Chapter 8 Shortlisted for the main competition unit
The day after the opening ceremony, Zhang Hanyu took Wang Shu to the exhibition hall to watch the entries brought by directors from various countries.
There are many movies, and most of the ones shown are trailers, which dazzles the viewers.
Walking on the road, Zhang Hanyu suddenly asked: "Don't we need to rent an exhibition hall?"
It costs money to rent an exhibition hall, and the person standing next to you is a pauper.
He has no money.
Even if he doesn’t need money, he still needs connections.
“.” Wang Shu was always worried on the road. He was always worried that Zhang Hanyu would ask questions after watching the movie trailer. He was finally asked about renting an exhibition hall for the screening.
Finally, he was asked.
For prize-winning works, in addition to winning prizes, the most important thing is to sell the copyright.
Every time a major film festival opens, distributors from all over the world come rushing over.
Showing in the exhibition hall facilitates distributors and copyright owners to understand film information and helps film producers sell film copyrights.
For award-winning films, entering theaters is second, and selling copyrights is the most important.
Because everyone knows in their hearts that the audience for art films will not buy it, and even if they enter the cinema, the box office they can get is not high. The only way to make back the money or even make a lot of money is to sell the copyright of the film to the whole world at the film festival. Publisher of the world.
Therefore, as long as Wang Shu wants to sell movies to make money, he should rent an exhibition hall to show "Buried Alive".
Although films selected for competition at the Berlin Film Festival generally have no worries about selling, the different levels of favorability of distributors are linked to the value of the film.
Distributors and copyright owners are all very smart. How can they buy a film that is neither shortlisted for the main competition nor well-known at a high price?
It is polite to break bones in one breath.
"I've already inquired. Because we arrived late, the exhibition hall has already been rented out, and there will be no queue when I come back." Wang Shu said lies seriously.
“There is no exhibition hall for screening. It’s not a big problem.”
"I have confidence in "Buried Alive"."
"As long as I'm shortlisted for the main competition, I don't have to worry about no one coming to my door, and I don't have to worry about not being able to sell it at a suitable price."
Zhang Hanyu Feeling Wang Shu's confidence, his heart surged and he stopped worrying about this issue.
Selected for the main competition unit?
Then
Best Actor
He has been looking forward to it.
Wang Shu returned to the hotel, but he didn't expect that a film producer came to see him
"Buried Alive" was not screened, that is, it showed its face during the opening ceremony, and the films selected from various countries were not Shao, how did these people find them so quickly by smell?
There is something!
As expected of a film producer who has been participating in major film festivals all year round, he has a sharp eye.
“Hello, I’m Nicholas,” the middle-aged film producer with a big belly introduced himself.
“Hello, I am Wang Shu.” Wang Shu shook hands with him politely.
"I know, a young director from the East, I have met Director Gu Changwei from your country, and you are much younger than him." Nicholas, a fat-bellied film dealer, was a talkative person and pulled Wang Shu to talk.
After a long time, Nicholas Belly explained his intention, "Dear Wang, I want to buy the copyright of "Buried Alive"."
"200,000 U.S. dollars, buy out all copyrights in Europe."
Wang Shu almost spit out his blood when he heard the price. This man seemed to be friendly, but in fact he had a really dark heart.
I want to buy out the European copyright of "Buried Alive" with 200,000 US dollars
No wonder he came here so quickly, he was just casting a wide net to pick up the slack.
"I want to think about it for a few days." Wang Shu did not refuse directly, but pretended to think.
"250,000 U.S. dollars, dear Wang, this is the highest price I can give." Nicholas, with a big belly, increased the price.
"Well, I still want to think about it for a few days." Wang Shu made no move. The $250,000 seemed like a lot, but this man wanted to buy out the copyright of "Buried Alive" throughout Europe.
In a market as big as Europe, 25W is really not much.
Nicholas gave Wang Shu a deep look with a big belly and said with a smile: "I understand, Wang. I'll come back in a few days. I hope there will be a good result by then."
After failing to buy the European rights to "Buried Alive" at a low price, Nicholas left with some regret.
Wang Shu shook his head and returned to the hotel.
Zhang Hanyu is also in the hotel. He is on the phone with his wife Yang Meizi at the moment. International calls are too expensive. He briefly talked about what he heard and saw at the Berlin Film Festival and then hung up. Gu Changwei and Zhang Jingchu were also in the hotel. They were sitting in the same room and didn't know what they were doing.
This feeling, this feeling, this moment, all kinds of thoughts are indeed intertwined.
Next, Wang Shu met with some publishers and copyright dealers, all of whom were trying to find out what they were missing. Wang Shu pushed them one by one to wait for a few days before discussing.
Publishers and copyright owners also knew Wang Shu’s thoughts and didn’t say much.
Every filmmaker who brings their work to the Berlin Film Festival does not want to enter the final stage.
However, after all, only a few people can get to that point.
In addition to meeting international distributors and copyright owners, Wang Shu also met with domestic staff of China Film Group.
When people from China Film were in China, they heard that a film called "Buried Alive" was handed over to the film selection team coming to China from the Berlin Film Festival, but they didn't pay much attention at the time.
Because there are many people in China who rely on connections to operate like this, but in the end they basically disappear. How could they really appear in Berlin like now?
This surprised them.
Of course, surprise is surprise.
The purpose of meeting Wang Shu is to purchase the copyright.
There is a rigid condition for films to participate in the Berlin Film Festival, that is, the film must premiere at the film festival and be its world premiere.
Therefore, China Film wants to buy the copyright of "Buried Alive" and then distribute and release it domestically.
Wang Shu was noncommittal about this, neither rejecting nor agreeing, but said he wanted to wait and see.
At least wait until the last two days, when the unspoken rules appear, before making a decision.
The people from China Film Group knew Wang Shu’s idea and didn’t force it. Anyway, they were the only people from China from China to come this time, and there was still some time before the end of the film festival.
No rush.
Finally, the two parties exchanged contact information and said politely that they looked forward to having the opportunity to cooperate together in the future.
In the past, in China, Wang Shu could only chat with the girl at the front desk at the entrance of China Film Group Corporation. How could he meet the middle and senior management of China Film Group Corporation who have a certain say in the film industry so easily?
Not to mention, someone from China Film Group came to us to discuss cooperation, exchanged contact information and proposed working together in the future.
Obviously, this is the charm of the three major European films, and it is also one of the reasons why countless filmmakers are competing for them.
As the closing ceremony drew closer, Wang Shu felt increasingly uneasy.
Because success or failure depends on this!
Although even if you are not selected for the final main competition unit, you can still make hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling copyrights.
But if it can be shortlisted, the price of the copyright will double in an instant, and it will not be a problem to sell it for millions of dollars in an instant.
If you win the prize, it is not impossible to sell it for two to three million US dollars.
“It’s done!”
At four or five o'clock in the afternoon, the organizer notified Wang Shu to attend the closing award ceremony tomorrow.
He was so excited that he wanted to jump up.
There is an unspoken rule at the film festival. Being able to be notified of the crew to attend the closing awards ceremony means that they are guaranteed to win an award!
Wang Shu immediately knocked on Zhang Hanyu’s door and told him the good news.
Zhang Hanyu’s agent was in his room, and the three of them were very happy.
As the closing ceremony approached, Zhang Hanyu became increasingly anxious.
That night, he took the initiative to treat Wang Shu to a drink.
If Wang Shu doesn't drink, he won't give him face, and he won't be happy in every possible way.
(End of this chapter)