Who are you calling powerful?.

Chapter 226 Investing in "Lost in Thailand" and being "forced" to eat alone
Hengdian, hotel box

Wei Yang saw a bald man with a simple and honest face but shrewd eyes. It was his brother Xu Zheng from Shanghai Opera, accompanied by Liu Yiwei.

This comedian who once hosted "Everyday Diet" on CCTV is also a familiar comedian, but his identity is more behind-the-scenes work such as director, planner, screenwriter, and producer.

Xu Zheng once starred in "Love Call Transfer", he is the screenwriter and planner, and the two have a good friendship.

He didn't take much part in the project "Lost in Thailand", but he did help Xu Zheng to make connections.

Wei Yang and Xu Zheng have never met each other, but they filmed "The Founding of the Party" with Liu Yiwei, so they are nodding acquaintances.

Don't look like they are nodding acquaintances, but they can be regarded as acquaintances, at least they can talk to each other, and Wei and Xu are brothers from the same school, they are both good people, and they can be "familiar" with a few words.

"Brother, I won't talk nonsense, I'm still busy over there, can I read the book."

"Okay, Mr. Wei."

Wei Yang shouted that his elder brother was giving Xu Zheng face and that he was approachable, but it didn't mean that Xu Zheng could really treat him as his younger brother.

Xu Zheng took out the script and handed it to Wei Yang with both hands. After seeing it, Wei Yang knew it was a complete script.

It seems that this person has hit a lot of walls and seized every opportunity to seek investment.

"Eat, I'll take a look."

Wei Yang greeted the two of them for dinner, and flipped through the book himself. The finished movie in his impression was slightly different, but the overall plot structure was the same.

He looked at it seriously, Xu Zheng didn't even bother to move his chopsticks, and just watched eagerly, with anticipation in his eyes.

The script of "Tai囧" was born out of last year's "People on the Road" starring Xu Zheng and Wang Baoqiang.

The cost of that movie was only 700 million, and the final box office was 3730 million. The box office share alone nearly doubled, plus miscellaneous other benefits, regardless of the cost, it is estimated that it can earn a small eight-figure profit.

This is very good. Movie projects are more risky than TV drama projects. There are many people who lose money, and those that can make money are good projects.

And besides making money, this movie has a good reputation, which has attracted a lot of attention from Xu Zheng and Wang Baoqiang.

So Xu Zheng wanted to make a sequel. No one would refuse this kind of money-making deal, but the problem was that Xu Zheng wanted to be the director himself.

Xu Zheng is not Zhao and talented Xu. He has a financial backer, and he is famous here. Being a director is a gimmick, which can increase exposure.

Although he has some works in recent years, and his achievements are also good, but his own image is limited, he walks in the powerful school, and his position can only be said to be oscillating between the first and second tier, and his popularity and popularity are even far inferior to those of the popular second tier Xiaohua. .

Under such circumstances, Xu Zheng wrote and directed by himself, there is almost no publicity stunt to speak of, and he is a newcomer, so the director is naturally not favored.

Prior to this, the original production company of "On the Journey", Huayi, Galloping Pony and many other companies rejected him.

Xu Zheng struggled for a long time, and finally won the copyright of the sequel, and then found Guangguang. Boss Wang was not too optimistic, so he recommended him to Wei Yang.

If Wei Yang rejects him again, Xu Zheng will not say that he is in a desperate situation, but this project can basically be shelved.

Wei Yang knew the plot a long time ago, and he was a screenwriter. He read the script very quickly and put down the book in a few minutes. Xu Zheng, who didn't know the inside story, felt cold.

So fast, isn't it optimistic?

Wei Yang saw the faces of Xu Zheng and Liu Yiwei, but he didn't explain it. It's better to scare them, and it's easier to negotiate terms.

He greeted Xu Zheng and Liu Yiwei to eat with a smile, and even brought food for them himself, but how could they have that appetite, especially Xu Zheng, it was almost the same taste.

I couldn't hold it in less than 5 minutes, and couldn't help but ask Wei Yang what he thought of the script.

Wei Yang pondered for a moment: "The content of the script is not bad, but..."

Xu Zheng smiled wryly: "It's also the director's problem."

"Yes."

Wei Yang also pointed out the reason why other bosses were unwilling to invest money. The scale of "Lost in Thailand" is much stronger than the first one, and it has to be filmed abroad, and the cost will be at least 3000 million or more.

What kind of concept is this? "Lost in Thailand" needs at least 1 million at the box office to pay back.

The box office of the first part of "People on Journey" is less than 4000 million. Who can guarantee that the second part will exceed [-] million, let alone a new director.

The bosses of these film and television companies are all masters who don’t see rabbits and don’t spread eagles. Maybe they can consider changing to a beautiful female star. Xu Zheng is a bald guy who spends tens of millions of money to practice his skills...

"I understand."

Xu Zheng's expression was gloomy, he was used to being hit before, so he was not too disappointed, he was about to say a few words before leaving, but Wei Yang couldn't help asking.

"May I ask, have you ever thought about letting other directors come?"

"Mr. Li from Pony and Mr. Wang from Guangguang have both suggested this, but it may be because of my personality, or it may be because I have been rejected all the time, so I held my breath and just wanted to prove myself. I can't make "Tai Ji" for the time being, so I will keep it. But I won't let anyone else do it."

Xu Zheng probably gave up on Wei Yang and said something from his heart.

Wei Yang nodded, but he understood roughly.

Regardless of Xu Zheng's future, he was born as a drama actor in the early days, and now he has been pursuing to be a director, so he still has a little bit of nobility in his heart.

His current status is not bad, he is neither short of drama nor money, just such a dream of being a director has been denied for so long, "Lost in Thailand" has become a knot in his heart, and he will not give in easily.

"...Thank you, Mr. Wei, for your hospitality. You are busy, so we won't delay..."

Xu Zheng put down the truth, and he and Liu Yiwei were about to withdraw, but Wei Yang raised his hand to stop him, who smiled.

"What's the hurry? I didn't say no to vote."

"?"

Xu Zheng stared in astonishment at this junior who had been the most prominent in recent years, his eyes were full of surprise and disbelief: "You mean..."

"Yes, your project is risky, but I think it is within the controllable range and you can take risks."

Wei Yang asked Xu Zheng to sit down, and then put forward his request concisely: "The production team and crew should have people from our Blue Whale, and besides you and Wang Baoqiang as the leading actors, I hope you can invite Huang Bo to join. "

The original planned villain in the script of "囧囧 in Thailand" planned to invite the squirrel Wang Xun, and Wei Yang was straightforward.

"His reputation is too small. You and Wang Baoqiang have the bottom line. If you want to achieve variable results, you have to invite comedy stars. You and Huang Bo have a tacit understanding and are recognized by the audience. He is the best candidate."

"But this is a villain, he may not be willing."

Xu Zheng was a little embarrassed. Huang Bo has developed rapidly in recent years and is one of the most powerful movie cafes in the mainland. He didn't just invite him.

"That's your problem, Senior Brother. I only care about the cast that satisfies me. At most, I will give you some support in terms of salary."

Wei Yang is an investor, he only makes demands, he doesn't care how you can handle actors, if you can't handle it, I won't invest money.

I have to worry about everything, what kind of party should I be?
Wei Yang knew what kind of person Xu Zheng was, and he didn't intend to win him over. He just had to do business and make money through cooperation, and he wasn't in the mood to coax him as a warm-hearted boss.

Even so, in Xu Zheng's opinion, Wei Yang's conditions are already very loose, at least no one else even gave Xu Zheng this opportunity.

So, Xu Zheng gritted his teeth and issued a military order: "No problem, I will definitely bring Huang Bo to you."

Liu Yiwei raised another problem next to him: "You have also read the script, and at the end you want to have a surprise egg, Bingbing, let's see if you can come forward and coordinate."

Wei Yang frowned: "Haven't you guys filmed with her before?"

Liu Yiwei and Xu Zheng collaborated with many actresses in "Love Call Transfer", one of them is Fan Xiaopang, who still has friendship, otherwise the original version would not be able to invite others.

"It's been several years, and we don't know if we can succeed. Your face is bigger."

Fan Xiaopang's coffee status is not as good as it was a few years ago. Although he is good at being a man, Xu Zheng and the two are not sure whether he will sell face or not.

But it would be easy for Wei Yang to come out, not to mention the scandal and personal relationship between the two, just the coffee position and status in the circle are much better than the two of them going out.

"let me try."

Boss Wei didn't guarantee it, but both Xu Zheng and Xu Zheng knew it was safe, and they didn't believe that Wei Yang couldn't handle the guest appearance in the sky.

At this point, the cooperation has basically been initially drawn up. Xu Zheng has arranged for Huang Bo to participate in the performance, and then it is to discuss the budget and divide the shares.

Wei Yang took the initiative to pick up the cup and changed the address: "Director Xu, I wish us a happy cooperation."

Xu Zheng's heart was fluttered by this director Xu's call. He was both excited and grateful. He held the cup with both hands and lowered the cup: "Thank you, President Wei, for your support."

After eating, Xu Zheng left Hengdian first, preparing to take down Huang Bo, and then discuss the details with Wei Yang's team.

Wei Yang took out his phone and contacted Guangguang's Pharaoh, who was a little surprised to hear that Wei Yang had voted for this project.

"Didn't I tell you? It's risky, just meet and pass it off."

Boss Wang was not optimistic about this project at first, but because Liu Yiwei had worked with him before, he said he was recommending it to Wei Yang, but in fact he declined.

He had discussed it with Wei Yang before, and he just refused if he didn't like it. Wei Yang didn't have any friendship with Liu and Xu, so it was easier to refuse.

This kind of routine is often used in circles. It doesn't hurt face, and it may lead to a cooperation. Some bosses who are good friends often communicate with each other.

If a close friend comes to seek investment from Boss Wei in the future, Wei Yang is not optimistic about the project, does not want to throw money in vain, and directly rejects it because he can't save face, so he can help "connect" Boss Guangwang Yunyun.

"I know, but I think there is still someone who is involved, Wang Dong, do you want to add a share?"

Wei Yang took the initiative to invite him, and he didn't mind having a solo meal, but after all, this project was led by Lao Wang, and if "Lost in Thailand" exploded later, he would inevitably have no idea.

Boss Wang was dubious: "Do you really think there is something wrong?"

"I don't dare to say too much. I don't think it's a big problem to get back the money. There is a chance to make a small profit."

Wei Yang didn't say that "Tai囧" might break 10 billion+, but Boss Wang probably thought he was hysterical.

According to normal market estimates, even if everything goes well for this movie, the box office will be about 1-3 million.

After all, it has the same theme as a comedy. Earlier this year, the movie version of "Wulin Biography" received 1.8 million from the original crew. Last year's "Laughing Jianghu", Zhao Benshan's mentor and many Hong Kong and Taiwan comedians made 1.5 million at the box office.

Even if Huang Bo is added to "Tai囧", the lineup does not have much advantage over the previous films. 1-3 million is already an optimistic estimate.

Not to mention Boss Wang, any veteran filmmaker would make this judgment.

But the point is, some movies cannot be calculated with common sense...

Wei Yang took this truth very seriously, but Boss Wang didn't tie it to "Lost in Thailand".

It is said that he is not interested in the hope that he will get his money back, and Guangguang has made a lot of progress in the past two years, so this movie is not bad.

Moreover, Boss Wang is obsessed with Blue Whale/Wei Yang's first movie, and wants to see if he can participate in it. If he invests in "Lost in Thailand" now, he is afraid that Wei Yang will use this to prevaricate him later.

"Wang Dong, it's done. I've invited you. Don't make money from this movie later. You can blame me again."

"Haha, the more you earn, the happier I am for you, but I also told you that this drama will lose money, so don't blame me for helping you."

Boss Wang didn't take this to heart, and even threw the pot out ahead of time, and Wei Yang didn't say anything more.

Anyway, he has already finished ordering, and if people don't answer, then he can't be blamed for eating alone...

(End of this chapter)