OBS Chapter 45 Conditions
Chapter 45 Conditions
"Don't worry, senior. My friend came from DreamWorks. He can do all the special effects that DreamWorks can do. If you don't believe me, I can have him do two minutes of special effects for us for free. If you don't think it's good enough, then we can just find another company."
Hearing Zhang Zeyan's words, Zhang Ermao thought for a moment and then said, "If the special effects costs can be reduced to 300 million, the film can be made with a budget of about 500 million."
"By the way, are you sure you can get 200 million in investment?" Zhang Ermao asked Zhang Zeyan.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zeyan hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm really not sure about that."
Jingle Bell!
Just then, Zhang Ermao's phone rang again.
"Hello!"
"What? You're withdrawing your investment too? Mr. Zhou, can you give me a chance? I can assure you, this movie will definitely not lose money, in fact, it will make a fortune. Our script..."
However, before Zhang Ermao could finish speaking, the other end of the phone hung up.
"Grass!"
Zhang Ermao cursed, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
A moment later, he looked at Zhang Zeyan blankly and said, "We're finished now, we don't have a single penny left."
Upon hearing Zhang Ermao's words, Zhang Zeyan's expression turned grave.
He had just been thinking of becoming a capitalist, but he was quickly brought back to reality.
For such a big film, without other capital investment, his 50 million wouldn't even be enough to cover a drop in the bucket.
However, after thinking for a moment, Zhang Zeyan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked Zhang Ermao, "Senior brother, if we don't count the special effects, how much funding would this movie need?"
Why are you asking this?
"I'm just asking, can you calculate it for me?"
Hearing Zhang Zeyan's words, Zhang Ermao thought for a moment and then said, "If we're frugal, two hundred million should be enough, but without special effects, no matter how well our movie is made, no one will watch it."
"Two hundred million."
Zhang Zeyan thought for a moment, then said, "Senior brother, what if I could convince my friends at the special effects company to invest their special effects production budget in our movie?"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Ermao didn't understand for a moment.
"What I mean is, I'll have my friend do the special effects for our movie, and the cost will be considered an investment in our film. We won't pay them for the special effects; instead, we'll give them a share of the box office revenue," Zhang Zeyan explained.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ermao's eyes lit up immediately.
"Are you sure you can convince your friend to invest in the project using special effects fees?"
"Confirmed." Zhang Zeyan nodded.
His friend was Xiaoling, and he was certainly certain of that.
"If that's the case, then I only need to raise another 200 million in investment, and that should be enough," Zhang Ermao said excitedly.
"I can personally invest 50 million," Zhang Zeyan quickly said.
"If you invest 50 million, then there will only be a shortfall of 150 million left." Zhang Ermao was even happier.
"In that case, I'll invest all my assets as well. My total assets are around 50 million, so we'll only be 100 million short." Zhang Ermao said with a crazy expression.
He is very optimistic about this movie now, and he believes that as long as it is filmed according to the script, it is unlikely to lose money.
So he simply invested all his assets in it.
"Senior brother, let me try to get some investment from my friends and see if I can make up the remaining 100 million yuan," Zhang Zeyan said to Zhang Ermao.
"Okay, tell your friends that our movie will definitely not lose money. If they are willing to invest, they can definitely make a lot of money," Zhang Ermao said to Zhang Zeyan.
Upon hearing Zhang Ermao's words, Zhang Zeyan nodded in agreement.
If even a 90-point script can't turn into a profitable movie, then he might as well quit the entertainment industry altogether.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Zeyan said to Zhang Ermao, "Senior brother, I'll go make a call first, and I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, go ahead."
Zhang Zeyan left the office and returned to his hotel room.
After returning to his room, Zhang Zeyan immediately took out his phone and made a call to someone.
One minute later, the call was connected.
"Hey little bro, why did you call me today?"
Ye Mengxi's voice came through the phone.
That's right, the person Zhang Zeyan called was Ye Mengxi.
"Sister Xi, I have a movie that's short of 100 million yuan in investment. Would you like to invest some?" Zhang Zeyan asked Ye Mengxi directly.
"Movie investment? You little brat, have you been scammed?" Ye Mengxi's voice suddenly rang out.
"Sister Xi, I'm not kidding, this is a movie directed by Zhang Ermao. I've read the script, and it's excellent."
"Wait! Who did you say? Which director?"
"Director Zhang Ermao."
"You little brat, you've definitely been scammed. Director Zhang Ermao has lost money on two big-budget films in the past few years. His directing skills are terrible. Don't be foolish and invest in his movies..."
"Do you know how much money he lost on those two movies?" Ye Mengxi finally asked Zhang Zeyan.
"How much?" Zhang Zeyan asked, intrigued.
"Both of his films were big-budget productions, and they lost a total of over five billion yuan, leaving investors devastated," Ye Mengxi said in a very serious tone.
Upon hearing Ye Mengxi's words, Zhang Zeyan realized that Zhang Ermao's two films had lost so much money, no wonder no one was acting in his films anymore.
No wonder the two investors withdrew their investment after Zhang Ermao couldn't even hire actors for interstellar shows.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Zeyan said to Ye Mengxi, "Sister Xi, I'll send you the script. It's a script that Director Zhang Ermao has been polishing for two and a half years. I think it's excellent, which is why I'm thinking of investing in it. Take a look at the script first, and we'll talk about it after you've read it."
"Alright then, I'll check it out for you, so you don't get scammed."
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Zeyan immediately sent the script to Ye Mengxi via urgent message.
More than an hour later, Ye Mengxi called.
"Little brother, are you sure this is director Zhang Ermao's script?" Ye Mengxi's voice was filled with disbelief.
"Yes, Sister Xi, I have no reason to lie to you. What do you think of this script?"
"Very good, very good. As long as we follow the script, this movie will definitely be a hit," Ye Mengxi said solemnly.
As an actress, she can tell at a glance whether a script is good or not.
This script gave her goosebumps; she even thought it was the best script she had ever read since entering the entertainment industry.
"Hey kid, are you sure Director Zhang Ermao's movie is only short 100 million in funding?"
"Yes, we're just one hundred million short." Zhang Zeyan nodded.
"What was the total investment in this movie?" Ye Mengxi continued to ask.
"The total investment is about 500 million yuan, of which 300 million yuan is from a collaboration with a special effects company. The special effects company helps to create the movie's special effects, which accounts for 300 million yuan of the investment," Zhang Zeyan explained.
"Special effects company? Which special effects company?"
"The newly opened special effects company was started by people who came from DreamWorks special effects company. Their skills are excellent, so you can rest assured about that, Sister Xi."
Hearing Zhang Zeyan's words, Ye Mengxi thought for a moment and said, "How about this, you talk to Director Zhang Ermao and tell him that I can invest 100 million, but I must play the female lead in the movie."
"Sister Xi, you're going to play the female lead? Are you sure?" Zhang Zeyan was very surprised.
Zhang Ermao tried everything to invite ordinary interstellar actors but couldn't get any. Now, Ye Mengxi, this little interstellar starlet, actually offered to star in the movie.
This is truly unexpected.
However, considering the quality of the movie's script, Zhang Zeyan felt relieved.
Ye Mengxi must have seen that the script was of high quality, which is why she chose to play the female lead.
"Okay, I'll go tell Director Zhang right away. But our movie is about to start filming soon. Didn't you just join the crew? Can you make it?" Zhang Zeyan asked Ye Mengxi.