Wang Zhonglei opened the kraft paper bag, which contained a thick stack of bound papers, Wang Zhonglei couldn't wait to take it out, and the first thing he saw was a cover with "The Martian" written on it.

Mars, science fiction, space?

After Wang Zhonglei saw this name, a few words instantly popped up in his head.

"This is a story that happened on Mars, Mark, a Chinese botanist, came to Mars with his teammates because of a space mission, and in the middle of the mission, a very destructive storm suddenly hit, causing their team to immediately interrupt the mission and return home. ”

In the process of returning to the spaceship, Mark was in a coma due to an accident, and his teammates judged that he had lost his life and returned home, and brought the news of his sacrifice back to Earth, but the comatose Mark did not die, but luckily survived, but no, he was about to be on a strange planet, facing the destruction of the spaceship, without the help of his teammates, he could only survive alone, waiting for the almost unattainable glimmer of life. ”

Wang Zhonglei looked at it very seriously, this is a very unique theme, it is a rare survival theme in China and even in the world, and what is more interesting is that Nie Wei also put this story in space.

"Why do you want to put the story on Mars?" Wang Zhonglei asked curiously, after all, there are too many planets to choose from, and even making up a planet is nothing in such a story, but Nie Wei chose Mars.

"Mars is one of the planets in the solar system, a planet that everyone in the world is familiar with, and over the years, many of those experts who have studied Mars have said that it is very likely that earthlings will inspire Mars to live in the environment and make it a second Earth. ”

"Whether it's their claim to have found frozen water beneath Mars, or whether they think Mars has a significant coastline, or its atmospheric structure, I think setting the story on Mars will greatly increase the audience's sense of identity and authenticity. ”

"After all, this is the "Martian" I wrote in the final analysis, which is actually a survival movie dressed in science fiction, and many things in it must have a certain scientific basis, at least in terms of reasoning, and the plot cannot be arranged too wildly. Nie Wei and Wang Zhonglei explained.

"Makes sense. Wang Zhonglei nodded in agreement, and then continued to read the script.

At the beginning, Wang Zhonglei would always ask Nie Wei some questions, but gradually, Wang Zhonglei had fewer questions, and his expression became more and more serious.

He frowned and looked worried when he saw Mark's despair when he knew he had been left alone on Mars, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw Mark find camp and finally get an oxygen supply.

He will begin to rejoice with Mark's success in growing potatoes, and he will also show a look of helplessness and sadness when the storm destroys Mark's potatoes again.

Time passed little by little, and nearly two hours passed, Wang Zhonglei reluctantly put down the script in his hand, then looked up at Nie Wei, and the first sentence he said was: "Shoot, you have to shoot!"

"Let's talk about budgeting first. Nie Wei said: "Because the main scenes of the story are focused on Mars, and we can't really go to Mars to shoot, so the location is crucial, and I have already found a filming location, but it is not in China, but in Jordan." ”

While speaking, Nie Wei took out a small brown paper bag from his briefcase again and handed it to Wang Zhonglei.

"The Wadi Rum Reserve, located in southern Jordan, covers an area of 74,000 hectares and is a mixed natural and cultural heritage site in the world, and it is also known as the Valley of the Moon because it is considered to be the most similar land on Earth to the Moon.

At sunset, the entire desert is rendered rose-colored, and there are countless towering rock formations and cliffs, because it resembles the moon's landform, and it is actually the best place to photograph the entire planet, including Mars. ”

Wang Zhonglei looked at the photos in his hand, the fiery red desert, the constantly protruding sandstone, especially the photo of the sunset, the entire desert and valley seemed to be covered with a layer of fiery red light veil, which was really beautiful.

"In addition, we have to build a rover, an exploration spacecraft and other props, at least to get by as a layman, we also need a decent base, and it is also best to apply for some scientific and technological assistance from the aviation authority. ”

"In short, I think the investment in this film is at least 100 million, and the unit is US dollars. ”

Wang Zhonglei was choked by the numbers that Nie Wei exploded, although he had already prepared in his heart, this time the money may be more than "League of Assassins", but he didn't expect it to be so much.

100 million US dollars, or the least guaranteed estimate, if calculated according to the current currency exchange ratio, this guaranteed investment figure alone is already as high as 680 million Huaxia coins, this investment is enough to shoot two "League of Assassins", and there is still a surplus, and often the larger the investment, the greater the risk.

Looking at the slightly tangled expression on Wang Zhonglei's face, Nie Wei knew what this master was thinking, and immediately said with a smile: "Brother Zhonglei, if you think the investment is too big, you can give up a few percentage points, I believe that someone will definitely be willing to accept it, or give it to me directly, and I will personally ......pay for it."

"What are you talking about, isn't this a slap in the face for you to appear?" Wang Zhonglei hurriedly interrupted Nie Wei's words, of course he couldn't let Nie Wei pay the money.

"Am I frightened by the amount of investment you said, after all, so far, there has not been a film in China with an investment of more than 100 million US dollars, and we can be regarded as setting a new record. Wang Zhonglei said with a smile: "I will ask someone to notify the board of directors in a while, and the meeting will decide to hold a meeting to decide that at least 60% of the investment in this film will be won." ”

"And remember to inform Huaying Group. Nie Wei reminded with a smile.

"This can't be forgotten, definitely can't be forgotten, haha. Wang Lei also replied with a smile that in the past few years, all films produced by Huayi, especially those shot by Nie Wei, will inevitably have Huaying's investment participation, and the proportion of investment involved is quite a lot, at least 10% of the total proportion, and sometimes even more than 20%.

Pulling Huaying, naturally it will not be for the so-called flat investment risk, in fact, Huayi now wants to pull investment is really not too simple, many people are even willing to invest at a premium.

But Huaying is different, it has an unusual background behind it, which is what Huayi needs.

The cooperation between Huayi and Huaying is based on mutual benefit and reciprocity, with the addition of Huaying, Huayi's films will be easier in some aspects of censorship, and cinemas can also get more resources.

For example, in last year's "League of Assassins", Huaying also took out a lot of money, accounting for 15% of the total investment, and the results were naturally surprising, not to mention the foreign box office results, the mainland box office alone has already made Huaying make a lot of money, and the income of this movie is almost comparable to the total revenue of Huaying in a year.

Interestingly, last year, the number of films scheduled by Huaying's theaters showed that it was not the movies launched by Huaying that got the most total film scheduling ratio, but the movies launched by Huayi, especially when "League of Assassins" was released, Huaying's theaters gave this film a maximum of 70% of the film scheduling rate.

In the words of some jealous people in the circle, this Huaying is simply a movie that supports Huayi with his life.

It is precisely this attitude of cooperation that Huayi and Huaying are now like Siamese brothers, especially in the works directed or written by Nie Wei, in the co-production company, there will inevitably be the name of Huaying, and it will inevitably rank first.

"How much is appropriate?" Wang Zhonglei thought for a while and asked.

"Let's talk about it between ten and fifteen percent, after all, this time the investment is relatively large, and it is not certain whether the other party has the courage to eat it in the stomach. ”

"You're talking nonsense, believe it or not, 100 percent of them will eat into their stomachs. ”

"Hahaha. ”

The next day, the board of directors was held as scheduled, which was also the first formal board meeting after Huayi's official listing, after all, this is a large project involving hundreds of millions of dollars, and other important shareholders must be notified.

Although the investment amount of Nie Weixin's film reached a new high, which made many shareholders present show surprised expressions, there were few opponents of this investment amount, and in the end, with more than 90% of the votes, Nie Weixin's film's investment plan was successfully determined.

It takes nearly three months for the crew to prepare, and some specific props alone require more than two months of production period, as for the special effects, they are still in charge of PO Thunder, which is the only special effects company that Nie has cultivated, and Nie Wei is full of trust in their strength.

As for the actor in this play, Nie Wei is of course the best to do.

In fact, this is a movie that revolves around the male lead, and it is the main reason why Nie Wei finally chose this movie.

The real fire in the previous "League of Assassins" was actually Li Binbin, although the character played by Nie Wei also has a certain popularity, but it is a grade worse than the fox played by Li Binbin.

And the last time Nie Wei played the core role was in "Lone Agent", and it has been more than a year now, and Nie Wei must use a new core role to continue to break through on the road of actor.

Undoubtedly, the pure male lead play of "The Martian" is very suitable for Nie Wei.

The whole movie tells the story of the male protagonist surviving on Mars from beginning to end, and this movie has no heroine at all, and there is no male or female second, just like Robinson Crusoe, which is about Robinson, like Don Quixote, about Don Quixote.

And all the other characters in the movie are actually serving the male lead.

Just like the solar system, the hero is the brightest sun, and the rest of the people revolve around the hero.

And such a role undoubtedly allows the actor to give full play to his own strength and charm, which is what Nie Wei needs most now.

And after Nie Wei proposed to play the leading role, no one objected.

Nie Wei's acting skills are undoubted, and as he grows older, Nie Wei's mature charm has become more and more apparent, coupled with his already calm character, as long as it is not the kind of role that crosses generations of age, Nie Wei can be perfectly controlled.

As for the other characters, although they are not important for this film, it does not mean that they are not valuable in the eyes of others.

In fact, on the contrary, because it is Nie Wei's new movie and has invested more than 100 million US dollars, as soon as this news comes out, there are simply too many people who want to fight for the role.

For example, Fan Binbin, who had just lost the heroine to Zhou Xun in "Ghost Blowing the Lantern", contacted Nie Wei as soon as possible and expressed his determination to play the heroine of this movie.

"Sister Binbin, to tell you the truth, 80% of the scenes in this movie are on the male lead, and there are really not many scenes occupied by other characters, saying that it is the heroine, it may not even be as good as a supporting actress with a heavy role in a normal movie, do you still want to fight for such a role?"

"It doesn't matter how many scenes there are, Nie Wei, I just want to work with you again. Fan Binbin replied.

"Well, the heroine of this film ... Let's just be like, she is the commander of the hero's action team, and the female character who plays a decisive role in several important key plots throughout the movie. ”

"Nie Wei doesn't need to be introduced, that's it, I'll play it. Without waiting for Nie Wei to finish speaking, Fan Binbin immediately hurriedly confirmed.

From Nie Wei's words, she could hear that the role that Nie Wei recommended to her must be the most outstanding female character in this movie, and Fan Binbin would be a big fool if he didn't know how to seize the opportunity at this time.

"Well, remember to invite me to dinner when you come back. ”

"Of course, I owe you a big favor this time. Fan Binbin agreed with a grin.

She knew very well in her heart that although Nie Wei did not explicitly give him this role, this attitude already showed that this role belonged to her.

And Fan Binbin also guessed what Nie Wei was thinking in her heart, which was compensation for her loss of the heroine of "Ghost Blowing the Lantern".

Lost the East Corner Harvest Sang Yu, who lost the heroine of "Ghost Blowing the Lantern", Fan Binbin was lost for a while, but now he has won the heroine of "The Martian", although Nie Wei only emphasizes that this role has very few roles, but after all, this is Nie Wei's self-written, directed and acted movie, and the investment is 100 million, and the unit is US dollars.

This kind of big production, even if you only play a vase role, is a breakthrough in your acting career, not to mention that the role you play is not the kind of vase.

Fan Binbin has even begun to think that after the filming of this movie, he can rush to the world like Li Binbin, go to Hollywood to film, and when he returns to China, he can already hang the title of an international superstar.