Chapter 110: Implicated
Cao Yang's entry into Hollywood is no secret. Behrman has already let the news out.
As the film progressed, Behrman received numerous calls from actresses' agents. He could only regretfully tell them that this was a man's film with very few female roles.
Even so, in order to build a good relationship with Cao Yang, many actresses' agents still said that as long as the role is suitable, even if it is a supporting role, they can consider it.
The seven major Hollywood film companies, plus DreamWorks, which is about to become the eighth largest, have all shown some interest.
They still respect art film directors who can win praises - art films not only require low investment, but art films that can win awards will not be bad at the box office, and they are basically guaranteed to make money.
This is actually a very remarkable thing.
Slightly larger film companies in Hollywood will entrust a research company to conduct preliminary research before a film project is launched to ensure that the film can make money as much as possible.
As for Cao Yang, many Hollywood film companies have information on him. This young man has risen rapidly in the past two years. Not only did he win the Golden Lion, but more importantly, he became one of the three major movie queens.
This last point is what movie companies value.
Being able to praise people means that movie stars who want to win awards will compromise, take a salary cut, and even if they have a chance to win awards, they will personally quit and spend money from their own pockets to operate.
This reduction in film remuneration, the out-of-pocket operating expenses, and the star's own support for the box office are all things that the film company desires.
The first one to extend an olive branch to Cao Yang was Columbia Pictures. In fact, it is easy to understand. In the United States, Columbia usually comes forward. After the negotiation is completed, it will eventually come forward under the name of Sony Classics.
Sony Classics focuses on the field of art films.
Columbia had a budget of 20 million US dollars from the beginning, and would not interfere with Cao Yang's creation, but would take control of the project.
In other words, you have creative freedom and we don’t interfere with the content, but I have the final say on the actors and everything in the project.
To put it simply, you can just make the movie according to your own wishes, but we have the final say in the selection of actors, various expenses of the project, and the shooting schedule.
It seems that the conditions are okay, at least it does not interfere with the creation, but Columbia is vague about the final editing rights that Cao Yang values most.
Bellman told Cao Yang, don't panic, and don't be in a hurry to agree to anything. This is just a tentative stage of initial contact, and the final result is still far away.
Well, as someone from Sony Classics, he directly sided with Cao Yang.
Perhaps to ease Cao Yang's heart, he also told Cao Yang that a big star had contacted him.
"Who is it?"
Cao Yang was a little curious.
Behrman felt as if he had a toothache. He took a breath and said reluctantly: "Kevin Costner, you must have heard of it, right?"
Cao Yang thought for a while and asked with some uncertainty: "The Kevin Costner who won the Oscar for Best Director?"
"Yes, this guy directed and starred in "Dances with Wolves". It was nominated for twelve Oscars in 1991 and won seven awards, including Best Director and Best Picture."
Cao Yang understood somewhat, no wonder Behrman had a constipated expression.
In terms of fame, Kevin Costner is really big in Hollywood, especially in the decade from 1990 to 2000.
It's just that in the first five years, I was able to call the shots in Hollywood, but in the second five years, the storm was too great and I almost drowned.
In 1995, "Waterworld", which he directed and starred in with an investment of US$250 million, only grossed over 80 million at the North American box office.
In 1997, "2013 Ultimate God", which I directed and starred in with an investment of 80 million, had a box office of less than 20 million.
In 2000, he starred in "Thirteen Days" with an investment of hundreds of millions, which grossed more than 30 million in North American box office. The continuous failure of the movie has made Kevin Costner's reputation as a box-office poison impossible to shake off. It is estimated that he will never star in an A-level production in this life.
"Hasn't he always been in the field of commercial films? How come he wants to star in artistic films?"
Bellman shrugged his shoulders and explained with a wry smile: "This is the only way for him to rise again."
"What do you mean?" Cao Yang asked.
"Using him will not do us any good, and it will even hinder us from negotiating terms with the studio. He is not just talk about box office poison."
"Then wait a minute. I have already read Milk's information. I will first establish the framework of the script, then fill in the story, and then find some people to modify it to be more in line with the local terminology and historical background."
For this script, Cao Yang would only write a framework to fill in the story, and find someone to localize the rest.
Not long after Behrman left, Cheng Jianye walked in from the outside and said to Cao Yang: "Director Cao, I have already found a special company to register the company you asked me to register."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. For this project, I will try my best to get you a UPM production director. Then you can learn more about Hollywood's operating model. Maybe you will use it in commercial films in the future."
"Thank you, Director Cao."
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
Cheng Jianye was overjoyed, "It doesn't matter what position you are in, as long as you can follow Director Cao and handle things within your ability."
"Get out of here, your flattery is too naked, it's useless at all."
Cheng Jianye laughed.
Later, Cheng Jianye asked: "Director Cao, are you going to invest in this movie in the name of the company this time?"
Cao Yang shook his head, "Not necessarily. It's what we talked about when we saw it. This movie is just to gain a foothold in Hollywood, and there are too few conditions. Besides, it's very easy to be cheated when it comes to investment. We can only wait until we have a firm foothold. ”
A few days ago, Behrman told Cao Yang that in addition to Columbia, MGM had approached him before Cao Yang came to the United States to inquire about Cao Yang's new movie. It seemed very sincere.
However, as Chen Kaige's "Killing Me Softly" was first released in France in early June, the market response was mediocre and the box office was not ideal, so MGM's enthusiasm decreased.
You must know that Brother Chen Kai is very famous in France because he won the Palme d'Or, but it did not reflect at the box office.
When Wu Yusen's "Wind Whisperer" is released on a large scale in the United States on June 14th, it stars Nicolas Cage at his peak. Logically speaking, the box office should be very good.
But the reality is that there are a lot of bad reviews, saying that Wu Yusen turned a war movie into a gangster shootout movie, and failed to show the existence of a command system when the US Marine Corps fought with the Japanese army.
Coupled with the chaotic scene scheduling, there is always a situation where the US Marines can only shoot randomly with machine guns, while the Japanese can only hide in bunkers and shoot, sneak attacks and charge on board.
There are also many unreasonable things that make military fans confused.
This is reflected in the box office, which is far less than expected. According to the box office trend, it would be good to have 40 million in North America, and it will definitely lose money.
Then, with the lessons learned from Chen Kaige and Wu Yusen, MGM began to hesitate about Cao Yang and was a little afraid to invest in Chinese movies again.
But Cao Yang didn't care. Now was the most chaotic time within MGM. They just wanted to invest, and Cao Yang still had to consider whether to accept it.
A company in chaos may have a lot of trouble.
After Cao Yang finished writing the script, Behrman also brought good news. There were two very famous male stars who had a very strong willingness to cooperate.
Created a small group, 605650175
(End of chapter)