Chapter 396 Someone from ShowBox
Tsim Sha Tsui, Peninsula Center
Jiahe Film Company welcomed a special guest today. The secretary was waiting at the elevator door. When the elevator door opened, the secretary showed a professional smile: "Hello, Mr. Dong~"
Dong Jianqiang walked out of the elevator with a smile: "I kept you waiting for a long time~"
"Mr. Dong, you're welcome. We, Mr. Zou, are already waiting for Mr. Dong in the office~"
"That's good for you~"
Dong Jianqiang followed his secretary to the chairman's office of Jiahe, and finally met Zou Zhongheng.
That's right, it's Zou Zhongheng, but of course it can't be Zou Wenhuai. He is already over 80 years old and has long since stopped caring about worldly affairs.
"Mr. Dong, nice to meet you~"
“Mr. Zou, I’m here to pay you a special visit~”
"Please take a seat~"
The secretary served coffee and then exited. Only Zou Zhongheng and Dong Jianqiang were left in the room. Zou Zhongheng finally said: "Your company has really made a lot of noise in the past two days~"
Dong Jianqiang smiled helplessly: "Our director Zhang is a very characterful person, and he is willing to go out of his way to help his friends~"
Zou Zhongheng smiled: "I've heard about it, and I can only say that it's great to be Director Zhang's friend~"
After saying the polite words, Zou Zhongheng asked with a smile: "I wonder why Mr. Dong is here this time..."
Dong Jianqiang said with a smile: "I just came here to make friends this time..."
……
For the crew of "Painted Skin", the filming was still going on in an orderly manner, but while filming, the staff of all sizes looked at Zhang Chen differently.
The controversy over the Academy Awards was the hottest entertainment gossip these days, and it inevitably spread to Yinchuan.
Everyone hangs out in the circle and has their own news channels. Some people have even received consultation calls from friends asking whether it is true.
Of course it's true.
Although they didn't see it with their own eyes, they all knew that Zhang Chen was a humanoid fighter.
Fan Xiaopang, Huang Xiaoming and others' favorite thing to do in the past two days is to surround Zhou Xun and listen to him tell the story of Zhang Chen's verbal battle with the Confucian scholars.
Mr. Zhou also enjoyed it and turned into a storyteller. Every time when the meal was served, a large group of people would quickly gather around him the moment the cigarette smoke sounded.
"When those two little bastards were taunting Liang Jiahui one by one, our leader Zhang Dao descended from the sky, separated the crowd, suddenly appeared, pointed at the noses of the two bastards and scolded them~"
"You haven't seen it. Wu Yusen is a big guy, and his Parkinson's disease relapsed after being scolded by Director Zhang. There is also Zeng Zhiwei, who didn't dare to reply even after being scolded. He just suppressed his head and made it bigger and bigger. ”
"Then why doesn't he dare to talk back?"
"Because his vitals are still in our hands, Director Zhang~"
Hiss~
There was a series of inhaling sounds all around. What's the point?
My male compatriots, you look at me and I look at you. Everyone feels the same way. They only feel a chill in their crotches.
Zhang Chen couldn't stand listening anymore and hurriedly showed up with a speechless look on his face.
"Is it as exaggerated as you said? What I grabbed was his finger, okay? Don't mislead everyone~"
Looking at Mr. Zhou again, Li Gui didn't feel embarrassed at all when he met Li Kui. Instead, he smiled and said, "When have I ever misled everyone? Aren't my fingers a vital point?"
Now it was the audience's turn to have wonderful expressions, "No, Mr. Zhou, are you so careless? Your family calls your fingers vitals?"
But there is no other way. If you want to listen, you have to endure it.
You have to allow the author to exaggerate appropriately.
Exaggeration is also an artistic technique.
"Do you want to hear it? Do you still want to hear it? There will be a scolding battle at the airport the next day, which will be even more exciting~ If you don't want to hear it, then I won't say it."
Seeing the crowd making noise, Mr. Zhou directly performed the Duan Dafa.
You guys, who don't even vote monthly, still dare to make noise?
Everyone immediately fell silent. If you want to exaggerate, let's exaggerate. At least for those who have experienced it, even if it is an exaggeration, it is based on respecting the facts.
If they don’t listen, they can only read the media reports, which are even more exaggerated~
Mr. Zhou continued to tell the story, while Zhang Chen called Cheng Er and Wu Shixian aside again: "Last time when I was away, you performed very well during those few days. I saw all the shots, and they were very solid.
I have to leave this time. The pattern is still the same as last time. You two can discuss it. After we finished shooting the scenes here, we moved to Huairou to shoot the last scene~"
Both of them showed reluctance on their faces, but their hearts were filled with excitement.
They thought they would never have the chance to touch the guide tube after Zhang Chen came back, but they didn't expect the opportunity to come so quickly.
"Okay, stop performing like this with me, I hope I leave soon~"
When Zhang Chen exposed it to their face, the two of them were not embarrassed, but instead showed evil smiles on their faces.
The next day, Zhang Chen appeared on the flight to Los Angeles again and agreed with everyone in the Hua La Gang to watch "Breathless" in advance. Of course, he, the sponsor, had to be there.
Otherwise, who would show the favor to others?
Cube Company, Zhang Chen and Fei de Alvarez, the director of "Breathless", were waiting at the door. The first one to arrive was Alexander Aja.
"Hey man, I hear you're doing good lately."
Zhang Chen and Alexander hugged each other. This was really not a polite statement. Alexander Ajia was responsible for filming "Seeing the Devil" and the feedback given by New Line was very satisfactory to Alexander.
Alexander smiled and patted Zhang Chen on the shoulder: "It's not bad. The filming of "Seeing the Devil" went very smoothly. It's already halfway completed. It's estimated that you can see it in the cinema in the second half of the year~"
"Congratulations, man, New Line is very satisfied with you and often praises you in front of me~"
"Haha, after the movie is released, if the box office is good, will you give me a bonus~"
There is no such thing as red envelopes in Hollywood. This is generally the practice of Hong Kong film crews, and the mainland has also learned from Hong Kong.
Alexander had obviously heard about red envelopes, and Zhang Chen laughed: "No problem, if the box office is good, I will propose giving you red envelopes~"
As he was talking, other people arrived one after another, including Lei, Darren, Rob, Toby, and James Wan.
Zhang Chen greeted everyone warmly and hugged them.
"Zhang, where is the screening room? I can't wait to see your new work~"
James Wan is a guy who knows how to support people.
Zhang Chen smiled and waved his hand, this is not my work, it belongs to this person~
As he spoke, he introduced Fede Alvarez to everyone: "Alvarez is the director of this play, and I can only be regarded as the screenwriter at best~"
Alvarez was almost excited.
Everyone here was a senior to him, and Alvarez had read all their works.
After shaking hands with several people one by one, Alvarez was still immersed in joy. Zhang Chen pushed him: "Hurry up and lead the way. Don't you see that everyone wants to take a look?"
Only then did Alvarez react and lead the way.
He never expected that these long-established directors would watch his movies together.
In the small screening room, the lights went out and the Cube Film Company logo appeared.
Then, the story of "Breathless" officially begins.
A blind veteran was walking his dog and was noticed by three thieves. One of them said: "I asked, this blind man is a retired soldier from the Gulf War. As you know, soldiers' retirement pay is quite a lot~"
Then on a dark and stormy night, a group of people fed the dog meat mixed with sleeping pills, and then one person broke through the bathroom glass and sneaked into the veteran's house.
After the man sneaked in, he ran to the front hall and opened the door.
Then, in order to avoid alerting the blind veteran, the three of them took off their shoes and walked barefoot on the floor.
Find the veteran's bedroom, light some incense, make sure the veteran is unconscious, and then start searching the room.
Soon everyone discovered the locked basement.
Unable to pry open, a daredevil thought of using a gun to break the door lock, since there were no other neighbors nearby.
Then they discovered that the veteran who was supposed to be unconscious suddenly appeared behind everyone.
Probably because the soldiers were sensitive to the sound of gunfire, even if they were unconscious, they were still awakened by the sound of gunfire.
Then the theft turns into robbery.
The daredevil bullied the opponent into blindness, and he had a weapon in his hand. He showed off to the veteran, but he did not expect to be attacked and killed by the opponent.
Because he was the only one talking to the veteran throughout the whole process, the veteran mistakenly thought that there was only one thief in the house.
Afterwards, the veteran locked the door and boarded up the bathroom window through which they entered, but they accidentally smelled the stench of shoes.
After touching the shoes, I knew that the thief who came in was not one person, but three. Then, a killing began in the closed house...
Zhang Chen has watched the finished film before, and Alvarez did a good job and grasped the rhythm very well.
In this kind of movie, the main thing to watch is the setting. If you look closely, there must be many bugs in the logic, but it doesn't matter, as long as it looks good.
At the end of the film, after the blind veteran dragged the knocked-out female thief back to his old house, the film officially ended when the door closed.
It was left blank, but everyone knew that the fate of the female thief would definitely be very miserable, just like the rich girl they found.
The moment the lights came on, applause also broke out.
Everyone in the Huala Gang smiled and looked at Zhang Chen and Alvarez.
"A very qualified low-budget thriller, I think it's very good~"
"The pace is fast and there is nothing boring at all~"
"It's my thing. If it's released, I'm willing to go into the theater to support it~"
"Young man, if this is really your first work, I have to say, then you must be an amazing guy~"
"Yes, I seem to have seen the rise of a new director~"
Everyone praised Alvarez so much that they didn't know what to say.
"Breathless" is certainly a passable work, but it doesn't shock them enough. Speaking of which, it's all about human nature.
James Wan: "Zhang, I said that if I don't like the movie, I will definitely not say anything good about it, but in fact, I like it very much. If any reporters from the media interview me, I will tell them that this It’s the best thriller I’ve seen this year~” No wonder he was able to succeed later on, and his ability to sell favors was higher than others.
"So are we~" Everyone agreed.
"Thank you so much~" Zhang Chen wanted this effect.
Alexander Aja said excitedly: "Zhang, I think this format is really great. After "Seeing the Devil" is completed, I also want everyone to watch it in advance. I believe it is a movie that can conquer everyone." movie..."
It seems that everyone's evaluation of "Breathless" has stimulated him. The director also has a desire to win. He believes that "See the Devil" is better than "Breatheless" in terms of script, actors, investment, etc. Then you will definitely get more praise.
"Of course, no problem. I'm looking forward to that day, and I think everyone is looking forward to it too~"
"Yes, Alexander, I can't wait~"
Once the Huala Gang is done, the publicity is done.
As mentioned earlier, a film like "Breathless" has a fixed audience of moviegoers, so there is basically no need for publicity.
After sending everyone away, Zhang Chen took Alvarez to Diane's office.
"Everyone is gone?"
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"Yes, have the media arrangements been made?"
"Of course, it has been arranged long ago."
Starting tomorrow, the media will ask these people about their viewing experience, and then publish their praise in newspapers and horror enthusiast forums.
At that time, the posters in the cinema will also be specially marked with "strongly recommended by the director of "Saw""...
"Then I'll go back tomorrow~"
"No, you'd better wait for two more days~"
Hearing Diane's words, Zhang Chen looked at the other party in confusion and saw a smile on his face: "Why, is there a surprise?"
Diane smiled and nodded, not really planning to tell him until tomorrow: "Didn't you ask me to help you sell the script to South Korea? I sent the script of "New World" to ShowBox, and they were very interested. Prepare to come for an interview~”
ShowBox is one of the four major entertainment companies in South Korea, the other three being CJ, New and Lotte.
But that was for later generations. Now the CJ family is the only one, and New has not yet been established.
ShowBox has only been established for a few years. As a new company, it has great ideas and momentum. The film "The Flying Taegeuk Flag" that broke the dominance of "Titanic" the year before last was produced by Showbox.
In Zhang Chen's impression, Showbox doesn't seem to be too fond of realistic themes. Their main focus in the past two years has been special effects films, "The Monster of the Han River" and "Kiss of the Dragon."
But no matter what, since Diane said that the other party is interested, let's talk about it, there is no loss anyway.
Zhang Chen met Showbox two days later, and the visitor was Kim Tae-wook.
Kim Tae-wook is the producer of "The Flying Taegeuk Flag". It seems that Showbox attaches great importance to this cooperation.
In a coffee shop, everyone sat down.
"Director Zhang Chen, I have seen your works, including "Shark Beach", "Dark Invasion", "Manslaughter", "Eden Lake" and "Taken". What surprised me most is that these movies were actually produced by one person. It is said that you compiled the scripts yourself..."
Kim Tae-wook paid compliments as soon as he came up, with a slightly exaggerated expression.
Showbox has a translator, but everyone did not use it. Instead, they communicated directly in English.
After Zhang Chen heard this, he also smiled and replied: "I have also watched "The Flying Taigeuk Flag" produced by Kim. It is a rare masterpiece that can break the box office record of "Titanic" in South Korea. Producer Kim deserves all the credit. Wei..."
The sedan chair was carried by everyone. It was the first time for everyone to meet, so there must be a round of business exchanges first.
Jin Taiyu is indeed very useful. What Zhang Chen mentioned is what he is most proud of.
There are great movies every year, but there is only one "The Flying Taegeuk Flag" that breaks the record and erases the shame.
After going through the necessary exchange of blows, Kim Tae-wook finally talked about the real stuff.
"Our company is very interested in the script of "New World" sent by Ms. Diane. I personally feel that Director Zhang's "New World" seems to be tailor-made for our Republic of Korea..."
Kim Tae-wook is indeed curious.
The script style of "New World" is absolutely impossible to be released in mainland China, and it does not conform to the tone of North America. Instead, it has a Korean style.
In the past two years, Korean realism themes have become more and more fond of cruel endings. Kim Tae-wook himself knows that "Mean Streets" and "The Old Man" to be released this year are both similar themes.
"It can't be said to be tailor-made. I prefer "Infernal Affairs", but I think "Infernal Affairs" is a bit too idealistic. Undercover agents will never betray, and the police are sincere towards undercover agents. To be honest, I think it is a bit fake... …
Later I watched "Infernal Affairs 2". Although Ni Yongxiao is a big drug dealer, he is affectionate and loyal to his family.
I tried to expand on this idea, and asked what would happen if the gangsters had feelings and justice, but the police used all possible means to deal with undercover agents, and then the story "New World" was born. ”
Zhang Chen said nonsense seriously.
These are all based on reading reports in previous lives. The screenwriter of "New World" admitted that "New World" was inspired by "Infernal Affairs", but he himself preferred dark stories, and then he shaped the police into Villain.
"I really like this story. I wonder if Director Zhang is willing to part with it?"
Kim Tae-wook doesn't pay much attention to negotiation skills and gets straight to the point.
Zhang Chen did not answer immediately, but changed the question: "If your company comes to shoot "New World", have you considered who the director is going to find and the cast?"
Jin Taiyu's eyes lit up: "If Director Zhang has anyone to recommend, please tell me~"
Zhang Chen nodded and said: "I do have a few recommended candidates, and when I wrote the script, I conceived it according to their image.
I recommend Li Zicheng to be played by Li Zhengjae, Ding Qing, I recommend Huang Zhengmin, and Section Chief Jiang has an eye for drama, so it’s best to find an experienced actor. I recommend Choi Min-sik. As for the director, I recommend Director Liu Ha. Of course, these are just suggestions~"
Zhang Chen recommended basically all the original cast members of "New World" except the director.
Original Sora "New World" is a 2013 work directed by Park Hoon Jung.
But now Pu Xunzheng has not yet become famous, and Zhang Chen is not sure about the opponent's level, so he simply changed to Liu He.
Liu He is the director of "Mean Streets", which is consistent with "New World" in style.
Jin Taiyu nodded. At first, he was afraid that Zhang Chen would make random recommendations, but after listening to the list and thinking about it carefully, he found that they were all suitable.
Lee Jung-jae won the Blue Dragon Award for Best Actor in 1999. Hwang Jung-min is not famous yet, but Kim Tae-wook happens to know him. He is an actor with very good acting skills, and he has no problem playing the role of Ding Qing.
As for Choi Min-sik, he is a Korean national treasure actor, and there is no role that he cannot play.
He plays Section Chief Jiang, and Section Chief Jiang comes to life.
As for the director, he thinks it's okay.
Jin Taeyu nodded: "I have no objection to the people recommended by Director Zhang, and the company should not refuse..."
Seeing that Jin Taiyu had no objection, Zhang Chen was surprised. The other party was too easy to talk to.
Diane continued: "Since both of us have the same basic understanding of movies, let's talk about business matters next."
She glanced at Zhang Chen: "We don't want it to be a one-time deal. With Zhang's current reputation, he doesn't like the money he gets from selling scripts, so what we want is investment..."
Hearing Diane's words, Jin Taiyu was not surprised at all. He smiled and nodded: "Of course, but the investment ratio cannot be too large..."
This time, Zhang Chen and Dai An were really shocked. They proposed to invest, but the other party didn't even say no and agreed directly.
Only the investment ratio is required.
What the hell is this?
Jin Taeyu probably guessed what the two of them were thinking, and smiled honestly: "You two don't have to wonder why we agreed so happily, because we also have our own demands~"
Oh, that makes sense.
Diane motioned to the other party to please speak.
Kim Tae-wook cleared his throat: "We hope to get the Korean agency rights for all Cube Company's works in the next five years~"
?
Dai An and Zhang Chen looked at each other with a bit of disbelief in their eyes.
"Why?"
Jin Taiyu smiled slightly: "Because we are very optimistic about Director Zhang Chen. We have analyzed his works. The style span is very wide, but they are all good works without a doubt.
Several of his existing works have done well at the box office in South Korea, with basically more than 1.8 million moviegoers.
In the past, he mostly cooperated with New Line, and New Line likes to cooperate with CJ, so we cannot get involved in the Korean agency rights, but now it has become Cube. I think Cube does not have a fixed partner yet, and we at Showbox want to grab it. Seize this opportunity, of course, if Cube is willing to accept capital injection, we at Showbox will also be happy to become one of Cube's shareholders..."
After Jin Taiyu finished speaking, Zhang Chen and Dai An finally understood.
It turns out that ShowBox wants to learn from CJ.
CJ owns shares of DreamWorks, so all DreamWorks movies are distributed in Korea by CJ.
ShowBox is optimistic about Zhang Chen and wants to win all the distribution rights of Cube in South Korea.
Judging from their posture, it was obvious that they had understood the relationship between Zhang Chen and the Cube in advance, otherwise they would not have dared to make such a big bet.
The two looked at each other, and Diane understood what Zhang Chen meant.
ShowBox's strength is not bad. Zhang Chen actually doesn't care who gives the distribution rights in South Korea, but it is impossible to invest in it.
Realizing what the boss meant, Diane immediately put on another face: "Producer Jin, it's impossible to buy shares. Even the distribution rights, I think it's not worthwhile just to invest in one movie."
Since it was the other party who wanted something from them, Diane decided to have a good talk to see if they could maximize their interests.
Jin Taiyu also knew that it couldn't be that simple, "What do you mean?"
Diane said directly: "I think one movie per contract is good. If we cooperate with ShowBox on a movie, then we will open the distribution rights of the movie to your company~"
Jin Taeyu shook his head: "In this case, I'm afraid the head office will not agree, why not..."
Zhang Chen saw what business negotiations were like. The two of them were fighting for every little benefit, and both wanted to give themselves an advantage.
(End of chapter)