Chapter 77

As the winter break came to an end, the winter semester of 2004 began, and students across America returned to school.

It was gift-giving season again! Ye Wei was almost overwhelmed by the Christmas and New Year gifts from everyone, and his hands ached from unwrapping them. Being popular had its perks, but also its troubles.

The special treatment continued, as he frequently took leave to attend production meetings at the Cheyenne Enterprises headquarters in Santa Monica.

After several meetings, Arnold Rifkin's perception of him must have changed. Initially, Rifkin thought that even if Ye Wei was a genius, he wouldn't really understand much. However, he gradually realized that Ye Wei truly did understand! As a result, Rifkin began to treat him as a professional, and discussions on various matters became much faster.

If it were the Hollywood studio system, it would be considered fast for production meetings to last several months to half a year at this stage. However, everyone involved was from independent production companies, which neither had the time to spare nor the interest.

After seven meetings, by mid-January, both parties finally reached several important agreements!

The production budget for "Little Miss Sunshine" was set at $5 million; the financing method would not involve overseas pre-sales but rather joint production.

In terms of equity distribution, Cheyenne Enterprises would contribute $3 million, representing 60% of the project, to cover the initial preparation and the entire shooting period.

Other interested production companies would be invited to invest $1 million, representing 20% of the project, but they would only be investors with no involvement in production or distribution.

The remaining 20% would be contributed by the Dream Alliance, with $500,000 for the script value and $500,000 in cash to be paid later, during the post-production phase. This gave Ye Wei a significant amount of time to raise the money, regardless of the method. If the Dream Alliance couldn't come up with the money, Cheyenne Enterprises would cover and bear this 20% share.

Ye Wei didn't think it would come to that. He had many wealthy friends, and saving a bit of his allowance for a year, raising another $500,000 wouldn't be a problem. If necessary, he could even use his family's money.

It's worth noting that the budget could actually be reported as $30 million! $25 million would be Willis' salary, and investing $500,000 for a 10% share (worth $3 million) would always be profitable.

The $500,000 for the script wasn't real money; the actual usable budget was $4.5 million, with $3 million for pre-production and shooting, and $1.5 million for post-production and deferred salaries.

$4.5 million for a family road trip indie film without special effects or grand scenes was not insignificant. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" had a reported production cost of $5 million, and it was shot on film. "Little Miss Sunshine," which would be shot digitally, was sufficient.

However, there was one condition: online expenses should not take up much of the budget! Ideally, zero!

So, Willis would work for free, and after the film reached the break-even point, he would receive 20% of the global total revenue. Ye Wei would also work for free, with 0% of the revenue, but he would have the opportunity to showcase his talent.

The script would still be valued at $500,000, and Arnett would not be involved in the film's creation beyond promotion. He shouldn't even go to the set to avoid saying things like, "I didn't think it this way," "It shouldn't be shot this way," or "Don't act like that!" which could anger the director, offend the lead actors, and get him banned from the set. This is the fate of many screenwriters.

On the production side, besides Ye Wei, two executive producers would be hired, with a budget of around $1 million, part of which would be paid after the film made a profit.

Then there were the salaries of the other five lead actors, also budgeted at $1 million, with deferred payments and profit-sharing.

This depended on whether they were big names, well-known actors, or newcomers.

Big names usually worked for free, with profit-sharing and deferred bonuses. However, the main reason they joined was for the intangible benefits: giving Willis face, awards, fame, interest, and a comeback opportunity. The last point specifically referred to those big names who had fallen out of favor in recent years.

Well-known actors were similar but received a fixed salary without profit-sharing. Newcomers? With Willis as the lead, they would have to work hard and endure.

This project was extraordinary, and with Willis involved, it was not impossible to assemble a star-studded cast. Willis could even invite his friend Sylvester Stallone to make a cameo.

However, when Ye Wei presented his list of desired lead actors, Rifkin was still taken aback, "Kid, you really have the nerve!"

"A man with great ambitions will naturally become great," Ye Wei quoted Goethe with a smile.

Robert De Niro as the grandfather, Tim Roth as the uncle, Julia Roberts as the mother! The roles of the brother and the little beauty would be determined through auditions.

No one said it was impossible, but no one said it was certain either. It was a matter of luck.

For now, all of this was just an intention, and no contracts had been signed.

Ye Wei had miscalculated. The idea of signing contracts and then causing trouble was impossible. Lowitt and Bloch were old foxes; there would be no contract until everything was confirmed!

What needed to be confirmed? The foundation on which all of this was built: the new American idol, "Genius Boy Ye Wei"!

This required a detailed plan, and over the past half-month, no matter how Ye Wei refused, the big shots insisted on the "young couple" scheme.

There was no other way! The only way! Talent alone wouldn't keep him in the spotlight, unless he released a new film every day. The American Dream wouldn't either; during a wave of popularity, everyone would know him, but ask people "Who is Ye Wei?" a few months later, and they wouldn't know, only recognizing Ye Tom and Ye Sam, whose American Dream stories were touching!

Only a romance could do it, the highest card in the entertainment industry, always the same. Weekly street shots were needed to maintain fame.

And it had to be said a hundred times: not Lily Collins!

She was British, born in Britain, with a British father and a British accent—too British! Americans had a complex relationship with Britain, feeling a sense of closeness and sometimes finding it charming, but more often mocking, dismissing, and satirizing it. "Long live the Queen—such a sissy country!"

Lowitt predicted that even if Lily Collins started her career, she would easily get many opportunities due to her famous parents, but her career wouldn't be great. She would be in a position where she wouldn't please anyone and would be mocked for being a talentless star second generation who relied on her parents.

Especially after Ye Wei revealed that she didn't want to date in the public eye, Lowitt and Bloch shook their heads. She wouldn't become a future Hollywood megastar.

Ye Wei didn't directly ask Lily's opinion but made a probe, talking to her about how they would be surrounded by paparazzi when dating after he became famous...

Lily's reaction was as expected. She became furious, almost panting, and decisively said, "Then we'll go to places they can't find us! These trashy media, these paparazzi trash... I hate them..."

Ye Wei could see that her feelings about the "media" were quite complex, and she wasn't ready to confide in him yet.

But he could guess what might have happened. Perhaps Lily had suffered some psychological trauma due to her parents' divorce when she was young. She deeply hated entertainment reports about celebrity relationships and marriages, which he had discovered by chance.

At the time, in the storage room, Lev and Bud were reading and gossiping about celebrity relationships in "Variety," laughing and discussing. Lily happened to come in, and her face immediately changed. She greeted him and left.

This seemed to have instilled in her a strong belief about the media. On one hand, she hated entertainment news, but on the other, she dreamed of becoming the youngest talk show host.

Perhaps she believed that news should be straightforward, and those who wanted to be interviewed should appear on shows, rather than being constantly photographed and exposed.

So, for a girl like Lily, to participate in a "young couple" package? Impossible, and Ye Wei himself didn't like it either. Relationships shouldn't be like that.

"Kid, you need to understand who you are. You're not Leonardo; you have no choice! With your attitude, we can't even start working. No young couple, no idol, no 'Little Miss Sunshine.' Got it? Dump that British girl and get ready for a new date!"

"I said, Lily and I have a good relationship!"

Ye Wei firmly rejected Lowitt's suggestion again. He and Lily often went on dates and hugged, and they had kissed many times. They could easily become official, but they had a tacit agreement. When would they become official? How about Valentine's Day this year?

Lowitt was furious, no longer bothering to argue, and told Willis that this kid couldn't be promoted, he was too stupid.

But Ye Wei had already thought of a solution: to write a column in newspapers and magazines, writing film reviews, about life, anything to showcase his talent continuously!

After another major discussion, everyone finally reluctantly agreed on this approach.

Ye Wei would first appear as a single man in the media, and they would find