Who says Beijing Film Academy has no great directors? (2002)

Liu Yifei watched the two people's strange conversation from the car the whole time, and shrank back slightly.

She had a feeling that the two of them had made some kind of evil deal.

Chen Yan successfully escorted the mother and daughter to their residence before returning to the Beijing Film Academy.

Back at the Beijing Film Academy, Chen Yan found that the entrance had suddenly become very lively. Lately, he had been busy with work and often stayed at the company's office until late, so he hadn't come back to visit much.

It turns out that the freshmen of the 03 class of Beijing Film Academy have all started to register.

There were quite a few pretty female students in the class, but it seems that not many of them became famous in later years.

There weren't any particularly famous people in the Class of 04. Yang Mi, Yuan Shanshan, Zhang Xiaofei, and Jiao Junyan wouldn't be able to enroll until 05.

Yang Mi, one of them, has been a child star for a long time and should still be with Rongxinda Company.

"Ah, it's Chen Yan!"

Chen Yan looked in the direction of the exclamation and, lo and behold, it was a familiar face.

Isn't this Empress Ziran from "Beauty's Rival in Palace"? Because of her gentle and dignified appearance, she has played the role of empress in several period dramas and was once jokingly called a "professional empress".

To Chen Yan's surprise, when Zhou Muyin saw Chen Yan looking over, she immediately pulled her best friend over to chat with him.

He had the fearless spirit of a newborn calf, and pounced on the big director without hesitation.

"Director Chen, we are freshmen in the acting department who just enrolled this year. My name is Zhou Muyin. Is there a chance for me to act in your movies in the future? I especially like your movie 'Heartbreak'!" Zhou Muyin's personality is completely different from her appearance.

I actually have a cheerful and generous personality.

"Well, if there's a suitable role, I'll consider a junior from our school," Chen Yan said casually.

"I have to go now. I wish you all a pleasant campus life in the future."

Chen Yan smiled politely, finished speaking, and left.

Zhou Muyin nodded regretfully: "Alright then, goodbye Director Chen."

After Chen Yan walked away, her female classmate spoke up, "Mu Yin, you're so brave! I didn't dare to say anything just now."

Zhou Muyin smiled confidently: "What's there to be afraid of? Director Chen is so kind and handsome."

If Chen Yan were here now, he would definitely be furious and facepalm. Could you please stop describing yourself as kind?

I'm not even 20 yet; I'm still a teenager.

Chen Yan stayed in the dormitory for one night and went to China Film Group the next day.

He had already spoken to Han Dong of China Film Group and Wang Changtian of Enlight Media in advance, and he decided to make another film next year, a Sino-foreign co-production, to be filmed in Hollywood.

Han Sanping was so happy that his voice was deafening on the phone.

Chen Yan knew he was genuinely happy. Hadn't he always wanted to invest in a big-budget production? He hoped that even knowing it was a fantasy adventure film set in a fairytale world, he would still be this happy.

When Chen Yan arrived, he showed them the script without saying a word.

The moment they saw the title of the show, they looked at each other simultaneously, their eyes filled with confusion.

Then he glanced at Chen Yan, who smiled helplessly and gestured for them to read the script first before discussing anything further.

Han Sanping did know about "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," but isn't that a children's book?

Alice in Wonderland was actually adapted into an animated version by Disney in 1951, and it was quite well received.

So in 2010, Disney spent a huge sum of money to make another live-action version.

After reading the script, the two remained silent for a long time.

Undoubtedly, this is a script that requires taking risks. Chen Yan even drew several storyboards for it and highlighted that it needed to be produced by a top international special effects team.

That means the cost is very high.

"Chen Yan, what are your thoughts on this movie?" Han Sanping didn't speculate; instead, he directly asked Chen Yan for his opinion.

Chen Yan answered directly: "This movie is a public domain open copyright, so there are no copyright fees. The bulk of the money will be invested in special effects. Disney made a version before, and it was very successful in the market. If we make another one, we will have a fan base, so it is not a difficult thing to accomplish."

"I think the prospects are great and it's worth a try," Chen Yan summarized in one sentence.

After much deliberation, Wang Changtian decided to abandon the investment. The reason was simple: Guangming's current financial reserves were not strong enough to support such a large project.

Although Chen Yan did not mention the script's budget, Wang Changtian estimated it to be at least 5000 million.

Moreover, it was an adaptation of a fairy tale, and it was uncertain whether anyone would buy into it, so Wang Changtian backed down.

"I'm sorry, Director Chen, we really can't work with you this time. We hope there will be another opportunity next time." Wang Changtian's words were a polite way of declining.

"Mr. Wang, that's a pity, but it's alright, we can cooperate again in the future." Chen Yan replied indifferently.

After Wang Changtian left, Han Sanping was still deep in thought.

A moment later, he looked up at Chen Yan, who was sitting there leisurely drinking tea.

Han Sanping couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Chen Yan looked over in confusion. What's wrong with President Han? Is he having fun reading the script?

Han Sanping laughed heartily and said, "You're not worried at all. Aren't you afraid I'll reject your film too? I estimate your film will cost over 100 million."

Chen Yan gently put down his teacup. "Chairman Han must have a vision far beyond that of ordinary people, so of course he can see the potential in my script."

Han Sanping did indeed see it.

"copyright."

Chen Yan smiled knowingly; chatting with smart people is never tiring.

"Yes, if the film is good enough, Disney will be interested in the rights."

In fact, Chen Yan is not worried at all about the film's ability to recoup its costs. Even without selling the copyright, Chen Yan is confident that the film can recover all costs and make a profit through box office revenue.

If all else fails, our company can just develop a copyright derivatives department in the future; we'll definitely have no trouble selling them anyway.

Developing the market themselves is too much trouble, so Chen Yan is still willing to sell the copyrighted image directly to Disney.

"China Film Group has invested in this film!" Han Sanping couldn't back down just because Chen Yan looked so calm and collected.

Even knowing the film would flop, Han Sanping still had to go on board, because this was the first real collaboration between China Film Group and Chen Yan.

"Chairman Han, then I'll trouble you to help me find Wanda." At this time, Wanda had just announced its entry into the film industry, so they would probably be eager to cooperate with a big director like Chen Yan.

Although Wanda Cinemas have not yet been built, Wanda is wealthy and belongs to the first tier of private enterprises, with strong cash flow, sufficient bank credit, and aggressive expansion.

"Hmm? Why did you think of contacting Wanda?" Han Sanping thought he wanted to cooperate with Bona.

"Wanda is rich now, throwing money around and wanting to enter the film industry, so I have to take this opportunity to pay myself more for directing." Of course, the last part was just a joke.

Even if he wanted to embezzle money, he wouldn't have said it in front of Han Sanping.

Han Sanping didn't take it to heart at all, but thought of something else: "Okay, actually, it's fine for China Film Group to take all of this share with you."

Chen Yan shook his head and refused.

"I want to make this film a Sino-foreign co-production. Ideally, it would be a foreign company, a Chinese company, and a private company—that would be perfect." Of course, the foreign company in question is Chen Yan's YF Film Company.