Chapter 225: Director Lu, Emperor Motion Pictures invites you to direct

Han Shanping was still busy attending a meeting at the bureau in the afternoon, and was picked up by Gao Chengsheng before he could even have lunch.

Seeing Lu Kuan looked at Dong Shuangqiang's leisurely and carefree appearance and laughed: "Old Dong, it's almost 11 o'clock; are you trying to sponge a meal off me?"

"What a thing to say! As such a great artist, why do you always resort to that 'malicious words hurt like a cold in the sixth month' routine?"

"Fine, fine, fine. Today is the 25th, and since the first lunar month isn't over yet, it's still the New Year. I'll treat you to this meal—company cafeteria style."

Dong Shuangqiang pulled out a pack of cigarettes and tossed it to him: "Go on! You're too stingy. No wonder the Inquiry Realm is so profitable; is it all saved up one coin at a time by you?"

Boss Lu looked at the Little Panda cigarettes tossed his way and understood in a second.

Lingering without leaving meant he wanted to put in a good word for his brother-in-law.

These legendary special-supply cigarettes from the Haizi area were the very ones Feng Chu had offered him as a tribute at the Shidu film set that day.

Boss Lu crossed his legs: "Alright, Brother Dong, let's not beat around the bush. What's the matter?"

"Hehe, as expected of you, little brother, you're so worldly-wise. Al Pacino knows women by their scent, but you know the situation by the cigarettes!"

"Feng Chu, he..."

Seeing Lu Kuan thought Dong Shuangqiang was going to plead for his brother-in-law to return to the crew, but he didn't expect him to be so decisive.

"I've kicked Feng Chu back to his hometown. Forget Shidu; you won't even see him in this part of Beiping anymore."

"This matter was my fault for not knowing the person well. I'm sorry, brother."

"Eh, what are you saying? Who doesn't have relatives or friends to pull strings for? As long as it doesn't affect work, it's fine."

If Feng Chu hadn't been so sloppy, Seeing Lu Kuan wouldn't have had to embarrass him in public.

After all, hitting Feng Chu meant losing face for Dong Shuangqiang.

Although this man kept a low profile in the domestic entertainment industry and wasn't widely known, he had several big shots standing behind him.

"Brother Dong, let me speak from the heart: our cooperation is based first on brotherly affection, and second on mutual interest."

"The existence of this Feng Chu, firstly, will damage our relationship, and secondly, it's of no benefit to the film's shooting. He's a 'rat dropping in the soup' type of character."

"How about this: you send someone else over immediately. I'll finish the remaining episodes in the next two or three weeks, so if you send someone now, they can take over the work sooner."

Dong Shuangqiang said pleasantly surprised: "Then Xu Zheng?"

"He's just a substitute, working temporarily."

"Good, good, good! No problem. This time I'll transfer the Vice President of old Yanda Huayi to you. I'll definitely make sure the logistics for 'Zhu Xian' are managed well!"

Boss Lu smiled without a word. Everyone knew that being a producer was a lucrative position.

He found an excuse to kick Feng Chu away and replace him with his own person, Xu Zheng; from the perspective of cause and effect, it was beyond reproach.

But some things aren't measured by whether they are reasonable or not. Can men reason with their girlfriends or wives? Is it useful?

If Seeing Lu Kuan had pressed his advantage this time and driven a wedge between the two, it would have been a purely unnecessary affair.

Water too clear has no fish; people too critical have no followers.

As long as the producer can get things done and keep the crew in good order, it doesn't matter if their hands are a little dirty or if they use the position to do favors for Dong Shuangqiang.

Feng Chu belonged to the brainless category; he made things look too ugly, making it difficult for everyone to save face.

Boss Lu suddenly remembered something: "Old Dong, do you have any connections to help me scout for a plot of land, within the Third Ring Road?"

"What do you mean? You think film profits are too low and want to build towers to sell?"

Seeing Lu Kuan laughed: "That's right. I'm preparing to change professions. Selling houses is more satisfying; filming movies only yields one or two a year, and the money comes too slowly!"

"Hahaha, stop spouting nonsense. Is it because you want to build a headquarters building?"

Seeing Lu Kuan nodded: "It was fine before, but this year, because of the variety show sector, we've recruited over a hundred more people. Plus, the back-office departments are expanding. We can't even squeeze in new hires anymore."

He hadn't even counted the crowd from Blog Network and its subsidiary Douban.

Together with Butian Pictures, the Inquiry Realm Western Film Distribution Company, and New Horizon, it added up to over 1,500 people.

And with the company's business constantly expanding, it was indeed time to establish a base.

Not to mention anything else, just his own President's office—the bedroom is only a few dozen square meters. Who is that enough for?

"Over by the Fifth Ring Road, I actually..."

Boss Lu interrupted him: "I want something inside the Fourth Ring Road. Third or Fourth Ring is fine. Let's check the prices."

Dong Shuangqiang stared at him with wide eyes: "That won't be cheap, you know?"

Boss Lu sneered inwardly. How expensive could it be?

If I don't buy now, it'll be even more expensive later!

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2004, the Shanghai commercial housing market "dominated" the top spot with an average price of 5,381 yuan, with Beiping and Yangcheng following closely behind.

That year, the prime spot in Shanghai's Lujiazui still belonged to the Jin Mao Tower. It stood quietly on the east bank of the Huangpu River, waiting to debut later alongside two other skyscrapers jokingly referred to as the "Bottle Opener" and the "Eggbeater."

And Beiping's tallest building was still the Jingguang Center. It wouldn't be until June of this year that the Yintai Center, which would replace its 249.9-meter main tower, would break ground.

At the turn of the millennium, other than real estate companies, major players in other industries hadn't yet thought of staking their claim. Take Yanda Huayi, the Inquiry Realm's competitor in a parallel world, for example.

It wasn't until 2015, their peak year of "boiling oil and flaming fire," that Yanda Huayi acquired its headquarters property from Huayuan Real Estate.

They acquired the 8,167-square-meter high-end apartment project, Kunlun Apartment, through equity and debt acquisition of the target company, converting it into office property for a mere 400 million.

Boss Lu in 2004 just wasn't in the real estate business; otherwise, he would have gone bankrupt to buy land.

For the current Inquiry Realm, building or acquiring an A-grade office building with slightly more generous floor space around the Third Ring Road would be just about right.

His own companies would occupy a portion, and when land prices skyrocketed later, he could rent out the vacant floors. Those coal bosses and internet giants were foolish and had plenty of money!

It was just that Dong Shuangqiang was far from figuring out Boss Lu's background, and he was somewhat shocked by his idea of heading straight for the Third Ring Road.

Where the hell did you get so much money?

"The Third Ring Road isn't that expensive right now. The better the location advantage, the more it can attract high-quality talent."

"What is the most expensive thing in the 21st century? Talent!"

Boss Lu laughed and spoiled the line from Uncle Ge in next year's "A World Without Thieves." Across from him, Old Dong rubbed his chin, searching for connections for him.

"There actually is a place. It's set to be delivered in the first half of the year, but they're planning to collect rent. I reckon they'll only rent, not sell?"

"Where?"

Dong Shuangqiang got up and went to the Beiping map in Seeing Lu Kuan's office. He leaned over the map, groped around for a while, and pointed to a plot of land around the 3.5 Ring Road.

"Here, between the West Third and Fourth Ring Roads, at the Zhongguancun High-Tech Plaza. It's quite close to Haidian Park."

Seeing Lu Kuan looked around at the location advantages: "How big?"

"Over 70,000 square meters of floor space. Huge!"

"Holy crap, that must be seventeen or eighteen stories, right?"

Dong Shuangqiang laughed: "You bet. Eighteen stories above ground, four stories underground. It's a unit of the Ideal Industry Development Group."

Ideal?

Am I destined to be stuck with electric vehicles in this life, right?

The more Seeing Lu Kuan looked at this place, the more familiar it seemed. Could it be the Ideal International Building?

"Are you talking about that Zhongwu Ideal?"

Dong Shuangqiang was stunned: "That's right. You know it?"

Boss Lu stared at the map with a smile, his thoughts drifting to his past life.

He didn't know who owned the Ideal Building, nor was he interested.

But when he first started in the public relations industry, he had to run to the Ideal Building almost once a week.

Because Sina Entertainment was right there!

Buying press releases, buying retractions, sending lawyer letters—what hadn't he done?

Smoking and climbing into the good graces of the security guards near the employee passage at the back door was a common occurrence.

The Ideal Building, just completed in 2004, had almost witnessed the entire process of the internet giant torrent sweeping through Zhongguancun.

At this time, big tech companies weren't called big tech companies yet, and no single internet company's employees could fill an entire building.

Internet companies like Sina and Baidu, as well as IT hardware manufacturers like Aigo, were entrenched in the Ideal Building, sharing the escalators and the atrium.

Boss Lu remembered very clearly that the Ideal International Building had a rule at the time:

The two largest tenants could hang their logos on the top of the building. At the beginning, the most awesome ones in the building were Sina and Aigo.

It wasn't until Baidu went public in 2005 that it created 8 billionaires, 50 multi-millionaires, and over 200 millionaires overnight.

Li Yanhong sent someone to find the Ideal Building's property management, saying, "We're so awesome now, shouldn't this logo go on the wall?"

After communication failed, Baidu decisively bought property in Xierqi outside the Fifth Ring Road. The building was built by themselves, so if I want to hang the logo horizontally, I hang it horizontally; if I want to hang it vertically, I hang it vertically.

"Old Dong, what's the price for office buildings around here now?"

"About 5 yuan."

This referred to the daily rent per square meter.

Boss Lu nodded. It was about what he expected. At this time, the most luxurious office building in all of Beiping was the China World Trade Center.

The rent at the World Trade Center at this time was 48 USD/month/square meter, which worked out to about 12 yuan in daily rent per square meter.

"Do you know roughly what the construction cost is?"

Dong Shuangqiang looked at the audacious Boss Lu with his jaw dropped.

Not a brother, are you playing for real?

"No, regardless of what their cost is, if you want to force a purchase of this kind of 'rent-only' property, you'd have to shell out at least over a billion. Where are you getting the money?"

Seeing Lu Kuan laughed: "Look, the current housing price there is only 6,000 or so. Based on their monthly rent of 150, this rent-to-sale ratio is too damn excellent. Close your eyes and buy!"

"I feel that as long as this company isn't particularly stubborn and insists on holding onto this building, they might sell if you offer a bit more money."

Dong Shuangqiang saw that he didn't look like he was joking, and smiled bitterly as he took out his phone: "I'm truly convinced by you. I'll go ask for you."

The capital tycoon who once boasted of his big moves returned without a word.

"About 800 million."

Seeing Lu Kuan slapped the table excitedly: "That's about right!"

"Even if they could rent it all out as soon as it's completed, that's 10 million in rent a month."

"Subtract the developer's bank loan capital costs, public facility maintenance fees, property management, energy consumption, and monthly taxes!"

"I reckon even the most awesome management team would only be left with 5-6 million."

"Not to mention, this is the income from being fully rented out. Can such an expensive place be rented out so quickly?"

Dong Shuangqiang nodded silently and said: "Under normal circumstances, it's impossible to be fully rented out. It's a resource building of the same grade; the Peking University Resource Hotel is about the same price, and more than half of it is empty."

Boss Lu nodded: "Let's just calculate it based on a 30% vacancy rate. That's reasonable, right? It would still take nearly 30 years to recoup the cost!"

Of course, this didn't dynamically calculate the growth of rent, and no one at this time could have predicted that it would rise so crazily later.

5 yuan is already considered a high price in the current Beiping office building market.

Dong Shuangqiang pondered: "How much money can you shell out?"

"If I really want to buy, I can... ask."

Boss Lu knew clearly: you call that asking? Just pulling out a few character cards would scare the other side into wetting themselves!

However, if Old Dong really helped him lower the price, this favor would be heavy.

He would have to repay it.

"1 billion, let's say. Without considering financing costs, leave them at least 25% profit. Your negotiation difficulty will also be lower, brother."

Dong Shuangqiang exhaled a puff of smoke, still incredibly puzzled: "Brother, do you have that much money?"

"Don't worry about that. I can borrow it no matter what."

Old Dong laughed dumbly, thinking to himself that you are truly awesome.

Filming movies worth a few million, and now you're going to buy a building worth over a billion.

"Alright! Brother will put in some effort for you, but I can't guarantee anything!"

Boss Lu affectionately grabbed Dong Shuangqiang's hand, his eyes brimming with hot tears: "Brother Dong, as long as this matter succeeds, you'll be my own brother!"

"Get lost, your own brother would be plotted to death by you!"

"Hahahaha!"

Dong Shuangqiang left with a daunting task. Boss Lu took out paper and pen to write and draw, calculating how to come up with this 1 billion.

Raise funds himself plus borrow a portion, and use other people's money for the rest.

Seeing Lu Kuan really didn't have a lot of cash on hand, but he didn't have any debt either!

The Inquiry Realm's Hong Kong branch was just an empty shell right now; that was for acquiring Wenjie Jiahe next year;

The Inquiry Realm in the US was also operating with light assets, and the proceeds from "Paranormal Activity" had been sitting in the account; that was the reserve fund for "The Foreign Land" and the capital pool for filming by Lin Yibin and others later;

Butian Pictures was on the right track, having successively taken on part of the special effects work for "House of Flying Daggers," "The Promise," and "A World Without Thieves," as well as their own "Zhu Xian" and "The Foreign Land."

Not to mention the long term, self-sufficiency this year was no problem;

Blog Network, like internet companies such as Penguin and NetEase in the same timeline, relied on the ringtone business to go from loss-making operations to slight profitability. Once the voting channels brought by the phenomenal popularity of "Super Girl" opened, it would be another windfall;

The 70 million from Focus Media hadn't been fully burned yet, and in the past few months, relying on the Inquiry Realm's few films, it could be considered to be operating healthily.

Focus Media in the future went public in 2005, and its value soared to 680 million USD. In this life, it would only be higher!

The rest was the Inquiry Realm's own film and television production business expenses, which were also maintained within a reasonable range.

Except for "The Foreign Land," that blockbuster that used 10 million USD to leverage 75 million USD, the rest hadn't exceeded 15 million RMB in production costs.

The risk was completely controllable.

Therefore, it wasn't that Seeing Lu Kuan was looking at the pot while eating from the bowl.

It was that these core departments were all indispensable links in the film industry chain he was building.

Missing any one of them could cause the healthy operation of a certain department to be broken, including the e-commerce platform derivative business he had just negotiated to hand over to Dongzi.

Imagine how the Inquiry Realm after the "small complete body" would go about making a film.

The Inquiry Realm copyright management department provides script material, and the screenwriting team provides the script;

Signed directors and hired directors take charge of filming;

During the filming process, 【Butian Pictures】 provides special effects services;

After filming is completed, distribution is handed over to 【Inquiry Realm Western Film】, a joint venture with the Western Film Studio, or joint distribution;

Before distribution, the Inquiry Realm's 【Focus Media】 is responsible for offline advertising and marketing;

At the same time, the Inquiry Realm's variety show department will join forces with 【Travel Satellite TV】 to conduct advertising and marketing on satellite channels;

And public opinion hubs like Blog Network and Douban will coordinate to conduct internet advertising and marketing;

When scheduling the film, 【Wenjie Jiahe Inquiry Realm】, which will move north from Hong Kong in the future, will provide over 80% of the screenings, and we'll see how to negotiate with other theater chains;

Immediately following, various derivatives of the film will be sold in the 【Inquiry Realm Online Mall】 and 【Wenjie Jiahe Inquiry Realm】 cinemas, making another huge profit.

Beautiful, too beautiful, highlighting one thing: not needing to ask for help!

Whoever wants to target the Inquiry Realm again, either they come for the person, or they use under-the-table means, then we'll meet the moves as they come.

Back to this 1 billion for buying the building.

The most direct way is to mortgage Blog Network's shares to venture capital. The most recent inquiry from IDG was an offer of 70 million USD for 30% equity.

Others, whether it's mortgaging Inquiry Realm's shares or borrowing from Dong Shuangqiang, Emperor Motion Pictures, or China Star, raising 1 billion isn't a big problem.

In fact, the key to whether it's worth it lies in the rate of land price appreciation, and whether it can keep up with the interest rates of bank and venture capital loans.

It's just a pity that such pros and cons are a known hand for a reborn person:

From 2004 to 2014, housing prices increased tenfold in ten years, so no matter what, it would significantly outperform interest rates.

Using the bank's money to increase one's own value—truly worth it!

2004 is the last year before the centenary of Chinese cinema.

And because of the cultural industry concept proposed by Shiliu Dazhong, since the beginning of this year, many policy changes have occurred in the domestic film industry.

For example, after the symposium where "Seeing Lu Kuan tongue-battled the seven gentlemen" at the end of last year, Wang Xiaoshuai's "Beijing Bicycle" was announced to have passed censorship after 4 years, and would be renamed "Bicycle" and begin public screening.

For example, Jia Kezhang also received official notification from the film festival, ending his underground fate since "Xiao Wu."

At the same time, his new film "The World," in cooperation with the Shanghai Film Studio, also passed censorship and was officially approved for production.

The bumpy fate of these few from the Sixth Generation had nothing to do with Boss Lu. What attracted his attention more were two news flashes from Hong Kong and overseas.

First, Wenjie Jiahe moved north, announcing that it would enter Pengcheng and build a cinema with 12 screening halls on Bao'an South Road in Pengcheng. It is expected that after it is built, it will be the largest and best cinema in the mainland.

Secondly, Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner, one of the nine major film companies in the US, accelerated its entry into the mainland market. Following its joining of the Shanghai Yongle Butian Yinghua last year, its cinemas in Jin Ling and Tianjin are about to be completed.

The background of Warner Bros.' aggressive arrival is that starting from New Year's Day 2004, the state stipulated that in 7 cities including Beiping, Shanghai, and Yangcheng, foreign capital could break through the 49% holding ratio, up to 75%.

And the approval power for foreign investment in cinemas was also delegated from the central government to provincial commercial administrative departments.

The duck knows the warmth of the spring river first.

All of this indicates that the domestic film industry after Shiliu Da is about to surge forward.

From the official to the industry, everyone is gearing up, preparing to present a gift for the centenary of domestic cinema next year.

Among them, of course, includes Emperor Motion Pictures, which had already moved north earlier.

At the end of February, Boss Lu went to a small alley near Houhai for a banquet, invited by Huo Wenxi of Emperor Motion Pictures.

Although the place was in a small alley, the luxury of the dining location had not diminished in the slightest.

The place where Huo Wenxi set the banquet was the Mei Family Banquet. The place was not big, and several courtyards named after plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum were elegant and quiet, with unique charm.

Boss Lu looked with great interest at the Mei Family Banquet, the former private residence of a Qing Dynasty prince, to see the difference from his own house.

Huo Wenxi was already waiting for him at the entrance with a girl wearing sunglasses.

"Boss Lu, welcome."

"Wow, two beauties from Hong Kong are welcoming me? I'm flattered."

The other one wearing black shades to hide her true face was none other than Zhang Baizhi, the heroine designated by Boss Lu in "Love."

The staff of the Mei Family Banquet were also very disciplined, bowing slightly to him with a professional smile.

"Please, honored guest, enter."

The words were scholarly; it wasn't that they were being mysterious, these were the rules of the small restaurant.

At the Mei Family Banquet, the boss is called the Proprietor, and the manager is called the Steward.

The menu here is handwritten by the Steward himself, and the dishes come from the hundreds of dishes passed down by Mei Lanfang's family.

Guests cannot order dishes; they only need to inform the budget, and the Steward will arrange the dishes according to the season and timing. Satisfaction is guaranteed.

The few sat down in the antique private room, and a faint scent of incense lingered at the tip of their noses.

"Boss Lu, knowing you are from Su Province, today we arranged for them to serve some Huaiyang dishes. It should be quite to your taste."

Boss Lu laughed: "Mr. Mei Lanfang was from Taizhou, Su Province. His family banquet dishes, I must be used to eating them."

"It's just that I've wronged the two of you?"

Zhang Baizhi's Mandarin could be considered standard now; after all, she had already been changed into Boss Lu's shape.

"Huaiyang dishes are delicious. We also look for authentic restaurants in Hong Kong, but they are definitely not as authentic as here."

Huo Wenxi also laughed: "It seems today we have arrived at Boss Lu's home court. Later, I'll have to trouble you to introduce them to us."

Two Hong Kong beauties, one big and one small, flattered him for a long time like fragrant jade. Boss Lu thought to himself that there must be a reason for their visit.

"Sister Mani, thank you for Boss Li's New Year gift. The painting I sent him, did he receive it?"

"Of course, of course. Chairman Li keeps the painting in the most important position in his study, which is filled with calligraphy and paintings by celebrities from various dynasties."

Boss Lu laughed loudly: "That's really wronging those scholars. That was just a storyboard sketch I drew on a whim when filming 'Drummer.' I felt it was not bad, so I just expressed my feelings."

Huo Wenxi smiled gently; she actually knew the inside story.

This was because Li Shoucheng, due to Uncle Chen's previous last words, asked him to find Seeing Lu Kuan and ask for an object to protect his fortune.

Thinking about it, only the items related to "Drummer," where he made his fortune, counted.

So he let Huo Wenxi ask for it under the pretext of observation.

Generally speaking, as long as they aren't non-professional directors who switched halfway, their art foundation is very deep.

Because they draw storyboards and storyboards all year round, they are very accomplished in the line shaping of light, lenses, and character images.

Impressionism is just playing with light and shadow, isn't it?

Boss Lu glanced at Baizhi, who was slightly reserved. Since the last phone call, he really hadn't had any chance to contact her.

"Baizhi's performance in 'Love' is very good. There will be opportunities to continue cooperating in the future."

"Thank you, Director, thank you for the cultivation."

The box office of "Love Is Not Blind" soared all the way. Because of the fermentation of word-of-mouth, even after the week following Valentine's Day, there was no stagnation at all.

In this day and age, this type of chick flick is truly a novelty. It has been screened for half a month, and the box office has just broken 50 million!

In the future, in 2011, the box office of "Love" broke 100 million in three days, and the total box office after the screening was 350 million.

An unknown female teacher from Beidian filmed a seemingly plain romance movie that could actually get a box office figure almost exceeding "Cell Phone" in half a month.

Where the hell can you reason with this?

The Inquiry Realm and Boss Lu's distribution strategy, release scheduling strategy, and Focus Media's advertising effect are all soaring in gold content.

Actually, it's also that they are making a fuss over nothing. Whether this 50 million is a lot or a little, it has to be put into the big plate to see.

In 2011, the national total box office was 13.1 billion, and "Love"'s 350 million accounted for 2.7%.

Without considering Boss Lu's butterfly wings, the national total box office in 2004 was 1.57 billion. Even if "Love" could reach 80 million in the end, it would only account for 5%.

It's not very exaggerated.

It's just that now, whether it's mainland or Hong Kong and Taiwan filmmakers, they lack expectations for the rapid expansion of the mainland film market.

Even if they are already very optimistic, they still underestimated it.

The waiter started serving dishes, and the three chatted while eating.

Huo Wenxi inquired: "Director Lu, what plans do you have for works this year?"

"Oh, I have a script that is still being polished. I expect to start filming after returning from Cannes."

"Is that so? I don't know if there is any demand for funds. Emperor Motion Pictures has always wanted to cooperate with Director Lu, in any aspect."

Boss Lu laughed: "This time I decided to be willful and film a movie I like, and try some film techniques."

"Compared to the market and audience acceptance, it might not be too high. Let's wait for a more suitable opportunity!"

Huo Wenxi naturally had no objection; this was just her throwing a brick to attract jade. She didn't drink a few glasses of wine before stating her true purpose.

"Boss Lu, this year the company and Big Brother Jackie Chan have a cooperative film, which is also keeping pace with your 'The Foreign Land.' There is no budget set for special effects."

"The total investment currently approved is about 120 million RMB. I don't know if Boss Lu is interested in directing?"

Boss Lu held his wine glass and laughed dumbly.

He was quite happy after hearing the first half; the salesperson of Butian Pictures, Comrade Li Xiaolu, had pulled another business for the company.

Why did the second half want to hook him?

This is not a good movie!

"The Myth" has a total investment of 15 million USD, about 120 million at the current exchange rate. However, the domestic box office in the future is only 97 million, and overseas is 174 million RMB.

The numbers look like it made a profit, but the film is a co-production between Hong Kong and Korea, and the mainland share ratio is 22%. In the end, it's still a flop.

At this time, Old Dragon is box office poison, because the projects he participates in are all according to Hollywood standards, and his own salary alone accounts for half the budget.

Such a production scale in the mainland film market, even if it tries its best, can't make many waves; after all, the capacity is only that big.

In the past few years, the only thing that can be done in the mainland is the Inquiry Realm's model: low cost, winning awards, high marketing expenses.

Packaging low-cost movies in various ways, "tricking" the audience into the cinema, and then maintaining the minimum rate of box office decay with good word-of-mouth and film quality.

Boss Lu pretended to think for a few seconds and started looking for excuses.

"I just finished the first few episodes of 'Zhu Xian.' On the one hand, there is a new film project, and from May, I have to go to Cannes and the global distribution of 'The Foreign Land' back-to-back."

"Time is indeed tight."

He smiled and raised his glass: "Thank you for Chairman Li's love on my behalf. There will definitely be another opportunity for cooperation."

Huo Wenxi sighed, thinking that she still hadn't completed the task assigned by the leader.

Then she could only build another good relationship.

"Director Lu, please consider it again. I will report to Chairman Li. We can wait until the end of the year, okay?"

Before Seeing Lu Kuan could refuse, she snatched the words: "But whether it succeeds or not, according to the boss's meaning, he wants to hand over the special effects work to Butian Pictures."

"Oh! Chairman Li is still open-minded. Come, come, come, Sister Mani, you represent Boss Li, I toast you!"

Huo Wenxi and Zhang Baizhi were both dumbfounded, watching an artist turn into a salesperson.

Before the last dish was served, Huo Wenxi suddenly received a call and left the banquet early.

She also settled the bill by the way.

Boss Lu clicked his tongue in wonder; she is worthy of being a female general who can stand alone for Emperor Motion Pictures.

This EQ, this worldly wisdom, is in place!

"Let's go, Baizhi, I'll send you back, okay?"

Zhang Baizhi naturally saw Huo Wenxi's intention, but this time she didn't repeat the torment of the last time.

"Boss Lu, I heard you have a very beautiful courtyard, even more luxurious than here."

Boss Lu understood: "The courtyard is being renovated. Shall I take you to another place to see?"

Baizhi tucked the broken hair behind her ear: "Will it be disturbing?"

"No, just in time to see if your acting has improved recently."

The former Hong Kong jade girl patted him lightly with a look of shyness, and the two took a car back.

But it wasn't Huabin Golf, let alone the courtyard. He wouldn't bring any woman back to this place to mess around.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows. Boss Lu bought another house in the Rose Garden, where he had rented before, which is known as the number one villa in North Beiping.

Zhang Baizhi and Seeing Lu Kuan sat on the second-floor terrace smoking.

This might be the only one among Boss Lu's fuck buddies who can accompany him for a cigarette.

"Director Lu, I... I broke up with Tingfeng."

Seeing Lu Kuan glanced at her suspiciously.

What does it have to do with me?

Oh, it really does.

Why the hell are you breaking up? Don't you know that Tingfeng's girlfriend is an acceleration and critical hit buff!

Boring, really boring.

"Breaking up is fine, focus on your career."

"I heard Director Chen Kaige is preparing to find you as the heroine?"

Zhang Baizhi said pleasantly surprised: "Ah? Director Lu is also paying attention to me?"

There is no announcement for the casting news yet. Chen Kaige is still in the final preparation stage and will start filming soon.

"He asked me to do special effects, I heard."

Chen Kaige also asked about Liu Yifei's schedule, but Yang Siwei rejected it directly after consulting with Boss Lu.

【Whoever wants to see what I'm wearing under my cloak, then put down the weapons in your hands.】

Who can stand this.

It took more than two years to raise her, although she is a bit rebellious now, and there is a meaning of clicking the wrong technology tree...

Boss Lu pressed out the cigarette butt: "Then you are in the same crew as Xie Tingfeng, isn't it awkward?"

"Breaking up while dating is very normal, I don't think there is anything."

Boss Lu smiled noncommittally: "It's cold, go inside?"

Zhang Baizhi looked at the phone he put on the table, feeling as if she had been cursed.

A trace of itchiness emerged from between her legs and her heart, like a flood that had broken its banks, hard to suppress again.

"Lu... Director Lu, don't humiliate me this time, okay..."

Baizhi lowered her head, like a star-love robot being CPU'd.

Boss Lu smiled and supported her shoulders: "No."

"I'll teach you a line, read it to me later."

The lights on the second floor of the villa dimmed, and the spring rain, precious as oil, drifted quietly outside the window.

Accompanied by the faint sound of decadent music, it added a bit of charm to the moonlight.

The next day, Inquiry Realm office.

"Really or fake?"

Dong Shuangqiang looked at Seeing Lu Kuan, who was rarely a bit out of character, and took a sip of hot tea pretentiously.

"Hey, I, Old Dong, have been running around for more than half a month, how can Boss Lu still ask this question?"

Boss Lu handed him a cigarette convincingly: "Brother Dong, nothing to say, awesome!"

"950 million, I couldn't even dream of cutting to this price!"

Dong Shuangqiang lit his cigarette on his own: "Li Xiaolu, there is one thing I must make clear to you."

"Hmm?"

"This time it wasn't my face, there was a young master behind who helped speak, I have to help him ask for this favor from you."

"But he didn't say anything, don't misunderstand anything."

"It's just that he admires your talent very much, maybe there will be opportunities for cooperation in movies in the future."

Boss Lu's excitement like picking up money suddenly turned cold, and his heart sank.

Young master, listen to this title.

Don't be another upgraded version of Liu Zeyu.

The key is the relationship behind Old Dong, which is deep.

"Brother Dong, you stop first."

"You know me, one is one, two is two, you must tell me, what does this person want?"

"Helping to get paid, everyone is doing business, you are good and I am good."

"If he doesn't want anything, doesn't want anything, saving this hundred million, I really don't dare to take the move."

Dong Shuangqiang was stunned for a few seconds and laughed: "You say why are you so cautious with everyone, can I still harm you?"

"He is a high-achieving student from Stanford, studying finance abroad, and is preparing to return to China to go to Morgan Stanley this year."

"It's just that I can always hear your great name in the US and China, knowing that I know you, so, take the initiative to help."

"What can he want from you, you are not a beautiful beauty, haha."

Damn it, Old Dong is fine if he doesn't say this, but Boss Lu is even more careful when he says it.

It is not a secret that top investment banks like Morgan Stanley and Morgan recruit children of big shots in the future. The special status of these employees is very convenient for the development of investment bank business in China.

The specifics will not be detailed, everyone can think of what way.

This is the same principle as the executives of Swiss banks pulling the children and family members of listed company executives.

Boss Lu decisively refused: "Boss Dong, one yard is one yard, words can be said like this, but things cannot be done like this!"

"How about this, Inquiry Realm gives up 30% of the shares of 'Super Girl,' you see how to handle it, count me as repaying this favor, how about it?"

Dong Shuangqiang's face looked a little ugly.

With your Seeing Lu Kuan's EQ, shouldn't this matter be to take advantage of the situation to invite this young master to dinner, make a good relationship, and everything will be easy to discuss in the future?

Why did you put on an attitude of rejecting people thousands of miles away?

Not to mention that this "Super Girl" is popular, but how much can 30% of the shares be worth?

Old Dong is also a person with face in the industry, and immediately said sternly: "Boss Lu, I think your doing this is open to question."

Boss Lu waved his hand at him and handed him a research report on the table.

"Old Dong, don't be unhappy, look at this first."

"Super Girl Advertising Plan and SMS, Blog Voting Plan Design Third Draft."

Dong Shuangqiang knew that Seeing Lu Kuan was not a person without a sense of proportion. Letting himself look at this marketing plan must have deep meaning, and immediately began to turn the pages patiently.

But just turned to the second page and lost his mind: "Mengniu? 25 million naming rights?"

"This is just the base price, you turn back."

The naming plan formulated sponsorship details:

Inquiry Realm music department, specially created the song "Sour and Sweet Is You" for Mengniu Sour Yogurt sponsorship products.

It will be promoted by Inquiry Realm and holding company Focus Media, and Blog Network and Douban will cooperate online.

At the final scene, the popular little flower Liu Yifei will lead the shortlisted contestants to sing the opening, helping the naming sponsor promote products, greatly increasing exposure.

Sponsorship naming fee is based on 25 million, floating according to the final average ratings of the program and the weighted ratings of the final, no cap.

"Mengniu has such a big hand?"

Boss Lu laughed: "Yesterday, Sun Jun and Zhong Lifang of Mengniu marketing department just finished talking, they are very satisfied with such conditions."

The sponsorship fee for Super Girl of Mengniu in the future is said to be about 20-24 million, and the holding of "Super Girl" also brought them returns that exceeded their value.

According to the report of the investigation agency AC Nielsen, the sales volume of Mengniu Sour Yogurt in the sub-competition cities is 5 times that of the same period.

In the financial report disclosed by Mengniu Dairy on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange later, the company's turnover in the first half of the year also rose from 34.73 to 47.59.

This is a win-win cooperation.

Seeing Lu Kuan added: "The main sponsor Mengniu currently negotiated is 25 million, we are preparing to conduct advertising bidding in stages."

"Mainly the opening and closing of the final, and the host's oral broadcast."

Dong Shuangqiang was surprised: "This has only been held for a month, how can it be..."

He turned to the second page suspiciously: "10%?!"

Boss Lu laughed: "That's right, the data just sent back by CSM this morning, I guess it hasn't been reported to you yet."

"No wonder, a civilian talent show in Beiping division can actually have 10% ratings, it's too amazing."

Comparing this year's CCTV economic channel variety show "Dream China," the program broadcast from Monday to Saturday, the peak ratings did not exceed 3%...

The ratings of the sub-competition area of "Super Girl" in the future are about 8%, which is also extremely amazing.

It's just that this life has superimposed various internet propaganda tools, star support such as Liu Yifei, and offline Focus Media's buff, which has risen to a higher level.

Dong Shuangqiang stuttered and couldn't speak.

He thought that the advertising of Travel Satellite TV would be very popular this year, but the advertising of the prime time "Lurk" that he had negotiated was only about 18 million.

How can this "Super Girl" have such high value?

It's really turning stones into gold!

Seeing Lu Kuan took the plan from his hand and turned to the last page.

"According to the current estimated ratings, including Mengniu and the total advertising price of advertising bidding in stages, it is about 70 million."

"This doesn't count the share of SMS and Blog Network voting."

Boss Lu looked at Dong Shuangqiang, who was dumbfounded, in a leisurely manner: "Old Dong, 30% of the share of this project, I let you take it to repay the favor, it shouldn't be considered shabby, right?"

Dong Shuangqiang smiled bitterly: "Brother, I really didn't mean that."

"That person just wants to make a friend with you, definitely not wanting to figure this out..."

He was not good at saying this was three melons and two dates.

Although it is not as good as the discount that the young master came forward to find a relationship to buy the building, this is a legal and compliant business!

It's different from sending money directly.

A business that is clearly making money opens a gap for you, all are legitimate operations, no one can say anything.

Seeing Lu Kuan laughed: "Brother Dong, don't blame me for not talking about feelings."

"Close to the government, away from politics, this is the code of conduct I set for myself."

"You know better than anyone, such a level of character, there has never been a reason for no reason."

Boss Lu pushed the advertising plan in front of him.

"This matter, I wait for your news, if it works, we will be considered to have done this business, two clear."

"If it doesn't work, I will go to find a piece of land myself, and build one myself."

Dong Shuangqiang pointed at him helplessly, and then left in a dispirited manner.

It's not that he hasn't been called to drink tea because of these broken things in his later life, and Old Zhao, whom Boss Lu just met, are all close to key figures.

Don't forget the past, the teacher of the future.

Seeing Lu Kuan picked up the seat phone and called Long Danni in again.

"Boss Lu, your instructions."

"Director Long is full of spring, is the work going well?"

Long Danni laughed: "Very smooth, our Inquiry Realm variety show team is young and full of vitality, it's called like an arm."

Boss Lu nodded, private enterprise, after all, it is more vibrant than the old fritters in Xiangtai.

"It's like this, the Beiping division is about to end, I have an idea."

"You say."

"Now our popularity is very high, I want to fully play the subjective initiative, take the initiative to dig and invite some civilians from other divisions to participate."

Long Danni was stunned: "These people are going to...?"

"No, not giving them a script, let them survive, before the final, without special circumstances, we don't do that set."

Seeing Lu Kuan's idea is also very simple.

The first Super Girl in 2004 in Xiangtai in the future was not warm or hot, and the final top three An Youqi and others did not make any movement in the domestic entertainment.

What he wants is commercial value, not really coming to play any civilian talent show carnival for you.

Boss Lu decided to dig out Li Yuchun, Zhou Bichang, Zhang Jingying and others in the most classic session of Super Girl history in advance.

This is for two purposes.

First, the brand "Super Girl" is a fast-moving consumer good and a cash-out tool for Seeing Lu Kuan and Travel Satellite TV. He does not seek long-term flow.

Instead, it is to squeeze the value in one or two seasons, cash out quickly, and then sell it.

Digging these contestants to participate in advance now is to overdraw the vitality of this brand in advance.

Second, the sensational effect and revenue of "Super Girl" come from SMS and Blog Network voting, from fan ranking, without unique topics and recognizable contestants, how to attract fans?

Neutral style Chun Ge, black-framed glasses Zhou Bichang, dolphin sound Zhang Jingying, etc., not all.

Chun Ge is a sophomore at Chuan Yin, Zhou Bichang is studying at the famous Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangdong Province.

Zhang Jingying participated in another music singing program in 2004 in the future, just changing the door.

What's more, the momentum of the first "Super Girl" in this life is far better than the previous life, and the attraction is also a king-bomb level in the domestic entertainment.

Long Danni took the order and left, and Boss Lu went to the screening room to review the film.

It was "Lurk 1" sent by Lin Yibin of Inquiry Realm (US).

In the future, "Lurk" is another small-cost blockbuster horror film series of Wan Ziren and Lionsgate.

The first "Lurk" cost 1.5 million USD, with a global box office of 190 million USD.

The "Paranormal Activity" universe and the "Lurk" series will become the foundation and main source of cash flow for Inquiry Realm in the North American film market in the early stage.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 226 =====