In the entertainment industry, everyone has been reborn, but who will be their servant?

Chapter 37 What I, President Xuan, Said

Just as Qin Xuan, posing as a reporter, was scheduling an interview with Wang Jianlin, Wu Guoqiang and Cai Mei had already met with Sun Chen of Bona Film Group, bringing with them the film footage.

Bona has now separated from Poly, but Bona International Film Group has not yet been established; it still operates under the name Poly Bona.

Bona is currently backed by Sequoia Capital and SIG Capital, both of which are known as squid capital firms.

Nowadays, everyone in the entertainment industry is looking for capital backers. Without capital, it's impossible to operate on the film and television system alone because the scale is too small. Meanwhile, those star movies have investments of tens or hundreds of millions.

This is also the reason why hot money from coal mine owners and real estate tycoons poured in. Behind the movie "Red Cliff" was the capital of coal mine owners, namely Chunqiu Hongwen.

However, most coal mine owners invest small amounts of money. Don't think of them as if money is nothing; it's very different from real capital.

In a small screening room, Wu Guoqiang and Cai Mei were surprised to see Fatty Yu.

"Hello, Mr. Yu, thank you so much for taking the time to come see our movie." Wu Guoqiang tried to be polite, but his demeanor was rather reserved.

To them, Fatty Yu is indeed a big boss, but to Qin Xuan, he's just another face in the crowd.

It's not that Qin Xuan is being arrogant, but Bona Film Group is currently dirt poor. Even with a financial backer, they're still struggling. Making just one or two films would be a huge financial drain.

Do you believe their annual net profit is only a few million? It's not even as fast as big stars making money. Of course, you can't calculate things like that; after all, they are at the top of the industry.

Therefore, Bona can only rely on the Hong Kong-based group to get a share of the pie through cooperation and maintain its competitiveness in the industry.

"Enough talk, just start showing the film!" Fatty Yu didn't want to exchange pleasantries with the two.

They didn't know each other before; he just came to take a look. Bona Film Group is also short of film sources, as they produce too few films on their own.

"Okay." Wu Guoqiang handed the sample film to the projectionist and began preparing for the screening.

Of course, he didn't let his guard down. He kept a close eye on the fact that the sample film wasn't taken away or switched. Although he was old-fashioned, he knew the importance of this material. If it was leaked before the film was even released, his nephew's hard work would be wasted.

There are many unpredictable things in this industry. It is said that an independent filmmaker was working as an editor at a big company, and then his hard drive was lost. A few months later, the film reappeared and was sold to a film distributor.

The lights in the screening room dimmed, and an image appeared on the big screen. There were no subtitles; it just started playing. Fatty Yu had a calm expression and casually crossed his legs.

"Mr. Yu, it doesn't seem very good, it's low-budget." Sun Chen whispered.

He could tell at a glance that the film had a low budget; he could tell just by looking at the scenes.

"Let's see, if it doesn't work out, let them go," Fatty Yu said nonchalantly.

So many independent films come to them every year, but they are selective in their distribution; they don't release every single one.

Wu Guoqiang and Cai Mei, however, were not interested in watching the movie. They were constantly paying attention to their surroundings and noticed the conversation between the two, which made them quite uneasy.

However, as the movie's plot unfolds, Fatty Yu's initially casual demeanor transforms into a serious one.

This is because it is a very creative dark comedy film, packed with jokes, ingeniously structured, and featuring vivid characters. If handled well, it has great potential.

"This is a good movie." Fatty Yu changed his previous impression and became interested.

"It's not bad." Sun Chen also noticed the merits of the movie.

They can judge whether a movie is good or not, after all, they are in this industry; otherwise, this movie wouldn't have been favored by Zuo Shandiao in his previous life.

Fatty Yu turned and looked the couple over, then asked, "Where did these two come from?"

"I don't know. It was a junior accountant at one of our company's partners. I heard it was a relative of his who took the bid, and now they can't find anyone to take over. I thought it would be good to take a look, so I agreed," Sun Chen explained.

Hearing him say that, Fatty Yu understood. It was probably a group of feverish people who filmed it, with no identity or background.

"Cooperate with me later, just follow my eye signals," Fatty Yu instructed. "Yes, Mr. Yu," Sun Chen understood.

The movie finished playing amidst everyone's own thoughts, and Wu Guoqiang immediately went to the projectionist to retrieve the sample copy.

"To be honest, this film is poorly made, lacks both stars and spectacle. It'll be hard to sell at the box office if it's released in theaters; it'll be a complete waste of time," Fatty Yu said, putting the film down.

“Yes, the plot is terrible, I have no idea what it’s about, and it has no selling points,” Sun Chen agreed.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Wu Guoqiang was also quite bewildered.

He read it and thought it was alright, so why couldn't he hear anything nice coming from these two?

Moreover, the two of them watched the whole thing.

"You think a low-budget film can make a profit? Let me put it this way, I wouldn't take this film even if you gave it to me for free," Fatty Yu said confidently.

These words made Wu Guoqiang and Cai Mei's faces turn sour, and their confidence was somewhat shaken.

Some people also doubt that this movie is really bad.

"To be honest, even if we, Bona, distribute it, we'll still lose money. No matter who you choose to distribute it, you'll still lose money. This movie won't sell." Sun Chen added fuel to the fire.

"If it's not released in theaters, how much can the copyright sell for?" Wu Guoqiang tried to ask.

Sun Chen glanced at Fatty Yu, then shook his head and said with difficulty, "It won't sell for much, maybe tens of thousands of yuan!"

"Tens of thousands?!" Cai Mei couldn't help but exclaim, "My nephew spent nearly two million."

“What can we do? That’s how movies are. 90% of them lose money. Unlike other things, this is a physical object. You can’t see it or touch it. You only know if it’s valuable when it’s released in theaters. You can say it’s worthless.” Sun Chen explained.

There's some truth to what they said, which put Wu Guoqiang and Cai Mei in a dilemma.

Seeing the expressions on the two men's faces, Fatty Yu felt that he had suppressed them enough, so he gave Sun Chen a wink.

After receiving the money, Sun Chen "kindly" said, "Seeing that you're not having an easy time either, how about this, Bona will buy it out for 10 yuan, so you can lose less money."

"A buyout for 100,000?" Wu Guoqiang was stunned.

Cai Mei also felt it was a bit outrageous; a price that was only one-twentieth of what it was, she was losing money hand over fist.

“Yes, you won’t be able to sell it for 100,000 even if you go elsewhere,” Sun Chen said.

“No, no, I can’t explain 100,000 to my nephew,” Wu Guoqiang refused.

"Two hundred thousand is the most I can offer. Consider it a gesture of goodwill from me. Otherwise, you'll be stuck with this money and won't have a single penny left." Fatty Yu spoke with a sense of oppression and threat.

This did put psychological pressure on Wu Guoqiang and Cai Mei, after all, the other party was a big boss.

"Let me discuss it with my nephew first." Wu Guoqiang didn't dare to make the decision himself; this problem was too big.

When Qin Xuan received the call and heard the news, he was so angry that he laughed. He said, "Uncle and Aunt, tell that fat Yu to die. Just say that it was me, President Xuan, who said it."

Damn it, he's fooling his family like that.

He didn't even need to listen; he knew what Fatty Yu was up to.

After buying out the rights, they erase all traces of the director and screenwriter, then replace the director, put on the Bona label, and release the film.

Not only will the money earned have nothing to do with Qin Xuan, but even his naming rights will be stripped away.

(End of this chapter)