Chapter 344: Don’t Refuse the Icing on the Cake
But how can the visual effects of a green screen be better than a real shoot?
This was why Yun Xiangxiang suggested ‘Flying Sky’ to borrow The Star of Peace. Props were props. It would not be real enough, no matter how well done.
“Director Wei, can I take the liberty to ask,” said Yun Xiangxiang all of a sudden. “How much are you planning to raise in funds?”
If the shooting venue was so luxurious, the props must be good enough to match the context. Otherwise, it would not be coordinated.
But if everything was coordinated to have the audience stunned by every detail, this funding…
“At least two hundred million,” said Wei Shanwen. It was a conservative estimate.
Yun Xiangxiang was so surprised she didn’t know what to say!
It was not that there were no films that had hundreds of millions of dollars invested, such as the previous “The King’s Plan,” but that was because Wu Zhao was filming magnificent war scenes. The costumes, props, scenes, background actors, and sound recording were all costly.
There were also sci-fi blockbusters that spent a lot of money on special effects. In military blockbusters, props such as munitions, helicopters, and tanks were a significant expense.
Yun Xiangxiang had never heard of a modern theme film with an investment of more than two hundred million yuan. Wei Shanwen really dared to dream.
How did he convince so many investors to spend so much money on a modern film?
Yun Xiangxiang was optimistic about “Soar to the Sky,” but she was optimistic about this film’s content.
Films with good content are not necessarily popular. Even if Yun Xiangxiang was the leading female role, she couldn’t be sure that the film would be popular.
Let alone the investors. Whose money would grow on trees?
The “Jiu Se” she filmed was a republican drama that used exquisite props and scenes, and it only used fifty million.
Fifty million was a massive investment for such a republican drama.
It was easy to imagine how frightening it was to have a minimum of two hundred investments for “Soar to the Sky.”
“It’s between the producer regarding funding and me. The only problem I have now is the shooting location. If this is solved, I won’t have any other problems.” Wei Shanwen was confident about sponsorships.
“If you borrow a villa, how do you plan to count the funds?” He Wei asked.
“Count everything according to the market value. How much rent a day, how many days we used, and finally calculate everything into the total investment. The profit will be paid out as dividends.” Wei Shanwen gave excellent conditions.
It was just that most people would not dare to expose this kind of villa unless it had a clean history. It would not be easy to borrow.
“Your range?” He Wei asked again.
“We certainly can’t find such a scale in our country, but since the actors are from our country, it would not look good to go to other continents.” Wei Shanwen considered it thoroughly, which meant that it needed to be in Asia.
China had a large population. This kind of construction did not fit well with land planning. It was not that there was no money, but there was no land.
The scale required by Wei Shanwen could generally only be achieved abroad. It could not even be found in Hong Kong, which was full of wealthy people.
They proceeded to discuss the script for a long time. It was mostly Yun Xiangxiang and Wei Shanwen speaking. He Wei occasionally interjected his own opinion, but Song Meng was a spectator the whole time and listened carefully.
Yun Xiangxiang bet she had never been so focused in class before. It was evident that she did not understand many things, but she was attentive. It seemed like she was determined to enter the entertainment industry.
He Wei looked at his watch at about ten o’clock at night and offered to take Yun Xiangxiang home.
Wei Shanwen did not try to persuade them to stay but sent them out generously. They also met some following reporters.
However, Yun Xiangxiang was not only accompanied by her manager, but she also brought along Song Meng. The meeting place was in the open, and there was nothing to report.
However, someone still published an article on the Internet: Yun Xiangxiang is suspected to be cooperating with the genius director.
This was a speculative report on Yun Xiangxiang’s next work, so Yun Xiangxiang ignored it naturally.
The only reason why Song Meng showed it to Yun Xiangxiang was because it was the first time she was reported on the news!
But this was what happened the next day. He Wei sent Yun Xiangxiang home that night. Before she got off the car, Yun Xiangxiang couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Wei, are you going to find Ah Mian?”
“Why not?” He Wei asked back.
Yun Xiangxiang knew that the way He Wei looked at her just now was to take advantage of Song Mian.
He Wei thought that Song Mian was just a side branch of the Song family, but after the incident in Paris, He Wei knew the true identity of Song Mian.
When associated with Song Mian’s luxurious villa in the City of Gold, Yun Xiangxiang thought Song Mian would have such a shooting location.
“I hope that I will tell him in person this time,” said Yun Xiangxiang.
He Wei was surprised, “I told him it was official business.”
“Official businesses are also due to personal affairs.” Yun Xiangxiang retorted, “Without personal affairs, there would be no official businesses.”
Song Mian did not even bother about such profits at all. If it weren’t for Yun Xiangxiang’s relationship with him, let alone whether he agreed or not, it would be foolish for them to even get in contact with him to borrow the venue.
He had always helped her before, and she always realized it in hindsight. This time she didn’t want to just enjoy the results.
Since she was willing to accept Song Mian’s help, why couldn’t she let go of her pride and ask him for help?
“Okay, I’ll leave it to you.” He Wei nodded, said goodbye to them, and drove away.
After entering the elevator, Song Meng said, “I thought you would not let Brother Wei find Song Mian.”
In Song Meng’s eyes, Yun Xiangxiang was a headstrong person who did not allow herself to crouch her head and yield to others.
After learning that Song Mian was her boyfriend, whose family background had a huge difference compared to her, Song Meng was curious if Yun Xiangxiang could accept it regardless of her self-esteem.
When she saw how considerate Song Mian was toward Yun Xiangxiang, Song Meng guessed that it was love that led Yun Xiangxiang to ignore it.
But to ignore did not mean that it did not exist. Everyone had their own pride and principles.
Yun Xiangxiang was not the kind of person who would take advantage of others, let alone allow other people to say her achievements depended on so-and-so…
“What are the elements of a film to be successful?” Yun Xiangxiang asked her while looking sideways.
“The actor’s interpretation, the effect shown by the director, the quality of the plot…” Song Meng counted.
After she finished counting, Yun Xiangxiang said, “So, the success or failure of a film is not related to the shooting location.”
A good shooting location would naturally add luster to the movie, but it would only make it a little less exciting if it did not have a good site.
“It’s not a big influence…” Song Meng nodded, “I guess Director Wei wants to perfect the film’s presentation; that’s why he was so persistent.”
“So his help to me is the icing on the cake, why should I not ask him?” asked Yun Xiangxiang openly.
She was not asking Song Mian to let her sit idle and enjoy the fruits of others’, on a condition that he did not deny or obliterate her efforts.
If she was so calculative with Song Mian just for some inexplicable silly self-esteem, could they still be called lovers?