Chapter 538 Finished
2009, June 16, Tuesday.
"Life of Pi" was finished filming, and the crew held a wrapping dinner.
Tapu's role has been completed long ago, and when she returned to India, she was not present at the closing party.
During the dinner, Elizabeth from Fox came to Wang Shu and said softly with a smile on her face: "Shu, I heard that you are planning to make a Sino-US co-production?"
Wang Shu nodded when he heard this. Many people knew about this and there was no need to hide it.
"Ellie, I do have this plan." He said.
The smile on Elizabeth's face did not diminish, and she asked: "Shu, what do you think of Fox?"
Hearing this, Wang Shu already understood the other party's intention and smiled. Said: "Fox is a large film company with strong funds and strength."
"In that case, Shu, have you ever thought about continuing to cooperate with Fox?" Elizabeth asked with a smile.
Wang Shu knew the meaning of these words, but he still said: "Yili, didn't I say before that I have no intention of signing a contract for the time being?"
"Shu, that's not what I'm talking about." Elizabeth smiled and answered, "I'm talking about the co-production."
"Shu, Fox is very interested in the co-production you are planning and hopes to participate in it."
< br>Under normal circumstances, directors directing movies would like more and bigger investors to participate in investment.
In this way, the crew's funds will be sufficient and strong. Not only can they invite the actors they like to star, but they don't have to live a hard life.
For example, when Zhang Yimou directed "Hero", his initial choice was Jet Li.
When the investors learned that he had invited Jet Li, they immediately increased their investment.
After that, Li Lianjie relied on his connections to attract people like Liang Chaowei, Zhang Manyu, and Zhen Zhuan.
Seeing that these people can negotiate, investors may be able to recreate the myth of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and continue to increase investment.
In the end, "Hero", a movie with a strong lineup of that year, was created.
However, Wang Shu is different.
He is not short of investment at all.
So, not only is he not the type who invites big-name actors to participate in the show to gain more investment from investors, he is also not the type who lacks investors.
He belongs to the category where whenever he is planning to make a movie, many people rush to give him money to participate in it.
Obviously, his category has more say and dominance.
Wang Shu knew the purpose of Elizabeth's visit, and immediately answered with a smile: "Eli, I can't say this alone. I have to discuss it with China Film, Shanghai Film and other investors."
Fox It is one of the top eight in Hollywood. In order for the co-production to be released on more screens in the United States and even in more regions around the world, he is of course happy to see Fox involved.
After all, whether it is China Film or Shanghai Film, it is said in the country.
If it were an international stage, the top eight in Hollywood would have more energy.
Of course, the top eight in Hollywood also have strengths and weaknesses.
Otherwise, Fox will not be acquired by Disney in the future.
China Film and Shanghai Film Group have been advancing the matter of co-production.
Last time, we had cooperation with Warner.
This time, we are also cooperating with Warner.
However, the last time "Terror Cruise" was released in North America, it was only released on 2,000 screens, which is less than half of the total number of screens in North America.
Based on this alone, Wang Shu is happy to see Fox participate.
With Fox, not to mention markets in other regions, there are no longer only 2,000 screens in North America.
After a successful film is produced and wanted to be released on more screens, it has never been possible for Wang Shu to just make the film.
We need to introduce more partners and use their strength to achieve this.
In overseas markets, if you don’t introduce partners, you will either have to package your films and sell them, or you will have to find a small agency to be responsible for overseas screenings.
Small agencies usually have limited capabilities, which prevents movies from appearing on a few screens at all.
Large companies are not willing to spend time and effort just to earn some distribution fees, let alone help Chinese-language films, which is even more impossible.
Therefore, if you want to have enough screens overseas, introducing overseas investment is an essential step.
Of course, there are miracles.
For example, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" directed by Li Eucalyptus.
This movie opened in North America that year and was only shown in 7 theaters.
Then, it relied on word-of-mouth to create a miraculous stamina, and then expanded the screening, from 7 theaters to more than a thousand theaters. Then after the Oscars, it received a wave of box office, and finally won more than 1,000 in North America. Billion box office.
With the miraculous appearance of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Hero", which was followed by Guoshi, immediately became a profitable movie.
In 2000, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" created a miracle. In 2002, when Guoshi's "Hero" was released in North America in 2004, it was no longer only released in 7 theaters, but opened in 2301 Released in theaters.
Not only was it a huge success in North America, it was also the first Chinese film to be screened on a large scale, allowing American audiences to watch subtitles directly.
In addition, "Hero" also won the weekly box office championship in the United States, Australia, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and other places that year.
If we compare the results, the box office of "Hero" in North America is not as good as that of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", but the global box office excluding North America is higher than that of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
However, "Hero" can be released on a large scale in overseas markets, which is inseparable from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which was only released in 7 theaters in North America that year, and then relied on word-of-mouth to expand and win a movie. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" cost more than $100 million.
Everyone knows that "Hero" is a period martial arts film directed by the internationally renowned director Zhang Yimou. Since "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" can create miracles, "Hero" may also be able to do so.
There is a saying that when a person opens a window, someone will always jump out and close the window.
Li Yu's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" opened the window, and then the window was slowly closed again.
But no matter what, the facts show that if a movie wants to achieve a good box office, distribution is a key factor.
For example, Chen Long became extremely popular in Japan in the 1980s, but a bunch of movies produced by his Hong Kong company just couldn't sell as well in Japan as the terrible Hollywood movie "The Killer".
It is precisely because the distribution capabilities of Hollywood companies are so much stronger.
As for Li Yu's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", if it hadn't been so popular that it was so overwhelming, it would have been impossible to open 7 theaters and finally achieve a box office of more than 100 million US dollars.
This kind of success is rare and difficult to repeat.
For example, the movie "The Wandering Earth" opened in 64 theaters in North America, but did not gain a reputation and expanded its screenings. In the end, it only earned a few million dollars at the box office.
The second part opened to 170 theaters, and the box office results were not as high as the first part.
"The Wandering Earth" is naturally a rare science fiction film in China.
But in Hollywood, there are so many science fiction movies.
On the contrary, there are a large number of martial arts-themed film and television works in China such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
But in Hollywood and North America, this kind of movie is rare.
The former is generally of little interest, while the latter is rarely attractive. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" can counterattack by word of mouth, which is considered feasible.
Elizabeth nodded, and then said: "Shu, I hope you can take the lead in this matter."
Of course she knew that Wang Shu alone had no say in this matter, and she was looking for Wang Shu just to let Wang Shu take the lead.
Wang Shu nodded when he heard this and said, "Wait for my news."
"Okay." Elizabeth agreed with a smile.
Fox is one of the top eight actors in Hollywood. Some departments in the company have analyzed Wang Shu’s strength and know that Wang Shu has never failed since his debut.
This kind of capable director who can write and direct by himself and has never made a splash is the most high-quality investment and cooperation target.
In Hollywood, there is an unwritten rule that a director will be swept into the trash can only after he makes two movies in a row.
Wang Shu is a director who has never made a splash, so he is naturally favored by many investors, film and television companies, and producers.
There are no fools among producers or film companies who can stay in the film and television industry for a long time.
Wang Shu’s strength allowed them to see the opportunity to make money, and they would naturally come to seek cooperation.
Hollywood has always been a place where winners take all and losers leave.
Wang Shu not only did not lose, but also showed his value.
Therefore, he is moving closer to the one-size-fits-all approach.
At the closing banquet, in addition to the crew, there were also Jiangcheng’s institutional personnel.
These people came here not only to congratulate the film on completion, but also to have a brief chat with Wang Shu.
"Director Wang, you are not only the first Oscar-winning director from Mainland China, but also the youngest Oscar-winning director in history."
"Now you are well-known both domestically and internationally."
"So, we sincerely invite you to be the image ambassador of Jiangcheng."
The work of the cultural and tourism department The staff clinked the cup with Wang Shu and expressed his opinion.
"Director Wang, although you are not from Jiangcheng, you are from Anlu. Anlu is only an hour or two's drive from Jiangcheng. After all, we are one family."
"So, Jiangcheng can also be regarded as your hometown."
"Yes, Director Wang, both Anlu and Jiangcheng are actually one family, and Jiangcheng is also your hometown." As the system staff member finished speaking, another system staff member answered.
"Director Wang, to be honest with you, looking at the entire entertainment industry, you are the only one who is most suitable to be the spokesperson for our Jiangcheng."
"Young, talented, and the youngest Oscar-winning director in history , all of which can show our Jiangcheng’s cultural heritage and temperament.”
“So I hope you won’t refuse.”
Every staff member in the system is talented and speaks well. It sounds good, and Wang Shu is strongly invited to be the image ambassador of Jiangcheng.
For public figures, if they refuse this kind of thing, they will easily get stabbed in the spine.
However, he said: "To be honest with you, the people in Beijing also wanted to talk to me about this matter before."
Beijing generally does not hire artists from the entertainment industry to serve as image ambassadors. Instead, Yao Ming and Lang Lang, who are internationally renowned, were asked to take charge.
Beijing is the best place and an international metropolis.
As the most benign place, there is no shortage of Chinese people coming here to visit it, so there is no need to find entertainers from the entertainment industry as ambassadors to promote the city.
Therefore, the goal of the first good place is to attract foreign friends.
Yao Ming and Lang Lang have more advantages than artists in the entertainment industry in terms of their professional and international reputations.
As a basketball star, Yao Ming is well known to many groups abroad.
As a pianist, Lang Lang has a certain reputation among the upper class abroad.
As for Chen Long, if he were not from Hong Kong, the capital would not just let him be the image spokesperson for the Olympic bid, but would invite him to be the city's image spokesperson for a long time.
Chen Long is the image spokesperson of Hong Kong Island, not the capital.
With his international influence, Beijing Culture and Tourism naturally wants to invite him to be the spokesperson of Beijing. However, Chen Long is from Hong Kong Island and represents Hong Kong Island.
When being interviewed on camera, Zhang Yimou said: "There is only one Chen Long in the world. He is the pride of the Chinese and has made a mark in the world."
This year, international superstar Michael... Jackson will do it.
Since then, Chen Long has become the most famous international superstar in the world.
No one can compare with him.
In 2004, the crew of "The Myth" went to India for filming, and Chen Long was surrounded by Indian fans.
In 2009, that is, this year, Chen Long went to Japan to observe and study in order to perform the style of the Black Sekai Society during the filming of "Shinjuku Incident".
After hearing the news, the boss of the Shinjuku Black Club ordered more than 20 nightclubs to be closed down just to welcome his arrival.
When Chen Long arrived by car, the whole street was filled with two rows of black people dressed in black. They collectively bowed and shouted to Chen Long: "Brother!"
Not only that, but Chen Long’s presence is everywhere in Japan’s proud comics industry.
The author of "Dragon Ball" even said that without Chen Long, there would be no "Dragon Ball", and the prototype of Kame Sennin is Chen Long.
In "Naruto", many of the martial arts actions are 1:1 reproductions of shots from Chen Long's movies.
When the movie "Red Zone" was being filmed in the UK, the Queen of England lent her hovercraft to the crew for filming.
In "Police Story 4", defense-grade weapons such as Rocky-class submarines and intercontinental missiles that appeared in the film were provided as promised. The Ukrainian military stated that even if nuclear weapons were needed for filming, they would be provided.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited many nuclear weapons.
"Police Story 4" was filmed in 1995, when Ukraine lost its nuclear status in 1996.
When the movie "Who Am I" was filmed in Rotterdam, the mayor not only provided local characteristic buildings for the crew to shoot, but also directly sent armed troops to blockade the site and even arranged speedboats and helicopters to ensure Chen Long's safety. , real-time monitoring by sea, land and air.
When filming "Kung Fu Yoga", the Prince of Dubai, who is a fan of Chen Long, directly provided more than 70 supercars for the crew to use.
During the filming, the crew accidentally crashed one, and the prince sent another one overnight without saying a word.
After filming "Zodiac", four national treasures were returned overseas after the movie was released.
In addition, Chen Long went to extremely backward places in Africa to shoot his movie. The local aborigines, whether adults or children, would shout "Jack Chen" when they saw him.
Everyone knows him from all over the world, no matter in developed or backward areas.
It can be said that since Chen Long, no Chinese artist has had as high an international reputation as him.
Even Wang Shu, the youngest Oscar-winning director in history, is not as good as him.
Director is a behind-the-scenes profession, and in terms of public popularity, it is impossible to compare with actors in front of the stage.
Unless Wang Shu also comes to the stage and becomes famous.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to compare with Chen Long in terms of global popularity.
(End of this chapter)