Chapter 39: Continuing to Film Historical Movies

The company not only owned its own film studios, soundstages, dormitories, and technical teams but also established its own cinema chain, achieving a vertically integrated business model of self-production and self-distribution.

This model allowed Shaw Brothers films to produce over 40 films annually at their peak, controlling a major share of the Hong Kong film market.

This self-contained model secured Shaw Brothers' significant position in the Hong Kong and even the broader Asian film markets, producing many classic films and cinematic superstars; however, it also sparked considerable controversy and criticism due to its monopolistic nature and the restrictions it placed on creative autonomy.

First, under this model, Shaw Brothers' creative process became extremely rigid, lacking any flexibility.

Secondly, by producing and distributing everything themselves—refusing to collaborate with others or accept outside investment—Shaw Brothers was unable to react flexibly to market changes, eventually being overtaken by emerging companies like New World in the 1980s.

Overall, while Shaw Brothers' self-contained model demonstrated powerful competitiveness and market control during its peak, it ultimately led to its decline due to rigidity and a lack of innovation.

Now that Cheng Sheng had money, he could also invest in and distribute his own films, but doing so would only make him appear petty and give others the opportunity to unite and suppress him.

Therefore, collaboration was necessary, and distributing investment shares was a must.

Moreover, having more investors could help share risks, provide multiple revenue streams, and tap into diverse market demands.

Film investment is a high-risk activity; a box office hit can bring massive profits, but a flop can lead to devastating losses.

Thus, having multiple companies invest in a single film can effectively diversify risk.

If each company only invests a portion of the funds, even a poor box office performance will not deal a fatal blow to any single investor.

The historical films he filmed had no precedent in his other memory.

This was pure original content; if it weren't for the "Simulation Panel" cheat, he truly wouldn't be able to pull it off—he might end up losing money on every single film he made.

Although the Simulation Panel meant he didn't have to worry about losing money, he couldn't guarantee a profit for every single film, so sharing the risk was essential.

Multiple revenue streams were also one of the reasons to attract more investors.

A film's profitability relies not only on box office revenue but also on various other channels.

For example, in terms of film awards, winning at international film festivals can bring prize money and international recognition, which in turn allows for the sale of film rights through those festivals.

This was exactly how he had purchased overseas rights in Venice.

Market demand was another reason to attract multiple investors.

As the domestic film market continues to expand, more and more investors see the enormous potential of the film industry and are willing to invest capital to share in the dividends of market growth.

Furthermore, some investors may not be solely pursuing economic returns; they may value film quality and brand effect, being willing to pay for high-quality cinema.

China Film Group was the partner Cheng Sheng most wanted to work with. With China Film standing behind him, he wouldn't have to fear anyone pulling strings behind the scenes or targeting him in secret.

Hearing this, Han Sanye's eyes fixed on Cheng Sheng, waiting for him to continue.

Given Cheng Sheng's overwhelming momentum from his sweep in Venice, he was very interested in Cheng Sheng's new film and hoped to get a piece of the action.

The film had earned 200 million before it was even released, which was even more profitable than China Film's investment in *Hero*.

Han Sanye felt a hint of regret, wondering why he hadn't invested in Cheng Sheng's films sooner.

"I had a preliminary idea when *The Great Tang* wrapped, I just hadn't decided which dynasty would be better to film..."

Halfway through Cheng Sheng's sentence, Han Sanye interrupted with a look of shock: "You want to continue making historical films?"

It wasn't that Han Sanye had any prejudice against historical films, but he genuinely felt they were too difficult to handle.

In his view, the success of Cheng Sheng's *The Great Tang* was a matter of extreme luck.

If he continued, Han Sanye didn't know if he could replicate that miracle, but if he failed, Cheng Sheng's reputation would likely be ruined.

From Han Sanye's perspective, it would be better to film commercial comedies rather than historical dramas.

With Cheng Sheng's current fame, if he filmed those genres, the audience would show up regardless of the quality; there was no need to keep tinkering with high-risk historical films.

Psychologically speaking, epic films have a specific characteristic: if you want to watch them, you ideally need to be somewhat familiar with that period of history beforehand.

Historical dramas can be described as high-risk and high-investment, yet the returns are often very low.

The "high investment" part refers to the fact that historical films must have grand spectacles, an element that requires high costs whether through on-location shooting or post-production.

Furthermore, the vast time spans of historical dramas involve many people, which also increases production costs.

At the same time, audience tastes and the characteristics of the era also dictate the current state of historical films.

A major characteristic of modern society is the rejection of "grand narratives," whereas historical films must use linear narratives to tell history over long periods—this is the central contradiction in contemporary historical film creation.

Beyond grand narratives, today's audiences prefer mind-bending movies, big-budget spectacles, all-star casts, high-concept films, and "theme park" style movies produced under large IP franchises.

The depth of history either disappears into flatness or moves toward thinking about humanity's future within science fiction; the deep historical reflection inherent in historical films may no longer be what audiences seek today.

Even more obvious is that historical films often run for three or four hours, which is not very suitable for the bladder or the attention spans of modern audiences.

This is also why historical films struggle to produce classics or high box office numbers; the narrative lasts too long, causing the audience to develop a sense of aversion.

Although Cheng Sheng's *The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins* was successful, many in the industry saw it as a stroke of luck. If Cheng Sheng were to film another one, it might not be so easy to succeed.

Indeed, in the eyes of most people, Cheng Sheng's success was an anomaly that could not be replicated.

Now that Cheng Sheng wanted to film historical movies again, Han Sanye felt it was a bit of a gamble.

He hoped Cheng Sheng would film other genres, which would be more stable and wouldn't require such massive investment.

"That is indeed true."

As a lover of history, Cheng Sheng would not change his mind, and there was no need to hide this from Han Sanye.

Han Sanye felt stunned; he hadn't expected Cheng Sheng to be so obsessed with historical films, and he didn't even know whether he should support him or not.

"Do you have a script?"

Looking at Cheng Sheng's youthful face, Han Sanye finally bit the bullet and made a decision. Although it felt risky, if he didn't invest and Cheng Sheng succeeded again, he would regret it to his very core.

"I have the outline in my head; I just haven't decided which dynasty to choose yet," Cheng Sheng said.

(End of Chapter)