Guo Fan didn't hold back: "For the special effects in this film, I plan to benchmark against the top-tier Hollywood movies, and there will be far more special effects shots than in the previous two films, so this time the investment might exceed 2 billion."

"Such a big investment might need a box office of 6 billion to break even, so you still need to think carefully about whether you want to invest."

Hearing his words, Sun Dasheng was somewhat surprised.

It wasn't the hefty production cost that surprised him. Although a 2 billion production cost for a film is indeed unprecedented domestically, what surprised him was that this person actually told him everything so honestly?

You see, some directors won't tell you the truth.

They'll bluff to get the investment first.

Then halfway through the filming, they ask you to add more money; will you add or not?

If you don't add more, the investment goes down the drain. If you do, you pinch your nose and shell out more money.

Many of King of Sunglasses' financiers have been tormented to death, and quite a few were bankrupted by him.

Guo Fan is different, very straightforward.

There's a downside though, which is the mention of 2 billion scared off quite a few people, many of whom worked with him last time.

Because their expectations for the box office were only 4-5 billion.

After all, the further a series progresses, the worse it gets; that's universal worldwide.

They had a mental expectation of 4-5 billion for the third movie, really for the sake of the director's face.

Unexpectedly, at this investment meeting, the director started with a bang: a 2 billion investment cost.

As everyone knows, a movie has to earn three times its budget to break even.

So it needs a box office of 6 billion.

This... who would dare to gamble on that?

It's not a matter of tens of millions; losing won't break the bank.

Guo Fan stated the investment amount, then stared intently at the 'big boss' in front of him.

Seeing him not speaking for a while, he felt a bit disappointed: someone else who got scared by the investment amount.

Ready to leave.

But got called back!

"Wait!"

"?"

"Is this money enough?" Sun Dasheng asked.

"Huh?" Guo Fan thought he had a hearing problem, heard an auditory illusion.

Next to him, Wu Jing beamed with delight and loudly said beside Guo Fan: "President Sun is asking if the 2 billion investment is enough?"

Only then did Guo Fan realize it wasn't his hearing playing tricks on him, so he immediately happily grabbed Sun Dasheng's hand and excitedly said:

"Enough! More than enough!"

"Our crew has done many detailed budget assessments, and 2 billion is more than adequate."

Facing the curious looks from everyone.

Guo Fan rarely blushed:

"Been too poor in the past, every bit of funding had to be pinched, living frugally, even had to cut down actors' pay multiple times. Luckily, these good actors were willing to take small payments to participate..."

Then he looked at Wu Jing beside him, put his arm around his shoulder: "During the shooting of the second film, the money was also insufficient, thanks to Wu Jing waiving his own pay and investing quite a bit."

Turns out there were so many twists and turns.

Sun Dasheng, slightly puzzled, asked: "Your first film was so successful, logically the second shouldn't be lacking funds, right?"

This sentence left the surrounding crew members stunned.

It seems so, they all looked at Guo Fan in unison.

Guo Fan gave a self-deprecating smile: "I approached those investors, they all said my success was dumb luck, that there's no soil for sci-fi in the country. Success can't be repeated; hence their expectations for the second film were low."

Reluctantly scraped together a bit of money to send me off.

However, fortunately, many friends in the industry backed me up, allowing me to complete the second movie."

"Precisely because there were many regrets with the first two films, I wanted more investment for the third one to shoot what I truly want to."

Sun Dasheng felt a bit emotional, realizing how tough domestic sci-fi movies really are.

Even with consecutively amassing a box office of 4 billion, it's still just a small success, and the rest...

Forget it, not to mention the rest, films like The Wandering Earth are nothing more than money-grabbing garbage, hardly anyone is genuinely crafting in this field, just trying to capitalize and then leave, not to mention any passion.

For domestic sci-fi films to truly rise, they must rely on genuinely passionate directors like Guo Fan.

So, he nodded: "For this 2 billion production, I'll provide you with a guarantee, meaning you pull in investments, and if there's a shortfall, whatever is lacking, I'll make up for it."

Upon hearing this, Guo Fan was somewhat incredulous.

He initially thought this person might have some interest, investing a part would already be incredible.

Didn't expect...

He actually provided a guarantee.

This really resolved his worries, allowing him to focus on crafting and perfecting the movie script.

Wu Jing, being quite shrewd, gave Guo Fan a gentle push: "Quickly thank our big patron."

Guo Fan promptly clasped his hands: "Thank you, thank you, rest assured, I will finely polish the script, spend the money wisely, and present the best film outcome. When the movie sells big, your investment will surely have a return."

Oh, truly, even a seemingly dull director is a smooth-talking salesman.

Indeed, they've been dealing with investors for years, without good speaking skills, how could they convince someone to invest?

"Um, may I make a request?" Sun Dasheng said.

When an investor starts talking, the director knows what they're about to say.

So he smiled and said: "No problem, besides Brother Jing as the lead, no one else is set yet; how many do you want to add?"

Well...

So direct?

Alright.

Regarding this matter, Sun Dasheng is indeed a bit inexperienced.

Investors putting people into productions is an old tradition, and people in the industry are already accustomed to it.

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