The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"Take care, Mr. Zheng."

"I'll treat Mr. Bai to a meal later."

At the entrance of China Film Group, Gu Ning and Han Sanpin saw off the executives from various cinema chains who had come to watch the film.

"sit!"

Han Sanpin led Gu Ning back to his office, sat down, and said with a smile, "Little Gu, congratulations. Judging from their reaction, they are very satisfied with the movie, so the number of screenings won't be low."

"It should be 'shared joy'," Gu Ning said with a smile.

"Haha, yes, yes, same to you."

Han Sanpin was very happy. After chatting with Gu Ning for a while, he asked seriously, "When can we start filming 'Those Years'?"

"The script was completed a couple of days ago, and the crew is preparing for it, but it won't be ready for summer vacation. We need to coordinate with the school for the filming later, which will be a bit troublesome."

Gu Ning thought for a moment and said, "What I'm thinking of is building an interior classroom scene, and then filming the exterior scenes at a suitable school during the National Day holiday."

Schools shouldn't be too dilapidated or too new; those that have just been built but haven't been put into use yet, or those that have already been abandoned, are not suitable.

The best time to film is during school holidays, but unfortunately Jing Tian changed the script, which delayed the shoot.

He originally wanted to find a school to shoot in to save money, but now he can only build an interior classroom set and concentrate the outdoor shooting during the National Day holiday, finding a school to shoot in one go.

"Okay, you decide what to do."

Han Sanpin had spoken with Lu Zheng, and since China Film Group held a 20% stake in the film, he didn't place too much importance on it.

"And you? Any progress on your next movie?"

"It can't be that fast. I've been busy with post-production, and I'll be busy with promotion next. I really don't have time."

Gu Ning said, "Besides, I haven't had much rest since after the Lunar New Year. Let's talk about it after 'You Are the Apple of My Eye' is finished filming."

"Young people should be working hard, why are they always thinking about resting?"

Han Sanpin said, "Xiao Gu, have you ever thought about making a science fiction movie?"

"Mr. Han, please don't joke around. China doesn't have the capability to produce science fiction films right now."

Gu Ning was taken aback by Han Sanpin's suggestion. As expected of Han Sanpin, he actually wanted to make a science fiction film in 09.

要知道09年全年电影总票房才62亿出头。嗯，哪咤2是154亿，一部电影就差不多是09年总票房的三倍了。

"I know that domestic special effects technology can't support science fiction films, but we can spend money to have it done abroad."

Han Sanpin earnestly advised, "It is precisely because there are no truly meaningful science fiction blockbusters in China that making one would be groundbreaking."

"I don't care about making money; as long as I break even, I'll be remembered in film history."

If I weren't after money, would I be playing house with you?

Gu Ning couldn't help but think to himself, if he were really a young man, he would probably get all fired up and fight him after being encouraged by Han Sanpin.

"Mr. Han, you should know that with the current box office market in China, it's very difficult to make science fiction films achieve the same effect as those made abroad."

Even if we hire foreign companies to do the special effects, what costs them ten million for special effects, we might have to spend tens of millions.

If we were to produce it according to top-tier international special effects standards, it would almost certainly result in a loss.

Gu Ning said, "Although the movie itself has a gambling element, it's a game where you're almost guaranteed to lose, so even if you win, you won't make much money. It's pointless."

Foreign countries are not just selling products, but also selling outdated technologies produced domestically.

In the film industry, the same applies to creating special effects for domestic productions.

If you give them ten million, they'd be lucky to get two million worth.

Because in their view, this is far beyond the domestic level, and is excellent value for money for the domestic market.

Don't be fooled by the fact that some foreign blockbusters have very high box office returns in China. If you only consider domestic revenue, those movies actually lose money.

Some of their blockbuster movies have budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars because they rely on global box office revenue.

Domestic films can't achieve this; the bulk of the revenue can only come from the domestic market.

To make a proper sci-fi blockbuster, you need to invest at least several hundred million yuan. How much box office revenue do you need to break even?

The highest-grossing film in China this year is "2012," which only grossed over 400 million yuan.

"But if China doesn't produce blockbuster films, what will it use to compete with those foreign blockbusters?"

Han Sanpin said in a deep voice, "If domestic films don't improve, we can only let those foreign blockbusters run rampant!"

"But the prerequisite for competing with foreign blockbusters is that we can make a living. Making blockbusters requires too much investment; who can afford it?" Gu Ning asked rhetorically.

Despite the fact that Huayi's stock price soared after its listing and has almost reached 100 billion yuan in just a few years, don't be fooled by its success.

But how much money did Huayi actually have before it went public?

If Huayi loses hundreds of millions at once, it will be unable to recover.

"I didn't ask that we benchmark against foreign standards from the beginning. We can lower the standards a bit and do it according to the standards of one or two hundred million."

Han Sanpin said, "You just need to focus on writing the script; I'll figure out the rest."

Gu Ning finally understood that Han Sanpin had no intention of using him as a director.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. How could such a big project be entrusted to him?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Han, I don't know how to write a science fiction script. You'd better find someone else." Gu Ning shook his head and refused.

He roughly understood Han Sanpin's intention; it was similar to the early stages of attracting investment.

We brought in foreign investment, and their technology is indeed more advanced than that of China.

Moreover, it can provide employment and drive the development of downstream supporting industries in China.

Therefore, the government offers very generous terms to foreign investors.

Even if those foreign investors withdraw in the future, they can't take the factory buildings and equipment with them.

More importantly, it can also train a lot of skilled workers and talents.

Frankly speaking, without attracting foreign investment, it would have been impossible for domestic industries to develop so rapidly on their own.

In the early years, domestic factories were either state-owned enterprises or makeshift operations.

Top-level managers can be hired at high prices, but what about middle and lower-level managers?

Foreign companies have mature training systems in this area, which are of great help to domestic companies.

Otherwise, how could the government possibly offer so many preferential treatments to foreign companies?

But this approach is not suitable for movies; making blockbusters offers no real benefits other than accumulating experience.

Aside from the criticism from movie fans, what kind of talent has Han Sanpin cultivated in those big-budget films he directed?

Gu Ning is not trying to belittle Han Sanpin. He has made both contributions and demerits to the development of Chinese cinema, but his contributions outweigh his demerits.

There are bad movies, but many good movies are also invested in by China Film Group.

We shouldn't just focus on bad movies and deny other people's achievements.

But Gu Ning knew very well that his suggestion wouldn't work, so she naturally didn't have time to deal with it.

Han Sanpin was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he started talking to Gu Ning about the scheduling issue.

The release date is roughly set for early August, but he will let Gu Ning choose the specific date herself.

Han Sanpin showed Gu Ning a list of movies that had been scheduled for release between mid-July and mid-August.

Gu Ning looked closely and found that there weren't any high-grossing movies.

The movie that's really gaining momentum right now is "Transformers 2," which was released on June 24th, and by then it will have already finished its run in theaters.

Harry Potter 6 will be released on July 15, at which point it will pose almost no threat.

"Then let's make it August 5th," Gu Ning said.

Are you sure?