Chapter 450 Everyone Makes Money

The announcement of Gu Wei’s two top endorsement titles has caused quite a bit of discussion online. Of course, the ones who really care and are happy are his fans, while netizens are just there to watch the fun.

It was because this news triggered discussions among Gu Wei's fans and the popularization of various little-known and hot facts that everyone knew that the TV series starring Gu Wei had become so popular abroad.

Some netizens who accessed the Internet through a VPN discovered that among the ten most-watched domestic TV series on YouTube, three were starred by Gu Wei, namely "Love O2O", "Come On, My Mr. and Mrs. Love" and "Nirvana in Fire".

And the number of views is over 100 million, with "Wei Wei" firmly occupying the top spot.

When this news was dug out, netizens were more excited than Gu Wei winning the endorsement of two international brands. After all, this can be considered as becoming popular abroad and bringing glory to the country!

China Film Group.

In the small conference room.

The producer of "The Wandering Earth" Xu Jianhai and the director Guo Fan sat opposite each other, drinking tea and chatting.

"Brother Xu, do you think what Mr. La said about Gu Wei investing in our film is true?"

Guo Fan rubbed his hands, looking a little anxious.

After he was selected by China Film Group as the director of "The Wandering Earth", he devoted all his attention to the preparation of the film.

[The Wandering Earth] is a real big-budget hard science fiction movie, which is extremely difficult to shoot and requires a very high investment. Although China Film Group has invested part of the money, according to Guo Fan's calculations, it is far from enough to achieve the effect he had in mind. So now when he heard that someone wanted to invest, he was also very excited.

"Don't worry, I've worked under Mr. La for so many years, and I know him quite well. Mr. La always speaks with conviction and never makes empty promises.

If he said this is the case, then there is most likely no problem.

We just have to wait patiently. It's not time yet. When they arrive, we can talk face to face and everything will be clear."

Xu Jianhai picked up the jasmine tea in front of him, blew on it, and took a sip.

Unlike Guo Fan, Xu Jianhai is not an artist, he is more of an official.

Before becoming the chairman of China Film Group, La Peikang was the general manager of China Film Beijing Film Production Branch. Xu Jianhai was his deputy and had always worked under him.

Now that President La has been promoted, he naturally promoted his former confidant to take his original position.

Such a big project as "The Wandering Earth" was given to him as the producer because of La Peikang's trust in him.

After hearing what Xu Jianhai said, Guo Fan was still a little worried, but he didn't say anything more.

He also picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip, wondering whether Gu Wei, a big star he had never met, could bring new funds for his movie.

Guo Fan is actually not from a professional background. He has been drawing since elementary school. He graduated from Hainan University with a law degree and obtained a bachelor's degree in law.

The job I did after graduation had nothing to do with filmmaking.

He just liked painting since he was a child, and later became interested in making movies. So in 2009, he was admitted to the graduate school of the Management Department of the Beijing Film Academy. Although he was not majoring in directing, he began to learn all the knowledge about film making.

In 2011, the love movie "The Adventures of Li Xianji" co-directed by him and Li Yang was released. In 2014, his directorial work "You Are the One" was released nationwide, with a total box office of 470 million yuan in the mainland.

Guo Fan can be said to be very talented in filmmaking.

He likes Cameron's movie "Terminator" very much and dreams of making a similar science fiction film in the future.

In 2012, China Film Group purchased the copyright of Liu Cixin's science fiction novel "The Wandering Earth". In 2014, China Film Group decided to start filming the movie "The Wandering Earth".

At that time, China Film Group first looked for international directors, including Cameron, Alfonso, and Luc Besson.

They hoped that these famous directors would film Liu Cixin's works, but they were all rejected.

Later, China Film Group contacted several famous domestic directors, but was also rejected.

Their biggest reason is that China currently does not have the ability to make good science fiction films.

China Film Group had no choice but to look among young directors, and they discovered Guo Fan, who had always wanted to make a science fiction film.

At that time, Guo Fan had only made two small films and had no experience in science fiction films.

However, facing the doubts of the leaders of China Film Group, Guo Fan patted his chest and assured: "I am willing to film "The Wandering Earth".

Although others think we can't make a science fiction film, and I know that our conditions are limited and we will encounter many difficulties, as long as you are willing to give me this opportunity, I will do my best to make our own science fiction film."

He also used his painting skills to draw hundreds of sketches of various scenes and tools in the movie. His serious spirit and devout attitude towards science fiction movies impressed leaders such as La Peikang, and finally decided to let Guo Fan direct "The Wandering Earth".

It was only in 2015 that China Film Group confirmed Guo Fan as the director and allocated some funds for him to start preparing for the film. Now more than a year has passed, and Guo Fan has prepared a lot of things, but it will take at least half a year before the actual shooting begins. Not counting the actors, there are too many things to prepare for this film in the early stages.

Moreover, after Guo Fan started preparing for the film, he found that the money given to him by China Film Group was far from enough for the filming and post-production.

Over the past year, he has also tried to find other investors, but unfortunately, everyone stayed away when they heard that he was making a science fiction film.

After all, the reputation of domestic science fiction films is really too bad now. When investors hear that a science fiction film is going to be made, their first reaction is that it is a crappy movie with cheap special effects, and no one dares to invest.

It was also because of this that Guo Fan rushed over when he heard that the big star Gu Wei was interested in investing in "The Wandering Earth".

He also had a little idea in his mind. Even if Gu Wei couldn't invest too much money, if he could trick him into playing the male lead in "The Wandering Earth", with Gu Wei's current fame, it would be much easier for Guo Fan to go out and solicit investment under the other party's name.

As he was thinking this, the door of the small conference room opened from the outside, and La Peikang walked in first, followed by a tall, extremely handsome man with a smile on his face. You will never forget that face once you see it. It was the hottest star in the country at that time, Gu Wei.

"Let me introduce you. This is the producer of The Wandering Earth, Xu Jianhai, and this is the director, Guo Fan.

I don’t need to say much about Lao Xu, Xiao Guo, and the big star Gu Wei, you all know them.

His company, Weiming Tianxia, ​​has always been a partner of China Film Group.

After La Peikang entered the room, Xu Jianhai and Guo Fan stood up.

Then Mr. La began to introduce the three people to each other.

"Producer Xu, Director Guo Fan, it's a pleasure to meet you both today. I'm sorry you've been waiting for so long."

Gu Wei smiled and shook hands with the two men.

“No, no.”

After some pleasantries, the four of them sat down and the conversation quickly got to the point.

"Director Guo, I am a fan of Liu Cixin's books. I really like his science fiction works and I am looking forward to having Mr. Liu's books adapted into movies and put on the big screen.

I have discussed this with Mr. La before, and he also expressed his support for me joining the "The Wandering Earth" project.

I want to know what the current budget of our film is and how big the gap is."

Gu Wei didn't beat around the bush and spoke very directly.

After hearing what he said, Guo Fan looked at Xu Jianhai who was sitting next to him, and the other party nodded slightly to him.

"China Film's current investment is 200 million yuan, but according to my estimate, if we want to achieve the desired effect, the total cost of filming and post-production will be at least 400 million yuan."

When he said this, La Peikang and Xu Jianhai, who were sitting next to him, had no change in expression. It was obvious that this was not the first time Guo Fan had mentioned this number.

After hearing what Guo Fan said, Gu Wei lowered his head and remained silent for a while.

He remembered that after the huge success of "The Wandering Earth", some media reported that the total investment of the film was 50 million US dollars, equivalent to 350 million RMB.

In addition to the initial investment from China Film, this also includes money from other investors, as well as the 60 million yuan investment that Guo Fan asked Wu Jing for when the capital chain broke during the later filming process.

The fact that Wu Jing invested in "The Wandering Earth" was even used as promotional material when the movie was released, and it is basically known to everyone.

Simply put, Guo Fan asked Wu Jing to make a cameo appearance, but the films he acted in became more and more. Later, the crew ran out of money and told Wu Jing that they couldn't pay him, so he asked if he could invest some money. Wu Jing was moved by Guo Fan's professionalism and his love for movies, so he not only didn't ask for any salary but also took out 60 million from his own pocket to give to him.

Of course, because of the 60 million, Wu Jing later made a fortune.

This incident also shows that the filming of "The Wandering Earth" was indeed very difficult, especially in terms of funding.

The original Guo Fan was frugal, borrowed money from everywhere, and finally spent 350 million to make the movie. Now it is normal for him to say that the filming cost 400 million.

"Is that too much?"

Guo Fan was a little worried when he saw Gu Wei was silent.

"Ah~ No, I was thinking about something else."

Gu Wei looked up and smiled.

"Mr. Gu, let's not talk about how much you want to invest for now. I have an idea. The leading actor in the movie "The Wandering Earth" is actually very suitable for you. Would you like to consider it?

Don’t you particularly like the works of Mr. Liu Cixin? Now you have the opportunity to become the protagonist of his work.

This drama of ours is a massive investment of 400 million yuan. If you join me, I am confident that I can make The Wandering Earth the number one science fiction masterpiece in China!"

Guo Fan looked at Gu Wei expectantly.

He actually doesn't think Gu Wei can solve all the funding gaps of the film. Compared with investing money, Guo Fan hopes that Gu Wei can play the male lead.

Given Gu Wei's popularity and status, if he agrees to star in the film, he won't have to worry about investment. There will definitely be plenty of investors willing to fill the investment gap.

Secondly, when the movie is released, Gu Wei's box office appeal can fully guarantee the box office success. Even if it is a domestic science fiction film, many audiences will be willing to go to the cinema to watch it just because of Gu Wei's reputation.

It was like killing two birds with one stone, solving all the difficulties Guo Fan was facing now.

Gu Wei smiled. He had originally planned to recommend himself as the male lead after becoming an investor, but he didn't expect that before he even finished discussing the investment, Guo Fan had already set his sights on him.

He knew what Guo Fan was planning with just a quick glance.

"Director Guo, we can decide on the acting later. Please send me a copy of the script first. I'm actually very interested in acting in science fiction films, especially those written by Liu Cixin.

As an actor, I also hope to try making different types of movies."

Gu Wei did not agree immediately, and Guo Fan looked a little disappointed, but after hearing what he said next, he regained his confidence.

"Let's talk about the investment first. I really admire Director Guo for having the courage to shoot such a high-budget domestic science fiction film.

I also hope that we can make an excellent science fiction film that will make the Chinese people proud.

You can bring the detailed plan for the filming to our company later. If there are no problems, [Wei Ming Tian Xia] is willing to make up the remaining 200 million investment.

Of course, with this money, our company will also send a dedicated staff member to join the crew to help Director Guo complete the filming of the movie."

After Gu Wei made the decision to pay, he said a lot, saying that investing in a movie is not as simple as giving you whatever amount of money you want.

If it is a pure layman investment, like the coal bosses of the past, they will definitely give whatever amount they say. As for how much money is spent on filming and how it is spent, they are completely clueless.

Gu Wei is an academic and also the owner of a film and television company. He knows every intricacies of filming very well.

After investing, you must recruit your own people to join the crew. Financial accounting and other aspects are necessary. It is best to have people from your own company in charge of the props and factory affairs of the crew.

This is the only way to ensure that all the money invested in the film is used for filming.

There will never be a straw hat that costs $5,000.

Guo Fan didn't think that far. He was stunned when Gu Wei said he would invest 200 million yuan.

"Mr. Gu, do you really want to fill the 200 million yuan gap?"

After coming to his senses, he confirmed it again.

Gu Wei nodded.

"Of course, but it depends on what Mr. La and Producer Xu think."

As he said this, he turned to look at the two people beside him.

La Peikang didn't expect Gu Wei to be so generous and take the 200 million yuan investment as soon as he said it.

Even if he, as the chairman of China Film Group, wanted to spend 200 million yuan to make a movie, he would have to hold a meeting to discuss it and go through layers of approval.

This was public money, but Gu Wei paid for it out of his own pocket.

He and Xu Jianhai looked at each other.

"Of course we have no objection. China Film Group invested in The Wandering Earth with the ultimate goal of making a good science fiction film to fill the gap in this field in China.

We are happy to see that Mr. Gu is willing to spend a fortune to support domestic science fiction films."

As La Peikang spoke, Xu Jianhai beside him slowly nodded.

Unlike private film and television companies that only consider profits, China Film is a state-owned enterprise and is more concerned about the development of domestic films. Making money is secondary.

Filming "The Wandering Earth" itself is an extremely risky undertaking. China Film Group had no choice but to put out 200 million yuan in start-up capital. Now that Gu Wei has come to help share the risk, everyone is happy to see it succeed.

"Okay, that's settled. We can prepare the materials and schedule a time to sign the contract."

After the matter was settled, all four people in the meeting room smiled happily, and everyone felt that they had made a profit.

"By the way, Director Guo, when do you plan to start filming the movie?"

Gu Wei asked again.

Guo Fan was very excited at this time, and he introduced it to Gu Wei in detail.

"Since last year, The Wandering Earth has been in the intensive preparation process. In Oriental Movie Metropolis, we have built eight dedicated studios for filming, covering a total area of ​​100,000 square meters. The transport vehicles, underground cities, space stations, etc. inside are all real scenes.

I also found manufacturers to customize various props involved in the movie, including exoskeleton protective suits, firearms, various high-tech equipment, etc.

It will take at least six months to complete all of this, plus the time it takes to find actors, so I plan to officially start filming around June or July next year."

Gu Wei nodded, it was pretty much what he expected.

(End of this chapter)