Chapter 135: New Official Takes Office and Lu Chuan Stirs the Pot

The film market in March was somewhat crowded, with a total of 21 films released.

The most eye-catching was undoubtedly *Babel*, which had spent the entire previous year competing with Wei Jin.

They had been rivals since the Cannes Film Festival, all the way through the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscar, like a haunting specter.

Certain experts had sworn that foreign films had no market in the country and that the opening day box office would be five million at most; as it turned out, they doubled that, with nearly ten million in box office revenue, causing quite a sensation—especially since pirated copies had been out for three months already.

In addition, the South Korean film *The Host* could not be underestimated; this sci-fi disaster film had a very strong market domestically.

Naturally, none of this had anything to do with Wei Jin; he was completely sitting on the sidelines watching the tigers fight during this release window, but one piece of news left Wei Jin somewhat distracted.

Han Sanping had officially become the chairman of China Film Group; quietly, the power transition within China Film Group had been completed.

It didn't matter whether one called him President Han or Han Dong before, but one had to be careful from now on; although Han Sanping might not necessarily care, there was no need to give anyone cause for gossip.

Wei Jin called to offer his congratulations immediately, and who would have thought the two of them would be so in sync.

"Hey, I was just about to call you. There's a very important meeting in the next two days that all companies in the industry must attend, and it must be the top person in charge. The authorities want to increase support for the film industry, especially for commercial film directors like you; favorable policies are coming." — The level of this meeting was very high, personally hosted by Director Tong of the Film Bureau, with many leaders from the General Administration present as well.

All the major film groups and film studios were present, and they were all the top leaders.

Every prominent private film company, distribution company, theater chain enterprise, film and television company, and well-known film director in the country was in attendance.

It was said that a certain bigwig had spoken up, demanding that the development of the film industry be treated with high importance.

But this was to be expected; the domestic film market had been booming in recent years, with an annual growth rate exceeding 30%, so no amount of emphasis would be too much, even if the scale was not yet large.

However, judging by the leaders' tone at the meeting, this speed was still a bit slow and could be pushed further.

"The annual output value is increasing, but everyone look: are the films that sell tickets all the same old faces? What are the others doing? Winning awards? Even if the copyright sells well, if the box office is poor, does it help the industry?"

Director Tong's words were very direct, practically a slap in the face. The art-house film directors in the audience all had very ugly expressions, yet they were unable to refute him.

Because what was said made a lot of sense; films detached from theater chains were indeed of no benefit to the industry's development, so no matter how harsh it sounded, they had to take it.

When it was time for industry representatives to speak, China Film Group, as the industry leader, and Han Sanping, as the newly appointed official, spoke with great authority and flair.

"China Film Group has always been committed to large-scale commercial films. Several projects currently in operation have significant investments: Zhou Xingxing's *CJ7*, Chen Kexin's *The Warlords*, Wu Baige's *Red Cliff*, and Chen Shiren's *Forever Enthralled*..."

Wei Jin had warned him many times, but Han Sanping had ultimately entered the fray for the *Red Cliff* project; Wei Jin only hoped that Han Dong could be strong when the time came.

"Heh, as the industry leader, China Film Group is truly wealthy and imposing."

As a commercial director whose domestic box office had broken 100 million, Ning Hao was naturally present today. He sat with Wei Jin and whispered.

"That's only natural. President Han—no, Han Dong—has always liked to engage in big productions and blockbusters, so these figures are normal. It's just that he only talked about investment and didn't mention profit. Heh heh, didn't you see the other executives looking at him with disdain?"

Wei Jin's words were somewhat teasing; he didn't know the specific situation, but in terms of pure investment, he estimated that China Film Group didn't make much. Fortunately, they could make up for it in distribution, especially with the privilege of importing foreign films—that was Han Dong's real confidence in making blockbusters.

"But why is Xiangying so miserable? Their annual revenue is only 60 million, not even enough to cover one of our films."

"Brother, just say that to me; they are a state-owned enterprise. You know how the money-making side of things goes."

Wei Jin chatted with Ning Hao, but this trip was worth it; he heard a lot of first-hand news.

In short, the authorities were going to allocate funds, and all the major film groups were to start expanding their theater chains, opening cinemas in towns and villages; new policies would also be introduced continuously.

"Brother, the film industry is about to see high-speed development; we must seize the opportunity."

After the meeting, Han Dong pulled Wei Jin aside to inform him that the release date for *Spider-Man 3* had been adjusted to be simultaneous with North America.

This neither defied the old leader's decision nor left *New World* with a few more days for word-of-mouth to ferment; it was a decent explanation to Wei Jin and could barely be considered a win-win situation. Afterward, Han Dong left with most of the others, but Wei Jin could not leave yet; he and Ning Hao were kept behind.

To Wei Jin's surprise, Zhang Yimou was also kept behind despite being so busy with the Olympics, but the fact that Lu Chuan was also there was a bit disgusting.

Looking around, those who remained were all well-known directors. It seemed the authorities intended to work on these influential directors; otherwise, if only industry companies exerted effort, where would the projects come from?

"In all fields of culture and art, none possesses as much international influence as film. For example, award-winning films at international film festivals like *Room* and *Tuya's Marriage*—these films and directors have, to a certain extent, become national calling cards."

"You are all leaders in the industry, each with your own strengths in awards and box office. The future of the film industry depends on you, but the prosperity of the film market still requires commercial films that can sell tickets. So, I hope you all have a clear understanding; there will be many policies coming next..."

Director Tong's speech was of a high standard, affirming the importance of awards while indicating that the current primary goal was to develop commercial films. The directors sitting around could all understand the subtext.

"Leader, let me state my position first. Although I have mostly shot films with artistic attributes, my commercial blockbuster *Nanjing* has been in preparation for two years with an investment of 200 million. I strive to start filming by the end of the year. As a Huaxia filmmaker, I, Lu, will not shirk my duty to contribute to the industry's development."

As soon as Director Tong finished speaking, Lu Chuan stood up impatiently to state his position. Those who didn't know better would think he was the industry leader. Many directors showed disdain; this guy was worthy of talking about commercial films? Lu Chuan naturally noticed the ugly expressions of his peers, but he couldn't be blamed for being eager; there was a reason for it.

"Don't look at this guy's righteous face; he's trying to take the leader's path to get his script approved."

Ning Hao explained when he saw Wei Jin looking surprised.

Wei Jin hadn't spent much time in the country over the past two months; Lu Chuan's *Nanjing* had been submitted to the General Administration and failed the review, so he was anxious.

Afterward, several big directors spoke one after another. Zhang Yimou was busy with the Olympics and had no plans for the time being, which the leaders understood.

Feng Dapao stated that *Assembly* had wrapped up and was in post-production; he was quite confident about the box office and even boasted that he would break records.

For a moment, many of the watching directors turned their gazes toward Wei Jin, and Director Tong was no exception.

"Director Wei, as the box office record holder, what are your plans for this year?"

Wei Jin was just about to answer Director Tong's question when, unexpectedly, that idiot Lu Chuan spoke first. His words were snide and sarcastic, but they put Wei Jin on the spot.

"As an Oscar Director, Director Wei, your new film wouldn't be another low-budget production, would it?"

Wei Jin felt a bit helpless. In fact, he really hadn't thought about doing a big production; his previous *Painted Skin* had been pushed to the limit and only made 100 million in profit, not even as much as *Room*.

However, in this setting, he couldn't let Lu Chuan be smug. As he slowly stood up, his brain spun rapidly: "Leader, I already have plans for my new film. The script will be sent for review in two days, with an investment of no less than 300 million."

Once Wei Jin said this, the whole room was shocked. 300 million! Wei Jin hadn't handled such a large project before, right? Could he really break even? "Oh? Is it convenient to reveal the genre?"

Director Tong was indeed very interested. It seemed the higher-ups' instructions had made this head of the Film Bureau lean toward Han Sanping's approach.

"Sci-fi genre."

"Pfft."

Before Wei Jin could finish, Lu Chuan let out a sneer, and the others present also had mocking expressions. The reason was simple: there were currently no sci-fi films in the country, and they didn't believe it could be done domestically.

"Director Wei, are you confident?"

As a leader, Director Tong naturally couldn't pour cold water on him, so he just reminded Wei Jin tactfully.

"Director Tong, rest assured. Unlike some pretentious people, if I, Wei, am going to do it, I will definitely do it well."

Wei Jin's words were resolute, his eyes sweeping over Lu Chuan, his disdain undisguised.

The third update today; I implore all readers to reward me with subscriptions, follow-ups, and collections. Thank you all! (End of chapter)