Film and Television: Bao Zong has finance in his left hand and entertainment in his right.

As Liu Xiaobao took out his business card holder from his pocket and handed a business card to Xu Ke, he replied, "That's right, this is my business card. May I ask if Mr. Xu has any films that need investment?"

"Tianbao Entertainment Company?" Xu Ke glanced at the business card, and when he read out Liu Xiaobao's company name, there was a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Liu Xiaobao also noticed the hint of doubt in Xu Ke's eyes and immediately explained to Xu Ke.

"I do business in Pujiang. This entertainment company was newly registered in Hong Kong last month, mainly for film investment. The company has not produced any works on its own yet, so it's normal that Director Xu doesn't know about it."

After hearing Liu Xiaobao's explanation, the doubt in Xu Ke's eyes disappeared, and he quickly smiled and flattered him.

"Oh, it's President Bao! I've been calling you Mr. Bao all along. I'm so sorry for my rudeness. Please forgive my ignorance."

"Director Xu is really flattering me! Let's stop being so polite and get down to business!"

Xu Ke nodded, his smile fading, and his expression turned serious as he took three folders out of his bag.

"Mr. Bao, I currently have three films that are seeking investment. Mr. Bao, if you are interested in any of them, you might consider investing in one of them."

Liu Xiaobao took the three scripts from Xu Ke, nodded to Xu Ke, and then carefully began to read through them.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xiaobao couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Because all three scripts were from classic movies he had seen before.

One film, Green Snake; one film, The New Legend of the Condor Heroes; one film, The Butterfly Lovers.

However, after the initial excitement, Liu Xiaobao couldn't help but feel some doubt and confusion.

The reason for the confusion was that Liu Xiaobao realized he might have underestimated the production cost of a film.

He had previously thought that a movie could be made with an investment of only three to five million.

But now, seeing the script and investment budget provided by Xu Ke, Liu Xiaobao realized that the investment for a film nowadays might require tens of millions of yuan.

Of course, the budget for each film is different; some are high and some are low.

Just like these three scripts, the budget for the movie "Green Snake" is ten million, the budget for "The New Legend of the Condor Heroes" is eight million, and the budget for "The Butterfly Lovers" is five million.

In general, the different actors chosen will result in different salaries, and naturally, different film budgets.

Chapter 37 Investing in "The New Crane Needle" (Please collect and give flowers)

What troubled Liu Xiaobao was that he only knew that these three movies would later be considered classics.

However, he did not know the specific box office figures for these three films when they were released.

Even if he traveled from 2023, he wouldn't remember everything that happened in the past, let alone bother to remember movie box office data from previous years.

Liu Xiaobao only has a vague recollection of some of the box office champion movies that were once very popular.

As for the specific box office revenue of his other films, Liu Xiaobao really didn't know.

So Liu Xiaobao was unsure which film to invest in or which to give up.

However, in recent days, Liu Xiaobao had become accustomed to concealing his emotions, so although he was filled with doubt and inner turmoil, others could not discern his thoughts from his expression.

Since he didn't know how to choose, Liu Xiaobao naturally wouldn't make a decision easily.

As he continued flipping through the scripts, he asked Xu Ke, "Director Xu, how much funding are you short for each of these three scripts?"

Xu Ke dared not exaggerate in this regard, because as long as the funds were secured, the film would begin shooting.

If Xu Ke lies, and Liu Xiaobao agrees to invest in the script, but the movie can't be filmed, Xu Ke will have no way to explain himself.

Therefore, Xu Ke answered entirely truthfully.

"This film, 'Green Snake,' has only secured two million in investment so far, and is still eight million short."

"This film, 'The New Legend of the Condor Heroes,' has already secured four million in investment, and we still need four million more."

"People may think that the theme of this 'Butterfly Lovers' is too old-fashioned and lacks novelty, and they are worried that it will lose money. That's why I've only managed to raise 500,000 yuan in investment so far."

After listening to Xu Ke's words, Liu Xiaobao began to make plans in his mind.

He currently only has five million yuan in funds, which, if invested in "Green Snake," would not be enough to fill the film's budget. He would have to wait until Xu Ke had secured the investment before filming could begin.

In that case, the investment period for his five million would be too long, which is not worthwhile.

However, for either "The New Legend of the Condor Heroes" or "The Butterfly Lovers," whichever film Liu Xiaobao invests in, filming can begin immediately.

The key question now is: which of these two films should I choose to invest in?

Liu Xiaobao thought about it seriously and analyzed it himself.

He also felt that the subject matter of the movie "The Butterfly Lovers" was too old-fashioned. Although it could be called a classic, it was very likely to flop at the box office after its release.

After all, everyone knows the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. No matter how the screenwriter adapts it, it is unlikely to change the ending. A movie where you already know how it will end makes it hard to have much desire to spend money to watch it in the cinema.

However, "The New Legend of the Condor Heroes" is different. First of all, martial arts style is very popular in this era, and this movie is adapted from the novel by the famous writer Wolong Sheng, which has many fans.

Even if not all novel fans go to the cinema to support the film, even if only a small portion do, that's enough to guarantee a minimum box office.

Liu Xiaobao compared the two movies in his mind and made his choice.

Liu Xiaobao put down the script of "The Butterfly Lovers" and started looking at the script of "The New Crane Needle" again.

He soon discovered that the director of "The New Legend of the Condor Heroes" was not Xu Ke himself, but Chen Musheng.

"Director Xu, aren't you planning to direct 'The New Legend of the Condor Heroes' yourself?"

Xu Ke smiled helplessly: "I have too many things to do. I have to raise investment and direct 'Green Snake'. I really can't be in two places at once. But Director Benny Chan is also good. And this movie came from my film studio. I will also help guide and serve as the producer."

Liu Xiaobao was also familiar with director Benny Chan, who was quite famous and had directed many classic films.

For example, classic films such as "Who Am I?", "Double Infernal Affairs", "New Police Story", "Rob-B-Hood", "The White Storm" and so on were all directed by Benny Chan.

Liu Xiaobao has seen all of Benny Chan's classic films. Although Benny Chan is not very famous now, Liu Xiaobao still believes in his abilities.

Moreover, Xu Ke had promised to help with guidance and supervision, which made Liu Xiaobao even more at ease.

So after listening to Xu Ke's words, Liu Xiaobao simply nodded and didn't say anything more about the director selection.

Then Liu Xiaobao noticed something else and asked Xu Ke with some confusion, "Director Xu, the male lead and other actors have been cast, but the actresses for the two female leads haven't been listed?"

Xu Ke glanced at Su Jie beside him before answering Liu Xiaobao softly.

"This is the rule in our industry. The choice of the female lead is usually decided last, and it is usually decided by the largest investor. Right now, the investment is not in place, and we haven't determined who the largest investor is, so we can't decide on the female lead yet. But don't worry, Mr. Bao, this matter will definitely not delay the filming of the movie."

Upon hearing Xu Ke's answer, three words immediately popped into Liu Xiaobao's mind: unspoken rules!

Although Liu Xiaobao had never been in the entertainment industry, he had heard a lot about the dirty tricks and scandals within it.

So even though Xu Ke didn't say it explicitly, Liu Xiaobao already understood the underlying meaning in Xu Ke's words.

At that moment, Liu Xiaobao didn't think too much about those dirty things; he just wanted to quickly invest in a movie to test the waters.

"Director Xu, I've made my decision. I'll invest the remaining four million in funding for your film, 'The New Legend of the Condor Heroes'."

Xu Ke was overjoyed: "Thank you, Mr. Bao! I will definitely do my best to make this film and ensure a high return on your investment!"

Chapter 38 Beautiful Celebrity Guan Zhilin (Please collect and give flowers)

It must be said that Hong Kong is indeed a highly efficient place.

Not only did those businessmen negotiate and sign contracts simultaneously, but their collaborations also involved multiple rounds of negotiations.

Even Xu Ke, a director who goes out to solicit investment, carries the script in one hand and the contract in the other.

After Liu Xiaobao made his choice, Xu Ke immediately produced a contract.

It wasn't that Liu Xiaobao didn't trust Xu Ke, but rather that one must be cautious when doing business. Besides, this was Liu Xiaobao's first time investing in a film, so he naturally needed to understand the contract thoroughly so that he could be more informed when investing in other films in the future.

So Liu Xiaobao carefully reviewed the contract in front of Xu Ke.

Liu Xiaobao discovered that there was nothing wrong with the contract; half of his investment would be transferred to Xu Ke's film studio's company account before filming began.

Once filming begins and the movie is about one-third complete, the remaining half of the investment will be transferred.

Liu Xiaobao understood that this operation was also to minimize the investment risk for investors and prevent them from taking all the funds with them if someone absconded with them.

The return is allocated according to the budgeted investment ratio, but taxes, theater revenue sharing, and principal must be deducted first.

For example, the budget for this film, "The New Legend of the Condor Heroes," was eight million, and Liu Xiaobao invested four million.

Assuming the movie grosses 20 million at the box office, you first need to deduct about 12% in taxes, then deduct the agreed-upon price or revenue share with the theaters, then deduct the initial investment of 8 million, and only the remaining money is the profit.

This is assuming the director receives a salary. If the director receives a percentage of the profits, then the director's pre-determined percentage will be deducted from the total.

Apart from all of the above, Yang Gang will also receive half of the money earned in the end, since he owns half of the investment share.

After reviewing the contract, Liu Xiaobao finally understood the basic rules of film investment.

After checking the contract and finding no problems, Liu Xiaobao signed the investment contract for "The New Crane Needle" with Xu Ke on the spot.

Furthermore, Liu Xiaobao and Xu Ke went to the bank together and transferred two million yuan from the company account of 'Tianbao Entertainment Company' to Xu Ke's film studio account.

From then on, the two officially reached a cooperation agreement.

It was just noon, and Xu Ke, wanting to build a closer relationship with investor Liu Xiaobao, specially invited him to have lunch together.

In order to invest in future films, Liu Xiaobao also wanted to befriend Xu Ke. The two hit it off immediately and found a restaurant to have lunch together.

When dining out or socializing, drinking is often unavoidable.

Moreover, friendships between men are often forged over drinks.