Chapter 533: Eating Alone, Wrapping Up, and Assistants Playing Landlord

The Film Bureau released a set of data: the number of viewers who walked into cinemas in February exceeded 60 million, with the overall box office approaching 2.4 billion, second only to last December.

The film market is developing in full swing, and many companies have made big moves since the beginning of the year, but none are more eye-catching than the announcement of Jiang Wen's new film.

Since "Let the Bullets Fly," Jiang Wen has become a top-tier director in the country, but his efficiency is very low; he has been polishing a new script for over two years.

Now, "Gone with the Bullets" has finally been officially greenlit and has begun casting.

However, perhaps because "Let the Bullets Fly" gave him too much confidence, this time, Jiang Wen is playing a big game, one that even makes the film circle feel a bit crazy.

The entire film budget is 300 million, and he has purchased a full set of 3D cameras and supporting equipment to prepare for the IMAX and 3D versions.

At the press conference, Jiang Wen vowed that "Gone with the Bullets" would benchmark top Hollywood blockbusters, and the technical team was hired directly from the Columbia company.

But what shocked the industry even more was yet to come: for the 300 million investment in "Gone with the Bullets," Jiang Wen did not bring in a single investor.

It is entirely borne by him and his iron partner, his 8-year-old great son Mark's Buzhuyule Film.

Even his old acquaintance who had always supported him, Boss Yang of Emperor, was politely declined.

The industry is joking that Jiang Wen lost too much before, and this time he is full of confidence, preparing to eat until he becomes a big fat man in one go.

However, Wei Jin, who is in North America, saw this news and knew that Jiang Wen is likely to take a big tumble this time.

"Boss Yang really does have good rewards for being a good person."

Wei Jin shook his head, put away his sighs, turned and walked behind the monitor, and began the new scene's filming; time flew by, and mid-March arrived.

"Left Ear" is still killing it in the film market; even entering the work week, the daily box office is no less than 40 million.

In 7 days, it raked in 298 million at the box office, which is even more terrifying than the trend of "Seattle" back then.

However, just as Wei Jin predicted, the film's word-of-mouth began to slide all the way, and the rating on Yinxiang Net has already dropped to around 6.5.

And looking at the current trend, there is room for further decline.

The online reviews are also mixed and full of controversy.

But in any case, the fact that the film is a box office hit is indisputable; Lin Yufen can be said to have become famous in one battle.

It is said that many companies have already extended olive branches to her; as long as she joins, she can receive the treatment of a studio director.

There are also many industry peers who have set their sights on youth-themed films and have begun to scour for best-selling books, intending to adapt and greenlight them.

For a time, the copyright prices of many youth novels on the market skyrocketed.

"So Young," also a youth film, took advantage of this tailwind to start its promotional mode more than a month in advance.

Zhao Yanzi is quite good at hype; when she took the cast to variety talk shows, she specially invited old classmates from the 96 class of Beijing Film Academy like Huang Xiaoming, Chen Kun, and He Lin, and even brought along their former head teacher, Cui Xinqin.

She called it a "So Young" style film promotion.

Facing the host's question about the box office, Zhao Yanzi appeared very confident.

"The recently released 'Left Ear' can be said to have set a standard for youth films. The viewing threshold for this type of subject matter is very low. 'So Young' is also a best-selling novel, and our main cast has a wider fan base. I believe the box office will definitely not be bad."

"Then are you worried about films released in the same period?"

"If we are talking about competitors, Director Lu Yang's 'Kung Fu Jungle' should be the most competitive."

Once Zhao Yanzi said this, no one on the scene refuted it.

"However, although Director Lu Yang's films are always box office hits and Director Wei Jin's script is also very good, 'So Young' comes with its own fan base. I think both sides can clash head-on, and there might even be a chance to suppress it."

Zhao Yanzi appeared very confident, and Cui Xinqin, He Lin, and others followed suit, while Chen Kun did not express much, and only Huang Xiaoming stood up to smooth things over.

"I think the two films are on different tracks. Even in the same period, the competition will not be too great. I wish both films a big success, haha."

The third weekend of March ended, and "Seattle" was pulled from theaters.

Perhaps Yang Mi's appeal played a role; the film's final box office barely crossed the 600 million mark, closing at 602 million.

Xue Xiaolu took another step forward and became a director in the 600 Million Box Office Club.

A large number of artists in the circle were congratulating "Seattle" on its big success, the purpose naturally being to curry favor with Xue Xiaolu, this big-selling director.

After all, directors who are good at female-themed subjects are rare in the circle. Now that there is an opportunity, how can they not curry favor? The one who benefited even more than Xue Xiaolu was naturally Yang Mi; she successfully became the third post-85s film actress in the country with a 600 million box office, the veritable head of the Four Dan Actresses.

Just as Ceng Jia said before, Yang Mi's commercial value ushered in a wave of sharp increases, and her external quote of 15 million per film won the recognition of many industry companies.

Because for production companies, if you can carry the box office, the salary is not an issue; what they fear is a high salary resulting in a box office disaster.

Just like Zhang Ziyi, there are basically no big productions looking for her in Mainland China now.

Therefore, Yang Mi's two hit films with over 500 million at the box office can definitely prove her ability to carry the box office.

During the period when the film was released, especially in the ten days or so after the box office results were refreshed, Yang Mi's commercial endorsement contracts drifted toward Jiaxing Studio like snowflakes, and her popularity and heat can be seen.

Even Guo Jingming, this guy, came to leech some heat, specially posting a congratulatory Weibo and tagging Yang Mi: "Congratulations to Director Xue Xiaolu, Yang Mi and her starring romance film 'Beijing Meets Seattle' for breaking 600 million at the box office! Also looking forward to the 'Tiny Times' series starring her having the same great results."

The production cost of "Seattle" was 30 million, and it would not exceed 50 million including promotion and distribution.

Although it could not participate in the tiered box office sharing due to production costs, even with a 43% share, it had already earned over 180 million at the box office.

Adding in trailer ads and product placement, the net profit of this film is at least over 200 million, which is definitely a huge profit.

Even purely in terms of revenue, it is more profitable than blockbusters like "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate."

In his spare time from filming, Wei Jin specially called to congratulate Xue Xiaolu, and by the way, arranged for the company's finance department to pay her the box office share in advance; after all, it would take several months to wait for the theater chains to return the funds.

Afterward, Wei Jin devoted himself to the filming of "Nomadland" without distraction.

Perhaps because the due date for Da Meiyuan was getting closer, Wei Jin had concerns in his heart; or perhaps after the running-in, the tacit understanding between the actors and the director was getting stronger.

In short, the later it got, the more gratifying the filming progress was. Time had just entered the second half of March, and the film ushered in the last character scene.

Behind the monitor, Wei Jin repeatedly watched the performance of the lead actress, Frances, and nodded with satisfaction.

Then he picked up the megaphone at his feet, looked around, and gave it a sense of ritual.

"I announce, 'Nomadland' has officially wrapped!"

"Oh yeah, finally wrapped! We've traveled tens of thousands of kilometers, right?"

"More than tens of thousands; adding up the few places, the journey has approached 20,000 kilometers. It's finally over."

The many crew members and actors breathed a sigh of relief.

Listening to the discussions on the scene, Wei Jin also felt some emotion; this was his first time filming with such scattered locations, and the intensity was indeed very high.

In fact, the film has not wrapped yet; what has been completed are only the scenes for all the actors.

However, for the remaining outdoor shots, Wei Jin intends to leave them to the assistant director and cinematographer Dong Jinsong, so for the crew, the filming has indeed come to a stage.

"Wei, I have to admit, you are truly impressive."

Frances took the towel handed to her by the floor manager, wiped the dust off her face, and sighed to Wei Jin.

This Golden Horse Best Actress, who has been in the industry for nearly thirty years, still feels a bit unreal even now.

In less than 70 days, an award-contending film about a Nomad, spanning 7 states in North America, was finished just like that; it is too incredible.

"Hahaha, Frances, I told you long ago, there is no need to worry."

The short-haired Frances tilted her head and teased, "What I am worried about now is the remaining few days of the schedule; will you make me return my salary?"

"Frances, I finally understand why Director Coen is so fascinated by you."

Wei Jin shook his head and laughed, not picking up on this topic that was clearly a joke.

"Uh-huh, Wei, you must not be fascinated by me, although you are very handsome and this collaboration has been very pleasant."

"Hehe, I think so too; I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate again."

Frances's expression turned serious: "I am also very much looking forward to it."

North America, inside a villa in Beverly Hills.

Wei Jin carefully embraced Da Meiyuan, burying his face in her jet-black hair, sniffing it from time to time.

Da Meiyuan, who is already 9 months pregnant, was the same; her slightly swollen but still delicate face was pressed tightly against Wei Jin's chest, greedily breathing in the man's scent.

Although there is a mandatory break requirement for actors during North American filming, because the itinerary was far, Wei Jin's filming this time was mostly focused on character scenes during the week, and outdoor shots were filmed on weekends.

Counting it up, it has been nearly a month since the Oscar, and the two have not seen each other.

Pregnant women are very sensitive, especially near the time of delivery; that kind of anxious mood is very intense, and only upon seeing Wei Jin now did Da Meiyuan truly feel at ease.

After a moment of intimacy, Wei Jin helped Da Meiyuan to the sofa to sit down, while he knelt on one knee on the floor, pressing against her round belly, quietly feeling the baby's movements.

However, after a short while, Wei Jin raised his head, looking a bit surprised.

"Why is the movement so big? Is it practicing boxing?"

Da Meiyuan rolled her eyes at Wei Jin: "Don't even mention it, it's the same as you, the father; it has endless energy and is tossing me around all day long."

Although she was complaining, Wei Jin could see the Amour in Da Meiyuan's eyes, which meant the baby was very healthy, so he reached out to hold the beauty's fair hand and said softly, "Yuan Yuanjie, you've worked hard."

"It's not hard; when I think about meeting him soon, I feel everything is worth it."

Hearing this, Da Meiyuan stroked her belly, a glow of motherhood flashing across her face.

"By the way, Yuan Yuanjie, I plan to arrange for Lao Zhu to go back in two days to bring Dad, Uncle, and our parents over; what do you think?"

Da Meiyuan was a bit moved upon hearing this, but then shook her head: "Forget it, Xiao Jin, my mother is in poor health, and my father has to take care of her; it's a ten-plus-hour flight, so let's not put them through that."

"Alright, whatever you say."

Da Meiyuan is nearing her delivery date, so they certainly cannot share a bed; after Wei Jin accompanied the beauty to sleep, he went to the room of his Assistant, Huang Mengying.

After all, since the Spring Festival, the young girl had not had any meat.

It was just that Wei Jin did not expect Liu Yan to be here too, but it didn't matter; the three of them playing "Fight the Landlord" would be even more interesting.

However, perhaps because they hadn't coordinated in too long, the tacit understanding between Liu Yan and Huang Mengying was insufficient, and Wei Jin had to bring out his director's ability to control the scene.

Under Wei Jin's guidance, the two finally divided the work: Huang Mengying was responsible for adjusting the camera angles and preparing for the start of filming, while Liu Yan offered up her Dharma Treasure to help the director get into the zone.

Feeling Liu Yan's delicacy and softness and Huang Mengying's warm care, Director Wei Jin was very satisfied and entered the zone in no time.

"Mm, very good, next we will prepare for the official start of filming; Mengying, you haven't been on camera for a long time, so you go first this time."

As soon as Wei Jin finished speaking, Huang Mengying couldn't wait to sit at the card table, and immediately let out a long and satisfied sigh: "Oh~~~ Boss~~ so great~~"

Feeling the warm and tight encirclement, Wei Jin raised an eyebrow, a playful look on his face.

"Heh heh, it will be even better in a moment; you play by yourself first, I'll attend to your sister Liu Yan."

However, the cost was also high; in just over ten minutes, Huang Mengying was defeated by her own hand.

Liu Yan, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately lowered her head to take over the camera position, cleaning up the traces left by her sister.

Then, feeling the boss's pulse, Liu Yan turned her body again and took the initiative to sit at the card table.

"Oh~~ Boss, touch me~~~"

As Wei Jin's hands grasped the big orange, Liu Yan seemed to have found support, and her proud, delicate body began to dance gracefully. (End of chapter)