Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye.

Tazhai was bustling with activity early on, with more people than ever before since its establishment. Xing Jianwei and Wang Baoqiang, who hadn't been seen in a long time, both appeared, clearly indicating that "My Sassy Girl" was going to share the profits.

Liu Chang was no longer as dejected as yesterday, and was laughing and joking with everyone.

Yang Che was also constantly exchanging pleasantries with people.

Yang Che noticed that people he frequently saw were fine, but he also noticed that people like Dong Dabao, Xing Jianwei, and Wang Baoqiang looked at him with obvious awe, unlike the closeness they had shown on the set.

This is regrettable, but it's also quite normal.

Yang Che ignored everyone else, only laughing and scolding Xing Jianwei for getting darker and stronger, and calling him "Xiao Wei, Xiao Wei" to do some errands. He then became the little brother who used to follow him around again.

"There's no work in Hengdian, right?"

"There's a lot of work, but I'm not planning to leave this time. I'll stay with Brother Che."

"Alright, I'll be filming for the Olympic Bid Committee next month. You can go back to your hometown for the next few days and come back in a few days."

"I'm not going back to my hometown; I'll run errands for Brother Che."

"Get lost. I have exams these days and don't need you. Besides, I checked and you got a bonus of 18. You should go home and explain things to your parents and buy them something."

"Then I'll listen to Che-ge."

Wang Baoqiang, sitting in the corner, looked enviously at Xing Jianwei next to Yang Che. Although he was a stagehand, he also earned 1.5 yuan, the lowest amount, just like Li Xiangdong and Ma Shu.

Yes, Ma Shu also participated in the publicity campaign, which lasted for more than 20 days. After all, it was really hard work.

Besides Yang Che, the highest were Cheng Er and Lao Fan, both with 118 million. Liu Chang, Huang Haibo, and Fan Bingbing each had 62; Zhao Xiaoding, Lin Mu, Dong Dabao, Yu Danrong, and Wu Shixian each had 45; others like Zeng Jian, Cao Yu, Song Xiaofei, Ma Niu, and Yu Wenhao each had 28; and the remaining dozen or so, like Jin Xiaoman and Xing Jianwei, each had 18.

There were also red envelopes: Zhu Ling and Xu Shaohua, who had more screen time, received 50,000 yuan; Zhang Guoli, Deng Jie, Li Ding, and others, who made cameo appearances, received 20,000 yuan; Sun Nan and Wang Fei, who sang, each received 30,000 yuan; and Xiao Ke, who provided the music, received 100,000 yuan.

The domestic box office revenue was 2145 million, of which the actual production cost was 387 million, the publicity and distribution cost (outdoor/online/newspaper marketing + roadshow travel + roadshow fees) was 526 million, and the total profit sharing and bonuses were 1232 million (including Yang Che's 285 million).

Of the 3007 million yuan received by South Korea (after deducting handling fees by China Film Group), 940 million yuan was distributed, and another 1000 million yuan was transferred to the "Grand Mansion Gate" production team, leaving 1067 million yuan.

It is said that Yang Che's current assets are: personal cash surplus of 230 million from "Pigsy" + surplus of 185 million from GG sponsorship of "My Sassy Girl" + copyrights of several songs + a Jeep Grand Cherokee + a 300-square-meter yard + a bunch of antique furniture;

100% Doubao Media: RMB 1707 million in cash, copyright of "My Sassy Girl" (already transferred by Lao Fan), all copyrights of "The Grand Mansion Gate", 20% copyright of "Pigsy", 70% copyright of "Waiting Alone", and 80% equity in Vertical Entertainment, USA.

51% Gugugaga.

........

Yang Che's old friend Yin Junjie came again, and she took pictures of the grand occasion, a group of young people, all with happy faces.

She also interviewed many people, the most famous of whom was Huang Haibo.

"I'm in the third tier, after Che Ge and the director, just like Bingbing. Of course I'm happy. I can't say how much, but I can buy a house. Haha, I'm planning to buy a big three-bedroom house for my parents."

My deepest gratitude goes, of course, to Che-ge….”

For example, Wang Baoqiang.

"How much did you get?"

"Fifteen thousand."

"Are you envious when you see others receiving hundreds of thousands?"

"I'm envious, haha."

"Do you think that's fair?"

"Fair, of course it's fair. I just watch the warehouse and do odd jobs, and the crew still remembers me. I'm very grateful. Thank you, Brother Che, Director Cheng, and Producer Liu..."

Yin Junjie also conducted a telephone interview with Fan Zeping in Longcheng.

"Mr. Fan, are you heartbroken about taking away so much money?"

"Why would I feel heartache? I'm only happy."

"Did you anticipate that South Korea would receive over 30 million in revenue sharing?"

"That was unexpected."

"So, what do you think about Yang Che getting all of these 30 million?"

"I just feel that my brother should have negotiated revenue sharing with all the countries back then, then he would have earned even more."

Do you think Yang Che deserves to take so much money by himself?

Old Fan's tone turned unfriendly: "What's wrong with you, woman? Don't try to sow discord. My brother Yang Che earns whatever he deserves. Who else in all of China can earn that much money besides him? It's his personal ability, do you understand?"

.........

The news of the "My Sassy Girl" cast's earnings spread online that afternoon. Although people didn't know the exact amount, they could infer it, especially since Huang Haibo said it was enough to buy a large three-bedroom apartment.

This is a cause for celebration and envy among ordinary people. Those within the industry can only envy it in private; it's not appropriate to discuss it in public. It's like if you were to discuss the employee benefits at Pang Donglai in your company, your boss would definitely feel very uncomfortable.

And their friends have become highly sought-after in their respective social circles, just like the employees of Pang Donglai, with friends and relatives always asking, "When will your company be hiring again?"

Even Feng Xiaogang, who was highly respected and favored by the two kings, sighed with his wife at home: Yang Che is really lucky. One movie earned him more than I have in half a lifetime.

Xu Fan really wanted to say: Yang Che mainly earns money from foreigners.

Of course, what they say on the surface is: "Their financial backer is a coal mine owner, don't you think?"

He started making faces as he spoke.

Feng Xiaogang clicked his tongue: "Don't talk nonsense, that's a real man."

How did you know?

"..."

Cheng Hong, who hadn't been seen for a long time, was quite happy for him. Although the two hadn't seen each other for more than two months, they still called each other from time to time.

At this moment, she watched her husband, Chen Kaige, pouting and saying things like "buying people's hearts" and "disrespecting business rules."

Cheng Hong felt disgusted. Although Yang Che was a jerk who would often annoy and bully her, he was a real man and very generous.

Actually, Chen Kai was criticizing Fan Zeping...

Zhang Weiping patted Zhang Yimou on the shoulder and said, "Yimou, 'My Sassy Girl' has proven that there is a market for domestic drama films. You should make 'Happy Times' well, and if you make money, I'll share it with everyone."

Zhang Yimou actually wanted to say that "Happy Times" and "My Sassy Girl" are different, and what's the point of splitting the profits? Investing in movies isn't the coal mine owner's main business, and besides, the premise for the profit sharing is that he's already made 2000 million... However, seeing Zhang Weiping's generous manner, he didn't say anything, just nodded and went about his own business.