Huayu is here for you

Chapter 153 Preparing for Auction

The day after Lin Yu arrived at the company with the adapted script for "Wanted," he immediately received a call from Han Sanping.

It's nothing more than urging him to hand over the publicity and distribution of "Qian Xuesen" to China Film Group!

Moreover, he reduced the film's distribution share to five percent this time, which shows considerable sincerity. However, Lin Yu estimates that this is probably related to the film's genre.

The recent release of "The Warlords" also received mixed reviews. Jet Li received a salary that was one-third of the film's cost, and he was directly rewarded with roughly one-third of the box office revenue. Well, that's fair! You get what you pay for.

And Stephen Chow's "CJ7" also made Lao Han's hair turn two more gray from worry.

So now he can only rely on Lin Yu. Although "Qian Xuesen" is not a commercial film, it was made by Lin Yu himself and it is close to the mainstream ideology, so it should be taken care of. In terms of box office, he thinks it should at least not lose too much money.

This is why he set the distribution ratio so low. However, he certainly doesn't care whether the movie will make money or not, because he knows without even thinking that it won't. It's just a matter of how much it will lose! Even if the movie is directed by Lin Yu, it's the same.

Lin Yu agreed to Han Sanping's urging without much consideration, because he knew that the movie would most likely lose money. Initially, he made the movie entirely because he was influenced by his father's radicalism, but after meeting Mr. Qian, he made the movie with genuine sincerity.

After all, he doesn't really need that much money now. Spending money to make his father happy, and to rekindle the passion in his heart, Lin Yu feels it's a worthwhile investment.

After agreeing to hand over the film "Qian Xuesen" to China Film Group for distribution, as promised to Han Sanping, the release date was also confirmed: May 1st.

The film was not even considered for the summer season, since it doesn't matter which time slot it's released in; the release date doesn't matter much to it.

Furthermore, this May Day holiday doesn't have the star-studded film "The Forbidden Kingdom" as an obstacle. In addition, with Lin Yu's fame and some adjustments to the film, the box office situation should be much better than in the previous life.

After talking with Han Sanping, Lin Yu looked at the script of "Wanted" and thought about it. He then called Jackie Chan to see if the older brother who played his father in the film had finished filming "The Forbidden Kingdom".

The call didn't go through on the first try, but Cheng Long quickly called Lin Yu back.

"Hey? Big brother, are you still filming?" Lin Yu said after the call connected. "Hehe—Director Lin, you finally remembered me? The filming was finished a couple of days ago, and now I'm working with Robert to fill in the gaps and reshoot some scenes." Cheng Long's familiar laughter came through the phone.

"Hehe, that's perfect timing! Big brother, get ready! I'll be announcing the official launch of 'Wanted Assassins' in a couple of days. Come to the press conference and maybe audition some actors for me while you're at it." Lin Yu smiled and said, "Sure, no problem! I'll definitely be there. I've cleared my schedule for the next six months, so I have plenty of time." Cheng Long laughed and said, "Hehe—okay, it's settled then, see you in two days."

See you in two days—

As Cheng Long hung up the phone with a smile, Li Lianjie and Robert Minkoff, who were standing nearby, appeared around him at some point.

"Hey! Look how happy you are. Who called just now? I saw your assistant was in a bit of a rush when they called you. Who was it? Someone so big!" Li Lianjie asked curiously, "Hehe—Lin Yu!" Cheng Long said with a bit of pride, "Lin Yu? Is that the director Lin Yu who made 'Iron Man' and 'The Martian'?" Minkoff said with a bit of surprise, "Yes, that's Director Lin."

"He asked you to make a movie? Why would he ask you to make a movie?" Li Lianjie asked incredulously.

"Hey? What kind of talk is that? Why can't he cast me in his movies?" Jackie Chan said, a little unconvinced. "Um—that's not what I meant, it's just—I heard he usually casts younger actors, and even those with lower fees? I've never seen him cast anyone with higher fees! You're not going to lower your fee, are you?" Li Lianjie asked suspiciously, "What? Is that not allowed? If he casts you, will you lower your fee?" Jackie Chan retorted matter-of-factly, "Of course—"

Li Lianjie was immediately speechless. He had been thinking of saying that he would definitely treat everyone equally in terms of pay, but he couldn't say the words.

Lin Yu! Who wouldn't want to act in his movies? And he's a bit like Jackie Chan, both of them were the type who failed in Hollywood. For people like them, Lin Yu is practically the key to knocking on the door of Hollywood again! Forget about lowering his salary, he'd probably agree to act even if he didn't get paid! But the premise is that he has to play the lead role.

"Do you all know that Director Lin?"

While Li Lianjie was stuck, Minkov also spoke up.

"know!"

The two said in unison:

However, Jackie Chan immediately looked at Jet Li with a surprised expression, "You know him too? When did you two meet?"

"What business is it of yours when we met?" Li Lianjie said somewhat guiltily.

Seeing Li Lianjie's guilty look, Cheng Long knew that even if Lin Yu knew him, it was only to the point of exchanging greetings. "Hehe—I understand!" Cheng Long said with a smile.

Li Lianjie felt even more guilty under Cheng Long's gaze, but he wouldn't back down, retorting, "What do you know?"

"Haha—it seems that's really the case! Don't you know what I know?" Jackie Chan teased. "How would I know what you know? You're being so crazy! What do you know? Just tell me!" Jet Li retorted, "I won't tell you what I know! You—"

Listening to their conversation, Minkov silently marveled, "The Chinese language is truly profound and complex!"

While Jackie Chan and Jet Li were bickering as usual, Lin Yu was already considering casting for "Wanted".

Which roles will I retain, and which roles can be released? Also, will I fund the entire investment for this film, or will I consider bringing in other investors?

Don't talk about not considering collaborations and just making movies entirely on your own. That's not a viable path. After all, global release is a problem. "The Witch" just happened to ride the coattails of "Twilight 2." Otherwise, Hollywood studios wouldn't be so easy to deal with. Once or twice might be fine, but if Lin Yu hadn't included anyone else, he wouldn't have been able to make it in Hollywood, or even in China! Not to mention that China emphasizes building social networks.

However, the investment in the movie "Wanted" is quite large. Not to mention compared to the previous life, it would still cost around 60 million US dollars to make it according to Lin Yu's ideas. His domestic savings are not enough!

"Let's give up 30% of the investment! Give 20% to Disney, 10% to China, and the remaining share will be split 50/50 between the two Starlight companies, one domestic and one international!" Lin Yu finally decided.