Chapter 178: Yang Mi's Thoughts and the Celebration Banquet

On April 24, *The Forbidden Kingdom* was officially released.

Benefiting from the constant stream of good news regarding overseas box office, domestic audiences were full of anticipation for the film, and even cinema chains were very optimistic about it.

The Beijing New Film Union spent 23 million directly to buy out the film's box office for its own cinema chain.

Upon learning of this, Wei Jin did not know whether to call it bold or brainless; he hurriedly called Zhao Feng of the Shanhe Cinema Line, as his own chain must not do such a stupid thing.

At the same time, the box office for *Crazy Racer* officially broke 200 million, and Ning Hao officially stepped into the 200 Million Director Club, becoming the fourth Mainland director to do so after Zhang Yimou, Wei Jin, and Feng Dapao.

It is worth mentioning that there are currently three 200-million-dollar directors in Hong Kong; besides Zhou Xingxing and Chen Kexin, there is also Du Qifeng, who caught the tailwind of Wei Jin—it was to him that Emperor Motion Pictures handed *New World* back then. — "Mimi, why are you still surfing the internet? Aren't you going to the *Dream of the Red Chamber* set?"

Zhang Xiaofei tidied up her things and asked casually.

She was preparing to go run around to film sets; she was already a junior and was about to graduate, yet so far she had only participated in two films that she didn't even know if they would be released, so Zhang Xiaofei was also getting a bit anxious.

Compared to the strict management of the Central Academy of Drama, which does not allow students to take on roles casually, the Beijing Film Academy is much more relaxed in this regard.

But even so, opportunities in the entertainment industry are very scarce. Zhang Xiaofei has no connections, no background, and her looks are not considered outstanding, so she does not have much confidence in working in this line of business.

On the contrary, her roommate Yang Mi is different; she is the one developing the best in the dormitory, having already appeared in both movies and TV dramas. Moreover, she is a child star and a local, so she has quite a few connections. Among the students, she can be considered one of the top-tier ones; currently, among the students at the Beijing Film Academy, only Jing Tian can suppress her.

Yang Mi closed the page on her laptop; it was a photo of Jing Tian and Wei Jin walking on the red carpet, both wearing smiles.

"Where are you going to audition?"

"I'm planning to go to the Qingying Factory to try my luck."

Unable to integrate into the circle, Zhang Xiaofei could only do this, running around to various film sets to see if the god of fate might favor her.

"What's the point of going there? They are all unranked projects. Have you tried auditioning for TV dramas?"

Today's film studios are increasingly declining, and Yang Mi does not look highly upon them.

"I went; I submitted resumes for basically all the TV dramas. I submitted to Shanhe Media's dramas and Tangren's dramas, but unfortunately, I wasn't selected."

"*Ghost Blows Out the Light: The Nine-Story Demon Tower*? *Chinese Paladin 3*?"

"Yes, I heard that Brother Wei participated in the adaptation of the script for *Ghost Blows Out the Light*; it should be a hit, but unfortunately, the competition is too fierce."

For this TV drama, the choice for the female lead had not been finalized. Several of the company's artists were not very suitable; Yang Rong's appearance was fine, but her height was a fatal flaw. In addition, Zhang Li was joining the *Chinese Paladin 3* cast, and Bai Bin and Yang Xue's temperaments did not quite fit, so they simply opened it up for external auditions.

"But Mimi, *Chinese Paladin 3* has opened fan voting online, and your ranking is quite high. If you hadn't already joined the *Dream of the Red Chamber* cast, you could have gone to try. Alright, I won't say more, I have to go. Remember to return to the set."

After speaking, Zhang Xiaofei carried her backpack and ran out the door, with a somewhat hurried and energetic air.

Yang Mi reopened the browser and searched for the online voting for *Chinese Paladin 3*; she was indeed ranked near the top.

For a moment, she couldn't help but feel a bit restless. She had had this thought before, but unfortunately, after being lectured by Wei Jin, it had faded.

Unexpectedly, the fan votes could be this high; it seems she is indeed the popular choice. If she doesn't fight for it, it would be a waste of an opportunity.

The role in *Dream of the Red Chamber* certainly cannot compare to *Chinese Paladin 3*. As for the scheduling issue, she has plenty of ways to convince the director and her godmother.

"Jing Tian, you're just lucky, hmph." — *The Forbidden Kingdom* had a very strong box office performance in its first three days, grossing a total of 54 million, but the online word-of-mouth was hard to describe.

On Yinxiang Net, tens of thousands of people had already given it a rating: 5.5 points, and that was only out of respect for the cast.

A large number of insults accused the producers of deceiving the audience, claiming the fight scenes between the two Kung Fu superstars had no power and were not exciting at all.

However, the gimmick of the two Kung Fu superstars was indeed very effective; even under these circumstances, the film's box office continued to grow.

On the fourth day of release, the Sunday box office actually hit a new high, reaching 26 million, with 80 million grossed in the first four-day weekend.

At the same time, the North American box office also broke 35 million USD, and overseas reviews were mostly positive, to the point that a North American agency sent an invitation for a management contract to Liu Yifei.

"Brother Wei Jin, do you think I should accept?"

Liu Yifei did not have a very strong ambition for her career; her past experiences were mostly driven by Liu Xiaoli. Facing the invitation from Hollywood, she could not make up her mind.

North American agencies provide services to artists and generally do not force arrangements; they are relatively free, and the commissions are also lower. Compared to domestic agencies, they are considered very conscientious.

In fact, many domestic stars who want to enter the international market generally sign with Hollywood agencies, but the other side may not necessarily think much of them.

The one that sent the invitation to Liu Yifei this time was William Morris, abbreviated as WMA, the second-largest agency in North America, with strength second only to CAA.

It is worth mentioning that Zhang Ziyi signed with William Morris, and afterwards, she obtained the resources for *Memoirs of a Geisha*.

"Look at what you think yourself. I personally feel there is no great need. It is very difficult for Chinese actresses to make it in Hollywood. Haven't you seen that Zhang Ziyi has been there for years and is still playing minor roles? Moreover, your foundation is in the country. This invitation is nothing more than seeing that you are young and taking a shot in the dark. If you really go, you will mostly be given supporting roles, which will not help your development and might even consume the fame you have accumulated domestically."

Wei Jin understood the idea of domestic artists venturing into Hollywood, but it really wasn't that easy. Black people can still obtain political correctness, but it is truly difficult for yellow-skinned people to get ahead. In so many years, how many famous ones have come out of those who ventured into Hollywood?

"Besides, even if you really want to develop in Hollywood, you don't need a North American company."

The meaning in Wei Jin's words could not be more obvious; with his influence in North America, grooming a female star or two would not be difficult at all.

"Mm-hmm, I'll listen to you, Brother. I've missed you so much these days..."

Liu Yifei on the other end of the phone was full of sweetness, her words revealing her longing; it had been a while since she had been intimate with her lover.

"I miss you too. After your roadshow ends, I will accompany you to rest well for a few days. I will say a word to the film crew."

There were not many things to do in the first half of the year, and Wei Jin also intended to communicate more with the women around him to consolidate their relationships. — At the end of April, *Crazy Racer* was officially pulled from theaters, with a final box office of 217 million. In Hong Kong, even though Golden Harvest had spared no effort in promotion and publicity, the box office was still less than 4 million.

The biggest problem with Ning Hao's films is that there is no box office in other regions; even Hong Kong and Taiwan in Huaxia do not buy into his style. Therefore, although his box office results have gone up, his status still has a gap compared to the top domestic directors, and Feng Dapao is somewhat similar to him.

With the current capacity of the film market, relying solely on the domestic box office, unless one always plays with low-cost productions like Ning Hao, the only way to make big money is to go for overseas distribution or sell the copyright.

This is also the reason why the status of Chen Shiren, Zhang Yimou, and Wei Jin is higher; only those who can make it in the overseas market count as true top-tier directors. However, even so, Ning Hao is undoubtedly a second-tier director in the country, not inferior to Feng Dapao at all, just a bit shallow in terms of seniority.

So this time, Shanhe Media also held a celebration banquet for *Crazy Racer* to celebrate Ning Hao's successful entry into the 200 Million Director Club.

Wei Jin booked an entire floor of a five-star hotel; he never skimped on the treatment and respect that should be given.

Many guests came, and the momentum was grand. Not to mention that Shanhe Media was in its prime, Ning Hao's achievements alone could not be ignored.

Quite a few guests were still thinking about poaching talent, or at the very least, building a good relationship to strive for participation in future projects. After all, the risks of film and television investment are truly too great, and Ning Hao has proven himself many times to be an object worth investing in.

"Director Ning, congratulations. If you have any projects in the future, feel free to come to China Film Group to visit more often."

Han Sanping's status was placed there, so there was no need to cover up his words; besides, it was just seeking cooperation, which is too normal in the industry.

"That's right, Director Ning, Enlight Media also hopes to have a chance to cooperate. As long as it's your project, funding is absolutely not a problem."

Wang Changtian had been very uncomfortable recently; *The Martian* had been delayed in its release, and the films Enlight Media had invested in over the past two years, such as *Confession of Pain*, *Triangle*, and *Flash Point*, had all flopped into the corner. Even counting distribution fees, they could barely break even, so finding new partners was imperative.

"Easy to say, easy to say, definitely if there's a chance."

Although Ning Hao was already a big director, whether facing the capitalist Wang Changtian or the head of the behemoth China Film Group, Han Sanping, he appeared somewhat weak and was a bit constrained for a moment.

"I say, Han Dong, Wang, this isn't the way to do things, is it? Doing this right in front of me, it's not appropriate."

Wei Jin held his wine glass and walked over to help him out of the awkward situation.

"President Wei, your business is vast, and you're launching several projects this year; you really should leave some soup for us to drink. How about letting Enlight Media take a share in Director Xu's project?"

Xu Laoguai's script had already passed review, and the project investment was controlled under eighty million; now that the project had been officially initiated, it was no surprise that the industry had caught wind of it.

"Wang, Enlight Media has been quite active this past year or so; why bother coming to me for a handout?"

"Brother Wei, the bond between us two brothers shouldn't grow cold."

Wang Changtian pulled Wei Jin into playing the emotional card, and after quite a bit of entanglement, he finally left satisfied—for no other reason than that he had secured a thirty percent share.

Wei Jin had also considered this; as the company's projects grew more numerous and its market share increased, it was impossible to keep all the projects to himself. Since someone was willing to pay a premium, they were naturally a priority partner.

Moreover, the cooperation with Enlight Media had always been quite pleasant, and old Wang was a person one could get along with; plus, with that bit of lingering sentiment from Liu Yan, Wei Jin did not refuse.

Trading a 30% share of *Detective Dee* for thirty million was a way to both diversify risk and make a small profit, while also gaining a favor from Wang Changtian for free—no issues there.

"It's almost May; do you really plan on being this idle all year?"

Han Sanping, however, was not so easily dismissed. Xu Laoguai had flopped several times in a row, and with China Film Group having many projects of its own, he didn't care that much about that one; what he wanted was Wei Jin's project.

"Soon, soon, I'll give you a surprise when the time comes."

Wei Jin wasn't bluffing; the *Inception* project was something he could indeed let China Film Group participate in when the time came. At the very least, within Huaxia and even across Asia, China Film Group could still provide quite a bit of help.

"Oh? Then I'll be waiting for it, haha."

Before long, Wang from Huayi also brought Zhou Xun and Huang Xiaoming over to toast; the latter had just finished their roadshow.

Wang Zhonglei was naturally eyeing Ning Hao and started chatting with him, while Zhou Xun and Huang Xiaoming mainly kept Wei Jin company.

"Old Wei, are you really buying that many stocks?"

It was Zhou Xun who had told Wei Jin about Huayi's stock subscription, but she hadn't expected the latter to be so bullish on it.

"Mm, I suggest you buy your full share as well."

When there was an opportunity to get rich, Wei Jin naturally wouldn't forget his friends, especially since the other party had been the one to tell him the news.

"But I don't understand these things; what if I lose money?"

The entertainment industry is full of all kinds of people; those like Zhou Xun who only earn a bit of acting fees and appearance fees are the majority, while those like Li Yapeng who love to stir things up are, after all, the minority.

"What are you afraid of? President Wei dares to buy so much, and didn't I buy some too? You're just too timid."

Huang Xiaoming, standing to the side, chimed in with a jab; this guy had always had a decent eye for investment, otherwise he wouldn't have become a capitalist in his own right in the future.

"If you're really worried, buy them and then resell them to me; several artists in my company want to buy but don't have the channel."

The reason Wei Jin did this was also to ensure Zhou Xun had some security later on; after all, they were acquaintances, and one had to know that her life hadn't been easy over the past half year.

Last year, Huayi held a high-profile contract renewal ceremony for Li Bingbing and Ren Quan; Li Bingbing's sky-high signing fee of eighty million for three years had spread throughout the entertainment industry. She had now firmly secured her position as the top sister of Huayi, and what's more, her younger sister was the co-general manager of Huayi's talent agency.

It was foreseeable that Zhou Xun probably wouldn't be able to get any good resources at Huayi in the future.

Wei Jin couldn't help but feel a bit of emotion; Fan Bingbing was indeed smart enough to see that the situation was bad and leave decisively.

"Did you hear that? President Wei is even offering to cover you; stop being so indecisive, it's not like your personality at all."

"Alright then, I'll buy some too." — After the celebration banquet ended, Zhu Wei drove to the Golden House, and only after the room's lights turned on did he drive away.

"Boss, thank you."

Gently putting away the clothes Wei Jin had taken off, Jiang Shuying offered her fragrant lips.

She had already obtained the female lead role in *Eye for an Eye*, so she naturally knew this was Wei Jin's compensation.

"Just like this, the sincerity isn't enough."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuying slowly knelt down and tightly enveloped Wei Jin with her tenderness. Today's first update, I earnestly request all book friends to provide a subscription, follow-up read, collection, monthly ticket, and recommendation ticket. Thank you all! (End of this chapter)