Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years

An Feng's secret crush on Qi Hao became the headline topic in many media outlets.

Immortal Sister's first love exposed.

Years of secret admiration, the stories of An Feng and Qi Hao that must be told.

Did you two forget to officially announce it?

Love affair revealed, truth and lies indistinguishable, when will film promotions ever stop?

At the time, it seemed ordinary, just like Little Dragon Girl's years of longing for Yang Guo.

Now Qi Hao is powerful, being a shareholder in both Penguin and Sina companies, so the media is somewhat polite.

Otherwise... just look at how the Hong Kong media reports it, and you'll understand.

Actually, An Feng isn't just rumored to have a crush on Qi Hao.

She made a mistake somewhere else, giving others leverage against her.

It's when someone asked her if being with Qi Hao is good, she replied, "Not possible for now, this is just a movie..."

There's much more said afterward, but unfortunately, the media doesn't pay attention.

They just fixated on "Not possible for now," which might imply that once this is over, the two can be together.

All of a sudden, the scandal between Qi Hao and An Feng took the media by storm.

More lively than Qi Hao's previous scandals.

Moreover, this time it's not just a scandal.

Previously, everyone knew Qi Hao only had rumors with those actresses, after all, situations with both sides expressing interest or entering and exiting hotels together were rare.

It provided some material for media to freely stir up.

But now it's different.

The two attended events together, An Feng spoke while Qi Hao smiled beside her.

That smile has quite a story.

Upon closer look, there's even a hint of warmth.

Speculating irresponsibly, maybe Qi Hao was really happy when An Feng said she "secretly liked" him.

The rumor heated up, even escalating from a mere rumor to An Feng secretly admiring Qi Hao, with the film "First Love, This Little Thing" mirroring reality, naturally boosting the movie's box office.

Cooperating with China Film to discreetly help secure more screen time.

Two hundred million total box office might be ambitious, but one hundred eighty million is definitely no problem, with an extended key for another month and some explosive news, exceeding two hundred million isn't impossible.

Additionally, Qi Hao officially announced during a roadshow in Jiangcheng that he would shoot another campus youth film co-starring An Feng, portraying a different story.

After this announcement, despite voices calling him out for cashing in, it still sparked anticipation among "First Love" fans.

Especially those seasoned movie buffs who saw it more than once.

Relax and shoot, as long as you and An Feng are acting, we'll watch, and the box office will not fall short.

Qi Hao surely doesn't trust such rhetoric.

Relying on fans to foot the bill, the film might end up a financial disaster.

Therefore, for the filming of "Those Years," he summarized the various experiences from "First Love" and strove to improve this movie's quality.

Aiming to make it the pinnacle of campus youth films.

Compared to the previous film, which required Qi Hao to proactively connect with producers and bring Huanyi onboard for joint production and distribution, this newly hinted "Those Years" instantly attracted interest from the capital market.

Low cost, high box office, plus the previous film as support, anyone would know this is a hot commodity.

Thus, there were numerous capital inquiries.

Thirty million budget?

Qi Hao and An Feng this time both demand a share, with combined remuneration totaling ten million.

No problem!

Qi Hao and An Feng are more than just a 1+1>2 relationship; as long as both agree to star in youth films, it's the industry's zenith.

Irreplaceable, their combined remuneration of one million is certainly warranted.

If the second film can hit 1.8 billion at the box office again, thirty million yields a pure profit of forty to fifty million, translating to over a hundred percent return rate.

Last year's highest investment return rate was "Founding of the Republic," with thirty million budget and over four billion box office, reaching a 496% investment return rate.

Followed by "Crazy Racing" and "Very Perfect," then no film over one hundred percent return rate.

"October Fortress" barely reached thirty percent.

However, Zhang Yimou's "Three Guns" managed two hundred million plus box office with sixty million shooting and distribution expenses, despite poor reviews, achieved eighty-five percent return rate.

This "First Love," its final box office is yet unknown, but indisputably the strongest of the year, considering one million cost for nearly two hundred million box office.

Qi Hao didn't completely reject these capital interests.

Although feasting alone sounds appealing, it's troublesome; his principle in the circle is to be amiable, upheld for many years, naturally reluctant to casually make enemies.

Like Zhou Xingxing, who mixed in the entertainment circle without friends due to certain character issues and excessive independence, his glory days saw three or four films in the yearly top five box office yet refused to let other capital profit, whom else to blame?

Huang Xiaoming and Liu Dehua have great connections but often produce flop films.

If you have good connections, you have more friends.

Friends invite you to shoot films and offer a high salary, how could you decline?

Declining leads to poor connections.

Qi Hao stands between these two, even if friends seek his assistance, he carefully selects scripts.

In the first two years after becoming famous, he had no say in anything, so he crazily took on roles.

He filled his schedule completely, so naturally, no one could ask him for help; this is what is called "unable to lend a helping hand."

However, Qi Hao didn't offer up the majority of the shares.

His Zhonghao Entertainment invested 30%, Feiyang Media invested 30%, 10% was given to China Film, and the remaining 30% was shared among various capitals.

Additionally, Qi Hao stipulated that subcontracting was not allowed.

The total cost for this movie was only 30 million, and he wasn't going to pay for investment subcontracting.

Investment subcontracting is something that has emerged only in recent years.

For example, Qi Hao invested in a movie with a total of 30 million, but he didn't directly put out the money.

He would divide the 30 million into ten parts, each 3 million, and then sell it for 6 million, making the next level producer's cost for this movie become 60 million.

Of course, this ratio is somewhat extreme.

Only particularly outstanding movies could possibly be subcontracted outward at such a doubling rate.

However, really good projects might not just be second-level subcontracting.

The next-level producers might further subcontract downward.

Some are genuinely enticing good projects, like Qi Hao's "Those Years," where the big producers involved in the subcontracting profit from resources and networking.

There are also professional fraudsters, who take some junk projects and talk them up to fool ordinary people into investing.

Those who approach ordinary people for movie investments are basically using this trick.

Nine out of ten investments fail.

Qi Hao eliminated subcontracting, making it very clear that he's giving everyone this 30% so that he can get rich together with friends.

So friends shouldn't hope to inflate the cost of my movie using subcontracting.

No matter what, my movie's cost is 30 million.

Since Qi Hao has a 30% stake in Feiyang Media, his total investment in this film is 39%, making him the largest producer.

An Feng leveraged Feiyang Media to get a 6% share, not too much, but still decent.

After all, this is a project without any risk.

Friendship is friendship, business is business.

During a break in the roadshow, Qi Hao went to attend the opening ceremony of "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage."

"Haven't you started production a long time ago?"

As the main producer, Qi Hao being invited makes sense, but Tian Xiaopeng's special request for him to bring Daoist Suiyun was particularly odd.

Are you possessed? You need me to bring a Daoist to exorcise you.

"I've been brewing it all along, brewing for seven years! Damn, it's even more exaggerated than being pregnant with Nezha."

Tian Xiaopeng, having obtained the money now, appeared much more relaxed in front of Qi Hao.

After all, it's the debtor who holds the power.

"You've had this idea for seven years?" Qi Hao really admired these animators; among those he interacted with, most had spent at least three to five years brewing their ideas.

Three to five years of brewing, three to five years of preparation, three to five years of production.

What the hell, this isn't making a movie; it's something else.

"In 1997, I was involved in creating some episodes of CCTV's animated 'Journey to the West,' and it was then that my mind was filled with thoughts of the Great Sage, and I had a bold idea: to produce a series of 3D animated 'Journey to the West,' but I lacked the courage to decide until seven years ago when I finally decided to start researching how to make it."

Tian Xiaopeng showed Qi Hao quite a few things.

This was just a small part; his study was filled with various drafts and materials.

"You're amazing; cherish this opportunity and create a quality animation."

If all Chinese animators had this kind of passion and persistence.

Qi Hao felt this "niche track" could truly flourish one day.

He judged that animated films could work based on Pleasant Goat's success and the booming development of Neon and Hollywood animated films.

But truly getting in touch with people in this industry even moved Qi Hao.

Of course, there are also quite a few fraudsters in this industry.

The state has subsidized the animation industry multiple times, and a considerable portion of the money has been taken away by swindlers.

"I will definitely do well, but Daoist Suiyun cannot be lacking."

Tian Xiaopeng eagerly watched those "sanctimonious" Daoists, hoping his project could gain some metaphysical fortune.

After all, borrowing it won't make you pregnant; what if it really works?

"Daoist Master, what do you think? Can this project make money?"

Qi Hao stood up, patted Tian Xiaopeng on the shoulder, and approached Daoist Suiyun, who was preparing the opening ceremony.

"It's bound to make money, with the blessing of the ancestors; it won't just make money, it'll make big money, his movie's box office will definitely exceed... 500 million!"

Originally intended to say 1 billion, but considering that the highest box office for domestic films was only 4 to 5 billion, only "Avatar" had recorded over 10 billion; even a fake Daoist didn't dare to boast so wildly.

It would test one's imagination of bragging.

"Thanks for the kind words, Daoist. Here's a red envelope; if you have any other requests, I'll fulfill them all!"

Tian Xiaopeng trembled with excitement upon hearing 500 million.

This red envelope was in addition to the payment.

Qi Hao rolled his eyes from the sidelines; you take him for a foot massage, and he'd be even more satisfied.