China Entertainment's whatever you want

Chapter 821: It’s all about money
"Just reject [Dungeons & Dragons: Rogue Glory], and let Ms. Yang contact Lionsgate for [John Wick 4]. I'll tell her the details later."

"Okay, what about these variety show invitations?"

"I don't take any permanent calls. I don't have the time or energy."

"Are you still not going to participate in the second season of [50 km Taohuawu] this year?"

Gu Wei hesitated.

Unlike other variety shows, this one is produced by his company.

The main producer is [Wajijiwa] and the broadcasting platform is Tencent Video.

The response to the first season last year was very good, and the company's Meng Ziyi and Zhou Ye both gained a lot of fans because of "Taohuawu".

At that time, Long Danni approached Gu Wei, hoping that he could participate in the first season of "Taohuawu", hoping to use his fame to promote this new variety show.

However, "Taohuawu" is a long-term outdoor reality show that requires the guests to live together for 21 days. Gu Wei didn't have the time, so he refused.

This year, Wajijiwa started preparing for the second season and came to him again.

“It’s definitely not possible to be a regular guest, I can’t spare a month to participate in a variety show.

When the recording of Taohuawu begins, if I have time, I can go there as a flying guest for a day or two."

"clear."

Beijing, the general manager's office of the [Wei Ming Tian Xia] agency.

".Understood, I will communicate with Lionsgate as soon as possible.
I have something to report to you. Director Yao Xiaofeng from the crew of "Storm Chaser" has already seen the auditions of three actresses."

At this point Yang Liwen hesitated a little.

"He thinks Wang Churan's image and temperament are more suitable for the role of "Shen Jinzhen", a young lady in the Republic of China. Can he confirm with us whether this role can be decided?"

"Since Director Yao thinks it's suitable, let's decide. I was the one who recommended Wang Churan to him."

Gu Wei's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"OK."

After reporting some company matters to the boss, Yang Liwen hung up the phone.

She felt a little sorry for the heroine of "The Wind Chaser".

This drama was a project that Gu Wei decided on two years ago, but it was delayed due to schedule reasons and only had time to shoot it this year.

The investor of "Storm Chasers" is her own company, so Yang Liwen is very clear about every aspect of the TV series from project establishment to preparation.

Judging from the script and production team of "The Wind Chaser", with Lao Ba playing the male lead and Jin Dong playing the supporting male role, this drama is bound to be a big hit and can be compared to or even surpass "The Disguiser" of that year.

"What a pity, Meng Ziyi and Zhou Ye could have chosen anyone, but they chose Wang Churan!

It’s also the fault of these two.

But fortunately, I feel that the character of the second female lead is more outstanding, which is a very good opportunity for Tian Xiwei."

Thinking of this, Yang Liwen called her secretary in.

"Ask Tian Xiwei's agent to come over."

After the Chinese New Year, Tian Xiwei was not busy at work after returning home.

She became a little famous last year because of the broadcasts of "Running Man" and "Joy of Life".

The company took the opportunity to give her some endorsements.

Since she came back after the New Year, she has been shooting commercials for businesses.

"Xiaotian, there is good news!"

When she returned to the company after work in the morning, her agent appeared in front of her with an excited look on his face.

"What's wrong, Sister Sun, are you looking for me for a new play?"

Tian Xiwei asked curiously.

Sun Caizhen is the new agent assigned to her by the company after she graduated last year.

The rule of [Wei Ming Tian Xia] is that when newcomers sign the contract, they will all be under Yang Liwen's management. When the company plans to increase resources to promote you, you will be assigned a dedicated agent.

Li Xian, Peng Yuchang, Meng Ziyi and others all came this way.

Although they have only been working together for less than a year, Oda feels that his new agent is quite reliable. He is steady and meticulous, always considers himself in everything, and is a good partner.

Seeing her so happy, something good must have happened.

"There is a new play, but it's not an ordinary play. It's a historical drama produced by our company, and the boss plays the male lead!"

Oda also opened his eyes wide after hearing this.

"So what role did the company reserve for me? Is it the female lead?"

The agent shook his head.

“It’s the second female lead, a role chosen by the boss himself.

I read the script, and this character is very well designed. If he plays it well, he will be very good, and he will not be worse than the heroine!"

As she said this, she handed the script to Tian Xiwei.

“Take a look at the script first. Filming for this drama will only start in the second half of the year, so there’s no rush.

Running Man Season 5 will start recording soon. After the variety show is over, you should take some time to concentrate on preparing for this new drama."

Tian Xiwei took the script, and on the cover were three big words written: [Wind Chaser].

She nodded.

“Will this year’s Running Man still have the same guests as last season?”

"There are basically no changes. Guo Qilin has left, and Huang Xuxi has returned from the third season."

The good news from her agent made Tian Xiwei feel particularly happy today.

When she got home in the evening, she washed up and lay on the bed in her loose pajamas, her two white and tender legs raised up, her cute feet crossed in the air, her chin supported by her hands, and she was carefully flipping through the script.

"This Niu Chunmiao has a real personality, and it's quite difficult to play it."

After looking for a while, she opened her phone to check the time, hesitated for a moment, edited a message of thanks and sent it to Gu Wei.

After waiting for a while and seeing no reply, Xiaotian murmured: "Maybe Brother Wei is filming."

She knew that the filming of "Changjin Lake" was very difficult, and news broke a few days ago that Gu Wei was injured.

Tian Xiwei guessed correctly, Gu Wei was indeed filming on the set at the moment.

Today is a big night shoot, filming a battle scene in "Changjin Lake", and all the actors from the Seventh Company, including Gu Wei and Wu Jing, are participating.

There were gunfights, explosions, charges and action scenes. Zhu Yawen had a scene where he rolled down a hillside, and he rolled seven or eight times before he was allowed to do it.

After he finished filming and stood up, he walked with a limp.

"Are you okay?" Wu Jing asked from the side.

"It's okay, my body hurts all over. I'll be fine after resting for a while." Zhu Yawen said with a grin.

In addition to him, Hu Jun, who plays "Thunder God", is also filming his last scene today.

His character died heroically in the battle filmed today, and the shooting can be completed after that.

It was already early morning when Gu Wei got the phone. The crew had been working all night and the actors could finally take a break.

“As you get older, you really can’t refuse to accept your age.

When I was young and filming, I could stay up all night for several days in a row, and I would feel refreshed immediately after taking a short nap.

I feel like my body is drained from shooting night scenes these days."

After giving Xiaotian his confidence, Gu Wei turned around and looked at Wu Jing, who had dark circles under his eyes.

"Brother Jing, you may have kidney problems. As the saying goes, when you reach middle age, you have no choice but to soak wolfberries in a thermos.

In my opinion, staying up late is more harmful to your health than indulging in sex.”

"Go to hell, you have a bad kidney. I don't know how strong my foundation is from my training since I was a child."

The two of them laughed and talked for a few minutes, and the sleepiness they had just felt was somewhat relieved.

"Are you going back to the hotel?" Wu Jing asked.

"No, the filming is intense these two days, I'll just rest in the RV later."

Wu Jingzhi nodded: "Then I won't go back, it will save me the trouble and I can sleep a little longer."

RVs have become standard configuration in various film crews, especially for the main actors. RVs are not only a place for them to rest and work, but also a symbol of their identity and status.

There is no doubt that Gu Wei and Wu Jing in the [Changjin Lake] crew both have their own RVs, and both of them have RVs that are not provided by the crew but their own.

Gu Wei’s RV is quite luxurious. Not only is it spacious, it is also equipped with a professional dressing room and high-end daily necessities. Of course, basic functions such as bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, etc. are indispensable.

After separating from Gu Wei, Wu Jing got into his own RV.

As I lay down on the bed in the bedroom and was about to go to sleep, I remembered what Gu Wei had just said as a joke.

"Why not soak some wolfberries in water and drink it? It's always good for health."

Lionsgate.

CEO's office.

Jon Fillemer, co-chairman and CEO of the board, and Michael Burns, vice chairman, are discussing something.

".These are the conditions proposed by the superstar Gu on the other side of the ocean."

Michael reported to Jon the information he obtained from communicating with "Wei Ming Tian Xia".

"That's really demanding. It makes me wonder if the other party doesn't want to take the role, and then makes such a high offer."

Jon sat in the boss chair, leaning back slightly.

"I heard that Paramount and Warner Bros. also invited the other party to produce the game adaptation movie together."

"[Dungeons and Dragons]?"

Michael nodded.

"He answered?"

"According to people at Paramount, they rejected it outright.

This Chinese superstar is very difficult to invite. Last year, when Marvel was preparing "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", they invited him to play the male lead "Shang-Chi", but he directly refused.

Both we and Paramount offered him the second male lead role, so it’s normal for him not to accept it.”

Michael paused at this point.

"To be precise, we haven't been rejected yet.

The conditions proposed by the other party seem very harsh, but I think there is still a possibility of cooperation."

President Jon thought about it and looked at his old partner.

"What suggestions do you have?"

Michael spread his hands.

"Jon, we all know that we want to invite Gu to participate in John Wick 4 because we are attracted by the huge Chinese market behind him.

Filmmaking is essentially a business.

Since it is a business, as long as there is profit to be made, there is no condition that cannot be agreed to.

What we need to consider now is whether Gu Wei's joining can bring us greater benefits after we agree to the other party's conditions. "

Jon thought about it seriously while Michael continued his speech.

"We have made three films in the John Wick series, with global box office revenues of $8610 million, $1.74 million, and $3.28 million respectively.

As a B-level movie, this result is not very good, but it is still a small profit.

The fourth film currently in preparation is expected to have an investment of 100 million US dollars, which is already an A-level production, and the pressure to make a profit is even greater.

We have learned about Gu Wei before. This superstar from across the ocean has unparalleled box office appeal in the Chinese market.

According to statistics, the total box office of movies starring him has exceeded 40 billion US dollars, a figure that most Hollywood A-list stars cannot reach.

Just a month ago, a comedy film starring the other party had just earned more than 7 million US dollars in the Chinese market.

In the North American market, only "Black Panther", "Avatar", "Avengers 7" and "Star Wars 4" have achieved a box office of over 7 million US dollars in a single market.

Of course, with Gu Wei joining, John Wick 4 will probably not achieve such a high box office, but as long as we can get half of his current performance in the Chinese market, we will make a fortune."

When Michael said this, his attitude was very clear: he hoped Gu Wei would join in.

Even if the other party's conditions are harsh, such as changing the script, asking for investment shares, and turning the film into a Sino-US co-production.

But as long as the final box office is high enough and can bring higher profits to Lionsgate, all of this is acceptable.

Jon nodded slowly after hearing these words.

He was aware of what Michael said, and he was the first to propose inviting Gu Wei to play the supporting actor in "John Wick 4".

In the eyes of these Hollywood companies, the Chinese market is an extremely tempting piece of fat meat, and everyone wants to take a bite.

However, in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to achieve good box office results in the Chinese market.

The Marvel movies that are popular all over the world are doing the best, while most other Hollywood movies have failed.

In the view of many senior executives in the Hollywood film industry, the poor box office performance is due to the fact that today's Hollywood blockbusters are not immersive for audiences on the other side of the ocean.

The solution to this problem is to find a local superstar to join the movie.

Disney asked Gu Wei to star in "Shang-Chi" and Paramount asked him to star in "Dungeons & Dragons" with this in mind.

Jon leaned forward and crossed his hands on the desk in front of him.

“I think what you said makes sense. The Chinese market is now on par with the North American market, and Hollywood is paying more and more attention to it.

In 2019, "Avengers 4" earned a huge box office of 6 million US dollars there.

It's a pity that this situation was only a flash in the pan, and subsequent Hollywood movies were unable to reach this level.

If Gu Wei can help John Wick 4 open up the Chinese market, his conditions won’t be a problem.”

“If we look at his previous performance, there is absolutely no problem.

Even if we accept all his conditions, the risk we have to take is very small."

Jon nodded.

“John Wick 4 is the company’s most important project this year, and making such a big change requires the support of the directors.

I will call a board meeting and you help me convince everyone."

"No problem, this is obviously a good business, I believe no one would object to making more money."

“Also, go contact Gu Wei’s company. We need to discuss the conditions they proposed.

How much share to give to the other party, how to modify the script, and subsequent filming all require detailed communication."

Once Jon and Michael, the two top executives at Lionsgate, reached an agreement, things could start to move forward smoothly.

Michael walked out of the office, and President Jon thought for a while alone.

“Two male protagonists!
I don't think Keanu Reeves would mind if I found him a rival and partner of equal stature.

It would be great if this series could be made into something like Jackie Chan's Rush Hour."

(End of this chapter)