Chapter 65

Setting up the entire company's basic structure cost nearly 3 million, not even counting staff salaries.

Plus, the previous film, Lost in Love 33 Days, cost nearly 8.5 million to produce, and I borrowed 5 million from Liu Tianxian, meaning I personally spent about 3.5 million.

That's equivalent to spending 6.5 million, plus the adaptation rights for To Our Youth, bringing the total to 7 million so far.

These funds are essential at this stage; the production department has only hired a few behind-the-scenes professionals.

Not too many—too many people and we can't afford them.

First, secure your own survival, then let others survive!

The production equipment—cameras, stabilizers, audio gear, lighting—hasn't been ordered yet; if we ordered them, Fang Hong couldn't afford the 20 million.

He still needs to invest in filming To Our Youth.

This film won't be directed by him—he's giving Yu Xian a chance to practice, while Fang Hong serves as producer, and Chen Zhixi remains producer.

This way, we can oversee Yu Xian's work!

As for adapting this novel, assign Bao Jinjin and Jiao Huajing to handle the screenplay.

Jiao Huajing was born in 1988 and is also a graduate of Beijing Film Academy's Literature Department; reportedly, she later became Cao Baoping's wife, though this remains unconfirmed.

Cao Baoping is the director behind Dog Thirteen and The Dead End, a literature professor at Beijing Film Academy, and both films involved Jiao Huajing in screenwriting.

She also contributed to Beijing Meets Seattle, and she is Xue Xiaolu's graduate student.

Xue Xiaolu is also a professor at Beijing Film Academy; this entire circle is full of connections.

By inviting her, Fang Hong effectively tied in several renowned directors and mentors.

Looking ahead at her resume, Jiao Huajing is clearly highly talented, even more capable than Bao Jinjin, though her abilities haven't yet surfaced.

Hua Guo isn't short of screenwriters—there are plenty—but no one's willing to spend the money.

Fang Hong is willing—he'll pay them a basic salary and offer 2% of box office profits as bonus.

Based on the performance of Those Years, they could split 740,000, meaning 370,000 each.

In Hua Guo's screenwriting industry, this is top-tier compensation.

Previously, I paid Bao Jinjin so much because she gave me the rights; now I don't need to pay that much, especially since the rights to To Our Youth were already bought by Fang Hong.

These two are Fang Hong's current screenwriting team; hiring more would exceed his budget.

Mainly because Fang Hong can't recall enough film details—he only remembers rough plots, and the specifics must be filled in by the screenwriting team.

Who remembers what lines the protagonist says?

Besides, Fang Hong doesn't have the energy to think it all through—he'll just hand them a plot outline and let them flesh out the story.

To Our Youth is just clichés—abortion, infidelity—Yan Zi's terrible direction still earned 700 million at the box office.

Fang Hong doesn't ask for much—half of that, 350 million, would satisfy him.

The budget for To Our Youth is 10 million.

In his past life, it was 60 million—he didn't know where all that money went, and the film wasn't better than Our Later Years or My Classmate.

Maybe Yan Zi's name carries more weight!

So now, total spending will be 17 million; Fang Hong earned 25.89 million from Those Years, leaving him with 8.89 million unspent.

Investing in films is just planned expenditure—the money still sits in the company's account.

If we spend it, we technically don't have that much, because staff salaries, organizational structure, and office equipment haven't been accounted for.

But we still need a reserve fund as backup, in case of emergencies.

Fortunately, the later costs of Those Years were included in production expenses, so no extra payment is needed.

The dubbing cost for this film is high—2,000 yuan per minute, and the movie is over a hundred minutes long!

Also, the music and theme song fees for Dongdong's film haven't been paid yet; we must pay for both this one and the previous one, or else the theme song for Lost in Love 33 Days will delay production.

Fang Hong already submitted the theme song lyrics long ago, but there's been no response—hasn't anyone paid them, or what? It's much slower than last time.

With this whole operation launched, everything demands money!

Fang Hong basically has no money left—he's broke.

He was even talking about renting a villa—where's he going to get the money?

The reception room is sparsely furnished: besides some potted plants, there's only a tempered glass round table with a few chairs around it.

Fang Hong is meeting a young man.

This young man is Meng Jun, future executive director and Chief Financial Officer of Ali Pictures.

Also a millennial, Alibaba Entertainment hasn't even formed yet; this man hasn't taken off—he's currently working in auditing at IBM.

Fang Hong happened to be hiring a CFO, sent him an email to recruit him; he hasn't resigned yet, just came to take a look.

As they talked, Yu Xian rushed in, saw the outsider, and apologized: "You two go ahead."

"No problem, we're all family." Fang Hong waved him over to sit.

This remark warmed Meng Jun—he wasn't being excluded from internal matters!

Yu Xian pulled out a chair, sat down, and asked: "You're really letting me direct To Our Youth?"

He felt uncertain.

Directing a full film—how long had he been out of school? He never dared imagine it!

"What are you afraid of? I'm giving you my team—you need to learn the entire filmmaking process, from pre-production to post-production." Fang Hong said.

If you don't learn now, how will you go to the United States? Their filming procedures are more complex, with more specialized roles!

"No, I'm afraid I'll mess it up—it's not in Beijing, we're going to other cities, taking so many people with me, I'm—"

Yu Xian felt immense pressure—a sum in the tens of millions, leaving Beijing—he felt utterly unprepared.

If it fails, not only will the money be lost, but all his effort will be wasted.

To Our Youth can't be shot in Beijing—it must be shot in the south, because Beijing's weather will grow colder.

Fang Hong chose Chongqing as the shooting location; the temperature there is currently over twenty degrees, and even after two months of shooting, it'll stay above ten degrees—perfect for filming.

Moreover, many directors love filming there, because that place has the feel of everyday life and a sense of space.

Actually the main reason is that it's cheap — whether for food and supplies or for renting locations, it's all relatively inexpensive.

Plus there's policy support. Put it this way: filming here requires layer upon layer of approval, but over there it's much simpler.

There are also a lot of universities over there — Xinan Daxue, Ligong Daxue, Youdian Daxue, and so on — and tons of middle schools too, so you can quickly lock down filming locations.

Anyway, we'll just shoot the whole thing there without switching cities — switching cities is too much hassle.

"It's good that you have this awareness. It shows you're serious. Film it well — even if it flops, I'll back you up." Fang Hong was boosting his confidence.

He knew Yu Xian had the professional ability; he just lacked hands-on practice. But Fang Hong couldn't wait — making money domestically was too slow.

Just two films and a whole year had passed. If they kept going at this pace, who knew how long it would take to rise to prominence.

This time was the perfect chance to throw him out there and let him gain some experience!

(End of Chapter)