Chapter 363 Huala Gang Party
After watching the samples, Zhang Chen checked the progress of the post-production. Even though Pete repeatedly assured that he was keeping an eye on it, he was still worried about this kind of thing without seeing it in person.
The post-production of "A Quiet Place" was not complicated, there were not many special effects shots, and they had plenty of time.
Zhang Chen's requirements are not too high, as long as the quality and quantity are maintained.
In fact, it takes half a year for a film invested in this way to be released, which is a bit long.
For a movie project, the sooner it can be realized, the better. If it is delayed for a long time, no one can guarantee what will happen.
But Zhang Chen wants to try to release it simultaneously in multiple places, and it is still acceptable to pay some price.
After leaving New Line, Zhang Chen and his team returned to Cube. "Breathless" is about to start filming. This is Cube's first work and cannot be missed.
On the way, Diane talked about the copyright of "The Walking Dead".
"Robert Kirkman, the author of "The Walking Dead", was reluctant to sell us the copyright. He felt that we were a small company and was worried that we would not be able to produce the effect he had in mind..."
Original space, Robert Kirkman is not only the author of the "The Walking Dead" comics, but also the screenwriter of the American TV series. He contributed to the original American TV series "The Walking Dead".
"The Walking Dead" is really a gold mine. It took twelve years to make an American TV series.
Twelve years have come to an end.
But the finale is just for the purpose of deriving a personal branch.
It’s really an American drama that will last a lifetime.
Zhang Chen wanted to pick up such a huge bargain, but he knew before that it was difficult to pick up such a bargain.
Although he is a reborn person, others are not fools.
Many people can understand whether a good project is a bad project or not.
"It doesn't matter. Let's get in touch slowly. Maybe after we produce a few works, the other party's attitude will change."
Every author hopes to get the most wonderful presentation of his work, but at the same time is afraid that his work will be magically altered.
Stephenie Meyer of "Twilight" would rather not sell it than allow the film and television company to make magical changes.
However, literary works and film and television works are two completely different concepts, and sometimes magic modification is not without merit.
The simplest example - "Gossip Girl".
"Gossip Girl" is a novel about the life of a wealthy and wealthy person on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The novel was published very early, but it has always been tepid and has not had much influence.
Later, it was picked up by CW Radio and made into a TV series, which became popular in the United States and actually boosted the sales of the original work.
But in fact, the original work was not very well written. The entire story of the book was filmed in the first season, and the rest is entirely due to the screenwriter.
Therefore, when the author of a literary work insists on adapting it according to the original work, it is actually a double-edged sword.
Books with particularly good sales may still be successful in this way because they have a readership base, but it would be hard to say if they were replaced by other books.
Zhang Chen came up with the idea for "Gossip Girl" while riding a horse that night, and it was through this drama that Brian Lively became popular.
Zhang Chen had already included the novel in the copyright list, but he didn't win it right away, mainly because he didn't have the money.
He has made a lot of money at the domestic box office, but when converted into US dollars, it is really not worth spending here.
So he planned to wait until "Breathless" was released and saw the money back.
Not only "Gossip Girl", but also "The Vampire Diaries" and so on...
"The Vampire Diaries" is also a novel. Many people think that it is a follow-up work of "The Twilight Saga", but it is not.
It was published in 1991, but it was a hit and had little influence.
It wasn't until the release of "Twilight" and a wave of vampire dividends that it became popular again.
Only then was it seen, made into an American TV series, and sold to Columbia and Warner Bros. Television Network.
Along the way, the two were chatting about copyright. Diane suddenly received a call from Zhang Chen. The other party did not have Zhang Chen's contact information, so he called Diane.
After hanging up the phone, Diane said: "It's James Wan from Lionsgate. He didn't know where he got the news. He knew you were in Santa Barbara. He said they had an internal gathering of horror film directors tonight. I want to invite you to join us..."
James Wan?
James Wan is James Wan, the director of "Saw" and now considered a popular star of Lionsgate.
"Saw" had a budget of US$1.2 million and a shooting time of 14 days, but it generated more than US$50 million in box office for Lions Gate, not to mention other subsequent profits.
So James Wan is very popular. Although he is not the director of "Saw 2", he is the producer.
Zhang Chen can probably understand Wen Ziren's thoughts. He may have seen Zhang Chen's "Dark Invasion" and regarded him as a comrade and wanted to exchange views with him.
"OK, tell me the time and place, I will meet them in the evening."
He doesn't position himself as a horror film director, but that doesn't stop him from attending such a party.
In the future, his positioning of Cube Company is to produce various low-budget movies, horror films, erotic films, and comedies, with the main focus being to make a big difference with a small amount.
"Breathless", "Human Purge", "Ghost Chronicles", "Happy Death Day", and the others include the "Fifty Shades of Grey" and "The Hangover" series. These are all examples of small and broad, and Zhang Chen has them all. Not ready to let it go.
He had no intention of turning Cube into such a great label, it was just a cash machine.
Cube makes money in North America with low-cost hits, subsidizing Star Entertainment’s production of various blockbusters, such as “Pacific Rim” and “The Wandering Earth.”
In the evening, Zhang Chen appeared on time at the small cafe where the party was held. The moment the doorbell rang, Zhang Chen became the focus of the room.
A familiar Asian man stood up and walked towards Zhang Chen with a smile.
"Dear Zhang, thank you for coming to this party..."
"I heard that tonight is a gathering of horror film directors. This is my honor..."
Zhang Chen smiled and hugged Wen Ziren.
James Wan, a regular supporting actor in Meiyu, is the first talent that any male protagonist has conquered in North America, and is usually his partner.
Zhang Chen had similar thoughts today.
But if you want the other party to bow to you immediately, that's impossible.
Wen Ziren has not experienced failure yet, and his spirits are high.
If you want to conquer him, you have to wait until two movies fail.
"Zhang, I have read your "Dark Invasion", it is very good..."
Seeing Zhang Chen, someone immediately came up and said something, but was immediately interrupted by Wen Ziren.
"Wait a moment Ross, let me introduce everyone to him first..."
As James Wan introduced everyone present to Zhang Chen one by one, he realized that the person he was talking to just now was Eli Roth, the director of "Human Skin Inn".
The others are Rob Zumby, the director of "House of 1000 Corpses", Leigh Whannell, the screenwriter of "Chainsaw", and Darren Lean Bousman, the director of "Chainsaw 2". "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" director Tobe Hopper, "The Hills Have Eyes" director Alexander Aja.
In fact, they are the famous "Hua La Gang" in later generations, representatives of the new wave of horror movies.
Zhang Chen then remembered that Nell Marshall, the director of "Dark Invasion" in the original time and space, was a member of the Hua La Gang. In this time and space, "Dark Invasion" was cut by him. Is the Hua La Gang preparing to arrest him?
"I also read your "Human Skin Inn". To be honest, it scared me..."
Zhang Chen had to show his honor to a newcomer when he first arrived, not to mention that "Human Skin Inn" is indeed amazing and can be called a childhood nightmare for many people.
"Thank you for your recognition. That movie was actually inspired by a chat with a friend..."
"What inspiration?"
This sentence successfully aroused the interest of others. "Human Skin Inn" was only released this year. It was also the first time they met after it was released, and they did not understand the inside story.
"My friend told me that somewhere in Thailand, there is a deal to make money by killing people. As long as you pay 10,000 US dollars, you can exchange for a loaded gun and a person who is willing to be slaughtered by you.
Of course, this kind of transaction is not allowed by law, but the victims are willing to do so. They are all poor people whose family's livelihood can no longer be maintained. In order to relieve their family from hunger, they have no choice but to sacrifice themselves.
So I thought of the story of "Human Skin Inn". In order to make it look more immersive, I changed the location to Slovakia in Europe, but I didn't expect it would cause trouble to the tourism industry there..."
Zhang Chen had seen this news in his previous life, and it is said that Eli Roth even solemnly apologized to the Slovak government for this.
Everyone was lamenting, not the impact on Slovak tourism, but the source of inspiration.
Horror movies are like this. Often a piece of information heard by chance can turn into a very good story.
"My most profound impression of this movie is not the inn, but the gang of children in the small town, who would kill someone just for a piece of candy..."
Zhang Chen's words really spoke to Eli Roth's heart. He put a lot of thought into setting up the Children's Gang, and it also has a deep meaning.
"Zhang, can you tell us about your "Dark Invasion"? How did you come up with such a story?"
Eli Roth returned the favor and returned the topic to Zhang Chen. As a newcomer who came here for the first time, everyone was full of curiosity about Zhang Chen.
"It's actually very simple. When I was a child, there were many air-raid shelters underground near my home. I got lost in them, and I could only rely on a flashlight for lighting.
I was very scared at the time. I always felt that there was a pair of malicious eyes staring at me in the dark, and there were all kinds of strange noises in the air-raid shelter. They should be made by some small animals, but it was very scary~
Fortunately, I later found a way out, but that experience left a deep impression on me. Later I studied directing and wanted to make my first film, so I thought of this experience, processed it, and made it into a film. Those sounds materialize into an underground monster, it’s that simple..."
Zhang Chen made nonsense.
"One detail you did particularly well is that all the underground monsters' eyesight has deteriorated and they can only rely on hearing to identify their location. In this way, DV plays a key role in the entire drama..."
James Wan expressed his opinion, and others also agreed.
The DV setting is indeed a highlight of "Dark Invasion", which even the film critics thought was good.
"But "Dark Invasion 2" is a lot worse~"
"There's nothing we can do about it. In horror movies, a lot of surprises are just show-off concepts. Of course it's amazing when it appears the first time. But when it appears the second time, the audience already has expectations in mind, so it's not so amazing..."
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"That's the case with "Saw". You all know that in the first part, the most outstanding thing is actually the last scene of the movie, the moment when Jigsaw's identity is revealed. But the second part is not as amazing as that. I can only think about other points. …”
Everyone started talking about it. Horror movies also have their own routines. These are valuable experiences.
Zhang Chen was actually far less profound in this regard than they thought. Most of the time, he listened quietly and occasionally expressed his opinions.
Everyone here is a leader in the field of horror films in today's film industry. Everyone has a masterpiece, and they are all people Zhang Chen can cooperate with in the future.
Zhang Chen has too many horror movie scripts in his hands, many of which are classics that can be expanded upon. However, it is impossible for him to remember the original director of each movie, so he needs to find someone else to direct it. The one here is a good choice. .
Don't look at it. These people are all masters of horror films, but their salaries are not high.
Compared with the investment in low-cost horror films, it may not be low, but Zhang Chen has golden eggs in his hands. Compared with the income, the director's fee is really negligible.
(End of chapter)