Chapter 205: Pay Issues and Everyone is Prey

*Taken 2* had already been scheduled for November 14th back in August; strictly speaking, this release window was not particularly good.

The week prior featured Paramount's *Madagascar 2*, and releasing in the same period were *007: Quantum of Solace* produced by Columbia, and *Slumdog Millionaire* produced by Fox Searchlight.

However, the schedule was just that crowded, and Summit Entertainment had no other options; plus, after analysis, they felt the competitors were not that terrifying.

*Madagascar 2* was an animated film with a different target audience, and with the release dates staggered by a week, the threat was not very significant.

The 007 series was already at its 22nd installment, and audiences were already numb to it, so it did not have much competitive power; both films were action movies, but whenever there was a choice, people would naturally prioritize watching *Taken 2*.

*Slumdog Millionaire* was even less worth mentioning—an Indian film with an unknown director and cast, and it even had pitifully few theater screenings.

Carrying this confidence, on November 14th, everyone at Summit Entertainment welcomed the official release of *Taken 2*.

This film continued the style of its predecessor: the fight choreography was visceral, the father-daughter bond was warm and moving, the intelligence of the protagonists and supporting characters was on point, and the location scenery was beautiful.

In its first 3 days, the North American box office reached 52 million, and the global box office directly broke the 100 million mark, reaching 113 million USD, successfully topping the weekly global box office chart.

Crucially, the word-of-mouth online was not bad either, with an IMDb rating of 6.9, which is considered a decent result in the action film genre.

Many netizens who had already watched the movie gave positive reviews one after another:

"Great watch. Hand-to-hand combat, chases, car racing, gunfights—no dull moments from start to finish, and the emotional scenes are very full."

"Compared to the last one, Liam Neeson is old but still vigorous and increasingly effective, and his daughter also has the potential to wield guns and throw punches; I reckon in the next one, the father-daughter duo will be able to go on a killing spree together."

"I was truly stunned by the beautiful scenery in the film; I really want to take a trip to Istanbul!"

In short, *Taken 2* performed even more brilliantly than its predecessor, meaning this series could continue.

Listening to Hunter's report, Wei Jin nodded; he was already very satisfied with these results, and even if there were a large drop-off later, it would still be acceptable.

When he first received the schedule, he had broken into a cold sweat; others might not know, but he knew how formidable *Slumdog Millionaire* was. This film swept countless major awards, exploded in both box office and word-of-mouth, and would even win Best Film at next year's Oscar—it was truly a massive threat.

"Not bad. The shooting plan for the third installment can be put on the agenda."

As Wei Jin spoke, he snatched the *Vanity Fair* from Hunter's hand.

The cover of this issue was Kate Winslet, the former goddess of *Titanic*, sitting on a stool with her legs crossed, completely naked, draped in an oversized white suit jacket.

Opening to the first page, she was in black silk stockings and high heels, wearing no clothes, lying on a sofa, half-covered and half-exposed, with distinct curves.

"Boss, you think she's great too, right? She's truly sexy."

Hunter had a lecherous look on his face; at this time, Winslet was just past thirty, truly in the most beautiful years of her life.

"However, Boss, they want to increase their pay."

For series films, Summit Entertainment always signed 1+X contracts, and detailed regulations for pay increases were also made.

"Oh? The contract is at the cap, and they're still not satisfied?"

"It's mainly because the initial base pay was set too low. Even with a 50% increase per film, the third one would only have doubled, which is indeed a bit low for them."

To Wei Jin's surprise, Hunter was actually speaking up for the main creators; it seemed this also represented the opinion of Summit Entertainment's management.

"Hmm, since that's the case, then wait until the film finishes its theatrical run and the profits are calculated before offering a reasonable figure."

Wei Jin thought of the news that had come from Emperor Motion Pictures some time ago; Donnie Yen was also dissatisfied with his pay and was clamoring for a raise.

But this was normal; after an artist becomes a massive hit, if their pay does not rise accordingly, it has a significant impact on their commercial value.

Many times, producers think that giving a big red envelope after a film becomes a blockbuster is enough compensation, but in reality, that is not the case at all; what artists want is to show their status through their public asking price.

"Understood, Boss."

Hunter did not continue to say anything else; it was only a matter of a month anyway, and he believed the main creators would still be willing to wait.

Seeming to think of something else, Hunter hesitated, but eventually spoke up.

"Boss, do you really intend to hand the sequel to *Now You See Me* to someone else?"

This film achieved the astonishing result of over 500 million in global box office, so Summit Entertainment naturally hoped to continue the glory; in their view, Wei Jin's approach was a bit risky.

"Yes."

Wei Jin did not say much, but his attitude was already very clear; he was not interested in the sequel, and besides, this type of film was not complex, the script and everything else were already perfected, so changing directors would not have a major impact.

"There's no need to rush this series; let's start it next year. Remember to give the main creators a heads-up in advance."

Although the actors signed series contracts, one still had to consider others' schedules; it wasn't something that could be done on a whim.

"Understood, Boss." — The filming of *The Hunt* was proceeding more and more smoothly.

Whether it was the lead actor Matt, the other actors, or Wei Jin the director, everyone had entered the zone.

Although the male lead Lucas had already been acquitted by the police, the malice of the town residents had not dissipated; they still firmly believed the little girl's words.

Lucas was subjected to extreme ostracization; his childhood friend broke off relations with him, the school expelled him, and even the supermarket refused to sell him food.

The origin of everything was actually just a careless remark by a little girl; one has to say, this is truly ironic.

In the frame, Lucas, with a bruised face, was making dinner with his son; the injury was left over from a dispute with a supermarket employee.

At this moment, a stone smashed the window glass and flew in, nearly hitting Lucas in the face.

"Cut!"

Wei Jin watched the playback on the monitor and nodded with satisfaction.

"This take is good, let's take a break."

"Matt, great performance, keep it up."

In that shot just now, Matt Damon's facial expression was spot on, perfectly capturing the subtle look of the protagonist suddenly realizing something.

"Wei, the filming process should be more than halfway through, right?"

"Yeah, just about. The progress is faster than I imagined; that's good too, I'll have more time for post-production."

Wei Jin planned to take this post-production back to the country to do; for one, he was used to his own equipment, and for another, he could go back sooner.

"You must bring your A-game, okay? If we don't win an award this time, you have to compensate me."

Matt had an exaggerated expression on his face, looking like he was going to latch onto Wei Jin; the two had known each other for a long time, and their relationship was already very harmonious.

However, this also proved that many actors in Hollywood were truly obsessed with awards. "Don't worry, the shots are all in my head. As for whether we can win an award, that's not up to me, so don't you think about latching onto me."

Wei Jin spread his hands helplessly, cooperating with Matt to liven up the atmosphere.

"Haha, I was just saying, there definitely won't be any surprises this time." — Time has reached late November, and with the word-of-mouth spread of *Slumdog Millionaire*, *Taken 2* has been greatly affected.

Fortunately, however, *Slumdog Millionaire* did not have a simultaneous global release, so the overseas box office of *Taken 2* was not much affected and still maintained impressive results.

Domestically, the smoke of the New Year Slot has already begun to fill the air, with *Hard Men* and *Fit Lover* being the first to hit the screens, while several other New Year Slot films are still in promotion.

*Chinese Paladin 3* crew.

Having just finished a scene, Miss Cai took the opportunity to pull Liu Shishi aside to whisper.

"Shishi, our drama will be over in at most half a month. When is Wei Jin coming back?"

The expression on Liu Shishi's face was somewhat awkward; how could she not understand Miss Cai's intentions? It was nothing more than wanting to pull Wei Jin in to increase the crew's exposure and attention.

"He is still filming in North America. There is a time difference, so it's not easy for me to disturb him."

"Hey, why are you so silly? Can't you send a text message? You can also test your importance in his heart while you're at it."

Miss Cai looked as if she were disappointed that she couldn't turn iron into steel. She still had to arrange the wrap-up press conference; without Wei Jin's participation, how could she create buzz? "If he has you in his heart, I don't believe he could be too busy filming to reply to a message."

"Well, alright then."

In the face of Miss Cai's assertiveness, Liu Shishi acted like a quail, timid and submissive. — *The Hunt* crew.

With the determination to win the Golden Bear and the expectation of snatching the Best Actor award, both the director Wei Jin and the lead actor Matt were very focused during filming.

So much so that the filming efficiency was very high, and before they knew it, they had reached the final scenes.

Wei Jin repeatedly watched the playback on the monitor; this take was okay, but he always felt something was missing.

"Wei, is there something I didn't do right? I'm fine, shall we do another take?"

Seeing Wei Jin's hesitation, Matt took the initiative to speak; he hoped that the film would be presented perfectly.

"Whew... Matt, in that last take, your emotions need to be reined in a bit. In front of your child, you must ultimately appear strong; after all, he is a father."

While Wei Jin pondered, he also compared it with the image in his mind and finally discovered where the problem lay.

"Hmm... I understand. You're right. I was only thinking about showing a state of collapse, but I forgot the setting I was in."

Matt was also a professional actor; hearing Wei Jin's explanation, he knew that it was a mismatch between emotion and environment, which caused the character's persona to feel unstable and created a sense of dissonance.

Soon, Matt returned to his original position and raised his hand to signal that he was ready.

"Action." — Outside of filming, Wei Jin took the time to meet with William. The global financial crisis had brought quite a few opportunities.

"Boss, long time no see."

At this moment, William looked increasingly like an elite professional; wealth truly nourishes a person.

"Alright, how is the acquisition of the Big Six's shares going?"

This matter had been going on for half a year, and Wei Jin was very concerned because it related to his future plans.

Although he had already won a Little Golden Man, the Oscar Best Foreign Language Film was not an extraordinary honor. What Wei Jin truly wanted were Best Film and Best Director.

However, these two awards were extremely difficult to win. Since the inception of the Oscars, no one from the country had ever won them, so he had started planning early.

Acquiring the circulating shares of the Big Six served two purposes: first, he could buy at the bottom, and second, when he campaigned for the Oscars in two years, he could use the board seats as a condition to ask the Big Six for help with public relations.

"We have been sweeping them up, and as you instructed, it has been done very discreetly."

Wei Jin did not intend to expose himself too early; his trump cards naturally had to be saved for the end.

"That's good. You can also start working on the other companies on the list in the near future."

It was already the end of 2008. This downturn was about to end, and the North American stock market was about to bottom out and rebound; it was time to enter the market.

"Yes, Boss. Also, during this period, we have bought quite a lot of the equipment you wanted. Many are brand new, and there are no issues with the paperwork."

This year, Hollywood's operating rate had dropped by at least fifty percent. The decline in film production meant that demand for post-production was also weak, and many special effects companies were laying off staff and selling off equipment at low prices.

Most importantly, the sellers even promised to help clear the way, which showed how fierce the competition was.

You have to know, even as a shareholder of Digital Domain, the most Wei Jin could take away before was castrated versions of technology and equipment. It was rare to encounter such an opportunity, so of course, he wouldn't miss it.

"Hmm, very good."

"By the way, Boss, the villa in Beverly Hills has been delivered. Do you need to move in now?"

"Forget it for now. Just arrange for a housekeeper to look after it. I'll be returning to the country soon."

North American property prices were extremely low right now; buying a villa was also for the convenience of Ceng Li's future childbirth.

"Yes, Boss." — The filming process was very smooth, and *The Hunt* had reached its final scenes.

After a year of effort, Lucas finally won back his girlfriend, and the outside discussion gradually faded away.

This day, he accompanied his son out for a hunt to perform the coming-of-age ceremony.

When he separated from his son and acted alone, an accident occurred.

A bullet grazed Lucas's scalp and hit the tree beside him.

He leaned against the tree in a somewhat disheveled state, subconsciously looking in the direction of the gunshot. Under the sunlight, he couldn't see anything clearly, but a figure vaguely flashed by. "Cut!"

Repeatedly observing the footage on the monitor, Matt's emotions were spot on; his legs trembled slightly, and with lingering fear, he went to look for his son under the setting sun.

"I announce that *The Hunt* has officially wrapped."

Everyone in the crew cheered; nearly a month of filming had finally come to an end.

"Wei, why is the ending like this?"

Matt was a bit puzzled; wouldn't the audience's emotions be stirred more if the protagonist died?

"If the protagonist died, the story would end there, but in reality, doesn't this kind of thing happen all the time?"

Wei Jin did not change the original ending; he also believed this was the best way—profound and cruel.

The film is titled *The Hunt*, which also implies that in society, everyone can become a hunter, and likewise, everyone can become prey. Today's second update, I implore all book friends to reward me with subscriptions, follow-up reads, collections, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets. Thank you all! (End of chapter)