They have become goddess husbands, who needs a superstar system

Chapter 543 Details determine success or failure (two-in-one)

Yang Yi learned about the news that several investors wanted to withdraw their capital on the set of "The Wandering Earth".

At that time, the filming of "The Wandering Earth" had just begun. Le Zehan, who was originally directing the publicity work of "I'm Not a Passerby" in Beijing, couldn't sit still. He hurriedly bought a plane ticket and flew to Qingdao to discuss with Yang Yi.

"Withdraw capital? How much?" Yang Yi asked with a frown.

"Let me do the math. Excluding the liquidated damages they need to pay for withdrawing their capital, our current funding gap is about 60 million." Le Zehan had already calculated the accounts clearly before coming.

"Sixty million is not a lot. Didn't many bosses rush to cast in our director Yang's drama before?" Jin Longbo thought it was not a big deal, and his tone was very relaxed.

"The past was before, and the present is now. The project "The Wandering Earth" was originally established under the background of "Saw"'s global box office of more than 3.5 billion. At that time, including Mr. Cheng and Mr. You , they all have full confidence in our Brother Yi." Le Zehan explained.

Stimulated by the astonishing return on investment ratio of "Saw", many investors are a little irrational. Let alone 500 million, it is estimated that Yang Yi needs 1 billion, and Le Zehan can raise it for him.

However, their film investment is not a Ponzi scheme after all. When the investors calm down, they have no choice but to withdraw the funds even if liquidated damages are deducted according to the contract.

"Mr. Cheng and Mr. You are also going to divest their capital?" Jin Longbo was shocked. He knew that Damo Pictures and Yueshi had always been their closest partners with Mumu Film and Television. If these two companies also wanted to divest, it would be a big problem. .

"They didn't plan to withdraw their capital, but they all knew about it and called us to ask about our situation. Mr. Cheng said that he has confidence in our brother Yi, but the investment risk this time is indeed relatively high. Next time, the investment will be smaller We must give him more share of the movie." Le Zehan smiled bitterly.

Cheng Wannian, that old fox, knows how to take advantage of opportunities to ask for favors.

He has also made a lot of money with Yang Yi over the years, and he can afford to lose 50 million yuan. What's more, based on his understanding of Yang Yi, even if "The Wandering Earth" couldn't make back its money, it wouldn't be a loss of all his 50 million.

What Cheng Wannian values ​​​​is Yang Yi's other film projects in the future, and he also believes that Yang Yi will definitely be able to make a movie or TV series that makes a lot of money. Therefore, he didn't want to add insult to injury to Yang Yi at this time, but by making a suggestion at the right time and letting Yang Yi and Le Zehan owe him a favor, he could earn more from Yang Yi in the future.

"The current public opinion environment is not very favorable to us. The box office of "Buddha Plus" was not that good, which has also affected us. In addition, the investment volume of "The Wandering Earth" is so large, even if you want to invest in our brother Yi Boss, you must also weigh the risks." Le Zehan shook his head.

It’s not that there is no way to attract investment.

No matter how bad the public opinion environment that Mumu Films is currently in, it can't change the fact that it is the most profitable among many film and television companies. If Le Zehan goes out to solicit investment again, he will definitely not encounter the situation of "The Hidden Corner" where everyone was rejected.

But even if those investors are willing to invest in "The Wandering Earth", they will probably set many barriers, such as requiring Yang Yi to sign a gambling agreement with them.

In fact, the investors brought by Zou Taibo made a condition before they withdrew their capital. They did not have to withdraw their capital, but the gambling agreement that Yang Yi was unwilling to sign before had to be signed. They took the risk and should be divided. More box office revenue.

Don't think that because Yang Yi is famous now and has brilliant box office results, he doesn't need to sign a gambling agreement.

For example, this year's Spring Festival box-office champion "Swat", director Ning Yude signed a betting agreement with investors and distributors. His qualifications are twenty years older than Yang Yi's, and his previous works have also been box office hits. commercial blockbuster, but in front of the investment he wanted to get, he obediently picked up the signature pen.

Should "The Wandering Earth" use the gambling agreement to get the shortfall of 60 million in investment?

Le Zehan wanted to ask Yang Yi's opinion.

"The investment of 500 million in "The Wandering Earth" is not too much! The investment in Hollywood's science fiction blockbusters is 100 to 200 million US dollars. When converted into RMB, it is 700-800 million, or even more than 100 million yuan! 700-800 million is very Rare! Compared with other people’s, Brother Yi’s 500 million yuan is really not much at all. Without so much money, how can our domestic science fiction blockbusters compete with Hollywood?” Liao Chunsheng also spoke.

He is currently in Yangcheng to promote "I'm Not a Passerby", so he can only participate in this discussion through remote meetings.

Liao Chunsheng participated in the negotiations for a large number of props and special effects cooperation in "The Wandering Earth" in the early stage. He is very aware of the gap between the domestic science fiction film industry and the foreign science fiction film industry. He is also very aware of how low the quotations given by these domestic companies to their crews are. It is even clearer that without the support of these companies and the people fighting behind the scenes of the film, their film would not be completed at all.

Therefore, he believes that the cost of 2028 million is really not low, and it is now !

"If we can't reach an agreement, I will pay for the 60 million myself." Yang Yi was silent for a while, and then he spoke, surprising everyone.

"Brother Yi, do you want to invest more? We have already invested 200 million in this movie. If we continue to invest, then we will only invest more than half of this movie. This is a very high risk!" Le Zehan actually said He was not surprised by Yang Yi's decision, but he still reminded him worriedly.

It is said on the Internet that a movie worth 500 million yuan can only pay back 1.5 billion yuan. This statement is actually not very accurate, because many people have forgotten that there is a tax deduction.

In other words, the box office of "The Wandering Earth" must reach at least 1.78 billion before it can see the possibility of getting back its capital. And if investors only expect to get their capital back, it is better not to invest.

Yang Yi has personally invested 200 million in this movie, and will add another 60 million. If he loses, the consequences will be disastrous.

"Anyway, our movie must be made! Others are not optimistic about it and think that good science fiction blockbusters cannot be made in China, so we will prove to them that we can not only shoot well, but also sell well! I hope we can do it well! When the time comes, those who withdraw their investment should not regret it." Yang Yi said it lightly, as if he was very optimistic about the future box office of "The Wandering Earth".

"Brother Yi, how about we think about it again and see where we can save more money?" Jin Longbo and Le Zehan had the same idea at this time, and they were both worried about Yang Yi.

Because Yang Yi invested in "The Wandering Earth" in his and Li Mengfei's names and with their own money, even if they lose money, it will not affect Mumu Films.

The production cost of 500 million yuan already includes the actors' salaries, as well as the production and publicity expenses of Mumu Film and Television.

But Yang Yi’s future is also the future of Mumu Film and Television. Le Zehan, Liao Chunsheng, and Jin Longbo have long been closely linked to Yang Yi’s development. They don’t want Yang Yi to fail, and they also want to support Yang Yi. worried about the desperate move.

"There must be places to save money. For example, Brother Yi, you asked professors and students from Beijing Airlines to help design and make the carrier vehicle. I don't think it is necessary to spend real money to build the vehicle, right? You can get a driver's cab. Come out, and then we will use a green screen for the car, and then let the special effects company help us put it on." Liao Chunsheng immediately proposed a "saving money" plan.

<divclass="contentadv">He is in charge of that truck. Before Liao Chunsheng went to promote "I'm Not a Passerby", he contacted Beijing Airlines. Peng Wenqiao helped connect several professors from the School of Transportation Science and Engineering, the School of Materials Science and Engineering, and the School of Energy and Power Engineering. , they formed a research team with their respective graduate students, and the crew paid for them to build the carrier vehicle.

Of course, it was impossible to build a real delivery vehicle. Yang Yi's requirement for them was that the appearance of the vehicle should be realistic, so that people could not see the flaws at a glance.

In addition, the material of the body must be particular and cannot be made of heavy steel. In this way, their six-axis electric platform (also a completely new design) cannot shake this car. At the same time, the materials have to be built without being bumped, shaken, or knocked apart after a few hits.

Therefore, the research team has been working on it for more than a month, and the carrier vehicle is still at the design level, and it has not yet been completed. Yang Yi and the others are mainly filming scenes on the space station, and the scenes on earth will have to wait until the summer vacation. Shooting at the right time can also stagger the delivery time of sets and props.

If they really use materials to build a car, the crew will definitely spend a lot of money.

Liao Chunsheng knew that they did not need to actually build the car. Although special effects would also cost money, special effects were required anyway, so any savings would be worth it.

"Yes, Brother Yi, there is also the screen UI. We have spent a lot of money on it, and we have to design it in advance, get the screen ready, and arrange a lot of people to control the screen UI. How about we do it the same way as abroad? , use a green screen to shoot, and add special effects later, which should also save some money." Jin Longbo followed up with the suggestion.

In order to make a good screen UI, Yang Yi also set up a team, and this team is currently in charge of Jin Longbo.

"No. You can't save a penny of the money you should spend! For the screen UI, if you have a real scene to shoot it, and if you don't have a real scene to shoot it, it's completely different! Think about it, if you take a shot of a person using a computer, he is facing a person. Doesn’t the reflection of the face and glasses have a completely different effect on a computer that is just covered with a green cloth when using a real computer?" Yang Yi rejected their proposal firmly.

"These can also be added with special effects, right?" Jin Longbo scratched his head.

He and Yang Yi went to Hollywood to film "Saw" before. Not only did they film "Saw", Yang Yi also took them to visit other film companies, especially the film and television production processes of the top Hollywood companies. .

Jin Longbo knows that foreign special effects are very powerful. Even not just science fiction movies, but ordinary horror movies use a lot of green screen special effects technology.

"It's hard to achieve perfection in special effects. The details of fingerprints and dust cannot be as perfect as real shots. Not to mention that special effects also cost money." Yang Yi said to Jin Longbo and nodded repeatedly.

That said, there's really nothing wrong with it.

There is indeed a big difference between special effects and real shooting. Special effects cannot restore the real details one by one. If we really want to do it, we don’t know how much more work will be required, and we don’t know how much money it will cost!

"The same is true for delivery vehicles. If you want to make the future more realistic, you need to create these details. Our domestic film companies have never made science fiction blockbusters before. Why do science fiction fans criticize them for not doing well? That's it. Because their details are messed up, and the special effects in the presentation of the film make people feel fake at first glance, science fiction fans will naturally not be able to watch it."

"A good science fiction blockbuster must be made with a lot of details. We can be lazy or save money by not doing that. But if we want to make it well and rectify the name of domestic science fiction movies, we must do this. You have to compete with yourself!"

Yang Yi seemed to be possessed by Director Guo Fan at this moment. After the sensational speech, everyone felt excited. Even Le Zehan couldn't help but burst into tears.

"I feel like I'm back to the time when we were filming "The Hidden Corner"! Although there were many problems during the filming, and Yi Geqi had to make up the funds out of his own pocket, I firmly believe that our work is very good, and those If people don’t invest, they are blind! When we make it, it will definitely be very popular! It was like this with "The Hidden Corner", and it will be like this with "The Wandering Earth"!" Le Zehan said with excitement.

He has also read the script of "The Wandering Earth". Just by reading the script, he knew that this movie was very good.

Now seeing that Yang Yi would rather pay 60 million out of his own pocket to make the movie's details perfect, Le Zehan is even more convinced that this movie is wonderful.

A movie that Yang Yi made in less than a month can earn billions at the global box office. There is no reason to plan for a science fiction blockbuster that took him a year to polish to hit the streets.

"Brother Yi, how about this! We, Mumu Film and Television, have invested these 60 million. There is no reason for you to just bear the risk yourself, and we will enjoy the gains. Let's all come together, and everyone will be prosperous and everyone will suffer losses!" Le Zehan was in a very happy mood. Excited, but calm-headed, I made this request.

Yang Yi's personal investment and Mumu Film and Television's investment are not the same!

Yang Yi's money still accounts for the majority of Mumu Film and Television's investment, but it also includes money from shareholders such as Le Zehan and Liao Chunsheng, as well as money from important personnel such as Shen Qiu Shuang and Jin Longbo who have received equity incentive clauses.

It's like Li Mengfei invested in "Universe Exploration Editorial Department". Li Mengfei took most of the box office profits, and the shareholders of Mumu Film and Television did not get much dividends.

Returns and risks exist at the same time. Yang Yi and Li Mengfei were able to obtain high returns because they took huge risks in the early stage.

Le Zehan now wants Mumu Film and Television to contribute capital, not because they are jealous of the money Yang Yi and Li Mengfei make, but because they want to use their own money to share the risk with Yang Yi when the income is still very slim. .

"You want to pay 60 million together?" Yang Yi was a little surprised.

Of course, Le Zehan's proposal also needs the approval of other shareholders, and Yang Yi has already given the decision-making power to them.

"I have no objection!" Liao Chunsheng was the first to respond.

"I have no objection either." Shen Qiushuang followed Liao Chunsheng's footsteps.

"When Brother Yi was filming "The Hidden Corner", I hadn't even come to the company yet. Mr. Le said that the situation we are facing now is similar to "The Hidden Corner", so I had to get involved!" Jin Longbo laughed.

Thanks to Autumn God Light for the reward! ! ! (づ￣3￣)づ