Chapter 225: Lu Tailang, Passing Censorship, and Dividing Investments (Bonus chapter for 'A Gun Walks the World')

Lu Chuan pulled a slick move; he ostensibly agreed to the producers' request to change the release date, but when confirming the new date with China Film Group, he chose to move it forward instead.

Logically speaking, Lu Chuan could not represent the producers, and Xingmei and Orange Sky could change the release date again at any time.

But Lu Chuan was too bold; he announced the release date directly in front of reporters camping out at the entrance of China Film Group, creating a fait accompli.

"Shanhe Media is bullying its peers, and Wei Jin acts in a domineering and ruthless manner. 'Nanjing' will absolutely not admit defeat. After consultation with the investors, the film has been scheduled for April 22nd.

This time, we will fight to the death, never bow to evil forces, and swear to return a clear and bright sky to the entertainment industry.

I guarantee to the vast number of film lovers here that 'Nanjing' is a film of profound significance and will absolutely not disappoint everyone. Its weight and depth will surely shock the world!"

To stir up buzz for 'Nanjing', win public sympathy, and lay a foundation for promotion, Lu Chuan went all out.

He aimed his guns directly at Shanhe Media and Wei Jin, and it must be said, the effect was quite good.

That afternoon, this news landed directly on the headlines. 'Nanjing' became a hot topic, but it put Orange Sky and Xingmei in a tight spot.

"President Qin, what should we do now?"

On the phone, Wu Kebo's voice carried a hint of helplessness. Lu Chuan really was a troublemaker; how long had they been making a scene over just one film?

"What else can we do? It's already known to everyone, so it can only be this way. Fortunately, it's staggered by ten days or so; I suppose his brain hasn't completely rotted yet."

Lu Chuan's tactic of acting first and reporting later also made Qin Hong very angry, but the news had already been announced. If they changed it now, Xingmei would likely become the laughingstock of the industry, and he, Qin Hong, could not afford to lose face like that.

In fact, Lu Chuan had truly given careful consideration to the choice of the release date.

In his view, although 'Painted Skin 2' had a newcomer director, it carried the influence of its predecessor, and the main cast remained almost unchanged; it was definitely a formidable rival.

Conversely, the film 'Eye for an Eye' had a small investment, the director was unknown, and the main cast had absolutely no box office appeal. It only had the name of Wei Jin as screenwriter, so it posed no threat to 'Nanjing' at all.

"President Wu, since the matter is settled, we should consider how to increase the box office."

"President Qin, I do have an idea. Since the buzz is already so high, we might as well go with the flow and bring the conflict between Lu Chuan and Wei Jin out into the open. I believe many people will be interested."

Wu Kebo had also been in the entertainment industry for many years and was quite savvy about hype.

"But, if we do that, Lu Chuan will likely offend Wei Jin completely."

"Do you think he hasn't already? Or are you planning to continue investing in this idiot in the future?"

Wu Kebo only wanted to minimize his losses as much as possible now; as for whether Lu Chuan lived or died, what did that have to do with him?

"Hmm, then let's do it that way." — Wei Jin personally visited the leaders of the China National Space Administration to discuss matters related to 'Passengers' and received strong support from the leadership.

Afterwards, under the arrangements of the leadership, he met with people from Aerospace Science and Industry.

After reviewing the script and the requirement documents provided by Wei Jin, the other party was clearly very interested.

"Interstellar migration? Director Wei, I originally thought 'The Martian' was already exaggerated enough, but I didn't expect something even more shocking. Your imagination is truly vast; it would be a waste not to do scientific research, haha."

The other party spoke very sincerely; the bizarre and fantastic settings in the script were truly inconceivable.

Things like Earth being on the verge of destruction, the human population plummeting, and being forced to begin interstellar migration; a large number of starships carrying humans flying out of the solar system toward newly discovered habitable planets in outer space; each ship carrying at least five thousand people, all in a "frozen" state in hibernation pods, flying toward a new home under the navigation of an intelligent system; the long, lonely road through the Starry Sky, taking a hundred years to travel... "I'm just thinking about it; as for doing it, I still have to rely on you all. How about it? Can it be done?"

Although 'Passengers' seemed to have a less grand background than 'The Martian', interstellar travel undoubtedly required higher standards for science and technology.

The starship in the script required the capacity to hold five thousand people, along with hibernation pods, an interstellar intelligent navigation system, internal kinetic modules, propulsion systems, and many other pieces of equipment and models. All of these required technical support from Aerospace Science and Industry.

Although actual application was not required, the design still had to conform to scientific logic and have complete theoretical support.

With Wei Jin's pitifully little knowledge, he was truly afraid that the other party would say it was a fantasy.

Several engineers from Aerospace Science and Industry did not reply immediately, but instead looked at the brief summary in their hands, each with excitement. After discussing it among themselves, they gave an affirmative answer.

"Hmm, as long as it doesn't require actual application, just from a design perspective, it's not a big problem."

In the span of a morning, the team from Aerospace Science and Industry gave a precise answer; they would need about half a month to complete the design draft. — Xingmei and Orange Sky reached a consensus, and the energy they exerted was still quite significant.

Within a few days, many articles appeared online, recounting the setbacks 'Nanjing' had experienced since its project initiation.

First, the script failed to pass censorship, then the investors withdrew their capital, and finally, after finally obtaining the public screening permit, it encountered the refusal of Shanhe Cinema Line to screen it, as well as the last-minute scheduling of two films by Shanhe Media to intercept it.

For a time, the matter of Wei Jin suppressing Beijing Film Academy alumni and controlling cinema lines to bully 'Nanjing' reached an unprecedented level of heat online.

Under the deliberate guidance of certain interested parties, quite a few netizens were indeed fooled, and even many so-called experts jumped out to accuse Wei Jin of being overly domineering and called on everyone to boycott Shanhe Media.

In response to this, the public relations department of Shanhe Media directly released information and responded publicly:

First, the release date of a film is the free choice of all producers. There is no reason why others cannot choose this date just because 'Nanjing' has scheduled it. If that were really the case, then who is the more domineering one? Secondly, what films Shanhe Cinema Line chooses to screen is a commercial act and cannot be called suppression. Does not cooperating with Lu Chuan mean suppressing him?

Finally, 'Nanjing' has an incorrect stance, speaks for the enemy, and attempts to make the audience reconcile with and forget this period of history. Such a film should not be released. We call on the vast sons and daughters of Huaxia not to enter the cinema; every extra dollar of box office for such a film is an insult to the martyrs of the War of Resistance.

The actions of the public relations department really did turn around quite a bit of public opinion. Most netizens truly did not know the story 'Nanjing' told and had actually believed Lu Chuan's claim that it was a commemorative film.

Now, after understanding the full story, they turned their guns around and accused Lu Chuan. Some even shouted the name "Lu Tailang," calling him a modern-day "traitor," though it did ultimately stir up buzz for 'Nanjing'.

However, this heat came fast and went fast, because the script for 'Passengers' had passed censorship.

Compared to Lu Chuan and 'Nanjing', the media was naturally more willing to chase after Wei Jin's news, and the media's reaction was even much faster than Wei Jin himself.

"Shanhe Media's latest film, 'Passengers' passes censorship and is revealed!"

"'Passengers', another sci-fi blockbuster is coming!"

"'Passengers' is written and directed by Wei Jin; other information is unknown."

After being reported by the media, the news spread rapidly online and in the film and television industry.

There was much discussion online, with many speculations about this film.

The industry was no less active; investment and casting were all issues everyone cared about.

Wei Jin became busy in an instant. Several companies he often cooperated with all called one after another. Wanda, Fiber, Bona, Huayi Brothers, Emperor, Western Film Group... This time there was also Shanghai Film Group, as well as the oblivious Orange Sky and Xingmei. Although they knew the chances were slim, they couldn't resist the fact that Wei Jin's projects made money.

But Wei Jin's project didn't need so many people, so in the end, he only picked a few, and politely declined the rest.

Many familiar artists in the industry called to inquire about 'Passengers'; after all, Wei Jin's projects were simply too tempting.

This film didn't require many characters, and Wei Jin hadn't made up his mind yet, so he didn't commit to anything and just told everyone to wait for news. — 'Eye for an Eye' and 'Painted Skin 2' had already entered the promotion stage. Since they had said they would boycott 'Nanjing', if they let the latter's box office exceed 100 million, then Shanhe Media would have lost.

It is worth mentioning that the promotional strategy for 'Eye for an Eye' gave the publicity department quite a headache.

This was because from the director Lu Yang down to the main cast, none of them had any fame.

In the end, some talented person proposed to highlight the name of screenwriter Wei Jin, which actually received unanimous approval.

On the huge posters hung in the cinemas, the most prominent position was reserved for screenwriter Wei Jin.

Not to mention, the effect is really good; many netizens have expressed that they can go and see it when the time comes.

The efficiency over at Aerospace Science and Industry is very high; a team of thirty people completed all the designs in just ten days, after all, the leaders at the China National Space Administration clearly stated they wanted to support domestic science fiction films.

A large number of blueprints have already been sent to professional factories for prop production and manufacturing; one only needs to wait for the detailed budget.

In this way, Wei Jin's days were very leisurely; during the day he was buried in the post-production center, busy with the post-production of *Lucy*, and at night he took turns spending the night with several women, though most of the time was spent with Ceng Li.

What made Wei Jin feel slightly gratified was that since the script for *Passengers* passed review, neither Jing Tian nor Liu Yifei had asked about the project; the two young girls were truly pitiful. —Emperor Group Headquarters.

Zhen Zidan and his Agent had been waiting for a long time; this time he was truly a bit afraid.

He had contacted Huo Wenxi many times before, but had not received the desired result; it had already been a month, and there was still no word on the sequel, so having no other choice, Zhen Zidan had to come in person.

However, the feedback received was that Boss Yang was in a meeting, and the people attending the meeting were the director and production team of the *Ip Man* series, but what they were discussing was not *Ip Man 3*.

"Sister Mani, Zidan is really very sincere this time; the previous matter was our fault."

The Agent was apologizing in front of Huo Wenxi; that Assistant had already been fired by him, it was simply a foolish move.

"If apologizing were useful, what would we need the police for?"

Huo Wenxi's attitude was not good; the boss's meaning was very clear, this person was not worth using.

"You must know, some things require following the rules."

"Sister Mani is right; this time Zidan has already realized his mistake, please give him a chance."

"I cannot make the decision on this matter; after Boss Yang and the others finish their meeting, you tell that loser to go and apologize himself."

Huo Wenxi was a woman after all, and seeing the Agent's humble fawning, her heart softened, but she also knew that the boss's decision was not so easy to change, so it would depend on Zhen Zidan's luck.

Not long after, Wilson Yip and the others came down by elevator.

"Director Yip, long time no see."

Zhen Zidan walked over with a face full of smiles and began to greet him.

"Danny, you really did wrong this time."

Saying this, Wilson Yip patted Zhen Zidan on the shoulder, feeling somewhat regretful.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Zidan's heart skipped a beat; he didn't even care to say goodbye, hurriedly pressed the elevator, and rushed upstairs.

Boss Yang did not see him, only letting the secretary convey a sentence to state her attitude.

"*Ip Man 3* won't start until next year; ten million, if you can wait, then wait."—Time had just entered April, and the detailed budget for *Passengers* came out.

At the first opportunity, Han Sanping invited the investors from all sides to meet.

This time it was still the five parties: Wanda, Guangxian, China Film Group, Aerospace Science and Industry, and Shanhe Media.

China Film Group, inside the small conference room.

The investors from all sides gathered around the round table, all looking eagerly at Wei Jin; Han Sanping took the lead and asked: "What is the detailed budget?"

"Special effects cost 150 million, production cost 100 million, total investment 250 million."

The top-tier special effects from Shanhe Ink were quoted at 150 million; of course, this already included profit, after all, this was not a project fully funded by Shanhe Media, so they had to earn what they should.

The production cost was calculated based on equipment manufacturing and shooting costs; on the basis of 80 million, Wei Jin rounded it up, and presumably the investors would not mind.

Sure enough, once this number came out, the investors from all sides had no objections.

Everyone had thought it through very clearly; for Wei Jin's project, just being able to get on board was very good, anyway it was all easy money, just go for it without thinking.

After a morning of negotiation, the five parties finally decided on the investment allocation plan.

Shanhe Media contributed 90 million, accounting for 50%; China Film Group contributed 64 million, accounting for 20%; the other three companies each contributed 32 million, accounting for 10%.

It was very obvious that everything was at a premium, but the investors from all sides had no objections; the profit from *The Martian* was too astonishing, and despite the premium, they believed this time would also be a huge profit.

"By the way, when does the project start filming?"

Han Sanping was more proactive than Wei Jin, the lead initiator, because the latter had been a bit too lazy recently, completely incomparable to the time of *The Martian*.

"Estimated end of May; the pre-production takes quite a lot of time."

Wei Jin gave the reason on the surface, but in reality, it wouldn't take that long; it was mainly because Ceng Li needed his company too much during the first three months, and besides, he still had to make a trip to North America to get things settled.

"Also, let's keep the project confidential for now; there are too many phone calls, and I'm afraid of being distracted, as my graduation defense is about to start."

The investors from all sides nodded upon hearing this, expressing their understanding.

As for the actor issue, the investors from all sides tacitly did not ask; Wei Jin's project was no longer something they could interfere with. Today's third update, an extra update for the book friend 'A Gun Walks the World' for the tip, thank you for the support!

(End of chapter)