Chapter 107: Big Move That Sets Off the Entertainment Circle

"Director Li, thank you." Liu Dehua expressed his gratitude sincerely over the phone.

"You're welcome, Brother Hua. If you can win the award, it will be too late to thank me later." Li Chen said with a smile.

"Haha, no matter what, I have to thank you. I'm already very happy to be shortlisted."

"I haven't congratulated Brother Hua yet. I didn't expect that Brother Hua is an investor in another film participating in the exhibition." Li Chen said again.

After hanging up the phone, Rongchen Pictures and Liu Dehua's Yingyi Entertainment jointly confirmed the authenticity of the news to the media.

Yang Siwei responded to the media on behalf of Rongchen Pictures.

"Buried Alive" is a suspense thriller jointly produced by Chiyou Pictures and Yingyi Entertainment, with an investment of 260 million US dollars, starring Mr. Liu Dehua for free."

This time, people in the circle were completely confused.

When was it filmed? With such a small budget? There is only one main actor? No supporting actors? A one-man show?
If Liu Dehua can win the Silver Bear for Best Actor again this time, then Li Chen will be really amazing.

At the same time, Liu Dehua also announced the details of the burial through his blog and Yingyi Entertainment.

"When I met Director Li in Hong Kong before, I told him that I had a good script and that I could do it for free. I didn't expect Director Li to keep it in mind."

"During the Venice Film Festival, Director Li called me and invited me, and I gladly accepted."

"This movie was filmed in Hollywood for 13 days, and I slept in a coffin for 10 days. It's hard to describe how it felt."

"At the premiere of 'Child's Play', I was not in good condition. When reporters asked me about it, I explained that I had just crawled out of a coffin. In fact, I had just finished filming Buried Alive."

"Later, I received psychological counseling for half a month."

"But now it seems that everything is worth it. Thank you Director Li."

“I hope Buried Alive will have a chance to be shown in China. This movie is really worth watching.”

As soon as the blog post was published, people immediately left comments.

"I feel sorry for Brother Hua. Now I have no resentment towards Director Li. When I was shooting Painted Skin, I was soaked in cold water in February for a long time! But like Brother Hua said: It's all worth it. Congratulations."

"Congratulations to Andy! Andy's character and acting skills have always been what my husband and I admire most!"

"Congratulations!"

The media sought confirmation from all sides.

Finally, it was confirmed that there was only one actor in "Buried Alive" from beginning to end, and that was Liu Dehua.

The most conspicuous prop is just a coffin.

This is simply amazing!
What is most jaw-dropping is that this film, which was shot in only thirteen days and has only one actor, was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Berlin Film Festival.

That only shows that this film does have its merits.

At the same time in Hollywood.

The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, two newspapers and magazines mainly targeting people in the film industry, also reported on Buried, produced by Chiyou Pictures.

"Boss, you are amazing! It only took thirteen days to shoot. Thirteen days!"

"I actually made it to Berlin. Everyone knows that those guys in Berlin are the most stubborn. Haha!"

Tim was laughing happily on the phone.

This is probably because Chiyou Pictures has produced two works in total.

A horror movie that was a box office hit.

A thriller shortlisted for Berlin.

It's simply a huge advertising effect.

He could imagine that he would definitely become the focus of Hollywood in the coming week.

"Tim, stop flattering me and tell me about the progress of Thieves Gate."

"Okay, boss." Tim's face calmed down and he opened the budget plan for "Thieves Gate" on his desk.

"Boss, Charlize Theron is indeed cheaper than Jolie, but not by much. You know, she is an Oscar-winning actress after all."

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me the final budget result."

"Okay, boss, based on the estimated salary for Chinese actors you provided, the final budget cost is 8500 million US dollars."

Li Chen nodded secretly, it was almost the same as he expected.

Charlize Theron undoubtedly has the highest pay among actors.

As a result, everything about her eating, drinking, defecating, urinating and sleeping must meet the highest standards.

"Okay, then, strike while the iron is hot, announce the project, and start casting."

"No problem, boss. I can't wait. I can use the casting of Jolie and Charlize Theron to hype up our movie 'Rogue One' in advance."

"Well, this is a good idea. I remember that the movie "The Da Vinci Code" which is about to be released seems to have used a similar method." Li Chen said with a smile.

"Hahaha, boss, isn't this what you Chinese people mean when they say great minds think alike? My inspiration does indeed come from The Da Vinci Code!"

After hanging up the phone, Tim felt that Li Chen's 60% share was a bit too much.

But he also understood that this was a safer approach.

Risks are shared, after all, this is Chiyou Pictures' first attempt at a Class A production.

It is difficult to predict what will happen after the film is released.

Moreover, the film does not have a Hollywood male actor who can carry the box office to lead the cast, which adds to the uncertainty.

Fans of Liu Dehua left messages online.

"Since Andy was shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival, I won't bother with Director Li! How dare he let Andy sleep in a coffin? That's too much!"

"I feel sorry for Andy. Why did he look so pale at the premiere of A Tale of Two Worlds? Director Li is too cruel!"

"Yes, that's outrageous. I've never heard of sleeping in a coffin while filming a coffin scene!"

"Also, no pay? Does Li Chen have any shame? Is he obsessed with money?"

When Liu Dehua saw this, he quickly spoke up to explain.

"Thank you for your concern, but Director Li is not to blame for this. I did it on my own accord."

"On the contrary, I think what Director Li said is right. If you don't experience the feeling of sleeping in a coffin yourself, you can't perform that kind of realistic feeling of suffocation!"

"I took the initiative to ask for zero pay, but Director Li disagreed. I insisted on fulfilling my promise. Later, Director Li took the initiative to propose co-producing with Yingyi Entertainment, also to make up for my pay."

"So, I hope the fans will not misunderstand me. Director Li arranged a psychological counselor from the beginning to the end, and the crew also bought insurance for me."

Liu Dehua's confession cleared Li Chen of all charges.

A congratulatory headline was also displayed on the official website of Nortel.

“Congratulations to our senior directing student Li Chen for his film Buried, which was shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival. I look forward to Li Chen achieving more success!”

At the same time, the box office of "Painted Skin" also exceeded 2.5 million.

Beyond "Hero"!
Become the box office champion in film history!

All major portals put "Painted Skin" on the headlines as soon as possible.

"Painted Skin surpasses Hero and becomes the box office champion in film history!"

"The total box office of Director Li Chen's four works has exceeded 5 million, making him the first director in mainland China to have a box office of over million!"

A reporter contacted Zhang Yimou as soon as possible.

Lao Mouzi has already said: "Congratulations Li Chen, Painted Skin is great, keep it up!"

Congratulations calls kept coming in.

"Brother, we're going to have a big celebration party for Painted Skin! Hahahaha!"

The first big-budget movie that was independently promoted surpassed "Hero" and broke many records. How could Wang Changtian not be excited?

"Let's do it. We have to do it, but we have to wait until the schedule is over. Also, we have to ask for Mr. Han's opinion. After all, there's still The Promise waiting for us!"

"Well, you are really thoughtful, brother. I'm afraid that Mr. Han will have a hard time these two days."

"A Lonely Man's Journey" and "A Chinese Odyssey" were released on the same day, and "The Promise" also broke the 100 million box office mark on the same day!
The comparison with Painted Skin is obvious. Painted Skin took four days to break the 100 million mark, while The Promise took eight days!

Moreover, the daily box office has dropped to just over 10 million.

Today, Zhang Yimou's "A One Man's Journey" is released.

Industry insiders predict that the final box office of "The Promise" will be around 1.5 million.

When meeting with Gu Yongkeng, Li Chen brought investment consultant Zhang Qin with him.

In retrospect, Li Chen's concerns were proven to be prescient.

There is no problem for Gu Yongkeng to have the final say in the newly established company.

But Li Chen could not accept only 18% of the shares.

It turns out that Gu Yongkeng has not been idle in the past six months.

Some of the initial capital has been raised through search funding.

Li Chen's previous plan failed because he underestimated Gu Yongkeng.

Come to think of it, how could such a person allow a single shareholder to dominate the company, no matter how rich Li Chen is.

After several days of negotiation, Zhang Qin finally secured a 35% stake for him.

There are two additional conditions.

The first is the subsequent financing. Rongchen Pictures can invest first, and the 35% equity must not be diluted in the subsequent financing.

The second is that if the company wants to be sold, it must vote by more than 70%.

Gu Yongkeng agreed with both points, but he couldn't understand why Li Chen put forward the second condition.

Would I sell the company I founded?

"Mr. Gu, it's a pleasure working with you." After both parties signed the contract, Li Chen smiled and stretched out his hand.

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Director Li."

Both of them got what they wanted.

Gu Yongkeng probably couldn't have imagined it anyway.

In the future copyright war, we will face the strong financial support of Tencent Video and Baidu iQiyi.

Apart from getting close to Rongchen Pictures, the copyright king, he could only be slowly eaten away by another tycoon. The former only wanted to own more shares and did not care about the dominant position in the company.

But the latter wants Youku to belong to Alibaba from now on!

On the first day of its release, "A Solo Journey" did not do well at the box office, but it received rave reviews.

Ninety percent of the audiences who have watched it said it was good, which is in stark contrast to the collapsed reputation of "The Promise".

Even what Zhang Yimou said during the interview slapped another person in the face.

"I definitely don't dare to regard myself as a symbol. Don't take yourself too seriously. It's enough as long as I can contribute silently to the film industry!"

"Actually, I'm like a carpenter, or what I do is not much different from a carpenter."

"It is better to be down-to-earth in life and work, which will help to create better film works."

Lao Mouzi is worthy of being Lao Mouzi, and only he can say this.

If it were someone else, even Li Chen, he would probably be immediately bombarded by another Palme d'Or winner.

Industry insiders, netizens and movie fans also gave positive comments to Zhang Yimou.

"Zhang Yimou is still Zhang Yimou. He did not disappoint everyone!"

"It makes people laugh and cry, that's what a good movie is."

In view of Zhang Yimou's humble attitude, Li Chen and Miss Liu also contributed to the box office of "A One Man's Journey".

The scene of the child blowing a whistle and chasing the car made Miss Liu cry.

Exited the cinema and got in the car.

Miss Liu, who was sitting in the passenger seat, still had red eyes and muttered softly, "I wish I could be in Director Zhang's movie someday."

Li Chen was really drunk. Why did this scene seem so familiar?

"Xixi, you really don't treat Director Li as a cadre!"

"You said in front of Director Li that you wanted to be in Director Zhang's play! How do you think I should punish you?"

Miss Liu smiled mischievously: "It's up to you, as long as I can be in Director Zhang's play, you can punish me however you want!"

Li Chen is really unsure about this, unless he gives money to Zhang Dapao or recruits Lao Mouzi under his command one day!

Li Chen changed the subject and said, "After watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith, you envied Julie. After watching A Single Man's Journey, you wanted to be in Director Zhang's movie!"

"I won't dare to go to the movies with you next time. If I have to watch a movie, I'll only watch Director Li's movies!"

Miss Liu smiled happily: "If you don't accompany me, I will find someone else to accompany me!"

"A Solo Journey" won word of mouth but lost at the box office.

This seems to be a portrayal of Zhang Yimou in recent years.

Either it's a box office hit but not a critically acclaimed one, or it's a critically acclaimed but not a box office hit!

The box office on the first day of its release was only about one million, ranking second to last among the five films in the Lunar New Year holiday, only slightly higher than "If Love".

"A Chinese Odyssey" has 200 million.

Of course, Lao Mouzi didn’t care, but his partner was furious!

The premiere cost 20 million. Although today is only Thursday, at this rate, I'm afraid we'll lose a lot of money!

Seeing that "Painted Skin" and "The Promise" were like robbing money, Zhang Dapao was heartbroken!
I shouldn't have listened to my brother in the first place. What's the point of playing with art? Money, money is the most practical thing!
After one Christmas, "The Promise" ranked first in the box office this weekend, earning nearly 30 million yuan.

The total box office has reached 1.3 million, but "Painted Skin" has exceeded 2.75 million, which is a slap in the face!
Although "The Promise" still has nearly half a month left in its release schedule.

But people in the industry are pessimistic about Wuji.

Chen Kaige's face was livid in the study. "A Solo Journey" won good reputation and "Painted Skin" won box office success.

He spent countless efforts, and even though he was almost sixty years old, he led his entire family to carry out a blanket propaganda campaign that everything would be nothing!
Weinstein, the North American distributor of "The Promise", actually gave up the project at this time.

"Please find someone else to distribute it! We don't want to do it anymore!"

This is simply a huge shame.

Chen Hong also fell silent. "The Promise" was too much of a blow to the couple, especially to her husband. Nothing she said would help now.

All the couple is counting on is the Oscars, so they went to Los Angeles together to make the final sprint for the upcoming preview of "The Promise"!

The news at the end of the year is always exciting.

Among the five Lunar New Year blockbusters competing with each other, "Painted Skin" has undisputedly won the throne.

The next morning, Sina reprinted a report from the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.

It instantly set off the entertainment industry at the end of the year.

"Chiyou Pictures may have a big move!"

"It is reported that recently, the Hollywood-famous Chiyou Pictures will invest 8500 million US dollars to shoot the first Sino-US co-production "Thieves Gate"!"

"There are currently two confirmed female leads, one is Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron, and the other is Italian legendary actress Monica Bellucci!"

"There are rumors that Charlize Theron has replaced Angelina Jolie as the Hollywood actress in this Sino-US co-production!"

"According to people familiar with the matter, the script of Thieves is based on the original script of Chinese Palme d'Or director Li Chen, and the casting of the remaining eight roles will also be carried out simultaneously in both countries in the near future."

The circle and the Internet immediately exploded!

The media and reporters called Rongchen Pictures to inquire about the information of "Thieves Gate".

Hollywood does a very good job of keeping scripts confidential. Actors and producers who are not contracted cannot see the scripts at all.

At this moment, Li Chen, Yang Siwei and Wu Bin were all being bombarded with phone calls.

Jolie suffered a loss and she could not jump out to defend the operation of Chiyou Pictures. At this moment, Pitt had secretly arranged for her to give birth.

Inside the Huayi Building.

"Aren't you familiar with Yang Siwei? Go and find out more about the character."

"I'll call you now, Mr. Wang!"

Wang Zhonglei came to his brother's office.

"Brother, I didn't expect Li Chen to play so big and even walk ahead of us!"

"Yes, this young man is really ambitious! Go and ask if we can invest!"

"No problem, brother, that's what I mean. We really need projects like this to show our strength now!"

At the same time, Wang Jingyan also called Yang Siwei.

"Siwei, I won't be polite with you. Tell me the truth. How many roles are there? How many have been selected?"

"Sister Hua, you've got the point. I won't hide it from you. There is no internal decision. There are indeed many suitable actors among your artists, but the final decision still needs to be made by my boss."

This is all Yang Siwei could say.

Internal appointment? Of course there is, the boss lady is the internal appointment!

But how could she possibly tell Wang Jingyan that even in the final casting, the boss lady would still have to come for a formality.

"Okay, I feel relieved when you say that. Say hello to me when you audition, and go shopping with me when you have nothing to do. Don't be so busy all day long."

"Haha, no problem, Sister Hua!"

There was also a guest in Li Chen’s office, Ye Ning, the vice president of Wanda Cinema Line.

"Director Li, my name is Ye Ning. I have wanted to meet Director Li for a long time, and today I finally got my wish." Ye Ning said with a gentle smile.

"Mr. Ye, you are too polite. Mr. Bao has already told me. I would like to thank you for your support for "Father's Love is Like a Mountain"."

"Director Li is too polite. These are just trivial matters."

"I know Mr. Ye's intention. How about giving Wanda 15% of the shares?"

“Haha, let’s do as Director Li says. If there is a project like this next time, Director Li just doesn’t forget Wanda.”

After seeing Ye Ning off, Li Chen received calls from Han Sanping, Ren Zhonglun, and Wang Changtian in succession.

It was finally decided that China Film Group would hold 25%, Shanghai Film Group and Wanda Film Group would each hold 15%, and Light Media would hold 5%.

Li Chen asked Yang Siwei to contact people from China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, and Guangxi Film Group to come to the company to sign the contract.

Wu Bin took the TV drama copyright that he bought this year to ask Li Chen to sign.

Li Chen frowned and looked at it for a while. The fee was a bit unusual.

Especially the dramas such as "Bright Sword", "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" and "The Emperor of Han Wu".

Wu Bin also knew that he couldn't hide it from Li Chen, so he smiled bitterly and said, "Director Li, there are bids for these dramas, so the fees are relatively high."

Li Chen was even more puzzled. Who had such good vision?

Do you also see the importance of copyright in future competition?
Are there other travelers?
"No wonder, who is bidding against us?"

"A video website called LeTV."

"LeTV? Jia Leting?" Li Chen asked in surprise.

"Yes, the legal representative seems to be surnamed Jia. Director Li knows him?"

Wu Bin was a little disapproving. He didn't expect that Li Chen knew about such a small company.

I know him, I know him too well! Li Chen thought to himself.

China's number one pie-in-the-sky swindler, a talented person who can fool even Big Boss Wang and Lao Xu.

How could Li Chen not know him?

There is a saying: Listen to Jia's words and work ten more years!

Isn't this the person you're talking about?

"It doesn't matter whether you know me or not. If that's the case, don't worry about the money. Just keep buying."

"We should not limit ourselves to the mainland and Hong Kong Island. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the United States are all our targets."

Wu Bin couldn't understand many of Li Chen's decisions.

I don't know why the company bought so many copyrights. There are so many pirated copies online, why bother buying genuine ones?
"Don't worry, Director Li, I know what to do."

"In addition to previous collaborations with TVB and ATV, I have also reached agreements on collaborations with Hairun, Zhouyi, and Tangren in mainland China."

"In terms of funding and branding, LeEco is still not good enough."

(End of this chapter)