Chapter 414 Another storm breaks out in the country
There has been no news from Warner. Zhang Chen waited for two days, but when there was no news, he was not ready to wait.
In theory, a large company like this has its own green light system.
Whether or not to invest in a project is not decided by one person, it must go through a systematic evaluation.
It will definitely not be possible to complete an evaluation process in two days.
But Zhang Chen was not prepared to hang himself from a tree.
Just when he was about to ask China Film to contact Universal for help, news suddenly came from Warner that their evaluation had passed.
When I saw David Heyman again, he had become a different face.
Heyman looked at Zhang Chen with a smile: "Congratulations, Zhang. After Warner's internal evaluation, we believe that although "Pacific Rim" has certain risks, it has the potential to be a big seller, so we are willing to join, but 25% of the investment amount may be No..."
"How many do you want?"
"15%."
It seems that I am still worried.
"I am personally very optimistic about this project, but the company has concerns..."
David Heyman was about to find a way out, but Zhang Chen interrupted him directly: "Okay, then 15% is fine. Warner has the right to supervise the use of the budget, but it is not allowed to interfere with the normal shooting of the film. Of course, the global distribution is up to you. Responsible..."
"Deal~"
An agreement is reached at the top, a lawyer is arranged, and the contract is read.
Zhang Chen cannot be trusted but these vampires have dark hearts. It is better to be a villain first and then a gentleman.
There were no big problems with the contract, but there were still some ambiguities in a few words. After it was proposed, it was revised and reviewed again. This time, there was finally no problem.
Signature
“A pleasure to work with~”
Zhang Chen and David Heyman shook hands and took photos.
"Mr. Heyman, don't rush to announce the cooperation to the outside world. I still need to finalize some things. I will cooperate with the publicity after they are finalized~"
"No problem, you are the main prosecutor, we will cooperate with all conditions~"
Warner's performance was very good this time, and the attitude was no longer the same as last time.
One day later, Zhang Chen returned home, accompanied by Drizzt.
He came back to inspect the special effects capabilities of China Film Digital Center.
Zhang Chen hopes to incubate a group of domestic special effects talents and companies through "Pacific Rim" to create a basic environment for future domestic science fiction films.
Zhang Chen's return to China was very low-key. He did not notify the media and made no fanfare. He mainly wanted to enter the village quietly and shoot no one.
Only Guo Fan came to pick him up at the airport.
During this time, Zhang Chen went to Hollywood to discuss cooperation, and he was busy making preparations in China. The two of them didn't talk much on the phone. He had no idea what was going on with Zhang Chen.
Seeing that there was a foreigner traveling with him, Guo Fan subconsciously showed joy on his face. After receiving Zhang Chen, he immediately came over. While taking the suitcase, he asked: "Boss, is it done?"
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Zhang Chen smiled and patted his shoulder, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed a reporter taking secret photos in the distance: "Let's get in the car first."
Guo Fan also noticed the reporter and cursed: "These paparazzi are really everywhere~"
He was very careful when he came out, but somehow the paparazzi still followed him.
A group of people got into the car and waited for the car to drive out of the airport. Seeing that there were no paparazzi following, Zhang Chen said: "It's done, we have already negotiated with Warner, but it is not the time to announce it yet, we have to wait until conditions are met~ ”
Guo Fan didn't know when he would meet the conditions, but he was overjoyed when he found out that it was successful, with a silly smile on his face.
Zhang Chen couldn't see his appearance, so he asked: "How is the progress on your side?"
Sure enough, when asked about this, Guo Fan immediately returned to normal.
"There is bad news and good news. The bad news is that I inspected several studios, but none of them met our requirements. There are not such large-scale studios in China, and I am afraid we have to go abroad to shoot~"
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Zhang Chen was not surprised at all. He had guessed that this might be the case.
"What about the good news?"
"The good news is about the physical effects. I asked around and found that there are currently no professional physical effects companies in China, only prop companies.
But the prop company had not produced the physical models we needed, so I took it upon myself to contact some mechanical design companies and electrical professors from well-known universities, and put forward our requirements. They were very interested, and I asked They first made a set of samples to see the effect..."
Zhang Chen was really impressed by Guo Fan now.
"Did I...did I do something wrong?"
Guo Fan was a little embarrassed, thinking that Zhang Chen was not satisfied with his own decision.
"No, you did very well~
There are no science fiction films made in China at all, so those prop companies must not have made anything related. If you ask them to make models, the price will definitely be sky-high.
Since we are starting from scratch, we might as well do it ourselves, which is more flexible~"
Making the props yourself is definitely the right choice.
It is so easy for domestic prop companies to make black money, and there is definitely a whole chain of interests behind it.
"Qing Ya Ji" A prop bow costs 600,000 yuan, how dare he?
This is not bragging, you can still find relevant news now.
You know, even the most expensive imported bow from the American hunting brand Blacktail is only priced at US$9,000, which is about 70,000 yuan when converted into RMB.
This is already their most expensive model. It is a collector's item, not for actual combat.
The handed-down bow has various exquisite decorations and carvings, and it is purely handmade. It is a luxury item in the bow and costs only 70,000 yuan.
The prop bow produced by the prop company costs 600,000 yuan. How do you calculate that?
This reminded Zhang Chen of the 6,000-yuan straw hat in "The Certificate of Voting"~
"Yes, you did it right, but what I'm curious about is, how did you come up with the idea?"
Being praised by Zhang Chen for the first time, Guo Fan scratched his head in embarrassment: "No, I had no idea at the time. The quotation given by the prop company was too exaggerated. The price for a cockpit alone was 10 million.
I just wanted to do it myself, but I didn’t know who could do it. I happened to be browsing forums at the time, and I mentioned it in your forum. I didn’t expect that I really gained something. ”
"Mine, right?"
"Yes, Zhang Chen!"
"Oh~" Zhang Chen didn't react for a moment.
Speaking of this, Guo Fan immediately became excited: "It's true that there are crouching tigers, hidden dragons among the friends. Some people say that they study industrial design and can help with it for free. Others say that their mentor is an expert in this field. If If you need help, you can contact me. Some people said that according to my requirements, which company is not professional in doing this, but it has no problem meeting my requirements...
I didn’t dare to make it too big, so I found a few friends who said they could help for free to make a version first and see the effect..."
Zhang Chen knew he could definitely do it.
The domestic hands-on ability is too strong.
If nothing else, find two people who know industrial design, and find some small factories in the south. As long as you have enough money, they can make anything for you.
It was indeed an unexpected surprise, but Zhang Chen didn't have the habit of free prostitution, so he still told Guo Fan: "It's free. No matter how well you do, you should pay some hard work. Generating electricity for love is not a long-term solution..."
Nazhi Guo Fan waved his hand: "No need, as long as you are willing to meet them, have a meal and take photos, you are more willing than giving them money.
This is the first science fiction movie in China. If they can really get involved, they can brag about it for a lifetime..."
Zhang Chen has already thought of how Guo Fan deceived these bar friends.
When the industrial succubus activates the 'charm' skill, there are really not many science and engineering men who can withstand it.
"What are you talking about?" Drizzt couldn't understand Chinese and was very curious about the two people who kept mumbling and looking excited.
Zhang Chen briefly translated it for him, and Drizzt was also surprised: "The physical model of Industrial Light and Magic is very expensive. If it can be completed here, then we can save a lot of money just by doing it. ”
Zhang Chen made a decision directly: "No need to see any samples, just ask them to meet, invite them together, and let's chat in person~"
Guo Fan was very excited. He felt that his efforts in the past two days had been seen by his leaders and that his hard work was not in vain.
Zhang Chen was also very pleased. It was indeed a good idea to find Guo Fan. This guy's execution ability is really strong.
The physical model was originally part of the sci-fi infrastructure he envisioned, but Guo Fan didn't expect it to be done directly for him
Then there is still the studio.
Originally empty, Pacific Rim was filmed at Pinewood Studios in Toronto, Canada.
Pinewood Studios has a total of 18 studios, two of which are the largest in the world. Many classic movies have been produced here, including the "007" series, the Marvel series, and the "Dark Invasion" of the original time and space.
Of course Zhang Chen's version of "Pacific Rim" could be shot here, but he also had his own selfish motives. He wanted to use this movie to build up the domestic science fiction film infrastructure.
The studio is one of the infrastructures.
Domestic studios basically belong to former film studios, but these studios are not prepared for science fiction films, so they are not big enough.
"Pacific Rim" has a large number of scenes that need to be rebuilt, and the mechas are very tall, so even if the original scale is not used, it cannot be too different.
There is no studio in China that can accommodate such a large model, so it needs to be rebuilt.
Of course, this amount cannot be included in the film budget, so it depends on whether the government is willing to pay for it.
In later generations, "The Wandering Earth" was filmed at the Qingdao Oriental Film City Photography Base. Oriental Film City was a joint venture between Wanda and the QD Municipal Government. Qingdao provided the land and Wanda provided the money, spending 50 billion.
At that time, Wanda was already a big player, but now there is no such take advantage of it, and it is even less likely to expect Qingdao or Zhang Chen to foot the bill.
Zhang Chen thought of Hengdian.
Hengdian is now the largest filming base for film and television dramas in China.
But at the beginning, Hengdian was just an unremarkable small town in Dongyang. It would be an exaggeration to say that it was remote.
It really rose because of one person - Xu Wenrong. The concept of Hengdian Studios was proposed by Xu Wenrong.
In 1995, when Xie Jin wanted to film "The Opium War", Mr. Xu presided over the construction of Guangzhou Street, and then came up with the idea of turning Hengdian into a film and television base.
In 1997, when Poet Chen wanted to film "Jing Ke Assassins the King of Qin", Mr. Xu led the villagers to level the mountain and build the Qin Palace Scenic Area.
In 1998, Hong Kong Street, Along the River During Qingming Festival, and Ming and Qing Palace Scenic Spots were successively built.
In 2000, he simply put forward the slogan of "free of charge" to attract domestic and foreign film crews to Hengdian.
In addition, two very large modern studios were built.
I have to say that the people of that era were really generous and courageous. They had a soul in them, a soul that dared to make the sun and moon change the sky.
It was Mr. Xu's idea that Zhang Chen was betting on whether the old man would build a science fiction film shooting park for him.
……
In the next two days, Zhang Chen formed a model research and development team.
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
The team members come from all over the world, including industrial designers, electrical practitioners, industrial workers, and university professors...
The model development team has only one purpose, to restore the models in the movie as much as possible.
In the conference room, Zhang Chen threw out the slides one by one: "What I want is a heavy industrial style. All machinery must meet this characteristic. It must be strong, rough, and not sophisticated enough. It must look strong at first glance." The kind of..."
Zhang Chen has said too much about Soviet-style aesthetics. This is the tone of the entire film, and everything is based on it.
Zhang Chen pointed to the slide on the wall as he spoke: "This is the conceptual diagram of the mecha cab that I envisioned. It uses a similar hydraulic transmission method and is driven by two people. My requirement is that it must be real and have Vibration, you need to be able to feel the force feedback.
The driver is driving a big thing of one to two thousand tons. It is not easy to operate without a single movement. In addition, the cockpits of China, the United States and Russia should have their own characteristics..."
Zhang Chen said his request, and some of the people below frowned in thought, while others wrote something in their notebooks from time to time.
"Can such a thing be made?" Zhang Chen finally asked this question.
Although he is very confident in his domestic hands-on ability, Zhang Chen’s cognition is based on the memories of later generations. After all, it is now 2006...
"Wait a minute, we need to discuss~"
Several people in the group did not answer immediately, but said they needed to communicate internally first.
Immediately, several people began to discuss various feasibility without avoiding them.
It wasn't really an argument, but there were times when they disagreed, but they quickly reached a consensus.
After reaching a consensus, everyone returned to their previous positions.
"What you want is a heavy industrial style, then we will try to reduce the circuit elements as much as possible, and the functions will be presented in the form of switches or plugs..."
"If you want the cockpit to be completely realistic, the best solution is to build a real cockpit so that it can really move.
And I suggest that his base be made into a hydraulic device as a whole, so that the bumps and shaking of the cab during combat can be simulated to the greatest extent. ”
"But I suggest that the personal armor of personnel should be made more sophisticated. After all, it is connected to neurons, and you said that it was the Americans who broke through this technology~"
Zhang Chen listened to everyone's suggestions, and in the blink of an eye, he had already taken a prototype.
It turns out that what they were discussing just now was not a question of whether it would work, but a question of how.
Implementation was not a problem from the start.
"Since it's not difficult, can you make a version first and see what it looks like?"
Concept drawings are just concept drawings after all, and the structures inside may not be able to be restored one-to-one during the actual construction process.
The final form should still be based on the actual object, as long as the overall style is similar.
Zhang Chen never believed that this thing could be solved once and for all. There would definitely be some dissatisfaction in the actual use process and it needed continuous improvement.
Then it’s important to do it early.
For many things, what exists in imagination and what can actually be touched are two completely different concepts.
"Okay."
"How long will it take?"
Several people discussed with each other again, and finally someone said: "About half a month. All the materials need to be ordered from outside, so it only takes half a month. If the materials are all ready-made, it can be faster."
Zhang Chen could hear the confidence in their voices. It seemed that it was really not difficult to do this thing.
"Yes, if you have any problems that require coordination, please contact Guo Fan and he will help you solve it."
In the past few days when the model team started working, Zhang Chen was not idle. He only took 15% of the 25% reserved for Warner, and someone needed to make up the remaining 10%.
Zhang Chen directly found Wanda and Guangguang.
Wang Changtian had ideas about the shares before, but he didn't grab them because he started too late. Now that he has extra shares, Zhang Chen will of course give him priority.
As for Wanda, they are a theater chain after all, and they have grown rapidly in the past two years, so Zhang Chen is happy to do favors.
Everything seems to be progressing in an orderly manner, but suddenly there is a demonic trend in the media.
Some media reported that Zhang Chen had already secretly returned to China. It was suspected that the cooperation had failed, and the first domestic science fiction film may have come out of nowhere~
The accompanying picture is the scene of Guo Fan picking up the plane at the airport that day. It should have been captured by paparazzi.
As soon as this news came out, it immediately caused an uproar.
Previously, Huayi ridiculed Zhang Chen for making science fiction movies to please the public. Zhang Chen responded that the other party did not understand science fiction at all, which made Wang Zhonglei embarrassed.
When the media tried to find Zhang Chen to set up rice seedlings, they were told that Zhang Chen had gone to Hollywood.
What have you been doing?
Of course we are going to discuss cooperation.
A science fiction film with a cost of 800 million must be distributed globally to recover the cost.
People's hearts were suddenly lifted up, and they were all waiting for the news of Zhang Chen's triumphant return.
But Zhang Chen seemed to have disappeared and never showed up again.
Now it was suddenly revealed by the media that Zhang Chen had actually returned to China a long time ago, which forced people to speculate wildly.
Normal people will feel that something has changed.
If the cooperation really succeeds, a fool would hold back and not announce it.
But Xingchen Entertainment doesn’t have one. What does this mean? It means failure.
For a time, there were a lot of ridiculing voices on the Internet.
Even though Zhang Chen's fans tried their best to clear his name, saying that he was still preparing the model two days ago, it was still a drop in the bucket.
Public opinion seems to be developing in an unfavorable direction for Zhang Chen.
As the saying goes, good fortune never comes in pairs and misfortune never comes alone~
At about the same time, another news was also brewing in the circle - China Film has invested in Zhang Chen's new movie this time, at least 200 million~
The whistleblower said that Zhang Chen met Han Sanping one day and talked for a long time. Zhang Chen's face was sad when he went there, but he was happy when he left.
Even Zhang Chen fell into self-doubt after reading this report-whether I really went to see Han Sanping one day.
At first, Zhang Chen thought that this was Third Master’s competitor digging a hole for Third Master, but later he discovered that the other party’s target seemed not to be Han Sanping, but Zhang Chen...
Because just yesterday, the sixth-generation director Wang Xiaoshuai publicly shouted on the Internet: Special film funds should not only focus on science fiction films, but ignore literary and artistic films...
Then Balabala listed a lot of data, saying that this year's special film promotion funds are much lower than in previous years.
Zhang Chen was also a little confused, so he called Han Sanping to find out more.
It turns out that after the disastrous failure of "The Promise", it had a considerable impact on China Film. The most obvious point is that the amount of special film support funds has decreased.
Are you kidding me?
In previous years, there were still three to four million, but this year it was directly reduced by half, and some people's applications were even cut down.
This, of course, caused dissatisfaction among everyone.
Many people point to these projects to make money.
Now if the budget is cut in half, doesn't this mean that many people have a way to make money? Isn't this going to be a desperate struggle for you?
After Wang Xiaoshuai, more and more filmmakers came out to criticize "Pacific Rim". They did not dare to say that Han Sanping favored one over the other, nor did they dare to say that the budget was halved because of "The Promise", so they could only point the finger at "Pacific Rim".
An armchair science fiction film can get an investment of 200 million, so should our films that promote truth, goodness and beauty also receive more support funds?
Zhang Chen knew that these guys were pretending to be confused.
He didn't believe that they didn't know that the 200 million investment belonged to China Film Group, but the special film support funds belonged to the state, and China Film Group only had the right to distribute them.
"Ignore him, he's a bunch of clowns~"
In Zhang Chen's opinion, this is just an excuse for a director of an artistic film.
I couldn't apply for support funds, but I used "Pacific Rim" as an excuse.
……
When all kinds of criticisms were flying around, Zhang Chen suddenly appeared in Hengdian.
As soon as I got off the plane, I saw the pick-up board with his name on it.
Zhang Chen walked over and the other party saw him and recognized him at a glance.
"Director Zhang Chen?"
"Yes, it's me."
Zhang Chen was empty-handed and didn't have a piece of luggage.
"Please get in the car, our old chairman has been waiting for a long time~"
(End of chapter)