Chapter 249: New Series, 400-Million Director

North America, Summit Entertainment headquarters.

"James, I hope you can take on this script."

Wei Jin handed the script in his hand to James Wan. Since he had already said he was starting a new project in North America, he had to see the act through to the end; otherwise, it would be difficult to answer to Han Sanping.

James Wan took the script and adjusted his glasses.

"Wei, I don't doubt your script, but..."

James Wan glanced at Wei Jin as he spoke, then continued:

"You know, I also take a percentage at Lionsgate. The previous price won't be enough anymore."

"Of course, you can state your demands; that is also the reason I am here."

The price Summit Entertainment had previously offered was a base director's contract plus a 5% net profit share. Wei Jin could understand why James Wan had objections.

"Alright, then I'll be direct. I have my own Studio, and I hope to get an investment share."

James Wan was unwilling to continue just working for others. In fact, in Hollywood, whether it was a star or a famous director, once they made it big, they would participate in production investment.

"Hmm, how about this: the previous series will continue to be developed, and you will be given a 10% investment share, with the director's fee remaining the same..."

Seeing that James Wan had something to say, Wei Jin hurriedly continued.

"For the new series, you can get a 25% investment share, but there will be no director's fee. Of course, there won't be any of that fancy, 'loss-making' talk. Once a film is done, whatever it should be, it will be. I can guarantee you this. How about it?"

Given James Wan's efficiency and quality with horror films, this series would undoubtedly be a success. In order to find a qualified tool, Wei Jin also showed great sincerity.

"Wei, I feel your sincerity. I wish us a happy cooperation."

James Wan pondered for a moment, then smiled and reached out his hand.

"Happy cooperation. However, I have one small request."

As Wei Jin stood up to shake his hand, he put forward his own requirement.

"I hope that for the new series, you can add me as a co-director."

"Hmm, although I don't know why, I am very happy to do so. I believe the audience will be even more interested in the collaboration of two horror masters, right? Haha."

In just a few words, the director for the *Happy Death Day* series was found. Back in the country, a company named Starry Sky Culture was quietly established. The company website showed that its main business was artist management, but currently, no artists were signed.

The media was a bit curious, but before they could dig for news, their attention was diverted: *The Founding of a Republic* had been released.

All cinema chains gave it an exceptionally high number of screenings with a tacit understanding.

The result was no surprise: *The Founding of a Republic* raked in 31 million in its first-day box office, breaking the ceiling for the mainstream theme genre.

China Film Group even shouted the slogan of hoping this film would break 500 million. They hadn't lost their minds yet; the record set by *The Martian* was destined to be impossible to break this year.

Immediately after, some schools and administrative units began organizing large-scale group viewing activities, and a large number of people from government agencies began to enter theaters to watch the film.

This move did not exceed the expectations of those in the industry. If the box office for a tribute film didn't look good, how would Han Sanping answer to his superiors? At the same time, Wanda began to officially enter the film industry, offering high prices to recruit directors in the circle.

However, Wanda was also very clear-headed; they did not openly poach directors signed to Shanhe Media, only hoping to sign film contracts with them.

Unfortunately, several directors currently had their own projects, and with Shanhe Media's own scale—having formed a perfect closed loop of cinema chains, production, screenwriting, artists, and distribution—there was no reason to choose to cooperate with Wanda, so they all politely declined.

*The Founding of a Republic* was still raking in box office revenue, looking as if it even had a trend similar to *The Martian*.

The first-week box office steadily exceeded 150 million, and the daily box office was still steadily increasing. This phenomenon, which defied the standard box office curve, naturally could not be separated from administrative guidance.

Many media outlets predicted that this film would likely catch up to *Lucy* and that it was truly possible to break 500 million.

As the general director, Han Sanping was naturally very happy, but when accepting media interviews, he kept his position very humble.

"Box office and such are all empty; this is a gift for the Motherland. As for how much box office it can get in the end, it all depends on the audience."

He looked somewhat humble, but when someone praised him for being highly likely to become the country's second 400-million or even 500-million director, Zuoshandiao's old face wrinkled with laughter.

"Nonsense (what a great truth)."

North America, inside a Beverly Hills villa.

A man's voice came from the bathroom:

"Zixuan, not done yet?"

Wei Jin was taking a bath; without the Assistant coming to help, he always felt something was missing.

"Boss, I'm coming."

Wang Zixuan hung up the phone, hurried into the bathroom, and took the opportunity to untie her bath towel, revealing her proud figure.

"Splash."

As the woman lifted her leg and stepped into the bathtub, the water level rose instantly.

"Whose call was it, calling so late? From back home?"

Wei Jin's hands began to misbehave, and the Assistant looked quite satisfied.

"Mm, Wang from Huayi, asking about your schedule. *The Message* is about to hold its premiere..."

Hearing this, Wei Jin felt a bit dazed. Was it almost National Day? Time had passed too quickly while idling in North America.

"Reply to him later; I won't be going."

Logically speaking, as one of the producers, Wei Jin should show his support, but *The Founding of a Republic* hadn't given him any face, and he had already stated he had a project in North America; he couldn't slap his own face.

"Also, Huayi has officially submitted its listing application to the Growth Enterprise Market."

Wei Jin felt a stir in his heart. The first stock of the domestic entertainment industry was finally about to appear. The 50 million shares he had acquired back then were about to skyrocket.

In his past life, as a financial professional, Wei Jin had naturally paid close attention to Huayi, the first stock in the entertainment sector. Its peak stock price had exceeded 200 yuan. Compared to his current purchase price, that was a several-dozen-fold increase.

"I know, keep an eye on it at all times..."

"Okay, Boss, ah, be gentle~"

Wang Zixuan had been made very sensitive by her boss these days, and she let out a sudden cry of pain.

"Hehe, I've fed you well during this time, haven't I? I wonder if Liu Yan and Xiaobai have been missing me."

Seeming to recall the scene of the four of them together, Wei Jin's interest suddenly surged.

"Zixuan, lift your leg..."

Receiving a call from Nolan, Wei Jin knew it must be that the final cut of *Inception* was ready.

Arriving at the Warner Special Effects Center, Nolan indeed pulled him over to watch the final cut with an excited look on his face.

It had to be said, after being adapted for 3D and IMAX, this film was even more stunning than the original version in Wei Jin's mind.

"Very good, Nolan, perhaps I should congratulate you in advance for creating another billion-dollar box office work."

"Haha, Wei, you forgot, you are also a co-director, even though you didn't do anything, haha."

Nolan was in a very good mood, joking with a laugh, then immediately thought of something else.

"Wei, do you think *Inception* has a chance to compete for an Oscar?"

Although he had already achieved huge commercial success, Nolan seemed to have bad luck; since his debut, apart from the North American Saturn Award, he had not won a single significant global award, and this time he felt there was a good chance.

"Hmm, Nolan, to be honest, I'm not optimistic."

"Why?" Nolan was a bit confused; didn't a film like this deserve a Little Golden Man?

"Counting through past Oscars, commercial science fiction films are almost the least favored category; besides, for this year's Oscars, if a sci-fi film really had to be nominated, wouldn't *Avatar* be more suitable?"

Seeming to think of the final cut he had seen from Cameron, Nolan suddenly felt a bit deflated.

"Alright, Warner's suggestion was the same; if I had known, I should have released it next year."

Hearing this, Wei Jin shook his head; Warner was certainly not stupid, as public relations cost money, and in a situation where the hope was slim, no one would throw tens of millions of dollars into the water.

"By the way, Nolan, how has Warner arranged the promotion for *Inception*?"

"Wei, North America is of course the main front; in Europe, we expect to arrange a few press conferences a week before the release, and for the Asian region, it might be a little earlier."

"Hmm, that's arranged very reasonably; believe me, the box office explosion in Asia will definitely surprise you."

Recently, Han Sanping could be described as being in high spirits, and his interviews could be seen everywhere in the news of the film and television circle.

In the media camera shots, Han Sanping appeared completely radiant.

But it was no wonder; the cost of *The Founding of a Republic* was no more than 30 million, and the current box office had already exceeded 300 million, so this profit was truly considerable.

Even so, he was still full of expectations for the box office to go further; if it could really reach 500 million, that would be a huge face-saver.

However, very soon, Han Sanping's limelight was stolen.

Huayi's listing audit was passed, and the expected listing time had also been announced: late October, which was exactly the peak of the box office for *The Message*; the Wang Brothers had indeed chosen a good time.

The large list of shareholders on the prospectus was also exposed for the first time, involving a large number of celebrities and stars in the industry.

Many people in the industry cast their attention toward it, and they were shocked at first glance.

The five people—Wei Jin, Ceng Li, Gao Yuanyuan, Jing Tian, and Liu Yifei—with the figure of 10 million shares, were too conspicuous hanging on the list.

One must know that the news of the 1.8 million share limit for artists under Huayi was no secret.

Among the artists under Huayi, only Huang Xiaoming and Zhou Xun had bought the full 1.8 million shares; even Huayi's leading actress Li Bingbing and her business genius partner Ren Quan only had a few hundred thousand shares, and even the several signed directors, such as Feng Dapao and Zhang Jizhong, only had a little over 2 million shares.

By comparison, as an outsider, Wei Jin was actually more optimistic about the listing than Huayi's own people? The large shareholdings of Wei Jin and the others undoubtedly brought great attention to Huayi's listing and also increased market confidence.

In Wang Zhonglei's view, the original transaction was undoubtedly very wise; he was already looking forward to the scene where the company would go public and piles of money would flow toward the brothers.

Wei Jin's days in North America were very leisurely; every day he would take walks with Ceng Li, listen to the baby's fetal movements, exchange artistic insights with Zixuan, and browse domestic news in his spare time, feeling relaxed and happy, forgetting to return home.

Counting it up, in the 6 years since his transmigration, Wei Jin had either been on the road to making money or on a film set; he had never experienced such a long period of relaxation.

The experience during this period made him feel that sometimes slowing down was not necessarily a bad thing.

James Wan's efficiency was very high; *Happy Death Day* had already begun filming, and Wei Jin would occasionally go to the set to take a look.

The filming of *Now You See Me 2* was also very smooth, but because there were many location shots in the film, it was difficult for Wei Jin to have the opportunity to visit the set.

Domestically, *Ocean Heaven* had already been pulled from theaters, with a final box office of only 24 million, barely breaking even, but Wei Jin was already very satisfied with this; after all, he had long been prepared for a loss.

*The Message* had also been officially released, with a first-day take of 14 million; entering the National Day holiday, the box office was even more eye-catching, with a single-day box office exceeding 20 million.

For a medium-investment, slightly oppressive spy film, this result could be considered quite eye-catching.

After one National Day holiday, *The Message* had been released for less than 10 days, and the box office had reached 170 million; breaking 200 million was a certainty.

The Wang Brothers were already waiting to pop champagne to celebrate; the big hit of *The Message* was undoubtedly a huge boost for Huayi's listing.

However, their joy did not compare to Han Sanping's; the latter, by virtue of *The Founding of a Republic*, successfully became the second director in the country to reach 400 million.

But it was a pity that, after all, it was a mainstream tribute film, and after losing the support of government agencies, its potential was quickly exhausted, with the final box office stopping at 455 million.

Han Sanping was quite satisfied with this; after all, it had already surpassed *Transformers 2*, and even without the sudden emergence of *Lucy*, he had an account to give to his superiors.

However, in his phone call with Wei Jin, Han Sanping still expressed some regret that it hadn't broken 500 million.

"Han Dong, you should be content; how many years has it been since you directed a film? This time you crossed 100 million, 200 million, and 300 million all at once, and went straight to being a 400 million director; what else are you dissatisfied with?"

Wei Jin did not indulge this old codger; heaven knows if he was grinning from ear to ear on the other end of the phone.

"Haha, I was just saying."

Han Sanping was of course happy; with *The Founding of a Republic*, the fame went to him and the profit went to China Film Group, which could be called a total win.

"By the way, the Golden Rooster is in two days; it looks like you, kid, are going to be absent again, and there will be no shortage of gossip then."

During the Huabiao Award Award Award Award Award Award a while ago, Wei Jin had been subjected to plenty of sarcasm, and Han Sanping was also waiting to see the fun; he was also very dissatisfied with that group of old guys.

"Han Dong, I already have a Golden Bear and a Palme d'Or; let them play with that chicken themselves."

"Good, you have backbone; wait a few years, when those old guys step down, then we'll see."

Wei Jin's answer did not exceed Han Sanping's expectations, but he seemed to have remembered something.

"By the way, for the promotion of *Inception*, you'll be able to make it back by then, right?"

Wei Jin's project in North America was no secret, but Han Sanping thought that with the former's filming speed, it should be no problem.

"Han Dong, this is really hard to say; I might not make it in time."

Wei Jin naturally could not go back to participate in the promotion; Ceng Li's due date was right around that time, and besides, for such a big project, he, as a screenwriter, wouldn't be of much use anyway.

"However, the main creative team will come over for promotion around the middle of next month; you can release the news."

Sure enough, Han Sanping's eyes lit up when he heard this on the other end of the phone; the bulk of China Film Group's profits were in Asia.

"Really? If Nolan and the others come over, that would truly be sensational news."

It is no wonder Han Sanping is excited; Hollywood blockbusters rarely come to the country for promotions, let alone with such a luxurious lineup.

"Rest assured, it has already been communicated, and they have also seen the potential of the domestic market."

The results achieved by *Transformers 2* have made Hollywood increasingly value the Huaxia market; a single market exceeding sixty million US dollars is definitely a place that must be contested in the future, not to mention that its growth speed is so fast.

"Hahaha, good, I will notify them right away."

Han Sanping's efficiency is very high; *Inception* has begun large-scale promotion, and several promotional videos up to one minute long have already been released.

Skyscrapers rising from the ground in a single thought, then vanishing in the blink of an eye, folding cities, and overturning skies.

The gorgeous and magnificent special effects shots made countless netizens exclaim in satisfaction, and their anticipation was instantly maxed out.

The Dream Architect played by Liu Yifei made her fans show off everywhere as if they were having an orgasm.

Lang Bu Ke Ji: "Xixi is too beautiful; destruction and creation in a single thought, this ability is simply too cool."

Ku Guo: "The key is that the acting is also very good; acting against Best Actors and Golden Horse Best Actresses, she doesn't fall behind at all!"

Kuai Si Ba Sha Gua: "To the person above, I'm afraid your eyesight is bad; the promo is only a damn minute long, where did you see that the acting is good?"

Ke Xue Cao Zei: "You don't know a damn thing; Xixi is the most beautiful, her acting is the best!!"

Rou Rou Hao Lao Gong: "Why argue with him? A brainless fan, just block him."

Although the internet was arguing incessantly, Liu Yifei's popularity rose instantly.

For a time, the debate over who is the head of the Four Dan Actresses, Jing Tian or Liu Yifei, became noisy once again.

Taking advantage of the heat, China Film Group directly released the news, announcing that the main creative team will come to Huaxia for promotion next month.

Once the news came out, the circle instantly became excited; many people began to inquire for information, wanting to know if there would be a press conference and if they could participate in it, as this is a good opportunity to connect with Hollywood. Second update today (End of this chapter)