Huayu: Everyone's been reborn, who's still going to be an actor?

With Han Sanping involved, the negotiations naturally became much easier.

Even if Cheng Yuan, the screenwriter, is considered a director, he doesn't have much prestige compared to DreamWorks.

But China Film Group is different.

Cheng Yuan was somewhat surprised to have secured 45% of the market share.

Of course, it was just surprise, not something unimaginable.

Why would DreamWorks refuse to import one or more of their films and receive an extra half-percentage of the film's share, even if it's uncertain whether it will be profitable?

There's no need to say it explicitly, just imply it.

And that's exactly what Han Sanping did.

Cheng Yuan had also hinted at this, but compared to Han Sanping, it was naturally far less significant.

Once the matter was settled, Cheng Yuan returned to China with Han Sanping.

He needs to hurry back to participate in the promotion of "Distinguished Citizen".

The movie is scheduled for release on March 2nd, taking over the time slot from "Crazy Stone".

"What are your expectations for the domestic box office of 'The Distinguished Citizen'?" Han Sanping asked. "Your company's 'Crazy Stone' has already grossed over 60 million."

"I didn't have any expectations," Cheng Yuan said. "Anyway, the movie has already made money."

Han Sanping smiled and looked at Cheng Yuan.

They definitely made money; nearly ten million US dollars worth of overseas copyrights.

That's just an art film, not a big production.

China Film Group undoubtedly benefited from Cheng Yuan's success this time.

This is why he is optimistic about Cheng Yuan's big-budget commercial production and this animated film.

If art films are so profitable, how can commercial blockbusters lose money?

Of course, whether the reason why China Film withdrew its investment in "Red Cliff" was due to John Woo's initial opposition to Chinese-language films at Cannes is unknown.

Perhaps they were dissatisfied with the Japanese investors taking over the market share in Little Red Dot, and also felt that it increased their own risk.

Perhaps it's a combination of reasons.

China Film Group invested in Cheng Yuan's "Taken" and now it has invested in "Kung Fu Panda." If they are a little short of funds, that's a perfectly plausible excuse.

However, Wu Yusen's Hollywood career faltered, but he still had a lot of influence after returning to China.

These days, a trip to Hollywood is just a gilded experience.

This is the truth.

Even without China Film Group, John Woo's films certainly won't lack investment.

Without China Film Group, Cheng Yuan had fewer concerns.

Once the movie is released, I'll make sure you get thoroughly roasted.

If I don't magnify all the flaws in the movie, then I, Cheng Yuan, am good-natured.

As for using movies to compete against each other, Cheng Yuan hadn't thought about it.

Why kill a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own?

Besides, would other investors agree?

How big can the investment be for a film fully funded by Remote Films?

Despite its poor quality, "Red Cliff" was still a big-budget production with an all-star cast, so its market appeal shouldn't be underestimated.

Why not use a low-budget film to compete?

They're just being silly.

"Crazy Stone" has been showing in mainland China for a month and is about to be taken off the screens; its 70 million yuan box office is in jeopardy.

But this already tripled the box office of the original.

This surprised Cheng Yuan greatly.

"The box office performance of 'Crazy Stone' was somewhat unexpected."

After some hindsight analysis, Cheng Yuan was quite surprised.

"That movie was good, very down-to-earth," Han Sanping said. "Ning Hao is a talented director. However, the movie's high box office performance has nothing to do with you."

Cheng Yuan simply smiled.

When the movie was released, the director and the actors were both unknown.

The most famous one is Cheng Yuan, one of the screenwriters.

He was quite a hot topic back then.

Moreover, news broke that his new film had been nominated for the main competition at the Berlin International Film Festival shortly after its release.

Even before the film finished its run in theaters, "The Distinguished Citizen" won two Silver Bears at the Berlin Film Festival.

This will definitely boost the box office.

Of course, the quality of the film is key.

This movie has received rave reviews.

The reason why the box office was so much higher than the original is undoubtedly related to the strong pre-release publicity.

They seized the critical early stage.

If it relied on word-of-mouth like the original, piracy would have been rampant long ago, and it would never have achieved such high box office numbers.

A box office of over 60 million was definitely a high figure in 2006.

This low-budget comedy film brought Yuanyuan Film & Television a profit of over 20 million yuan.

This is just the box office revenue in mainland China.

This movie was shown in both Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The box office of around two million in Hong Kong seems somewhat out of place.

This is far superior to the original.

The situation was slightly better in Taiwan, where the box office was close to ten million.

However, it wasn't issued by Guangyan, but by Emperor Entertainment.

Emperor Entertainment Group has a strong distribution presence in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Therefore, the film's cumulative domestic box office is nearly 80 million.

In addition, the film rights can be sold for some money.

The profits generated by this film were quite astonishing.

Upon returning to China, Cheng Yuan was immediately summoned to the school and instructed to bring Silver Bear with him.

"Director Cheng!"

As soon as Cheng Yuan entered the school, someone stopped him.

"Hello!"

"Oh, hello."

When Cheng Yuan saw the other person extend their hand, he didn't refuse and shook hands with them.

No introduction was needed; Cheng Yuan knew him naturally.

It's said that Huang Xiaoming has a crush on her, but I don't know if it's true.

However, Cheng Yuan didn't have a good impression of her, so he made up an excuse and left after giving her a perfunctory response.

The person was left standing there, bewildered in the wind.

Wasn't Cheng Yuan supposed to take good care of the people at Beijing Film Academy?

I'm also from Beijing Film Academy.

Why do I feel like I'm not well-liked?

I didn't sign with Huayi Brothers.

Zhao Yanzi's face immediately darkened.

She has never been looked down upon like this since she became famous.

"Why did you go to Hollywood?"

After meeting with the leader and taking photos, Cheng Yuan ran to Tian Zhuangzhuang's office to find some peace and quiet.

"DreamWorks took a liking to one of my scripts and we had a discussion," Cheng Yuan said. "I just ran into Zhao Yanzi. Didn't she graduate years ago? Why is she suddenly back at school?"

"She's planning to pursue a master's degree," Tian Zhuangzhuang said. "In directing."

"Um?"

Cheng Yuan frowned, then remembered that there was such a thing.

Cheng Yuan had no recollection of which year it was.

Could it be this year?

Or was it because I, like a butterfly, flapped my wings?

However, none of this matters.

The important thing is that her graduate advisor seems to be Tian Zhuangzhuang.

Wouldn't that mean I'd become her classmate?

No.

"You seem to dislike her a bit?"

Seeing Cheng Yuan frown, Tian Zhuangzhuang naturally understood what was going on and casually asked.

Zhao Yanzi is considered one of the better-off graduates of the Beijing Film Academy, and her influence is indeed considerable.

"How can I possibly like someone who wears the little red dot military flag on their body?" Cheng Yuan said. "Teacher, I don't want to be classmates with her, do I? Please think it through carefully, lest something unexpected happens and blows you up."

"She does intend to study for her master's degree here," Tian Zhuangzhuang said. "I'll think about it some more."

If she could only choose one between Cheng Yuan and her, then there was no need to consider it at all.

Obviously, he can choose both.

However, he had to consider Cheng Yuan's attitude.

What will he do if the two of them start arguing?

Zhao Yanzi's student was dispensable, but Cheng Yuan was different.

Which teacher doesn't want to produce an outstanding student?

Although I may not be able to teach him much more, the teacher-student relationship is there, and the greater his achievements, the more proud I, as his teacher, will be.