Chapter 294: Milestone Earnings

Shanhe Building, inside the Chairman's office.

Wei Jin was meticulously flipping through resumes; under the desk, the Assistant was still diligently providing service.

Because age and musical proficiency were set as requirements this time, in truth, there were not many who met the criteria; after all, the total number of students currently enrolled in the three major academies only amounted to a few hundred.

The role of the male lead in *Whiplash* had a very important part, and in terms of image, it needed to lean towards the honest and simple type, so that the contrast when emotions erupted would appear particularly intense.

Originally, Wei Jin had intended for Chen Xiao to play this role, but unfortunately, the latter's childhood extracurricular interest was actually in sports—he was a national second-tier high jumper—and it was a bit of a pity that he did not know any musical instruments.

After picking and choosing, Wei Jin selected a few names he was most satisfied with.

Central Academy of Drama, Class of 2008 Acting Department, Fu Shiqi, knows flute, erhu, and percussion instruments.

Central Academy of Drama, Class of 2009 Acting Department, Bai Yu, knows harmonica, saxophone, and percussion instruments.

Beijing Film Academy, Class of 2010 Acting Department, Li Xian, proficient in saxophone and guitar.

"Zixuan, notify them later; the audition is in two days."

Wang Zixuan stood up to respond and was just about to go out to make phone calls when she was unexpectedly pulled back by Wei Jin and pressed onto the desk in front of him.

orz-7.

or7.

orz-7.

or7. — Ning Hao's efficiency this time was very high; less than three months after starting production, *The Great Robbery* had already wrapped up. This was even accounting for the time Lei Datou spent running promotions and adjusting his scenes; it seemed the crew was truly operating at a frantic pace.

Seeing the somewhat travel-worn Ning Hao in the office, Wei Jin was a bit surprised; this year's Golden Horse Awards didn't start until mid-November, so there was plenty of time.

"Senior brother, you didn't have to rush like this, did you?"

"I had to; you're about to charge at Venice, and I haven't even fully digested the script for *The Great Buddha* yet, plus I'm busy with the reshoots for *No Man's Land*, so I have to hurry to keep up."

Ning Hao waved his hand, sat down on the sofa in a carefree manner, and took out a cigarette to hand to Wei Jin.

After a bout of puffing and blowing smoke, the two began to chat.

"I'm striving to finish the editing for *The Great Robbery* before the Golden Horse Awards, and immediately start the reshoots for *No Man's Land* after I get back, aiming to start *The Great Buddha* in the first half of next year."

"Your schedule is packed tight. Are you planning to go to Berlin?"

Wei Jin clicked his tongue in secret; Ning Hao was truly moving without stopping. It seemed the pressure he had put on him was indeed a bit too much.

"Yes, the core of this script is more suited for the Berlin International Film Festival."

After Wei Jin's guidance, Ning Hao had also studied the preferences of the European Big Three; the Berlin International Film Festival focused more on politics and social issues, and the film *The Great Buddha* undoubtedly fell into the category of social topics.

"Hmm, that's true. That's good too, it saves you from competing with me, haha."

Actually, Wei Jin felt that the script for *The Great Buddha+* was more suited for Venice; by using black-and-white and color cinematography techniques to reflect the stratification of social classes, it had a bit of an avant-garde film feel.

However, Ning Hao's reasoning was not without merit; it was just a different perspective on viewing a work, neither right nor wrong.

"By the way, remember to vote for *Bodyguards and Assassins* at the Golden Horse Awards this time."

In early October, the Golden Horse Awards announced this year's nomination list; *Bodyguards and Assassins*, produced by Golden Harvest, received seven nominations including Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing, Best Action, Best Action Design, and Best Visual Effects.

Wei Jin himself would not participate in various Huaxia awards, but if the directors under his banner were willing to participate, he would not stop them.

"That's no problem, but speaking of which, it's really ridiculous; I haven't even won a Golden Horse Award myself, yet I've become a judge first. I don't know if I'll be mocked by the media."

"Senior brother, you are a big commercial director after all, don't be self-deprecating. What's wrong with the Golden Horse? Can you find a single director in Taiwan who can carry the box office?"

"I feel better now that you've said that, haha." — Entering November, the smoke of the New Year Slot began to fill the air.

*Sacrifice*, *If You Are The One 2*, and *Let the Bullets Fly* successively launched their frantic promotional modes.

Facing reporters' questions about the box office record changing hands, Feng Dapao stated directly.

"It's just a box office record, it has no meaning. Its only meaning is to be surpassed and refreshed. *If You Are The One 2* is my return to the comedy genre once again; I have confidence in creating a new personal achievement."

On the other side, Jiang Wen was also very high-profile; facing reporters' interviews, he was full of confidence.

"*Let the Bullets Fly* is a blockbuster that combines both artistry and commercial appeal. With a luxurious cast, I am full of confidence in this film. As for the box office, 500 million is the floor, only higher, never lower."

Chen Shiren was naturally not to be outdone, repeatedly stating that the artistic attainments of *Sacrifice* were very high and that it would surely have great word-of-mouth.

The statements of several big directors brought the atmosphere of the film market to the extreme.

The media was also excited; once December arrived, the film market would inevitably be another fierce battle. There was too much material, and the only regret was that Wei Jin was not participating in this slot; otherwise, it would have been too spectacular.

Shanhe Building.

Looking at the young man finally selected before him, Wei Jin said with a gentle attitude: "Your acting is good. During this time, study the script carefully and focus on practicing the jazz drum; at the very least, you must master that set of music in the film."

"Director Wei, please rest assured; I will definitely be proficient before filming starts."

Bai Yu's face carried surprise, yet he made his promise with unusual solemnity. He felt he was truly too lucky; could he perhaps dare to hope for a Venice Best Actor award this time? Like his senior brother Xia Yu from the Central Academy of Drama? "Alright, go back first; we start filming on the 15th."

The reason for choosing Bai Yu was that among the several candidates, not only was his acting particularly outstanding, but most importantly, his image fit the role.

Compared to the others, Bai Yu looked a bit like someone easy to bully, which fit the positioning of the male lead in the story better.

As for the role of the father in the story, Wei Jin had also decided on it these past few days: the veteran actor Zhang Guoli, with whom he had collaborated before. He was of the right age and had good acting skills.

If this production went smoothly, it could probably wrap up within a month, and then he could start working on his own blockbuster. — On November 7th, *Passengers* officially ended its theatrical run, with a box office of 1.016 billion.

"It's finally over."

"It really took a lot to outlast this film of Wei Jin's; if it hadn't left theaters, other films really would have had no way to survive."

The five major investors—Shanhe Media, China Film Group, Wanda, Rayliant, and Aerospace Science and Industry—issued an announcement at the first opportunity:

"Celebrating the final box office of 1.016 billion for *Passengers*, creating a new milestone; domestic films have officially entered the 1-billion era!"

"*Passengers* has grossed 432 million USD at the global box office; blooming both inside and outside the wall!"

Yuanyuan kissed Wei Jin on the face with excitement, then took out her phone to repost Shanhe Media's announcement on Weibo.

From this point on, she was a 1-billion box office lead actress; *Passengers* would become the most important representative work of her acting career. The entire entertainment industry, those familiar and unfamiliar, those she knew and didn't know, were all posting congratulatory messages on Weibo.

Han Sanping also called, his emotions very agitated.

"Wei Jin, the celebration banquet is set for the 10th. We must go all out this time; *Passengers* has really brought me a lot of face, haha."

Han Sanping's excitement was almost overflowing, but this was no wonder; since the beginning of the year, the films invested in and released by China Film Group had almost all been losses, and a single *Go Lala Go! * was completely unable to offset them.

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin looked at the bright-eyed, white-toothed, and stunningly beautiful Gao Yuanyuan with anticipation:

"Yuan Yuanjie, shouldn't your promise be fulfilled now?"

As he spoke, Wei Jin had already taken out an eye mask and put it on; after losing his vision, his other senses seemed to be heightened.

"Bad guy, anything you say."

That night, Gao Yuanyuan switched back and forth between four roles, exclaiming that she couldn't tell them apart anymore. —— "Passengers" pushed the highest box office for a domestic film forward by another 333 million.

Many people looked at this number with some helplessness; thousands of films are released from the beginning of the year to the end, and the vast majority never reach this result from release to withdrawal.

Yet "Passengers" managed to increase it by so much on the foundation of "Aftershock"; it is truly terrifying.

Unfortunately, before they could continue to sigh, China Film Group air-dropped an imported film, announcing that "Now You See Me 2" was scheduled for November 26th.

For a time, many industry insiders cursed Zuoshandiao for being unscrupulous, but Han Sanping turned a deaf ear to this; this time it was introduced as an imported film, and China Film Group would be taking a cut.

"Tian Tian, I didn't lie to you, did I?"

Wei Jin dotingly pulled the girl onto his lap, playing with her slender, jade-like fingers.

"Mm, thank you, Brother, mua."

Being able to have the Hollywood film she starred in released domestically, Jing Tian couldn't be happier.

You must know that since "Lucy", she hadn't had a work released domestically for over a year; if things continued like this, the young girl was truly afraid that all her fans would leave.

"How do you feel at Mahua FunAge recently?"

"Haha, it's so fun, Brother, you don't know..."

As if remembering the comedy of Shen Teng and Marie at the theater, Jing Tian chattered on endlessly.

"Don't just focus on playing; communicate more with them about acting skills. Shen Teng is from the PLA Academy of Arts and is quite talented."

Wei Jin wasn't lying; comedy is considered the hardest genre to grasp the essence of among all types of subject matter. Many powerful actors aren't necessarily able to perform comedy well, while conversely, many comedic actors are able to break through their own limits and challenge other different subjects.

"Mm, I will."

Seeming to recall something, the smile suddenly vanished from Jing Tian's face.

"Brother, do you think my acting is very poor, which is why there was no part for me in 'Whiplash'?"

Wei Jin was dumbfounded and laughed upon hearing this; was the young girl being too sentimental? "Hmm, how should I put it? Your acting isn't considered good, but it is enough to handle most commercial films."

Noticing that the young girl's mood hadn't significantly improved, Wei Jin knew where the crux of the problem lay and continued to speak: "You could actually have appeared in the film 'Whiplash', but the female lead's screen time was indeed too little. It just so happened that Yifei brought it up, so I went along with it; it was absolutely not because your acting was inferior to hers."

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Jing Tian's mood improved a lot, and she then looked at Wei Jin with some anticipation.

"Brother, then when can the campus film you mentioned before be shot?"

"Tian Tian, I will write the script around the Spring Festival. This film has some requirements for acting skills; you should ponder it first. It will likely take some time."

There was no help for it; Wei Jin's energy was limited, and it was indeed impossible to take care of all four women. This was also a case of reaping what he sowed.

"You should record the song during this time. If you still feel bored, you can go play on the next season of 'Keep Running'."

"I'm not bored at all; there are many scripts being sent over."

The young girl looked proud and spoiled; as one of the Four Dan Actresses and a big lead in a 400-million-box-office film, Jing Tian was definitely the most appealing actress under 30 in the country. There were many film projects eyeing her, but she had been spoiled by Wei Jin and didn't look down on them.

"As for variety shows, I'll consider it..."

"Mm, as long as you're happy." —— The celebration banquet for "Passengers" was held on a grand scale, with the location at the Great Hall.

Many people came to show their support, and not to mention the five major producers, the status of Director Wei Jin alone was worthy of respect from everyone in the industry. Moreover, Wei Jin's new film for next year was no longer a secret in the industry; although they knew the chances were slim, they couldn't resist the temptation of profit, so they had to try, right?

However, for this kind of occasion, Wei Jin didn't like to be high-profile, leaving the spotlight to Han Sanping, who held the microphone and spoke eloquently on stage.

"The success of 'Passengers' sends a very good signal, which is that the era of high box office has completely arrived."

Looking around, seeing that everyone was listening to him speak seriously, Han Sanping was even more spirited.

"In the past, the domestic film box office market was limited. Many times, for our films to break even, we could only consider overseas markets. Therefore, many excellent scripts had to make compromises and balances due to commercial factors.

But now it's different. 'Passengers' proves that for films with an investment of 300 to 400 million, the domestic box office alone can fully break even. We can make blockbusters belonging to the people of Huaxia."

Subsequently, Han Sanping announced the film's profitability, which made the people below green with envy.

This film had an investment of 250 million, a domestic distributable box office of 396 million, plus 80 million in advertising revenue. After deducting marketing and distribution costs, the domestic profit was also around 350 million.

The overseas box office was 280 million USD, with a distributable box office of 126 million. After deducting marketing and distribution expenses, the producers' distributable box office was 80 million USD, which converts to over 500 million RMB.

The producers' cumulative profit was 850 million. After deducting costs, the pre-tax net profit reached as high as 600 million. A 240% return rate made the hearts of a group of industry companies feel like they were being scratched by a cat, and they were increasingly looking forward to Wei Jin's new film.

Ren Zhonglun of the Shanghai Film Group sat in the front row, watching his old rival in high spirits, feeling very uncomfortable. "He's showing off again, damn it. I'm afraid he'll show off again at the year-end meeting."

A long time later, amidst applause, Wei Jin led the main cast and crew, holding a small hammer high to smash the ice sculpture symbolizing the box office of "Passengers".

Han Sanping was also beaming as he put his arm around Wei Jin's shoulder, as if he had the world in his grasp.

The reporters on the scene hurriedly captured this image, and even the news headlines for tomorrow were already thought out:

"State-owned and private enterprises join forces; domestic and international momentum is unstoppable."

First update of the day.

(End of chapter)