It's reasonable for me, a stuntman, to live a crazy life, right?

Chapter 892: The project was intercepted? Only 6 million?

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

As the waiters presented fine wine and delicacies one by one, Stephen Chow led the main creators of "The Mermaid" to the stage and broke the ice containing the number 34.12 billion under the attention of everyone.

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

With the aroma of wine flowing down, the celebration dinner officially kicked off.

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

If it wasn't for Chen Fei, she wouldn't have been chosen to star in "The Mermaid", let alone become the current heroine with a box office of over 30 billion.

Therefore, she had to toast with this glass of wine, and it was only natural.

Everyone present knew the inside story, so they were not too surprised to see this situation.

Wang Changtian even joked, "If there is a chance in the future, Guangguang would like to work with this new 30 billion+ box office heroine. I wonder if Mr. Chen can bear the pain and let her go?"

After drinking a glass of red wine, Chen Fei didn't show any abnormality. He just looked at Zhao Liying with a smile.

Seeing this, Zhao Liying quickly responded: "Mr. 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 Studio is also in need of good actors, especially actors with superb acting skills like this, they are too scarce."

"Come on, let's raise our glasses together." Chen Fei restrained himself, picked up his glass and clinked it with the two of them.

However, just as they were chatting animatedly, Zhou Xingchi, who had already walked off the stage, actually returned to the stage.

This time, he was not accompanied by 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 Peikang, the current chairman of China Film.

Facing the attention of many people in the audience, La Peikang came to the microphone and said, "We have previously announced that during the celebration party of "The Mermaid", there will be good news to be announced. Now I will reveal the answer to you!

Following The Mermaid, the large-scale magical action comedy film Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, written by Zhou Xingchi and directed by Xu Ke, will be officially released during the 17 Spring Festival, continuing to write the legend of Journey to the West!

And then, before everyone at the scene could digest this news, Wang Zhonglei took over from La Peikang and stood in front of the microphone and announced another news:
"In view of the success of The Mermaid, Huayi will work with director Zhou Xingchi to continue developing the sequel The Mermaid 2. Please stay tuned..."

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

"The Mermaid" has just withdrawn from the Spring Festival schedule, and "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" can't wait to book it for next year's Spring Festival schedule. This is really a smart calculation!

Everyone can clearly see that China Film Group is preparing to push "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back" to the same level as "The Mermaid".

If "The Monkey King 2" gave everyone a big shock, then the plan for "The Mermaid " is a bit "shocking".

You know, Huayi is not among the investors of "The Mermaid".

But now Huayi suddenly appeared in the plan of "The Mermaid 2" and became the main controller... What this means is very clear!
Chen Fei suddenly withdrew his gaze and turned to Wang Changtian, and asked curiously: "Director Wang, have you received any news that "The Mermaid" is going to have a sequel?"

“No!” Wang Changtian looked bewildered: “No one told me that there would be a sequel to The Mermaid!”

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

Obviously, this rhythm was intercepted!

He subconsciously asked Chen Fei, "Has Feiyue Film and Television not received any notice about developing a sequel?"

Chen Fei shrugged, saying nothing.

Ren Zhonglun, who was standing by, understood what was going on and immediately said in a teasing tone, “Hey? I told you two not to take it seriously, but now Huayi has snatched your chance away from you, right?”

Han Sanping, on the other hand, was staring at Zhou Xingchi who was standing with Wang Zhonglei at this time, and said helplessly: "Alas, this Zhou Xingchi, he really didn't learn from his mistakes!"

He had previously known about Zhou Xingchi's love of money, but he never expected that after being fooled by Huayi once in "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", Zhou Xingchi would get involved with Huayi again.

If you are not careful, you might get cheated again!

"Come on, come on, eat the food. It will get cold soon, don't waste it." Chen Fei's shout attracted everyone's attention.

Seeing that he was eating calmly, Han Jianv, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but ask curiously, "The project was snatched away? Aren't you angry?"

Chen Fei picked up a peanut and said casually, "Why should I be angry? If I get it, I'm lucky. If I lose it, I'm doomed.

Moreover, whether their sequel can be successful is another matter. Haha, do you really think that sequels are so easy to make?"

Han Jianv blinked, as if she had thought 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 finishing filming La La Land, do you have other movies to shoot?"

Chen Fei shook his head: "I don't have any new movie plans for now. After finishing this movie, I will probably follow up with Operation Red Sea, Ready Player One, and the post-production of this movie at hand."

"Oh, okay, I understand." A hint of joy flashed across Han Jianu's face, and she immediately felt more confident.

Fade Chen looked at her curiously: "What do you want?"

"No, no, I'm just asking. You eat, you eat, hehe..."

As she spoke, she lowered her head guiltily and began to "attack" the food in front of her.

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

……

After one night passed, 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 bustling state, with a large number of the latest hot search articles appearing on the Internet.

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

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

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

While drinking porridge, Fade Chen read the news online and secretly laughed 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. I hope it won't all go to waste, that would be embarrassing!"

The flight to Hengdian was at around 6 o'clock in the evening, so it was too early. Chen Fei simply drove to the company after breakfast to deal with the piled up documents.

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

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

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

Jiang Zhiqiang felt sad when he heard this, and he almost pleaded with his audience, "Boss La, could you please help me make an appointment with Boss Chen? I think I need to explain to him, we..."

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

For a moment, Jiang Zhiqiang was speechless.

After standing there for a moment, he sighed helplessly, turned around, walked out of China Film Corporation, and rushed towards the Film Bureau.

After meeting Tong Gang again, he, like last time, complained about the unfairness of Pan Asia Cinemas towards Emperor Entertainment Group in scheduling films!

However, this time, Tong Gang ignored him and said coldly: "It is the cinema chain's freedom to schedule films, and it is also the result of market regulation. The bureau has no authority to manage such matters."

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

And this time it’s completely over, there’s no way of “redemption” at all!
If he had known that this would be the outcome, he would never have done such a shady operation to steal the box office. But it had already happened, and he led Edko Films step by step into the abyss, until there was no possibility of recovery...

It's no use saying you regret it now, you can only swallow your anger.

……

During the whole morning, Chen Fei read no less than 30 plans and signed more than a hundred plan confirmation letters!
The moment he put down the pen, even though he was in good physical condition, he still felt his eyes sore and his wrists, waist and back felt numb.

He stood up and stretched his body. After relaxing for a while, Fade Chen picked up the car keys and walked out.

Naturally, his secretary would help to tidy up the documents on his desk, and he would be leaving get off work.

However, at this moment, the phone suddenly rang.

After taking a look at the caller ID, Fade Chen pressed the answer button and stood still: "Director Jia? What's going on?"

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

"Okay, I'm just planning to find a place to eat, so I'll stop by and have 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 is Jia Zhangke's friend, he should be in the same industry. Maybe Chen Fei also knows him.

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

As soon as he pushed the door open and walked in, he saw seven or eight people inside jumping up all of a sudden as if they had springs under their buttocks.

"Huh? You're here so soon?"

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

"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 one leading the team. He said with a smile, "We came here mainly for the movie 'A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix'. We hope to be included in 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 how it is!" Chen Fei suddenly realized: "That's no problem. It's Mr. Wu's last work, and we will definitely give our full support."

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

The director of the issuing department quickly thanked him and signaled to the assistant next to him with his eyes.

Upon seeing this, the latter immediately trotted out to urge the food to be served.

After a while, dozens of dishes came in one after another, along with several unopened bottles of Moutai liquor.

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

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

After three rounds of drinks, the group of rough guys from Xiying inevitably became more talkative.

The director of the production department sighed and said, "It's difficult to make a movie in Xiying! In recent years, we can only make small-budget art films. We dare not even touch big-budget movies, for fear of losing everything like "Record of Swordsmanship"..."

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

"Oh, let's not talk about it. I'll have a drink. Director Chen, please feel free to do as you please..."

After a glass of wine, he talked even more.

"Compared to China Film, we are no longer qualified. They have access to good resources and good projects. They are close to the water and get the moon first... Compared to Shanghai Film, we are not as rich as them;
Even Ning Ying was able to take the risk and shoot "Asura", but we can only watch it helplessly because we have no money or resources!
Alas, now Xiying has no advantages except that there are still a few old men alive in the upper echelons who can blow their beards, glare and slam the table in front of the headquarters. It is estimated that it will collapse in a few years..."

The director of the distribution department next to him frowned and cursed in a low voice: "Old Li, can you drink less horse urine? Once you drink too much, you talk nonsense here. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by Director Chen..."

"No, how could I be laughed at? I understand, I understand everything." Chen Fei laughed and drank a cup of tea, his eyes suddenly began to light up.

He wasn't drunk, so he heard everything clearly.

According to what the production director said, Xiying now has not only no money and no resources, but also its connections with the General Administration.

Don’t underestimate those old guys, they are like “nuclear weapons” at the critical moment!

To put it bluntly, if there is anything related to auditing, taking the blame, or slamming the table in front of the boss, it will definitely be effective if Xiying steps in, even better than China Film!

The old saying is true: why would those who are barefoot be afraid of those who wear shoes?
Thinking of this, Chen Fei suddenly had an idea in his mind.

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

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

Hearing this, Fade Chen smiled immediately: "That's good... Of course, don't worry, I won't let you help for nothing. It just so happens that this project is looking for investors recently. If Xiying is interested, why not come and participate?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally lively box suddenly fell into deathly silence!

Xiying's group of people suddenly raised their heads, staring straight at Chen Fei, 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: "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 contribute..."

"That's no problem!" Chen Fei was interrupted again: "Let alone helping out, even if we were to act as extras, carry the camera, and carry the props, that wouldn't be a problem!"

"Yes, yes, yes, the thing we have the most is strength."

"Are you going to shoot at the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang? We can ask the cultural tourism department to cooperate and suspend receiving foreign tourists."

A group of people were talking at once, fearing that Chen Fei would suddenly change his mind.

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 said a number: "Not much, the production cost is only 6 million."

That’s it?

6 million?
That's it?

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

The figure of 6 million is indeed within the controllable range for both China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group.

But for Xiying, that is simply an astronomical figure!
Moreover, let alone 6 million, they don’t even have 6000 million!
Chen Fei naturally saw their embarrassment and immediately said, "You can discuss it slowly after you go back. Anyway, this project has just begun preparations, so there is no rush to launch it."

"Well, OK, we will hold a meeting to discuss this as soon as we get back. Thank you Director Chen for giving us this opportunity. Xiying will never forget you. Come, let me raise another glass..."

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

"I won't say anything more. It's all in the wine."

For a moment, the atmosphere in the box became heated again.

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

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

It is really sad that 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 point of desperation.

……

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(End of this chapter)