Huayu: From an ordinary person to a happy director

Chapter 48 "Saw" was released.

"Is that so? Then will the launch of the filming plan for "Seven Fairies" affect the company's operations?" Shi Lei asked seriously.

"This has no impact. In fact, the performances of Dong Xuan and Liu Tao are enough to maintain the normal operation of the company, and it is more than enough." The Finance Manager explained.

"Huh? They can make so much money?" Shi Lei was surprised.

"Yes, they make a lot of money. Secondly, we are a film and television company, so our expenses are not as high as other companies. The largest number of people in the company are photographers, lighting technicians, makeup artists and other crew members, but they are all paid for TV series and movies. The agent is paid by the company's base salary, and her performance is paid by the agent. The artist assistants are paid entirely by the artist. The largest expense of the entire company is the more than 5000 programmers in the IT department. They are all experienced elites, with the highest salary being tens of thousands, and the lowest being ."

"Hmm? If the IT department moves to Shenzhen, can it save a lot of labor costs?" Shi Lei asked.

"The average salary for programmers in Shenzhen is around 3000 yuan."

"Oh, I plan to move the IT department to Shenzhen and set it up as an independent company called Feixun." Shi Lei expressed his plan.

Among the four major cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, three of them have local circles, but Shenzhen is the most pure. Outsiders there have only one idea, which is to make money; while the locals build buildings and collect rent; the two sides get along very harmoniously.

And aren't penguins there?

How interesting it would be to place Feixun’s headquarters there!

"You are the boss, you decide." The Finance Manager did not make any comment.

He is the finance manager of Taolin Film and Television. Even if IT becomes an independent subsidiary, the money will still be paid by Taolin Film and Television, and he will ultimately handle it.

"It's decided. Go down! I'll arrange for someone to handle it."

His base is Taolin Film and Television, but he has high hopes for Feixun. Feixun is now a chat tool and video website user, and in the future it will be a fan platform similar to Weibo, and a live broadcast and short video platform similar to Douyin.

Shi Lei called Deng Hongxu to give instructions.

In the next few days, Shi Lei handled various official duties and signed various documents in the company.

The release date of "Saw" was approaching, and although his going or not would not affect the box office, he still flew to North America because "Million Dollar Baby" would start filming in half a month.

Hans was the one who picked us up at the airport again, and this time he was smelling of cologne.

"Shi, Saw is coming out tomorrow, are you nervous?"

This time he set his sights on "Saw" and used his connections within the company. If it fails, it will have a certain impact on his career.

"I'm not nervous because I know Saw will be a success," Shi Lei said confidently.

"You really are not worried at all..." Hans complained, then he remembered the investment in the movie and immediately shut up.

With Shi Lei's current director's salary, he can invest in 5 or 6 horror films by directing one movie.

"No, I am worried, but not as worried as you." Shi Lei explained.

"Saw" was released in various theaters in North America in the early morning, and the opening box office in the first three days of the weekend was very important.

During these three days, Shi Lei stayed in the hotel, waiting for movie information here.

Three days later, Columbia received some data on "Saw" from theaters. The attendance was very high, with no obvious regional differences, and the main groups were young people and students.

Horror films are also niche films in the large North American market, and the audience is very fixed, which can almost be described as stable.

"Oh, dear Shi, we succeeded, and this movie is destined to be a great success."

Hans shouted to Shi Lei excitedly.

"The data is out? How much is it?" Shi Lei was also eager to know.

Confident, but he is also very concerned, which involves his subsequent package.

"Hans, hurry up and tell me, are you trying to drive me crazy?" Wen Zairen was even more anxious than Shi Lei, and stepped forward to grab Hans. "Hahaha..." Hans laughed loudly, and after holding Shi Lei for a while, he said, "Dear Shi, just a few hours ago, I got the opening box office data of Saw.
Our opening box office ranked third on the entire list, and our three-day opening box office was 15.4 million. Cheers…"

"Wow……"

Shi Lei was not used to this way of celebration and screamed like a ghost, but he could still feel Hans' excitement.

"Yeah!" Wen Zairen also cheered happily.

Shi Lei also became excited, with the box office figures he had just heard still buzzing in his mind.

At this moment, Shi Lei knew that he had already stepped into the door of Hollywood. As for how far he could go, it all depended on how he moved forward.

The news spread back to China, and word about Saw’s first weekend box office performance spread in the country.

"Saw opened with $1350 million, and the North American box office is expected to exceed $5000 million, and the global box office is expected to exceed $ million."

"The first weekend box office results for the Hollywood movie invested and produced by Silver Lion director Shi Lei are out."

"Shocking! Saw cost $120 million to make!"

Compared to the spectators, those in the circle were more surprised.

"Saw" is different from "The Matrix: Keepers". This film was produced by Shi Lei's company. According to previous data, Shi Lei can get about one-third of the total box office.

This means that Shi Lei can get at least 3000 million US dollars, or 2.8 million RMB.

The investment was only 120 million US dollars, the cost was 984 million RMB, and the profit was 2.7 million RMB. Shi Lei made a lot of money!

The highest-grossing domestic film in the country is "Hero", which only grossed 2.5 million yuan. The total box office is 2000 million less than Shi Lei's net profit, not to mention the net profit. There is no comparison at all.

Is this how Hollywood makes money?
Domestic directors, producers and investors are all jealous.

…………

News about Shi Lei on the other side of the ocean appeared everywhere on various news websites. Due to the subject matter of "Saw", the official media did not report it directly.

Those who have Shi Lei's contact information can just call him directly, but the person who answers the phone is usually Shi Lei's assistant. Only a few people know Shi Lei's other number, such as Han Sanpin, Yang Mi, and Dong Xuan.

However, due to the time difference, these people took from day to night to get through to Shi Lei.

As soon as Shi Lei got up and turned on his phone, it started ringing non-stop, and the person who talked the most was Han Sanpin.

Seeing Shi Lei's success, Han Sanpin had a new idea.

"Shi Lei, what do you think about China Film establishing a branch in Hollywood?"

He also wants to learn from Shi Lei and make money in North America.

China Film Group cannot afford to invest in a movie costing over 10 million U.S. dollars, but it can afford to invest 1 million U.S. dollars.

"Director Han, it's absolutely impossible. North America will not allow China Film to open a branch in Hollywood."

"These are all negotiable. Hollywood can open a joint venture with us in China, and so can we." Han Sanpin didn't want to give up the opportunity to make money.

Uh, speaking of this, Shi Lei didn't know what to say. He remembered that in the previous life, Huayi, China Film Group and Columbia Film Group jointly established a company, but this company did not make any waves in the mainland.

Similarly, China Film Corporation will not make any waves if it comes to Hollywood, whether it is a wholly-owned subsidiary or a joint venture.

Sony paid billions of dollars to gain a foothold in Hollywood. If it were China Film, tens of billions of dollars would be at stake, and as soon as it gained a foothold, it would face sanctions.

(End of this chapter)