Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years-Chapter 423 - 415: Are You a Cheater Too?

This year, Zhonghao Entertainment wasn’t very prolific in terms of movies; only a few films were released, and their box office performance was not particularly impressive.

The most outstanding one was probably Guo Fan’s "You Are My Deskmate," a movie with a budget of less than ten million, which grossed over five hundred million at the box office during the summer and back-to-school season.

The return on investment was unbeatable.

This result was beyond everyone’s expectations.

It was clearly visible that this "You Are My Deskmate" was greatly influenced by "First Love" and "Those Years."

Since the success of "First Love" and "Those Years," many imitative films have emerged.

Their box office generally hovers around tens of millions.

Although the box office wasn’t high, the costs were low too. If the cast consists entirely of newcomers, the total budget would only be in the tens of millions.

It’s quite normal for a movie to earn tens of millions.

What business can earn ten million these days apart from crime? There’s rarely anything with a one hundred percent profit.

However, there haven’t been many films surpassing a hundred million at the box office.

After all, people tend to compare imitative works to "First Love" and "Those Years," and if they’re much inferior, film fans won’t buy it.

Guo Fan’s film managing to achieve five hundred million at the box office is quite miraculous.

Even Qi Hao was impressed by him.

Could it be that this guy also has some sort of cheat?

Upon researching, you’ll find that Guo Fan’s film is genuinely good.

He acquired the rights to "You Are My Deskmate" and began selling nostalgia around this concept.

Even after many years, many still remember their deskmate, especially if it was a deskmate of the opposite gender. In those budding years of romance, who didn’t have some feelings for their opposite-gender deskmate?

The actors were all newcomers, and their fees accounted for less than 10% of the total cost, with many cameo appearances.

Even An Feng made an appearance.

He even got An Feng to be the producer, adding the character Shuijing to the film, and the school setting was the same as in "First Love."

Qi Hao was even written into the producer’s credits.

It seemed as if Qi Hao was involved in this film.

Jumping on the bandwagon with everything he had.

Since it’s a film produced by the same company, there were no copyright issues involved.

Also, with distribution handed to Zhonghao Entertainment, they maximized marketing with minimal cost.

Cinemas saw Qi Hao as the producer, An Feng as a cameo, and the film produced by Zhonghao Entertainment, so they immediately increased the number of screenings.

The box office exceeded a hundred million in the first week alone.

After a month of screening, it easily surpassed five hundred million.

"Where’s the producer’s fee?"

Qi Hao looked at Guo Fan, who came for recognition. Although he seemed critical, he actually appreciated him a lot.

As a filmmaker, he liked directors with such skills.

And as a boss, he surely didn’t dislike an employee who can earn as much as possible with the least cost.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have invited Guo Fan to his home as a guest.

Nowadays, Qi Hao rarely went to the company.

He claimed it was due to his trust in the management, but actually, he didn’t want to leave his pregnant wife.

If there was important business, he’d invite people to his home.

"Hehe, the earnings are all yours, boss. Why bother with a small amount like that? Boss, can I sign with Zhonghao now?"

Guo Fan remembered clearly that the company had a rule:

For an artistic film, if it secured Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film, Director, or Screenplay at specific awards, the filmmaker could sign a contract with the company and become a contracted director.

Or any other prestigious awards would qualify too.

For commercial films, as long as the box office surpasses a hundred million after release, the filmmaker can sign with the company.

Of course, this hundred million box office couldn’t be calculated after a six hundred million budget.

Currently, Zhonghao Entertainment already has many contracted directors.

"If you want to sign, then go ahead. What are you planning to film next?"

Qi Hao didn’t mind; even if Guo Fan didn’t sign, he would still invest.

"Do you know Liu Cixin?"

Guo Fan had clearly made plans, and he wanted to sign with Zhonghao Entertainment as groundwork.

"Yes, I’ve met him a few times."

Qi Hao was also part of the cultural sector and occasionally attended cultural sector meetings, which included numerous literary creators.

"He has a novel called ’The Wandering Earth,’ which I really liked after reading. Can we turn it into a film?"

At this point, Guo Fan no longer minced words.

You can use skills to persuade the boss, but you can’t treat the boss like a fool. His previous actions were necessary as he needed an opportunity to prove his worth.

Now that he completed the proof, naturally, he had to be more obedient.

"The Wandering Earth... it’s quite interesting, but the budget to film it isn’t small at all."

Qi Hao had read many of Liu Cixin’s novels, able to recite them from memory.

"I talked with Zhang Chenyu, and he said such a film could be done with extreme cost reduction, around one or two hundred million."

Guo Fan carefully observed Qi Hao’s expression.

Seeing that Qi Hao didn’t have a drastic change of expression upon hearing two hundred million, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, the thing about budgets is, the less, the more unique the approach, and the more, the more expansive the approach.

You get what you pay for.

To achieve Guo Fan’s ideal state, two hundred million isn’t much at all.

"You guys are talking about production costs, right?"

Qi Hao wasn’t easy to fool; two hundred million wasn’t much to him, but to truly film "The Wandering Earth," that budget would be severely compressed.

Guo Fan is truly a master at smooth-talking.

I guess all the actors involved will find it hard to get high pay checks.

"Yeah, as for marketing, I don’t really understand it, but since our company handles distribution ourselves, the cost shouldn’t be too high."

Guo Fan was pretending not to understand again at this point.

However, he wasn’t entirely bluffing.

Zhonghao Entertainment integrates film investment, production, and distribution, so it indeed runs more economically than other companies.

Moreover, the company has good relationships with new platforms like Penguin and Sina, making it easier to negotiate lower prices.

"Are we starting to shoot now?"

Qi Hao doesn’t really care if it’s two billion or three billion; he’s more concerned with the final product’s effects and the enhancement of the company’s overall business capacity.

It might even have a positive impact on the whole Chinese film industry.

"Hehe, that’s a bit difficult."

Guo Fan, who was highly motivated, suddenly deflated a little, sighing as he said, "The technology isn’t mature enough yet. Over at Mr. Zhang’s side, they need to overcome some visual effects technology. The movie might still need set building, so I estimate it would take at least five to six years to make."

"What?"

Qi Hao was directly stunned.

"Boss, you’re a director too. Can you start shooting this thing right away? Even hiring a Hollywood team wouldn’t get it done instantly, and besides, this project is a great training opportunity for a special effects team. You can make the movie and train the special effects team at the same time. We can’t let a Hollywood effects company take this chance."

Guo Fan quickly explained, knowing the concept of five to six years was a bit of an exaggeration.

But a sci-fi movie is not the same as a campus romance film.

A campus romance film can take half a month to prepare for shooting and be wrapped up in a month and a half.

Preparing for a sci-fi film alone could take one or two years, not to mention the need to develop targeted special effects software and overcome technical difficulties.

"Five to six years to get it done? How will you survive?"

Qi Hao was amused by him.

But he also believed that Guo Fan really put in the effort to research it.

It’s not just a heated moment of empty talking about reinvigorating Chinese sci-fi film.

"Didn’t I sign a contract with the company? I heard that the director’s contract has a guaranteed base salary of eight thousand a month."

Guo Fan had found everything out.

"..."

Qi Hao was speechless, genuinely impressed by his shamelessness in this regard.

"Ahem, there’s one more thing. I contacted Liu Cixin, and he said China Film wanted to buy it. The price he asked, China Film has already agreed to. Boss, what do you think we should do?"

Guo Fan hurried over to find Qi Hao, concerned about China Film getting there first.

"China Film, huh..."

Qi Hao was a bit surprised; since when did Han Sanping have such nerve?

If this film takes five to six years, then by the time it’s out, Han Sanping might already have retired.

He thought for a moment and gave up on throwing money to snatch Liu Cixin.

China Film is an industry giant; it’s unlikely just money would win the rights from them.

Qi Hao pulled out his phone and called Han Sanping directly.

He didn’t avoid Guo Fan; it wasn’t really such a big deal.

A few minutes later, the issue was resolved.

Qi Hao exchanged some pleasantries with Han Sanping before getting to the point, saying that a director under him was interested in "The Wandering Earth" novel and wanted to adapt it into a film.

He asked whether China Film could part with it, offering double the price for the rights.

Actually, the copyright agreement hadn’t been signed yet.

State-owned enterprise procedures are like that, even if they finalized the price, it’s not settled quickly.

Unlike Zhonghao Entertainment, once they like a script, they can resolve everything in three days.

However, Qi Hao didn’t rush over to snatch it.

He accepted that the copyright was already China Film’s. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Han Sanping not only didn’t feel offended but was rather pleased.

He acquired the novel’s rights because mainland films lacked the sci-fi genre, almost leaving a blank space.

Over time, even the higher-ups noticed it.

As The Godfather of mainland film, China Film’s Sect Leader, it became his problem.

So to retire without this issue, Han Sanping started directing China Film to buy sci-fi rights.

Planning to help find directors and investors later, hoping to fill in this gap.

"Alright, I agree."

By this point, Qi Hao didn’t dilly-dally.

He had read the original novel, which indeed could be considered a pinnacle of Huaxia sci-fi literature.

Because the development of foreign animated films is doing well, Qi Hao dared to continually invest in domestic animations.

The same logic applies to sci-fi films.

As an industry top, if Zhonghao Entertainment doesn’t delve into sci-fi, then other film companies have even less capability to do it.

Moreover, Guo Fan has already proven himself.

Qi Hao wasn’t overly concerned about the five hundred million box office of "You Are My Deskmate."

Such a sci-fi film, if directed by Zhang Yimou, would probably cost at least a billion.

Guo Fan is confident in making it happen with two to three billion.

Judging from some techniques and control abilities displayed by Guo Fan during "You Are My Deskmate," he has quite a chance to achieve it.

"I plan to have Wu Jing star in it."

Guo Fan has already proven himself,