Chapter 892 The Project Was Intercepted? Only 600 Million?

It was past eight o'clock, and when all the guests were seated, the "Mermaid" celebration party officially kicked off.

As the wine and delicacies were presented one by one by the waiters, Zhou Xingchi led the main creators of "Mermaid" to the stage and broke the ice block with the number 3.412 billion sealed in front of everyone's attention.

The next second, amid the applause of the crowd, he stepped on the ladder and stood at the top of the champagne tower, pouring a large bottle of red wine down.

Under the flowing flow of fragrant wine, the celebration dinner officially kicked off.

After Zhao Liying came down from the stage, she went straight to Chen Fei's table. Holding the wine glass, she looked at Chen Fei excitedly: "Director Chen, let me toast you first. Thank you for your support and help..."

If it weren't for Chen Fei, she wouldn't have been selected to star in "Mermaid", let alone become the current heroine with a box office of over 3 billion.

Therefore, she must toast this glass of wine, and she should do so.

Everyone here knew the inside story, so they were not too surprised when they saw this situation.

Wang Changtian even joked: "If there is a chance in the future, Guangguang hopes to work with this new 3 billion+ box office heroine. I wonder if Director Chen can bear the pain and give up?"

After drinking a glass of red wine, Chen Fei didn't feel anything strange at all, he just looked at Zhao Liying with a smile.

Seeing this, Zhao Liying quickly responded: "Dr. Wang, you are joking. It is my honor to cooperate with Guangguang!"

"Hahaha, okay, come on, let's have a drink too."

"Hey! Don't pull me down!" Ren Zhonglun raised his glass and said, "Shanghai Film Academy is also in need of good actors, especially actors with such superb acting skills. They are so scarce."

"Come on, let's raise a glass together." Chen Fei stopped speaking, picked up the wine glass, and clinked it with the two of them.

However, just as they were chatting at the table, Zhou Xingchi, who had walked off the stage, returned to the top of the stage.

This time, the people accompanying him were not the main creators of the "Mermaid" crew, but Xu Ke, Yao Chen, Wang Likun and others. Also accompanying him were Wang Zhonglei of Huayi and La Pikang, the current chairman of China Film. .

Facing the attention of many people in the audience, La Sheikang came to the microphone and said: "We have notified the public before that during this "Mermaid" celebration banquet, there will be good news announced. Now it is up to me. Let’s reveal the answer to you!

Following "The Mermaid", the large-scale magical action comedy film "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", written by Zhou Xingchi and directed by Xu Ke, will be officially scheduled for the 2017 Spring Festival, continuing to write the legend of "Journey to the West"! "

Immediately afterwards, before everyone at the scene could digest the news, Wang Zhonglei took over from La Sheikang and stood in front of the microphone and announced another news:

"In view of the success of "Mermaid", Huayi will team up with director Zhou Xingchi to continue to develop the sequel "Mermaid 2", so stay tuned..."

As soon as these two pieces of news were announced, there was an uproar on the scene!

"The Mermaid" has just been withdrawn from the Spring Festival release, and "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" has been eagerly booked for next year's Spring Festival release. This calculation is really brilliant!

Everyone can clearly see that China Film is preparing to push "Journey to the West: Conquering the Monsters" to the point where it is equivalent to "The Mermaid".

And if "Journey to the West: Conquering the Monsters" gave everyone a big shock, then the plan for "Mermaid 2" is a bit "shocking".

You know, there is no Huayi among the investors of "Mermaid".

But now Huayi suddenly appears in the plan of "Mermaid 2", and has become the main controller... What this means is simply clear!

Chen Fei suddenly withdrew his gaze, turned to Wang Changtian, and asked curiously: "Director Wang, have you received news that "Mermaid" will be a sequel?"

"No!" Wang Changtian looked confused: "No one told me that there will be a sequel to "Mermaid"!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly thought of something, and his face instantly darkened.

Obviously, this is a censored rhythm!

He subconsciously asked Chen Fei: "Feiyue Film and Television has not received a notice to develop a sequel?"

Chen Fei shrugged, saying nothing.

Ren Zhonglun, who was on the side, finally understood, and said jokingly: "Hey? I asked you two not to pay attention to it, but now it's a good thing, the opportunity has been taken away by Hua Yi, right?"

On the other hand, Han Sanping was staring at Zhou Xingchi who was standing with Wang Zhonglei, and said helplessly: "Oh, this Zhou Xingchi is really a tough guy but he doesn't gain any wisdom!"

He had known about Zhou Xingchi's character who loved money as much as life, but he never expected that Zhou Xingchi would get involved with Hua Yi again after being teased by Hua Yi in "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".

If this was done accidentally, I might have been tricked again!

"Come on, come on, eat the food, eat the food. The food will be cold later, so don't waste it." Chen Fei shouted and attracted everyone's attention.

Seeing that he was eating the food calmly, Han Jianu, who was sitting aside, couldn't help but curiously asked: "All the projects have been taken away? Aren't you angry?"

Chen Fei picked up a peanut and said casually: "What's there to be angry about? It's my luck to get it, but it's my life to lose it.

What's more, whether their sequel will be successful or not is another matter. Haha, do you really think the sequel is that easy to make? "

Han Jianu blinked, as if thinking of something: "So... you don't think highly of their sequel?"

"Don't talk nonsense, I didn't say that!"

"Okay." Han Jianu's eyes rolled around, and she suddenly changed the subject: "By the way, after La La Land, do you have other movies to shoot?"

Chen Fei shook his head: "There are no new movie plans for the time being. After this movie is finished, I should follow up with Operation Red Sea and Ready Player One and the post-production of this movie at hand."

"Oh, okay, I see." Han Jianu's face flashed with joy, and she immediately felt more confident.

Chen Fei looked at her curiously: "Do you have anything to do?"

"No, no, just asking casually, you eat, you eat, hehe..."

As she spoke, she lowered her head with a guilty conscience and began to "attack" the food in front of her.

Chen Fei didn't think much about it, retracted his gaze, and picked up another chopstick of food for Liu Yifei next to him.

…

After one night, there was only one day left in early April.

When Chen Fei woke up in the morning, he saw that the entire film and television industry was once again in a state of excitement, and a large number of the latest hot search articles appeared on the Internet.

"At 8pm yesterday, The Mermaid held a celebration dinner at the State Guesthouse. The scene was full of celebrities and stars, and countless filmmakers attended."

"Last night, China Film Chairman La Peikang officially announced that the comedy action film Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons 2, written by Zhou Xingchi, directed by Xu Ke, and starring Lin Gengxing, Yao Chen, Bao Beier, Wang Likun and others, will be officially scheduled for next year's Spring Festival."

"At the celebration dinner for The Mermaid, Wang Zhonglei and Zhou Xingchi jointly announced that Huayi will jointly develop a sequel with Star Shine and strive to launch The Mermaid 2 within 5 years..."

While drinking porridge, Chen Fei watched the news on the Internet and secretly teased in his heart:

"It's really lively! I just don't know if the final results can make up for the huge investment in the early stage. Don't let it all go down the drain, that would be embarrassing!"

The flight to Hengdian was at 6pm, and it was too early now. Chen Fei simply drove to the company after breakfast to deal with the piled up documents.

At the same time, Jiang Zhiqiang, who had suffered a loss last night, appeared in the China Film Group Building again.

However, unlike the last time, La Peikang didn't give him a good face this time.

"I know what you want to say, and I know your demands, but I can't control the scheduling of films, and I can't control it, because it is not within my scope of responsibility."

Jiang Zhiqiang felt sad when he heard this, and almost pleaded: "Mr. La, can you help me make an appointment with Mr. Chen? I think I need to explain to him, we..."

"Okay, you don't have to say it." La Peikang interrupted directly: "You have to know that it's not that I don't help you, but mainly that I can't help you with this matter. He won't give me this face."

For a while, Jiang Zhiqiang was speechless.

After standing there for a while, he sighed helplessly, turned around and left China Film, and rushed to the Film Bureau.

After seeing Tong Gang again, he still accused Pan Asia Cinema Line of being unfair to Enlightenment in scheduling films like last time!

However, this time, Tong Gang ignored him and said coldly: "How to schedule the film is the freedom of the theater chain, and it is also the result of market regulation. The bureau has no authority to manage such things."

As soon as these words came out, Jiang Zhiqiang knew that he was finished.

And this time he was completely finished, and there was no way to "redeem" at all!

If he had known that this would eventually lead to such a result, he would never have done anything to steal the box office.     But unfortunately, the incident had already happened, and he led Enlight Pictures step by step into the abyss, until there was no possibility of recovery...

It was useless to say regret at this time, and he could only swallow his anger.

...

For a whole morning, Chen Fei read no less than 30 plans and signed more than a hundred plan confirmations!

The moment he put down the pen, even though he was in good physical condition, he still felt a soreness in his eyes, and numbness in his wrists and waist and back.

Standing up and stretching his body, after a while, Chen Fei picked up the car keys and walked out.

The documents on the table would naturally be tidied up by the secretary, and he was about to leave work.

However, at this moment, the phone suddenly rang.

After taking a look at the caller ID, Chen Fei pressed the answer button and stopped: "Director Jia? What's the matter?"

Jia Zhangke's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Chen Fei, I'm at the Xinghuatang private restaurant near your company. Do you want to come over for a meal? I'll introduce you to a few friends."

"Okay, I'm just going to find a place to eat, so I'll stop by for a meal."

The two of them were already very familiar with each other, so there was no need to be too polite.

And since he was Jia Zhangke's friend, he should be in the same industry, and Chen Fei might know him.

More than ten minutes later, Chen Fei entered Xinghuatang and came to the private room where Jia Zhangke was under the guidance of the waiter.

As soon as he pushed the door and walked in, he saw seven or eight people inside jumping up as if there were springs under their buttocks.

"Huh? You're here so soon?"

Jia Zhangke came over quickly, led him to the main seat, and then introduced the identities of the other people in the box to him.

"This is the director of the production department of Xiying, this is the director of the distribution department of Xiying, and this is the director of the publicity department..."

After a round of introductions, Chen Fei was surprised to find that this large group of people actually came from Xiying.

The director of the distribution department should be the leader of the team. He said with a smile: "We came here this time mainly for the movie "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix". We hope to join the "New Art Film Revival" plan co-founded by Director Chen and Director Jia, and get more screenings during the release period."

"Oh! So that's the case!" Chen Fei suddenly realized: "This is no problem. We will definitely fully support Mr. Wu's posthumous work."

"Haha, thank you Director Chen, thank you Director Jia, thank you from Xiying..."

The director of the distribution department hurriedly thanked him, and by the way, he signaled to the assistant next to him with his eyes.

Seeing this, the latter immediately trotted out to urge the dishes.

After a while, dozens of dishes came in one after another, accompanied by several bottles of unopened Maotai liquor.

Chen Fei immediately said that he had to take a flight in the evening and might not be able to drink.

Seeing this, a pot of good tea was quickly served.

After three rounds of drinking, the group of rough men from Xiying inevitably became more talkative.

The director of the production department sighed and said, "Xiying is difficult! In recent years, it can only make small-budget art films. It dares not even touch big-budget movies, for fear of losing everything like "The Legend of Jianghu"..."

Chen Fei added, "I have seen this movie. It can be said that it was born at the wrong time. If the investment could be larger and the production could be more refined, it would definitely not end like this."

"Oh, don't mention it. I'll raise a glass and drink it. Director Chen, please do as you please..."

After drinking a glass of wine, this person talked more.

"Compared to China Film, we are no longer qualified. They are exposed to good resources and good projects. It can be said that the one who is close to the water gets the moon first... Compared to Shanghai Film, we are not as rich as them;

Even Ning Film can make a desperate effort to shoot "Asura", but we can only watch it, just because we have no money and no resources!

Alas, now Xiying has no advantages except that there are still several old men alive above, who can blow their beards, stare and slam the table in front of the General Administration. It is estimated that it will collapse in a few years..."

The director of the distribution department next to him had black lines on his forehead and cursed in a low voice: "Lao Li, can you drink less horse urine? Once you drink too much, you talk nonsense here, and you are not afraid of being laughed at by Director Chen..."

"No, how can I laugh? I understand, I understand everything." Chen Fei laughed, and his eyes suddenly began to shine after drinking a cup of tea.

He didn't drink too much, so he heard it clearly just now.

According to what the production director said, besides being short of money and resources, Xiying has not yet severed its connections with the General Administration.

Don't underestimate those old men, they are "nuclear weapons" at the critical moment!

To put it bluntly, if there are any audits, scapegoats, or slamming the table in front of the leaders, Xiying will definitely be effective, even better than China Film!

The old saying is very good, how can the barefoot be afraid of those wearing shoes?

Thinking of this, Chen Fei immediately had an idea in his mind.

After another cup of tea, he asked tentatively: "I just suddenly remembered that our company has a science fiction film project now, and we may have to go to Xi'an to shoot it..."

"Okay! No problem, we will definitely welcome you. If you need any cooperation, Director Chen, just tell us, Xiying will definitely handle it for you. In our own little piece of land, our words are still very effective."

Hearing this, Chen Fei smiled immediately: "That's good... Of course, don't worry, I won't let you help in vain. It just so happens that this project is looking for investors recently. If Xiying is interested, why don't you come and participate?"

As soon as these words came out, the originally lively box suddenly fell into silence!

The group of people from Xiying suddenly raised their heads, staring at Chen Fei with their eyes fixed, their faces full of disbelief!

Finally, it was the director of the distribution department who broke the silence first, and asked in a trembling voice: "Director Chen... Director Chen, what you meant just now is that Xiying can participate in this science fiction film project?"

"Of course." Chen Fei smiled and nodded, and added: "But the rule here is that as long as you become an investor, in addition to paying money, you also need to work together..."

"That's no problem!" Chen Fei's words were interrupted again: "Let alone working together, even if we are on stage together as extras, carrying cameras and props, it's not a problem!"

"Yes, yes, yes, the last thing we lack is strength."

"Are you going to the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum to shoot? We can ask the cultural tourism department to cooperate and suspend the reception of foreign tourists."

A group of people talked at once, fearing that Chen Fei would suddenly regret it.

Finally, the director of the distribution department asked awkwardly: "I just don't know how much the total investment for this project is? We at Xiying may be a little tight on money."

Chen Fei thought about the content of the plan made by Guo Fan and quickly uttered a number: "Not much, the production cost is only 600 million."

Only?

600 million?

That's all?

The group of people at Xiying looked at each other and fell silent.

The number of 600 million is indeed within the controllable range for both China Film and Shanghai Film.

But for Xiying, that is simply an astronomical figure!

And let alone 600 million, they don't even have 60 million!

Chen Fei naturally saw their embarrassment and said immediately: "You can discuss it slowly after you go back. Anyway, this project has just started preparations and there is no rush to establish the project."

"Well, okay, we will definitely hold a meeting to discuss it as soon as we go back. Thank you very much Director Chen for giving us this opportunity. Xiying will not forget you. Come, I'll raise another glass..."

"Let's toast Director Chen and Director Jia together. We'll drink it. You two are free to do whatever you want!"

"No more words, it's all in the wine."

For a while, the atmosphere in the box became lively again.

Chen Fei accompanied them to finish a whole pot of tea, and then refilled the second pot. While drinking, he asked about Xiying's current status in a roundabout way.

However, the more he asked, the more sad he felt for Xiying.

The former No. 1 state-owned film and television company, the leader among the eight major film companies in the mainland, has now reached the end of its rope, which is really a pity.

…

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