Chapter 317 I'm Worth the Price
Around 4 p.m., Gu Wei looked at the time, packed up his things on his desk, and prepared to leave the company.
I have an event to attend in the evening and can't be late.
After returning from the United States, my daily schedule is bound to be packed, so if I want to relax and rest, I have to find opportunities to take a break from my busy schedule.
However, he had been prepared. Since he liked the dazzling stage, it was inevitable that he would have to work hard for it.
After going downstairs, we took a nanny car and went all the way to the Millennium Hotel in Beijing.
The celebration party for "Monster Hunt" will be held here tonight.
There were many people attending the dinner. In addition to all the main creative staff of the film, [Etone Films] also invited many media friends to attend, hoping to take this opportunity to promote the film further.
At the beginning of the banquet, Jiang Zhiqiang and director Xu Chengyi took the stage to speak respectively.
The general content is still about how difficult it was to prepare and produce the film, and that the current results were achieved thanks to the efforts of all the crew members and everyone's support.
I would like to thank all the creative staff who contributed to the film and the publicity and promotion staff who worked hard after the film was released.
Originally, President Jiang wanted to ask the lead actor Gu Wei to come on stage and say a few words, but Gu Wei refused with a smile.
After the two finished speaking, Gu Wei and Bai Baihe, who was wearing a black slim dress and heavy makeup, went on stage together.
Four people stood side by side on the stage, each holding a small hammer.
The staff pushed up a long ice sculpture with the Arabic numerals 267 followed by seven zeros, representing the box office revenue of "Monster Hunt" of 2.67 billion yuan.
Jiang Zhiqiang and Xu Chengyi stood in the middle, with Gu Wei and Bai Baihe standing on both sides.
They posed for photos with the media friends across the street, and then the four of them smashed down the hammers in their hands together at the call of President Jiang.
After the ceremony, the host took the opportunity to ask President Jiang whether he would make a sequel to "Monster Hunt".
Jiang Zhiqiang expressed his affirmation with a smile, and said that the script is already in preparation. He emphasized that they [Etone Films] will definitely do their best to make "Monster Hunt" a high-quality series of movies like "Shrek the Monsters" and "Kung Fu Panda".
After all the activities were over, everyone started to eat.
At the main table, after several rounds of toasts by the happy crowd, Jiang Zhiqiang sat down next to Gu Wei.
"Gu Wei, come to think of it, I have to thank you very much!"
"Mr. Jiang, what do you mean by that?"
"Monster Hunt was facing a reshoot at the time with a cast change. If you hadn't come to the rescue and the final filming effect was even better than the original, the film wouldn't have achieved the success it has today.
It was you who saved this movie and saved Anle!"
Jiang Zhiqiang patted Gu Wei's shoulder and said with emotion.
"No, no, Mr. Jiang, you are embarrassing me.
I'm just a small actor who gets paid to act. It's not a question of whether I can be saved or not.
Even if there was no Gu Wei at that time, there would still be Zhang Wei and Li Wei, and there would be an actor who would step up to play this role.
What really made the film a success was your decision, Mr. Jiang, and Director Xu's high-quality filming."
Gu Wei said modestly.
As for how big a role he played in the movie, he has the clearest idea after having experienced both his past and present lives.
Even if he was not there, there would be Jing Boran to take his place. Although it would be impossible to achieve the current results by then, it would still be a big-selling movie.
"You are too modest. How important a role you played in the film is known to me, even if others don't.
Without you, our film would never have achieved such a high box office."
Gu Wei smiled and didn't say anything else.
"You heard what I said on stage just now, right? What do you think about the second part of Monster Hunt?"
Jiang Zhiqiang suddenly changed the subject and talked about the second part of the movie.
"Our film has performed so well, so it's only natural that we continue filming.
But it mainly depends on you and Director Xu. I am just an actor after all."
Gu Wei didn't think that far.
When he took on "Monster Hunt" at the beginning, it was because of the movie's super high box office performance, and he didn't consider what the filming of the second part would be like.
"Director Xu is currently working on the script, and if nothing unexpected happens, you and Baihe will still be the protagonists.
I believe that as long as we work together, the second part will create even more brilliant achievements."
Jiang Zhiqiang's words have made it very clear that the original crew will continue to shoot the sequel and he will be invited to continue to star in it.
Gu Wei's expression remained unchanged, but he was already feeling suspicious.
He remembered that the male lead of "Monster Hunt 2" was Liang Chaowei. If the script was based on the original time and space, he, the male lead of the first part, would become the second male lead in the second part.
If it was still the original script, Gu Wei would never accept it.
The bad script and bad reputation are one thing, he even rejected the second male lead role in Zhang Yimou's "The Great Wall", and he didn't agree to play the supporting role of Matt Damon, so what else can Liang Chaowei do?
Although his current status in the domestic entertainment industry is not as high as veteran superstars such as Liang Chaowei, Andy Lau, and Chow Yun-fat, and he has never won any Best Actor awards to prove himself, Gu Wei is not inferior to them in terms of popularity.
No matter how senior you are, how good your acting skills are, or how glorious your past was, you still have to look at your current film performance. Gu Wei's box office appeal in the domestic entertainment industry is absolutely unique and no one can match him.
To put it bluntly, if Cheng Long asked Gu Wei to play the second male lead in a movie, he would have to think about it and would probably not accept it, let alone others.
Of course, there is one exception, that is, if it is a film you invested in yourself, if you want to make money, then you can be a little bit humble and it doesn't matter whether you play a supporting role or not.
Gu Wei thought so, but his face showed no expression.
Jiang Zhiqiang was still talking to himself.
"The total box office revenue of the movies you've starred in is now close to 5 billion, right?"
"A little over 4.8 billion."
"If you make a few more movies, after Monster Hunt 2 is released, I'm confident that your box office performance will reach 10 billion.
Just imagine what a huge honor it would be to be the first actor in the Chinese entertainment industry to achieve a 10 billion yuan box office success!"
Jiang Zhiqiang used this to seduce Gu Wei.
"Mr. Jiang, you are right."
Gu Wei just smiled and nodded, but he was quite disdainful in his heart.
He felt that the other party was just making empty promises.
It’s not that Jiang Zhiqiang is wrong.
[Monster Hunt 2] can indeed add a big boost to Gu Wei's box office results, but when you hire an actor to act in a movie, shouldn't you first discuss the salary and how much money you can offer? By talking about these "billion-dollar actors", are you trying to get Gu Wei to ask for less for the honor of the film?
The pay of the protagonists of a series of movies will become higher and higher, especially in a hit series. This is a normal rule in the industry.
For example, Robert Downey Jr., who plays Iron Man in the Marvel series of movies, only received a salary of $500,000 in the first movie "Iron Man".
As his later films sold well, his salary kept rising. By the time he made "Avengers", it had reached 50 million US dollars, a 100-fold increase.
The same is true for Johnny Depp from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series and Vin Diesel from the "Fast and Furious" series.
Even in the "Detective Chinatown" series directed by Gu Wei, Wang Baoqiang only received a salary of 5 million for the first film, but it increased to 20 million for the second film.
This is because his three consecutive films, "Ice Age: Rebirth Gate", "A Man's Martial Arts World" and "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain", all failed at the box office.
The first two films were extremely flops. "Frozen: Door of Rebirth" was invested with 200 million yuan and the box office was 142 million yuan, resulting in a loss of 150 million yuan for the investors.
Although "A Man's Martial Arts" received rave reviews, it lost more than 100 million yuan despite an investment of 167 million yuan and a box office of 118 million yuan.
The film "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain", which he had high hopes for, failed both at the box office and in terms of reputation.
So when Gu Wei asked him to film "Detective Chinatown 2", Wang Baoqiang urgently needed a movie to reverse his decline, otherwise his acting career would start to go downhill.
Gu Wei was very sincere about the 20 million yuan salary, so Wang Baoqiang did not ask for more.
Compared with Wang Baoqiang, Gu Wei has a much bigger appetite.
The main reason is that he has strong box office appeal and has no shortage of movies to shoot.
To put it bluntly, wouldn't it be nice for him to make some movies for his own company and make money for himself? If he can't invest in projects of other film companies, or can't play the kind of roles that can win awards, then there's no point in filming them.
Gu Wei had already set a bottom line in his mind for his role in "Monster Hunt 2": he could participate in the investment and modify the script. If they wanted him to star in it, [Eden Films] had to give him a portion of the investment share, and the role had to be the first male lead, and he also had to have the right to partially modify the script.
It sounds very difficult to say. If this request gets out, Gu Wei will definitely be labeled as a big shot.
But he is worth this price now.
Just like when Dabaobei accepted an interview with the media when she was not self-satisfied for taking a cutout role for 80 million yuan, the reporter said that netizens questioned her salary, and Dabaobei said confidently, "I am worth this price!"
Of course, she relied on fame and popularity at the time, while Gu Wei relied entirely on real achievements.
These are all things that happened later. Jiang Zhiqiang has only made an advance agreement with Gu Wei, and the script has not been completed yet.
It will not be too late to raise these requests when the script is actually sent to Gu Wei.
Hearing Gu Wei's constant nodding in agreement with him, Jiang Zhiqiang did not doubt it and felt that his proposal had touched the other party. He happily toasted with Gu Wei, and both the host and the guest were having a great time.
As the night grew darker, the celebration party came to an end. Gu Wei said goodbye to Jiang Zhiqiang, politely declined Bai Baihe's invitation, and got in the car to the Palm Springs apartment. There was no other way because there was a little patient waiting for him there.
The next day, the entertainment sections of major news media published news about the celebration party for "Monster Hunt". After all, being the number one movie at the box office is a prestigious event, and any news released would attract everyone's attention.
The most eye-catching news is that Enlightenment announced plans to start filming a sequel. Not only ordinary audiences, but also major companies in the film and television industry attach great importance to this news.
"Monster Hunt" was so successful that it brought at least 500 million in net profit to "Etone Films". Which company wouldn't be jealous?
Now that the second part is being prepared for filming, everyone is trying their best to join in, hoping to get a piece of the pie.
However, these have little to do with Gu Wei. In the next few days, he was busy reshooting the remaining scenes of "Detective Chinatown 2".
There is still a scene left in the movie where Gu Wei and Wang Baoqiang are trapped in prison.
"Qin Feng" and "Tang Ren" were captured by Uncle Qi's godson "Lu Guofu" and locked up in a private cell.
"Lu Guofu" doesn't care who the real murderer is. He just wants to find a murderer recognized by everyone to report to his seventh uncle and inherit his seventh uncle's legacy.
And "Song Yi", who is believed by everyone to be the murderer, is his best choice.
"Qin Feng" and "Tang Ren" were caught in the crossfire because they were hanging out with "Song Yi". They were captured by him and forced to tell him the whereabouts of "Song Yi".
The two of them refused to speak and were locked up.
"Qin Feng" traced the identities and places of murder of several people in a private cell, and with the help of "Tang Ren", he uncovered the truth that the murderer used the five elements and five internal organs to make elixirs.
This entire section of the plot takes about 10 minutes in the movie and takes place entirely in a private prison cell. Except for Gu Wei and Wang Baoqiang, all the actors are domestic, so it was not filmed in New York.
"Lao Qin, this time it's hanging~
It doesn't matter, he's going to kill one more person, we still have a chance!"
Wang Baoqiang was a little discouraged, but then he comforted her.
"After all, that's a human life!"
Gu Wei pulled him, feeling somewhat unwilling.
Wang Baoqiang was also very helpless.
"But what can we do if we can't get out?"
Gu Wei was completely helpless and said some angry words in desperation.
"Can't you chant a spell? Chant it!"
"Just read it!"
Wang Baoqiang couldn't stand the provocation, so he turned around and made hand gestures, and actually started chanting spells in a serious manner, as if he was performing a ritual.
"Wearing the Three Pure Ones
Step on Ten Thousand Soldiers
Adjusting Beidou
Left-adjusted Seven Stars
The Supreme Lord Laojun, please obey the command!"
Finally, he bent down, clasped his hands together, pointed in the direction of the gate, and shouted:
"open!!!"
Unexpectedly, the iron gate opened.
Wang Baoqiang thought it was a manifestation of the gods, so he knelt on the ground and kowtowed continuously.
"Hahaha!!
Thank you Taishang Laojun, thank you Taishang Laojun!"
Nazha, dressed as a 2D girl, leaned against the door, turning the key in her hand and chewing gum.
"You should thank the Queen Mother~"
"Click! This shot is over."
The assistant director's voice came, Gu Wei walked to the side, looked at the monitor, and picked up the speaker next to him.
"Okay, we're done, everyone, pack up."
The staff listened to him and started to clean up.
Gu Wei returned to the venue and looked at Wang Baoqiang with a smile on his face.
"Baoqiang, we've finished filming all the shots for this movie. You did a great job!"
Wang Baoqiang forced a smile and seemed to be in a bad mood.
Gu Wei turned his head and looked at Nazha beside him.
"Naza's performance was also very good, keep it up!"
After two days of recuperation, Nazha is now back to full of energy.
"It's all thanks to the director's good training!"
I don't know if it was intentional, but her words had a double meaning.
Gu Wei didn't care and turned around.
“Baoqiang, why do you seem a little depressed after filming again after returning to China?
Nothing happened, right?"
Gu Wei asked with concern.
"Director, it's okay. What could happen to me? I haven't rested well these past two days."
Wang Baoqiang's words seemed a bit reluctant.
"Baoqiang, we've known each other for almost three years, from the start of filming for Detective Chinatown 1 to now.
I fully recognize your acting skills and character, and I consider you as my good friend.
If you have any difficulties, feel free to contact me. I will definitely not stand idly by if I can help you.”
Gu Wei patted his shoulder and spoke earnestly.
"Director, Brother Wei, I'm fine. If there's anything, I'll definitely speak up."
Wang Baoqiang was somewhat moved by Gu Wei's words, but he still said nothing.
On the way back from the studio, Nazha asked Gu Wei curiously:
"Did you see what happened to Brother Baoqiang?"
"No!"
Gu Wei shrugged.
"I'm just expressing my opinion, so I can help others if anything happens."
"I always feel like you know something strange."
(End of this chapter)
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