madnovel Chapter 31: The Script of "The Medicine God"
Chapter 31: The Script of "The Medicine God"
Soon, the crew of the movie "Take My Brother Away" packed their luggage, left their hotel rooms, and gathered downstairs.
Afterwards, Han Ziming, Xiao Ye, Xiao Wang, Wen Muye, and the film crew boarded a bus and headed to Xiamen Island High-Speed Railway Station.
Because there were too many people in the film crew, Han Ziming did not travel by plane alone this time when returning to Beijing.
About half an hour later, everyone went through the high-speed rail security check and went to the waiting hall. Soon after, the high-speed rail arrived at the station, and everyone boarded the train one by one and found their seats.
Han Ziming deliberately sat next to Wen Muye and said this.
"Director Wen, I plan to release this film in early January, so we don't have much time left!"
"No, I'll call you boss! Are you kidding me? It's already the 6th!"
Wen Muye looked at Han Ziming speechlessly, with an expression that said, "You're making things difficult for me."
"It's a bit rushed, but the target audience for this show is mainly students. If it's not broadcast during winter break, we'll have to wait until next summer!"
"With such a short time, I can only work overtime to cut it."
"It's okay, I've already written down the key points for the editing."
After speaking, Han Ziming took out his phone and sent the document containing the key points of the editing to Wen Muye's WeChat.
Wen Muye reluctantly picked up his phone, opened the document Han Ziming had sent via WeChat, and began browsing it.
After a long pause, he said with a smile.
"If you had this, why didn't you take it out earlier?"
"I only recently finished writing it."
Han Ziming was also helpless, he had been too busy lately, and he only managed to finish this document after returning to Beijing a few days ago.
The reason for insisting on releasing the film during the winter break is that there aren't many big movies in December this year and January next year. For example, "The Sword of the Three Young Masters," which was released on December 2nd, has already flopped.
The film grossed 1858 million yuan on its opening day.
The film grossed 1907 million on the second day.
After that, the box office plummeted.
Yesterday, December 5th,
The film's box office revenue was only 719 million.
Han Ziming remembers that the movie adaptation of the TV series barely grossed over 100 million yuan, a huge loss.
Although "The Great Wall," which was released in mid-December, was heavily marketed and pre-sold, Han Ziming had a deep impression of it. He remembered that in his previous life, the movie's box office was over 11 billion yuan.
This film is a Sino-US co-production, and even the gimmick of director Zhang and a large number of stars couldn't save it. The plot was too melodramatic, and ultimately, the media reviews were sharp, with many negative comments.
If a movie with a decent plot were to be released before New Year's Day, Han Ziming believes the box office performance wouldn't be too bad.
He opted out of the Spring Festival film season altogether.
The 2017 Spring Festival film season was a battle of the titans.
With films by Jackie Chan, Hing Yee, Deng Chao, Wang Baoqiang, and others being released one after another, he, as a newcomer, had no confidence to try his hand at it, especially since it wasn't a comedy.
Soon, Han Ziming and Wen Muye finished discussing the film editing, with Han Ziming explaining each aspect in detail, including editing, music, and visual color.
Only then did Wen Muye feel relieved. He then opened WeChat on his phone and sent a file to Han Ziming via WeChat.
Han Ziming received a WeChat message and asked in surprise, "What's this?"
"Boss, this is the movie script I told you about last time, the one we're going to shoot after the New Year."
Upon hearing this, Han Ziming immediately became serious. He clicked on it and, sure enough, it was the real-life movie about drug trafficking.
He thought to himself, "Finally, this movie is here. All this planning over the years has finally paid off."
"Dying to Survive" tells the story of a male health product salesman who can't afford his rent because his father is sick.
They could only bring back exorbitantly priced generic drugs from India to make money and sold them privately. Ultimately, their story evolves from selfishness to selflessness, fighting for the patients' right to survival.
In his previous life, Han Ziming was also filled with emotion after reading it.
It must be said that Xu Zheng and others performed very well.
It truly portrays a unique and vivid portrait of ordinary people, and the film has won numerous awards.
Half an hour later, he carefully read through the script, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Director Wen," he said, "the script is indeed well-written, but are you sure this kind of plot will pass censorship? Can it be filmed?"
After hearing this, Wen Muye said with a serious expression, "Don't worry about that. We've had someone with relevant experience review the script."
Han Ziming immediately realized that it was very likely that Third Master had seen it.
He then frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and suggested, "However, it feels similar to the American film 'Dallas Buyers Club,' so I suggest we buy the adaptation rights."
Wen Muye quickly explained, "Boss, although it's somewhat similar, it's adapted from a real domestic case, and we have authorization from the parties involved, so there's no need to worry."
After hearing this, Han Ziming smiled and nodded, saying, "As long as there are no problems, that's fine. Do you have anyone in mind regarding the actors?"
Wen Muye scratched his head and then asked, "Not yet. After reading it, do you think it's suitable?"
Han Ziming spoke slowly and earnestly, "The male lead, Cheng Yong, is a greasy middle-aged man. We need to choose someone suitable who can also carry the box office."
I think we could consider Xu Zheng, Huang Bo, and Zhang Jiayi.
He named all the actors he thought were suitable at the moment.
Upon hearing this, Wen Muye's eyes lit up, and he excitedly said, "Boss, these guys are all talented, and the box office will be great. I've discovered you have a really good eye!"
Han Ziming waved his hand modestly and said, "I was just saying. Actually, Teacher Xu Zheng is the most suitable."
"Hey, you know what, it really suits you!"
Wen Muye nodded repeatedly.
Soon, Han Ziming told Wen Muye in detail about the main creative team members of "Dying to Survive" from his previous life.
However, he specifically mentioned Wang Ziqi and suggested that he play the role of Peng Hao, who is also known as Huang Mao in the drama.
After discussing the actors,
Han Ziming looked at Wen Muye and asked earnestly, "Director Wen, what's your budget for this film?"
Wen Muye rubbed his hands together and said, "I haven't really calculated it yet, boss. What do you think is a suitable price?"
Han Ziming thought for a moment, then held up one finger.
"Around 1 million, and we'll be filming overseas. If we're going to cast Xu Zheng, he'll definitely need a share of the budget, so we'll have to increase it."
"really!"
Fumino expressed his agreement.
Han Ziming looked at Wen Muye and asked.
"I really like this script, are you going to invest?"
"I...I'll think about it some more..."
Wen Muye scratched his head and said hesitantly.
"Boss, I want to invest 10 million for a 1000% stake, but I don't have that much capital right now; I'm 800 million short."
Han Ziming thought for a moment and then spoke.
"How about this, I'll lend you 800 million first, and the director's fee of 2 million will be calculated as 200% of the total. You don't have much money to begin with, so you don't need to raise the money yourself, right?"
Upon hearing this, Wen Muye excitedly exclaimed, "Really? Thank you so much, boss!"
Han Ziming waved his hand and said casually, "What are you thanking me for? You'll put more effort into the filming because you invested money, so you deserve it."
After hesitating for a few seconds, Wen Muye spoke up: "I need to reserve some shares for China Film Group. Boss, how do you plan to divide them?"
Han Ziming opened his luggage, pulled out a blank sheet of paper, and quickly wrote down a few numbers:
"Mozi Films takes 50%, China Film Group takes 20%, Wanda Pictures takes 10%, you take 10%, and the remaining 10% will be divided between the screenwriter and Xu Zheng."
Looking at the numbers on the paper, Wen Muye asked with doubt, "Boss, doesn't China Film's share seem a bit small?"
Han Ziming put down his pen and looked at Wen Muye, saying, "That's quite a lot. China Film Group has many projects, so they won't take up much of the market. They also have cinema chains."
Wen Muye bit his lower lip, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Boss, do we really need to bring Wanda in?"
Han Ziming leaned back and said with a smile:
"Making money is important, but this is a realistic film. With another film industry giant involved, the risks can be shared if problems arise."
As a state-owned enterprise, China Film Group has some matters that are inconvenient for it to handle directly, which is the significance of Wanda's existence.
Even if the film is boycotted, we have our own people in theaters, so its release is guaranteed; it's like having a safety net.
Wen Muye nodded repeatedly, his eyes full of admiration, and couldn't help but slap his thigh.
"Incredible! You've really thought of everything, boss!"
Looking at the young yet composed boss in front of me.
Wen Muye was filled with emotion. He hadn't expected Han Ziming to be so thoughtful at such a young age, and to be so generous in lending him money to invest in his movie. This was a great favor.
In fact, Han Ziming wanted to use this method to bind Wen Muye, so that if Han Ziming were to invest in his works for the next few years, he would not refuse.
He cleared his throat and continued:
"Then I'll finish editing the movie 'Brother Kuai' as soon as possible and try to start the new project next year."
"Okay, I'll wait for your good news."
Han Ziming smiled and nodded, then said.
Suddenly, Wen Muye slapped his forehead, as if he had remembered something.
"By the way, Xiao Wang doesn't need to audition anymore. Let him participate directly. It's reassuring to use someone you know."
"You're the director, so naturally you have the final say. I'm just offering some suggestions."
After listening, Han Ziming chuckled and waved his hand.
Fumino said firmly:
"Then it's settled. Can I discuss the funding directly with Mr. Li?"
"That's right. If you can't handle the other partners, talk to Li Feng."
Han Ziming nodded and said.
Fumino said happily:
"Okay, I'll go to the company to sign the contract with General Manager Li then."
Two hours had passed since the two finished talking, and then the high-speed train arrived at Yanjing High-speed Railway Station.
This time, because Han Ziming had something to talk about with the director, Zhou Ye didn't disturb him, but just told Han Ziming to remember the agreement.
After everyone exited the station, Mozi Films had already arranged for a driver to pick them up and take them directly back to Yanying.
Wen Muye, his team, and the rest of the film crew all left.