This celebrity became even more popular after being exposed of having multiple girlfriends
Chapter 187: I’ve Invested in Your Project

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: I’ve Invested in Your Project

"Yang Rongfa’s project is dissolving?" Wu Mu was unexpectedly taken aback.

Li Hu getting caught would definitely impact Wang Ren’s project since he was the biggest investor.

But wasn’t Wang Ren a well-known director in the circle? The initiative of his previous project seemed to have good momentum. Now that one investor has backed out, isn’t there anyone to fill the void?

"Mm."

Lin Qingyue noticed his confusion and explained, "Wang Ren’s project will likely be well-received after its release, and I think it will have a good influence among the audience. But good reviews do not equate to making money."

From the aspects of quality and reputation, Lin Qingyue was quite positive about Wang Ren’s film.

The script was good, Wang Ren himself was talented, especially in realistic styles, and Yang Rongfa’s team didn’t blindly chase popularity by casting big names without regard for acting ability, choosing instead mostly veteran actors with actual acting skills.

Thus, Lin Qingyue felt that once the film was completed, it would likely be of high quality, and its reputation would be secure.

It was for this reason that she wanted to recommend Wu Mu as the composer, thinking that the film would help his fame and popularity.

But good reviews do not guarantee a box office hit.

The market was generally skeptical about whether Wang Ren’s project could make money.

First of all, Wang Ren had always made art films; though he had won big awards and was highly reputed within the circle, he had never directed a commercially successful movie, and his last film had incurred significant losses.

Now, there was a shift to producing a series, which was buzz-worthy, but would it suit him?

Investors were not optimistic.

Apart from the people involved, the market prospects were also doubted.

TV series and films are different—films can make money through box office sales, but TV series rely on purchases by television stations and various film and television platforms.

This particular project had sensitive content, meaning it couldn’t pass censorship for television, so it would have to be a web series exclusively for online broadcasting.

This inherently limited market access to television stations, relying instead on film and television platforms to buy the rights.

And the platforms were clearly doubtful whether this kind of content and script would be popular with the wider audience.

This could be inferred from the absence of major film and television platforms among the project’s investors.

Furthermore, the pressure to recover costs was immense.

A budget of 160 million yuan might be a small amount for a regular forty or fifty-episode TV series—top-tier productions nowadays easily hit the terrifying figures of seven to eight hundred million.

But for a web series planned to run only for a dozen or so episodes, the cost was exceptionally high, with a single episode costing thirteen to fourteen million, which could rank among the most expensive series.

In short, there was a heap of negative factors.

Lin Qingyue smiled and said, "The previous investments were all pulled in through favors and relationships by Yang Rongfa’s team. Those investors never really expected to make money off the project; they were just contributing a bit out of goodwill, and that was under the circumstance that Li Hu, the major investor, was providing a safety net. Now that Li Hu is gone, others are not considering putting in more money; instead, they all want to withdraw."

Having heard all this from Lin Qingyue, Wu Mu realized just how tricky the situation was behind Wang Ren’s project.

So, by setting up Li Hu, had he inadvertently also dragged Wang Ren’s project down with him?

Well, that’s not his fault—who told Li Hu to have a dirty background?

Wu Mu thought righteously to himself.

However... a thought suddenly struck him.

"Director Lin, what do you think about me investing in their project?" Wu Mu said thoughtfully.

Lin Qingyue was visibly startled, then responded with a hint of amusement, "You have too much money?"

"I recommend you as a composer, but as an investor, I’m not optimistic. The risk is too great. Never mind making money; even recovering your investment is far from guaranteed."

Recover the investment?

It would be enough just to break even!

Wu Mu certainly wasn’t burning up excess cash; he had suddenly thought, could he possibly earn points from this series?

Being a singer on a variety show could earn points, and obviously, acting in a TV series or movie could too.

And compared to a variety show that ends after a few days of shooting, TV shows and films require several months to half a year’s commitment, which means earning points over a longer period, eliminating downtime, and thus potentially yielding a higher bonus than variety shows!

But nobody was offering him acting roles; the circle only recognized his variety show talents and singing ability.

However, not getting invited didn’t matter; he could directly finance his way into the production.

Wu Mu remembered that Yang Rongfa’s series had a male lead, the son of the protagonist Wang An named Wang Chuan—he could play that part.

This character was initially set to be played by the top-tier celebrity Zhou Yu, but if he invested, he could use his influence as a major investor to replace Zhou Yu.

Right, just call him Li Hu Number Two!

Wu Mu grew more convinced about the feasibility of this idea.

If the series really did not incur losses, then it would mean he was essentially earning pure points. Even if he made a slight loss, it didn’t matter; the points earned could be converted into several Performance Cards to reclaim the loss.

In fact, it wasn’t even certain that the film itself would incur losses. It didn’t matter if the series wasn’t a commercial hit—he had the "Performance Card" from the system anyway.

Having figured out the trick, Wu Mu immediately spoke up:

"Director Lin, could you introduce me to Yang Rongfa’s team? I want to invest in their project!"

...

Beijing—in the high-end restaurant where Wu Mu had first met Wang Ren.

Wu Mu was meeting Wang Ren again, along with Yang Rongfa by his side.

Wang Ren was still as reticent as before; upon seeing Wu Mu, he just nodded his head and fell silent, as if the recent tumult had never happened.

The look Yang Rongfa gave Wu Mu was somewhat displeased.

It was this man who, a few days ago over a matter of drinking, almost sparked a major news story.

Although from that incident with the French director on television he had already sensed that Wu Mu was a thorn, he had not anticipated the extent to which Wu Mu could push things.

And it was all the more vexing... the incident with Li Hu going to jail was too coincidental; Wu Mu had just had a dispute with Li Hu, and soon after, Li Hu was incarcerated.

In his heart, Yang Rongfa harbored some suspicions.

Yet, they were just slight doubts; if Wu Mu were truly behind it, Yang Rongfa felt there were many logical discrepancies in reality.

Regardless, Yang Rongfa’s impression of Wu Mu was undeniably terrible.

If it weren’t for Lin Qingyue’s sake, not only would he not have agreed to meet with Wu Mu, he would have already joined in the efforts to blacklist him.

While he was thinking this,

Wu Mu got straight to the point, "Mr. Yang, how much is your project short on funds? I’m considering making an investment."

Yang Rongfa’s face registered surprise, and after two seconds of silence, he broke into a smile, "Teacher Wu Mu, these past few days I’ve been wanting to meet with you to offer an apology for the previous incident. Our team failed to handle it properly."

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