The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Chapter 33 Planning Ahead

A day later, Shen Qing accepted Han Sanping's invitation to China Film Group. Previously, President Han had not been optimistic about Shen Qing's two action film scripts, but now that "Taken" has been a great success, the remaining script called "Ip Man" has naturally become a hot commodity.

Shen Qing came to China Film Group this time to discuss the next film.

"Are you really a fan of Jackie Chan?"

"Yes, of course."

"You know all the boxing styles that Jackie Chan can use?"

"More or less."

"No wonder you insisted on making those two action movies."

"While there's still a market for action movies, the sooner we start filming, the more valuable it will be."

"You don't have a positive outlook on the future of action movies?"

Shen Qing nodded.

Han Sanping said, "That's right. Even Jackie Chan has been called box office poison by the media."

The two then discussed Shen Qing's script, "Ip Man," which had already been filed.

"Tell me directly if you have any difficulties, and I will do my best to help you solve them. If I can't solve them, I will personally ask someone for help."

"With Mr. Han's words, I feel much more confident. In fact, I do have something that I need Mr. Han's help to coordinate right now. It would be best if a descendant of the Ip Man family were involved in making a movie, and it would be even better if we could bring in a consultant for the film."

"That's all? No problem, I'll take care of it."

"There's one more thing. If I'd like to publish some comics in the United States, I wonder if Mr. Han has any resources in that area?"

"USA?"

"Yes, I have a few movies in my head that would be suitable for a Sino-US co-production. I was thinking of releasing the comic book version first, planting the sycamore tree to attract the golden phoenix, in case a Hollywood company happens to be interested in the story and proposes a co-production?"

Actually, Shen Qing wasn't thinking about a future Sino-US co-production at all; he just wanted to secure a spot in advance!

He has four spots for a group photo, and he wants to reserve one for someone in the science fiction field. The US has some good science fiction movies, and it would be a shame to leave them for the US to make.

Some of these films don't have much time left for Shen Qing, such as Nolan's famous "Inception".

Making science fiction movies is very difficult, but that's for other people. For Shen Qing, the logic is completely different.

If he chooses to take a photo with Nolan in the future, he will gain 99% of Nolan's professional ability. Then, will it still be difficult for him to make films like "Inception" or "Interstellar"?

As for the question of whether releasing the comic version ahead of time will lead to plagiarism.

Shen Qing had also considered this issue, and concluded that it was very likely to be plagiarized.

Let's take Inception as an example again. Wasn't this movie widely accused of plagiarizing the animated film Paprika?

But it's not entirely unmanageable.

Let's take Nolan and Inception as examples again.

If Nolan really does start the Inception project next year, such a big project can't possibly be completely kept under wraps, right?

Whenever news breaks, Shen Qing can temporarily put aside all her work and focus all her efforts on getting the movie that might be plagiarized out of theaters.

Even assuming the worst-case scenario—Nolan has already finished filming *Inception* before Shen Qing finally receives the news—wouldn't such a large film project require significant investment in promotion?

Making a movie can be very time-consuming or very time-saving. "Tricky Master" only took a month from preparation to release. Shen Qing was able to make his own version of the movie during the promotional period of the other movie.

The rest will be easy. I released the comic version first, so you copied me. I can openly criticize you, and public opinion will be on my side, at least in China.

Once the war of public opinion started, Shen Qing's version also gained popularity, saving on publicity costs!

Moreover, Nolan made a big-budget film like Inception, and the publicity costs were probably in the hundreds of millions of dollars, right?

If my "Inception" is released before your Nolan version, wouldn't a large portion of the hundreds of millions of dollars Nolan spent on advertising for his version go towards promoting my movie?

Don't the US have those movie companies that specialize in riding the coattails of blockbuster movies?

You make "Pacific Rim," so I quickly make a knock-off, "Atlantic Rim." Not only is it a knock-off, but because it's a small-budget, poorly made project with a short production cycle, it gets released before your original, allowing me to capitalize on its popularity.

Many large film companies have gone out of business, but this small company that specializes in copying blockbusters is thriving.

If the comic is copied after it's published, Shen Qing can simply do the same thing as that counterfeit company.

Moreover, he released the comic first, so theoretically his version is the official one.

Therefore, releasing comics first to reserve space is necessary. There is a real risk of being plagiarized, but it is not entirely unavoidable.

"Inception," "Interstellar," "Gravity," "The Martian"—I want to film these movies, but if there's still a long time to go, I'll leave it for now. If time is tight, I'll reserve my spot in advance.

"That's easy. Just come to me whenever the comic is finished, and I'll make the arrangements."

"Thank you, Mr. Han."

"It's nothing, but what you just mentioned about a Sino-US co-production..." President Han pondered for a moment and said, "It does sound quite interesting."

……

After finishing her business with President Han, Shen Qing left China Film Group, only to unexpectedly run into Wang Changtian, President of Enlight Media, at the entrance. Or rather, he had come specifically to wait for Shen Qing.

The two entered a teahouse by the roadside, where Mr. Wang had already reserved a private room.

After a few pleasantries, we got down to business.

"Starting this year, Enlight Media will officially enter the fields of film and television investment and film distribution."

"Great! Mr. Wang has the vision. Enlight Media's foray into film production and distribution will definitely be twice as effective with half the effort."

Wang Changtian guessed that Shen Qing was just flattering him casually, but since it concerned the company's major strategic layout, he couldn't help but ask further.

"Does Director Shen think highly of Enlight Media's entry into film distribution?"

Shen Qing nodded and said, "Guangxi has rich experience in television program production, a strong distribution network, on-the-ground promotion experience, and local connections, which are very rare advantages for film distribution."

Could you elaborate?

"Take the distribution of Berna and Huayi Brothers for example. They are both connected with cinema chains. The key is that cinemas often do not listen to the cinema chains. Enlight Media has local foundations and experience in on-the-ground promotion. They can send their employees out to directly connect with cinemas. Their employees can go directly into cinemas to follow up on the film scheduling. This is where the other companies are far inferior to Enlight Media."

Wang Changtian remained silent for a long time. On the surface, nothing seemed amiss, but inside, his emotions were already churning.

He only had a vague idea of ​​some things, and a clearer strategy was still in the works. He never expected that Shen Qing could point out those things that he was still a little unclear about so logically.

Wang Changtian suddenly felt that the fog in front of him had cleared up considerably.

"Director Shen, your insight is truly remarkable!"

"I'm just showing off my limited skills in front of an expert. Since Mr. Wang is going to get involved in the publishing industry, he must have already considered these things."

Wang Changtian waved his hand: "Anyway, thank you very much, Director Shen."

"polite."

Only then did Wang Changtian finally begin to explain the purpose of his visit to Shen Qing.

"Now that Director Shen's reputation is soaring, countless people will be vying for your next project. We at Enlight Media also want to compete, but after much consideration, it's still quite difficult. Director Shen's film 'Nightclub' this year gave me a lot of inspiration. From the film's inception to its release, it only took a little over a month, and the production cost was a mere 100 million yuan, yet it ultimately grossed nearly 3000 million yuan at the box office. I think this kind of low-budget, fast-paced film might be more suitable for Enlight Media right now. I came to see Director Shen today specifically to tell him that if you have any similar small projects in the future, Enlight Media will offer you the most favorable terms nationwide."

"Okay, thank you for your high regard, Mr. Wang."