Chapter 419: Unlocking a New Duo Combination

In the chairman's office at Shanhe Building, Jiang Xuerou, dressed in professional attire, was reporting on work.

Wei Jin nodded as he listened.

After four months of filming, Longling Labyrinth had wrapped up.

Joy of Life was much slower, with filming expected to finish around the end of June.

Last month, the company organized a screening for Heart Surgery, which was jointly acquired by four television stations in Zhejiang, Anhui Province, Shanghai, and Tianjin.

Because the script for this drama had been adjusted and quite a few romantic subplots were cut, it totaled only 30 episodes; plus, as a workplace drama, the price offered by the television stations was not high, at 1.6 million per episode.

The first-run revenue was 48 million; counting product placement and the like, it had already turned a profit. Next, it would depend on the response after broadcast, relying on second and third runs and online copyright to make big money.

Additionally, the first-run broadcast of Hello Old Times ended two days ago, with a peak viewership rating as high as 2.68%, an average rating of 2.13%, and a market share of 11.76%.

Although there was still a gap compared to other breakout hits, it was undeniable that it was an absolute masterpiece.

Therefore, the second and third-run broadcast rights also aroused the interest of several television stations. After a day of negotiations, 7 television stations offered a cumulative price of 2.1 million per episode.

The online copyright had already been sold to Tudou, at 800,000 per episode.

Calculating it out, this small-budget campus drama with an investment of no more than 30 million and a total of 30 episodes had achieved a cumulative revenue of 141 million. Adding in advertising placements and such, even after deducting production and promotion costs, the net profit was at least over 100 million.

If one also counted the gains brought by the rise in the actors' star power, it was simply a massive profit.

"President Wei, The Best of Us and Boss & Me have already begun preparations, and we expect to start filming in mid-to-late May."

Wei Jin nodded; both of these were modern dramas, and the production costs were not high, so the preparatory work was indeed easy, and he immediately gave instructions.

"Keep an eye on it when the time comes; don't produce shoddy work just because it's a small budget."

"Don't worry, President Wei, we won't ruin our reputation."

"Mm, that's all for now, you go get busy."

"Very well, President Wei."

No one expected that a film released fifteen years ago would perform so violently.

Titanic could be described as unstoppable in the domestic film market, crushing everything in its path! In one week of release, it raked in 460 million at the box office, occupying nearly 80% of the domestic film market's box office!

Among the crowd of domestic films, only Whiplash was still holding on.

Currently, the film had been released for 10 days, with a box office of 148 million.

It is worth mentioning that because the audience was mostly students, the weekend box office could still break 20 million, but on weekdays it could only barely maintain around 10 million.

People in the industry were joking that this time, an art-house film was actually left at the forefront.

As for that Ex Machina by Guo Fan, after the box office ground to 80 million, it was less than 100,000 per day, so they directly chose to pull it from theaters.

Despite the early withdrawal, Guo Fan still became famous in one battle; the media was full of praise, and he had already become a newly minted commercial film director.

At the same time, news came from Chen Xi's side: Lost in Thailand had wrapped up!

Beijing, Imperial Hotel.

The cast and crew of Lost in Thailand and the actors from the Ex Machina crew looked at each other in dismay.

After a long while, Huang Bai finally squeezed out a sentence.

"Old Wei, you're being too thrifty, aren't you?"

That's right, Wei Jin had held the wrap party for Lost in Thailand and the celebration party for Ex Machina together.

"Hey, Old Huang, I didn't even attend the celebration party for A Simple Life."

The film A Simple Life had long since been pulled from theaters; the Mainland China box office was 84.4 million, the box office in Hong Kong was also quite good, totaling 26.2 million, and adding in Taiwan and Macau, the cumulative box office was equivalent to 120 million RMB.

This film had an investment of 30 million, copyright transactions of 6.8 million USD, and a box office share as high as 48 million; even after deducting promotion costs, the net profit was still over 45 million, a return of over 150%.

Logically speaking, it should have been celebrated, but because the crew was all over in Hong Kong, Wei Jin simply let them hold it themselves.

Of course, there was no shortage of red envelopes; Wei Jin took out 3 million as a reward for the crew.

"Alright, everyone take your seats; everyone has worked hard during this period."

Wei Jin greeted them, and everyone took their seats one after another.

The entertainment industry had a strict hierarchy, so naturally, everyone left the main table for the directors, producers, and main stars.

Wan Qian and Tian Ai were very observant, sitting on Wei Jin's left and right sides.

"Tian Ai, has Heartbroken Fairy Tale wrapped up?"

"Mm, it just wrapped up two days ago."

The slightly assertive Tian Ai smiled charmingly, her eyes and brows faintly brimming with emotion.

Wei Jin nodded and said no more; this film cost no more than 3 million, and wrapping up in just over a month was perfectly normal.

"Alright, everyone don't just sit there, let's start eating."

The seven or eight tables of people present were not polite and began to eat.

During the meal, because Wei Jin did not drink, he had more time to chat with everyone.

"Old Wei, the premiere of Killing is set for the 25th; you have to come."

Huang Bai raised his glass to extend an invitation, "It's really eight lifetimes of bad luck to run into such a release window; it's tough. For the next month, I'm afraid you won't be seeing me."

As soon as Huang Bai said this, many people at the scene laughed. This film was scheduled for the 28th, and it could be described as having wolves in front and tigers behind; it was indeed very miserable.

"Alright, I'll come to attend if I have time then."

Wei Jin nodded to give him face, then looked at Huang Bai, thinking of something.

"By the way, Old Huang, you have a schedule open later, right?"

"Mm?"

Huang Bai was startled upon hearing this, his eyes suddenly gleaming, "Yes, yes, yes, of course I do. Old Wei, you finally remembered your brother."

"Stop spouting nonsense; do you have a shortage of acting offers? Once you finish this period, someone will contact you."

Wei Jin didn't want to say more at the dinner table, so he stopped there.

"Alright, I'll wait honestly, haha."

Huang Bai looked smug, and everyone at the table wished they could slam their dinner plates onto his head.

"President Wei, I plan to stay at Shanhe Ink from now on until the post-production is finished."

Xu Guangtou picked up his wine glass, looking slightly excited, and spoke after downing it in one gulp.

He felt that filming this movie had been very satisfying, and with the first one as a foundation, the box office this time would definitely be even better.

He had a premonition that this film would become one of the representative works of his directing career.

"Hmm, you can go over anytime, no need to rush."

"Alright, I understand."

Xu Guangtou answered very solemnly; as it concerned his future, he would strive for perfection. "Baoqiang."

"President Wei?"

"Lu Yang plans to start filming in a week, but your scenes can be later; see what you think yourself."

"No need, no need, a week is enough. I will join the crew as soon as filming starts."

Wang Baoqiang was clearly very excited; in the industry, those who had the privilege of starring in two consecutive Wei Jin scripts could be counted on one's fingers.

More importantly, he was personally handpicked by Wei Jin, which was absolutely unique among male actors, and this represented a high level of recognition for him! "President Wei, don't worry, I will definitely act well. I really like action movies."

"Baoqiang, you should have read the script. Feng Yuxiu is a martial arts fanatic; study it well. I need you to bring out that 'Mr. Tree' style of madness. Perhaps this film will become another representative work of yours."

Seeing Wei Jin speak so seriously, the smile on Wang Baoqiang's face gradually faded and became solemn.

The others at the table were also curious about what kind of script could actually become a representative work.

"I understand, President Wei, I will put my heart into it."

Wei Jin nodded upon seeing this; he believed in Wang Baoqiang's acting skills.

"Hmm, communicate the specifics with Lu Yang and see if he has any other requirements."

Immediately after, Wei Jin looked at Ning Hao, who shook his head immediately.

"Junior brother, I'm going to be busy with the promotion for The Great Robbery next. I'll consider a new film after the movie finishes its theatrical run, but I've already thoroughly understood the script, so you don't need to worry."

Hearing this, many actors at the scene pricked up their ears; news of Ning Hao's new film had been kept very tight.

Wei Jin gave a soft laugh, knowing that Ning Hao had misunderstood, and immediately proceeded to explain.

"Senior brother, I meant that now that the policies have loosened, you should take some time to handle matters regarding No Man's Land and set your mind at ease sooner."

According to what Director Tong said, the censorship standards were much broader now. Although No Man's Land had been edited long ago, it had never been approved. If they didn't take this opportunity, when would they wait for? "Alright, I will arrange it."

Next, before Wei Jin could even speak, Guo Fan began to state his position.

"President Wei, I need to settle down here. My graduation defense is coming up soon, so let's talk about it in the second half of the year."

"You kid, what are you thinking? Am I that exploitative?"

"You are."

Wei Jin looked toward the source of the voice; it was actually Chen Xi.

"President Wei, I've been running around for several months now. I want to rest; my skin has even gotten worse."

Looking at Chen Xi, whose skin was slightly rough and half a shade darker, Wei Jin couldn't help but laugh; the exploitation of her over these past few months had indeed been quite severe.

First, she went to Seattle to complete the preliminary work, even spending the Spring Festival there; once the crew got on track, she went to the Lost in Thailand crew; and just after that finished, she had to join the Big Shot crew. She could truly be called a chosen laborer.

"Is a week enough?"

Wei Jin wasn't in a hurry for the film Big Shot, and the scale wasn't large, so it was easy to prepare. He expected it to start filming in early May.

"Enough, enough, hee hee."

Hearing this, Chen Xi immediately revealed a smile; women were truly born actors.

Since it was a celebration banquet, red envelopes were naturally indispensable.

Ex Machina had an investment of 10 million, and the box office share alone reached 32 million. Counting the various advertising bonuses and deducting the marketing costs, the net profit was over 20 million.

Wei Jin didn't even consult with Old Wang and directly took out 1 million as a reward for the crew.

As for the Lost in Thailand crew, Wei Jin had also prepared wrap-up red envelopes early on, 1,000 yuan per person, as a small reward for everyone to bring good luck.

It is worth mentioning that Han Jianv held positions in two crews, so she received two red envelopes and was incredibly happy.

After the red envelopes were in hand, the atmosphere at the scene became even more jubilant, and everyone began to toast frequently.

Han Jianv walked up to Wei Jin holding her wine glass, "Senior brother, it's almost mid-April now. Look, about that exam of mine..."

Looking at Han Jianv, who had just been excited and was now acting coy, Wei Jin felt like teasing her, and the smile on his face immediately faded.

"This, Old Jiang is a bit rigid; he doesn't agree."

"What? Senior brother, you promised me! I haven't attended a single class this semester; I definitely won't pass. You, how could you be like this..."

Han Jianv's aggrieved look made it hard for Wei Jin to imagine that she was Han's daughter, but this resentful gaze was exactly the same as Old Han's when he didn't get his investment share.

"Just kidding, haha."

In the Golden House at room 6, a three-person card game was about to begin.

Perhaps because the weather was too hot, the three of them were stark naked as they played.

Zhang Tianai's performance was quite good; after all, she had already tried four-person mahjong, so she wasn't intimidated at all by playing with three people and even took the initiative to take on the job of shuffling the cards.

Wan Qian appeared a bit more nervous; after all, this was different from playing games online.

Honestly, she had gone through an intense internal struggle regarding tonight's threesome; after all, it was truly quite embarrassing to talk about.

But once she thought about missing tonight and not knowing when she would be able to taste such pleasure again, she followed along silently after the banquet ended, as if possessed.

However, fortunately, she and Zhang Tianai had worked on a movie together after all, and their relationship was decent, so she could barely convince herself to accept playing together.

Sensing the woman's nervousness, Wei Jin focused his attention on her, his large hands wandering over her perky buttocks and beautiful legs from time to time. There was no helping it; with Wan Qian's flat figure, only her legs and buttocks were fun to play with.

"Mmm~~~"

Perhaps because she hadn't been nourished for too long, Wan Qian soon began to sing under Wei Jin's skilled techniques.

At the same time, the card shuffling work underneath was nearly finished, and Wei Jin felt it was time to start tonight's card game.

"Tian Ai, lie down first."

As soon as Wei Jin finished speaking, Zhang Tianai understood how the card game should be played tonight; she lay her upper body on the bed, with her legs and half of her buttocks exposed over the edge.

Seeing this, Wei Jin took the opportunity to press Wan Qian, who was already somewhat unable to withstand the teasing, onto Zhang Tianai, with her legs straddling both sides of the latter's slender waist and her beautiful buttocks slightly tilted backward.

"Tian Ai, you are so big."

Feeling the scale of Zhang Tianai, Wan Qian let out a cry of surprise, feeling somewhat ashamed; her own pair of A's were truly not much to show off.

"Sister Qian, what is this compared to mine? You haven't seen Sister Liu Yan's; that is what people envy."

Upon hearing this, Wan Qian's mind instantly conjured the image of Liu Yan's unreasonably domineering figure, and she felt even more inferior.

Immediately, she thought of Bai Bin, whom she was familiar with; her breasts were also quite large, and the thought of whether she should go for breast enhancement actually surfaced in Wan Qian's mind.

Just as Wan Qian was letting her imagination run wild, Wei Jin took the initiative to start today's card game.

"Oh~~~"

Zhang Tianai, lying at the very bottom, watched Wan Qian, who had been a bit shy just a moment ago but had entered the state in an instant, and swallowed her saliva, looking forward to the time when she could get on the table.

Wei Jin did not make Zhang Tianai wait too long; he chose this way of playing cards precisely to take care of both of them at the same time.

This night, Wei Jin unlocked a new duo combination. (End of this chapter)