Chapter 110 North American box office exceeded 100 million
After the promotion in Chicago, little Gilbert said goodbye to the crew and hurried back to Los Angeles.
The rest of the promotional tour is carried out by Bruce Willis, Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts and others.
At the headquarters of Warner Pictures, little Gilbert met a group of people on the other side, led by Tian Chongming, whom he had met once.
"Director Gilbert Jr., we meet again." Knowing that people in North America are more accustomed to calling him Director Gilbert Jr., Tian Chongming also changed his title.
"Hello, Mr. Tian, how are you doing lately?" Little Gilbert shook hands with Tian Congming politely, without appearing very enthusiastic.
Tian Chongming replied: "It's okay. I'm a bit tired due to jet lag and I'm not used to eating. But everything else is fine."
Not only is it okay, but the colorful world of America almost makes it impossible for officials within the system who have never seen the world, as well as representatives of China Film and Television to walk.
I didn’t know until I came out, but I was shocked when I came out. Is the gap between us and developed countries actually so big?
It must be said that this strong contrast has a huge impact on the worldview.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Little Gilbert asked his assistant Anna to contact a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, Los Angeles, and then took the group from the other side to eat at the Chinese restaurant.
Although it is a Chinese restaurant, it actually incorporates local tastes and is very different from real Chinese food.
But eating is not the purpose, the main thing is to talk about things.
"I heard from Doug, do you want to introduce Hollywood movies?" Little Gilbert's conversation made Tian Chongming feel very domestic.
Everyone communicated in Chinese, which reduced the sense of embarrassment. There was no need for a translator, and they were still negotiating over the wine table.
"Indeed," Tian Chongming explained the reason: "In January this year, when we had a meeting, we decided to reform the domestic film market.
I thought about the pleasant conversation we had last year, and I thought about introducing Hollywood movies to let domestic audiences see what good movies should look like. "
Although domestic directors have frequently won international awards in recent years, superiors feel that this is not enough.
Moreover, some of the films were shot too far, and they were simply filming one's own family scandals for outsiders to see.
The words are very nice, but what do you mean by exposing the bloody reality?
So Tian Chongming feels that domestic filmmakers should be allowed to see what movies that are truly popular in the world should look like.
Introduce Hollywood movies, carry out market-oriented reforms, and let the market decide where Chinese-language movies should go.
Of course, these words can only be said behind closed doors, not to little Gilbert, a foreigner.
Currently, the quota for imported films is limited, and the split ratio is only about 8%. Tian Chongming and others had been to Paramount and Universal before, but they were not very interested in the Chinese market.
There are only ten quotas each year, and the account sharing ratio is only a small amount. How many tens of thousands of dollars can be allocated?
Only Warner Pictures, because of Little Gilbert, was willing to have a chat with them.
Therefore, Tian Chongming thought that he should first convince little Gilbert and take a roundabout way to negotiate for a quota.
After explaining the ins and outs of the negotiation, Tian Chongming added: "I hope Director Gilbert can help us with this. The number of places is limited, and the share ratio cannot be too high.
Or we can simply adopt a buyout system, and China Film will spend a sum of money to directly buy out the copyright. "
Little Gilbert did not agree directly, but asked: "Mr. Tian, I wonder if you know "Jurassic Park"?"
"Of course I know. I've also seen pirated discs?"
"Piracy?" Little Gilbert expressed doubts.
"The ones coming in from Hong Kong Island include not only Jurassic Park, but also Speed and Death." Tian Chongming replied.
This is not surprising. There are quite a lot of pirated discs on Hong Kong Island these days. Many local movies on Hong Kong Island have been affected by piracy, not to mention irrelevant foreign films.
Gilbert Jr. continued: "Do you know how much the global box office of 'Jurassic Park' was? $930 million."
"this……"
Before Tian Chongming could finish speaking, Gilbert Jr. interrupted him and continued: "Do you know the global box office of my "Speed"? It is US$405 million.
To put it bluntly, Mr. Tian, the factors that determine the success of a movie are not only the quality of the movie itself, but also the market size. "
Little Gilbert continued to explain: "I am considered a Hollywood filmmaker who knows a little bit about China."
That's true. After all, he can speak Chinese and knows a lot about Chinese history.
“At this stage, the Chinese film market lacks the attraction to Hollywood, so no one is very interested.
But the market potential is there after all. As long as certain concessions can be made on the account sharing ratio and introduction quota, I think Hollywood film companies will be interested. "
At the end of his words, little Gilbert added: "By the way, I heard that you are negotiating to join the WTO. If you can successfully introduce Hollywood movies, it will be very helpful for you to join the WTO."
Tian Chongming understood immediately after hearing this. This was a political achievement.
If I am responsible for the introduction of Hollywood movies and ultimately help to join the WTO, I will be a great contributor.
After gaining the support of Gilbert Jr. and listening to his suggestions, Tian Chongming once again started negotiations with Warner, 20th Century Fox and other Hollywood companies.
Before this negotiation, he communicated with the country and after obtaining authorization, the conditions were much relaxed.
First, the quota for imported films has been relaxed to 20, and secondly, the bill-sharing ratio has increased from 8% to 15%.
Although it is still not high, this account sharing ratio is already considerable.
With just this split ratio, Hollywood film companies can only make some hard-earned money. If the movie performs well in the market there, most of it will go into the pockets of China Film.
In my impression, in the previous life, until 2012, the share of Hollywood imported films was only 13%. Later, after the memorandum was re-signed, it rose to 25%.
After the conditions were almost negotiated, the two parties signed a film contract at the entrance of the Los Angeles Dome Theater in the presence of reporters.
This was something that had never happened in the previous life, and now, under the influence of little Gilbert, it had indeed happened.
As a pioneer, Gilbert Jr.'s currently being screened "The Iron Fist" and his previous film "Speed" are confirmed to land on the other side of the country in July.
Also introduced are James Cameron's "True Lies" and "The Fugitive" starring Harrison Ford.
And little Gilbert, who facilitated this incident, also received praise from people in the industry, especially the old men of the academy, as well as the Directors Guild and the Producers Union.
They believe that little Gilbert made a significant contribution to the promotion of Hollywood movies.
It's a pity that he is too young, otherwise he might have received one or two awards.
But that's fine. Let's record this credit first. When it comes to the Oscars in the future, the old guys in the academy and other voting members of the academy will vote for him in this matter.
This matter may not seem that important now, but in the future, Gilbert Jr. believes it will play a very important role.
He and James Cameron are also the first Hollywood directors to enter the Chinese market.
While negotiations between the other side and Hollywood studios were in full swing, "Iron Fist" ended its screenings the following weekend.
During the next four working days, the film grossed a total of US$28.595 million at the box office, and over the next three days over the next weekend, the film once again grossed US$30.213 million at the box office.
Throughout the next week, it grossed a total of US$58.808 million at the box office, once again retaining the title of weekly box office champion. The one that is slightly more competitive this week is Lee Kwok-ho's legacy "The Crow", which took in a decent box office of US$14.425 million in its first three days.
Speaking of this movie, it is quite twisty. It is said that Alba, the original author of the movie, originally wanted Johnny Depp, but Depp declined.
Later, River Phoenix was approached, but River Phoenix died immediately after the scandal.
Later, as a last resort, I approached Li Guohao.
But unexpectedly, Li Guohao was shot and killed by a bullet fired from a prop gun while filming.
Maybe it's because he is Bruce Lee's son, maybe it's out of sympathy for the deceased, or maybe it's because "The Crow" is a good movie and did well in its opening weekend.
Considering that the investment in this film is not high, it will not be difficult for the film to make a profit.
On the contrary, "Iron Fist", the first weekend box office plus the next week's box office, the total box office came to 121 million US dollars.
The box office was good, but the film cost as much as 80 million U.S. dollars. Including publicity and distribution expenses, the total cost was close to 100 million U.S. dollars.
Disney's internal analysts estimate that the North American box office will eventually be between 180 million and 200 million US dollars.
It seems impossible to achieve substantial profits through the North American box office like "Jurassic Park".
However, the film can recoup its costs through the North American market alone. After achieving a small profit, overseas markets and surrounding markets will be considered pure profits.
This estimated profit prospect actually satisfies Disney, Warner, and other investors.
This is the norm for Hollywood commercial movies. Little Gilbert's previous movies that achieved high box office at a low cost were an exception in Hollywood.
Therefore, the two companies did not have any dissatisfaction with little Gilbert, and even held a celebration party for him and the crew after the North American box office exceeded 100 million.
After the promotion in New York, Bruce Willis returned to Los Angeles with the crew from New York and attended the celebration party.
The protagonist of the celebration party is, of course, little Gilbert, who continues to create box office success.
With "The Iron Fist", Bruce Willis has completely secured his position as a first-line actor in Hollywood.
He specially found little Gilbert and expressed his gratitude: "To be honest, little Gilbert, I don't know what to say. Thank you for choosing me."
"Bruce, I chose you because you are suitable for the role. As for the success of the movie, that is everyone's credit." Little Gilbert said.
"Anyway, thank you. If you need my help in the future, as long as I can do it..." Bruce Willis also made a phone call gesture.
"Okay, I'll call you if necessary." Little Gilbert nodded.
After Bruce Willis, Ryan Gosling’s mother also brought Ryan Gosling to thank him.
"Thank you, little Director Gilbert, we Ryan have prepared a gift for you." Ryan's mother motioned to Ryan Gosling to take it out.
Ryan Gosling took the gift box and handed it to little Gilbert, then looked at him expectantly.
Little Gilbert opened the gift box and saw that it was actually a clay model. It looked like Little Gilbert was directing on the set with a loudspeaker, and behind him stood the robot master from the movie.
"Wow," little Gilbert exclaimed, "It's beautiful, Ryan, did you do this yourself?"
"Yes," Ryan replied, "I have been studying for a long time and I have made this thing. I hope you like it."
"I like it very much," Little Gilbert asked his assistant to accept the gift, then touched Ryan's head and said, "I will put this model in my office and look at it every day."
Ryan Gosling is very happy that the handwork he put in was not in vain, and the director really liked it.
In addition to the pleasantries between the crew members, other film company executives naturally came to talk to little Gilbert.
Sheena Boone acted as a temporary companion, constantly introducing some Hollywood film professionals to little Gilbert, most of whom had the right to vote for the Oscars.
Knowing that little Gilbert has a plan to win the Oscar, Sheena Boone must of course consider little Gilbert and make arrangements in advance.
Not only is it about competing for the Oscars, these film company executives who attended the celebration banquet are actually more interested in little Gilbert's next project.
Paramount CEO Shirley Lansing asked little Gilbert for information: "Little Gilbert, can you leave your next movie to Paramount?"
For such invitations, little Gilbert usually throws it to his agent: "Just go talk to Miss Boone about this matter."
The agent is a shield to deal with this kind of trouble.
Shirley Lansing obviously understood that this was Gilbert's excuse and wanted to go further.
But Warner Pictures CEO Jeff Robinoff arrived in time, and Shirley Lansing had to stop talking.
Warner Pictures and Disney firmly grasped the opportunity to cooperate with Gilbert Jr., leaving no room for other film companies to intervene.
As Shirley Lansing walked aside, Jeff Robinoff came and asked little Gilbert: "Little Gilbert, what are your ideas for your next movie?"
"Jeff, "Iron Fist" is still in theaters and I need a vacation." Little Gilbert rolled his eyes.
Jeff Robinoff was a little embarrassed, but still said: "I'm not rushing you, I just want to ask you what you think."
Little Gilbert had already made plans and had nothing to hide. He said directly: "I want to blow up Alcatraz."
"San Francisco?"
"That's right," little Gilbert nodded: "I plan to make a hot action movie."
Although "Iron Fist" satisfied all major investors, little Gilbert was not satisfied.
Through this film, Gilbert Jr. gained experience in directing A-level commercial films.
However, the film's performance and quality made Gilbert feel a bit uninteresting.
This made little Gilbert realize that it is okay to move some concept films in advance. After all, it is not difficult. They mainly rely on the concept of the film to attract the audience.
But some mainstream commercial movies are not suitable for cross-generational production.
For example, "Avengers" is a very difficult thing to implement technically now.
Therefore, when shooting a film, you must consider the background of the film, as well as current technological development, market acceptance and other factors.
Next, when selecting materials, you can’t take it for granted. You must carefully analyze and research it before making a decision.
Because of this, little Gilbert decided to return to the field of action movies where he was better at, and planned to blow up Alcatraz.
Jeff Robinoff heard that Gilbert Jr. planned to make a popular action movie, and when he thought of the huge profits from "Speed", he couldn't hold back the corners of his mouth.
Little Gilbert is truly a cash cow, and Warner Pictures must hug this tree tightly.
(End of chapter)