excellent market performance, and extremely high box office potential…

Lu Rui spoke eloquently, also taking the opportunity to introduce the situation of the foreign investors:

"Warner Bros. will provide visual effects for the film, and RexinPictures will provide support for overseas location shooting and casting..."

Wang Zhonglei unscrewed the bottle of mineral water in front of him, took a sip, and suppressed the envy in his heart.

During this period, he also frequently contacted Hollywood investors.

That's why he's very aware of how difficult it is to cooperate with foreigners and get their funding and resources!

Those people were both greedy and wary, which caused him to suffer many losses and waste a lot of time without achieving anything.

But listening to Lü Rui's words now, he inexplicably felt a sense of ease in cooperating with foreigners. That's the difference!

He sighed inwardly, while pondering whether he could find an opportunity to connect with Ruishijie and thereby make contact with Hollywood.
"Filming locations are mainly in China and Hollywood, with a shooting period of two months. Revenue includes box office revenue, online rights, television broadcasting rights, and merchandise development. Foreign investment accounts for 30% of the total revenue..."

Regarding the investment share, Lü Rui had already finalized a portion in advance.

Ruishijie holds 30% (including director's fee), Ruixing Pictures and Warner Bros. hold 20% and 10% respectively.

Warner Bros. was responsible for the international distribution of the film, with a similar revenue sharing ratio to that of "The Prestige".

In other words, only 40%, or 4000 million, remains available for allocation.

At this moment, Wang Zhonglei suddenly interjected with a hint of anticipation: "How was the cast decided?"

He also wanted to leverage the "actor" aspect to give Huayi more leverage and advantages.

Unfortunately, this plan backfired.

Lü Rui responded directly: "The roles of male lead, daughter, ex-wife, etc. will be played by domestic actors, and we already have candidates in mind."

Supporting characters include the daughter's best friend, a singer, and the ex-wife's husband, though these have not yet been confirmed; the villain cast will consist entirely of Hollywood actors.

"Fine……"

Now that the main actors had been chosen, Wang Zhonglei didn't say anything more.

However, Ye Ning, standing in the crowd, had a sudden thought.

Daughter's best friend? This role seems like it could be...

Unfortunately, before he could even speak, the crowd had already started arguing.

Han Sanping spoke first, making an outrageous demand: "China Film Group will take 20%, and I will be fully responsible for the import and distribution."

Ren Zhonglun retorted without hesitation: "Sino-foreign co-productions don't need to be imported; Shanghai Film Group can handle the distribution."

Dong Ping didn't compete with the two of them, but emphasized his own advantages: "Huayi has an advantage in the Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asian markets."

Wang Changtian still focused on Enlight Media's strengths: "We have a unique advantage in television networks and offline promotion."

"Wanda is willing to pay a premium for market share, and cinemas can also provide support in terms of film scheduling!"

Damn it! It's rolled again, isn't it?
Wang Zhonglei quickly followed up: "Huayi can also command a premium. In terms of artist management, as long as they choose our artists, the pay is negotiable..."

Yu Dong was not to be outdone: "Bona has extensive experience in distribution and production, and we can provide all the equipment needed for filming."

"If any filming location in Hengdian is needed, we can coordinate and cooperate."

There were quite a few people here today. In addition to the companies we had worked with before, even Xu Yong'an, the eldest son of Hengdian Group, came.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the conference room, Zhang Weiping, who had come to join the fun, looked at the scene before him but couldn't even find a chance to interject.

"This isn't a film investment; it's clearly an auction!"

He secretly grumbled to himself, but he also knew that New Pictures had no chance of participating this time.

Putting aside the exclusion of him by other companies, the fact that he had to pay a premium for market share was unacceptable to him.

He usually gets things for free, but now he's the one being tricked by others. How can he accept that?
The noise below was lively, but Lü Rui did not interrupt, letting everyone compete to bid.

He deliberately staged this scene in order to gain more benefits.

Monetary gains are only one aspect; what he really wants is the resources and strengths of each company!

Bringing together the strengths of many and focusing them on a single film, ensuring the best in production, post-production, marketing, and distribution, is undoubtedly a huge advantage for commercial films.

Make good use of external conditions to make up for one's own shortcomings, thereby achieving one's own development and profit.

When the film achieves high box office returns, everyone will profit, but Ruishijie, which holds the majority share, will naturally earn even more and make a fortune...

This is a classic example of using borrowed resources to generate future benefits! It's also a way to maximize resource utilization.

As the business continues to improve, we'll focus on keeping a few "high-quality chickens" and gradually let the rest go...

This is not about discarding a useful tool after it has served its purpose, but rather about "optimizing resource allocation" and "strategic focus"!
Seeing that the argument was getting more and more heated, Lü Rui told his secretary, "Call me when the argument is over," and then slipped out under the pretext of going to the restroom.

Back in his office, just as he was about to make another cup of tea, the phone rang.

He took it out and saw that it was a call from Liu Yifei.

"Senior, I probably won't be able to wrap up filming until the end of the month."

Previously, when Lü Rui contacted Hongxingwu to sign a contract, Liu Xiaoli specifically asked Zhang Jizhong and learned that filming would wrap up at the end of February.

"Okay, no rush. Once you're done filming and back in the capital, you can join the crew directly."

Lu Rui originally planned to start filming around the Lantern Festival, but various things piled up, and by the time he finished, he realized that he couldn't make it in time.

After considering it, he decided to postpone the start-up time to early March.

Once the project is finalized, there are still things to handle, such as product placement and Hollywood casting...

In addition, he will be going to Hollywood to attend the Oscars ceremony on the 27th, a week later.

Meanwhile, The Prestige will also be released in North American theaters on the 25th of this month.

Warner Bros. has arranged several promotional events, and once I'm done here, I'll have to fly to Hollywood to handle those matters.

My schedule is already full this month!
"Okay, I got it. See you at the end of the month." Liu Yifei's voice on the phone carried a hint of anticipation.

"When filming, you must pay attention to safety, especially in fight scenes and large-scale group scenes. Use stunt doubles whenever possible. Don't try to save money for the crew. Protecting yourself is the most important thing. Your body is your own, and if you get injured, no one can bear the pain for you..."

Lu Rui kept nagging and giving instructions, which made Liu Yifei giggle: "Senior? Why are you acting like a mother hen?"

"..."

Lu Rui was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "I'm worried that if you get hurt, it will delay the filming schedule of my movie."

"Besides this?" Liu Yifei asked boldly, pressing him further.

"Alright, that's all for now. You go ahead and do your work. I'm hanging up now. I have a meeting to attend." Lu Rui heard Liu Xiaoli's voice on the other end of the phone, but there were some things she couldn't hear.

"Okay, you go ahead and do your work. I'll take good care of myself, don't worry."

Liu Yifei hung up the phone and suddenly burst out laughing, like a silly goose.

"Sissi? What's wrong?"

Liu Xiaoli approached, looking at her daughter with a puzzled expression, almost thinking she had been frozen stiff from filming outdoors.

"It's nothing." Liu Yifei quickly stopped laughing, put her phone away so Liu Xiaoli wouldn't see it. "Mom, isn't there a big show tomorrow? Where's my stunt double? Tell her to come over right away. I'll film the scenes where she's in the shot, but let her do the wire work."

Lu Rui's advice was quite effective; at least it stopped her from thinking about pushing herself too hard.

If he gets injured and it delays the filming of "Taken", that would be terrible.

In her heart, Lü Rui was far more important than "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

"Okay, I'll call her right away."

Liu Xiaoli was extremely pleased to see her daughter suddenly understand.

Scenes with a lot of extras are actually quite unfriendly to actresses, as they are easily taken advantage of by lewd men.

This is not an exaggeration; there are many cases in the industry, so it's best to be cautious...

(End of this chapter)