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

Chapter 85 Rounding up to five, that's a hundred million! (Third update! Requesting monthly votes!)
"Lv, the company registration process is almost complete. Now we need to finalize the company name for..."

Over the phone, Peter gave a detailed report on all the work he had done during this period.

With a salary ten times higher than at WMA, he has to produce results, otherwise what use is he to Lü Rui?
Company Name?

In the corridor outside the theater, Lü Rui fell into deep thought.

The domestic company named itself "Ruishijie" (睿视界), which subtly reflects the dual aspirations of "film and television" and "international integration".

But this name can't be used abroad; it has to be more low-key. Being too high-profile will inevitably attract malicious prying from some people.

“Rui…” Suddenly, his eyes lit up. “Let’s call it Ruixing Film Industry.”

Anyway, Luckin Coffee hasn't been launched yet, so there's no issue of company name infringement.

“RuiXing?” Peter’s understanding of Chinese was limited, and he was a little confused for a moment.

The movie had already started in the theater, and Lü Rui hurriedly added, "I'll send you an email later."

"Okay."

After hanging up the phone, he walked quickly into the theater, his thoughts still racing.

The company registered in Los Angeles is called "Ruixing Film Industry", but offshore companies don't have as many restrictions and can be called "Ruixing International".

Besides investing in movies, they may be able to venture into more fields in the future.

To borrow a phrase from the Taoist scripture "Scripture of Salvation":
The heavens are full of energy, and my Taoist sun is prosperous!
……

The plot of "House of Flying Daggers" is much less compelling than that of "Hero".

In Lü Rui's eyes, he still preferred the magnificent sight of the Qin army unleashing a volley of arrows.

For men, the autumn review of troops on the battlefield is definitely one of the most important events in life!
Imagine commanding tens of thousands of troops shouting "Wind! Wind! Strong wind! Strong wind!" on the battlefield... That's the ultimate romantic and exhilarating experience!
In comparison, the feud between the Flying Knife Sect and the county constables in "House of Flying Daggers" inevitably feels a bit petty.

However, the film's shortcomings in plot did not hinder its box office success.

As the first director to join the 200 million yuan box office club, Zhang Yimou once again demonstrated his strong market dominance with the box office appeal he gained from "Hero".

Ten million, thirty million, fifty million...

In just five days, "House of Flying Daggers" broke the box office record of "The Pursuit of Happyness".

Lü Rui was not surprised by this.

According to publicly available information, this film has an investment of up to 2.8 million yuan, is directed by Zhang Yimou, and stars Takeshi Kaneshiro, Liu Dehua, and Zhang Ziyi.

With such a cast, compared to the 800 million yuan investment in "The Pursuit of Happyness" with Wang Zhiwen carrying the entire film, it would be a miracle if it still couldn't win at the box office!
However, just like the previous "Hero", "House of Flying Daggers" has also attracted a lot of controversy.

Many veteran directors, film critics, and commentators launched a collective attack on multiple aspects.

In particular, the Qing Dynasty Manchu dress worn by Zhang Ziyi in the film was criticized as "out of chronology".

The film itself has been criticized as: a mere formalism with dazzling visuals, but an empty and meaningless core!
In contrast, "The Pursuit of Happyness" received overwhelming praise.

Scholars wrote articles in support, praising realistic art films as the "right path" for Chinese-language cinema and directly criticizing "House of Flying Daggers" as "deviant".

These remarks enraged Zhang Weiping so much that his blood pressure soared!
When interviewed by the media, he relentlessly denounced these critics as "out of touch with the past" and even said that "they should all be cremated!"
The two sides were highly charged and engaged in a heated exchange.

On the set of "The Prestige," Jiang Wen looked at an article in the newspaper and couldn't stop laughing.

"Look at you, you've become the weapon old-school film critics use against 'House of Flying Daggers'."

Lu Rui helplessly spread his hands: "I've figured it out. These old guys are just playing favorites based on the project. When 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' broke 100 million at the box office, they criticized me mercilessly, but now they're praising me."

"Hahahahaha!"

Jiang Wen laughed so hard he couldn't straighten up.

Gu Changwei sighed beside him: "Alas! Times are changing too fast. They are afraid of being left behind, so they only think about sticking to the old rules. If there is even one pioneer, they will be criticized as an outcast."

"Isn't this just closing the country off from the world and reinventing the wheel?" Lu Rui said seriously. "Staying stuck in the past will eventually lead to a dead end!"

Time quickly moved into the latter half of July.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire entertainment industry, "House of Flying Daggers" successfully broke the 100 million yuan box office mark.

According to statistics from the Film Bureau, the first domestic film to break 100 million yuan at the box office since the beginning of the new century was "Life and Death Choice," which grossed 120 million yuan.

In 02, "Hero" broke records with a box office of 2.5 million yuan, becoming number one.

In 03, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" caught up and ranked second with a box office of 1.5 million.

Now, "House of Flying Daggers" has caught up and broken 100 million yuan again!

At this point, the gears of development in the Chinese-language film market suddenly accelerated, and those voices that clung to tradition were gradually drowned out by the tide of the times.

The criticism subsided, and Zhang Weiping became much more low-key, probably because he had been summoned for a talk by his superiors.

However, the excitement in the film and television industry never stops.

Feng Xiaogang, perhaps out of his mind, suddenly jumped out and made a high-profile statement, declaring that "A World Without Thieves" would definitely join the ranks of films with a box office of over 100 million yuan!
At the same time, he also made a bold statement, saying that he would make a grand epic film with a story no less magnificent than "Hamlet"!
These remarks were like a boulder thrown into a lake, stirring up even more waves and making the already heated film industry even more noisy!

Many reporters came to the set of "The Prestige" with great interest, wanting to find out if Lu Rui would join the competition for this "epic box office".

Lu Rui completely ignored them.

Epic!

Given the current domestic market environment, the things he wants to film simply cannot be implemented.

Instead of indulging in fantasies, it's better to be grounded and focus on the work at hand.

Filming for "The Prestige" was now two-thirds complete.

Inside the huge venue, Jiang Wen's performance of "Shadow Shift" caused a sensation and made him famous throughout Shanghai!
On the other hand, Hu Jun's reputation plummeted because Jiang Wen ruined his magic performance last time.

The stunt double they finally found was tampered with, causing them to break a leg and become disabled.

"Maybe we should just give up and stop fighting him. You can't beat him." The prop master, played by Li Xuejian, was overwhelmed with exhaustion and worry.

But Hu Jun was not willing to give up!
He pulled out the notebook he had stolen from Jiang Wen, his eyes burning with a fanatical light: "I'm going to find this great Western magician, Tesla!"

Li Xuejian was too old, so naturally she couldn't agree to go with him.

In the early 20th century, the journey from Shanghai to the West in search of Tesla was extremely arduous and destined to be a perilous one with a high chance of death.

But Hu Jun's jaw was taut as iron, and his words were firm and resolute: "I will go! I must find him! I will become the best magician!"

By this point, avenging his wife was no longer his primary goal.

He wants to win!
He wanted to prove himself!

He wants to become a great magician who surpasses Jiang Wen!
"Cut! That's a good take."

Lü Rui's orders resounded throughout the film set.

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the tense atmosphere instantly relaxed.

With this, filming in China will temporarily come to an end.

After a three-day break, Lü Rui will take Hu Jun, Gu Changwei, and a group of production crew members to Hollywood to complete a 10-15 day international shoot.

Jiang Wen, Fan Bingbing, Li Xuejian, and others will enjoy a rare holiday.

"Director Lü, are you going back to the capital?"

Fan Bingbing unscrewed the bottle of mineral water and handed it to her, his tone deliberately affectionate.

"Hmm, I have to go back..." Today is the last day of July, and "The Pursuit of Happyness" will be taken off the screens tomorrow night. There are some documents that he needs to sign.

"Congratulations! 8000 million at the box office! That's amazing. I've never starred in such a blockbuster film before."

Fan Bingbing's eyes gleamed with admiration, while he silently calculated the gap between them.

"Cellphone" only grossed over 4500 million, which is just over half the price of "The Pursuit of Happyness".

Even more astonishing is that Lü Rui has only been in the industry for about three years, but has already made four films, accumulating a total box office of over 300 million yuan.

In contrast, Feng Xiaogang started making films in 94 and produced a total of 7 films over 10 years, only accumulating a total box office of 2.37 million yuan.

When you compare the two sides, Lü Rui is absolutely dominant!

Most importantly, he's young!
He's only 22 years old!

In comparison, Fan Bingbing felt that she was a complete failure.

She's already 23 years old, but she hasn't yet become a top-tier actress. On the other hand, Lü Rui has already made a name for herself and achieved both awards and box office success!

Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder, why is there such a big difference between people?
She didn't dare to ask Lü Rui because she had been scolded many times during filming, so much so that she was afraid of Lü Rui whenever she saw him.

So she secretly went to ask Wang Jinghua.

The reply was: "Why don't you try to get to know Director Lü better in private?"

Although Wang Jinghua's words were very cryptic, Fan Bingbing understood them instantly.

She actually had similar thoughts.

While it's a major taboo for female celebrities to date, it depends on who they're dating.

She would be more than happy to be associated with a top director like Lü Rui, who is both capable and talented!

It's a pity that falling flowers are deliberately flowing and water is ruthless.

When she occasionally leaned in to flirt, wink, or deliberately get close, Lü Rui didn't even give her a second glance.

Isn't filming tiring enough?

Do they still have time to resort to underhanded tactics?

Okay! Then let's shoot a few more takes to cool you down!
Fan Bingbing quickly wilted and understood his attitude, then obediently returned to her role as an actor.

"The Prestige will outperform The Pursuit of Happyness at the box office."

Lu Rui's casual remark caused Fan Bingbing's pupils to contract sharply.

"Could it break 100 million?!" Her voice involuntarily rose.

"They've poured 7000 million into it, what do you think?"

"call!"

Fan Bingbing took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, and thought to himself:

Li Bingbing! Let's see how smug you are now. It's just "A World Without Thieves"? I don't even care!

...

In August, the box office of "House of Flying Daggers" surged to 140 million yuan.

As a result, the box office growth of "The Pursuit of Happyness" almost stagnated in the later stages.

Even so, the total box office still reached 8166 million on the day it was taken off the screens.

This achievement, which is ten times the investment cost, is simply astonishing!
Wise Vision.

As soon as Lü Rui arrived at the office, Hou Hongliang came over with reports and began to give a presentation.

"After deducting 5% for the film industry development fund, 3.3% for taxes and fees, 10% for distribution agency fees, and sharing revenue with cinemas, the total box office revenue alone was 3167 million."

After deducting the investment cost of 800 million, the net profit is 2367 million; with the advertising fees for the opening and closing credits, we can expect to earn more than 2800 million.

Revenue from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia hasn't been calculated yet, but if those are included, this film could bring in at least 4000 million!

As he finished speaking, Hou Hongliang's fingertips trembled slightly on the paper.

The company earned over 5000 million yuan from overseas copyright distribution and another 4000 million yuan domestically.

Rounding up, that's a hundred million!

This is just the revenue from a single film. There's also "Hitch" slated for release during the National Day holiday, and "The Prestige" expected to premiere during the Lunar New Year season...

He couldn't even imagine how much money the company could make this year!

In 03, Shandong Film & Television Group disclosed a total revenue of 2.06 million yuan. This is a company that was founded in 1986 and has been developing for 18 years.

What about Kerui Vision?
Actually, it was registered in 01, so it has only been established for 3 years.

Whether compared horizontally or vertically, Ruishijie's future development potential far exceeds that of Shanying!

Hou Hongliang is very glad he made the decision to switch jobs.

Compared to being a worthless deputy director at Shandong Film and Television Station, this is where his dreams can truly blossom!

Of course, state-owned enterprises are actually quite good, their advantage lies in stability, there's nothing wrong with that, but for him, Ruishijie offers a wider range of possibilities!

"Urge the theaters to make payments as soon as possible."

Compared to Hou Hongliang's excitement, Lü Rui appeared calm and composed.

He's seen such a large sum of money in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," so what's this little bit in "The Pursuit of Happyness"?
After signing his name on the document, he changed the subject and inquired about the TV series project that Hou Hongliang had mentioned before he came.

"What was the budget for that TV series you mentioned, 'Crossing the Guandong'?"

This is a classic work, so Lü Rui certainly wouldn't give it up.

Hou Hongliang said at the time that he could put the project together, but he would need financial support.

Lü Rui then gave him his support to see if he really had the ability.

"call!"

Hou Hongliang put away the documents, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice, "It will probably cost 3000 million, because this is a historical drama and we need veteran actors to support it."

At the same time, a lot of effort and money need to be invested in aspects such as filming locations, historical accuracy, costumes, props, and post-production..."

After listening quietly, Lü Rui nodded under Hou Hongliang's expectant gaze and said, "Make a detailed plan and send it to my email. The theater chain will bring back about 3000 million yuan, so let's use it for this drama."

"Okay! Thank you for your support, Chairman Lü!"

A surge of joy welled up in Hou Hongliang's heart.

During his more than ten years at Shanxi Film Studio, he never handled a project worth tens of millions of yuan.

But as soon as he arrived at Ruishijie, Lü Rui gave him a 3000 million yuan investment project without hesitation. What a huge support that is!

"Chairman Lü, rest assured, I will definitely not let you down. I've talked to the screenwriter and personally visited the site. This project definitely has the potential to be a huge hit..."

If Jiang Wen was Lü Rui's mentor...

So now, Lü Rui has become Hou Hongliang's mentor.

Faced with a mentor willing to support him, Hou Hongliang now, like Lü Rui three years ago, has only one thought in his mind:
A drop of kindness deserves a spring of gratitude in return!
(End of this chapter)