Chapter 443: 50 Million US Dollars

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yan sat on the sofa in the living room and thought for a while.

What Hong Ben said should be true.

Zhou Yan had heard similar news before when he was in Canada, but he didn't expect that after such a long time, the budget issue was not resolved, and the conflicts within the crew became more and more intense.

The budget of "Titanic" should be increased by another 30 to 50 million US dollars.

Fox should be able to raise this money by tightening his belt.

But looking at this, Fox doesn't want to spend any more money on it. After all, they have already spent more than 100 million U.S. dollars, and the risks have already been raised.

Now if you invest another 30 to 50 million in it, the risk factor will increase a lot.

The key is that Fox has other plans, all of which cost money. They can't shut down the company's other plans just for the sake of "Titanic". They can't afford to gamble.

After thinking for a while, Zhou Yan called Zhang Youan and asked him to inquire about the situation of "Titanic".

But as soon as Zhou Yan finished speaking, Zhang Youan said, "No need to ask, I know about this. There was indeed something wrong with the budget of "Titanic". Just halfway through the filming, they discovered that too much money was spent. According to the current situation, Even if the movie is finished, there won’t be a dime left for promotion.”

Zhou Yan pursed his lips and said that since there is no fee for the announcement, it would be better not to make the movie.

For commercial films, publicity and distribution are so important.

"Exactly how much money is missing?"

"The news I heard is that there is a shortage of $100 million."

Zhou Yan was surprised, "How is it possible that Xuanfa can ask for so much money? And by now the film has been filmed, the cost of the early stage scenery has been spent, and the rest is the most expensive post-production. With this 100 million US dollars, Xuanfa It’s almost on par with the later stages.”

Hong Ben said with a smile, "100 million US dollars is definitely not needed. Fox released such news to the outside world to make it easier to negotiate later."

Zhou Yan clicked his tongue and said, "They are not afraid of scaring away investors."

"The investment threshold this time is too high. Even if it is not 100 million US dollars, it is definitely 30 to 50 million US dollars. Most people will not be able to get on the table."

Zhou Yan thought for a while and asked, "Is there any chance we can participate?"

After receiving Zhou Yan's advice and hearing Zhou Yan talk about it, Zhang Youan guessed that Zhou Yan might be interested in investing in "Titanic", so now that he heard Zhou Yan ask this, he was not very surprised.

"It's difficult. Fox is also targeting the other eight major companies. We have no advantage in participating. Moreover, the cost is too high, and we may not be able to raise so much money."

Tomson's development has indeed been good in recent years. Zhou Yan has helped them make a lot of money, but they can't afford tens of millions of dollars now.

Nowadays, it may be difficult for Tomson to shell out 50 million yuan, but 50 million US dollars is a no-brainer.

Otherwise, Xu Feng would have to attract investment, but it is not easy to attract investment of 50 million US dollars.

Even if Xu Feng continued to support Zhou Yan, it would be impossible for him to do this.

To be honest, if we can really get 50 million US dollars, wouldn't it be safer to give the money directly to Tomson Group to develop real estate?

The risk of investing so much money in a movie is too high.

James Cameron's record is indeed brilliant, but this time the plate is so big that many people are afraid to get on the bus.

Zhou Yan nodded, he also understood Tang Chen's current situation.

“If I could get the money, what are the chances of getting in the car?”

On the other end of the phone, Zhang Youan licked his lips, "If you are really rich, the possibility is about 10%. The key depends on the attitude of other companies. If no one else is willing to get on the bus, then Fox will have no choice but to find someone." Are you okay? But, can you really get tens of millions of dollars?"

Zhang Youan probably knows how much money Zhou Yan has on hand, but he probably won't be able to collect this much money.

"Didn't we invest in "The Sixth Sense" before? We made a lot of money."

"That's not enough."

Zhou did make a lot of money by investing in "The Sixth Sense", but the money he got was probably still some distance from US$50 million.

Besides, even if you have enough money, you can’t just put all the money in, right?

It's too dangerous to be so adventurous.

But... Zhang Youan thought of the Zhou family.

He doesn't know much about the Zhou family's business, but he knows a little more than most people. If the Zhou family is willing to pay at this time, it is possible that they can shell out 50 million US dollars.

"If you have any ideas, I can help you communicate." Zhang Youan said again.

Zhou Yan nodded and said, "Okay, go and ask for me. When the matter is done, I will give you a commission."

"Haha, let's forget about the bonus. If things are done, we can just give Tomson some small jobs to do later in the publicity."

"Don't worry about this. Even if things don't work out, Tomson will still be able to drink some soup when the movie is announced later."

"If you say that, I feel relieved."

The volume of "Titanic" was so big that some of the hair leaked from the seams of the hand in the later stage, which was enough for Tomson's branch in the United States.

Tomson's current branch in the United States cannot accept large jobs, but can only accept small jobs and slowly grow.

Whether you make money or not is secondary. The main thing is to show your face and let everyone know that Tomson exists.

…

After talking to Zhang Youan on the phone, Zhou Yan also counted the funds he had on hand.

Over the years, he has saved a lot of money, tens of millions of RMB, and this is all his personal treasury money, not including his shares in Qizhi and Zhou's.

Zhou Yan did not plan to use the family's money. He wanted to pay some money himself, and then let Zhou and Qizhi pay some money.

Of course, even if the three companies are together, it is not easy to pay this money.

His brother Zhou Hong can easily say it, the key lies in Huo Siqi.

The money in Qizhi's account has not been moved much, and Huo Siqi may not be willing to move such a large amount of money now.

...

Zhou Yan originally thought that this matter did not need to be too urgent, and he could wait for Zhang Youan to contact him first.

But what Zhou Yan did not expect was that he received a call from Zhang Youan at more than eight o'clock the next morning.

Zhang Youan brought him good news, "I had a brief communication with Fox, and they said they were willing to talk to us."

"That's good, you can continue to follow up."

"Well, they are still biting the number of 100 million US dollars, and I guess they won't let go for a while."

"What's the point of them biting this number? If I really pay them 100 million US dollars, can they spend all the money? Besides, if I pay so much money, they should give a corresponding proportion of the share."

If it really takes 100 million US dollars, Zhou Yan can't do it.

It's impossible for him to get so much money. 50 million US dollars is already the limit, and it depends on whether Huo Siqi agrees.

"It's definitely possible to negotiate, but it will take some time."

"Then talk to them. If we can negotiate less than 50 million US dollars, we can consider cooperation."

"Okay, I'll go and negotiate. You just need to coordinate the funding issues. As for the profit sharing and other issues, let's talk about it after the amount is determined."

"No problem."

...

Zhang Youan's call forced Zhou Yan to speed up the pace of raising money.

After hanging up the phone, he called Huo Siqi directly.

After receiving Zhou Yan's call, Huo Siqi smiled and said, "Third brother, how did you know I was back in Yanjing? I was thinking about calling you in the afternoon. The second brother said he would take care of the matter you mentioned last time, so I don't need to do anything."

"Well, my brother called me." Zhou Yan pouted and complained, "Brother Siqi, you too, I just called you, and you turned around and told my brother."

Huo Siqi said with a smile, "Why are you two brothers so estranged? If I don't call him and tell him about the matter, he will know about it in the future. Maybe you can blame me."

"You just want to protect yourself."

"Of course not." Huo Siqi laughed and asked, "Since the electronics factory doesn't need me anymore, why are you calling me now? Want to treat me to a drink?"

"Yes, do you have time at noon to have a meal together?"

"Let's have a drink at noon...Okay, you can tell me a place."

"Come to my house."

"No problem, see you at noon."

...

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yan called the restaurant next door to order a table of dishes, and then went to work in the study.

At eleven o'clock, the doorbell rang outside, and Zhou Yan got up to open the door.

Huo Siqi stood outside the door, holding a thick cardboard box in his hand.

As soon as the door opened, Huo Siqi raised the cardboard box in his hand, "Brother brought you something good."

"What is this?"

There was no label on the outside of the cardboard box, and it was impossible to tell what was inside.

"Wine."

"What kind of wine? You need to bring it here specially. Are you afraid that I don't have any wine at home?"

Zhou Yan doesn't drink much, but he has a lot of wine at home, especially Maotai. He has most of the vintages.

This year, when he invited Huo Siqi to dinner, Zhou Yan was ready to open a bottle of ten-year-old Maotai.

"You only have Maotai at home. It's boring to drink. Let's drink something special today."

Seeing Huo Siqi's mysterious look, Zhou Yan became interested.

After the two entered the living room, Huo Siqi put the box on the table and opened it to reveal the two bottles of wine inside.

These two bottles of wine looked ordinary, just ordinary large glass bottles.

The red lid and a large label on the bottle with two large golden characters on it: Dongjiu.

"What's so special about this wine?"

Zhou Yan didn't know much about wine. He only knew a few famous wines.

Except for Mao Wujian, he knew very little about other wines.

"The 81-year-old Dong with the golden character is not much in the market."

Zhou Yan nodded. The vintage is quite long and it is quite rare.

Since Huo Siqi brought it, Zhou Yan thought it should taste good.

"I have already sent the dishes. They will be here in a few minutes."

"Before the dishes arrive, let's drink first. Find me two cups."

"Drink now? Don't wait for the dishes?"

"Well, after eating the dishes, the taste of the wine will be different. While your tongue is clean, try the quality of this wine."

Huo Siqi drank quite well. After opening the wine, he poured two cups first, then picked up the wine glass and shook the wine foam and smelled the wine.

After smelling the wine, he nodded and said, "Well, this wine is in good condition. You are very lucky."

Then he took another sip, and the whole person seemed to be ascended to heaven, with a satisfied face, "This is the taste. If you ask me, Moutai and Wuliangye are not as good as Dongjiu. Third brother, you should try it too."

Hearing what Huo Siqi said, Zhou Yan was also interested. Is this wine so delicious?

With curiosity, Zhou Yan picked up the other glass of wine. He shook the foam like Huo Siqi did, and then smelled the wine.

It doesn't matter if he doesn't smell it, but he almost vomited after smelling it.

"What's this smell?"

Seeing Zhou Yan frowning, Huo Siqi laughed, "Is it different from other wines?"

Zhou Yan looked doubtful, "Is this really wine?"

He had never smelled this kind of wine. It was a bit smelly and fishy. It felt like walking into a slaughterhouse in the middle of summer, with the smell of livestock blood foam and hair.

"Take a sip and try it."

If Huo Siqi hadn't already taken a sip, Zhou Yan would never have tasted it. Since Huo Siqi had already drunk it, it at least meant that there was no problem, so he took a sip.

The fishy smell was much weaker when he drank it, but it was still there. In addition to the fishy smell, there was also a bit of Chinese medicine. As for what kind of Chinese medicine it was, he couldn't tell.

"This wine tastes so weird..."

Zhou Yan missed Maotai a little bit. Drinking this wine was completely torture.

He looked up and down at Huo Siqi, who was full of excitement, and was secretly shocked. He didn't expect this guy to have such a unique taste.

Seeing Zhou Yan's face full of disgust, Huo Siqi smiled and said, "Didn't you ask what's special about this wine? Brother tells you, this wine can strengthen yang."

"Can it strengthen yang?"

"Well, there were many rare animals in Dongjiu in the past. A few years ago, the Animal and Plant Protection Law was passed, and these things were banned. In other words, Dongjiu now has no such things."

"Oh, that's how it is."

Zhou Yan couldn't help but pick up the wine glass and taste it again. It was not because it could strengthen yang, but because the wine had been opened, and he felt that it couldn't be wasted...

The food was served soon, and the two began to drink together. With the dishes, Zhou Yan felt that this Dongjiu was not as difficult to swallow as before.

Apart from other things, the taste of this wine is indeed rich.

When the bottle of wine was almost empty, Huo Siqi took the initiative to speak, "Third brother, tell me, what is the matter that you asked me to drink today?"

"I can't invite you to drink if I have nothing to do?"

"You can't ask me to drink at noon if you have nothing to do. Don't beat around the bush with me. Just tell me what you have to say."

Zhou Yan nodded, and without beating around the bush, he said directly, "The budget of "Titanic" is a bit problematic. I plan to invest some money in it, but I don't have enough on hand, so..."

"So do you want Qizhi to participate, or do you want to invest with your dividends?"

"My personal dividends may not be enough."

"So much money?" Huo Siqi said unexpectedly, "Don't you know how much money Qizhi has in his account? If you want dividends, you may get a lot."

Zhou Yan stretched out five fingers.

"Oh, fifty million." Huo Siqi smiled, "It's indeed a lot, but your dividends can cover it. We have more than two million in our account now..."

"I mean fifty million US dollars."

The smile on Huo Siqi's face froze instantly.

He originally wanted to say that Qizhi had more than 200 million in his account, so it would not be a big deal to take out 50 million, but he did not expect Zhou Yan to actually say 50 million US dollars.

Even if Qizhi exchanged all the more than 200 million in his account, it would not be enough to exchange for 50 million US dollars, and it was not easy to exchange so much money into US dollars.