Chapter 138 Different opinions
The news that Gu Wei appeared at China Film Group spread quickly in the circle. Some said he went to visit Han Sanping, while others said he was collaborating on a new movie.

Combined with the media reports in Hong Kong, everyone thought that the latter was very likely, and for a time many people in the circle were paying attention to the next film plan of Star Films.

At this time, after leaving China Film, Gu Wei went directly back to the company and held a simple meeting with the heads of various departments of the company.

After the company started recruiting in February, subsequent recruitment has been ongoing. New employees have joined the company one after another, and the various departments in the company have also been divided up in detail.

Economic Department: Responsible for the company's financial management, such as the payment of employee wages and tax management.

Management Department: Responsible for the overall management and operation of the company, and formulates the company's strategic planning and management decisions.

Production Department: Responsible for the development, production and management of film and television projects, including finding suitable film and television projects, conducting feasibility assessments, communicating with directors, contacting actors, etc.

Technical Department: Responsible for various technical support for film and television production, such as photography, lighting, recording, editing, etc.

External Relations Department: Responsible for the company's liaison with external organizations or individuals, including communication and cooperation with other film and television companies, sponsors, and government agencies.

Publicity Department: Responsible for the promotion and publicity of film and television works, including planning the selling points of the works, contacting public relations, arranging media interviews, etc.

Finance Department: Responsible for the company's financial management and supervision, ensuring the rational use of the company's funds and compliance operations.

Human Resources/Personnel Administration Department: Responsible for employee recruitment, training, welfare management and handling of daily administrative affairs.

Legal Department: Responsible for the management of the company's legal affairs, protecting the company's legitimate rights and interests, and assisting various departments in handling related legal matters.

Script Department: It includes two main links: script creation and script revision. It is responsible for the script creation and revision of film and television works to ensure the innovation and watchability of the story.

Filming Department: Involves multiple positions such as director, photographer, lighting, set design and makeup, and is responsible for the filming and visual effects of film and television works.

Post-production department (some staff studied abroad): including editing, sound design and post-production special effects, responsible for the editing, soundtrack, visual effects, etc. of film and television works.

Marketing Design Department: Mainly responsible for the design of promotional materials for film and television projects, such as trailers and posters for film promotions.

Entertainment Marketing Department: Focuses on attracting investment and brand placement for film and television works, and is responsible for publicity matters with other brands and film and television companies.

Most of the people in the script department are practitioners from the circle or invited by other companies. There are relatively many elderly people, and most of them have experience in this area.

The number of people in each department varies. The post-production special effects department has the largest number of people, followed by the script department. In addition to being responsible for domestic affairs, it is also responsible for the screening of novels and scripts from neighboring countries (Japan, South Korea, Thailand, India, etc.), copyright acquisition, etc.

...

The South Korean movie "The Thieves", which topped the charts last year, has begun to be released in mainland China. At the same time, films such as "The Host" and "Ocean's 8" have also entered the mainland. Unfortunately, they entered the mainland too late, and the news of domestic piracy had already spread, so the box office was once sluggish.

They have not shown an attitude of running rampant in South Korea.

"Boss, according to statistics from China Film, the box office revenue of The Thieves was 2100 million after it was released, and Ocean's Eight was 1400 million."

In the office, the heads of relevant departments were holding documents and making reports.

"Oh, I see."

Gu Wei nodded, indicating that he understood. South Korean films are different from Hollywood blockbusters, and it is common for them to not adapt well to the local environment after being released in China.

But the box office is indeed a bit low.

During this period, Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung, who is making a comeback, rejected many invitations from directors, including Lu Chuan's "Nanjing! Nanjing!" and Tang Jili's latest film "Diary".

However, as a famous actress in Hong Kong, she must have signed many film contracts.

After rejecting other directors, she accepted Jia Zhangke's invitation to play the leading female role in the movie "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

Not only that, when facing media interviews, he also took the opportunity to criticize Zhang Ziyi.

"I am not like some people who sell out our national culture just to make money and become famous," he said, referring to the film Memoirs of a Geisha shot by Zhang Ziyi.

The conflict between the two has been going on for a long time. In a previous interview with the media, he said: "I remind myself every day not to be too arrogant. You are popular only because someone is willing to support you. Fortunately, I am a down-to-earth person."

Earlier, it was rumored that Zhang Ziyi replaced Maggie Cheung's role in "Memoirs of a Geisha".

Although the truth is unknown, when asked about the acting skills of Zhang Ziyi, who co-starred with her in "2046", Maggie Cheung suddenly became excited and asked in all seriousness: "Why do you have to give Zhang Ziyi some advice?"

Although her assistant wanted to end the interview, Maggie Cheung ignored it and continued, "I can't give her any advice because there is a big age gap between her and me. She is much smarter than me. I think my way of thinking is outdated. We are not from the same generation at all!"

After the report was released by the reporter, it aroused discussion among netizens. Many actors in the circle also watched the show. Fan Binbin, who has already left Huayi Company and opened a studio, also made some overt and covert sarcastic remarks about Zhang Ziyi.

Afterwards, Zhang Ziyi read the comments online and didn't care at all. She didn't have the time to deal with these things.

At this time, she had already been selected by Chen Kaige to play the leading female role in "Mei Lanfang".

The male lead has also been decided, and he is Li Ming who was rumored some time ago.

In recent years, Chinese actors have been very popular in Hollywood, but most of those who can participate are actors of the older generation. Apart from Liu Yifei, only Jing Tian, ​​one of the new big stars in China, participated in a co-production.

In Hollywood, Spielberg's latest film "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is currently selecting the female lead. The film is produced by George Lucas and Harrison Ford will play the male lead.

The film production cost is close to 200 million, making it a big production.

Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li were both competing for the role of the female lead, and for this reason the latter gave up the opportunity to serve as the chairman of the Golden Horse Awards jury without hesitation.

For this reason, some media reported that Gong Li was seeking help from director Zhang Yimou, who has a good relationship with Spielberg.

As for the final outcome, there are different opinions.

In addition to movie roles, Taiwan's richest man Terry Gou and Lin Chi-ling have been in a hot relationship recently, with the latter being invited to host a charity gala.

For a time, the four-way relationship between Guo, Liu, Liang and Lin was on the front page of gossip news in the circle.

The "Super Girl contract termination" incident has caused a lot of controversy in the circle.

"Some people have since quit the industry, and some have lost tens of millions."

The media reports plunged Tianyu Company into a whirlpool, and netizens began to discuss the incident after it came out.

"Fuck, you really don't treat me as a human being."

"It seems that the entertainment industry is not easy to get into. It is very exploitative."

...However, Tianyu Company seems to be unaffected. Its large-scale talent show "Happy Boys" will start in May. The show will be broadcast on Nanhu Satellite TV and will be live broadcast every day.

In the office, Gu Wei was looking at the recent news in the entertainment industry and felt a little emotional.

Last year’s movie data has been released, and domestic box office continues to rise, with development getting better year by year.

Gu Wei is quite concerned about these data.

In 06, the total national film revenue reached 57 billion, with box office revenue of 26 billion.

The total box office of domestic films was 14 billion, and imported films were around 12 billion, accounting for 45% of the total box office.

Even so, domestic theater chains have been trying to get the authorities to increase the number of imported films. The same is true for Hollywood, which has been constantly reporting to the relevant departments, hoping to increase the number of imported films each year.

As for Hong Kong Island, the data in 06 fell directly to the bottom, which was the most depressed year since the s.

Hong Kong films, once known as the "Hollywood of the East", have fallen into a downward spiral that cannot be reversed.

Hong Kong's film companies and celebrity artists can only co-produce with mainland China for now.

.........

There are rumors flying around outside.

At this time in Xingchen Film and Television Company, Gu Wei was chatting with Ning Hao and Xing Aina.

"Director Gu, your new company is really big. It's much bigger than mine."

Ning Hao was eating the fruit on the table and talking non-stop. He had just followed Gu Wei around the company and visited it from top to bottom.

"You can talk, right? We are a studio. How can we compare with Director Gu's big company?"

Xing Aina never spoiled him and always scolded him.

"I've had enough rest. Have you thought about the next movie?"

In Gu's eyes, the bickering between the two seemed a bit like showing off their love.

"Well, the script is ready. Other big directors in the industry are busy making movies. I can't just sit there doing nothing."

When it came to business, Ning Hao put away his nonchalant look and sat on the sofa with his back straight.

"I came here today just to talk to Director Gu about investment."

Xing Aina next to him added at the right moment and then handed over the script.

"Okay, let me take a look at the script."

Gu Wei didn't hesitate. He took the script handed to him by Xing Ai and started reading.

"Crazy Racing..."

Seeing the name on the document, Gu Wei raised his eyebrows.

This script is similar to "Stone", both are humorous comedies. Gu Wei read half of it and stopped turning the page, closing the file directly.

"How about it?"

Seeing this, Ning Hao thought that his own script was not good and asked impatiently.

"Not bad, it's similar to your last script. I thought you were going to make an art film!"

Gu Wei made a joke and said jokingly.

"Director Gu, you're joking. Now other directors are making commercial films, so I must also cater to the audience's tastes."

"You are right. The domestic film and television industry has developed rapidly in the past two years, especially after Chairman Han took office this year, various policies have been introduced.

It's right to make commercial films first. Once the movie does well at the box office and becomes famous, there will be people to invest in you no matter what type of film you want to make.

It is certainly right to cater to the audience's ideas, but when shooting a movie, it is most basic to pay attention to the integrity and logic of the story. "

Ning Hao was deeply touched by these words. After the box office of "Stone" exceeded 100 million yuan, many people wanted to invest in his movies, and he received calls from people in the circle almost every day.

But the first person he thought of was Gu Wei.

On the one hand, Gu Wei had the affection to support him, and he was also discovered by Gu Wei.

On the other hand, they also want to use the name of Star Films to increase the box office after the movie is released.

"What's the budget?"

Gu Wei asked directly.

"We have calculated that the cost is about 1200 million, and we plan to start filming in the second half of the year."

When Gu Wei heard Ning Hao quote the price, he frowned slightly.

"Add a little more, after all, you are a billionaire director, increase it to 1500 million and make the production better.

Compared with other directors, this investment is relatively small, as others often spend hundreds of millions.”

"Okay, then I'll listen to Director Gu."

After hearing what Gu Wei said, Ning Hao agreed immediately.

By the way, Ning Hao only shot low-cost films. When he heard that "Red Cliff" had an investment of more than 600 million yuan, he was jealous for a while. This was enough for him to shoot dozens of films.

On the same day, the two parties signed a contract at Xingchen Film and Television. Ning Hao and his wife had a lot of funds in their hands thanks to the profits from the last film "Stone".

Gu Wei didn't ask for too much of a share, just half.

.........

(End of this chapter)