Huayu: From an ordinary person to a happy director

Chapter 43 Earn foreign exchange and enrich the country

An hour later, Yang Mi, looking radiant, walked out while wiping the corners of her mouth.

The assistant sitting outside the office secretly looked at Yang Mi and found that Yang Mi's fair skin had a faint blush, her cheeks were like a red sunset, and the original pink lipstick had disappeared.

Hiss, the two of them are messing around again...

In the office, Shi Lei felt relaxed all over. Yang Mi was very conscientious and worked hard for forty minutes.

Yang Mi worked very hard, but his skills were not good enough, and there was a big difference between watching and actually doing it.

Moreover, Yang Mi was a typical inexperienced person. He just hit her a few times and Yang Mi couldn't stand it and begged for mercy.

She is very feminine.

Shi Lei found a towel and wiped the desk clean, then went into the specially prepared, fully functional bathroom and took out a mop to mop the floor near the desk.

Pick up the remote control and turn on the air change function.

I looked out through the office window, but failed because the view was blocked by other buildings.

When I have enough money, I will definitely build my own office building.

Shi Lei sat down and began planning a series of film projects in North America.

The reason why he went abroad for his third film was not only to win an Oscar, but also to make dollars to accelerate the development of his domestic company!
Earning foreign exchange is more fulfilling than earning money domestically!

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In North America, Shi Lei had just gotten off the plane when Mike brought people to pick him up.

As soon as Mike saw Shi Lei, he walked up to him and wanted to give him a warm hug.

Shi Lei stretched out his hand to stop him and said with disdain: "Mike, did you just come out from a bunch of women? You smell like that!"

It smells like alcohol, perfume, sweat, and everything else.

"Shi, this is not my fault. You came too suddenly and didn't give me any time to prepare. You sent me a message right after get off work. I was at a crazy party at that time. I was so happy that I didn't even notice that my phone was turned off. When I saw your message, it was already dawn. I didn't even sleep and rushed over directly. Shi, I value you very much!"

After a pause, he emphasized: "I really take it very seriously!"

"After spending the whole night in a spree, you guys are awesome. But forget about your way of showing respect, you should take a shower before coming to see me next time! The smell is so strong, it makes you uncomfortable, and it makes me uncomfortable too."

"Shi, you are so hurtful. Aren't you touched?" Mike looked sad.

"Well, if you just give me one million dollars, I'll be very touched!"

"Uh...Shi, you're a money-grubber, but I like that very much because I like money, too! We'll have a lot in common!"

"Just get down to business. You said there was a problem with the script. What was it?" Shi Lei actually wanted to ask how he managed to stay so energetic after spending a whole night there, but the movie was more important.

"Director Clint Eastwood has taken a fancy to your script and wants to buy it for $1000 million." Mike explained with a somewhat grim expression.

"Our project has been approved, and he comes to buy the script?" Shi Lei was shocked.

"Director Clint Eastwood saw this script a long time ago. He sent an email saying that he wanted to buy it, but he never got a reply." Mike looked at Shi Lei with inquiring eyes. After the success of "The Matrix: Keeper of Darkness", they investigated Shi Lei. They were shocked to find that Shi Lei had a lot of original scripts and the film and television adaptation rights of many novels.

"Oh, I thought the email was a scam, so I ignored it. I'm not familiar with North American directors." Shi Lei explained.

The truth is, he saw the email and knew who the other party was. He was not famous at the time, but he did not want to sell the script. He was also worried that the other party would use their connections to influence his awards in Venice, so he used the tactic of procrastination and pretended not to have seen the email.

Clint Eastwood is already a man in his 70s. Who knows if he has any weird connections that would hinder his "Empty Room"? That would be troublesome.

"Shi, you lost an opportunity to make a fortune directly. I heard that he raised the price to 500 million US dollars. If you sold the script directly, you could make commercial films instead of art films. You are a commercial film director." Mike looked regretful. Shi Lei frowned. Is this a tip for me? Do you want me to focus on commercial films and not art films?

It’s a pity that the film and television industry takes the Oscars very seriously!
In terms of improving one's status in the industry, making several films that gross over 100 million yuan is equivalent to making an Oscar-winning film.

The Internet at that time was not as developed as it would be ten years later, so professional film reviews within the industry were also very important.

Good film reviews within the industry and audiences willing to pay for it are the double blessing that allows the film's box office to reach an incredible height.

"I also feel it's a pity, but now I'm not short of money. I also like this script very much and want to shoot it myself. This is my personal idea." After a pause, Shi Lei continued: "The most troublesome thing is that this film project has been signed with my country Film Group Corporation. I can't breach the contract unless you can convince China Film Group Corporation."

Mike sighed and said, "I will report this to my superiors. I will handle this matter."

Shi Lei has made it very clear that it is a personal refusal and the guest does not allow it.

If only one of them objects, there is a way to solve it, but if both of them are against it, there is really no way to solve it.

China Film Group must be on the same page as Shi Lei. How can this problem be solved?

However, Shi Lei's refusal was just a matter of a few words, and he would have to go back and explain.

As for letting Shi Lei meet Clint Eastwood, this is absolutely not possible. Clint Eastwood is 70 years old and has many connections in the circle. If the two of them don't get along well, it will be troublesome.

Shi Lei made him a lot of money, so he had to protect it well.

"Then hurry up and give me a reply within a week. If Warner is unwilling to invest, I can look for other companies." Shi Lei decided to give Warner one last chance.

"Shi, don't worry. Warner will definitely invest. Just give us some time." Mike hurriedly assured.

He was telling the truth. In 01, China joined the WTO and officially opened its market to the outside world. Their films were also able to enter the Chinese market.

Even though the current upper limit of Chinese film box office is not high, don't forget that this is a market of more than one billion people. As long as it is well developed and one in ten people can form the habit of going to the cinema to watch movies, it will be a huge market.

Warner attaches great importance to the Chinese market and has already invested in building cinemas in China.

They also plan to set up a Sino-foreign joint venture film and television company. "Million Dollar Baby" can be linked to China Film, which will be beneficial to Warner.

Of course, Warner doesn't mind kicking Shi Lei out and cooperating directly with China Film.

"Okay, I'll wait for you when I tell you the time. I'm going back to the hotel now."

Shi Lei brought his people to the booked hotel, and Mike followed and booked a room on the same floor.

After the two exchanged greetings for a while, Mike returned to Warner.

Shi Lei instructed the employees who followed him, "Go find a production company that's for sale and buy one directly."

"Okay, boss." Several employees responded and got up to leave.

Shi Lei was in the room, opening the email address he left on the script copyright website.

Many people sent him emails, all wanting to buy the script.

One of them caught his attention——James Wan

It’s not surprising that Wan Zairen found him, as he had applied for the copyright for the Saw series.

Wan Zairen is a director who can both make money and save money.

Shi Lei likes this kind of director very much. Making big money with small cost is Shi Lei's favorite model.

(End of this chapter)