Chapter 202: Tang Renjie 2

In the office of Han Shanping at Jingcheng Film Studio, smoke curled through the air.

Xiang Fei sat on the sofa, a teacup in hand, quietly watching the three big names from the film industry across from him—Han Shanping, Wang Zhongjun, and Zhang Weiping—all flipping through the script he had just finished, *Detective Chinatown 2*.

"Smack!"

Han Shanping suddenly slapped the table, his eyes lighting up: "That twist is killer!"

Wang Zhongjun couldn't help nodding: "Even more mind-bending than the first one, and the jokes are denser too."

Zhang Weiping flipped to the last page and smacked his lips: "Director Xiang, how on earth is your brain wired? The way this case is designed..." He shook his head.

Xiang Fei gave a faint smile: "Do you gentlemen think this project is worth investing in?"

Han Shanping took off his glasses and wiped the lenses: "Beijing Film Studio can put up four million."

Wang Zhongjun rapped the tabletop: "Huayi will match with two and a half million."

Zhang Weiping narrowed his eyes and did some quick math: "I'll put in one and a half million."

Xiang Fei nodded: "Fei Min will put up two and a half million, plus my directing fee and script fee, converted into investment shares."

Han Shanping pulled out a calculator and tapped a few keys: "Total investment is seven million. Beijing Film Studio holds 45%, Huayi 20%, New Picture 10%, Fei Min 35%."

Zhang Weiping suddenly laughed: "Director Xiang, you sure know how to work the abacus. Once you fold the directing fee and script fee into the pot, you're personally walking away with at least 15% of the net profit."

Xiang Fei remained unruffled: "Director Zhang, how much did *The Meg* make you?"

Zhang Weiping froze for a beat, then burst into hearty laughter: "Deal! Just for that line, I'm in!"

Han Shanping suddenly asked: "The leads are still Wu Mengda and Duan Long?"

Xiang Fei shook his head: "Right, we'll keep using the two of them."

Zhang Weiping suddenly thought of something: "Who's doing the action direction?"

"Still the Hong Jinbao team." Xiang Fei smiled. "I trust them. Brother Hong will come over and personally handle the fight scenes."

Wang Zhongjun ran some numbers: "The first film grossed forty million at the box office. What's the floor for this one?"

Xiang Fei held up two fingers: "Eighty million to start."

Zhang Weiping nearly choked on his tea: "That confident?"

"Don't forget, gentlemen," Xiang Fei's eyes glinted shrewdly, "the *Detective Chinatown* IP's audience base has already doubled."

Han Shanping made the call: "Then it's settled! Beijing Film Studio will wire the money tomorrow."

Wang Zhongjun also nodded: "Huayi's promotional plan will have a first draft out next week."

Zhang Weiping rose and shook his hand: "Holler if you need anything."

As he was leaving Beijing Film Studio, Xiang Fei's phone rang.

"Brother Fei, the location scouting at Kunlun Mountain is done." On the other end, Wang Jing's voice carried an echo.

Xiang Fei gripped the phone tighter: "Is the shooting plan set?"

"Set! Forty days of on-location shooting. Ah Min insists on doing all the action scenes himself." Wang Jing said excitedly, "Rong Zai has already started high-altitude training!"

After hanging up, Xiang Fei gazed at the national flag fluttering at the entrance of Beijing Film Studio.

In the president's office of Fei Min Entertainment, Xiang Fei looked at Black Tiger across from him.

"Brother Fei, the mission you assigned me has been completed successfully!" Black Tiger said excitedly. "Following your instructions, I successfully got in touch with Director Mellon, and bought his Avatar script from him for one million US dollars! But, well, he hasn't finished writing the script yet, so he felt a bit unworthy of taking the money."

Xiang Fei smiled and nodded, affirming Black Tiger's ability to get things done: "Mm, Brother Tiger, you've really worked hard this time!" Then, after a brief pause to think, he said: "No problem, I'll write the rest myself."

Just then, Black Tiger seemed to suddenly remember something important and hurriedly added: "Oh, right, Brother Fei, Director Mellon also asked if you'd like to co-direct a film with him. I figured you've been pretty busy lately, so I answered for you and said you didn't have time. Do you think that was okay?"

Xiang Fei, who also felt that these years were not the time to go off and try his luck in Hollywood, nodded and approved of Black Tiger's answer.

*Kunlun Palace* and *Detective Chinatown 2*—these two films would lift Fei Min's standing in the entertainment industry another notch.