By the end of January, under Cheng Lie's maneuvering, the scripts for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' and 'Love Letter' were both approved for production in less than half a month.
Right now, Jing Yu could pull together about 100 million yuan in total investment. This came from the writer's fees and acting royalties for 'Hikaru no Go' and 'Steins;Gate', the profit shares from 'Your Lie in April' and 'White Album 2' during their time at Jinhui TV, as well as theme songs and inserts from multiple productions. Over the past two years, revenue from music streaming platforms, plus endorsement income for the characters Fujiwara no Sai and Fujiwara Takumi from Go equipment companies and major car brands, has all made for a respectable personal fortune.
After all, Jing Yu's living expenses were covered by the TV station. His biggest personal expense was buying video games, so he'd basically saved everything he earned. The total floated around 100 million — and that didn't even include the merchandise royalties from 'Initial D', which hadn't been paid out yet. Even if he stopped working altogether now, the royalties and music earnings from past works would still bring in millions every month.
But still, this kind of money wasn't exactly "a lot" when it came to filming two full-length movies.
To be cautious, Jing Yu didn't throw all of his funds into the project. He invested 90 million into the two films, while Yu Youqing, Xia Yining, and Cheng Lie also invested according to their shareholding ratios.
Of course, a significant chunk of the cost for both productions would go toward actor salaries — and the highest-paid actors were none other than Jing Yu, Xia Yining, and Yu Youqing themselves.
Even though they were essentially paying themselves, the process still had to be formal and above board. Jing Yu gave himself, Yu Youqing, and Cheng Lie (as producer) market-rate salaries.
Beyond their shares in the company, the four of them would also receive box office royalties based on standard industry terms once the films were released.
Though they were all close, Jing Yu knew the importance of clear-cut finances, even among friends. As the majority shareholder, he had many ways to profit behind the scenes — but there was no need to take advantage. Fair is fair.
By early February, with all the contracts finalized and signed, Blue star Media & Film Company officially launched its first project.
It was time to start hiring.
In reality, for film production, aside from a few administrative and mid-to-high-level roles, most people — including directors and actors — were essentially temps hired under one-time contracts that were only valid during the shoot.
As for equipment? Unless you're a major TV station with year-round filming, you wouldn't buy. Most production companies rented gear — and for some equipment, rental was the only option, as the manufacturers wouldn't even sell it outright.
Rentals were expensive, sure, but still within Jing Yu's budget.
The real headache was casting.
Because the company was new and Jing Yu was a TV industry heavyweight but a total rookie in film, many movie actors had zero interest in these two films.
Even second- or third-tier actors weren't keen — and that's despite being offered their full market rates.
But hey, no one wants to star in a flop, right?
The pay was good, but a bad movie could hurt their reputation, and that's not easy to recover.
While Jing Yu and his team searched nationwide, using Modo City as their base to cast talent, Cheng Lie was also working to secure distribution partners and theater chains for the yet-to-be-shot films.
The film industry in Great Zhou was relatively mature in this regard. Even though Blue star Media was new, every company had to start somewhere. There wasn't some dark underworld trying to sabotage newcomers.
Besides, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' had a 51 million yuan budget, and 'Love Letter' had 44 million — not exactly small productions. They sat squarely in the mid-tier movie category.
Given Jing Yu's reputation and success in TV, a few major distributors were interested. Initial cooperation agreements were reached, though how much effort they'd put into marketing after the movies wrapped would depend on the final quality.
Film profits were usually split into thirds — one-third for the production company, one-third for distributors, and one-third for theaters. If your film looked like it had box office potential, no one would walk away from money.
By February, word had already spread like wildfire through fan communities that Jing Yu had left Yunteng TV and was starting his own film studio.
All the fan chat groups were buzzing that day.
"Teacher Jing is making movies now!"
"No way! I was still looking forward to his summer drama!"
"Summer drama? Pfft."
"I don't care if it's film or drama — if it's by Jing Yu, I'm watching it."
"It's still February, and they're only casting now. Even at lightning speed, we won't see it in theaters for a few more months."
"So what exactly are the movies about?"
"No details yet, just the titles: 'Love Letter' and 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'."
"Well, 'Love Letter' sounds like a romance for sure, and 'Rurouni Kenshin' is obviously historical or action."
"Is Jing Yu starring again?"
"No clue."
"Come on! Why would he drop TV for film now? I really wanted a new summer drama from him."
"But I heard both films star Yu Youqing and Xia Yining as the female leads. So fans of their love triangle stuff are in for a treat."
"No kidding? Count me in! I'll be there on opening day."
The fans were simple. To them, Jing Yu was a genius. If he could make great TV, then his films would surely be great too.
That's all they needed to believe.
By mid-February, after a month of prep work and team-building, the production teams for both films had been assembled by Cheng Lie and Jing Yu.
'Rurouni Kenshin' was relatively simple — it didn't have many supporting roles. 'Love Letter', on the other hand, had more minor roles and a wider range of characters. To help with box office performance, Cheng Lie offered slightly above-market rates to bring on a few well-known veteran actors from the Modo area.
Their participation wasn't just about the money — they thought the script was solid. Even if it didn't become a hit, it almost certainly wouldn't be labeled trash.
Among the cast, Jing Yu was especially excited about Yan Jiang, who would play Seijuro Hiko.
Back in his youth, Yan Jiang had been a big name in wuxia TV dramas — super popular.
But age had caught up, his career had faded, and a wayward, gambling-addicted son had drained his resources. Otherwise, he wouldn't be taking gigs with no-name film crews in his forties.
But the guy was legit — trained in martial arts. His movements were fluid, and he could actually fight.
Cheng Lie hired him for dual roles: playing Seijuro Hiko, and serving as action choreographer for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'.
If you want your action scenes to look good, a top-tier stunt director is a must.
The Modo film lot had modern and period sets alike. The city still retained ancient-style architecture, making location shoots easier.
But there was a catch — now that they were the ones paying the bills, costs suddenly mattered a lot more.
Back when they were working under Yunteng TV, all expenses were footed by the TV station. Jing Yu never worried, and Cheng Lie never brought up budgets.
They just did what made sense — if costs could be cut, fine. If not, they'd just ask Yunteng TV for more funding.
But now, as their own investors, things had changed.
Cheng Lie began laying out every single line item in detail for Jing Yu — costumes, makeup, lighting, sets, camera work, art direction, stunt coordination…
Everything costs money.
Jing Yu had thought his investment was plenty, but after reading the budget breakdown…
The pressure hit hard.