Chapter 417: Shooting Time
As if things weren't bad enough, Zhang Weiping was completely screwed this time.

However, within two days, another bad news came from Hollywood: "The Flowers of War" was directly eliminated from the competition for the Oscar for Foreign Language Film.

The popular film "The Farewell", which won the best foreign language film at the just-concluded Golden Globe Awards, was successfully nominated.

"Seediq Bale", selected by Taiwan, also appeared in the top nine list, competing for the five Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film this year.

Everyone in the circle is laughing at Zhang Weiping. After all, Zhang Yimou's affair is no longer a secret in the circle. Now the last hope of "The Flowers of War" is gone.

At the same time, in the New Picture office.

When Zhang Yimou said the word "leave", even though Zhang Weiping had been prepared, his heart still twitched suddenly.

He looked at the man in front of him in disbelief, "Yimou, are you really going to leave?"

When Zhang Yimou heard this, he still closed his eyes silently. The relationship between the two was now like that of a couple whose relationship had broken down, and no amount of words could save the relationship.

"Well, let's part ways in peace. I hope you can let go of Ni Ni and their agency contracts. Of course, the penalty for breach of contract will be paid as usual." Zhang Yimou nodded and spoke slowly.

"Haha, let's part ways in peace. You are on the list of other capitals in the industry, and I have nothing now. You still want to part ways in peace? No way." Seeing that the situation was irreversible, Zhang Weiping said fiercely.

"They're still paying the penalty for breach of contract, but how much money can they get to make up for the box office losses of The Flowers of War?

Let me tell you, I will not release the contract, they are destined to be artists under New Picture.

The so-called "Mou Girl" is nothing after being hidden for a few years. "

"Having said that, if you choose not to let go, then go ahead and sue me." After saying that, Zhang Yimou left the office without looking back.

Zhang Weiping was left alone, with nowhere to vent his anger. At this moment, his face was full of distortion.

On the other side, after Gu Wei learned of Zhang Weiping's reaction, he chuckled, "If I had known this would be the result, I would have arranged for someone to go and talk to him after the New Year. It's not just about the artist management contract, but also about the film remuneration he owes you over the years. He should also pay you back with interest."

"I will communicate with him regarding the pay. As for the other matters, I'll trouble you, junior brother." Zhang Yimou didn't want to go to court. As for the director's pay, he would find a way to solve it himself.

"Okay, let's put it this way first!"

Hearing this, Gu Wei did not force it.

The matter with Zhang Weiping is a small matter. In the beginning, due to Zhang Yimou's face, everyone chose to tolerate many things. But in the current situation, Gu Wei doesn't need to take action. Those who have had grudges against him in the past will not let him go.

……

With only a few days left until New Year's Eve, Xu Zheng suddenly came to find Gu Wei. No doubt it was about the movie.

It is approaching the Spring Festival. Since Xu Zheng got the script, several months have passed, including the National Day, New Year's Day and Spring Festival periods.

However, the investment for "Lost in Thailand" has not been finalized yet, which makes Xu Zheng worried.

Walking into Gu Wei's office, he said anxiously, "Oh, Director Gu, I finally see you. I was so anxious!"

Gu Wei laughed, stood up and shook hands, saying: "Sorry, I almost forgot about this. There are indeed a lot of things going on during this period!"

Xu Zheng sat down on the sofa and said, "I talked to Mr. Song before, and he said that you attach great importance to this film, so I came here as soon as you finished your work."

When saying this, Xu Zheng felt a little guilty. He had discussed this with Song Ge, but Song Ge did not attach much importance to this low-budget comedy movie compared to the original time and space at this stage. After all, most of Song Ge's thoughts were on "The Wandering Earth" at the moment.

Hearing this, Gu Wei's expression remained unchanged. He smiled and said, "Well, Huang Bo asked me some time ago about the specific time of the project launch of this movie. Let me give you a hint. For Lost in Thailand, the company expects to invest 60 to 80 million yuan."

Xu Zheng was really shocked at this moment, "What? Such a huge investment."

In the past few months, he has studied the script repeatedly and made a detailed shooting plan. According to his guess, about 30 million is more than enough. After all, the starring roles are him, Wang Baoqiang, and Huang Bo. Wang Baoqiang was fooled by him and his salary was cut in half. Even though Huang Bo's salary was not that exaggerated, it was reduced a lot.

In addition, this movie does not require any special effects technology or post-production, so the cost is not much. The biggest expense may be the round-trip expenses of the crew going to Thailand and other places.

Now when I suddenly heard the amount of Gu Wei’s investment, it was really hard to believe.

"Don't be impatient, just listen to me." Gu Wei waved his hand.

Seeing this, Xu Zheng also looked embarrassed, thinking to himself: "I just started working as a director not long ago, so I am indeed a little impatient."

"Director Gu, please continue listening." Xu Zheng put on a listening attitude.

"The 60 to 80 million is divided into two parts. The 30 million is used for filming in the early stage, and most of the funds will be used for publicity and promotion before the release in the later stage." Gu Wei explained it slowly.

"That's enough. 30 million is more than enough for the filming, Director Gu." Hearing this, Xu Zheng was a little disappointed, but then he thought that it was reasonable to spend more money on publicity and promotion, after all, it would be of great help to the box office.

This time, he was surprised to get so much investment. He was really afraid that Gu Wei would change his mind at the last minute, and then his dream of becoming a director would be ruined. Seeing Xu Zheng's respectful look, Gu Wei was a little emotional. Sure enough, no matter what industry, in the early stages of starting a business or soliciting investment, people would meet people and do it themselves. However, many people would quickly lose themselves once they succeeded.

"But I have a condition. I will only give you ten months from project establishment, preparation to editing. In other words, the film must meet all the conditions for release by the end of November this year at the latest."

Gu Wei was convinced by Lu Yang's nagging. He was afraid that other directors in the company would follow his example and spend one or two years to make a movie. Moreover, for a low-budget movie like this (with an investment of only 30 million, it is indeed considered low-budget at this stage) that does not require much special professional technology, he felt that this time was more than enough.

The reason why the time was set in advance was, firstly, to give Xu Zheng a shot of prevention, and secondly, the positioning of "Lost in Thailand" was obviously suitable for the Lunar New Year period, and if it was released any later, it might not achieve the same box office results as the original time and space.

Hearing this, Xu Zheng did not respond immediately, but thought silently. After less than five minutes, he said, "No problem, Director Gu. The preparatory work will take no more than two months, and the main filming is expected to take about three months. The remaining time will be used for editing and post-production. I am confident."

As the two were chatting, Song Ge also came to the office. Xu Zheng stood up and greeted him. Song Ge waved his hand, motioning for them to continue.

“Actually, the reason I asked you to hurry up and shoot is because I plan to release Lost in Thailand during the Lunar New Year holiday this year.” Gu Wei laughed.

Although Xu Zheng had directed Lost on Journey, he was a new director after all and still lacked some experience. He asked in confusion: "During the Lunar New Year period, relying on Lost in Thailand?"

Not only Xu Zheng, Song Ge also looked at Gu Wei in surprise. There were many blockbusters in the Lunar New Year period this year, so it was not an exaggeration to say that it was a fight between dragons and tigers.

Gu Wei laughed, "Didn't you notice? Most of the films that are scheduled to be released during the National Day and Lunar New Year holidays this year are drama, action, and tragic. There are very few films that include comedy elements."

Xu Zheng was not stupid. Hearing this, he was surprised and said, "You mean, we should choose these tragic films and show them for a while so that the audience will have the potential to watch comedies?"

Gu Wei smiled and said, "That's right! I think that in this year's Lunar New Year period, there are only a few films that have some attention and box office potential, including Life of Pi, The Banquet, 1942, the recently announced Flying Guillotine, and Shanghai Great, which will be completed in the second half of the year."

Xu Zheng was surprised and said, "I heard that Director Li An is filming Life of Pi, and it will also be released during the Chinese New Year?"

Speaking of this, we can't blame Xu Zheng for being kept out of the loop, because many imported blockbuster films are usually promoted on a large scale in China just before they are released, or one or two months in advance, but quite a few are scheduled for release in advance. For example, "The Avengers," which is about to be released in China this year, has not started promotion yet, but China Film has already arranged a release date for May 5th.

The purpose of scheduling the release date in advance is, of course, to avoid schedule clashes. In the original time and space, "Over the Hood", which was released this year, was scheduled for May 5, but it clashed head-on with "The Avengers" on May 8. Needless to say, the box office was a mess.

But Chinese-language films are different. Usually, the release date is announced several months in advance. Some films even set the release date before filming starts for the sake of hype and popularity.

"Director Gu, I have a question." Song Ge interrupted at the right time, and when he saw Gu Wei nod, he continued, "It seems that Cheng Long and Yi Fei's "The Chinese Zodiac" is also aiming for this year's Lunar New Year holiday."

“Well, it’s possible at the moment, but there’s no need to worry too much. The number of imported films will definitely increase a lot this year. The Chinese Zodiac will most likely consider changing its release date, and the authorities will not watch domestic films fight each other. They need to save their energy to deal with imported films.

What we need to consider is how to grab a share of the box office revenue between "1942" and other domestic blockbusters." Gu Wei explained.

Xu Zheng smiled awkwardly, "Director Feng's 1942 is one of the most anticipated blockbusters this year. How dare Lost in Thailand compete with it for box office? And Director Li An's Life of Pi is definitely out of the question.

I originally thought that the competition during the Lunar New Year period was too fierce, so it would be good to get some box office during the National Day period.”

As a new director, it is not wrong for Lao Xu to think so. Unfortunately, even he himself does not know how much box office potential his film "Lost in Thailand" has.

In order to give him confidence, Gu Wei said directly: "Don't worry, I will be the producer and you will be the director. Our film will not be left out during the Lunar New Year period. I will take care of everything."

"Producer!" Xu Zheng was overjoyed when he heard Gu Wei say this. With Director Gu as the producer, he was not afraid of anything anymore.

Being the producer of Lost in Thailand was an idea that Gu Wei came up with on the spur of the moment. Originally, Xingchen Films was in charge of everything from investment to promotion, so Xu Zheng really had no say.

But in order to relieve the other party of worries, Gu Wei threw out a big move.

……

After Xu Zheng left, Gu Wei continued to consider the company's development strategy this year.

The Chinese-language film market in 12 was quite an extraordinary year.

The box office of "The Flowers of War" in the spring season was dismal, and the box office of other domestic films that have been released have also hit new lows.

The summer season has been a staggering success for domestic films, with four blockbuster films released in nine days by the end of August.

As the "National Day" period approaches, some films were withdrawn, some were postponed, and the schedule was completely messed up.

It was not until the Lunar New Year holiday that the country was able to maintain its final respectability thanks to several domestic films.

It can be said that the poor box office performance of the Chinese-language film market in the first ten months of this year caused an uproar in the industry and even made many filmmakers lose confidence.

Gu Wei is planning to formally establish Xingchen Films' position as the domestic dominant player this year, and then go all out to lead domestic films into the European and American markets.

.........

(End of this chapter)