Chapter 44: 《Crazy Stone》 Scheduling

Wei Jin had not come to the company for a long time, and some documents had piled up on his desk. He picked through and processed some of them, while others still required the person in charge to report in person. Just as he was thinking about which department to call over first, a knock on the door sounded, and Li Na walked in with Huang Bai and Ning Hao.

"Old Wei, you were gone for quite a long time this trip? What, did you forget about Shu while enjoying yourself in America?"

Before Huang Bai had even sat down, he began to tease his boss.

"You really can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth; it seems I won't be able to use you for the new movie."

Hearing this, Wei Jin laughed and scolded him.

With the rise in Wei Jin's status, the people around him became increasingly respectful, losing some of that closeness. Only Huang Bai continued to treat him as a friend as always; in this regard, even Ning Hao fell short.

"Don't be like that, Boss Wei. I am your loyal employee, the kind who goes wherever you point and never strikes elsewhere."

Once Huang Bai heard Wei Jin had a new movie, he felt very restless. Working with Ning Hao on *Crazy Stone* this time had been incredibly exciting, and he discovered that compared to singing, he preferred acting even more.

"Junior brother, does your new movie have a lead yet?"

Ning Hao, who had been sitting to the side watching the two bicker, asked with some curiosity, interjecting.

"Mm, the script is already finished. If you two hadn't called me, I might have already been at China Film Group by now."

Wei Jin explained briefly; in fact, he had not yet decided exactly how much of a share to give to China Film Group.

"Let's not talk about my affairs; let's talk about your project first. What are your thoughts?"

"Regarding the release schedule, promotion, and such, I don't know much about these aspects, which is why I came to you for advice."

Although Ning Hao had directed a few movies, he really had no experience with things outside of the filmmaking itself.

"Hmm, how about this: this afternoon you come with me to China Film Group, let President Han help look at which schedule is suitable, and by the way, we should also discuss the promotion."

Wei Jin couldn't recall offhand what movies were being released this year, so he simply decided to get the new project and the schedule selection sorted out together in the afternoon.

"By the way, Senior Brother, how did it feel filming this time? Was it convenient using our company's crew?"

"Hmm, it was alright. It was quite smooth to use, and I feel we've basically finished the breaking-in period."

Ning Hao recalled the process of working with the company's crew and replied.

"How did you feel about your trip to North America? Did you really shoot two movies in two months?"

Seeing that he couldn't get a word in, Huang Bai took the initiative to talk about Wei Jin's time in North America.

"It was alright. Currently, they are indeed more professional than us. Two movies were in preparation at the same time, and we shot one after the other; the efficiency was quite high."

Wei Jin then explained the Hollywood production process: Hollywood is producer-centric. Producers initiate projects based on market research, script mining, and studies of audience preferences, with the goal of commercial production and profit. They find directors suitable for the film's genre and style, then issue invitations to the Actors Guild to find suitable actors, eventually forming the crew's core team.

The producer holds absolute power; the director is just a tool for filming, working strictly according to the shooting schedule and storyboard, and the director often doesn't even have the final cut of the film.

Under these circumstances, because the producer has already made market estimates at the start of the project, all members of the crew are more like workers on an assembly line. The movies produced naturally have a guaranteed floor, but the ceiling is generally not high. You will find that most classic Hollywood films are director-led.

In contrast, the domestic industry is director-centric; the producer is more like the chief steward of the crew, and the final effect of the film relies entirely on the director's subjective performance.

In this situation, a flash of inspiration from the director could result in a legendary classic, while a director letting themselves run wild could result in an epic disaster, because the director doesn't understand the market; they pursue self-expression.

Therefore, films produced under the director-centric system have a low enough floor and a high enough ceiling.

The difference between the two, simply put, is the difference between handicrafts and assembly-line products. It's not a matter of which is better or worse, but purely in terms of efficiency, the producer-centric system is higher.

After listening to Wei Jin's explanation, Ning Hao understood a bit and looked thoughtful.

"Old Huang, what about you? I heard you suffered this time?"

"Hey, don't mention it. That sewer scene—I held my breath until I almost threw up. You don't know, let me tell you..."

Mentioning the filming experience, Huang Bai was both bitter and excited, then he thought of something: "Eh, right, did you really prepare a role for me in your new project?"

"Rest assured, I haven't forgotten you. But it's a supporting role, the screen time isn't too much, so be mentally prepared."

Wei Jin then explained a bit to avoid Huang Bai overthinking it; after all, he was an artist from his own company.

"Hey, supporting role or whatever doesn't exist. Being able to work with a Silver Bear Director is a matter of face when I go out."

Huang Bai didn't mind the amount of screen time; he just wanted to satisfy his acting itch. Mainly, with his image, no one else was looking for him to act right now.

"By the way, how is your new album?"

Seeing that the dividends of the ringtone era wouldn't last many more years, Wei Jin had written a few more ringtone songs for Huang Bai before heading to North America, and hadn't paid much attention since, hence the question.

Wei Jin had also written five songs for this album, which were: *Damned Tenderness*

*Autumn Does Not Return*

*Don't Come to Hurt Me Again*

*Wings of an Angel*

*Wolf Falls in Love with Sheep*

This was already the result of Wei Jin racking his brains; he estimated that there might not be such hits in the future. "It was recorded in March, and the company already released it for me last month. The market response is quite good."

Speaking of the popularity of the new album, Huang Bai was quite happy, then felt a bit emotional.

"Sigh, I really don't know how your brain is wired, to write songs so well."

Huang Bai now held 11 hit ringtone songs and could be called the Ringtone King without exaggeration; he also had quite a reputation in the music circle.

Wei Jin was even more incredible. Every song he wrote the lyrics and music for was a boutique, a hit. Many famous singers had already started asking Wei Jin for songs, and the company received calls about this every day.

"But why are the songs you write all these kinds of bitter love songs? With your looks, you couldn't have experienced so much emotional suffering, making it so I really can't shake this title of Bitter Love Song King."

"What? You can't write it if you haven't experienced it? Do you know there is a type of person called 'born with knowledge'?"

"Pah, you really start puffing up when people call you fat."

Amidst the joking and laughing, time quickly reached noon, and the three of them ate lunch together.

In the afternoon, Wei Jin and Ning Hao arrived at China Film Group and went straight to Han Sanping's office.

"President Han, long time no see. You're looking better and better."

The last time Wei Jin and Han Sanping met was at the celebration banquet for *Those Years*; seeing him suddenly, he felt a bit of warmth.

"Hey, you brat, I haven't seen you for several months. I heard you went to North America to shoot a movie? How was it? Any thoughts?"

Han Sanping didn't stand on ceremony with Wei Jin, knowing this was just his personality.

Wei Jin then broke down and explained the same things he had told Ning Hao in the morning, which left Han Sanping feeling quite emotional: "So that's it. The gap between us and Hollywood is still very large. At least in terms of Film Industrialization, there is a clear gap."

This has also been Han Sanping's philosophy all along: make big films, engage in big productions; only in this way can one gradually catch up to Hollywood and perfect the domestic film industry. By comparison, domestic films are more like family-run handicraft workshops, while Hollywood films belong to standardized factories.

"By the way, what's with the two of you coming together?"

Wei Jin briefly introduced the situation of *Crazy Stone* and expressed his intention to ask China Film Group to handle the distribution.

"Hmm, let's watch the finished film first."

Han Sanping was also a man of swift and decisive action; he pulled the two of them to the screening room.

Having been back for so long, this was also the first time Wei Jin had seen the finished film. He compared it with the images in his mind while watching and felt it was quite good. It seemed that with the increased investment, many of Ning Hao's ideas had popped out; overall, it was more interesting than the film from his past life.

"President Han, Junior Brother, what do you think?"

Ning Hao felt a bit uncertain. Although he believed he had written a good script and had confidence in his own filming level, Ning Hao was, after all, not fully in control of the market and didn't know if the audience would buy it.

"Hmm, multi-line narrative technique, black humor, it's quite interesting."

Han Sanping commented from the perspective of the film itself, though he didn't say much about market expectations, as this was, after all, a project invested in by Wei Jin.

"It's very good. I think it has potential. If the release slot is appropriate and the promotion and distribution work is in place, there is hope for 60 million."

Wei Jin was indeed very optimistic about *Crazy Stone*; it was a qualified commercial comedy film.

"You're that optimistic? This cast doesn't have much appeal."

Han Sanping was a bit surprised, thinking Wei Jin was just flattering him out of obligation, so he pointed out the cast.

"What cast? It's all fake. How was the cast of Cheng's film last year? How was the box office?"

Wei Jin was talking about *New Police Story*, which was released during the National Day Slot last year. With Cheng in the lead role and a host of Hong Kong stars like Xie Feng, A Zu, and A Sa joining in, the result was a box office of 38.35 million—it flopped so hard it was embarrassing.

Wei Jin had always been disgusted by the practices of certain domestic film and television companies at present, always talking about big productions, big casts, and having Best Actors or Golden Horse Best Actresses join in. If you can't tell a story well, even if you invite God to act, it's still trash.

"Don't be superstitious about the cast. A strong cast can only be said to make it easier to attract audiences into the cinema, but the means to attract audiences don't just rely on the cast. The key is still to tell a good story."

Hearing this, both Han Sanping and Ning Hao were somewhat moved; Wei Jin's remarks were truly completely at odds with the current mainstream view.

"As for the promotion and distribution, China Film Group will take it. Regarding the release slot, you two should look at it yourselves and make a decision."

Han Sanping then handed the release schedule to Wei Jin.

"Hmm, let's go with July 15th. Senior Brother, what do you think?"

Wei Jin flipped through the release schedule. Currently, the only established domestic slots were the National Day Slot and the New Year Slot, but there were too many competitors; it was better to go with the summer season.

"Mm, I have no objections. I'll just listen to you."

Ning Hao was also completely clueless about this aspect, so he simply let Wei Jin make the decision; he was the investor, after all.

Just like that, *Crazy Stone* was officially scheduled for July 15th.

A newbie author writing a book for the first time, begging for collections, follows, reads, and recommendations. Thank you everyone. A newbie author writing a book for the first time, begging for collections, follows, reads, and recommendations. Thank you everyone.

(End of this chapter)