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

Chapter 190: Spending a whopping 200 million! And... stirring things up a bit (Seeking monthly votes)

Yesterday, the nominations for the 78th Academy Awards were announced, and Lee An received seven nominations for his film "Brokeback Mountain," including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

"It is a pity that The Promise failed to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film."

"The nominations for the 56th Berlin International Film Festival have been announced, and Chinese-language films have been completely eliminated, with none making the cut."

“好莱坞大片《我是传奇》定档2月24日登陆内地院线，该片现已退出北美院线；北美票房收获3.47亿美元，仅次于《星球大战3》，位列于05年度北美票房排行榜No.2。”

"Yahoo! Search Star Talent Show's first round of registration concludes; Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, and Zhang Jizhong appear at the opening ceremony..."

……

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Lü Rui returned to the capital from Harbin, officially starting his work for the new year.

He had a very pleasant time during the Spring Festival, spending his days eating and sleeping.

But most other people in the entertainment industry are not idle.

With Liu Yifei's starring role in "The Return of the Condor Heroes" about to be released, she has been busy with various promotional announcements, leaving her no time to even visit her maternal grandmother's home.

On the other hand, "The Promise" failed to win an Oscar, its reputation plummeted, and it became a laughing stock in the industry.

After returning to China from Hollywood in a low-key manner, Chen Kaige quickly threw himself into his new job.

At the Yahoo! Search Star opening ceremony, when pressed by the media, he only said one sentence: "At least for the next ten years, no one will be able to understand this film, 'The Promise'."

Reporters tried to press him for more information, but he remained silent and refused to respond to any related questions.

Although he was unwilling to admit defeat, he also knew that the fact that "The Promise" had flopped both at the box office and with critics was already a fact, and there was no point in saying more.

The only way to silence the criticism is to focus on creating high-quality new works.

Meanwhile, Hu Ge, who edited "A Bloodbath Caused by a Steamed Bun," ultimately chose to issue a public apology online under pressure from public opinion and the court.

But his apology still couldn't salvage the reputation of "The Promise".

This film, which consumed a lot of manpower and resources, has a chaotic plot and illogical reasoning. Even without parody videos, it is difficult to hide its terrible nature.

It's a foregone conclusion that Chen Kaige will bear this infamy.

As for the slogan that surpassed "Taken", he was too embarrassed to even mention it.

On the other hand, Lee An received multiple Oscar nominations for "Brokeback Mountain," and his popularity has surged once again.

He had already won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. If he wins an Oscar this time, it is conceivable that his status and popularity will definitely rank him among the top three in the Chinese film and television industry.

Numerous media outlets are closely following the upcoming Oscars ceremony, eagerly anticipating witnessing him create new glory.

Among directors in the industry, only Lü Rui ignored the popularity of "Brokeback Mountain" and never praised Li An in public.

Many people know that he had a previous rivalry with Li An, and now everyone is waiting to see when the two will have a real showdown in the film and television industry.

...

Wise Vision.

The first thing Lü Rui did after returning to work was to distribute New Year's red envelopes.

Instead of handing the matter over to the administrative departments, he personally visited Ruixing Group, Ruishijie, Ruiyue Animation, and Dianjing Digital.

These are all his core companies, wholly owned by him. By giving out red envelopes, he can not only check on the post-holiday operations but also chat with employees and get a clear understanding of the status of each team.

As for the companies he has invested in, such as Tudou.com, Blue Arc, and Guangdong Wingsound, he didn't make a special trip to visit them.

These companies submit weekly and monthly reports on time, and he can grasp the situation by flipping through them in his spare time.

Someone once made a "outrageous" suggestion, asking him if he should make his subordinate companies submit daily reports?

Lu Rui immediately rejected the idea and severely criticized it: "Even if they have time to write, I don't have time to read it! Writing a daily newspaper? Why not just write an hourly newspaper?"
What kind of stupid company would do something like this? Does that mean we don't have to work anymore? Are we just supposed to write reports all day? Do we not have to do anything else?

……

After distributing New Year's red envelopes in the morning, Lü Rui immersed himself in his work in the afternoon, checking the operation of each project one by one.

The editing of "Soldiers Sortie" is nearing completion, and the soundtrack and dubbing work are progressing simultaneously.

The post-production color grading of "Sunny Sisters" is also proceeding as planned, and the youthful visual style has been basically finalized.

So far, neither project seems to have encountered any major problems.

On the other hand, the acquisition of film and television copyrights authorized to Tudou.com is also progressing steadily.

The team submits progress reports every week, and the selection and negotiation of films, from classic old movies to recent hits, are carried out in an orderly manner.

Meanwhile, the copyright revenue and box office revenue from films such as "Taken", "Click" and "Crazy Stone" have been received one after another.

On the detailed list compiled by the finance department, that long string of numbers was particularly eye-catching!

At the same time, "Crossing the Guandong" also officially came to its finale.

According to statistics, during its broadcast on CCTV-1, the show achieved an average viewership rating of over 7.9%, with a peak rating exceeding 10.4%, and a market share of an astonishing 27.6%, setting a new record for CCTV's prime-time ratings in recent years.

With the series becoming a hit, the main actors, including Li Youbin, Sarina, Wang Jingchun, Yu Jingwei, Zhao Yi, Niu Li, Qin Lan, Guan Yue, and Dong Xuan, have become famous throughout the country and can be recognized by the audience wherever they go.

The show became a hit, so there was no shortage of ways to sell the copyrights.

The negotiations for the second and third rounds of broadcasting rights and authorization for terrestrial channels for "Crossing the Guandong" went exceptionally smoothly.

TV stations, including satellite channels, are vying to submit bids, and some have even raised their purchase prices to secure prime time slots.

The finance department sees income as soon as they open their eyes every day, which is definitely a huge profit!
Even the unfinished sequel to "Soldiers Sortie" has become a hot commodity for major TV stations.

Many TV station executives even approached them in advance, wanting to reserve the broadcasting rights.

The reputation of Ruishijie's TV dramas was completely established by the huge success of "Crossing the Guandong"!
Of these total revenues, Lü Rui first allocated a portion to "My Chief and My Regiment" as preliminary funding for the project.

As for the remaining money, apart from setting aside enough operating funds for new projects, he used the rest to buy land.

Since the year before last, he has been thinking about creating his own "Ruixing Park" in the capital, integrating his film, animation, and digital businesses together.

Now that the company has ample funds, he launched the plan without hesitation.

The Olympics haven't started yet, so land prices in the capital are still relatively affordable.

If you don't act now, it will be too late when land prices rise as the event approaches!
He set his sights on the HR department.

In its previous life, the HR district became one of the first cultural and creative industry clusters in the capital due to the presence of the Huairou Film and Television Base and the Beijing Film Academy branch.

Its core area is centered on the China Film Group Corporation base, and extends to the east and north.

Even before the relevant policies have been implemented, securing land here in advance is practically riding the wave of future development.
However, Lü Rui was a complete novice in the real estate industry.

Fortunately, he knew someone knowledgeable in the field.

Chen Jingfei!
This guy started out in real estate; he owns land and connections.

Both of them are now shareholders of Hongxingwu, which means they have a semi-cooperative relationship, making it easier to discuss other projects.

Just then, Chen Jingfei was looking to expand his investment portfolio like Wanda, even setting his sights on popular overseas subprime mortgage products such as MBS and CDO, and planned to leverage his position to "make a fortune." He was in dire need of money at that time.

Seeing that Lü Rui wanted to buy land to build a building, he immediately made a move on a plot of land located in the HR area.

It took Lü Rui a full 200 million yuan to acquire the 220,000 square meter building area!

After receiving the two hundred million yuan, Chen Jingfei immediately poured it all into subprime mortgage products!

When Lü Rui found out, he didn't try to persuade him further.

After all, everyone has different investment choices, and besides, he and Chen Jingfei are just business partners, so there's no need for him to interfere with the other's decisions.

He silently muttered to himself, "I hope you don't cry too much when the time comes."

After all, he knew that the subprime crisis would break out soon, and when the real estate bubble burst, Chen Jingfei would probably suffer a big setback!
For Lü Rui himself, getting the land was enough.

Building a house is not something that can be done in a short time. From design drawings to construction, it takes time.

Lu Rui wasn't in a hurry. The land was already in his name, and he could just wait for the subsequent plans to be finalized and then proceed step by step.

The most important thing right now is to do a good job in the preparation of "Dying to Survive".

At the same time... we still need to keep making money!
He spent 2 million yuan on the land, and he felt that the subsequent construction would definitely cost several billion yuan.

Of course, there's no rush to build everything at once. We can build one building first for office use, and then slowly build new buildings later once the funds are recovered.

However, despite spending 200 million yuan to buy land, the company's funds did not become strained.

One of the major advantages of the film and television industry is that once a high-quality project is launched, the subsequent revenue will continue to flow back.

For example, right now, as soon as Lü Rui finalized the land transaction, the first round of revenue from the first animated series of "Qin's Moon," titled "Qin's Moon: Hundred Steps Flying Sword," has already arrived in his account.

With the full support of the distribution department, the first-run broadcast rights for "Hundred Steps Flying Sword" not only secured prime time on CCTV-1's "Animation City" program, but also covered 11 provincial and municipal television channels, including Beijing Television.

The initial investment for this drama was 1000 million yuan, and the first round of sales just broke even, or even left over.

As long as the broadcast performance meets the standards, the copyright fees for the second and third rounds can continue to come in. At the same time, Tian Xiaopeng and his team have also devoted themselves to the production of the second part, "The Night Ends and the Dawn Begins," and the long-term layout of the animation IP is progressing steadily.

In addition, several other animation companies invested in by Lü Rui have recently received copyright revenue or project sharing, and their cash flow is very stable.

Even if there are other large expenses later, he won't worry.

When you really need it, just go to the bank for a loan.

Given Vision's current project achievements and industry reputation, banks, unless they're foolish, certainly won't refuse it.

...

Few people in the industry knew that Lü Rui spent 200 million yuan to buy land, because he specifically requested that it be kept secret.

However, Liu Yifei and her daughter soon received the news.

The reason was that Chen Jingfei was so surprised by how fast he was making money that he couldn't help but ask Liu Xiaoli about it.

It's worth noting that he invested in Hongxingwu for several years before his investment and returns barely broke even.

Kerui Vision was established even later than Hongxingwu.

He simply couldn't understand how Lü Rui had amassed such a terrifying fortune in just a few years.
"Lu Rui spent 2 million to buy land???"

When Liu Xiaoli heard this on the phone, she was completely stunned, and almost dropped the thermos in her hand.

It took her a while to recover from the shock. Her throat tightened, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

"Is the profit margin in film and television investment really that high?" Chen Jingfei's tone was filled with obvious anticipation.

He had no prior experience in this industry, but seeing how well Lü Rui was doing, he couldn't help but be tempted.

“It really is huge,” Liu Xiaoli said truthfully, “especially for projects that are box office hits or have explosive viewership ratings, the returns can even be a hundred times the investment!”

"Okay, I understand. You can go ahead with your work." After hanging up the phone, Chen Jingfei immediately had a new plan.

Once he's made money from the subprime mortgages abroad, he should probably start making moves in the film and television industry and try to get a piece of the pie.

On the other end of the phone, after hanging up, Liu Xiaoli subconsciously exchanged a glance with Liu Yifei, who was sitting next to her.

The shock in the eyes of the mother and daughter was impossible to hide!
Liu Yifei couldn't help but exclaim, "My senior is amazing! He bought land and built a company for 2 million... After all these years, what I've earned is just a drop in the ocean..."

Liu Xiaoli didn't say anything, but subconsciously swallowed.

Previously, people online often joked that Lü Rui was a "golden bachelor," but she didn't take it too seriously.

But when she heard Chen Jingfei say "buy land for 2 million yuan", she finally had a direct understanding of this description!
With this kind of generosity, there's no doubt he's a pure, 24K gold digger! The kind without any impurities!

……

After Lü Rui finished dealing with company miscellaneous matters and held more than ten annual planning meetings, it was already mid-February.

The script revisions for "Dying to Survive" have been successfully completed, and the scripts have been handed over to all the actors. They are just waiting for the official start of filming.

But before fully committing to the project, he took some time to visit China Film Group.

With the successful introduction of "I Am Legend" to the mainland, as a participant, he naturally had to keep an eye on it and see if there was anything he could do to lend a hand.

On his way to China Film Group, Lü Rui took the opportunity to browse recent news.

The "Yahoo! Search Star" talent show, jointly promoted by Huayi Brothers, Yahoo! China, and Zhejiang TV, is in full swing.

While things were bustling on one side, Mango Entertainment was embroiled in a contract dispute with one of its own artists, causing a huge uproar.

Many people are criticizing EE-Media for being too unscrupulous, treating artists as money-making machines, which explains why the artists are rebelling.

In the theatrical market, Li Lianjie's "Fearless" is currently showing in theaters and has grossed over 6500 million yuan in just half a month. Unfortunately, it has been suppressed by several Hollywood blockbusters released at the same time, otherwise its performance could have been even better.

In particular, the movie "King Kong," which was released at the same time, attracted a large number of young couples with its story of a gorilla's unwavering devotion to love.

The ending was rather tragic; King Kong was killed.

This is only possible because it's abroad. If it were in China, this gorilla would definitely not die, but it would most likely be controlled and dissected for research...

As for "The Promise" and "Memoirs of a Geisha," which are currently showing overseas, they can only be described as "utterly disastrous," failing to even maintain a basic reputation.

...

Upon arriving at China Film Group, after Lü Rui explained his purpose, Han Sanping waved his hand dismissively:
"You don't need to worry about publicity! This movie has investment from China Film Group, so I'll definitely treat it like my own son, and I would never treat it like a stepmother!"

"I Am Legend" can be considered a major victory for China Film Group's overseas investments in recent years!

It grossed $3.47 million in North America and is poised to reach $7 million worldwide.

If the domestic market can provide another boost, breaking through $7 million will not be difficult at all.

Moreover, this share of profits is earned in US dollars, which is equivalent to generating foreign exchange, and the resulting political achievements are particularly impressive.

In contrast, the mess left by "The Promise" was shelved by Han Sanping after it was confirmed that "I Am Legend" could be imported.

It's not that I don't want to clean up, it's that I simply can't.

Previously, he had tried to hand over "The Promise" to The Weinstein Company for overseas distribution, but after watching the finished film, they didn't even want the deposit and ran away, leaving the China Film team to return in disgrace.

If they try to launch an overseas distribution later, no one will be willing to take over.

"Since you don't need my help, I'll leave now?"

Seeing that Han Sanping had made proper arrangements, Lü Rui got up to leave.

Han Sanping waved his hand: "Go on, hurry up and finish your 'Dying to Survive'. Remember to call me when filming starts, I'll make a cameo appearance."

"Row."

After leaving the China Film Group building, Lü Rui didn't go straight back to his company. Instead, he drove to the Beijing Film Academy.

School is about to start, so he needs to register with his advisor, Tian Zhuangzhuang, and incidentally "stir things up".

During this period, he specifically asked Lu Yang to keep an eye on the entrance exams and interviews for the Master of Fine Arts program at Beijing Film Academy.

I just received the news yesterday, and today is the day to finalize the admission list.

As the saying goes, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.

When Lü Rui knocked on Tian Zhuangzhuang's office door, he immediately saw that the other person was staring at the computer screen, intently watching the interview replay.

"You're here? Have a seat. The sign-in form is on the table; fill it out yourself."

Tian Zhuangzhuang didn't even look up, pointed to the form on the corner of the table, his gaze still fixed on the screen.

Instead of rushing to write, Lü Rui pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, watching the replay together.

On the screen, it was Zhao Yanzi's turn to answer the professor's question.

However, the further Lü Rui read, the more speechless he became.

The questions from the professors were so simple they were almost basic!

For example, one teacher actually asked: "How do you understand the difference between 'suspense' and 'surprise' in film narrative?"

Zhao Yanzi's answer sounded like she was reciting from a directing textbook: "Suspense is about letting the audience know some information in advance, but still making them look forward to what will happen next."

Surprise, on the other hand, breaks the audience's expectations through unexpected plot twists. Both should be used flexibly in pacing depending on the type of story…

What's the difference between this and memorizing a text?
Even elementary school students can read from a book more fluently than this!
Lu Rui silently complained to himself.

Before he could speak, Tian Zhuangzhuang suddenly turned to him and asked, "What do you think of her? Should we accept her?"

"I don't think it's very good," Lü Rui said bluntly. "With this level of knowledge, I can't tell if the teacher is just being perfunctory in asking questions, or if she really has nothing to offer."

Even an MFA is still an MFA, and with this level of ability, what decent works can she possibly produce in the future? Whoever chooses her might get dragged down by her someday…

That's quite blunt and unpolite.

Tian Zhuangzhuang frowned as he listened.

He certainly understands this principle.

For example, in "Journey to the West", Sun Wukong was learning his skills in the Three Star Cave. No matter how much Bodhi Patriarch told him to "not mention his master if he caused trouble", who didn't know who his master was?
This is especially true for directors; if a student makes a mistake, the mentor's reputation will inevitably be affected.

Moreover, the value of an art master's degree is already questionable, and coupled with Zhao Yanzi's controversial reputation in the industry in recent years... now that Lü Rui has analyzed the pros and cons so clearly, Tian Zhuangzhuang's mind has completely tipped.

He picked up his pen, found the name "Zhao Yanzi" on the admission list, crossed it out without hesitation, and instead selected three other candidates who were not well-known but who showed a down-to-earth attitude and a desire to learn during the interviews.

Lu Rui watched from the side, a slight smile playing on his lips.

It was definitely worth the trip!

As long as I don't become "fellow students" with this person, I don't care who she ultimately chooses as her mentor; I won't hold back when dealing with her...

(End of this chapter)