Chapter 284: Fan Bingbing's Surprise

The three major domestic investors announced the news regarding *Pacific Rim* at the first opportunity.

"Preparations for *Pacific Rim* are proceeding smoothly; the expected start date for filming is late October, and the domestic location for filming has been set in Hong Kong."

In the *The Grandmaster* film crew, Zhang Ziyi turned pale upon receiving the news.

She had not expected this co-production to be so efficient; the previous *Snow Flower and the Secret Fan* took a full half-year from project initiation to the start of filming.

At this rate, given Wong Kar-wai's efficiency, she was afraid she would miss it entirely.

Although she knew that for a film like *Pacific Rim*, it didn't matter who the actors were—the selling points were the mechs, the monsters, and the visually stunning special effects.

But that did not change the fact that this was a top-tier science fiction film with a global release, and it would definitely be a huge help for her return to Hollywood.

Unfortunately, on the other side, the *Sword Snow Stride* film crew.

Ceng Jia wore a look of regret; although she knew Yang Mi's chances were slim, being excluded solely due to scheduling conflicts was truly quite upsetting.

Looking up at Yang Mi, who was currently filming and still unaware, Ceng Jia pondered how to tell her.

Ten-plus minutes later, a scene ended, and taking advantage of the break, Ceng Jia pulled Yang Mi to the side.

"What's wrong, Jia Jie?"

"Mimi, the filming start date has been announced."

Although the statement was abrupt, Yang Mi understood instantly and hurriedly grabbed Ceng Jia's wrist.

"When is it?"

*Sword Snow Stride* required about five months of filming in total, but Yang Mi estimated that if she concentrated her scenes, she could finish in about three months; as long as *Pacific Rim* started filming after November, she would have a chance to compete for a role.

However, seeing Ceng Jia's somewhat grim expression, Yang Mi was already feeling nervous.

"Mimi, calm down. The notice says filming begins in late October. All roles will be finalized before then."

Upon hearing this, Yang Mi felt the world go black; what the hell was this, but she still refused to give up.

"Jia Jie, I'll go find the director to adjust my scenes; I can't miss this."

Before Yang Mi could finish, Ceng Jia interrupted her with a serious tone.

"Mimi, think clearly. If Wei Jin finds out about this, it won't be as simple as just missing a role."

On the day of Liu Yifei's birthday, the film industry was incredibly lively.

The reason was simple: the domestic box office record held by *The Martian* for 20 months had been broken by *Aftershock*.

"*Aftershock* has taken 34 days to reach a box office of 670 million, becoming the new domestic box office champion."

"*The Martian* becomes history, *Aftershock* is crowned the new king!"

Looking at the news online, Liu Yifei pouted her little mouth.

"Brother, these people are too much."

Wei Jin turned his head to look; some gossip tabloid from somewhere was actually saying he was washed up and a thing of the past.

"Yifei, you can't plug the mouths of the media. Besides, *Passengers* is about to be released; I believe this record will be taken back very soon."

Wei Jin didn't care about the box office record at all; let Feng Dapao enjoy his glory for a few dozen days.

However, among the many posts, one caught Wei Jin's attention.

"The record for *The Martian* took 20 months to be broken, so how long can the record for *Aftershock* last? And who will be the one to break it?"

This kind of topic was still very attractive, and many netizens joined the discussion one after another.

Zhang Yimou's *Hawthorn Tree* and Wei Jin's *Passengers* were both in the atmosphere of the netizens' discussion, and even those without set release dates, like Wu Ershan's *Mojin: The Lost Legend* and Xu Laoguai's *Flying Swords of Dragon Gate*, were included.

Some netizens also suggested that the only one who could break Feng Dapao's record was his own *If You Are The One 2*.

"Brother, why is no one mentioning *Sacrifice* and *Let the Bullets Fly*?"

In Liu Yifei's eyes, Chen Shiren and Jiang Wen were both great directors; she had heard plenty of their deeds back when she was in school.

"Uh... maybe they've flopped too many times, and the netizens don't dare to believe in them anymore."

Wei Jin didn't know how those two were feeling; Jiang Wen was fine, as his fame among directors wasn't considered the absolute peak, but Chen Shiren was truly in an embarrassing spot—he peaked at his debut and had been sliding ever since, his golden reputation completely shattered.

"Brother, Brother, look at this quickly, the production cost of *Hawthorn Tree* is 70 million?"

Liu Yifei didn't know where she had found the post and called out in disbelief; having followed Wei Jin for these years, her ethereal, otherworldly aura was becoming increasingly faint.

"No wonder."

Wei Jin remembered the two invitations in his office; no wonder that guy Zhang Weiping wanted to hold a preview screening more than half a month early.

For an art-house film, a production cost of 70 million using amateur leads meant the pressure to break even was simply too great; they had no choice but to put more effort into the promotion.

Come to think of it, this was actually quite funny; Zhang Weiping had personally sent an invitation, and his words were very polite—after all, Lu Chuan's fate was still fresh in everyone's memory.

Zhang Yimou had even personally handwritten an invitation for Wei Jin and Jing Tian, clearly still remembering the matter of inquiring about the role back then.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Wei Jin took out the birthday gift he had prepared.

Gao Yuanyuan and Ceng Li didn't care about these things involving a sense of ritual, but for Liu Yifei and Jing Tian, he still had to treat them equally, otherwise how could they coexist harmoniously?

"Yifei, this is the birthday gift I prepared for you, an English song. I don't know if you can sing it, but it's quite inspirational. I hope you like it."

Wei Jin was telling the truth; the young lady had been lax in her practice over the years, and she might not necessarily be able to sing this song.

"Brother, are you underestimating me?"

Liu Yifei didn't take it to heart and took the sheet music to look it over.

"Wow, it's a pure English song!"

A look of surprise appeared on the young lady's face; back then, Jing Tian singing at the Oscar had made her incredibly envious.

"Brother, I like it very much, mua."

Standing on tiptoe, she kissed Wei Jin, then Liu Yifei continued to look at it, even attempting to hum a few lines.

But before long, her little face fell; she admitted she had indeed overestimated herself—she couldn't sing this song for the time being.

"Brother, this song seems to be in a male vocal key..."

"Cough... I didn't think that much when I wrote it. I'll find a teacher to help you rearrange the music later."

Wei Jin felt a bit guilty; regarding music, he only knew some basic music theory, so he naturally couldn't manage a smooth adaptation of a song, and the original version of this "Sold Out" was indeed a male vocal version.

The same went for the English song he gave Jing Tian earlier; it still needed to be rearranged by someone else.

Originally, this matter could have been handed over to the Yinyue Zhizuo Bu, but it had to match her vocal range, and if that happened, the gift would be exposed in advance, leaving no surprise.

"Mm~ I will also practice a lot, I will definitely sing it well."

Liu Yifei truly did as she said; that very night, she took Wei Jin's extra-large microphone and practiced for the whole night. The roles in "Pacific Rim" still tugged at the hearts of the entire entertainment industry; many star actors even turned down work and announcements for auditions whose existence was still unknown.

Han Sanping was also very concerned about this and specifically called to inquire about the matter.

"Wei Jin, what are your actual considerations regarding the actors?"

"Han Dong, leave the Chinese roles in those ensemble shots to China Film Group; as for the female lead and male supporting roles, let me consider it further."

Wei Jin had put his heart into the script settings for "Pacific Rim" and made adjustments in many places, including many ensemble shots featuring Chinese faces, such as scientists, doctors, engineers, technical personnel, soldiers, and so on.

But these roles didn't have much screen time, at most just a few lines of dialogue, so there was no need to take them all on.

"Fine, settle it as soon as possible; people in the circle are feeling restless."

Han Sanping hadn't expected Wei Jin to be so generous; he pondered that the actors this time must be carefully selected from the Art Troupe and film studios, as they would be representing the national image and could not be sloppy.

Han Sanping knew clearly that if something went wrong in this area, it would affect his achievements and his position.

"Don't worry, Han Dong, I will finalize it within a week." After hanging up, Wei Jin continued to watch the shocking war of words online: Sun Moumou versus Feng Dapao.

To be honest, it was normal for people in the entertainment industry to be jealous of others' achievements, but to earn money domestically while calling domestic films trash and saying one never watches them, that was a bit muddled-headed.

Perhaps finding the scolding boring, Feng Dapao borrowed a netizen's phrase, "A person whose brain was ruined by 'The Passionate Years'," and ended this round of battle on Weibo.

Wei Jin felt that for Sun Moumou, this was no longer a matter of the brain or spirit, but a matter of where one stands—it was too skewed.

It would be better for such people to "run" abroad early; out of sight, out of mind.

Ignoring it further, Wei Jin flipped through movie news.

One had to admit, some women were truly stunning; Fan Bingbing's stills from "Sacrifice" were being frantically reposted all over the internet.

"It seems that besides being skilled in film color and aesthetics, Chen Shiren is also very savvy in promotion."

After muttering to himself, Wei Jin took out his phone and scrolled to the message Fan Bingbing sent a few days ago, only then remembering that the "Dragon Knight" dream from two months ago hadn't been completed yet.

Beijing, inside the Golden House.

Fan Bingbing knelt before the man once again, exerting her charm.

"Didn't I tell you to bring the dragon robe?"

At this moment, Fan Bingbing was dressed in a student outfit with white silk stockings, looking exactly like a plot from a Japanese film, but Wei Jin still couldn't stop thinking about that dragon robe that had stolen the show at the Cannes Film Festival.

Catching her breath and letting Wei Shiba out, Fan Bingbing looked up and said, "That dress was haute couture; it was rented."

Reaching out to press down on the woman's head, Wei Jin wore a playful expression.

"You've been so active these past two years, doing both art films and commercial films; you must have earned quite a bit, right? Can't afford a single gown?"

Wei Jin's words were, of course, deliberately sarcastic. Generally speaking, gowns were only worn on specific occasions, the demand was extremely low, and the unit price was often quite staggering, so very few celebrity artists would buy them.

However, Wei Jin wasn't wrong; Fan Bingbing had been quite active since last year, with "Jade Goddess of Mercy," "Ri Zhao Chongqing," "New Shaolin Temple," and "Sacrifice"—several films in a row, she was truly a model worker.

Seeming to sense the reprimand in the man's tone, Fan Bingbing felt a bit aggrieved.

"Master, I'm already thirty; if I don't struggle now, I'll be old and faded. By then, will you support me?"

Seeming to think of herself, having worked tirelessly and obeyed every command all these years, only to be reprimanded by the man, mist quickly welled up in Fan Bingbing's eyes, which, combined with the lingering flush on her face, was truly pitiful to behold.

Looking at the woman's pitiful appearance, Wei Jin's heart softened; come to think of it, he had been too presumptuous after all.

Since they first met, the resources he gave her weren't actually that many, and besides some help during the early stages of her Studio, the rest couldn't be called high-quality resources.

He even made her lower her status to appear in a web drama to test the waters for his own layout.

Although that "Space Counterattacker" had a very eye-catching click rate of over ten billion in half a year across the entire internet, for a Fan Bingbing at the level of the Four Dan Double Bing, it was indeed somewhat insulting.

With her current status, it seemed there was no problem with her no longer being satisfied with his small favors and instead taking the initiative to seek opportunities.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin had a plan in mind; some projects could be launched.

"Actually, I really do want to support you, if you are willing..."

Wei Jin's words made a flash of pride appear in Fan Bingbing's heart; this man was indeed coveting her beauty, but if she couldn't become Wei Madam and was only to be a canary, that was not her pursuit.

Thinking of this, Fan Bingbing put on a smiling face and said in a shy tone, "I don't need you to support me, as long as you promote me, that's enough."

"Since that's the case, what are you waiting for?"

While speaking, Wei Jin leaned back on the sofa, his meaning self-evident.

"Brother, your little sister is coming to serve you now."

After the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped, Fan Bingbing, with a flushed face, leaned against Wei Jin's shoulder, feeling satisfied.

"Master, is the role really finalized? Don't you need to discuss it with other investors?"

Although she had already received Wei Jin's personal promise, Fan Bingbing still couldn't quite believe it; she only wanted to view the script in advance to gain an advantage, but she hadn't expected the man to directly internalize it—this power was too great, wasn't it? "What? Is it bad that it's finalized? Or are you dissatisfied with the role in 'Pacific Rim'? Do you want something else?"

Wei Jin's words carried a hint of playfulness; originally, according to his plan, if his own women didn't perform, he would let his Assistant Zixuan perform. After all, this type of film basically didn't require much acting skill, and it could be considered a reward for her "hard work" over the past two years.

But thinking about it carefully, Wang Zixuan hadn't debuted yet, and even if other investors accepted this decision out of face, they would likely think he was being a bit childish.

But Fan Bingbing was different; with the status of the Four Dan Double Bing, appearing in this role was truly fitting.

"Satisfied, satisfied, of course I'm satisfied, I just feel you are too good to me."

Seeing Fan Bingbing about to kiss him, Wei Jin hurriedly stopped her; after all, even a tiger doesn't eat its own cubs.

"Bingbing, is the Studio's accounting being done as I said?"

Playing with the woman's Dharma Treasure, Wei Jin asked.

"It is, you've given repeated instructions, how would I dare not listen..."

Thinking of the taxes paid over these years, Fan Bingbing felt a bit of heartache; she didn't understand why Wei Jin attached such importance to this matter.

"Don't feel bad; once the Studio goes public, it will repay you a hundred or a thousand times over."

All along, Wei Jin had intended to build Shanhe Media into an imperial fortress covering the entire cultural and entertainment field.

But at the same time, he did not want to lose absolute control, so the matter of the group going public was not in his consideration at all.

However, the subsidiaries and celebrity Studios under the group could indeed carry out IPO plans.

But there was a problem with this; going public was not that simple, as there were strict profit requirements, at least before going public.

According to Wei Jin's original plan, he would first take Shanhe Technology public; after all, its various indicators were excellent, and the listing would be quite smooth.

But looking at it now, it was also time for Fan Bingbing's Meitao Entertainment to do some preparatory work.

"Master, are you talking about... going public? The stock market, going public?"

Fan Bingbing only felt a "boom" in her head; this was a path she had never thought of at all.

"Mm, Huayi can go public, so why can't your Studio go public?"

Wei Jin felt signs of the dragon raising its head, and his hands began to employ his unique skills.

"But... but with my current profitability, even if I go public, the valuation would be very low, right?"

After the wild joy, Fan Bingbing quickly calmed down; Huayi could have such a high stock price because of its sustainable profitability and being the first cultural and entertainment stock in the country.

In comparison, although the earning power of celebrity artists was not bad, they lacked production capabilities and relied entirely on connections and investments, making their income too unstable.

Plus, there was no precedent for celebrity film and television companies in the country; would capital really pay for it?

"Therefore, in the next year or two, I will open up the group's television drama projects and some of Jiahe's film projects to you; in this way, your profitability will be quite considerable."

This was also Wei Jin's vision; in the future, all celebrity Studios could participate in the projects under their own banner, and although the share would not be large, it was definitely the best way to increase valuation.

After all, there were too many people inside and outside the circle who wanted to participate in Shanhe Media's projects; since they could not get direct shares, enjoying the high returns of Shanhe Media indirectly through celebrity film and television companies was their only channel.

As for the matter of investment shares, the duration and amount could be stipulated through agreements; in this way, Wei Jin could enjoy the dividends of the capital market without worrying about being coerced by capital, and he could also set long-term goals for his artists, which could be described as killing many birds with one stone.

Listening to Wei Jin's words, Fan Bingbing's eyes grew brighter and brighter; this plan had high feasibility and a lot of room for operation.

Imagining the scene of becoming the boss of a listed company, Fan Bingbing was full of spirit.

"Master, if it really happens, I will be yours for the rest of my life."

Fan Bingbing leaned down and began to do warm-up exercises for the man; only in this way could she express her gratitude.

"Mmm~~"

First update of the day.

(End of this chapter)