Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 155 The Most Expensive Chinese-Language Film
According to an announcement from Little Dream Visual Effects Company, the animated film "WALL-E," which took 22 months to produce and is co-directed by Chen Shouzhe and Guo Fan, is scheduled for release during the 2016 Spring Festival, on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Without this announcement, everyone would have almost forgotten that Chen Shouzhe made an animated film after making The Martian.

Initially, this animated film was produced by Little Dream, and no one outside knew about it until it was exposed and made public.

Almost two years have passed in the blink of an eye, and people had long forgotten that this movie even existed. Unexpectedly, it was suddenly announced that it would be released during the Spring Festival season.

They wouldn't have known if the media hadn't noticed.

The announcement had been posted for three days when it was discovered by bored media outlets, who immediately published it online as breaking news, causing a huge sensation.

As more details were revealed and the production costs were announced, domestic production companies went crazy.

"Am I seeing things? This is the production cost of an animated film?"

"Did they launder money? It's just an animated movie, why did they spend so much money?"

"This was made by our own company, took 22 months, and cost 100 million US dollars?"

"That's outrageous. Only Chen Shou would dare to make such an investment. He probably put all the money he earned in a year into it."

"The largest film investment in China to date is actually an animated film."

"I won't say much more. I just want to see what this $100 million animated film is like."

"Where are the promotional posters? Where are the trailers? What kind of movie is it?"

"I heard that other production companies are cursing. They had already avoided the Lunar New Year releases of 'Let the Bullets Fly' and 'Old Dude,' but they didn't expect there to be an even more terrifying family-friendly animated film during the Spring Festival."

One hundred million US dollars was invested in the production of an animated film.

The highest-grossing single film in China to date is Chen Shouzhe's "The Martian," with a production cost of 400 million yuan.

The animated robot WALL-E cost a whopping $100 million to produce, which translates to over $600 million.

Such a staggering production cost is completely beyond the reach of domestic production companies.

Even though Alibaba, which claims to have plenty of money, announced several movies with no upper limit, none of them actually exceeded 200 million yuan, let alone the one that tried to piggyback on The Martian.

Now an animated film with an investment of over 600 million yuan has suddenly appeared; they're leaving us no way to survive.

No one expected that the production cost of this animated film would be so high, especially since it was an independent production without the involvement of other companies.

Even the authorities were alarmed, and many people called Chen Shouzhe to verify whether it was true.

Chen Shouzhe hadn't expected it to cause such a sensation; he received so many phone calls.

"You've been hiding this so well, you really invested a hundred million US dollars to make an animated film?" Jiang Wen asked, her eyes wide on the other end of the phone.

"Yes," Chen Shou nodded.

"Damn, such a big investment? It's just an animated movie, is it really necessary to go to such lengths?" Jiang Wen found it hard to believe and accept that such a large investment could be made in an animated movie.

“You don’t understand the technology. This thing is very expensive. If we hand it over to Hollywood to produce, it will cost at least 200 million US dollars. By producing it ourselves in our own company, we have reduced the costs a lot. There is also the follow-up publicity and distribution. The estimated investment is 700 million,” Chen Shou said.

"You contributed 700 million by yourself, how much money have you actually made over the years?" Jiang Wen was already red-faced.

Chen Shou is fucking rich, and he drinks alcohol every day. He makes a 700 million dollar movie and runs it all by himself. You can't find another company in the whole country that does this.

"I've spent all the money I earned on making movies, I'm really poor," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Get lost. If you don't want to talk, you have to come along for the bullet publicity..." Jiang Wen cursed, really envious. He was already very proud of the fact that a movie he made a few years ago only grossed over 600 million.

At that time, Yang Shoucheng gave him an eight million yuan red envelope, but Jiang Wen refused it boldly, saying he didn't need it and that he believed he could continue to make films in the future.

Now, compared to Chen Shouzhe, my highest box office is not even enough for him to invest in a movie. What's the point of playing around?

I thought to myself, "Are we already playing such high-level games?"

It's like when a good friend from the past suddenly drives out in the luxury car you've always dreamed of, saying it's just a family car; no one can understand that feeling.

After hanging up Jiang Wen's call, Wang Gongzi called. It has to be said that the two have a pretty good relationship. However, Chen Shou has not revealed that Ye Ning plans to leave Wanda.

He came over to hear the gossip, after all, the investment was so huge that even he was taken aback.

His father only gave him a small amount of money, but he tinkered with many things on his own, doing things haphazardly and investing in many projects.

Chen Shouzhe, however, managed to put six small goals into an animated film, which he considered a crazy move. In recent years, he has been getting close to the entertainment industry, and Chen Shouzhe can be said to be a very good friend of his in the film and television industry, and they get along quite well. In addition, Huang Xiaoming and others are also good, and he even served as a groomsman.

"You're also gossiping about this kind of thing? Looks like you should post something on Weibo, otherwise all we'll hear is phone calls," Chen Shou said speechlessly.

"Did they really invest that much money?" Xiao Wang exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, it will be more than that. We also need to cover the marketing and promotion costs. I estimate it will be around seven small goals."

"Hiss~" Xiao Wang on the other end didn't say anything, but said, "Brother, you're the real brother. I'll toast you another day. Wanda Cinema is lucky to have you as a partner." "Don't say no. Just increase the number of screenings for me. I don't think there will be many 3D movies. Just leave all the 3D and IMAX screenings to me," Chen Shou said.

“You’re being too greedy. But if you can really handle everything, like the Martian last year, I guarantee I’ll get it done for you,” Xiao Wang said.

"I guarantee you'll be satisfied. You can also come and see the premiere," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"No problem, I haven't seen a domestic animated film with a budget of 100 million US dollars yet."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Changtian arrived. Chen Shouzhe answered the call, chatted for a while, and then hung up. When he saw the phone ringing again, he didn't answer and started editing his Weibo post.

[We originally planned to announce it next month, but since it has already been discovered, let's be direct. That's right, the film's production cost is 100 million US dollars, and that's just the production cost. The remaining marketing and distribution costs will continue to be invested, and the total investment is expected to reach 700 million. It will be independently produced by Shouzhe Pictures.]

Specific details about the film will not be released at this time, but we can assure you that it is a science fiction animated film, and there will be a 3D version. You can experience it in theaters. It will be released simultaneously in more than eighty countries around the world. Stay tuned!

This Weibo post caused an uproar across the internet.

They really spent 100 million US dollars to produce an animated film, and it's a science fiction animated film.

Such a large-scale project is something only Hollywood can afford to do. I never expected that a domestic company would be so crazy.

And it was produced by an independent company, which is hard to believe.

There are many listed film and television companies, but none of them would spend so much money to produce a movie.

When you have nothing to lose, you might take a gamble, like Wu Jing, who invested tens of millions and could sell his house and car because even if his movie failed, he could still earn it back as an actor.

An investment of 700 million is something even listed companies wouldn't dare to undertake; a single film could bankrupt a company.

It's no wonder that people in the film and television industry were scared; they simply couldn't and wouldn't dare to take such risks. They just didn't expect Chen Shou to go all out.

If it were just a matter of finding dozens of companies to invest together, that would be one thing. The problem is that you, as a single company, dare to do this, bearing all the risks yourself. If it fails, the company could be severely impacted.

madman.

Chen Shouzhe earned the title of a madman; he dared to make such investments, what else could he be but a madman?

But the audience is different. A domestic science fiction animation has an investment of 700 million yuan and a production cost of 100 million US dollars.

They certainly wouldn't believe it if it were anyone else, but Chen Shou's reputation accumulated over the years is enough. He wouldn't lie; if he says it's one hundred million US dollars, then it's one hundred million US dollars. There's absolutely no need for him to make things up.

It's a family-friendly animated film, so we can take the kids to see it. If the whole family goes, it'll only cost three or four movie tickets. Just think about the box office performance then.

After Chen Shouzhe finished posting on Weibo, he discovered that Zhang Hongsheng had recommended a movie to him, so he replied to him.

"Finally got through to you on the phone. Is the investment really that much?"

"You didn't see the filing information, did you? You really spent that much money," Chen Shou said.

“I just saw it. I thought you were just bragging. Domestic animated films are indeed not very good. You did a good job this time. The higher-ups will support you,” Zhang Hongsheng said.

"Great! We'll promote it a lot then." Chen Shou was naturally happy.

Zhang Hongsheng's words carry weight, prompting many official media outlets to speak out.

They may also have to give interviews to official media during the film's release.

Don't underestimate the power of state media propaganda. Many people don't pay much attention to the film and television industry and don't have the habit of watching movies, but they will obtain official information from state media propaganda and thus watch movies that are praised by the authorities.

How did The Taking of Tiger Mountain achieve such high box office numbers?

State media played a significant role in this, promoting it for several days and even interviewing Jiang Wen and Chen Shouzhe.

That's why so many people go to the cinema to watch movies.

Over the years, the government has been supporting commercial films and promoting Chinese culture.

Chen Shouzhe's "The Martian" was quite good, "A Chinese Ghost Story" sparked a wave of Han culture in Southeast Asia, and so did "Journey to the West".

Animated films are even better for promotion, since most animated films are watched by young people.

To influence a country, start with its young people.

The reason why Japanese manga and anime have such a huge influence is that many adults today can say that those anime and manga represent their youth.

After posting on Weibo, I received far fewer phone calls, but some production companies with whom I had a good relationship still called to say that he was being dishonest.

Animated films are not in the same league as them, so they don't have much of an impact on them; they're just grumbling.

Chen Shouzhe didn't care about their lives or deaths. He was already contacting distribution companies. Columbia Pictures was probably the one in Europe and America, and China Film Group and Emperor Entertainment Group had both called in Southeast Asia. For domestic distribution, Enlight Media couldn't handle it alone. It was impossible to do it too thoroughly. He needed to find two companies with distribution capabilities to jointly distribute the film.

(End of this chapter)