Super Zoo-Chapter 736 - 720: The $100 Million Blockbuster

"Don't laugh at me, Uncle." Xiang Zuo scratched his head. "The movie was a flop; I got badly trashed for it."

"Don't take those online things to heart," Suming waved his hand dismissively. "The internet is just like that, if you take everything seriously, you might as well just go and commit suicide using charcoal. The more you fear it, the more vicious the trolls get. If you show you don't care, over time, they'll stop mocking. Don't worry, in this day and age, there's so much weird news around, people will forget about you soon."

"Uncle, are you trying to console me or diss me? I'm an actor, if everyone forgets me, won't I be finished?!" Xiang Zuo said gloomily.

By the time the conversation was over, they had arrived at the second-floor study. Long Wu sat stiffly in front of a laptop computer, looking very serious in a crisp suit.

"Brother Long, do you need to be so formal, wearing a suit at home, and both you and your son have such long faces as if you aren't welcoming me," Suming said with a bit of speechlessness and a half-joking tone to Long Wu.

Long Wu shook his head stiffly, like a robot, and said with a touch of helplessness, "I just had several video conferences. You know I've never been good with high-tech stuff. Having a video meeting makes me more nervous than facing a room full of journalists on site."

"Dad, you aren't bad with high-tech..." Xiang Zuo muttered to himself, "What's so high-tech about a video conference," as he poured three glasses of red wine from the small bar in the study, handing one to Suming, and added, "My dad has his hang-ups, he just sticks to the old ways and is reluctant to embrace new things. It's already the digital age, and even societies are starting to hold meetings through video calls, yet he still thinks this is high-tech..."

Normally, Suming wouldn't pry into Long Wu's meetings, but since the society was mentioned, he casually said, "Brother Long, is everything sorted out with today's incident?" He found it odd, weren't they worried about surveillance while using the internet for society meetings?

"No, that's not it, we quit the society activities a long time ago, but people still need to make a living. We've all moved onto legitimate businesses now. Even valet parking and bouncer jobs at bars are considered sideline businesses that don't make much money, not to mention that such work is no longer suitable for a society. The meeting just now was a regular one, with leaders from different areas reporting on this year's 'upgrade and transition' process."

Suming: "..."

"You don't need to worry about the Shenghe guys. A Le, who runs the gambling den, also wants to quit the shady business. He even called me tonight to apologize, asking me to say sorry to you. It's better for everyone to get along and make money together," Long Wu explained.

"Make money together?" Suming paused slightly, sensing a different meaning behind those words.

If Long Wu was no longer involved in illicit dealings and Suming himself wasn't either, how were they supposed to make money together with this so-called 'Shenghe' gambling den?

"I'm planning to start a new movie project, and A Le wants to invest some money in it. We were once in the same circle, frequently gathered for tea and cards. If he wants to reform and walk the straight path, of course, I support him," said Long Wu with a smile to Suming. "This time it's a big project. The last epic movie I made incurred significant losses, and I'm temporarily short on funds. Are you interested in joining us?"

Xiang Zuo rolled his eyes on the side.

"Another movie?" Suming thought for a moment and asked, "Brother Long, I'll be straightforward, by involving this Shenghe gambling den, aren't you trying to launder money through filmmaking?"

In Xiangjiang's history, there were many instances of laundering illegal earnings by making movies; although it was hard to trace later, Suming had no interest in being associated with any unlawful dealings.

"Money laundering?" Long Wu was taken aback, then started laughing: "You're overthinking it. Do you think it's the 1980s or something? The little money made from illicit acts these days isn't worth laundering. That amount is nothing compared to a movie's investment return. That's why everyone's going legit. Not to make you laugh, but back in the days when the four big ones were at their peak, the annual extortion fees were only a few tens of millions. We had to cover our brethren's medical expenses, bail, there wasn't much left to make. Now, just open a nightclub and you can earn more than a billion a year, and a decently performing movie can bring in tens or even hundreds of millions. The world is full of opportunities, so why would anyone take the risk of engaging in shady business?"

Having heard Long Wu's explanation, Suming felt relieved.

Thinking about it, that wasn't a bit false. In the past, when the economy was underdeveloped and there weren't many ways to make money, criminals in movies would risk their heads for a few tens of millions, even a hundred million.

Times have changed. With a little background, opening a shop, like owning a medium-sized bar in the bustling area of Lan Kwai Fong, could easily bring in one billion a year; breaking it down, that's just earning about three hundred thousand a night. When you encounter a real spender, the bill for just one booth's drinks could reach that figure.

Who would engage in shady activities if they had the ability?

It was at this point that Suming realized his own thinking hadn't kept up with the times. He smiled and got straight to the point, "So, what's the budget? Let's hear it, Brother Ten."

He himself had a fair amount of available funds, over a billion, but even Long Wu thought it was a 'massive investment,' so it definitely counted in billions.

"Close to a billion in budget, I guess..." Long Wu took a light sip of his drink, placed the glass down, and added two words without waiting for Suming's question: "US Dollar."

"Uh..." Suming broke out in a cold sweat. Big shot, could you stop making me gasp for air with your words?

A budget close to a billion US Dollars, roughly six billion Huaxia currency, no wonder even Long Wu felt the investment was tight.

Even in the entire history of Huaxia's film industry, this was considered a major move. Even in Hollywood, it was the level of a blockbuster.

What's this for, playing so big?

Yet it was still a bit strange. With Huaxia Star's strength, they should be able to come up with the money, right? The more the investment, the higher the stake in the profits. Long Wu had a good relationship with him. They could make money together; there was no need to give him a share of what he could earn for nothing.

"This time I don't plan to produce it in the name of Huaxia Star, I want to be an independent producer, using my own name," said Long Wu. "I can come up with about two billion, A Le can bring in eighty million, and that leaves a gap of over two billion."

Suming quickly did the math in his head, that over two billion, he definitely couldn't raise; one billion wouldn't be too much of a problem.

No wonder they say the movie business is hugely profitable. In regular businesses, making several tens of millions a year is extremely difficult. Last time, a few months were spent filming 'Animal City,' and its box office success has left over a billion in profits to this day.

But the question of investment wasn't the issue right now, the situation needed to be clarified first.

"Why not produce it under the name of Huaxia Star?"

"All because of this jinx," Long Wu said somewhat indulgently, pointing at Xiang Zuo, "I promised him, as long as he put in the effort and showed me, I'd give him three chances. 'Legendary Deities' was the first time, everyone said it was a flop, but I said it's okay. I'm his old man, and the words I've said, no matter what, I must make them true."

Suming understood then. The first 'Legendary Deities' was a flop, causing many of Huaxia Star's shareholders to lose confidence in big-budget productions. And now, Xiang Zuo as the lead again?

To rashly put up five or six billion, Huaxia Star's board of directors would definitely not approve, so Long Wu had to finance it himself in his own name.

Looking at Xiang Zuo, the corners of Suming's mouth twitched.

"Uncle, don't worry, I'm just one of the leads this time!" Xiang Zuo seemed to have sensed Suming's concern and said, "This film is of epic scale. There's no single protagonist, many storylines intertwine together, and I'm just one of the important characters. Strictly speaking, in this installment, I'm more of a supporting actor."

Hearing the word 'epic,' Suming's head began to ache.

Wasn't 'Legend of the Deities' already an epic?

"Brother Ten, you've been secretive for so long, what exactly is the movie?" Suming couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore.

Could it be 'Journey to the West'? In Huaxia, that's definitely one epic IP, and a dazzling one at that.

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Or perhaps 'Water Margin'? 'Three Kingdoms'? The latter would definitely qualify as epic. But in this day and age, war movies don't sell too well.

It couldn't be 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' could it?

If Xiang Zuo was going to play Jia Baoyu, he wouldn't put in a dime!

Long Wu's usually stern face actually had a rare look of pride, but he wasn't in a hurry to reveal it. He took out a cigar, lit it, took a slow puff, laid the cigar carefully on the edge of the bronze ashtray, keeping Suming in suspense, and finally said leisurely, "It's not an Eastern epic, it's a Western epic. Have you ever played 'World of Warcraft'?"

Suming nearly spit out a mouthful of blood.