By the time the plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport, it was already seven o'clock in the evening. Zhang Ran saw a very large sign from a distance, on which were written in Chinese two huge Chinese characters "Zhang Ran".

"I've been waiting for more than an hour. But it's good to come, I can't wait, this time we're going to have a big fight!" As soon as he saw Zhang Ran come out, Neil ran over and gave Zhang Ran a bear hug, and said excitedly.

"Of course, we're going to do a big job this time!" Zhang Ran got into Neil's car very leisurely.

Neil was still living in the same place where he used to be, and when he got out of the car, Zhang Ran came to the door and rang the doorbell.

The doorbell rang several times before the door opened. Zhang Ran saw Lisa holding a spatula in her hand, and hurriedly stepped forward to hug her: "Lisa, you are getting more and more beautiful, I really envy this guy Neil!"

"Thank you, Robin, I'm so glad to see you! I made your favorite Kung Pao Chicken, and I've been cooking for you since you returned to China. Now my cooking skills have improved a lot!" Lisa smiled and hugged Zhang Ran.

Zhang Ran stretched out his nose and sniffed, nodded with a smile: "I believe it must be good, Neil is fat!"

Suddenly, there was a burning smell, and Lisa screamed, "Oops, it's paste!" With that, she turned around and ran towards the kitchen with a spatula.

During the meal, everyone naturally talked about the movie and Zhang Ran's project.

Lisa looked at Zhang Ran and said incredulously: "Robin, I'm really shocked, you were able to invite Luc Besson to be the producer, how did you do it?"

Zhang Ran explained with a smile: "Although Luc Besson is a very famous director, he is also the owner of Europa Pictures, and the most important thing for him is to make money. If we can make money from this project, he will naturally join in!"

"Neil and I both thought that you shouldn't go back to China, you are so good that you will have a better future in Hollywood, but I didn't expect you to develop better when you go back to China. Lisa said with some emotion. "Robin, when this movie is successful, will you stay in Hollywood and develop?"

"No, it won't. Zhang Ran shook his head with great certainty, he may have been a little confused at the beginning of his rebirth, but now he is more and more aware of where his path is, "Hollywood has the funds I need." But there was no movie I wanted. In fact, even if I hadn't returned to China, I probably wouldn't have stayed in Hollywood, and I guess I'd have gone to New York. ”

"That's a pity!" Lisa said regretfully, "you and Neil are both geniuses, and if you work together, you will definitely be able to make a movie that will amaze the whole world like Lucas and Spielberg!"

"Even if I'm not in Hollywood, I can work with Neil, aren't we working together now?" Zhang Ran said with a smile. "Even if we don't have to be in Hollywood, we can make movies that will amaze the world!"

After dinner, Zhang Ran and Neil began to talk about business. Zhang Ran is most concerned about the issue of tax refund, they need to solve 15 million funds through tax refund, otherwise they will have to pull investment.

Film tax rebates are not a long-established tax rebate program, and the late 80s were still a fraction of the cost of film production. But as Canada and the United Kingdom gradually increase tax rebates related to film production, the impact of tax rebates on films is increasing.

Louisiana pioneered tax rebates in the U.S., passing the Movie Tax Rebate Act in 1991. After tasting the sweetness. Louisiana passed a similar law in 2002 to further increase the state rebate for film productions. The following three years. Louisiana has reaped tremendous economic benefits and word-of-mouth effects. Following the passage of the 2002 bill to further increase the film rebate, the film industry created 5,437 jobs and $7.5 million in output in 2003, while in 2005, it created 18,882 jobs and $340 million in output.

Only five of the 50 states have rebate laws that encourage filmmaking, but states will soon introduce similar bills after seeing the sweetness of Louisiana. By 2009, 44 of the 50 states had passed similar refund laws. By 2013, 44 states with film rebate laws had given a total of $1.55 billion in tax rebates to the Hollywood film industry. This staggering amount has reached almost 15% of the total annual production cost of the Hollywood film industry.

Although Louisiana's tax refund policy is very generous, it still can't compare with Canada. In 1997, the Canadian government officially launched the relevant laws and policies of the "Film Production Tax Rebate Program". Under the Act, the federal government will pay studios about 16% of the cost of producing a film that meets the relevant regulations, and Canadian provinces also have their own film rebate policies. These two policies can be stacked. As a result, you can get a total tax refund of 37 to 70 percent of labor costs and 25 to 30 percent of your consumption for filming in Canada.

Canada's tax rebate policy has reduced the cost of Hollywood movies a lot, but it has also led to a serious problem, many Hollywood crews go to Canada to shoot. And the local government also stipulates that the crew must use some local talents, so that a large number of people in Hollywood have fewer job opportunities. Eventually led to fewer and fewer films being shot in Los Angeles.

However, the tax refund situation in various states in Canada is also different, and Zhang Ran naturally hopes to choose a province that not only fits the scene of the movie, but also can get the most tax refunds.

He not only consulted the tax refund policies of various Canadian provinces, but also visited the provinces with high tax refunds, and said: "Vancouver has the highest tax refund rate, which can reach 55%, and it is undoubtedly cost-effective for us to shoot this film in Vancouver." I've been to Vancouver and it's all the scenes we need and the facilities are pretty complete. However, Canada's tax rebate for special effects is not refunded to the production company, but to the special effects company, so the special effects company's quotation is relatively low. However, if we want to get the tax refund first, then the post-production and special effects can't be done in Canada. New Zealand's tax rebates for post-production and special effects can be obtained in advance, but the proportion is not high, only 15%. Our special effects and post-production costs are estimated to be 40 million, so we can only refund 6 million. Including the tax refund filmed in Canada, it is probably only 13 million!"

Zhang Ran nodded slightly: "It doesn't matter if it's 2 million, we have the ability to solve it!"

Neil continued: "When I went to New Zealand, I stopped by Australia and they just introduced a new tax refund this year. The government provides a 30 per cent reimbursement for post-production, digital effects production and video production, and this incentive can be stacked with state and territory government incentives. If we do the entire post-production of the film in Australia, we can get a subsidy of close to 12 million, but the Australian tax rebate will be refunded after the filming of the film is completed. ”

Zhang Ran nodded, this is a problem. If you do special effects and post-production in Australia, you can save millions of dollars, but there is an additional funding gap of 8 million. He had a fundamental understanding of the Australian special effects industry and asked, "Are there any good special effects companies in Australia?"

Neil explained: "AnimalLogic, they are responsible for the special effects of The Matrix, and they are technically excellent! When I was consulting with the Australian Film International Cooperation Agency about subsidy policies, the person in charge was very interested in our project and really wanted us to move this project to Australia!"

Zhang Ran was relieved when he heard the team of "The Matrix", and said with a smile: "If the Australian government can tax refund in advance." And if you can refund us 15 million, I won't say a word, just move to Australia to shoot!"

Neil shook his head: "I also asked, they didn't agree, this is the government's policy, it won't change for little people like us!"

Zhang Ran had heard about the government's revision of fiscal policy for films, but it was a big director like Peter Jackson and a big company like Warner. I am a little famous in China. To put it in the world is completely nobody. It is impossible for others to provide such convenience for themselves!, "What do you think?"

Neil had already thought about it: "I think it's better to go to Australia to do post-production, although the tax refund will have to wait until the film is made. But the amount of tax refund is millions more, which is a lot of money. As for the $8 million funding gap, we can make up for it in other ways, not necessarily with financing!"

Zhang Ran pondered for a while, nodded and said, "That's it, you contact AnimalLogic as soon as possible." Let them send the best VFX supervisor over, and he has to be involved in the whole process of preparation. Speaking of which, Zhang Ran suddenly remembered something: "Did the special effects staff I asked you to help me find found it?"

In addition to shooting commercials, Neil has also participated in the visual effects work of many film and television dramas, including "Stargate", "The ******End of the World" and so on. Knowing a lot of relevant people, and UCLA itself also cultivates special effects talents, it is not difficult for him to find a few people: "According to your request, I found ten, six of them are Chinese, I don't know when you will meet them?"

"This is not in a hurry!" Zhang Ran breathed a sigh of relief, with the addition of this group of people, Tiangong Chongcai will have a backbone, and there will be enough technical support to participate in his own project, "Let's discuss the next work, there are many things that need to be started!"

Neil nodded, "No problem!"

At six o'clock the next day, Zhang Ran got up from the bed at six o'clock in the morning, got dressed and went downstairs, ready to go to the bathroom to go to the toilet.

When I walked to the bathroom door, I heard the moaning sound of "mmmmmmmmmmmmmm They are all adults, and Zhang Ran naturally knows what they are doing.

It's early in the morning, and I'm full of energy!

Zhang Ran shook his head with a smile and left the bathroom door. As soon as he got out, he started jogging along the street.

There are a lot of people who come to run in the morning, and there are many who come in pairs, and they all wear couples' clothes for running. It's not just runners, when Zhang Ran ran to the park, there were many people practicing their breath, and the sound of numb and croaking came and went. Zhang Ran also found a place, took a breath, and babbled and shouted.

When Zhang Ran came back from practice, Neil sat on the couch watching TV, and Lisa was cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

Breakfast was simple, just two slices of toasted bread, a glass of milk, and an omelette. Looking at the white overturned eggs, Zhang Ran suddenly thought a little about the buns in Nortel's canteen.

Neil asked as he ate, "Robin, you're going to the union today, right?"

Zhang Ran had already planned: "I'll make a phone call first, and then go to the actors' union to sign the union agreement, and we have to finalize the starring role as soon as possible." The starring lineup can't be determined, and there is no way to pre-sell!"

Although Neil is also a producer, he can't do the agreements with various trade unions, so he has to sign them himself, and said with a smile: "I'm in the production office, you can come over at any time if you have any questions." I'll contact the casting director in a moment, and when the union agreement is signed, I can start the casting process!"

Zhang Ran nodded and said, "Okay, let's split up!"

After breakfast, Zhang Ran went out with his bag and various relevant documents. (To be continued.) )