Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years
Chapter 132 - 129: Let the Bullets Fly and The Legend of Zhen Huan (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 132: Chapter 129: Let the Bullets Fly and The Legend of Zhen Huan (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)

"I’m a bit curious about how a hundred million is being spent. Are the actors pretty big names?"

Jiang Wen had previously talked with Qi Hao about the film.

Honestly speaking, Qi Hao really likes Jiang Wen’s movie.

Or rather, he likes all of Jiang Wen’s movies.

However, he now bears the responsibility of making Little Fatty Sheep profitable, so he can’t simply make decisions for Little Fatty Sheep based on his personal preferences.

"Ge You and I didn’t charge too much in fees..."

Jiang Wen felt helpless, with Qi Hao, this annoying guy, standing on the side of the investors, pinpointing the critical points with just one glance.

It’s really hard to fool him.

Some people originally radiate charm, but once they become agents of capital, they start pressuring others.

"Oh, by the way, who did you get for Huang the Fourth’s role?"

Qi Hao suddenly realized, the issue indeed lay with the fees.

"Planning to get Zhou Ruifa. They are quoting forty million for him, Ge You is five million," Jiang Wen replied.

"That’s a Hollywood rate!"

Qi Hao hit the nail on the head. If not for Hollywood prices, generally domestic actors getting more than five million is already sky-high.

Ge You is a top domestic celebrity, and a five million fee is quite reasonable in the industry.

Chen Kun’s fee in "Hua Mulan" was only two to three million. Qi Hao’s fee for "October Fortress" was two million, which is a bit higher than Wang Xueqi, the male lead.

No way around it, he’s one of the four young actors plus an emperor of acting, and Wang Xueqi is nothing.

The fees for top stars from Xiangjiang are generally around eight million, like Liu Dehua and Gu Tianle are at this price point.

As for Zhou Ruifa’s forty million, it’s definitely because he’s joining "Let the Bullets Fly" as a Hollywood actor, and the fee aligns with Hollywood rates.

But...

Why is that!

Why don’t I get calculated according to Hollywood rates?

"Yes, that’s his price in Hollywood. When this group returns to the Chinese film scene, they use a similar calculation method."

Jiang Wen nodded and didn’t feel the need to pretend in front of Qi Hao.

"The fees alone would require sixty to seventy million, no wonder it costs over one hundred million; a hundred million isn’t even enough, right?"

This film really screws over the gullible ones.

If he wasn’t close with Jiang Wen, usually calling each other brothers, plus the Coal Boss genuinely appreciating Jiang Wen, Qi Hao really wouldn’t want to touch this film.

Jiang Wen, you freaking deserve it!

When you crashed a car into a tree, you realized you should turn; when stocks rose, you knew you should buy; when snot dripped into your mouth, you thought to flick it away. You’ve already made yourself a nemesis of capital, and then you realize to play the victim.

What were you doing earlier?

"Actually, finding someone else would work too. There’s no need to insist on using Zhou Ruifa. If you don’t use Zhou Ruifa, a hundred million would definitely suffice, the marketing costs would be quite plentiful."

Ma Ke helped Jiang Wen make his case.

Both he and Jiang Wen underestimated everyone’s caution towards Jiang Wen.

They thought even if investment wasn’t easy to get, it wouldn’t be impossible; they didn’t expect it to be so hard.

Since that’s the case, there’s no need to cling to Zhou Ruifa.

"Zhou Ruifa is indeed not necessary. Look at ’King of Kung Fu,’ these Hollywood-returned folks are useless."

Zheng Xiaolong mercilessly criticized.

Li Lianjie managed to destroy all the audience’s illusions about Hollywood stars with "Oath of Allegiance" and "King of Kung Fu."

"This role suits Zhou Ruifa... but it is indeed a bit too pricey."

Jiang Wen sighed lightly, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

His expression revealed a hint of fatigue; investment pressure forced him to make compromises.

To speak seriously, Jiang Wen is now in a bottleneck.

The film market is rapidly developing, breaking box office records repeatedly, and production costs continue to soar; his past achievements are no longer enough to keep him standing in the film industry.

If things go wrong, he might be unable to continue.

He can’t rely solely on friends to get by, and the big shots who like his films also face survival pressures.

"If one hundred million could indeed make the film, the rest... our Feiyang Media could help out."

Qi Hao looked at Gao Yang, seeing him nod before giving a definite answer.

His implication was, if you don’t exceed the budget of one hundred million, then we’ll invest. If you continue to exceed the budget, then we won’t accompany you.

Gao Yang didn’t pay much attention to the company Little Fatty Sheep.

Of course, he hoped to make money, but he wouldn’t fire you or exchange you for someone else if you didn’t make money.

The general manager is his daughter.

But Qi Hao can’t just slack off together.

Gao Yang chose him because he’s knowledgeable about the entertainment industry, and he agreed to Gao Yang because he wants to become capital, using Gao Yang’s money first for practice.

"Then I’ll consider finding other actors with higher value for money."

Jiang Wen could only temporarily abandon Zhou Ruifa; without Zhou Ruifa, a hundred million would definitely suffice.

"Alright, we’ll take care of the remaining fifty million at Feiyang Media."

Qi Hao sealed the deal for Gao Yang.

The people at the wine table all breathed a sigh of relief; it’s good enough for someone to invest. If no one stepped in, today’s drinking would be too awkward.

Only Jiang Wen felt a bit disappointed.

For Huang the Fourth, Zhou Ruifa was indeed the top choice actor.

However, Little Fatty Sheep came out with fifty million.

Anyhow, he felt very grateful to Qi Hao, owed him a favor, or rather, owed a favor to everyone involved with the seventh round.

Gao Yang himself didn’t care about his favor.

"If this movie loses money again, I won’t make movies anymore!" Jiang Wen vowed earnestly.

"No need to overreact!" Gao Yang quickly comforted him and said, "It’s best if it earns, if it loses we’ll try harder next time, who quits the field after one failure? Back then, I took all my savings to rent a coal mine, fumbling in the dark, and accidentally got scammed..."

A billionaire boss had also faced various setbacks.

If I had given up back then, it would have been a joke, but now that I’ve succeeded, it’s a legendary tale.

Some people listened seriously, while others chimed in with praise.

Qi Hao couldn’t help but sigh, it’s really amazing to have money, he also wanted to be a wealthy person.

Unfortunately, he’s reached the age of a rich man, but not the capability.

At least not the kind of wealthy person who can make these big shots take notice.

Over there, Old Gao and a few big shots were boasting, while here Zheng Xiaolong targeted Little Gao and Qi Hao.

He curiously asked Gao Fei:

"How many movies has your Little Fatty Sheep invested in?"

"October Fortress, Wait and See, Lost on Journey, Steel Piano, and Mr. Jiang Wen’s film is the fifth one."

Gao Fei counted on his fingers.

The company has actually been established for less than a year, already more impressive than many large film companies.

Moreover, not all of these five movies are low-budget.

October Fortress invested twenty million, and Let the Bullets Fly invested fifty million.

"All are movie investments, aren’t you considering TV dramas?"

Zheng Xiaolong came to this dinner gathering today with the intention of attracting investment.

Gao Fei looked at Qi Hao.

She actually didn’t know whether to invest in TV dramas, at least they hadn’t privately discussed such matters.

"If there’s a good script, we can also invest."

Qi Hao did not exclude TV dramas.

His main profession is an actor, and he loves being an actor, so no matter when, he would never abandon the acting path just because he became a director.

And as an actor, although films have a higher prestige, to maintain national popularity, TV dramas are actually the most cost-effective product.

If there’s a good script, investing himself would have a higher chance of producing a quality product.

"I’m currently working on a TV drama, which is in the scriptwriting stage."

Zheng Xiaolong came over mainly for this matter, not only film directors like Coal Boss, but TV drama directors also like Coal Boss.

They genuinely don’t interfere with your creativity.

At most, they just have opinions on the female actors you choose.

For this, you can entirely choose some willing female stars to "sacrifice" and accompany the Coal Boss.

"If the script is still in progress, then there’s no need to rush."

Qi Hao had a bit of a headache. He and Gao Yang have an agreement that requires Feiyang Media to achieve profitability within two years.

More than half a year has already passed.

When they can turn profitable is still unknown.

"This television series is adapted from a popular novel, with an existing fan base, so after shooting, there will undoubtedly be TV stations willing to buy it."

Zheng Xiaolong got up and fetched a bag, quickly pulling out a set of novels.

"Palace drama novels..."

Qi Hao glanced at it and started looking through the contents.

"Yes, similar to Golden Branches and Green Leaves, this type of TV series has a broad audience. As long as the production isn’t poor, it certainly won’t lose money. TV series are more reliable than films."

Zheng Xiaolong also handed a set of materials to Qi Hao.

Above were the novel’s award records and website performance data, proving he didn’t arbitrarily choose the novel.

Additionally, there was a simple script outlining the general storyline and main characters.

"How much will this cost?"

Qi Hao felt the novel’s writing quality was alright, but some parts felt familiar.

However, that’s a common issue with online literature.

Many novels copy here and there, wanting to truly become a TV series requires significant adaptation.

"Seventy million."

Zheng Xiaolong hoped Little Fatty Sheep could take it all in one go.

The other two companies present today, Emperor Entertainment and China Film, aren’t in the TV drama business.

If Little Fatty Sheep could take it all, he wouldn’t need to seek other investors.

"..."

This is more costly than investing in Let the Bullets Fly.

However, Qi Hao really had to consider investing in Zheng Xiaolong.

First, because TV series are easily recouped, and second, because he owes Zheng Xiaolong a favor.

Young Justice Bao 2 was introduced to him by Zheng Xiaolong, who was the producer at the time.

Although it was only a second male lead, the role image and positioning Qi Hao received were excellent, and after the TV drama aired, he overshadowed Lu Yi and became a popular sensation.

Later, when the original male lead of Heavenly Dog performed poorly, Qi Jian decided to change actors.

Zheng Xiaolong recommended Qi Hao to him.

He said Qi Hao was the best actor among the young talents and would not disappoint, and hiring a popular actor brings inherent traffic, which might recover the losses of changing actors.

Changing actors means compensating.

If you hire someone to act and sign a contract, they don’t perform well, you can remove them, but according to the previous contract terms, you have to pay a portion of their fee.

As a result, Qi Hao won Best Actor for Heavenly Dog.

Is this favor worth seventy million?

It definitely isn’t worth that.

However, the investment Zheng Xiaolong needs is for a TV drama.

TV dramas and films are different; as long as there’s a TV station willing to buy it and the price is right, it generally doesn’t lose money.

Zheng Xiaolong has directed popular TV dramas like Beijing People in New York, Happiness is Like a Flower, and Golden Wedding Anniversary, so he’s not really short of investors.

He seeks investment from Little Fatty Sheep, mainly aiming for a collaboration, to bring Feiyang Media into his capital resource system.

It’s hard to say who owes whom a favor.