A great director who grew up happily

Chapter 330: The pitifully small film market

That morning, Chen Jinnian had just finished editing the movie trailer and sent it to the post-production department when he received a call from his counselor Gao Xu.

"Chen Jinnian, I have news for you. The micro-film has been finalized. It will be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Media outlets under the Central Propaganda Department and the Foreign Propaganda Department will release it simultaneously."

The event itself was good news, but Chen Jinnian couldn't feel happy. Instead, he felt a sense of relief after passing the homework assessment.

"Then I thank the teacher for the good news."

"That's not good news at all. You deserve it." After Gao Xu finished speaking, he changed the subject and lowered his voice to continue, "There's a film and television project within the Central Propaganda Department right now, a TV series about the revolutionary era, and they're looking for a director. Are you interested? If so, the dean can promote you."

"Now that the bigwigs at the Central Propaganda Department have seen your movie, they have a very good impression of you. If you want to run for president, I estimate there's an 80% chance of that happening."

An 80% probability. Chen Jinnian's face turned serious. This sentence has different meanings when placed in different contexts.

If it is placed in an Internet company, it means that the project is somewhat reliable and can be invested in and tried, but if it is placed in an administrative system, the probability of 80% is a euphemism for a done deal.

"Teacher, how much do you know about the project? How long is the filming period?"

"I'm not sure about the details, but I do know that the Central Propaganda Department and the TV stations in Anhui and ours have confirmed that the film and television projects we're supporting will air in early 2021. Think carefully about what this timeframe means. I've made it clear to you: as long as you take your time and shoot well, the Best Director award will definitely be yours, and no one else can take it away."

Gao Xu said solemnly that in his opinion, this was simply to feed Chen Jinnian.

After hearing this, Chen Jinnian started counting on his fingers: 17 years, 18 years, 19 years, 20 years. It didn’t matter if he didn’t count, but when he calculated, it turned out to be four years. To complete a TV series in four years, the shooting period would be less than one year.

"No, teacher, I can't take on a project like this. The lead time is too long, and with a film or TV series of such political significance, no one dares to make a mistake. Once filming begins, we'll need six or seven executive directors from various parties, and I simply can't mobilize them."

He quickly refused, saying that the project was definitely a good one, and he even vaguely guessed it was the TV series, but being asked to be the director would definitely be a torture. With his current qualifications, there would definitely be executive directors and assistant directors who would disagree with him.

Gao Xu hadn't expected that he wouldn't participate, so he advised with some regret, "Don't be so hasty to refuse. This is a really good opportunity, and now is the early preparation stage. There's still a long time before the official filming. You should think it over carefully."

"Okay, teacher, I'll think about it."

After talking with Gao Xu, Chen Jinnian sat in his office chair and rubbed his temples. The current situation was far from what he had imagined. He had originally thought that everything would proceed step by step, with one movie and one TV series being filmed one by one.

It turned out that projects seemed to multiply, appearing one after another. Some invited him to be an actor, and some asked him to be a director. He was so busy that he could never finish his work.

"I'll sort out the work I have and give myself a break."

He muttered softly and began to type on the keyboard, but before he could type two lines, the office door was suddenly pushed open.

In the company, there are only two people who never knock on the door when entering his office. One is Chen Ming and the other is Wang Yidi. However, the person who came in today was another person, Qiao Yingzi.

After coming in, Qiao Yingzi ran straight behind him and patted his shoulder firmly.

"Okay, you're really capable now. You've built such a big company without making any noise."

Chen Jinnian ignored him because Ji Yangyang, Huang Zhitao and Fang Yifan all walked in, but Wang Yidi was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Yidi?"

"You are so obsessed with beauty that you forget your friends. I am standing in front of you. Can you please care about me first?" There was a hint of jealousy in Qiao Yingzi's tone. It was obvious that she had a good relationship with Chen Jinnian. If Wang Yidi hadn't intervened, they would definitely still be close friends.

"Yidi is my girlfriend, isn't it okay for me to care about her?"

As Chen Jinnian spoke, he pushed Qiao Yingzi's hand aside. This girl hit him so hard that she almost broke his shoulder.

"Don't ask, she's talking to your mother-in-law on the phone." After Ji Yangyang said that, he pushed Fang Yifan, who was fiddling around, and asked him to be quiet.

Ji Yangyang has a good temper most of the time, except when he met Fang Yifan. The other party's strong curiosity is really annoying. He touches everything he sees. When he came just now, he sat in his car and pressed all the buttons on the car. Ji Yangyang was so angry that he almost stopped the car and had a fight with Fang Yifan.

"Why are you pushing me? I'm just looking."

Fang Yifan said impatiently, then sat down on the boss's desk and asked, "Jinnian, tell me, how much money did you make last year? How much do you think I can make by making a movie?"

"How can I make any money? The company's accounts are still in the red. I didn't see a cent from last year's box office. I'm lucky if the money can be deposited into the company's account by March this year."

Then he leaned back in his chair and continued, "You want to make a movie, but which one have you got: funding, script, or actors?"

"Hey, as long as the funds are in place, the remaining two can be easily solved." Fang Yifan said confidently.

"You're right. Spending money is something anyone can do, but making money isn't something you can do just by having hands. Do you know what the total box office was in the cinema market last year?"

Several people shook their heads, and Fang Yifan had the same reaction.

"457."

Chen Jinnian said calmly, "But this isn't even the total funding the film producers received. After deducting all the miscellaneous expenses and inflated box office revenue, the film's producers actually only received 160 billion yuan. Of this 160 billion yuan, 96% was taken away by Hollywood and other foreign films and imported buyouts. So the remaining billion yuan was shared between mainland China and Hong Kong Island."

"96 billion, how can it be so small?" Fang Yifan murmured. He only thought that movies could make a lot of money. After all, the market valuation of Huayi Company was as high as 900 billion. But after Chen Jinnian's analysis, the market seemed pitifully small, completely disproportionate to the influence.

"You think it's not enough? Do you know how many movies were made last year to earn that 96 billion? Almost a thousand, but most of them didn't even get a chance to be released. Only a few dozen actually made any money. The producers of one of those movies, The Mermaid, took home 13 billion."

"So if you want to make a movie, be prepared for the possibility of losing everything. Forget about hoping to make money." Chen Jinnian shook his head and continued working at his computer. "You guys can sit wherever you want. When I'm done, I'll go back to Chunfeng with you to see the teacher."

Qiao Yingzi glanced at Fang Yifan who was still in a daze, didn't speak to him, turned around and sat on the sofa with Huang Zhitao.

"By the way, there's something I forgot to ask. Fang Yifan, how far have you and that Yao come?" As soon as Chen Jinnian asked, he felt a murderous aura.

No, it's two.