Chapter 272: Yang Mi and Clara, who is bigger?

On May 11, Shanhe Media and Zhou Xun jointly issued an announcement:

Zhou Xun has officially established a personal Studio, with Shanhe Media investing 20 million for a 40% stake. Both parties have officially begun their cooperation and announced their first collaborative project.

"Flying Swords of Dragon Gate", a 3D martial arts film, with a total investment of 200 million; Director: Xu Ke; Screenplay: Xu Ke & Shanhe Media Screenwriting Department; Male Lead: Li Lianjie; Female Lead: Zhou Xun;

Remaining roles: several to be determined; this news instantly surged to the top of the entertainment headlines.

Firstly, it is because ever since Zhou Xun terminated her contract with Huayi, she had rejected solicitations from countless talent agencies. Everyone had a premonition that she would open a studio, but they did not expect her to choose to cooperate with Shanhe Media.

Secondly, it is because the "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" project, a 3D martial arts blockbuster with a 200 million investment, coupled with the participation of Hollywood superstar Li Lianjie and a Three Gold Best Actress, was destined to attract attention within the industry.

Many talent agencies and industry production companies have already started looking for ways in; whether it be for roles or investment, they all want to participate.

However, this headline did not last long before it was diverted by another piece of news.

Over a dozen large, high-end entertainment clubs in Beijing were raided at the same time. It is said that several hundred police cars were dispatched, and the scene was truly spectacular.

The news report was also written quite well, especially that line: "There were many well-known figures from the performing arts world on the scene," which triggered a great shock in the industry. One must know that the "mobile phone gate" incident had only just passed not long ago.

Media reporters were also quite gossipy. For several days in a row, they went everywhere asking industry insiders for their views on "Tian Shang Ren Jian," and quite a few company bosses avoided meeting guests.

For a time, the circle was in chaos; after all, there were simply too many people who had patronized it, and they were terrified of being implicated and having their reputations ruined.

Wei Jin could not care about the turmoil in the outside world; he had already taken the crew and started filming in a low-key manner. The script for "The Thieves" that Wei Jin was helming did not differ much from the original version in terms of general plot.

It uses two different teams of thieves, whose respective storylines intersect to jointly complete the main narrative.

Only some adjustments were made to the background: Li Tianwang leads the Mainland China team of thieves, and Liang Jiahui leads the Hong Kong team of thieves.

Under this background, what they ultimately have to steal are national treasure-level cultural relics.

On the set of "The Thieves".

The first scene is Clara and Hui Yinghong, disguised as mother and daughter, using a honey trap to lure the museum curator.

Thanks to the guidance Wei Jin had given these past few days, Clara's performance was very uninhibited.

In the shot, she quickly takes off her coat, revealing a tight-fitting action suit underneath, which was quite revealing.

However, to be slightly more specific, regarding her lines, the actors acting alongside her had to memorize her script as well; otherwise, just relying on Clara's mouthful of Korean, there would be no way to understand which stage of the scene they were at.

But fortunately, since they were all talented actors, everyone could basically overcome this difficulty in terms of dialogue. After all, when filming, one might always encounter foreign actors.

Regarding this, Clara was also a bit embarrassed. In her spare time, she was almost always learning Chinese. Of course, the main object of her study was Wei Jin, as the latter was proficient in both Chinese and Korean and was absolutely the most qualified teacher.

And so, after finishing a day of shooting, Clara was pestering Wei Jin again to learn Chinese.

"This action in Chinese, the pronunciation is 'han'."

"This process in Chinese, the pronunciation is 'she'."

"This behavior in Chinese, the pronunciation is 'tian'."

"Have you learned it? If not, let's review it one more time." — This year's Cannes Film Festival was exceptionally lively.

Wang Xiaoshuai's "Ri Zhao Chongqing" was shortlisted for the Main Competition Section, and Jia Kezhang's "I Wish I Knew" was shortlisted for the Un Certain Regard section.

As one of the main creators of "Ri Zhao Chongqing", Fan Bingbing followed the crew to attend this Cannes Film Festival.

Looking at the photos sent back from the internet, Wei Jin clicked his tongue in wonder.

Among these domestic stars, Fan Bingbing is the one who plays the most flamboyantly. This woman, in a "dragon robe," truly grabbed enough attention.

Yang Siwei is indeed a marketing expert. Seizing this wave of traffic, various internet armies frequently appeared, and press releases flew everywhere, resulting in the entire internet being filled with Fan Bingbing's red carpet photos, directly maxing out the topic's popularity.

Wei Jin pondered that when Fan Bingbing returns, he would have to be a "Dragon Knight" at least once.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Wei Jin sat behind the monitor, waiting for the crew's coordination.

"Props department, check confirmed."

"Safety measures, check confirmed."

"Emergency team, ready."

Watching everyone proceed in an orderly manner, Wei Jin nodded with satisfaction, then picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Lu Yang, go and keep an eye on the shots for Li Tianwang and Hu Ge."

"Understood, I am already in position."

This filming task was broken down in great detail. Since the promotion for "Brotherhood of Blades 2" had basically ended, Wei Jin had pulled Lu Yang over to be his deputy, letting him be responsible for a small portion of the dialogue scenes.

"Good, I'll leave that side to you."

I looked up at Clara, and the latter gave a sweet smile and nodded, signaling that she was ready.

Glancing at the crew, the script supervisor was in position, and the camera angles were also ready.

"Action." — On the other side, "Ip Man 3" was also proceeding in an orderly manner.

However, what made Boss Yang somewhat angry was that after Zhen Zidan secured the film contract, he seemed to have become active again, frequently making contact with other circles in Hong Kong.

"Forget it, Boss Yang, as long as it doesn't affect the filming, let him be."

Wei Jin actually felt that Boss Yang was making a mountain out of a molehill, and comforted him over the phone.

In Wei Jin's view, Zhen Zidan's demands were not a problem, but he was too impatient. Through the "Ip Man" series, it was Ip Man who became popular, not him, Zhen Zidan; replacing him with someone else would still not be much of a problem.

Ultimately, he still had a large gap compared to superstars like Cheng Long and Li Lianjie, who had strong personal styles and had been tempered through work after work.

If he still could not figure out his own positioning, he was afraid he would take a big tumble.

"By the way, how is the filming progress?"

"Not bad. That Zhang Jing you recommended is really quite capable of fighting. According to director Ye Weixin, the fight scenes this time will be quite spectacular."

Boss Yang's words made Wei Jin very satisfied. Previously, after Cai Shaofen secured the role of Consort Duan, the couple had come to the company to express their gratitude; this time, it was just doing a favor by going with the flow.

"That's good, when is it expected to wrap up?"

"Probably in another two months or so. But Boss Wei, you weren't very loyal this time."

Wei Jin knew it was still the fuss over CJ. It seemed his explanation could not satisfy everyone, but with his current scale, these people only dared to make snide remarks in private.

"Yang Dong, counting it up, we have collaborated on three consecutive films. Guangxian, Bona, and Huayi are all waiting to get on board; don't be too greedy."

"Haha, thank you for your trust, Boss Wei, but your projects are different. When will you let Emperor Group hitch a ride as well? Don't worry, we do things by the rules."

Boss Yang naturally also knew that greed invites hatred, so she brushed off the topic half-jokingly.

"There will be opportunities."

After hanging up the phone, Wei Jin felt a bit emotional; he could not bring himself to hog all the profits like Zhang Weiping did, and he had always tried to balance relationships in all aspects, but in the end, it was impossible to take care of everyone.

However, as the domestic film market grew stronger, there would be more and more projects launched, and by then, these people's gazes would not be entirely fixed on him. After gathering his thoughts, Wei Jin looked around, and the script supervisor nodded at him, signaling that everything was ready.

"All units prepare, action."

When working on the script this time, Wei Jin had deeply portrayed the characters of the two captains.

Anyone capable of becoming a captain must be a person of deep schemes and cunning.

Fortunately, both were able to handle the roles competently; originally, Wei Jin had been worried about whether Li Tianwang could stand toe-to-toe with Liang Jiahui in terms of acting.

He hadn't expected that he would have such a firm grasp on playing this kind of "refined scoundrel" character.

With a smile on his face and murderous intent and ruthlessness in his eyes, his performance had considerable tension.

"Wang Ou, your gaze needs to be sharper; don't deliberately hide your edge. You just came out from inside, after all."

"Okay, I understand, Director Wei." — Filming time passed quickly, and by the end of May, *Brotherhood of Blades 2* had finished its theatrical run.

The cumulative domestic box office was 352 million, surpassing the performance of its predecessor; this was the first film in this year's film market to break the 200 million mark so far.

But in terms of the overseas market, due to the change in director and main cast, the results were slightly inferior.

The Hong Kong box office was 48 million, the Taiwan box office was 55 million, the Nanyang box office was 115 million, and the cumulative Asian box office was 570 million.

Regarding copyright, South Korea was 6 million USD and Japan was 3 million USD; because costume dramas were increasingly declining in the European and American markets, the copyright for North America and Europe combined only sold for 4 million USD.

Even so, the profitability of this film was quite considerable; conservatively estimated, it brought at least 150 million in net profit to Shanhe Media.

Of course, China Film Group also made a huge profit, and given Han Dong's personality, a celebration banquet was naturally indispensable.

Ending today's filming tasks early, Wei Jin brought the entire crew of *Thieves* to support Lu Yang; today, he was the absolute protagonist.

Watching Lu Yang surrounded by the crowd, Ning Hao felt a bit emotional; he had been just as high-spirited when he first ascended to such a high position.

"What's wrong? You've already become a Golden Horse Awards judge, yet you still envy him?"

Wei Jin teased, and although he himself looked down on the Golden Horse Awards, the fact that Ning Hao could be invited proved his status in the industry.

"Are you mocking me? You've already rejected Cannes Film Festival judge invitations several times, and besides, this group inviting me is probably just watching the fun and hoping for chaos."

Ning Hao still had his head on straight; if it weren't for wanting to prove a point, he wouldn't have much interest in going to the Golden Horse.

"That's possible, but Senior Brother, I have to ask, why do you keep provoking those old stubborn people for no reason?"

Some time ago, a post titled "Young Directors Must Not Be Narcissistic" caused a sensation in the circle, simply because the poster was a member of the Film Bureau's censorship committee.

This person criticized by name in the post: "Ning Hao is already addicted to past honors and cannot extricate himself; he can no longer see reality clearly."

Although the other party eventually deleted the post, the impact it caused could no longer be suppressed.

Therefore, both Wei Jin and Ning Hao suspected whether the Golden Horse Awards' invitation this time had some intention of mocking the Mainland China censorship system.

"What do you mean I provoked them? I just wanted to communicate about *No Man's Land* while *The Great Robbery* hasn't started filming yet; who knew these old guys were so sensitive."

Ning Hao was inexplicably framed and felt a bit unhappy, then explained the reason.

"I was just collateral damage; Han Dong said the Film Bureau wanted them to step down early, since they are all in their 60s, and naturally they wouldn't agree, so the two sides are in a stalemate, and then I just happened to appear."

Wei Jin couldn't help but laugh and cry upon hearing this; so Ning Hao was being used as a punching bag? "Sigh, but this matter also completely declares the death sentence for *No Man's Land*. After *The Great Robbery* is finished, I will take the time to re-film the ending; at least I have to give Han Dong an explanation."

"Fine, if you're short on funds then, just say the word."

Wei Jin nodded upon hearing this; this was consistent with Ning Hao's personality, deeply loyal to the brotherhood.

"By the way, when do you plan to start filming *The Great Robbery*? The preparation has been long enough, right?"

"Cough, your Na Jie is a producer for the first time, so she's a bit slow to get the hang of it. Right now, she's still familiarizing herself with the film studio in Shanghai, and the actors are also doing preliminary training; I'm afraid it won't start until July or August."

Ning Hao was also a bit speechless, but after all, she was his own wife, so what could he do?

"Tsk tsk, is Na Jie afraid that you'll mess around on set?"

Wei Jin teased; the actors this time were not like the usual motley crew.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" — Wei Jin knew that since *Flying Swords of Dragon Gate* hadn't been settled, he wouldn't be idle today.

Sure enough, just after chatting with Ning Hao for a while, several companies came over one after another.

Fortunately, Han Sanping helped him out of the predicament, but Wei Jin knew that Han was also harboring the same intention.

Sure enough, watching the others leave, Han Sanping asked in a low voice about the investment.

"What about this time? This isn't a series, right? If you hog all the profits again, I'm going to be angry."

It was only because their relationship was familiar to this point; otherwise, as the head of China Film Group, how would Han Sanping reveal such a posture?

"Han Dong, I really can't do anything about you. Hmm, 20 percent, no more than that; this time I might have to bring in a few more."

The profit margin for this film wasn't too large, and since he had already joined China Film Group, Wei Jin planned to take it out and share it with the industry.

Firstly, by using a premium to diversify risks and recover costs in advance, and secondly, it could be considered as drawing a period to the *Thieves* matter, so that people wouldn't always be making snide remarks.

"Hmm, okay, the industry peers will thank you this time."

It was enough for China Film Group to get a share; as for whether others could get on board, that was their luck.

"By the way, how is the situation with *Thieves*?"

"About 20 days or so."

"Tsk tsk, with your efficiency, you must be opening four or five films a year."

"Capitalists would cry if they saw you, Han Dong." — After the banquet ended, the lead actress sent an invitation, and Wei Jin naturally wouldn't refuse.

These past few days he had been coaching Clara's Chinese and Wang Ou's acting; changing flavors was a good choice, not to mention that Yang Mi was still very uninhibited in bed.

It was just unexpected that Clara was so eager to learn that she had actually arrived at the Golden House ahead of time to wait for him.

Two gifted players met in such an unprepared situation; although the atmosphere was a bit awkward, no one chose to withdraw.

This allowed Wei Jin to enjoy the blessings of both; after all, it wasn't easy to gather two gifted players.

"It's perfect; previously you were both performing alone, and it was hard for you to intuitively find problems. Tonight, you can observe the loopholes in the performance process from the perspective of a bystander and fill in the gaps."

Wei Jin touched the conscience of both, attempting to discover whose talent was greater, so as to grant them priority for an audition opportunity.

That night, Clara and Yang Mi competed in acting, both delivering the peak performances of their professional careers.

As a director, Wei Jin was truly greatly comforted, and had no choice but to applaud them in turns. Today's first update.

(End of this chapter)