Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 147 Three-pronged Approach

Monday, October 6.

On what should have been a quiet weekday, "Lost in Thailand" still achieved impressive results in its evening screenings.

This was thanks to the additional one million yuan spent on traditional media promotion by Ren Pingsheng.

Media outlets such as Southern Metropolis Daily and Beijing News published similar reports in their entertainment sections, such as "Domestic low-budget comedies break through, while Hollywood blockbusters suffer a Waterloo."

At the same time, images related to "Lost in Thailand" began to appear frequently on bus stop signs, elevator posters, and even on supermarket milk shelves in major box office cities.

This all-encompassing information bombardment led those who don't usually browse Weibo to be drawn into the illusion that "the whole world is talking about this movie," and they flocked to the cinema.

Data feedback is the most intuitive.

6月7、8这两工作日，虽然上座率无法和周末相比，但《人在囧途》的日均票房却稳定在了300万以上，稳坐单日票房T0P2。

Iron Man 2, which had been in theaters for a month, finally ran out of steam in the face of this wave of domestic comedies, and its screenings were freed up.

The overall screening rate of "Lost in Thailand" has officially surpassed the 35% mark, enjoying the treatment that only top blockbusters can enjoy.

Just as the film's box office was steadily soaring, the casting process for "Love is Not Blind" officially began.

Ren Pingsheng, in his dual capacity as the primary investor and casting consultant, sat next to Teng Huatao and screenwriter Bao Jingjing.

Today is the day for the artists under Shengping Vision to be inspected.

Bai Ke was the first to take the stage.

He was wearing a plain plaid shirt, and his hair was styled with some hair gel, making him look three times more energetic than usual.

Lu Ran is Huang Xiaoxian's ex-boyfriend. He appears to be honest and simple, but he actually has his own ideas.

He's not a scumbag in the traditional sense, but even honest people have their moments of desperation.

The audition scene Bai Ke received was the breakup scene.

He stood there, his eyes shifting from initial evasiveness to calmness, and finally, when he said, "I don't love you anymore," there was no hysteria whatsoever.

Ren Pingsheng watched from the side, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This kid has improved.

After Teng Huatao finished reading, he turned to look at Bao Jingjing, who circled the script and nodded.

The second one is Guo Zhenni.

The character Li Ke seems tailor-made for her; she's arrogant, lives in her own world, and feels like the whole world owes her an LV bag.

So much so that even Ren Pingsheng was momentarily stunned when she came in.

With her chin slightly raised and a hint of disdain in her eyes, she sat down and complained that the chair was dirty, taking out a tissue from her bag to wipe it.

Before she even opened her mouth, her refined and delicate socialite demeanor was already overflowing.

But when she looked up at Ren Pingsheng, her face, which had been filled with arrogance just a second ago, instantly blossomed into a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Yiran, look at her nails. Let's go get them redone later..."

"9

Bao Jingjing couldn't help but mutter, "Is this woman just playing herself?"

The third is Tong Liya.

The challenge for Feng Jiaqi lies in striking the right balance.

She's not a bad person; in fact, if you put yourself in her shoes, her choice is completely understandable.

But what she did objectively hurt her best friend.

It was the wedding venue we were testing.

She stood there, her eyes slightly red, her lips pursed, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

There were no dramatic emotions, just a quiet sense of guilt. She knew she was wrong, but she didn't regret her decision.

These three roles are almost a foregone conclusion.

But when Da Peng successfully auditioned for the role of the sober male lead Wei Yiran, something went wrong.

Da Peng's long-cultivated slick style, while demonstrating the character's shrewdness, unconsciously carries a hint of arrogance typical of successful people.

"Wait a minute."

Before Teng Huatao could speak, Ren Pingsheng called "cut."

He made no attempt to hide the fact that he was giving his own artists special training in front of outsiders.

"Brother Peng, you've misinterpreted the character. Wei Yiran is a self-made elite, but his ability to empathize with Huang Xiaoxian working overtime and even apologize on behalf of his fiancée proves that he would never look down on people. He understands human nature and is a sophisticated player who can make it sound perfectly legitimate to get what he wants. So what you need to portray is a clear-headedness that doesn't offend people."

Da Peng is also a quick learner. After adjusting for five minutes, he auditioned for the second time, and finally, his mature and insightful aura was just right.

He found the delicate balance between being profit-driven but not snobbish.

After the audition, Teng Huatao pulled Ren Pingsheng into the corridor.

"All four characters you recommended are fine," he said, lighting a cigarette. "Especially Bai Ke. He's not quite the Lu Ran I imagined, but after watching him, I think he's even better than I originally thought."

Ren Pingsheng smiled. "Where's the female lead?"

"We're still looking," Teng Huatao said, exhaling a puff of smoke. "The article recommended his college classmate, Bai Baihe, but she herself is still hesitant."

After hearing this, Ren Pingsheng went along with it, saying, "Director Teng, don't worry. The lead role is a matter of fate. Since the article has been recommended, have him do some more work on it."

The trajectory of history is stubborn; the article's strong recommendation and Bai Baihe's hesitation are exactly the same as the course of the previous life.

If nothing unexpected happens, Wen Zhang will be able to persuade her to join the film crew in a while; he doesn't need to worry about that.

However, the problems exposed in "Lost in Thailand" are worth reflecting on.

The publicity period was too tight; achieving this result in ten days is already an extraordinary performance.

But what if it takes even longer?

The box office revenue is far more than that.

"Love is Not Blind" is scheduled for release on November 11th next year, which is a year and a half away, so there is plenty of time.

This time, he has enough leeway to do every step to the best of his ability.

Having settled matters with the film crew, Ren Pingsheng flew to Shanghai without stopping.

This time, he attended the financing signing ceremony of Gewara Life Network as a strategic investor.

Representatives from all sides sat on either side of the long table. The investment director of CDH handed the signed documents to the lawyer, and the people from Shanda had also finished signing.

It was Ren Pingsheng's turn.

He picked up the pen and signed his name at the end.

The valuation for this round of financing was set at 1800 million yuan, with CDH Investments leading the investment with 1.8 million yuan, accounting for 10%. They have been deeply involved in the consumer and entertainment industry for many years and have portfolio companies like Focus Media, which can provide Gewara with high-quality industrial synergy.

Shanda, as an angel investor, has invested an additional 810 million yuan in this round, retaining a 20% stake.

-

Ren Pingsheng, representing Shengping Vision Media, invested 1440 million yuan to acquire 8% of the shares.

Liu Yong was extremely pleased with this investment, because Shengping Vision not only provided money, but also a continuous stream of upstream film and television resources and traffic entry points.

After receiving the money, Guevara will expand into markets outside of East China.

In the previous life, this round of financing would not be completed until the end of 2011. In this life, thanks to Ren Pingsheng's efforts, Gewara was able to successfully launch its business model ahead of schedule. Liu Yong also completed the layout of the East China base earlier than in the previous life, and even gained a foothold in several key ticket-holding cities across the country. The financing process was completed more than a year ahead of schedule.

However, because the domestic film market has not yet reached its peak, the valuation is not as exaggerated as it was 11 years ago.

For Ren Pingsheng, exchanging 1440 million for 8% was equivalent to buying at an extremely low price.

Although Guevara ultimately failed to succeed, its valuation once soared to over a billion yuan before being acquired by Dianping.

More importantly, with this 8% stake, he now has a unique path to take in areas such as film scheduling coordination, data acquisition, and user outreach.

After signing, Liu Yong came over and clinked glasses with him with a big smile.

"Mr. Ren, from now on we're family."

"We're family," Ren Pingsheng replied with a smile, though he was already calculating something else in his mind.