193: Chapter 193 Win-Win!

Wu Yue remained calm and composed, not taking the bait, but instead turned to Director Wang Jiahui to chat about another topic: "Before I came, I heard something. Is it true that 'a moment of romance' is actually being filmed for your father?"

Director Wang Jiahui nodded: "The box office profits here in Hong Kong will all be given to my father as a 'pension.' This is also a gesture of goodwill from several of his apprentices. To be honest, it is precisely for this reason that the production cost of this film is destined not to be high. After all, this is a project where the best-case scenario is just 'breaking even.' I hope Mr. Wu understands."

"Understood, understood." Wu Yue nodded. "However, aren't there still box office revenues from the Mainland and Taiwan?"

Director Wang Jiahui spread his hands: "Hong Kong is, after all, the base. With Director Du Qiyu as producer, Uncle Da as a supporting actor, and if I may be so bold, I, Director Wang Jiahui, have some reputation on this patch of land in Hong Kong. With us here, Hong Kong can still guarantee the box office. To put it bluntly, squeezing into the top ten of the year should be no problem."

Director Wang Jiahui's more famous identity in Hong Kong is indeed as a director. The films he shoots are imaginative and wild, a different type from Director Du Qiyu, but both are very popular.

"Understood, understood." Wu Yue continued to nod. "It seems Brother Jiahui doesn't think highly of the box office revenue from the Mainland and Taiwan?"

Director Wang Jiahui narrowed his small eyes and smiled: "Look, although the female lead is from Taiwan, she is a newcomer and cannot carry the box office. Although Nickname has a big reputation, my films and Director Du Qiyu's films have never been released in the Mainland, and even Director Mu Sheng is a first-time director. I really dare not say how much box office we can get."

Lin Chuyan listened from the side, finding it amusing. Honestly, it actually sounded quite reasonable. If an average person encountered this, they might have backed down; after all, 4 million is not a small amount.

But Wu Yue was really not an average person—he was, after all, Lin Chuyan's half-god of wealth.

Wu Yue was still smiling, not refuting, but just looked at Director Du Qiyu: "Does Director Du Qiyu have the same thoughts?"

Director Du Qiyu nodded: "Director Wang Jiahui is the producer of 'a moment of romance,' and he can make the decisions regarding the salary. His meaning is my meaning. He is right; the Hong Kong box office is the base. As for other places, how should I put it? We have ideas, but we dare not hope for too much. Mr. Wu just said it—the upcoming National Day season, New Year's Eve season, and Spring Festival Movie Season all have various big productions waiting. Like us small fry, although we have Nickname joining, it is a small-budget film after all. It is easy to be swallowed up without a trace, unable to make even a splash."

Wu Yue expressed his agreement: "Director Du Qiyu and Director Wang Jiahui make sense! I think there is one more point you two haven't considered."

"What?"

"What if... the box office here in Hong Kong isn't good either? At that point, let alone making money, it would be good just to lose a little less."

Director Wang Jiahui couldn't grasp what the other party wanted to say for a moment. Good heavens, why was he helping them speak?

He had to go along with his words: "Hmm... yes... that is the logic... so... I hope Mr. Wu can understand that 4 million is indeed the highest salary we can offer."

Wu Yue waved his hand: "How can that be? With such a good creative team for 'a moment of romance,' such a good script, and such a good actor like Uncle Da, if it still loses money, then the film industry is truly hopeless. I, Wu Yue, am not an unrighteous person. How could I watch such a good film lose money?"

He looked at Lin Chuyan again: "When it comes to picking scripts, the sentence Xiao Yan says to me most often is that the script must be good, the characters must be good, and the director team must be good. As for money, it really isn't that important. I have always kept this sentence in my heart."

Director Du Qiyu and Director Wang Jiahui kept nodding as they listened. This Wu Yue seemed quite reasonable and righteous. It looked like the play was on.

Wu Yue continued to be righteous: "To be honest, for Xiao Yan right now, 8 million is the bottom line, which is quite a bit different from the price Brother Jiahui gave. But after listening to Brother Jiahui's words, I think it makes a lot of sense. Since it is a pension for the teacher, we must not let the film lose money. Therefore, I have an idea that is absolutely a win-win. I wonder if you two are interested?"

Director Du Qiyu and Director Wang Jiahui didn't know how many times they had looked at each other. They really didn't know what kind of medicine Mr. Wu was selling in his gourd.

Director Wang Jiahui nodded: "Please go ahead, Mr. Wu."

Wu Yue smiled: "Not 10 million, and not 8 million, just 4 million. However, this is only the guaranteed salary."

Upon hearing the word "guaranteed," Director Wang Jiahui finally understood what this old fox in front of him was planning—this guy wanted to play the "revenue share" game!

He became a little anxious immediately: "No way!"

Wu Yue raised his eyebrows: "Oh? I would like to hear the details."

Director Wang Jiahui really couldn't say why...

It was over. He had been led into a trap by this old fox.

So he said all that just now, and it was all leading to this?

Now thinking back on the previous conversation, damn it, it was all traps, step by step leading them into a ditch. Finally, he put forward his request as a matter of course, not only making himself appear righteous but also leaving them with nothing to say, unable to pick out any faults.

Damn, what kind of agent is this!

Lin Chuyan was applauding from the side. Having listened until now, he finally understood. Brother Yue's move was called "luring the gentleman into the trap."

After all, words like "no confidence in the box office in the Mainland and Taiwan" were all said by Director Wang Jiahui himself. Could he change his words now and say "everything just now was a lie to you"?

Everyone is a person of status; they couldn't do such shameless things. It looked like the other party was going to have to swallow this bitter pill.

Fortunately, Director Du Qiyu stood up and intervened at this moment.

Although he had just said "Director Wang Jiahui can make the decisions regarding the salary," now that it involved the "guaranteed revenue share" model, it wasn't considered a slap in the face.

"Mr. Wu, regarding this, our company really has no precedent."

Director Du Qiyu didn't quite understand Wu Yue's maneuver either. To be honest, although he thought the script was good, he never thought this film would definitely be a hit. This foray into the Mainland was really just to test the waters using Lin Chuyan.

"Don't be anxious, Director Du Qiyu, Brother Jiahui, you two listen to me finish first." Wu Yue blocked with his hand and continued to say, "The Hong Kong box office is your act of filial piety; we will not participate in the revenue share. Previously, Director Du Qiyu said that you would go to Southeast Asia to continue the release later; it doesn't matter, we will not participate in the revenue share either. My request is very simple. Since Brother Jiahui just said he has no confidence in the box office in the Mainland and Taiwan, then the matter is simple—we only want these two parts."

Director Wang Jiahui: ...Is this whipping a corpse? This must be whipping a corpse, right?

Director Du Qiyu: "Mr. Wu, you seem very confident in this film, in the Mainland box office?"

Wu Yue: "No, it's just a gamble."

Director Du Qiyu: ...Bullshit, you were clearly blowing the film up to the sky just now, saying that with Lin Chuyan, who has a 1 billion box office, it would definitely be stable.

Since it involved a revenue share, it wasn't something the two of them could decide on the spot. After all, this film wasn't funded by just them alone; they still had to go back and discuss it.

So the matter got stuck here.

Wu Yue was not in a hurry either; he went back and waited for three days before finally getting the news.

The two sides met again and finally agreed on a brand-new salary scheme.

Lin Chuyan adopted a guaranteed + revenue share model in 'a moment of romance.'

The original 4 million salary was directly cut to 1 million as a guaranteed salary.

This part is a fixed amount; regardless of the final box office results or profit/loss situation of the film, Lin Chuyan would receive this portion of the income.

50% is given before participating in the filming, and the remaining 50% is settled within three days after wrapping up.

However, this is not important anymore; for the current Lin Chuyan, it is just a mere 1 million after all.

What is important is the following revenue share part.

First, it was clarified that it is the shared box office. After deducting the cinema share and the distributor share, it would end up being only about 39%.

And Lin Chuyan's share is then multiplied by 5% based on this 39%.

Yes, only 5%.

As the first lead actor adopting a revenue share model, 5% is considered a very small proportion.

This is a number that both Director Du Qiyu and Director Wang Jiahui could accept.

From their perspective, if the box office in the Mainland and Taiwan is 100 million—if it could really be 100 million.

Then Lin Chuyan could actually only get 2 million.

Based on the other party's quote of 8 million, it would have to go up to 300 million and continue to rise to get that amount.

But for such a small-budget romance film, could it really get 300 million in the Mainland and Taiwan?

Isn't that a bit wishful thinking?

To be honest, Director Wang Jiahui and Director Du Qiyu did want to use Lin Chuyan to open up the Mainland market and get a slice of the pie, that's correct, but they didn't expect to become fat in one bite...

'the hovering blade' was 1 billion, but that was indeed because it happened to hit the point of social events, and the male lead was not Lin Chuyan.

Now, the guaranteed salary was cut to 1 million. If the box office in the Mainland and Taiwan is not ideal, then rounding it up, it's equivalent to getting Lin Chuyan for free!

Thinking about it makes one feel comfortable.

Of course, Wu Yue didn't calculate it that way...

Damn it, if there is another 1 billion box office...

Then he could get 20 million!!!

Anyway, this film will only be filmed for 1 month; at worst, take the 1 million and leave. What's there to be afraid of?

Life is about taking a gamble; turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!

Working on the construction site today, club models tomorrow... oh, this won't work, Xiao Yan has a girlfriend, and he has a wife. Xia Zhi, on the other hand, hmm, Xia Zhi is okay...

"Nickname, Mr. Wu, happy cooperation!"

"Happy cooperation! We can start work here at any time."

At this moment, both sides felt they had won big.

Tell me, if this isn't a win-win, what is it?