A great director who grew up happily

Chapter 433 Commissioner Smith in Action

Wolf Warrior was a hit again, breaking box office records at a speed that even people in the industry couldn't understand. However, Chen Jinnian, as one of the leading actors, did not appear in the subsequent roadshows and interviews.

Instead, he stayed in the crew every day to accompany Guo Xing.

For a movie of this scale, once it starts filming, it cannot be stopped. Even if the director can't hold on and dies, a successor must be chosen immediately to continue the work.

In the crew, Chen Jinnian plays the role of a minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor.

And it wasn't just him who thought so. Everyone else in the crew felt the same way, even Guo Xun himself, who deep down in his heart considered Chen Jinnian as Plan B.

After all, no one would be surprised if a person who only sleeps in bed three or four hours a day had an accident at any time.

“It seems that the funds are insufficient again.”

As soon as Chen Jinnian came out of the set, he heard Gong Geer and Guo Xun talking in a low voice.

As the producer of the film, Gong Geer has invested all the money he can get, including buying food for himself, but facing such a huge gold-eating beast, that little money is really a drop in the bucket.

"Maybe I calculated it wrong?" Guo Xun asked with a frown.

"No, I calculated it several times yesterday. Our filming progress is much slower than planned. It will take at least five months to complete it smoothly. It's one month longer than planned."

Gong Geer sighed deeply. Science fiction movies are too expensive. Even if you split a dollar into two halves, it still wouldn't be enough.

The main creators spent two years preparing for the film, with the goal of avoiding any pitfalls during filming, but looking back now, they realized that none of them should have been avoided.

"Try to adjust it. After the early important scenes are filmed, the remaining scenes may not require such a large-scale crew support, and the cost can be saved a lot."

After Guo Xun finished his instructions in a low voice, he saw Chen Jinnian coming over.

"We've only been operating for over a month, you guys won't be out of money, will you?" He looked at the two of them in disbelief. They were spending money, but they were really burning it too fast.

"It's enough now, but it's hard to say after another two or three months of filming." Guo Xun did not hide it, and as Chen Jinnian was the investor, he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to.

"I'm having the company develop a financial system for the crew and set up an audit department. Next week I'll send someone to the crew to try it out and improve it to see if we can intercept some of the money that went unaccounted for."

Chen Jinnian doesn't want to make additional investments now. If the crew is a big leak, no matter how much additional money is made, it will be useless. He is really worried about the crew's bad debts, so he will take care of it first.

Guo Xun knew how persistent Chen Jinnian was in reconciling the accounts, so he did not resist. He just wanted to finish the movie, and the rest could be put on hold.

"Yes, my team will provide assistance, but China Film..."

"I'll communicate with China Film Group. I happen to have a script there." Chen Jinnian didn't really care.

China Film is a state-owned enterprise and has its own internal audit process. Even if it is unreliable, it is still more reliable than all listed companies. Compared with profits, China Film cares more about results.

However, Gong Geer, who was anxious and angry, was not as calm as Guo Xing. He asked directly, "Jinnian, can you add some more money?"

"Brother, hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in the movie but it's not finished yet. Who do you think is anxious?" Chen Jinnian asked back. Seeing that Gong Geer seemed to be thinking about something, he turned around and left.

"Damn, why didn't I think of that?" Gong Geer then slapped his forehead and said regretfully.

He and Guo Xing invested tens of millions of dollars, but they filled it with mountains of gold and silver. That was China Film Corporation. If the crew really reached the point of exhaustion, China Film Corporation would definitely cover the cost and ensure that the film was completed.

No matter how much is invested, as long as the film is completed, there is still a possibility of making a profit. But if it is left unfinished, everyone from the clerk to the vice president will have to come out and explain where the hundreds of millions of dollars were spent.

"Don't let Chen Jinnian lead you astray," Guo Xun quickly reminded him. "That's true, but it's easy to borrow money when you have money, but it's another matter when you don't have any."

If the crew is forced into a corner, they will have no choice but to accept any conditions offered by the investors. It may seem that they get the money in the end, but the price they pay is very different.

"Yes, I understand."

Gong Geer grinned, feeling like he was finally alive again. "But I still think asking Jinnian for money is a little easier than asking La Zong for money."

"Actually, it's almost the same. President La cares about the rules. We just added an investment before the filming started. Now it's difficult to ask China Film Group for more. President La has to be fair and can't break the rules."

Guo Xun said that China Film Group has too many projects and cannot openly favor any one of them.

"Chen Jinnian seems easy to talk to, but he actually has a very stubborn personality. If you don't let him check the money, he will definitely not pay any more."

Chen Jinnian’s production team is different from other crews. The people in important positions are not temporary contract workers.

Other groups, including Guo Xun's core team members, get paid when there is work, and earn no money when there is no work.

However, Chen Jinnian's team receives a fixed salary and pays five insurances and one fund. It is not as standardized as companies in the film and television industry. The core idea is to use the company's security as a safety net in exchange for clean hands and efficient collaboration for employees.

Therefore, the chaos and nonsense in the crew will not appear in Chen Jinnian's crew. Every person with ulterior motives must weigh carefully whether it is worth exchanging immediate interests for future interests.

When it comes down to it, filming a TV show or movie is all about efficiency. The shooting speed of a bunch of guerrillas and a professional team is definitely not on the same level.

A professional team with different ideas cannot be compared with a professional team working together.

After Chen Jinnian had a brief chat with the two of them, he found a place to call Liu Tingting.

He knew that the main creators of Little Broken Ball were all pursuing the dream of creating a domestic science fiction film.

But now the crew has expanded to nearly two thousand people, and he still believes that everyone is working hard for the goal, which is too optimistic about human nature.

Even the lunch ordering process on the crew is now full of Commissioner Smith's people. How can Chen Jinnian feel at ease?

Commissioner Smith only gets one dollar for a box lunch, and if we calculate it lightly, two meals a day and four thousand box lunches, that's four thousand dollars, one hundred and twenty thousand a month, and six hundred thousand for the entire filming period.

But as far as Chen Jinnian knew, taking one dollar was already a kind-hearted act on the part of Commissioner Smith. The rate generally started at 20%, and some crews could even go as crazy as 60%.

And this is just the issue of food. From the actors' labor and equipment rental to the garbage bags used on the set, and even the water everyone drinks, everything has to go through Commissioner Smith first.

Can the audit find out? Of course not. What kind of accounting is it if it can't balance the accounts? Auditing is just a cover for Chen Jinnian.

If you want to find out how much money the crew transferred, the key is to see whether the person who buried it is reliable. If he is a traitor, it is better to just bury it.