Chapter 90: Short of Money? I'll Invest!

Zhou Tao picked up the tea cup with his right hand, took a sip, and leisurely read the simplified version of the script.

"In the near future, the earth will be filled with yellow sand and dust, and wheat and other crops will be extinct due to blight..."

Zhou Tao looked serious, put down his legs and teacup, and read the lines of text carefully.

"...The protagonist's daughter Murphy found a signal left by a ghost in the room."

He frowned slightly.

ghost?

The Ministry of Science and Technology makes a movie, and you create a ghost for me.

He raised his eyes and glanced at Chen Xiao, then turned his attention back to the script again.

Director Chen is not stupid. This ghost should have other meanings, right?

Zhou Tao endured the doubts in his heart and continued to look down.

Another seven or eight minutes passed.

Zhou Tao became more and more fascinated.

When Murphy learned that Plan A lacked information and the gravity equation could not be revealed, she mistakenly believed that her father had abandoned her.

His eyes became moist.

He also has a daughter.

Why……

Thinking about his lovely little daughter, she cried and asked him if he had abandoned her.

And he couldn't reply to the message to explain, so he could only watch his daughter misunderstanding him, feeling sad and desperate.

Hey, being a father is really heartbreaking.

Zhou Tao's nose felt sour, he picked up a tissue and wiped the corners of his eyes.

Soon, he comes to the last page.

"Cooper fell into the super-five-dimensional cube, where he met his infant daughter."

Zhou Tao was stunned for a moment and then reacted.

time!

Cooper transcended time!

The ghost in his daughter's childhood room is him, the one who went back to save the people on earth!

What a big idea!

This perfectly combines technology and family ties.

Technologists love their families and want to save the planet.

The combination of little love and big love is very good!

He continued to look down.

Soon, he saw Murphy realize that his father was always there, always trying to save her.

Zhou Tao nodded happily, the corners of his eyes becoming moist again.

He took a deep breath and looked up at Chen Xiao, who was flipping through documents.

As expected of Director Chen, his tear-inducing technique is also top-notch when writing about family relationships.

Just when he thought of this, his eyes froze.

Wait, this person is the protagonist’s killer!

Depend on! The protagonist won’t die again, right?

Zhou Tao immediately lowered his head and looked down quickly.

Lines of text were scanned.

When the young protagonist returns to Earth, his daughter is already gray-haired and has gone into hibernation several times in order to wait for her father.

The two met for the last time.

Zhou Tao raised his hand to cover his forehead and stared at the script with a complex expression.

The protagonist is not dead.

But he is 124 years old, but almost everyone around him is dead!

But compared with the previous two movies, especially "Farewell My Concubine" which made him depressed for two days, this one is quite...

How do you describe this feeling?

Suddenly he remembered that this morning he heard a young employee say a sentence that was particularly suitable to describe his current feeling.

This makes the body feel warm...

Zhou Tao sighed and continued to scroll down.

"On another planet, the last astronaut is carrying 5,000 fertilized eggs, waiting alone for the arrival of new life."

"over."

He raised his head and leaned on the wicker chair, breathing a long sigh of relief.

This ending is vast and tragic, with a hint of desolation.

It is a perfect fit with the technical staff.

The spirit of contribution to mankind, love for family, tenacious perseverance, and loneliness of exploration are all reflected very well.

But there is a problem. The budget will be seriously exceeded when shooting this.

Let’s chat after Lao Li finishes reading.

After another two minutes, Director Li on the side also closed the script and raised his head.

Director Li smiled and said, "I've finished reading it."

Zhou Tao nodded, crossed his hands on the table, and looked at Chen Xiao.

"Director Chen, to be honest, I really like this script, but..."

He glanced at Li Zhiming and continued: "If you want to achieve good results, the budget shouldn't be low, right?"

Li Zhiming looked a little serious and nodded: "It's not low, at least 500 million."

Zhou Tao sighed softly and picked up the script with eyes filled with regret.

"We just want to make a daily film, and the budget is only 100 million."

Li Zhiming nodded.

He understood Zhou Tao's dilemma.

The situation in the Ministry of Science and Technology is different from that in the Ministry of Culture.

Although the Ministry of Culture is poor, revitalizing opera is an important goal in the cultural field, and the country is willing to invest money.

Although the technology industry has money, it mainly invests in technology research and development and social applications.

In order to promote human touch, spending 500 million to make a film makes no sense both emotionally and rationally.

Li Zhiming looked at Chen Xiao and then at Zhou Tao, and suddenly found that Zhou Tao was looking at him.

He immediately leaned back and spread his hands, "Don't look at me. The difference is 400 million. What reason should I use to apply for funding?"

Zhou Tao sighed in his heart and looked at the script reluctantly.

Everyday stories pale in comparison to this one.

But there is no money.

It seems that we can only ask Director Chen to change the script.

He raised his head and was about to speak, but Chen Xiao beat him to it.

"Minister Zhou, Director Li, I can invest 350 million."

Their eyes froze at the same time.

A thought came to my mind at the same time - you are so rich.

Chen Xiao continued: "However, I hope to make this into a commercial film and release it in theaters. There are two reasons."

"First, watching it in the cinema will be more shocking and can better show the film effect. I plan to make my own soundtrack so that the audience will feel more nervous and exciting when watching some big scenes, and even hold their breath."

"Second, it can bring a good income to the producer. Let me give you an example. If the domestic box office is 4 billion, and the investment is 50 million, it can get about 160 million in the end."

As he said, Chen Xiao smiled and looked at Li Zhiming.

Director Li, did you feel my hint?

The reason why he chose to invest 350 million and keep 50 million.

On the one hand, there is only about 370 million in the card for the time being.

On the other hand, he hopes that the Ministry of Culture will invest money in it.

After all, in the film industry, the Ministry of Culture is the boss.

After the film is produced, if it wants to go online, it needs to communicate with the distributor and the theater.

The distributor and the theater share 60% to 65% of the box office.

It hurts!

If the Ministry of Culture participates more, it is expected that it can find someone to distribute it by itself.

In this way, the proportion of the producer can be increased a little bit within a reasonable range.

Li Zhiming thought for a moment, glanced at Chen Xiao, and snorted.

"You, are you waiting for me here? Okay, there is still 50 million short. I will go back and try to get it. After all, it is a joint production of two departments, and it can make money and invest it in the cultural field. I don't think it will be a big problem."

"Thank you, Director Li!"

They were very happy, but Zhou Tao on the side didn't look very good.

He flipped through the script again, looked at Chen Xiao, and said in a deep voice: "If you shoot a commercial film, the review must be strict, and the money that should be given to all parties must be paid. Don't have any problems!"

"Well, don't worry."

Seeing Chen Xiao agreed, Zhou Tao's tense cheeks relaxed, "Then I can do it here. The higher-ups should approve it."

The effect of "Farewell My Concubine" is there, and it is estimated that the effect of "Interstellar" will not be bad.

Zhou Tao continued to ask: "How long does Director Chen plan to finish filming? Within this year?"

"September, it will be released on November 1st."

Zhou Tao was slightly surprised.

So fast?

Director Chen's first two films had relatively few special effects, so the fast speed is understandable.

But the post-production of this film is quite complicated. It only takes half a year from March to September.

He advised: "Quality is the most important, time is not urgent."

"Well, don't worry, there is plenty of time for the release on October 1st."

Zhou Tao nodded, and then seemed to think of something, and asked with a smile: "National Day?"

"Yes."

Zhou Tao laughed.

I'm afraid that the National Day movies will suffer.

They are released every year during the National Day, leaving no room for others.

"Then it's settled. I won't look at the specific plan. I trust Director Chen. If you need anything, just tell us. We'll try to meet your needs."

Chen Xiao smiled slightly, "There's something I need your help with now."

"Please go ahead."

"I need to invite an authoritative physicist to be the physics instructor of the crew. Minister Zhou, can you help me contact one?"

Zhou Tao stroked his chin, "It's indeed necessary. There may be scientific loopholes or errors in the script. It's better to ask a physicist to deduce it."

Li Zhiming on the side joked, "Old Zhou, aren't you a physics major? Can't you see if there's any problem?"

Zhou Tao glanced at him.

After working in administration for 20 or 30 years, how can he remember it so clearly?

He snorted and sneered, "Oh, you have a good memory, recite "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng"?"

A burst of laughter suddenly rang out in the private room.