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

Chapter 69: Aren't these conditions a bit too harsh?
The script is still under review, so there's no need to rush the subsequent preparations.

Lu Rui then went to China Film Group to officially finalize the release date of "Hitch".

"Have you thought it through? Release it during the National Day holiday?"

"Yes, it's National Day."

"it is good."

Han Sanping acted decisively, handing the document to his secretary without a word and arranging for it to be sent to the distribution department.

Lü Rui didn't rush to leave, and took the opportunity to mention the invitation from the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival.

"It's still early. I'll inquire about it after you get back from Cannes."

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Sanping remembered something else and added, "By the way, the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival will be officially split up and held every two years after this year's event."

"Why split it up?" Lu Rui asked, somewhat puzzled.

"In order to ensure the orderly development of the two awards, and to allow for a more rational allocation of resources and influence of the film festival..."

Han Sanping started talking about official document language, but Lü Rui heard the underlying meaning.

Isn't it all about playing the "balance" game?

These are all old Chinese traditions.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it's highly likely that the two companies will be supporting and helping each other's younger generations.

"understood."

Lu Rui got up to leave, but Han Sanping suddenly called out to him, "Don't rush off. I have a script here. Could you take a look at it?"

script?

Lu Ruigang's foot suddenly stopped, and he turned around, his gaze falling on the brown paper bag that Han Sanping handed him.

On the cover, the words "The Promise" are prominently displayed!
He took it and opened it, only to find that the opening was an absurd prophecy of fate:

The poor girl, Qingcheng, is cursed by fate and will never find true love unless time reverses and the river flows backward.

After growing up, she became a princess, but became entangled in emotional relationships with General Guangming and the slave Kunlun.

Amidst intertwined love and hate and power struggles, Kunlun breaks the curse in an attempt to reverse fate, thus beginning a fantastical tale of love and destiny...

Half an hour later, Lü Rui closed the script and tried to remind Han Sanping: "This story... is a bit obscure."

"Haha, that's exactly what's meant to be obscure. As Brother Kai said, it's mysterious and profound, that's the limitless. Once the finished film comes out, I guarantee it will enlighten you!"

"???"

Lu Rui stood there, stunned, his face full of question marks.

I can't even understand the script, but I can understand the finished film?
What kind of logic is that?

However, considering that this was Chen Kaige's work, he felt it was quite normal, after all, this guy likes to play the mystery game.

After leaving China Film Group, Lü Rui returned to the school library and began to think about his thesis.

After thinking for half an hour, he first decided on the topic:
"Genre Mutual Learning and Ecosystem Reconstruction: Exploring Future Paths for the Collaborative Development of Art Films and Commercial Films"

Next, you need to fill in the content.

He wrote his thesis based on the shooting techniques of various commercial/art film directors awarded by the system, as well as his own film shooting experience over the past few years.

As for CNKI... he didn't touch it.

Of course, he knows very well what CNKI is and would never make the childish mistake of "not knowing CNKI".

He spent almost all of his seven-day holiday in the library.

Meanwhile, the outside world was greeted with two major pieces of news that shook the film and television industry: the approval of the project for "The Promise" and the script for Zhang Yimou's new film "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" was approved!

On May 8th, Lü Rui walked out of the library.

When he returned to his dormitory, he heard many people at school discussing the closing ceremony of the Athens Olympics.

Zhang Yimou selected a total of 14 "Athens Olympic Babes", including students from the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing Film Academy, and Beijing Dance Academy. The most famous of them all was Tang Yan, the campus belle from the 02 class of the Central Academy of Drama!
After taking a shower and changing his clothes, Lü Rui was about to leave with his car keys when he suddenly heard a "ding" sound.

[Congratulations, host! You have successfully translated the movie "The Prestige" into Chinese and passed the Film Bureau's review.]

[Level C talent: "Christopher Nolan's linear framework for suspense and mystery, and his techniques in using scene lighting and color tones" has been successfully awarded!]

Lu Rui paused, a smile appearing on his lips.

Just then, Han Sanping called: "The script has been approved."

Lu Rui replied, "Okay, I'll make some preparations and come over on the 10th to discuss the investment."

"I won't go there in person; my secretary will sign the contract on my behalf."

"Row."

Lu Rui knew perfectly well that Han Sanping had been focusing all his attention on "The Promise" lately.

He didn't know what to say, and could only silently wish the other person good luck in his heart.

After hanging up the phone, he immediately notified the company to start preparations and instructed his assistant that they could send out notification messages.

Everyone is getting impatient. If this matter isn't settled, many people probably won't be able to sleep well.

Many people from Hong Kong also called, and Lü Rui welcomed them without hesitation.

Come if you want, I'll just help promote the business and raise the prices.

They are destined to be runners-up.

Compared to the currently booming mainland market, Hong Kong's capital market looks utterly lifeless; it's no wonder that no one can afford to pay high prices.

On the 9th, Lu Rui first sent the casting details and overseas location scouting requirements for "The Prestige" to Warner Bros.

Alan Horn didn't have time to deal with him personally, so he arranged for a male producer named Lauren Megan.

When Lü Rui first heard this guy's name, he was immediately reminded of the classic scene between Andrew and Miguel in "Kee and Peele." That brilliant mid-door sniping maneuver was still vivid in his mind!
"Speaking of which, investing in TV dramas seems like a decent source of income?"

The idea that had just popped into his head was immediately nipped in the bud.

He doesn't have the energy to juggle two projects at once; he might capsize if things go wrong. He should focus on finishing "The Prestige" first.

When I have more time and energy in the future, maybe I can watch some American TV series or catch up on the final payment.

That Steadicam sniper rifle mounted on the ship was practically every director's and cameraman's dream!
The next morning at 9 a.m., as soon as Lü Rui drove to the company, he saw several luxury cars parked in the parking space from afar.

Wang Zhonglei leaned against the car door, puffing on his cigarette, his eyes fixed on the Ruishijie signboard, lost in thought.

Wang Jinghua was on the phone next to her, and you could vaguely hear words like "Jinmaoshu" and "very popular," probably referring to a character in a TV series.

Dong Ping also arrived early, surrounded by several people from Hong Kong, speaking fluent Cantonese and exuding an air of importance.

"Good morning, Director Lü."

As a representative of Yinghuang, Huo Wenxi also visited Ruishijie today.

Unlike her colleagues in the Hong Kong entertainment circle who were arrogant, she was relatively humble when she took the initiative to greet them.

"morning."

Lu Rui smiled and nodded in greeting, then walked through the crowd into the company.

Representatives from various capital groups and brokerage tycoons followed suit and filed in.

By 9:30, everyone had arrived.

The office space was a bit small, so everyone simply found a place to sit in the lobby.

With the idea of ​​a quick and decisive victory in mind, Lü Rui glanced at the entire room and said bluntly, "Let me explain something to everyone first. The total budget for the project is about 7000 million, but the share that can be allocated at present is only 25%."

I plan to split it into 5 parts, which means it will require 5 co-production companies. You all understand what I mean, right?

Everyone nodded knowingly.

This model of splitting funds for cooperation is very common in the industry. It is nothing more than a game of negotiation around core terms such as resource exchange and equity distribution within a predetermined budget framework.

“China offers 400 million, a premium of 50, and wants 5% of it.” The person Xiang Huaqiang had arranged spoke first, his tone tinged with arrogance.

Other Hong Kong representatives followed suit, but the conditions they offered were nothing more than increasing the premium.

After all, the Hong Kong entertainment circle doesn't really have many bargaining chips when it comes to resource exchange.

The people on the mainland remained silent, watching them tear each other apart.

In the end, Mani Fok offered a premium of HK$150 million and a 20% profit share from the Hong Kong distribution.

The others frowned and started taking out their phones to send messages.

Yinghuang's offer was too outrageous! They were finding it hard to cope.

However, the next second, a group of investors from Hong Kong suddenly experienced what it meant to be a "dimensional reduction attack"!
"Enlight Media is offering a premium of 200 million yuan, and its variety shows, television programs, and nationwide terrestrial television program broadcasting network can all provide assistance in promotion."

“Shanghai Film Group can provide assistance with distribution. The film is shot in Shanghai, right? I will coordinate all the filming locations.”

"Huayi can provide strong support in promotion and distribution in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and other Southeast Asian regions, and is also worth a premium of 200 million."

"Wanda is willing to pay a premium of 400, just to make friends with Director Lü. We can also provide some assistance in terms of theater scheduling."

400?
Upon hearing this number, Lü Rui raised an eyebrow and looked at the middle-aged man sitting in the corner along with everyone else.

Ye Ning, Vice President of Wanda Cinemas!

In March of this year, the first Wanda Cinema opened in Tianjin!
Subsequently, rumors circulated within the industry that Wanda was going to leverage its real estate business to develop cinema chains.

It now seems that the rumor was true.

Moreover, people can subtly deduce a lot from the phrase "let's make friends".

Real estate + cinemas: going against the tide and forming an industrial closed loop, Wanda's ambitions are now clear!
Exchanging 400 million for an admission ticket may seem like a potentially unprofitable deal, but overall, Wanda is guaranteed to make a profit.

At this moment, hearing everyone making offers, each one better than the last, Wang Zhonglei couldn't sit still any longer.

If we were to be pushed off again after finally getting the chance to get back on the ship, wouldn't all our efforts have been wasted?

"Director Lü! Huayi is willing to pay an extra 1.5 million... no! It's 2.6 million. I happen to have an empty office space in a prime location that can be used as a new office location for Ruishijie."

We also have an artist management business; any artist selected from our company will act for free…

Since we've already decided to go all out, we naturally need to be prepared to go all out!

Wang Zhonglei felt that his sincerity was more than enough!

His do-or-die statement did indeed catch Lü Rui's eye.

He was just worrying about the company's space recently; the business was growing bigger and bigger, and the space was becoming a bit tight.

I never expected that a pillow would be delivered to my door when I was just feeling sleepy!

There are also actors who work for free, which is a pretty good deal.

This situation is very common in the industry nowadays. Let alone working for free, you might even have to pay money to get good resources and roles!

Huayi has indeed shown great sincerity this time.

Lu Rui nodded slightly to him, then turned to look at the Hong Kong entertainment circle: "Does anyone have anything to add?"

The Hong Kong representatives looked at each other, their throats feeling as if an invisible hand was gripping them tightly.

The conditions offered by mainland capital have far exceeded their expectations!

Several people were even frightened!

These conditions are a bit too harsh, aren't they?
Are all mainland Chinese investors this extravagant?

(End of this chapter)