After some operation, Penguin Video invested 10 million in this web drama project to obtain the exclusive broadcast rights.
The film has not yet started shooting, but it has earned more than 10 million yuan from advertising.
Including the 10 million invested by Lu Xiang'er, the total investment of 30 million has been fully covered.
In other words, Fang Xing became the largest investor in this project without spending a penny.
This is how a film and television project like this works.
As long as there is a capable director and crew, half of the investment can be earned back in the early stages of project preparation.
Of course, the premise is that there is someone in the creative team who can handle the ratings and box office.
Fang Xing has already proved his ability in this area with "Wulin Gaiden".
Moreover, this project is only a small investment, with a total investment of only 30 million.
Even if this project fails, the investors will not lose much.
Of course, if Fang Xing's project fails this time, he will not have such appeal when planning new projects in the future.
Since Fang Xing wanted to use this drama to alleviate the plight of Lu Xiang'er's family, the preparations were very fast.
Auditions were held simultaneously with the crew.
Since the script being filmed this time is a suspense drama, it is not an area that He Rongchang is good at.
So He Rongchang was not involved, but he had many connections in the film and television industry and introduced many experienced crew members to Fang Xing.
As soon as the project of this suspense drama was approved, Fang Xing called Yan Lan: "Sister, I have prepared a new drama."
Upon hearing this, Yan Lan smiled heartily and said, "Tell me, am I the heroine?"
"this……"
Fang Xing smiled awkwardly and said, "The heroine is a student..."
Yan Lan pretended to be angry when she heard this: "What? You mean I'm old?"
"No, no, my sister is in her prime, and she has conquered the country." Fang Xing hurriedly answered and joked.
"Young Master, when did you learn to be so smooth-tongued? Tell me, is there a sister role this time?" Yan Lan started to pick out the role, not polite at all.
"It is possible, but this time the drama is relatively short. There is a positive role that I can play, but the role is not much. It can be filmed in two or three days together."
In the script Fang Xing prepared this time, there is indeed a role that Yan Lan can play, but this role does not have many roles. Other mature actresses can also be used.
Of course, if Yan Lan wants to act, it would be appropriate for her to act.
"Okay. I'll treat it as a guest appearance for you. Send me the script later." Yan Lan has a very straightforward personality.
Since she played the role of Tong Xiangyu in "Wulin Gaiden", her popularity has exploded overnight, and her salary has more than doubled.
Therefore, for Yan Lan, even if it is a friendly guest appearance, she will still appear.
"You are calling me in such a hurry, you must not be looking for me to film a movie, right? Tell me, what else is there?" Yan Lan learned that there was no important role suitable for her in this script, and she immediately guessed that Fang Xing must have other roles.
thing.
"Well, sister is still so smart." Fang Xing complimented with a smile.
Although these words sounded glib at first sight, they could not stand up to the sound of their words.
Yan Lan chuckled and said, "Tell me, what's the matter? I'll definitely take care of it for you."
"This scene requires a few veteran actors, the kind who can be fierce, cry, and perform a breakdown and despair." There are several characters in the scene that Fang Xing will shoot this time, and he is very interested in acting.
The requirements are very high.
It is basically impossible for ordinary actors to play these roles.
Therefore, Fang Xing hoped to find actors from the National Theater or the Military Arts.
"I understand. You want me to help you find actors. No problem. Whenever you are free, I will take you to the National Theater to watch a performance and introduce you to some old artists." Yan Lan agreed readily.
Come down.
…
The veteran actors have been arranged here, as well as the male and female protagonists.
Since the age of the male and female protagonists this time is relatively young, based on the current market situation in the domestic entertainment industry, the starting price of a slightly famous male and female actor is in the tens of millions.
For example, when we were preparing to film "Wulin Gaiden", the original role of Guo Furong was to be played by Song Yutong.
Song Yutong was at the top of the third tier and not yet full of the second tier. The starting price at that time was 12 million.
Male actors of the same level are only more expensive than female actors.
The total investment for this drama is 30 million.
If both the male and female protagonists find actors of this level, they can directly absorb two-thirds of the investment.
Therefore, after thinking about it, Fang Xing decided to play the leading role himself.
Moreover, the acting requirements for the male and female protagonists in this drama are not very high.
Therefore, Fang Xing's appearance, temperament and acting skills are more than enough to play the male lead.
All that's left is to find a young actress to play the female lead.
When filming "Wulin Gaiden" before, Lin Yingxue played the role of Guo Furong.
After "Wulin Gaiden" became popular, Lin Yingxue also became famous overnight, and her salary once exceeded that of Song Yutong.
These two women were originally classmates and had some feuds, so the competition between them was very fierce.
After Lin Yingxue became famous after starring in "Guo Furong", the limelight has gradually overshadowed that of Song Yutong.
After all, "Blood Rain" starring Song Yutong was a complete hit on the street, with both word-of-mouth and playback volume hitting the street, and its commercial value was stable but fell.
This time, Fang Xing was preparing for a new play and directly asked the casting director to contact Lin Yingxue.
Lin Yingxue's attitude is very good and she also wants to play the role in this new drama.
However, after Lin Yingxue became famous, her film remuneration skyrocketed, and the market price has reached 15 million.
Of course, because of the friendship with "Wulin Gaiden", Lin Yingxue took the initiative to reduce her salary by half, saying that she could star in it for only 7 million.
Reducing the salary by half is actually quite sincere.
However, the web series that Fang Xing is preparing this time has relatively few episodes, so the required schedule is not very long.
In addition, the investment is limited, so Fang Xing is not satisfied with the price of 7 million, and hopes to negotiate a lower price.
Fang Xing did not have time to discuss this matter in person and left it to the casting director.
Because Fang Xing still needs to find a suitable director to co-direct with him.
In terms of directing, Fang Xing actually has some experience.
After all, he once served as a musical director.
When filming "Wulin Gaiden", I also discussed it with He Rongchang.
He Rongchang even took the initiative to suggest that he and Fang Xing jointly sign the director's signature.
However, He Rongchang still did most of the directing work, and Fang Xing rejected the proposal.
This time, the new drama does not require high acting skills from the male lead. He is very capable in acting, so he has more energy to be responsible for the work of the director.
Therefore, Fang Xing plans to find an experienced director to co-direct with him, which can be regarded as a new attempt.
Therefore, during this period, Fang Xing was introduced to many directors with experience in shooting suspense dramas and discussed co-directing.
The second- and third-tier directors in the industry were initially interested when they heard that they could join Fang Xing's new play, but when they heard that he was co-directing, the slightly famous director lost interest.
After all, in a situation like this, it looks like Fang Xing is looking for a famous director and brings him the honor of being a co-director.
No director who is even remotely famous wants to be this tool man.
After all, co-directing has its own problems.
For example, if two directors have different opinions, who should you listen to?
Ark Culture is the producer of this project. If there is a disagreement, Fang Xing will definitely have the greater say.
In this way, the director hired is like a puppet.
…
The framework of the crew is slowly being established, the director is talking, the heroine is talking, and the veteran actors are talking.
Fang Xing was very busy during this period and couldn't take care of many things.
Every time Lu Xiang'er met, she wanted to help, but she couldn't help with anything.
at the same time.
Ever since Lu's father and mother agreed to Lu Xiang'er's investment, they also hoped that the drama would help the company turn around.
During this period, several capital companies expressed their intention to fully acquire Dachuan Audio.
Dachuan Audio has been Lu's father's half-life effort, so as long as there is a little hope, he doesn't want to give up.
Therefore, Lu's father mortgaged the villa in Tianlan Wenyuan to continue to maintain the company.
…
the other side.
Chen Lipeng, chairman of Pengcheng Capital, is also a little anxious about the piece of fat he is about to eat.
After all, it has already taken three months, and judging from the Lu family's intention, they will fight to the end, even if they mortgage the house, they will still have to spend it.
For capital, time is money.
The longer this acquisition project is delayed, the lower the price/performance ratio will be.
Moreover, it is not a secret about the Lu family’s investment in Ark Culture’s new drama.
The Chen family received the news almost immediately.
"Dad, the Lu family has invested in a drama and wants to rely on this drama to make a comeback." When Chen Lipeng heard the news, he went home to discuss it with Chen Xingye.
"The risks in film and television investment are so high, do you think the Lu family can turn around with one movie?" Chen Xingye remained calm after hearing the news.
Although the Chen family's main track is in the music field, they also have investments in the film and television industry, so they are very familiar with film and television investment.
There are so many film and television projects approved every year, and only one out of ten will eventually be broadcast.
There are fewer film and television projects that can make money, so it is extremely rare to make a lot of money.
Therefore, from a probability perspective, if the Lu family wants to turn around by investing in a movie, the probability of success is very small, less than one percent.
However, Chen Lipeng and Fang Xing had several head-to-head confrontations, and each time they were beaten to a pulp.
So this time he was more cautious: "The project invested by the Lu family this time is Fang Xing's new drama. If it really becomes as big a hit as "Wulin Gaiden", it will be more troublesome."
Chen Xingye smiled and asked: "Do you think Fang Xing can make a TV series as popular as "Wulin Gaiden"?"
Chen Lipeng shook his head and smiled: "This is impossible. "Wulin Gaiden" is a special case that cannot be copied. Even Fang Xing himself cannot make a second "Wulin Gaiden"."
"That's right. It's basically impossible for the Lu family to turn around. However, Fang Xing's project needs to be paid close attention to. If necessary, competition can be used." Although Chen Xingye feels that it is impossible for the Lu family to turn around by investing in online dramas.
, but you need to have two safeguards to do things.
"Okay, I understand." Chen Lipeng nodded in agreement.
…
Pengcheng Capital has been in the film and television industry for a long time.
The major shareholder of Red Film and Television is Pengcheng Capital.
After "Blood Rain" hit the market, Red Film and Television suffered heavy losses last year.
In order to make up for the losses of "Blood Rain", Red Film and Television has prepared a new project this year.
Since "Blood Rain Jiang Hu" is an S-level investment, we lost a lot of money.
This year Red Film and Television has turned to a conservative strategy, focusing on investing in A-level productions, hoping to make more money with less investment based on the quality of its series.
In terms of using small things to make a big difference, "Wulin Gaiden" is the best example.
Even "Wulin Gaiden" is only a B-level small production, but it has made hundreds of millions of profits.
What's even more frightening is that "Wulin Gaiden" has had a long-term effect. It stayed at the top of the comedy list and never came down.
Ruide Film and Television carried forward the moral principle of "join if you can't beat it" and began to turn to small and medium-sized investments. It invested in several comedies and made some money.
This time, Ruide Film and Television is preparing to invest in an A-level production and is currently selecting a script.
Since Ark Culture released the suspense drama project, Pengcheng Capital has authorized Ruide Film and Television to also invest in the suspense drama.
Ruide Film and Television is a mature film and television company with a ready-made crew, so the project preparation progresses very quickly.
Casting will begin soon.
Knowing that Ark Culture was talking about Lin Yingxue, Chen Lipeng asked Red Film and Television to also contact Lin Yingxue and offered a big contract to find Lin Yingxue to star in a new A-level drama.
Lin Yingxue originally wanted to star in Fang Xing's new drama, but Ruide Film and Television's A-level suspense drama required an investment of 70 million, more than twice as much as Fang Xing's new drama.
Moreover, Ruide Film and Television offered a premium for the film, with a high price of 18 million.
No matter what Lin Yingxue's wishes are, her agency will definitely choose Ruide Film and Television. There is no doubt about this.
One side is a B-level small investment, the other is an A-level investment, and the other side is offering a salary of 18 million yuan.
On the Ark Culture side, they are still pressing for pay.
This simple arithmetic problem can be solved with your feet.
In the end, Lin Yingxue explained the situation to Fang Xing in person, explaining that the agency had accepted a new drama for her from Red Films and was extremely sorry.
Fang Xing had no time to pay attention to the casting of the heroine. He kept talking about those veteran actors with explosive acting skills.
Because this time the play does not require high acting skills from the male and female protagonists, but it is the important elderly characters who need acting skills.
Therefore, Lin Yingxue took the initiative to apologize, but Fang Xing didn't care at all.
Besides, when you hire people to film, you need to pay them.
Lin Yingxue's current market price is upwards of 15 million.
Even if the friendship price is reduced, it cannot be reduced too much.
Fang Xing was dissatisfied with her remuneration, so he decided not to hire her.
What's more, it's no longer time to prepare for the filming of "Wulin Gaiden". Now as long as the news gets out, some actresses will come to audition.
As long as those veteran actors are finalized, it will be much easier to choose the remaining heroines.
However, Lin Yingxue was poached, which made Fang Xing vigilant and discovered that the Chen family was behind the scenes.
Judging from the actions of Pengcheng Capital and Ruide Film and Television, it is not difficult to see that the Chen family does not want the Lu family to stand up. After all, the Lu family's company is already a cooked duck, and the greed of capital does not allow this duck to fly away.
Then, the Chen family will definitely find a way to suppress the new drama being planned this time.
