Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

The deadline for submissions to the Berlin Film Festival is approaching.

Zhuang Huai'an finally felt a sense of urgency and plunged into the editing room to get busy.

Fortunately, the two new editors the company hired were quite skilled, so he spent most of his time directing them, only taking matters into his own hands when things didn't meet his expectations.

The three worked together very well, and after 27 days of working day and night, they finally finished the project.

"Phew... As expected, people who can't lead a team will only work themselves to death."

Zhuang Huai'an pulled out a frame, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Next, it's time for the background music and subtitles."

"Let the employees handle this," Zhuang Huai'an said. He returned to the courtyard house and slept for three days before recovering.

Zhuang Huai'an stared blankly out the window and finally came to a conclusion: Zhang Yimou must have been captured by aliens and had his body modified!

Even with such a robust body after being reborn, I still can't handle staying up all night like this. It's hard to explain why Zhang Yimou was able to film a movie and have a baby while preparing for the Olympic opening ceremony.

This reminded him of a joke from later generations: if Zhang Yimou hadn't met Zhang Weiping and Jia Yueting, his life would have been a typical Chinese entertainment novel.

Indeed, he won a major award for his directorial debut, won Best Actor for his acting, helped his girlfriend become Best Actress, launched the path of commercial films in mainland China, and directed the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Think about it carefully, isn't this just a novel template?

If you write it like this, it will definitely become a hit.

noon,

After enjoying a delicious meal prepared by the plump aunt, Zhuang Huai'an drove his G-Wagon to China Film Group.

"I've been waiting for you!"

Han Sanping personally brought him a cup of tea and said with a smile, "After I heard that you brought Huayi and Yinghuang on board, I wanted to come and find you, but Yang Chen said you were editing a film, so I didn't bother you."

As expected of the bandit leader Zuo Shandiao, his very words exuded the thuggish air of someone trying to recruit others into his gang.

"Tsk, this is supposed to be a perfectly good business collaboration, but the way you're talking makes it sound like a makeshift operation."

Faced with Zhuang Huai'an's sarcastic remarks, Han Sanping laughed it off, feeling that he and the young man were kindred spirits and that it was perfectly acceptable to make a harmless joke.

"Okay, okay, it was a slip of the tongue."

Han Sanping handed him a cigarette and chuckled, "I heard this new film is aiming for Cannes? You've got some drive, kid. 'Gone Girl' is going for Berlin now, are you really planning to speedrun through the three major cinematic events?"

"I will definitely go, but I have reservations about winning the award."

"You lack confidence in this new movie?"

"It's because they lack confidence in Cannes," Zhuang Huai'an sighed. "You've dealt with them before. Looking at the world of film, it's unprecedented for a 19-year-old to win the Golden Lion. Assuming I'm lucky and 'The Vanished Lover' also wins in Berlin, do you think Cannes will hold me back?"

"That's true."

Han Sanping nodded in deep agreement. If the three major European universities were so easy to obtain, their prestige wouldn't be so high.

"In that case, it would be better if Berlin gave you an award, so that all three would benefit."

Okay, okay, is Berlin some kind of cabbage that you've picked out?

Seeing Zhuang Huai'an roll his eyes at him without saying a word, Lao Han smiled sheepishly and realized that he had been too optimistic.

"You little brat, who told you to never make a mistake since your debut?" Han Sanping said, shoving the pot on his shoulder.

"Never mind, let's send it over and give it a try."

Zhuang Huai'an shook his head and exhaled a puff of smoke. "Let me be frank with you. My plan is to compete for awards with five films. I've already made three. The fourth one is 'Transcendence.' After Cannes next year, I'm going to move on to making commercial films."

Upon hearing this, Lao Han's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "A commercial film? Is it a big production?"

Zhuang Huai'an chuckled to himself, "As expected of you, Lao Han. I only put out a hook, and before I even put on the bait, you've already taken the bait."

"So-so, around 50 to 60 million."

"Only fifty or sixty million?" Old Han was somewhat disappointed; this investment did not meet his expectations.

Zhuang Huai'an uttered two words: "US dollars."

"US dollars!?"

Old Han's eyes lit up again. "That's over three hundred million? Can you handle it?"

"The script is already being polished. It's a science fiction film, and the main investment will be in special effects."

Big production? Sci-fi film?

Old Han clicked his tongue in disbelief; this concept sounded utterly unreliable.

"This is your first big-budget production, does it have to be a sci-fi film?"

Han Sanping offered a roundabout suggestion: "I think period dramas are quite good. The Three Kingdoms theme is quite popular overseas. Filming the Battle of Guandu or the Battle of Red Cliffs would be great."

Zhuang Huai'an glanced at him. No wonder you agreed to Wu Baige filming Red Cliff. It turns out you had the same idea yourself!

"I won't film it. The subject matter is good, but the scale is too large for me."

Zhuang Huai'an waved his hand. It wasn't that he couldn't make the film, but that he couldn't open up the overseas market with this kind of subject matter. At most, it could only reach Southeast Asia and other regions, but it couldn't open the door to North America.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about that then," Han Sanping said, seeing Zhuang Huai'an's unwavering refusal, he could only take a step back. "Let's talk about watching this film, 'Transcendence,' first. I heard you gave them 30% combined. How much are you planning to give to China Film Group?"

"20%, the usual advertising rate."

"Okay, once you've prepared the budget, I'll make the arrangements."

Han Sanping didn't complain about the small share, because he also invested in "Gone Girl" on behalf of China Film Group, and hasn't reaped the benefits yet. He'll only see them after returning from Berlin.

His priority now is to secure his relationship with Zhuang Huai'an and consolidate his current position before making any further moves.

"Oh, by the way," Zhuang Huai'an continued, "the missing lover needs to be sent to Berlin through China Film Group's connections. You'll have to arrange that."

The previous two film festivals were both sent out through the Beijing Film Academy, but the name of China Film Group is still more effective in overseas regions. After all, it not only holds the power of life and death over imported films, but also has connections with major film companies. Using their name can save a lot of unnecessary steps.

"Okay, just send over the copy when it's done." Han Sanping wouldn't refuse such a small task.

After chatting for a while, Zhuang Huai'an noticed that Han Sanping kept checking his watch. He knew that Han Sanping was genuinely busy and not trying to get him to leave, so he got up to say goodbye and went back to the company.

In the office, Yang Chen was reporting on recent work to Du Hua and Zhong Lifang.

The filming of "The Disguiser" has finally been completed. Taking advantage of the free time in the editing room, Zhuge Liang and Feng Chu also went into seclusion.

With the return of the crew of "The Disguiser", this small building is no longer sufficient to accommodate the staff.

"I remember there are two other small buildings not far apart next door. Brother Yang, you can go and inquire about them. If the price is right, we'll buy them."

Located in the heart of Beijing, Zhuang Huai'an naturally wouldn't give up this place. Besides the good location, he also didn't want to rent an office building. There were too many restrictions, and he would have to put up with the landlord and property management.

Even penguins, who are so powerful in later generations, still get harassed by landlords. In fact, as soon as they hear that penguins have raised wages for their employees, nearby apartment landlords and restaurant owners also raise their prices for food and accommodation.

This forced Pony Ma to flip the table, spend tens of billions to buy an island, and simply stop playing with them.

"I've already inquired."

Yang Chen had anticipated this, and handed over a document, explaining, "These two buildings are about the same size and layout as our company's. They were both built by the Beijing Film Studio in its early days. There were some disputes over the ownership, though. One of them was previously allocated to the Qingdao Film Studio, but I've inquired, and both sides have agreed to the sale."

The other building is the Beijing Film Studio's own office building, which currently contains some old equipment and various props. I have been inside and seen them; they are all set props from the 1970s and 80s. If we agree on a price and the Beijing Film Studio agrees to let us dispose of these props, my suggestion is to keep them as backups.

After all, they were all made by masters and fit the style of that era. If we want to use them in the future, we won't need to deliberately age them anymore.

Zhuang Huai'an nodded and asked, "What about the price?"

Yang Chen adjusted his glasses and pointed to the numbers on the document, saying, "Two buildings bundled together, 1.1 million RMB."

"This price... is too expensive." Zhuang Huai'an frowned, feeling that the other party was trying to rip off a big spender by raising the price on the spot.

"Well, it was too expensive, so I rejected their offer and made a new suggestion."

"What suggestion?"

"Two buildings will be sold for 8500 million yuan. In addition, if the company has a recruitment plan, it will give priority to the children of Beijing Film Studio employees."

Yang Chen smiled somewhat discreetly, "This way, we can deal with the non-performing assets in the factory and also provide some resettlement jobs. They readily agreed."

Alright, alright, Yang Chen, you old bastard, you're also a child of the Beijing Film Studio, aren't you? How is your behavior any different from that of a traitor? Doesn't your conscience hurt?

Zhuang Huai'an was deeply moved when he thought about what the man had done after joining his gang.

After staring at him for a while, Zhuang Huai'an couldn't help but say, "Brother Yang, why are you acting so strangely? Promise me you'll stay like this forever, okay?"

Yang Chen: ?