I entered the venue and sat down in the first row.
"Hey, Uncle Han, you're here so early? Happy New Year!"
Shen Fang handed Han Sanping a cigarette.
"You've brought your whole family here, and instead of staying home for the New Year, you made a special trip over here. Mr. Shen, you're really generous; there are Hero ads everywhere. You must have spent a lot of money." Han Sanping took the cigarette and looked at Shen Fang with a smile.
This time, Chen Fang has gone all out, making everyone pay attention to Heroes. Even the Spring Festival Gala had a one-minute advertisement for Heroes. They really went all out in terms of publicity.
"My parents just arrived in Beijing, so we're going to see a movie on the first day of the Lunar New Year. It's one of the movies I invested in, just to have some fun."
Shen Fang introduced Han Sanping to his parents, Xiao Ma, and others. Han Sanping greeted everyone warmly, and the two sat down in the corner of the first row to chat.
"The domestic spending isn't that much; the overseas spending is much more. Director Zhang is preparing to leave for the United States in a week to promote the film. In addition to the $20 million for distribution and promotion, I have no limit on public relations expenses. It would be best if it could win an Oscar."
Han Sanping was shocked: "Oscar??? Is this even possible???"
"Mr. Han, you haven't seen the finished film? Hero is the pinnacle of domestic films, or rather, modern films. It has reached the highest level in both commercial and artistic value."
"The Oscars aren't that valuable. They don't even have the prestige of the three major film festivals. You know that, right? They're just more commercially valuable. They're an award that was hyped up during America's golden age. You can just spend money on public relations and it's all done."
Han Sanping nodded: "It's good that you have the intention. I haven't actually seen it. You changed the release date at the last minute. I was extremely busy the other day and didn't have time to watch it. I came here so early today, firstly because I wanted to see Director Zhang's work, and secondly because I wanted to see how it did. It seems you're really confident in this film. With such a large amount of money spent on promotion, we'll divide the money according to the investment amount."
"How did your talk with Mike Carroll, the executive at Universal Pictures, go? How many screens will it get this time?"
"600 screens. If the test screenings go well, we can increase the number of screenings and add more screens."
Han Sanping nodded: "This time, we've really come together as one. All eight major cinema chains have given us 30% of their funding for the film. I've put in a lot of effort. We absolutely have to succeed, we absolutely have to make a name for ourselves. We can't afford to lose this battle. If we lose, it won't just be a failure. It could damage the confidence of our domestic filmmakers."
Shen Fang lit a cigarette: "Luck is on my side, I'm determined to win this battle. Hey, Zhang Weiping didn't come?"
Han Sanping laughed: "You have the nerve to say that? Last time you almost made him run away because he was blind. Now the old guy is very obedient. He didn't even come to the premiere this time. Just give him the money that's due."
Shen Fang laughed: "He's quite sensible. If he comes over again and tries to fool people in public, I'll definitely mess with him."
"President Han, President Shen, you've arrived first. Happy New Year!"
Wang Zhongjun was accompanied by Li Lianhua, Feng Kuzi, and the newly joined Chinese immigrants Zhou Gongzi, Ma Baozi, Huo Siyan, Liao Fan, and others, followed by Wang Jinhua, Hu Jun, Geng Le, and others.
Shen Fang smiled and said, "President Wang, it's been a long time. Happy New Year."
"President Shen, this is quite a grand affair. We see advertisements for heroes everywhere. This is truly impressive."
Wang Zhongjun gave a thumbs up.
Shen Fang waved his hand: "It's alright, thank you so much, President Wang, for bringing so many artists."
Wang Zhongjun smiled and said, "President Shen, we are planning to develop two TV series to enter the TV series industry. I heard that you are now cooperating with Emperor Media to develop IP TV series. Could you tell me about it?"
"Mr. Wang, this is just filming a TV series. IP dramas are actually a kind of cultural extension. Besides, aren't the Chinese-owned companies mainly focused on movies? Why would they bother with this?"
Wang Zhongjun sighed upon hearing this.
"Mr. Shen, don't you know what the domestic economic situation is like right now? Every film we make loses money. Every film we make loses money. In addition, our previous investment in Chen Kaige's 'Jing Ke Assassinating the Prince' almost bankrupted our company. It took us several years to recover."
Shen Fang was overjoyed to hear this. He knew about the movie. It seemed that Director Chen made it because he wanted to compete with Zhang Yimou, but he ended up losing all his money.
The Chinese community suffered a major blow because of this incident. If it weren't for their association with Feng Xiaogang and the production of several Lunar New Year films, the Chinese community would have truly faded into obscurity.
However, it's unlikely to be a complete collapse. There's a lot more to the story behind the Chinese film company. As for the claim that every film they make loses money, Shen Fang simply doesn't believe it. They do lose money, that's the surface, but the reality is not so simple. The money for making movies doesn't come from legitimate sources. The Chinese film company is following the Xiang family's path. In fact, many film companies in recent years have used the guise of making movies to engage in all sorts of shady dealings.
"Mr. Wang, are you trying to play the poor card with me?"
Wang Zhongjun spread his hands: "I'm genuinely poor, not just complaining. Mr. Zhong, to be honest, this industry has really worn me down. Every film we make loses money. How can we keep making movies? How can we keep going? Sigh. The Chinese community has worked so hard for so many years, do you know how much money we actually made last year? Less than 10 million in total."
Shen Fang laughed: "Isn't this still making money?"
Wang Zhongjun was speechless: "President Shen, this money is still before the accounts have been split. Once the accounts are split, there will basically be nothing left."
Han Sanping patted Shen Fang on the shoulder.
"Xiao Fang, we're all in the same circle. If we can help each other out, we should. President Wang has had a tough time; he's a genuine filmmaker."
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