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

Chapter 115 Jiang Wen Also Has Musical Dreams? (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Liu Xiaoli was busy contacting a stand-in, while Lü Rui returned to the conference room at Ruishijie.

After some arguing, bargaining, and bidding, the remaining 40% share was officially settled:

中影10%、上影5%、光线5%、华乙5%、博纳5%、华宜5%、万达5%。

As for companies like Hengdian Group, New Pictures, and Yinghuang that were brought together, they were directly eliminated.

The reason is simple: in terms of policy advantages, they cannot compete with state-owned enterprises like China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group; in terms of capital and resources, they cannot compete with private enterprises that have been deeply rooted in the capital region for a long time. They can only be forced to withdraw.

Meanwhile, among the seven confirmed investors, in addition to China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group, the other five companies offered an extra 30 million yuan in premium on top of providing resources.

In other words, each company invested an average of 1100 million yuan to obtain a 5% share worth 500 million yuan.

Clearly, this is another high-stakes gamble!
If Taken is profitable, the extra money can easily recoup the costs.

But if we lose money, all that money will be wasted.

However, looking around, almost no one present showed any sign of heartache or sorrow.

Because everyone firmly believes that Lü Rui's new film will continue the success of his previous films and achieve victory once again!

After the contracts were signed, the funds from each party were immediately transferred to the project account.

As for the extra 3000 million, Lü Rui took out 2000 million and invested it into the account, which was considered as an investment in Rui Vision.

His director's fee is already included in his 10% share, so no further investment is needed.

This means that Ruishijie did not spend a single penny on this project and relied entirely on the money from other investors to make a profit.

This wave of borrowing resources to generate wealth has restarted the incubation process.

The following morning, with the funds from Ruixing Pictures and Warner Bros. arriving one after another, the official announcement of the "Taken" project was released:

"To promote the development of film and television projects, after research and decision-making by Ruishijie, we have officially launched the project initiation process for the film 'Taken':"
The film will be primarily controlled by Rexin Pictures, and co-produced by China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, Enlight Media, Huayi Brothers Media, Bona Film Group, Wanda Pictures, and Huayi Brothers Media. Foreign companies RexinPictures and Warner Bros. will participate in the production and distribution.

The project, with a total investment of 1 million yuan, focuses on the action/crime genre and tells the story of a retired bodyguard who saves his daughter and dismantles a criminal gang within a limited 96 hours…

The announcement was clear and unambiguous, directly stating that Lü Rui would be the director.

Meanwhile, the casting requirements for some undetermined Chinese actors have also been released.

For example, the role of "female singer" explicitly requires female singers or actresses who have released albums to audition.

The reason for this request is that the filming involves scenes of singing on stage, and using established singers would make the footage more authentic.

The casting requirements for the character "daughter's best friend," who was tragically poisoned by criminals, were also announced.

The audition requirements for the most important male and female leads were not released.

This has aroused curiosity among many media outlets: have these two key roles already been decided internally?

In no time, media outlets were calling in droves to inquire about the news.

A previous exclusive news article on Sina.com caused the website's popularity to skyrocket!
Now everyone's learned how to do it, and they all want to follow suit and create an exclusive news story.

Without exception, none of the media outlets that called received any useful information.

The main reason was that Lü Rui deliberately concealed the truth in order to create hype, spark heated discussions among netizens, and further fuel the film's popularity.

At the same time, the number of people coming to recommend and recommend themselves suddenly surged!
Various agencies and independent agents went crazy, shoving artist lists at Lü Rui's expense.

There are already very few top directors in China, and the chances of appearing in their big-budget productions are even fewer.

If we can catch the wave of "Taken", it would be an absolutely rare opportunity!
"Rong Xinda recommended Yang Mi, Huayi recommended the newly signed Huo Siyan, Tangren recommended Lin Yichen, and Xinghui suggested that Huang Shengyi could have a cameo role, preferably as the female lead..."

There are also Shu Chang, Jiang Xin, Yang Rui... most of them said they could do it without pay, just a cameo appearance, and some even said they were willing to pay money to buy a role..."

In the office, listening to the secretary's report, Lü Rui was not surprised.

Don't underestimate a cameo role. As long as you have a shot and some lines, just showing your face can boost your status. Who can remain indifferent to that?
Meanwhile, from the actors being recommended, Lü Rui also discovered that the conflict between Hua Yi and Wang Jinghua was deepening.

Huayi recommended artists signed to the company, while Wang Jinghua recommended artists from her own agency, subtly hinting at a competitive dynamic between the two...

Just as he was pondering who to choose, the phone on the table suddenly rang.

The caller ID displayed the name "Wanda Ye Ning".

He pressed the answer button, and the words that Lü Rui had become familiar with over the past few days came through the phone: "Director Lü, I have a suitable actor here..."

He didn't think much of it at first, but as he listened, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

Wanda actually wants to do product placement!

The condition is that she has to play the role of "daughter's best friend".

In fact, Lü Rui has already reached agreements with several partners regarding brand integration.

One is a suit brand, and the other is a watch brand, namely Giorgio Armani and Patek Philippe.

These two brands alone brought in tens of millions of dollars in product placement fees for the film, and will also provide the main characters with custom-made suits and watches.

Patek Philippe, in particular, only entered the mainland market this year and is competing with Vacheron Constantin for the title of "King of Watches," and is very willing to spend money.

The other party demanded that the male lead wear a Patek Philippe watch in the film and maintain a high profile.

Under the "corruption" of money, Lü Rui was tempted.

However, he doesn't accept just any type of brand placement; quality over quantity is the key.

The approach taken by Feng Xiaogang, who practically turned a movie into a brand launch event, is clearly not suitable for "Taken".

At this moment, after hearing Ye Ning's conditions, Lü Rui already had an answer in his mind, but still asked, "Who is the actor you're talking about?"

“Jing Tian, ​​you’ve met her before. She attended the premiere of ‘The Prestige’.”

Lu Rui thought to himself, "Truly a flower of wealth and honor in this world!"
They're actually willing to spend over two million yuan to secure a role through brand integration; they're really extravagant!
Lu Rui naturally wouldn't refuse such a free gift.

Anyway, that character doesn't have many scenes, so it doesn't matter who gets them.

Since Wanda is willing to spend the money, let's consider it a favor and a way of making friends.

Two days later, the role of the female singer was also finalized.

Considering Liu Yifei's character, the singer she "likes" in the film must naturally be of the sweet style.

After looking around in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Lü Rui finally decided to have Wang Xinling make a cameo appearance.

Last March, her song "Love You" made her an instant sensation, and one of her hit songs, "The First Person I Loved," broke last year's record for ringtone downloads with over 100 million downloads.

His song "Honey" released at the beginning of this year made him a household name across the country! The title of "Sweetheart Queen" was officially born as a result.

Having her guest star as Liu Yifei's favorite sweet-song idol is perfect.

"Liu Yifei said she also likes to sing and almost became a singer. She said she could ask Wang Xinling to teach this tone-deaf contestant, haha."

Lu Rui shared Liu Yifei's embarrassing stories with Jiang Wen, who had come to sign the contract.

"My daughter likes to sing?" Jiang Wen's eyes lit up, and she immediately said, "Actually, I like music too."

"what?"

Lu Rui was slightly taken aback; he had never heard Jiang Wen sing before.

Could it be that Jiang Wen has music bacteria in his body?
Just as I was wondering, I heard Jiang Wen say loudly, "But I like playing the piano. I even wrote a script outline before. It's about a 17-year-old boy who overcomes all obstacles and enters the top art hall. Unfortunately, the story has too many loopholes, and I don't know how to fix them..."

Lü Rui: "..."

He didn't dare to discuss the topic, fearing that the office door would suddenly be kicked open and a group of heavily armed police officers would rush in.

"FBI! Open the door!"

……

After signing the contract and discussing their "musical dreams," Jiang Wen was satisfied and ready to leave.

But then he suddenly remembered something else: "By the way, have we found a cinematographer for this movie yet?"

Lu Rui shook his head: "Not yet."

He originally planned to ask Zhao Fei to film it, but Zhao Fei was still in his hometown and said on the phone that he was not sure about CCTV's arrangements.

The main reason is that CCTV wants Zhao Fei to film a documentary called "The Forbidden City," but the start date for filming has not yet been set.

Upon hearing this, Jiang immediately said, "Then we don't need to wait for him. Let's just keep calling Lao Gu over."

Lu Rui was taken aback: "Isn't he still busy with the release of 'Peacock'?"

“The film’s release is handled by the distributor, he’s got plenty of free time.” Jiang Wen said with a complicated expression, “He’s been hiding at home lately, afraid to come out and see anyone.”

"what?"

Seeing that Lü Rui looked blank, Jiang Wen simply called Gu Changwei out.

The three of them met at a private restaurant.

Upon seeing Gu Changwei again, Lü Rui finally understood why Gu had been hiding and avoiding public appearances after returning to China following his win of the Berlin Grand Prix.

With dark circles under his eyes and red marks on his face and neck that hadn't subsided, he was too embarrassed to show his face to anyone.
"Oh, please excuse my poor appearance. I have a shrewish wife at home..."

Gu Changwei took a gulp of wine, sighed deeply, and couldn't hide his frustration.

The more glorious the moment was when they won the award in Berlin, the more miserable they became afterward.

"You deserve it." Jiang Wen wasn't polite at all, and after his initial sarcastic remark, he didn't forget to ask, "Where is he? Was he sent to Hong Kong again?"

"Hmm." Gu Changwei nodded sullenly. "I sent him away after I came back."

He never expected Jiang Wenli to get so angry, and the first thing she did when she got home was to start scratching him!
If he hadn't dodged quickly, the trophy might have been smashed to pieces.

The couple had a huge fight and separated completely.

Even so, neither of them brought up the topic of divorce.

Seeing that Gu Changwei was already in such bad luck, Lü Rui and Jiang Wen stopped rubbing salt into his wounds and instead started talking about the lack of a cameraman for "Taken".

Gu Changwei immediately agreed: "I'll film it! I'll go! It's good to hide abroad for a while..."

He was really afraid that if the media and paparazzi in China photographed him in this disheveled state, he would become a laughing stock.

It's better to stay out of the public eye when you're abroad and wait until the injuries on your face and neck have healed before making a public appearance.

At this point, the photographer was officially confirmed.

The main cast and product placement have been finalized; the only remaining issue is that the Hollywood villain actor hasn't been cast yet.

Previously, Lü Rui had sent the casting requirements to Peter Griffin, and has now received a number of actor resumes.

Now we're just waiting for him to arrive so we can officially confirm the cast.

...

Before we knew it, it was September 25th.

That morning, Lü Rui boarded a plane bound for Hollywood.

Coincidentally, he still had three things to do this time.

First: The selection of the Hollywood villain actor for "Taken".

Secondly, participate in the promotional activities for the release of "The Prestige".

Thirdly: Attending the 77th Academy Awards ceremony...

(End of this chapter)