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

Chapter 135 A Small Investment, Big Return: Break-even in Two Days! (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The teacher once said, "Women hold up half the sky."

This statement is quite fitting when applied to Cai Yinong, Jiang Xuerou, and Li Shaohong.

These three top female producers in the television industry are truly highly accomplished.

Despite numerous negative rumors, the abilities and skill levels of these three individuals are undeniable.

"Director Lü, if there is a suitable opportunity in the future, I hope you will give me some guidance. Tangren has some foundation in film and television production."

"The same goes for Rongxinda. Director Lü, if there's anything you need in terms of distribution, please feel free to ask."

"The Book of Changes..."

The three surrounded Lü Rui, creating a scene reminiscent of a "three mothers disciplining their son".

Lu Rui simply smiled and agreed, but didn't take it seriously.

Cooperation is certainly feasible, but getting benefits from them will not be easy.

Ruishijie's TV drama business is just starting out, so what resources can they exchange for?
All that's left are movie resources.

Exchange television business for film business?
Even if they do have this intention, it's not their turn.

Tangren is considered part of the Hong Kong entertainment circle, and Lu Rui doesn't value the resources there.

The scriptwriting team for Zhou Yi is quite good, but I doubt Jiang Xuerou will let go of it. She might as well go and take advantage of Shandong Film and Television.

Of course, if she is willing to share the screenwriting team, Lü Rui could invest money to help them improve the costumes, props, and sets.

After all, Zhou Yi's TV drama projects are known for their high-quality storylines, but the costumes, props, and sets are so bad they're practically worthless, with a completely negative aesthetic score.

As for Rongxinda, Lü Rui had no good feelings towards the company.

The two women got together and didn't do much productive work; they just kept coming up with bad ideas.

The reason why Liu Yifei was previously "besieged" by public opinion has become clear: it was Rong Xinda who led the charge.

"Director Lü, we meet again." Zhang Dahuzi squeezed in at this moment, reached out and shook hands with Lü Rui, his smile was exceptionally bright.

Coincidentally, both of them are now shareholders of Red Starwood, making them practically business partners.

"Director Zhang, how have you been?"

"Haha, great, great. I'm busy with the post-production of 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'."

"When are you planning to go?" Since he had nothing else to do, Lü Rui chatted with him casually for a bit.

"Probably next year," Zhang Jizhong replied vaguely, clearly preparing another big move.

At this moment, someone suddenly interjected, "I really envy Director Zhang. He holds the copyrights to many of Mr. Jin's novels and doesn't feel any pressure at all."

Lu Rui turned his head and saw Liu Yanming, the boss of Hairun, coming over.

In recent years, Hairun has focused on "Haiyan dramas" and produced hit shows such as "Never Close Your Eyes", "What Can Save My Love", and "Jade Goddess of Mercy". With the support of popular dramas such as "Serious Cases Squad" and "The Sword of the Three Young Masters", it is showing signs of becoming the leader in the TV drama industry.

Especially the second half of "Bright Sword", which many older viewers are looking forward to.

Hairun's advertising is also targeting this group, with its promotional efforts focused on older viewers.

Little did they know that Li Yunlong's Italian cannon not only destroyed Ping'an County, but also ignited the enthusiasm of audiences of all ages across the country!
"President Liu is the one who's truly secure, what am I compared to him? I'm just eating one meal a day and having another." Zhang Jizhong smiled, but cursed inwardly.

Hairun has always wanted to snatch the adaptation rights to Jin Yong's novels. Luckily, they signed a contract early, otherwise it would have been poached long ago.

The two didn't get along well, and after exchanging only a few words, Zhang Jizhong stepped aside to find Wang Zhonglei.

The two Wang brothers have been trying to recruit him recently, offering very tempting terms, and he's quite interested in it.

Liu Yanming didn't pay any attention to him after he left, and instead looked at Lü Rui, exchanging contact information with him.

"Director Lü, if you ever need anything in the future, just let me know. You can use any of Hairun's artists, and we can discuss the pay."

Actors who want to elevate their status can't do without movies, but the big screen has a very high level of prestige, and not everyone can get on it.

Therefore, companies that can produce big-budget films and achieve success in this day and age are definitely at the very top of the pyramid!

Not to mention someone like Lü Rui, who can thrive abroad, naturally became a hot commodity in everyone's eyes.

This even led to Lü Rui being seated in the first row as soon as the meeting began.

Even the leaders of the broadcasting department were taken aback when they saw him, and they all came around to greet him.

The meeting was actually quite boring; it was just a repetitive discussion of data.

The conclusion was that there was nothing wrong with the "one drama, four stars" model, and the leadership's decisions were all correct.

Everyone gave them a round of applause as a gesture of respect, then dispersed to go back and attend to their own business.

As Lü Rui and Hou Hongliang walked out, Lü Rui asked curiously, "Do you usually come here for meetings like this?"

"almost."

Lu Rui curled his lip: "Don't waste time next time. Just send someone with free time to listen. There's no need to come yourself."

"Ahem, okay."

Hou Hongliang almost lost his composure, but then he thought about it again and realized that following a young boss was indeed a great experience.

The two chatted as they left.

Lu Rui was surprised to find Wang Zhonglei standing at the door, wondering who he was waiting for.
"Mr. Wang, aren't you leaving yet? Do you need a ride?"

He was just making a casual, polite remark, but to his surprise, Wang Zhonglei actually took advantage of the situation: "Sure, it's on my way. Just drop me off at the company entrance. My driver's car got scratched, and he's dealing with the accident right now."

Lü Rui: "..."

There are two baseball bats in the trunk of the van, so there's no need to worry about anything going wrong or requiring you to jump out of the vehicle.

Wang Zhonglei, as if they were old friends, sat in the back row.

Lu Rui sat down next to him and subtly shifted his position.

He had heard many rumors about the guy in front of him in the car, so he decided to be careful.

However, Wang Zhonglei was very relaxed and leaned over to ask curiously, "Director Lü? 'Taken' is only left with its distribution and release. I wonder if you have any new projects planned?"

"No." Lü Rui has been dealing with company matters these past few days and hasn't had time to write the script yet.

"Ok."

Wang Zhonglei felt slightly disappointed and didn't press the matter further, instead inquiring about the situation in Hollywood.

Lu Rui could tell that he was eyeing the US dollars, but Huayi was not yet in a position to have a piece of that pie.

So the two of them kept exchanging veiled insults the whole way.

No matter how much Wang Zhonglei inquired or even made various promises, Lü Rui neither agreed nor refused, remaining as slippery as an eel.

"That guy is really cunning!"

Before getting out of the car, Wang Zhonglei cursed inwardly, but smiled and said goodbye: "Director Lü, remember to let me know if there are any new projects. Huayi will never let you down."

"it is good."

"That 'The Banquet'..."

"Forget it, I won't invest in this project. We can discuss it in detail if another suitable project comes along."

"alright."

Watching the van drive away, Wang Zhonglei was somewhat bewildered.

He was determined to build a good relationship with Lü Rui, and even offered 10% of the shares of "The Banquet" to Rui Vision to participate in the investment and share the profits at the original price.

But Lü Rui seems to... look down on this project?

With a budget of $1500 million and a cast including Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, Zhou Xun, and Wu Yanzu, isn't this lineup stronger than "Taken"?

"That's strange. Could it be that he's stopped making money just because he had a conflict with Feng Xiaogang?"

He couldn't figure it out, and finally could only attribute it to Lü Rui's strange temper.

As for the quality of the project, he never doubted it from beginning to end...

……

In mid-June, the 2001 class of Beijing Film Academy officially graduated.

Shen Ao's thesis earned the "Outstanding Thesis" label from the Directing Department, and he himself became an outstanding graduate of this year.

Although Lü Rui's influence played a role, the key factor was the solid quality of the thesis.

From punctuation marks to various data, no one can find fault with it.

The list of 197 countries is clearly and explicitly stated; there is absolutely no oversight like the one that lists 200 countries.

With so many supervisors checking and the procedures so rigorous, how could such a mistake occur?
The school specially invited Lü Rui to attend the celebration, but unfortunately, he was busy with a new job and didn't have time to go.

Ruiyue Animation's acquisition of Blue Arc is progressing steadily, involving tens of millions of yuan. Tian Xiaopeng alone is not sure about it, so Lü Rui has to take charge personally.

He presented two conditions to Wang Wei, the owner of Blue Arc.

They either sell the company as a package deal or accept investment.

Wang Wei, who is still young and holds multiple positions such as director, screenwriter, lyricist, composer, and voice actor, is also an ambitious all-rounder.

He chose to accept the investment.

Then, Lü Rui acquired 60% of Blue Arc's shares for 600 million yuan.

With this money, Wang Wei immediately proposed the "GG Bond" project.

This was exactly what Lü Rui wanted, and he immediately expressed his full support!
He then signaled his interest in investing in other animation companies.

Companies like Hongmeng Cartoon and Alpha Group do not accept external investment.

However, Guangdong Wingsound, which shares the copyright of "GG Bond" with Blue Arc, and Guangdong Original Force, which develops the "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" animation, immediately expressed their need for investment.

Without hesitation, Lü Rui tossed the money over.

Rumors quickly spread throughout the animation industry that a "tycoon was throwing money around," and anyone lacking investment could turn to Lü Rui. Companies flocked to his door…

After all, under the pressure of Hollywood animation, most domestic animation companies, with the exception of a few, are struggling to survive, or even on the verge of bankruptcy.

But Lu Rui's place isn't a junk collector; he doesn't accept everything.

After careful selection, he chose Ruosen Technology, which would release "Xia Lan" and "Hua Jianghu: The Bad Guys", and Shimei Pictures, which had just been established and was targeting the 2D animation market.

As for the others who came to us, we turned them all away.

It's worth mentioning that because Lü Rui snatched the rights to "Qin's Moon" ahead of time, Xuanji Technology, which was supposed to appear this year, has now completely disappeared.

By the time I finished, it was already late June.

Lu Rui roughly calculated the expenses during this period, which amounted to approximately 5000 million RMB.

However, the harvest was quite fruitful!

Besides Ruiyue Animation, which he fully controls, he has also invested in and holds a certain degree of influence in five other animation companies: Blue Arc, Guangdong Wingsound, Guangdong Original Force, Ruosen Technology, and Shimei Pictures.

A "palm-shaped" structure has been officially formed.

With five companies each holding a position, Ruiyue Animation sits firmly in the palm of the hand.

Lü Rui calls it the "Buddha's Palm" style structure, inspired by the movie "Kung Fu Hustle".

The film has already finished its run in North America, grossing $1710.8 million, barely making a splash. Stephen Chow's Hollywood plans have come to a complete end.

Closer to home.

In this overseas investment, Lü Rui fully leveraged his foresight, buying shares at rock-bottom prices.

It's no exaggeration to say that even if it had been a year later, there probably wouldn't have been this opportunity.

Perhaps in the eyes of many animation company owners, Lü Rui is just a naive and foolish young man with too much money.

But what they didn't know was that Lü Rui saw much further ahead than they did!

Whether it's a case of "foolish people with too much money" or "casting a long line to catch a big fish," time will tell.

"Chairman Lü, quite a few companies have sent over their forms. Would you like to take a look?" Secretary Liang Lulu brought in another stack of documents.

Lü Rui shook his head: "I'm not watching."

It's already late June, and with "Crazy Stone" about to be released and the promotion for "Taken" needing to start, he doesn't have time to keep an eye on the animation market anymore.

Besides, the groundwork has been laid enough, it's time to stabilize things.

"Okay." Liang Lulu nodded and took the documents out again.

Lü Rui turned his gaze back to the computer screen.

After a 20-day run, "Shanghai Dreams" has barely surpassed 300 million yuan in total box office revenue, still a long way from 400 million yuan.

Even if Gao Yuanyuan auctioned off her "original" dress to generate hype, it didn't have much effect.

Fans today aren't as extreme as they are in later generations, where they're even willing to pay high prices for celebrities' underwear in order to follow their idols.

Therefore, it's no surprise that "Shanghai Dreams" is doomed to fail.

Meanwhile, Initial D has already been released.

With a box office of 636 million yuan on its opening day, it completely crushed "Shanghai Dreams" and left countless people speechless!
The term "fan film" has appeared before major investors for the first time.

Industry investors suddenly realized that the impact of "idols" on film box office performance seemed to far exceed their expectations!
Fans are truly willing to spend money to support their idols.

After a week, "Initial D" grossed over 3000 million yuan, successfully taking the top spot at the box office in its opening week!

In the Taiwan market, sales exceeded 4000 million NTD in less than a week, demonstrating an astonishing level of fan support.

Under immense pressure, "Shanghai Dreams" ultimately closed with a disappointing box office of 388 million yuan.

Just then, the premiere of "Crazy Stone" was held as scheduled on the last day of June.

Lu Rui first attended an interview event for "Taken", and by the time he arrived at the premiere, the movie was about to start.

Ning Hao, who had been somewhat anxious, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him enter: "Director Lü, you've finally arrived."

"It's so hot?" Lu Rui was somewhat surprised to see him covered in sweat.

The air conditioner is blowing cold air very strongly, so why is it so hot?

"It's not the heat, it's the nervousness." Ning Hao wasn't embarrassed at all, making no attempt to hide his humility.

"Haha." Lu Rui patted the big gold chain around his neck and encouraged him, "What's there to be nervous about? It's just one cut anyway, so just stand there and be done with it."

Compared to the previous life, the marketing budget for "Crazy Stone" in this life is much more generous. The screening schedule and film prints are all ready, just waiting for the movie to be released.

Lu Rui, on the contrary, was very confident.

"Director Lü is here." Wang Changtian noticed Lü Rui at the door and greeted him with a smile.

As Lü Rui shook hands with him, he said sincerely, "Thank you for your help, Chairman Wang."

Enlight Media put in a lot of effort for this promotional campaign, even placing movie advertisements on variety shows.

I wouldn't say that everyone in the country knows "Crazy Stone," but most moviegoers have probably heard of it.

Many people are curious about what this "stone and diamond" story is all about.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the group walked to the front row.

As soon as Han Sanping met Lü Rui, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "I heard you've recently invested in quite a few animation companies? What? Are you planning a large-scale entry into the animation market?"

"Of course not," Lü Rui denied with a smile. "I'm just optimistic about the future of the animation market, and I happen to have a lot of spare cash, so I thought I'd invest it and have some fun."

"Oh."

Han Sanping didn't think much of it and skipped the topic.

But a glint flashed in Wang Changtian's eyes as he pondered to himself.

The premiere opened with the film, which had been promoted for a month, finally making its debut!
A craft factory on the verge of bankruptcy discovered a priceless piece of jade while renovating its toilets!

The factory manager immediately decided to hold an exhibition to alleviate the economic pressure and instructed Bao Shihong, the head of the security department, to be in charge of security.

Unexpectedly, in order to acquire factory land, real estate tycoon Mr. Feng actually hired international thief Mike to steal jade!
Meanwhile, the trio of thieves led by Dao Ge also set their sights on the jade.

To please Dao Ge's girlfriend, Jing Jing, Xie Xiaomeng, the factory manager's son, first swapped real jade with fake jade, but Dao Ge later took back the real jade.

Mike failed to steal the jade because the rope was two decimeters too short. The trio of thieves also encountered many problems during their operation, and Blackie even got trapped in the sewer.

The entire film is filled with laughter, perfectly portraying a treasure hunt battle full of surprises and absurdities.

Han Sanping didn't pay much attention to the movie at first, but after watching it, he suddenly realized that he might have misjudged it.
"This movie is pretty good!!"

Lu Rui shrugged: "I never said it was of poor quality, it was just that it was cheap to produce."

Han Sanping felt a little empty inside after hearing this...

After the premiere, media interviews began as scheduled.

As an investor, Lü Rui is naturally the focus of everyone's attention.

For any commercial film, box office revenue is always the main focus of attention.

When a Sina reporter asked him about his box office expectations for the film, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Lü Rui announced a figure: "No less than 5000 million!"

boom!
The scene instantly became boiling!

A 400 million investment, aiming for a 5000 million box office? Are you kidding me?
The reporters wanted to ask more questions, but Lü Rui had already stepped aside and refused to give any interviews.

The media certainly gave plenty of red envelopes, but instead of praising the recipients, they raised many questions.

"This morning, the comedy film 'Crazy Stone,' independently produced by Rui Vision, held its premiere in Beijing. Director Lü Rui announced a box office target of 5000 million yuan!"

"Is he just bragging or is he really confident? Let's wait and see."

"A 400 million investment, aiming for a 5000 million box office? Ridiculous..."

"Director Ning Hao's previous films have all ended in failure. Will this collaboration with Ruishijie be able to turn things around?"

A renowned film critic described Crazy Stone as a comedy film full of absurdity and humor.

The influx of heated discussions, questions, and debates has only added to the popularity of "Crazy Stone."

On July 2nd, amidst much curiosity and anticipation, the film officially premiered in theaters across the country.

It's worth mentioning that Wanda was very accommodating, specially reassigning some of the screenings of "Initial D" to "Stone".

Ye Ning's original intention was to befriend Lü Rui, but he never expected that this move would bring the cinema huge profits!
"This movie is so much fun."

"Hahaha, Baleno has been completely ruined."

"Nike makes cameras? Pfft, that line made me burst out laughing."

"BMW became 'Don't Touch Me,' and even adapted 'The First Snow of 2002.' Haha, the first poop of 2002 came later than usual. What a wild idea!"

"What the heck!"

On the day of its release, "Crazy Stone" became a hit across the internet and received rave reviews thanks to its witty lines, hilarious plot, and interesting character interactions!

On its opening day, it immediately grossed 533 million, only 100 million less than "Initial D".

The following day, it defied the trend and surged to 760 million!
Ning Hao called excitedly, almost shouting, "We broke even! We broke even in just two days! That's fucking amazing!"

"Calm down, this is just the beginning."

Lu Rui offered him a word of comfort, and as she watched the news report, her anticipation grew even stronger.

It seems that the film's performance will far exceed my expectations!
I just don't know how much they can achieve with this high-stakes gamble.

Just as I was wondering, a phone call came in.

It was Zhao Peng calling.

As soon as Lü Rui answered the call, he heard barely suppressed laughter coming from the other end: "Brother Rui, the first instance verdict in the 'Kekexili' plagiarism case is out..."

(End of this chapter)