Super Zoo

Great minds think alike; facing the camera and talking about 'money,' both Suming and Long Wu revealed knowing smiles.

The collaboration between Suming and Long Wu on Animal City kept their relationship in a constantly changing state.

Initially, Long Wu's point of departure was to repay a favor and help a younger brother out, not thinking about making money from Suming;

As for Suming, he wanted to make movies to earn money, but to be honest, he didn't have absolute confidence at the start. His lowest expectation was that the film wouldn't lose money, and a box office of thirty or forty million yuan would be quite good.

That would smoothly grant him entry into the film industry; as long as he could prove there was a market for animal-based films, it would be entirely possible to continue making them.

Among those he knew, only Long Wu was an expert who could help assemble a professional filming team in the shortest time and had rich industry experience. Working with Long Wu could ensure that the film passed review, was released, and distributed, all in the shortest time possible.

Without Suming, Long Wu had other movies to make; without Long Wu, Suming could find someone else to help, but it wouldn't be as efficient;

The initial relationship between the two was a loose collaborative one based on friendship.

However, after Animal City's release and the soaring box office performance, the relationship and thoughts of both parties underwent some subtle changes.

According to the contract, after taxes, the production company and producer were entitled to 45% of the total box office revenue. With the final box office of Animal City being around 160 million Huaxia currency, these funds were distributed once again, with Suming earning nearly a hundred million, and Long Wu's Huaxia Star side getting about sixty million.

Such a high box office revenue was something nobody had anticipated from the start.

Originally, the two didn't sign any related contracts. What Long Wu did was just lend his name to help Suming build a filming team and later facilitated the film's release by contacting theaters, doing some work. Overall, it was assistance rather than commercial collaboration.

Actually, when the box office reached over sixty million in the first week, Long Wu tentatively mentioned 'our company filming in the mainland' while video chatting with Suming.

Suming somewhat understood his implied meaning; bringing up 'company' meant he wanted to formally discuss the sharing of box office revenue with Suming.

If the momentum continued, the revenue from Animal City would absolutely not be a small sum. If divided according to standard commercial profit-sharing models, Long Wu's Huaxia Star Company, being the producer, would take a significant portion, something Suming certainly wouldn't be happy about. Conversely, now that the film was a hit, if Suming still regarded Long Wu as someone who helped out of duty and dismissed him with some token of appreciation, it would be inevitable for Long Wu to harbor other thoughts.

Since the total box office was not out yet, Suming didn't immediately pick up on Long Wu's hint but also tactfully said, 'Let's talk when the total box office is out.'

Now, the total box office was out: 365 million Huaxia currency.

With such a large sum, it was necessary to have a serious talk.

Everyone has their own position. From Suming's perspective, if Long Wu wanted to divide the revenue according to the normal model at this point, it would seem opportunistic; from Long Wu's perspective, if Suming didn't give anything, that would be akin to cutting off the bridge after crossing the river.

Whether as friends or business partners, always making others feel 'at a loss' is a relationship that's hard to maintain for long, excluding, of course, those who are never satisfied and always crave more.

Suming and Long Wu were not such people, but when it came to money, especially a substantial amount, the matter became sensitive. This issue needed to be clearly addressed to make both parties internally comfortable and prevent any rift from forming.

"Brother Ten, I'm younger and a newcomer in the film industry; I'll take advantage of my youth this one time. The box office is out, what do you think would be a fair way for us to split it?"

Suming was the first to breach the subject. Whoever voiced their opinion first would be at a disadvantage, so he smiled politely, saying he was taking advantage of his youth.

Long Wu laughed, "Straightforward, I like it. To be honest, neither of us regards this money as life-changing. It's best if we make it, but no big deal if we don't. If you hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't have initiated the discussion, but that would've let me down."

"Brother Ten, clear accounts make good friends, we should aim for a win-win situation when working together," Suming said.

The term 'win-win' was interesting; the two hadn't signed a contract initially, and Long Wu was there to lend a hand. If they were to divide the money according to the standard method now, Suming could only say he didn't lose out—where's the win-win in that?

If Long Wu insisted on following the industry standard for profit-sharing and took those sixty million, or even more, Suming would probably agree.

Yet, by the same token, Suming would inevitably think less of Long Wu in his heart. It would seem insincere if Long Wu had feigned generosity at first, seeing no profit, but became eager to share the profits once there were any, belying the comportment of a great general.

However, if Long Wu didn't take a penny, Suming wouldn't be happy either.

It's like two people partnering in a business; if they earned a lot, and even if one didn't contribute much, saying they don't want any of the profits would certainly seem odd to the other.

Both parties were in a delicate psychological state.

"Okay, let's not beat around the bush. Neither of us expected this film to be such a hit. If I don't take some money, not only will I be upset, you probably won't feel right about it either," Long Wu pondered. "I'll take half, thirty million, including the distribution fees and what I paid to Guo Zijian's crew."

"Thirty million is definitely no problem," Suming nodded.

Detecting something more in Suming's agreement, Long Wu raised an eyebrow, "If you have a better idea, I'd like to hear it." He pointed at his temple with his forefinger, smiling, "As you know, I'm getting older, and sometimes my thoughts can't keep up with the times, unlike you young people who are more flexible."

"Brother Ten, you hit the nail on the head with 'flexible,'" Suming said. "The advantage of my idea is its flexibility."

Long Wu kept silent, waiting for Suming to continue. Suming spoke, "Here's what I'm thinking: Taoyuan Entertainment is currently establishing its own subsidiary film company, lacking experience in overseas distribution, and without professional personnel to tackle the task in short order. As a professional task, it should be left to a professional, and you've been in the business for over twenty years, full of experience dealing with theaters across Asia. Why don't I hand over the distribution rights for this film in Asia to you?"

Long Wu was surprised, "You mean, I won't take a cut from the domestic box office, but I'll handle the sales of Animal City's distribution rights in Asia. Whatever I sell for, I keep?"

"Exactly, the more you sell, the more you earn; the less you sell, the less you get. Even if you make a billion, I won't be jealous," Suming nodded.