The first thing Guo Kaige did after returning to China was to visit his old friend, Li Ming, the producer of "Taiping Wheel" and the chairman of Xiaoma Pictures, the main investor.

Li Ming is having a headache because of the overspending budget of "Taiping Wheel". So far, he has invested a total of 260 million yuan in this movie. However, according to the latest report of the creative team, the movie will definitely not be able to be hit by 300 million yuan, and it is estimated that it will take 400 million yuan to complete the filming in the end.

It was under this strong investment pressure that Li Ming had the idea of ​​splitting the movie into two parts. Perhaps only in this way can some pressure on recycling costs be alleviated. From the project establishment of this movie to the official shooting, the process was too long, and the film market has undergone great changes in the past six years.

Li Ming is a senior movie fan of Wu Yushen. He became fascinated by the story of "The Wheel of Taiping" for the first time and decided to invest in the film. But after the filming started, he realized that the speed of this movie burning money was far beyond his imagination. Recently, he was under great pressure and had insomnia almost every night.

Li Ming received Guo Kaige in his villa in the western suburbs.

After talking about Seoul's experiences, Guo Kaige turned the topic to "Taiping Wheel", and he conveyed Wu Yushen's meaning to Li Ming.

Li Ming frowned and said, "Director Wu has told me many times that he wants to make a movie for 180 minutes. He is out of date and has no idea about the current movie market. How can the theater arrange films for you in three hours? How can the ticket price be determined? Others can queue for the same movie for three times, but we can only queue for two times. How can we compete with others on the number of events?"

Guo Kaige said: "The Titanic was three hours and ten minutes back then, but it still did not affect the box office to win the world's number one."

Li Ming sighed and said, "The Taiping Wheel is not Titanic, and Director Wu is not James Cameron."

Guo Kaige said: "Cameron's influence in China may not be greater than Director Wu." The reason he said this was to comfort Li Ming. No matter how strong Wu Yushen is, he cannot be compared with Cameron. The latter's "Titanic" has become a god, not to mention that he once again swept the world box office work "Avatar".

Li Ming said: "I am also a fan of Director Wu. You know the most. I have watched every movie of him. I respect him very much. But this time I really can't follow his wishes. I originally planned to invest 200 million yuan, and I have invested more than once and again. Now I can't even make it 300 million yuan. According to the latest evaluation, it will cost 400 million yuan after shooting. Do you know what this means?"

Guo Kaige nodded: "The box office can only be 1.2 billion yuan to recover the cost."

"Twelve billion, do you know how much pressure I am now?"

"Have you ever thought that if the box office in the upper part was not as good as expected, the box office in the lower part would be worse."

Li Ming nodded and said, "If the box office of the upper part is not as good as expected, then even if it is made into one, it will not be able to achieve our goal. I have considered it over and over again. At present, this is the only feasible solution."

Guo Kaige said: "Tell me the truth, are you no longer confident in Taiping Lun?"

Li Ming said: "The film market is changing rapidly. Just look at the blockbuster movies this year. The big sellers are all films like "My Savage Girlfriend" and "Journey to the West to Demons". Director Feng's "1942" lost, the big production "Blood Drops" lost, and "Big Shanghai" barely recovered the cost. "A Chinese Ghost Story" is said to be able to equalize the cost by online broadcasting. You should know the best."

Guo Kaige said: "It's a bit difficult to get rid of the tiger when you think."

"It's just a difficult situation. If I continue to invest, I have to add more than one billion yuan. Maybe 200 million yuan. If I don't invest, wouldn't the previous two billion yuan be thrown away in vain? You don't understand."

"We also invested 50 million in Qiyi Video, why don't I understand?" Guo Kaige was a little dissatisfied.

Li Ming smiled bitterly and patted his shoulder and said, "Brother, what are you drinking? I'll open a bottle of Genting whiskey for you."

Guo Kaige shook his head and said, "If you don't drink, you haven't finished talking. This time I met Director Wu in Seoul. I feel that he is not as confident as before. It just so happened that I have a brother from the industry. After chatting with him for a few words, I realized a serious problem."

“What’s the problem?”

"Director Wu wants to express too much, and the screenwriters are not rigorous and consistent in writing the script."

“It’s specific.”

Guo Kaige told him in detail what Zhang Hehuan said. Li Ming did not say anything after hearing this, lit a cigarette, and thought while smoking.

Guo Kaige also took one of them himself. Only then did Li Ming realize that he didn't want to greet him and quickly helped him lit it.

Neither of them spoke. After Li Ming finished smoking the cigarette, he added another one, and then he said, "Who is your brother?"

"Zhang Hehuan!"

Li Ming nodded and said, "Master, I have always wanted to know each other, but I haven't had a chance yet."

Guo Kaige said: "He is filming TV series in Seoul, and it's so popular."

Gu Rong/span>"You from the Star?"

Guo Kaige smiled and said, "Do you know too?"

"Nonsense, your sister-in-law is chasing you every day, and I glanced at her twice, it was really good."

Guo Kaige said: "You are the boss of a big film company who actually watches pirated copies. I can tell you that I went to Seoul this time to make the copyright of this TV series. Qiyi Video has officially signed a contract and will be exclusively broadcast online next month at the latest."

Li Ming said: "Congratulations, you can make a lot of money again, Kaige, you said if we were more cautious when selecting actors, using Zhang Hehuan and Quan Zhixian, wouldn't the box office of this movie be guaranteed? You said you are the same, you have such a good relationship, why didn't you recommend him to me?"

Guo Kaige said: "Zhang Hehuan was not popular yet when he was filming this movie. Even if I recommend him, you wouldn't know how to use it at that time."

Li Ming knew that he was telling the truth and sighed: "Who has the eyes? After hearing what you analyzed just now, I also found the problem. There are too many things to present in this movie. A movie has a double-line narrative that is already the limit that most viewers can accept. Director Wu created a three-line narrative, three couples. By the way, did Zhang Hehuan say his opinion?"

Guo Kaige nodded and said, "He gave a little personal opinion, just listen."

"Say, I'll listen."

Guo Kaige said: "Huanzi means that cutting off Huang Xiaoming's line will not affect the overall situation."

Li Ming was stunned for a moment: "Huang Xiaoming is the second male lead, and the box office in the mainland is all up to him."

"How much box office can he support? Tell me about "Blood Drop" or "Big Shanghai"? How many box offices do these two movies belong to him?"

Li Ming was speechless.

Guo Kaige said: "At the beginning, many people opposed using him, you should be fine."

"He is from Huayi."

Guo Kaige said: "I think Zhang Hehuan's words make sense. Cut off a line and even change the characters of David Tong and Zhang Ziyi."

Li Ming was stunned: "What did you say? The movie will not be filmed?" In his opinion, Guo Kaige is crazy. Zhang Ziyi is the first heroine of this movie. It can be said that her importance is even greater than that of Kim Sung-woo. After changing Zhang Ziyi, Guo Kaige has fully understood the progress of the filming of "Taiping Wheel" before seeing Li Ming: "David Tong and Zhang Ziyi don't have much scenes. They both have good actors alone, but there is a lack of chemical reaction between them. David Tong has no ability to attract box office. Zhang Ziyi's negative news is a hidden danger. Although "The Grandmaster" has regained some audience favors, more people don't want to go to the theater when they see her."

Li Ming said: "When Huang Xiaoming cuts off this line, Song Huiqiao will no longer have the need to exist. Now you have to replace Zhang Ziyi and Tong David."

Guo Kaige said: "Kim Sung Take and Nagano Ami is the main line of the movie. Now Director Wu is filming mainly their scenes. As far as I know, Zhang Ziyi's scenes will be completed in the second half of the year, and she has not officially joined the crew. Now we can replace her and only pay a certain amount of liquidated damages. The saved pay can be hired for a newcomer whose acting skills and box office appeal are not as good as hers."

Li Ming realized something from his words and whispered: "You shouldn't invite Zhang Hehuan and Quan Zhixian over?"

Guo Kaige said: "You are half right. Quan Zhixian is not suitable for this role. We can invite Zhang Hehuan and An Ran."

Li Ming's eyes lit up. "My Savage Girlfriend" starring Zhang Hehuan and An Ran swept the Asian box office at the beginning of the year. The box office appeal of these two is much stronger than the combination of Huang Xiaoming and Song Huiqiao. Even Zhang Ziyi dare not say that she has more box office appeal than them. An Ran is also a girl. "The Flowers of Qinhuai" starring last year, although the box office of the movie did not meet expectations, the image of the fairy woman Yu Mo is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In "The Wheel of Ping", the heroine Yu Zhen, originally played by Zhang Ziyi, will never have any problems with her acting skills.

Li Ming said: "This is just your idea, and their pay is not cheap now."

Guo Kaige said: "Zhang Hehuan doesn't watch the pay for the film, and An Ran is not short of money. It's not easy to impress them."

Li Ming said: "He is afraid he doesn't want Director Wu to accept such drastic changes."

Guo Kaige said: "You forgot that Director Wu's original idea was not three lines. Using so many stars is also the result of the distribution of interests of so many investors."

Li Ming said: "The special effects team of this movie is all the original cast of "Titanic". I am not willing to let this movie be ruined." After saying that, he pursed his lips and said something with some difficulty: "How many more can you vote?"

Investors are not fools. Apart from Xue Chunhua, who spends a lot of money to make a beautiful face, all the investors in "Taiping Wheel" have seen that the prospects for this movie are not good, and no one is willing to invest additionally.

This is the biggest pressure from Li Ming. For the sake of the Taiping Round, he might have to bet on his wealth.
Chapter completed!