Chapter 174

Beijing, western suburb villa.

Wei Jin rested his head on Liu Yan's lower abdomen.

"Boss, are the negotiations for *The Voice* going smoothly?"

Liu Yan was already unable to bear the teasing, attempting to chat about something to divert her attention, lest she make a fool of herself too quickly and be mocked by Xiaobai.

*The Voice* had already officially begun preparations, and the several mentors had also been confirmed: Liu Huan, Wang Fei, Chen Yixun, and Halin.

Liu Huan had not agreed at first; he was busy with the Olympics performances this year and dared not be distracted. It was only after Wei Jin personally called him and told him that they wouldn't need him at all for the preliminary auditions, and that official recording would only begin after the Olympic opening ceremony, that he finally agreed.

However, being a big shot in the industry, Liu Huan's appearance fee was as high as 10 million.

Wang Fei was the same, claiming she had retired from the industry and would no longer accept any bookings.

Wei Jin had the variety team simply throw money at her, offering 10 million, and Wang Fei finally relented. It was mainly because her "kept man" at home had lost money in business again and again; last year, he tried his hand at real estate like others and lost everything down to the bottom, so the Heavenly Queen had no choice but to come out and earn some milk money.

The latter two weren't so much trouble, and given Wei Jin's relationship with the Hong Kong and Taiwan big shots, they agreed quite readily, and their appearance fees weren't high: Chen Yixun 6 million, and Halin only took 4 million.

The latter was actually not worth that price, but the four mentors certainly couldn't have too large a disparity, otherwise it would be too bullying.

"Mm, Modu TV has already agreed to our proposal, though that's how it should be, otherwise they'd be making all the money."

The production cost for this variety show was very high; the mentor fees alone reached 30 million, and top-tier audio equipment had already been arranged with foreign manufacturing companies, with a price tag of 15 million. The remaining recording, filming, and preliminary audition costs were about 15 million, for a total cost of 60 million, which could be considered the ceiling for domestic variety shows.

With production costs so high, if they were to sell it outright, the price certainly wouldn't be lower than this, and no television station dared to take that risk.

Therefore, what they negotiated at the start was a guaranteed revenue plus advertising share, but the ratio had never been set. In the end, Wei Jin employed his old tradition, stating he was willing to sign a gambling agreement with the TV station, guaranteeing a viewership rating of no less than 4, which finally made Modu TV agree to the final proposal.

As for the proposal, it was also simple: Wei Jin Company would be fully responsible for project planning and production, while Modu TV would only be responsible for providing prime broadcast time. The embedded advertisements within the program would belong to the production side. After the program aired, based on a regional viewership rating of 4 as a benchmark, once the base rating was reached, Shanghai Television would pay a 30 million guarantee, and for every point above that, the advertising share would increase by 10%.

Wei Jin Company's variety production capability had already been recognized by the industry, and the investment solicitation work was very smooth. Currently, some companies had already offered 30 million for naming rights, but the variety team was still not satisfied and was actively contacting more financiers; after all, this was related to their bonuses.

"Then, has the host been decided?"

The current two variety shows, although they had brought great help to Liu Yan, were not exactly explosive in terms of ratings, and she also wanted to take a step further.

"This variety show isn't very suitable for you, just wait a bit longer. By the end of this year or early next year, there will be other variety shows launching."

For the program *The Voice*, Wei Jin still intended to find Hua Shao to host. Using super-fast speech for ad reads, his style was indeed unique and could bring a bit of a gimmick to the program.

He didn't know if the variety team had found him yet; of course, if there was no other way in the end, it wouldn't be impossible for Liu Yan to do it.

"Oh, then I'll listen to you, Boss. By the way, have you chosen your new assistant?"

Seeing that the boss already had arrangements, Liu Yan stopped pestering him. She trusted the man's judgment and turned to ask about the new assistant.

She knew that there would be no shortage of sisters in the future, so understanding things in advance would avoid unpleasant interactions.

"Mm, chosen, but she can't start work for the time being. She's still busy with her graduation defense."

"A newcomer who just graduated, I'm afraid it won't be that easy to win her over, Boss."

"Heh, so what if she just graduated? Unless she doesn't enter this circle, sooner or later, she'll be assimilated by this big dye vat."

Having drifted in the entertainment industry for so many years, Wei Jin no longer believed there were any chaste women in the circle; it was nothing more than the price not being high enough.

"Besides, do you think I'm short of women now? If I hadn't heard she's been practicing martial arts since she was a child, I really wouldn't have much interest..." — Yang Mi felt the importance of status for the first time. With Zhou Xun's departure, Rongxin Da was becoming increasingly declining.

For the premiere of *Crazy Racer*, the company didn't even receive an invitation, let alone her.

Yang Mi had originally planned to find an opportunity to get back on good terms with Wei Jin, at least to reverse the bad impression, but that had now fallen through.

Her Agent, Ceng Jia, suggested she leave when her contract expired. Yang Mi felt this suggestion was truly good; it was time to plan for the future. Although Li Xiaowan was good to her, she believed her godmother would understand the principle that people strive to go higher.

Tangren officially opened auditions for *Chinese Paladin 3* to the public. Except for Hu Ge and Zhang Li who were already confirmed, all other roles were in the audition content, and they even opened a voting page on the internet.

A large number of actors, including students from major art academies, submitted their resumes to Tangren, hoping to catch the express train of this drama.

Watching the familiar operation, Wei Jin thought of Zhang Jizhong; this guy also liked to use casting to create hype. What the outside world thought was a fair audition was actually already decided internally.

However, this time the company artist Wang Kai also submitted a resume to audition for the male lead number two, the role of Xu Changqing. Wei Jin did not say a word, only hoping that Miss Cai had some sense and wouldn't embarrass him, otherwise he would eat Liu Shishi one of these days.

Just when everyone thought the storm over *Lust, Caution* had been settled, Li An made his stance known; the big director still had his sense of responsibility.

He issued a statement, bluntly stating that the domestic censorship had been passed, the footage had been cut according to requirements, and everything complied with regulations. Since it was allowed to be screened in the first place, why find trouble with the actors after the fact? Once the statement was out, a rumor spread in the streets again: Li An was also going to be banned. The internet was buzzing with discussion, accusing the General Administration of poor censorship and shifting the blame onto the actress. How was this any different from the decline of a dynasty being blamed on a beautiful woman? Most people in the industry kept their mouths shut, but Feng Dapao was one of the few who expressed his opinion, his words dripping with sarcasm:

"How many buttons need to be undone before it counts as pornography?"

He didn't know if it was the higher-ups taking action to give Huayi Brothers a knock, but as the end of March approached, China Film Group actually air-dropped an imported blockbuster to the end of April.

Marvel's *Iron Man*, a big production with an investment of 140 million USD, was undoubtedly adding frost to the snow for *The Forbidden Kingdom*.

One had to know that the original seven-day holiday turning into three was already very unfavorable, and now with such a big competitor, Huayi Brothers felt aggrieved to death. It was said that Wang Zhonglei had started cursing in his office. — Jing Tian had changed into a purple pleated long skirt early on; both her hairstyle and makeup made her look a bit more mature.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Jing Tian nodded with some satisfaction. Girls were just like that; when they were young, they wanted to look more mature, and when they got older, they hoped to dress more youthful.

However, Jing Tian didn't have this problem; the older she got, the more she had the air of a "flower of worldly wealth."

Thinking of Siten in a cheongsam, fully displaying her mature charm, Wei Jin's eyes grew a bit heated.

"Alright, Tian Tian, you already look very beautiful, we should head out."

"Don't be in such a rush, Brother, today I'm walking the red carpet with you after all..."

Jing Tian fiddled with her jewelry, looking like she wanted to stun everyone on the red carpet.

After finally getting ready, Wei Jin brought Jing Tian to the premiere venue.

The premiere was held at the Shanhe Cinema flagship store, which had become the first choice for many of Wei Jin Company's film premieres.

The scale of this premiere was not large; for one, the film's budget was limited, and for another, Ning Hao was not the type who particularly liked big occasions.

For domestic premieres currently, producers were increasingly pursuing grandeur, but this part of the cost was basically recovered by selling tickets to the premiere site.

For example, the original *The Promise* was said to have cost 5 million for the premiere. Where did the money come from? Over three thousand tickets, with a unit price as high as 1888 yuan, were all passed on to the audience.

Wei Jin looked down on this kind of behavior, but since everyone in the industry did it, he didn't want to be unconventional, and previously he had also followed the market rate, charging a hundred or so for a ticket.

This time it was a bit different; the premiere tickets were free, with the costs covered by Yinxiang Net. One only needed to register and provide an account to participate in a lucky draw to receive one. For a time, it really added quite a few registered users to Yinxiang Net, which could be considered a triple-win. — At the premiere site, many invited companies brought their own artists to show support. As the host, Ning Hao was also busy beyond measure. Xing Aina did not come today; she was already pregnant, and for the first three months, the couple was being a bit careful.

However, the creative team's Huang Bai was chatting with Wei Jin at this moment, and Jing Tian was also watching the two brag with a smiling face; mainly because Huang Bai was just too funny when he spoke.

"Old Wei, is that matter true?"

Wei Jin also knew what Huang Bai was asking about. The producers of *Amour* had sued the SARFT, with the demand that the ban and punishment were unreasonable and requesting their revocation.

But ironically, according to regulations, they had to reply to the plaintiff within seven days whether they would accept the case or not, and as a result, half a month had passed without a single word of news. It was simply breaking the law while knowing the law!

Launching *The Voice* and the Premiere of *Crazy Racer*

Who knows how many shameful things are hidden in there; they don't even dare to write about them.

"Don't go around asking blindly about this; after all, we still have to make a living in this circle."

"I'm just curious, I wouldn't dare talk nonsense outside."

"Curiosity killed the cat; why aren't you going to greet the guests? You're the star today."

"Forget it, why worry so much? Haven't you seen how proud and pleased Ning Hao looks? There's no need."

As the two talked, the host began to take the stage, and the premiere started.

There were no special programs this time, and it quickly moved to the film screening segment—a one-hundred-minute movie with six narrative threads, a tight plot, and rigorous logic, firmly holding everyone's attention, while the classic lines in the film frequently drew laughter from the audience below.

"A duplex cemetery extending one level downward."

"To be a killer, one must love the profession they are in."

"This taste isn't right! How could this taste be right?"

As the movie ended, thunderous applause erupted at the scene; some people reacted a bit slowly and were still pondering the plot just now.

A reporter asked Ning Hao what his expectations for the box office were, and he handed the microphone to Wei Jin.

"I won't say much about Director Ning's level and achievements; just looking at the brilliance of the film, I believe everyone can see it through the applause just now. I think the 2 Million Director Club will add another member."

Many people were stunned upon hearing Wei Jin's words; everyone knew the cost of Crazy Racer—a ten-million budget to sprint for two hundred million at the box office was truly a bit exaggerated.

However, thinking about the previous two films, Lost on Journey and Crazy Stone, both were classics of winning big with small investments; not to mention there weren't many competitors in this release window, and coupled with the promotional capabilities of Wei Jin Company, it really wasn't impossible.

Many reporters hurriedly recorded this down; there was now one more piece of material for today's news. The second update of the day, I earnestly request all book friends to reward me with subscriptions, follow-up readings, collections, monthly tickets, and recommendation votes. Thank you all! (End of this chapter)