The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Chapter 168: Screening Ends, $10 Billion

On January 9th, the film "The Great Wall" grossed over 19 million yuan in the domestic market, while its daily box office officially fell below 20 million yuan. It's expected to easily earn another 100 million yuan this week, but next week's box office is estimated to be minimal, allowing it to be pulled from theaters after the Spring Festival.

Shen Qing officially decided to cast Li Bingbing as the female lead Zhao Xuan in "The Martian". In the following days, Li Bingbing frequently entered and exited Shenqi Film and Television Company and was even photographed by media reporters. The outside world speculated whether the choice of the female lead for Shen Qing's new movie had been finalized.

When interviewed by the media, Li Bingbing simply smiled and said to wait for official confirmation. The official Weibo account for "The Martian" then released the news, confirming that Li Bingbing would join the cast of "The Martian" and play the female lead, Zhao Xuan.

After the news was confirmed by the official Weibo account, it caused quite a stir in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Shen Qing's films are also divided into different levels. Films like "The Great Wall" and "The Martian," which have production budgets of over 1 million US dollars, are undoubtedly the top of the top. Becoming the female lead in a film like this directed by Shen Qing is the lifelong pursuit of almost all actresses in China.

It's no exaggeration to say that this is a golden opportunity for a leap forward. Before achieving this, it's difficult to have much influence abroad; after achieving this, you'll become an international star, an international Liu, an international Li, immediately setting you apart from other domestic actresses.

The news was quite a shock to Liu Shishi's fans. Now, anyone in the country who cares about the entertainment industry knows that there is a second female lead, Wang Yanyun, in "The Martian". Although she is only the second female lead, no one doubts that this is a role that can make someone rise to the top overnight. So why can't this role be given to Shishi?

After some research, fans concluded that the biggest obstacle preventing Liu Shishi from getting the role was actually Tangren Media. Liu Shishi's management contract is with Tangren, and Shen Qing would most likely prioritize his own artists.

How did Liu Yifei get the role of Mo Ying in "The Great Wall"? The details are unclear to everyone, but everyone knows that Liu Yifei terminated her contract with Red Starwood and then starred in "The Great Wall".

Goodness, the domestic box office of "The Great Wall" is now approaching 23 billion yuan, and the global box office is approaching 9 million US dollars. Liu Yifei is now a true international star. With such a role model in front of her, do you think Liu Shishi's contract with Tangren Media will not be terminated?

Immediately, many "little lions" went to Liu Shishi's Weibo to petition, demanding that their idol terminate her contract with Tangren, or at the very least, not renew it when it expires next month.

A large number of fans also flooded the Weibo accounts of Tangren and Cai Yinong, demanding that Cai Yinong not block Shishi's way.

"Ever since Shishi signed with your Tangren Media, you haven't even given her a single movie role, not even a supporting one. How dare you hold onto Shishi's contract like this?"

"Before signing with your company, Shi Shi could even act in 'Lu Xiaofeng,' but after joining Tangren Media, things have changed. She can't even get roles like Sun Xiuqing anymore."

"Scarlet Heart was a drama that Shen Qing specially arranged for Shi Shi, but your family insisted on having Shi Shi play Lu Wu. Shen Qing couldn't stand it anymore and had to reveal that the drama was prepared for Shi Shi. Otherwise, why would we cooperate with your family? It's outrageous. Shi Shi should have left long ago."

"Shi Shi's only leading role movie has nothing to do with your Tangren Media. It's a movie that Shen Qing tailored for her. The movie 'About Time' still has a 9.1 rating on Douban. If it weren't for your Tangren Media blocking the way, Shen Qing would have prepared many movies like this for Shi Shi. You should let Shi Shi leave now if you know what's good for you."

Cai Yinong certainly didn't want Liu Shishi to leave; no one would be willing to do so. Liu Shishi is currently a top-tier, even super-top-tier, star, and incredibly popular. She just won the Golden Eagle Goddess award, which translates to hundreds of millions in profits annually. Could she really just give that up? It's not that easy.

But now reality is staring us in the face: Tangren's contract with Liu Shishi will expire in January 2013, and if Liu Shishi wants to leave, Cai Yinong can no longer stop her.

Especially considering the relationship between Shi Shi and Shen Qing.

If it's truly impossible to keep them, then we should seriously consider how to minimize the losses. After much deliberation, Cai Yinong took the initiative to contact Shen Qing by phone.

"Mr. Shen, Shishi's contract expires in January next year. I know Shishi well; she is a very grateful girl. If I try my best to keep her, she will most likely choose to stay at Tangren, or at least renew her contract for another short term. But if you ask, Mr. Shen, I am willing to give Shishi to you."

"Mr. Cai, you're joking. As you just said, Tangren and Shishi's contract expires next January. Whether she stays or leaves will be entirely up to Shishi herself. So how can you say that you're giving Shishi up to me?"

"Mr. Shen, don't you believe I can keep Shi Shi?"

"Actually, it doesn't matter."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then the tone softened noticeably, saying, "You don't need Shishi, but Shishi considers you her only one; you're all she has in her heart. Even with so many women around you, she still gave you her first time. She's devoted enough to you. I think we shouldn't put her in this difficult position."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I can let Shishi leave on my own initiative so as not to make things difficult for her, but I have a few conditions."

Tell me about it.

Shen Qing didn't care which companies the women were signed with. The reason he asked Liu Yifei to transfer her contract was mainly because he really disliked Hongxingwu, or rather, he was disgusted that Liu Yifei and Chen Jinfei were still in contact. But Tangren didn't care.

However, the situation is different now. Shen Qing wants to incubate Douyin and create a "national check-in" platform that uses exclusive celebrity content as a traffic driver, so the more artists under her management, the better.

Cai Yinong said, "You have a unique eye for choosing dramas. I hope that in the future, our actors under Tangren Media will have the opportunity to each play the male and female lead in a drama produced by you."

Who are the actresses currently working at Tangren Media?

"Jin Chen".

Shen Qing thought about it. He was going to make "Nirvana in Fire" and "The Disguiser" sooner or later, and he didn't plan to replace Hu Ge. It would be fine to use Jin Chen in "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer".

"Okay, Brother Hu and Jin Chen, one the male lead and the other the female lead."

"I have a second condition," Cai Yinong added. "The second female lead in the movie 'The Martian,' which you're currently preparing, should be given to Shishi. Also, once Shishi transfers, you can't let her suffer any injustice."

This was a question Cai Yinong had carefully prepared. If Shen Qing didn't agree to this, what would Shi Shi think? "I'm about to marry into your company, and Sister K just wanted a guarantee for me, but you won't even agree to that." If things really developed this way, Cai Yinong believed she would have a much better chance of keeping Liu Shi Shi.

What if Shen Qing agrees?

She and Liu Shishi got along quite well. When the contract was about to expire, she was able to give Shishi a ride, which would be considered a good story if word got out. In the future, when Shen Qing needed something, Shishi could also put in a good word for her.

"Can."

Shen Qing wasn't oblivious to Cai Yinong's little scheme; he simply didn't care.

It just so happened that Liu Shishi was in Shanghai these past few days, so after the phone call, Cai Yinong went directly to Liu Shishi and the two met face to face to talk.

"Shishi, your contract expires next January. What are your thoughts on that?"

"Sister, I—"

"Shishi, I've already spoken with President Shen. I told him that Shishi's heart is completely devoted to you. Once Shishi transfers, don't let her suffer any grievances. The second female lead role in 'The Martian,' which you're casting for, should also be given to Shishi, otherwise I won't feel comfortable entrusting her to you. Shen Qing has already agreed."

"Sister—" Liu Shishi was indeed deeply moved upon hearing this, and the two women hugged each other, almost bursting into tears.

The Martian production team immediately announced that Liu Shishi would join the film and play the second female lead. It was also reported that Liu Shishi had officially confirmed that her contract with Tangren Media would expire and not be renewed. Media outlets widely speculated that Cai Yinong used the contract as leverage to ask Shen Qing to give the second female lead role to Liu Shishi. As a result, Tangren Media and Cai Yinong's reputations soared.

When media outlets sought confirmation from Shen Qing, she declined to comment.

Yang Mi was a little jealous that Liu Shishi played the second female lead, and she even called Shen Qing directly to say a few sarcastic words.

The release date for "Lucy" is set for April 20th, with a simultaneous global release. There are too many big movies coming out in North America this summer, and "Lucy" can't compete with any of them, so it simply chooses not to squeeze into the summer season.

On January 13th, someone Shen Qing didn't expect came to Magical Films. Dai Ying received the person, and after Shen Qing found out, he invited the person to his office.

The other party was very excited, never expecting that the famous Director Shen would meet him in person.

"Director Shen, I came here today mainly to ask how far along the film and television adaptation of 'The Lost Tomb' has progressed, since the copyright has been sold to you for several years now."

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Nanpai Sanshu asked somewhat guiltily.

As a time traveler, Shen Qing would naturally not easily let go of high-value IPs such as "The Three-Body Problem," "The Wandering Earth," "Ghost Blows Out the Light," and "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles."

In the original timeline, the copyrights for "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles" were sold in a very dispersed manner. In this timeline, however, the film and television copyrights for both "Ghost Blows Out the Light" and "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles" are entirely concentrated in the hands of Shen Qing.

Of course, the reason why Nanpai Sanshu and Bachang signed such an exclusive agreement with Shen Qing was because Shen Qing offered them so much.

It's much more than what other companies offer.

"The reason why the 'Tomb Raiders' project was not launched before was simply because the timing was wrong. This subject matter could not be broadcast on television, so we could only plan to sell it to video websites. However, before iQiyi and Tencent Video were established, there were no generous buyers in the market."

"I understand, I completely understand. We'll proceed according to your company's pace," said Nanpai Sanshu.

Shen Qing said, "The timing isn't quite ideal yet, but we're at least in a position to start the project. So, let's produce a web series first, and start filming this year. You'll be the producer."

"Really? Okay—okay."

Nanpai Sanshu just came over to ask questions and didn't have high expectations, but he didn't expect to gain anything unexpected.

Producer!

Being the producer of TV series and movies produced by Magical Films is definitely a prestigious title.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Qing said, "The casting for this drama is quite difficult, so don't rush it."

"Yes, yes, good, slow and steady wins the race, I'm not in a hurry."

After seeing off Nanpai Sanshu, Shen Qing began to seriously consider the casting for "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles".

Zhu Yilong played Wu Xie in the 2020 web series "Reunion: The Sound of the Providence", which received decent reviews. Now that he has become an artist under Shen Qing's company, let's continue to use him.

The casting of Zhang Qiling in the previous series was fraught with problems, until the 2020 drama "Ultimate Note" finally produced a more widely accepted Zhang Qiling, played by Xiao Yuliang, an actor from Gansu Province. However, Xiao Yuliang was born in 95 and is only seventeen years old this year. Is this a suitable casting choice?

Shen Qing couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Zhang Qiling is a fully immortal being, and he always looks around twenty years old; there's not much difference between twenty and seventeen.

It might take ten years to film the entire "Tomb Raiders" series. Xiao Yuliang looks young now, but after filming two or three parts, his age will be just right.

"Let's find the person and see if it works or not," Shen Qing thought to himself.

As for the remaining main characters: Wang Jinsong plays Wu Erbai, Liu Yijun plays Wu Sansheng, and Zhu Xudan plays Huo Xiuxiu.

One name after another flashed through Shen Qing's mind. As for whether these people were suitable or not, they would have to wait until the auditions to find out.

As of January 16, "The Great Wall" had been released for four weeks. In its fourth week, it grossed 130 million yuan in China, bringing its total domestic box office to 23.07 billion yuan, officially surpassing the 23 billion yuan mark.

The film grossed $1325 million in North America from Monday to Thursday, and another $1559 million over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It has already fallen out of the top ten at the North American weekend box office. As a result, The Great Wall's total North American box office has reached $2.82 million.

Hong Kong's box office surpassed 8000 million, and Taiwan's surpassed 1.4 million. These figures are all converted to RMB.

The next day, Shen Qing flew back to his hometown in Northeast China to celebrate the Spring Festival. This year, the company had no films scheduled for release during the Spring Festival, so Shen Qing was happy to go home early and spend more time with his parents.

In its fifth week, "The Great Wall" grossed over 2000 million yuan in China, but its North American weekend box office dropped to over 700 million US dollars, bringing its total box office for the week to over 1400 million US dollars.

After the Lunar New Year, "The Great Wall" stayed in theaters for another week. There were no strong films during this year's Spring Festival season, and "The Great Wall" actually experienced a mini-boom as it was about to be taken off the screens. Its domestic box office even climbed back to a high of 1000 million yuan per day.

On January 30, "The Great Wall" officially ended its run in China, and it was subsequently pulled from theaters in various parts of the world.

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Ultimately, "The Great Wall" grossed 23.53 billion yuan domestically, and with the figures from Hong Kong and Taiwan, the total reached 25.86 billion yuan, equivalent to 3.91 million US dollars. "The Great Wall" grossed 3.16 million US dollars in North America and 3.07 million US dollars overseas, totaling 6.23 million US dollars, for a total global box office of 10.14 billion US dollars.

It's already surpassed $10 billion! Shen Qing found it somewhat unbelievable. Even after going to Greater China, the box office still exceeded $6 billion.

Even if he had the talent of Steven Spielberg at his peak, he is not white, so how could he easily earn over $6 million at the box office overseas?

It's even more surreal when you include the Greater China region, as it has exceeded $10 billion.

"When Wu Jing's 'Wolf Warrior 2' surpassed 50 billion yuan at the box office, did director Jiaozi also feel a sense of unreality when 'Ne Zha 2' surpassed 150 billion yuan at the box office?"

Perhaps at this moment, Shen Qing is the only person in the country who thinks that the box office of "The Great Wall" is too high. Chinese netizens are lamenting that "The Great Wall" has failed to break the record of "Gravity" again.

Shen Qing was speechless when he saw the comments. Gravity had grossed over $15 billion worldwide. How could The Great Wall possibly dare to dream of such a thing?

But netizens didn't care about any of that; almost all netizens across the country had more confidence in themselves than Shen Qing did.

"$10.14 billion, that's not bad, it's a bit higher than I predicted."

"Keep up the good work and create even greater glories."

"There is still room for improvement in box office revenue."

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