Chapter 233 Second Negotiation

Online, "Three Guns" began a large-scale promotion.

The crew director Zhang Yimou led the main actors Xiao Shenyang, Yan Ni, Sun Honglei, Maomao, Cheng Ye, and Ni Dahong to Shenyang, and held fan meetings at Wanda Cinemas, China Film Broadway, and Huachen Cinemas Sanhao Store.

Since Northeast China was the last stop of the "Three Guns" crew's promotion in six cities across the country, the actors were extremely relaxed that day. Every time they arrived at a cinema, they imitated Xiao Shenyang's tone and shouted to the audience: "I'm home!"

Since "Three Guns" has been surrounded by controversy from its preparation to its release, director Zhang Yimou has become the focus of media attention during these days of promotion.

Zhang Yimou seemed to have been prepared for this. Facing many "sensitive questions" raised by reporters, he always responded to them one by one with a relaxed attitude.

After all, the movie has not been released yet and the audience has not seen the finished film. Some people on the Internet are skeptical, but more people are still looking forward to it. This is also the expectation for the great director Zhang Yimou.

At the same time, the film "The Siege of the City in October" produced by Bona Film Group also held a roadshow.

Zhen Zidan, who successfully became a first-line martial arts star last year with "Ip Man", said in an interview with media reporters: "This movie is related to the morale of Hong Kong films."

It's a typical case of using mainland companies' money to promote the Hong Kong film market, which has been criticized by netizens a lot.

Not only that, before the film was released, it was announced that it would be submitted for next year's Cannes Film Festival to increase the popularity of the film's release.

...

"These are invitations to recent movie premieres."

In the company, the assistant brought a stack of invitation letters to the office.

"Three Guns, The Siege of the City in October, The Thorn Mausoleum, The Storm Riders 2, etc."

"The company should send someone over."

After watching it once, Gu Wei lost interest. Apart from "Three Guns" and "The Siege of the City in October", the others were just supporting roles and could not make any waves.

"Dong dong."

"Come in."

"Boss, several CEOs of big companies are here and are in the conference room."

There was a knock on the door and the secretary came in to report.

"Okay, I'll be there right away."

When I arrived at the meeting room, I saw Song Ge chatting with Han Sanping, Wang Changtian, Ye Ning, Yang Shoucheng and others.

"Director Gu is here."

When Song Ge saw Gu Wei coming in, he called out, and immediately everyone except Han Sanping stood up and greeted him.

In the conference room, after Gu Wei took his seat, the staff brought him tea. After the people left, everyone turned their eyes to him.

Each of them has bright eyes and a smile on their lips.

"Haha, everyone is looking at me like that. I'm a little nervous."

"Haha."

After making a joke, Gu Wei glanced at the people present and his expression gradually became serious.

“2012 is expected to be launched at the end of the year, and I called everyone here today to discuss the investment share.

The total investment of this film, including the post-production promotion funds, is estimated to be around 3 million US dollars.”

Even though Gu Wei had mentioned this before, everyone still felt a little suffocated when they heard the cost.

With more than 2 billion yuan involved, one has to be cautious.

"Director Gu, there is no problem with Wanda Pictures. We can follow them no matter how much the share is."

As a newly established production company, Ye Ning attached great importance to this project and wanted to use it to increase the company's visibility, so he couldn't wait to speak as soon as he came up.

"Don't worry, Mr. Ye. All those who can come here today are our people. Every company can get a share."

"It's me, Meng Lang. Director Gu, please speak."

Looking at the eyes of the people around him, Ye Ning smiled awkwardly. He seemed a little anxious because there was basically no director cooperating with the company after its establishment.

“Of the 3 million investment cost, the company will keep half, and the remaining half will be shared between Warner and you guys.

I will shoot this movie in 3D mode, and I will decide the actors. The leading actors who can participate must have box office appeal.”

Movies are ultimately commodities that are sold for money, especially commercial films. The selection of actors is based on a few aspects, such as acting skills, appearance, topicality, and traffic, etc.

Although the audience has repeatedly emphasized the issue of acting, it is not really a decisive factor for commercial films, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many weird and incomprehensible movies made every year.

Gu Wei can only strike a balance, trying his best to maintain the quality of the film while selecting celebrity artists with box office appeal to join.

"Director Gu, besides the leading actors, can each company recommend some actors for the other supporting roles?"

After listening to Gu Wei's words, Ye Ning asked again.

Before coming, Lu Zheng had a special chat with him, hoping to get a role for the star-studded Jing Tian.

“All actors need to be auditioned by me personally, which is also one of the conditions for cooperation.

The main thing is that this is an ensemble drama, the actors will be paid a lot, and a few big names have not been decided yet.

In addition, the top stars in Hollywood usually share in the box office revenue, so considering these factors, we should be cautious in choosing actors.”

"understood."

Hearing this, Ye Ning remained silent. Compared to the role, the key point was how much share he could get.

"It's OK to share foreign box office revenue, but forget about domestic actors."

Unlike Hollywood, domestic productions are more traditional and are very resistant to this aspect.

"Let's talk about the share. China Film Corporation will fully support the filming." As Han Sanping brought up the topic, everyone entered into a heated discussion.

Each company has different strengths, so the proportions they occupy cannot be distributed evenly. Just like Guangxian Company, if we really give it a 20% share, the other party may not be able to take it.

After a morning of discussion, everyone had come up with a rough distribution plan.

Gu Wei kept half for himself, but his investment was only 1.2 million yuan. Several domestic companies followed suit at a premium.

No one had any objections. After all, they were used to it. Besides, since Gu Wei could take them to play together, there was nothing to be dissatisfied about.

China Film Group and Wanda hold 10%, Emperor Entertainment Group and Light Media each hold 5%, and the remaining 20% ​​is left to Warner Bros.

This was also what Gu Wei had agreed upon with them before. After all, the other party would also be responsible for part of the post-production special effects.

At noon, Gu Wei arranged a place and everyone had a meal together.

With such a huge investment involved, it will take time to finalize it. In addition, Warner Bros. will come to China at the end of the month, and then it will be formally confirmed and the contract signed.

...

Online, the reputation of "No Man's Land" is getting better and better, mainly focusing on the script writing and the actors' acting skills.

However, as the CEOs of film companies in the industry gathered at Xingchen Film and Television Company again, the media's attention also turned to it.

"Director Gu is about to start a Hollywood movie."

"CEOs of all major companies gathered at Xingchen Films to discuss cooperation."

As time went by, more and more people came to inquire about Gu Wei's new movie.

Including actors I have worked with before, as well as many first-line stars in the circle.

Huang Xiaoming and Cheng Long, who had received promises from Gu Wei before, were now sitting back and waiting for news.

"The casting requirements will be released publicly and will be conducted in the name of the company. The audition time is tentative and will be announced once the film is confirmed."

Song Ge posted the news on the company's Weibo account.

"Group portrait drama, a blockbuster co-produced by China and the United States."

Thanks to the news, the circle has become more lively.

A large number of actors are eager to try and are waiting for the casting news.

After the filming of Painted Skin 2 was completed, Wuershan and his staff stayed in the company every day to do post-production editing.

This movie is a commercial blockbuster directed by him personally, and it is related to the other party's future development. In terms of tension, Wuershan is under much more pressure than Ning Hao.

After the latter applied for the Berlin Film Festival through Gu Wei, he has been studying Xu Zheng's new script with him these days.

At the end of the month, nearly twenty days after the release of "No Man's Land", the box office successfully exceeded 200 million.

"Ning Hao has officially become a director in the 200 million box office club."

On Weibo, big headlines occupy the homepage.

With the success of several films, Ning Hao has now completely established himself in the field of commercial films, the only thing missing is awards.

“Recently, many people in the industry have been asking about my next movie and want to get involved.

Some people even invited me to make a movie there, and the money they offered was not low.”

After the box office exceeded 200 million, Ning Hao completely gave up. He lay at home every day or went out to attend social events held by other companies.

For example, if Gu Wei received a premiere invitation from other companies, he could refuse it, but Ning Hao couldn't refuse some people's invitations.

"Which company invited you? Do they have a suitable script?"

Hearing this, Gu Wei asked with some curiosity.

“Wanda was the most proactive, offered a very high price, and sent me the script.

I looked through it, but nothing I liked, most of it was crap or just rehashed stuff.”

"They are quite ambitious. As soon as I confirm this, I will go and win you over."

Ning Hao instantly became excited when this matter was mentioned. The circle has been discussing this matter these days. The cost plus publicity is 3 million US dollars. Only Gu Wei in China has this ability. If other directors are replaced, there will be no hope.

"Tsk tsk, 3 million. To make a profit, the global box office must be more than billion, right?"

"more or less."

Not only Ning Hao, but everyone else had the same expression when they heard the news.

"Director, have you ever thought about making a special effects movie with Chinese culture as the background? Many netizens are talking about this online."

Ever since Gu Wei revealed the plan to shoot a co-produced movie, many netizens have wanted him to consider the domestic aspect.

To be honest, Gu Wei has this idea, but he needs to wait. The domestic background blockbusters are nothing more than Journey to the West, Fengshen, Honghuang, etc. Such special effects blockbusters are generally adapted from the original works, and they cannot be changed too much, otherwise it will be a mess and a sure loss.

For example, the blockbuster "Asura", which was invested 7.5 million yuan in later generations, attempted to build a magical world with a single movie without the blessing of IP such as the original novel. As a result, it received rave reviews after its release and the box office flopped.

Although there are many big IPs in China, they are definitely not able to be supported by the current box office market.

"Let's talk about it in two years. I'll shoot it when I have the chance."

Gu Wei said perfunctorily.

.........

　I was not in good condition, so these two chapters were a bit long-winded.

　　Take a break, adjust your state and then update again.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)