Chapter 415 Invitation Ambition
It’s almost the 15th, and the Golden Globe Awards ceremony in the United States is about to begin.

The main creative team of "The Flowers of War" has also made sufficient preparations and is ready to travel to the United States to attend the award ceremony.

A large number of filmmakers, actors and celebrities in the industry sent their congratulations to Zhang Yimou on Weibo.

Even Chen Kai, who is still filming "Search", was no exception. He posted on Weibo: I wish "The Flowers of War" will win the Golden Globe.

Naturally, Gu Wei could not stand out from the crowd, so he followed the group of directors in the circle and expressed his blessings on Weibo.

I have to say that the domestic film industry’s obsession with the Oscars is really deep.

Now, just being nominated for a Golden Globe Award has touched everyone's heartstrings, and even the Film Bureau has sent a congratulatory message.

If a mainland director really wins the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in the future, wouldn't he be like Chen Kai, enjoying the trophy for the rest of his life?

"Director Gu, you are the Oscar-winning director. You don't need to worry about the honor. For us, let alone the Oscars and the three major European film festivals, we are happy enough to win the best award at an international A-class film festival."

Ning Hao directly complained that Gu Wei had no back pain when talking while standing, and Lu Yang and Wu Ershan next to him kept nodding their heads.

“Yes, director, I’m far from winning the best director award domestically, let alone abroad.” Lu Yang also shook his head and said with a wry smile.

"Don't look so envious. The company has a lot of scripts. If you have the ability, just take them and shoot them." After saying that, Gu Wei also glanced at Wuershan.

The other party was also a little guilty and didn't dare to look Gu Wei in the eye.

Before the excitement here died down, data on the release of "The Flowers of War" in North America came back.

"How much?" In the New Picture office, Zhang Weiping couldn't believe the number he heard.

"Boss, the data sent over there shows that the box office on the first day of release was around 17 US dollars." The assistant reported tremblingly.

“17!!!”

Zhang Weiping collapsed directly on the sofa, as if all the strength in his body had been drained away at once, and he kept muttering to himself.

At this moment, Zhang Weiping could be described as someone who had lost his parents.

"There must be a way, there must be..."

After a long time, Zhang Weiping's eyes lit up, he stood up, called his assistant, and gave instructions.

When Zhang Yimou learned of this data, he was also stunned and said, "Tell Producer Zhang that I have something urgent to do and cannot go to the award ceremony."

Why go there? Would it be embarrassing? He knew without thinking that "The Flowers of War" had failed in its Oscar bid, a complete failure, and the box office was like a joke.

"Okay, Director Zhang."

Watching his assistant leave, Zhang Yimou recalled the times he and Zhang Weiping spent together in the past, but he didn't know since when the two of them no longer had the tacit understanding they had when filming "Hero".

Maybe it started with "Curse of the Golden Flower", maybe it started with "Three Guns", or maybe it started with Zhang Weiping's announcement that "Gall and I filmed a bed scene".

At this moment, Zhang Yimou's expression kept changing. After a moment, as if he had made up his mind, he unconsciously clenched his fists.

Naturally, the box office data of "The Flowers of War" in North America could not be concealed from the domestic news media.

"Director Zhang Yimou's new film, The Flowers of War, once again failed in the North American market, with the first-day box office takings of less than $200,000, setting a new record for his personal work."

"The domestic box office of The Flowers of War is declining rapidly. The original target of 1 billion box office is hopeless, and losses are inevitable!"

"According to some experts, the low North American box office may affect the Golden Globe Awards results."

.........

At Xingchen Film and Television Company, as soon as Gu Wei arrived at the office, Song Ge came over to remind him to check out the latest film and television information.

Wow, the internet is full of reports about “The Flowers of War”.

Many media outlets have complained about the North American box office of "The Flowers of War".

It is said that the box office revenue was not enough to even cover the cost of the Batman actor’s round-trip airfare between mainland China and Hollywood.

Batman should not take a plane anymore in the future. Just save some money and fly back and forth directly.

It is a bit exaggerated, but it is indeed very ironic, and the meaning is still the same.

"It's time." Gu Wei closed the webpage, picked up his mobile phone and called Zhang Yimou.

At noon that day, Gu Wei and Zhang Yimou met in a teahouse in the capital.

Zhang Yimou also saw the negative reviews and reports about "The Flowers of War" on the Internet at this time, but in front of Gu Wei, he still said calmly:

"The Flowers of War is over, both abroad and at home."

Hearing this, Gu Wei knew that the conflict between Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping could no longer be reconciled. The various accumulations in the past and the fuse of "The Flowers of War" were one of the reasons. "Director Zhang, I have some connections with the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars. If you need help, just tell me."

The reason why Gu Wei brought up this matter was entirely out of consideration for Zhang Yimou.

"No, thanks.

I don’t have much hope of winning an award, but I’m actually quite satisfied with the film. It’s a story I wanted to shoot, even though some of the people and scenes weren’t what I wanted.”

Zhang Yimou smiled bitterly and waved his hand, as if he was talking about a trivial matter.

"Director Zhang, let me be frank. What are your plans for the next step? With so many offers from companies in the industry, you have to make a choice."

Gu Wei's straightforwardness made Zhang Yimou a little uncomfortable. "Boss Song talked to me before, and now Director Gu is here in person. It seems that he is determined to win."

"Haha, Director Zhang is one of the top directors in the country, so Xingchen Films would naturally like to invite you to join.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Director Zhang were to leave New Picture right now, the number of people who would come to invite him would probably be overwhelming.”

This is the truth. No matter how mediocre the box office performance of Zhang Yimou's works in the past two years has been, as long as he revealed this idea, many production companies in the circle would definitely want it. They only know that Zhang Weiping and Zhang Yimou have a conflict, but how deep the conflict is is not clear at this time.

If they knew that Zhang Yimou was determined to leave New Picture, they would probably be unable to sit still.

"Director Gu, have you ever thought about whether it would be appropriate for me to go to Xingchen Film and Television? Xingchen Film and Television has already dominated the film industry. If Zhang Yimou comes, what will other companies in the industry think? How many people will be wary of him?"

Faced with Gu Wei's strong invitation, Zhang Yimou calmed down and began to carefully analyze the pros and cons.

"Director Zhang must have known about what happened at the World Trade Center a few days ago."

"Well, a wolf has joined the flock of sheep. The film industry is probably going to be in chaos." Zhang Yimou had no idea what Gu Wei was up to, so he brought up the matter, but still expressed his concerns.

"Yes, the saying 'wolf among sheep' is very apt. People in the film industry are living too comfortably now and have no sense of crisis at all. Increasing the number of imported films can also play a catfish effect, at least it can put pressure on everyone."

"Director Gu, just say what you want to say." Zhang Yimou became confused, unable to guess what Gu Wei was thinking.

“It’s very simple. If the domestic film industry wants to develop, it can’t eat from the same pot. The strong will become stronger and the weak will perish. This is a truth that our ancestors have understood for thousands of years.

My idea is to invite Director Zhang to join Xingchen Films, and we can work together to make high-quality domestic films, not only to compete with Hollywood, but also to take advantage of the situation and earn US dollars. "

Gu Wei really didn't want to see Zhang Yimou follow the development trajectory of the original time and space. He finally joined LeTV and only made three movies in a few years. The total box office in the mainland was only 20.9 billion yuan. Among them, "The Great Wall" and "Shadow" both suffered huge losses, and he also lost the reputation accumulated in the first half of his life.

In other words, such results are indeed a bit embarrassing. You have to know that the domestic market has been booming since 2014, and the film market is getting hotter every year. Which of Wang Baoqiang, Wu Jing, Shen Teng and others did not have a box office of 10 billion per movie?
On the other side, Zhang Yimou's heart was also stirred after hearing this. Breaking into Hollywood and earning US dollars were his goals in the past, but unfortunately, they are still far away.

Seeing the struggling expression on Zhang Yimou's face, Gu Wei was not in a hurry, but carefully sipped the tea in front of him.

About ten minutes later, Zhang Yimou slowly spoke, "From Hero to Flowers of War, in ten years, from art films to commercial films, the filming style has changed. Few of them were successful, and many lost money. Director Gu, aren't you afraid that my next film will continue to lose money?"

"Haha, Xingchen Film and Television is not short of money. Not to mention losing money just once, even if it happens eight or ten times, it won't hurt much." Gu Wei joked.

"This is the truth. Even if I lose 10 or 800 million, it's not as fast as you make money." Zhang Yimou said.

"I admit that Zhang Weiping is a qualified businessman, but he is not a qualified filmmaker. He doesn't know the essence of movies. He doesn't understand what kind of movies are suitable for entertaining the public and what kind of movies are suitable for winning awards." Gu Wei took the opportunity to continue speaking, as if he was going to take down Zhang Yimou in one fell swoop.

"I have another request!" After a moment, Zhang Yimou picked up the teacup, looked at Gu Wei and said.

Perhaps he was moved by Gu Wei's ambition, or perhaps he was convinced by his words about going for the prize, but when Zhang Yimou said this, Gu Wei knew that the matter was settled.

"Brother, don't worry about the agency contracts of Ni Ni and Zhou Dongyu. The company will be responsible for negotiating with Zhang Weiping. Whether it is paying liquidated damages or filing a lawsuit, it can always be resolved." Gu Wei waved his hand, as if he knew Zhang Yimou's requirements in advance.

"Junior brother, it seems you are well prepared. You know everything clearly." Zhang Yimou said with a smile, and the two sides addressed each other in a much more familiar way.

"Know yourself and know your enemy. After spending more time together, you will naturally understand my character."

Seeing Zhang Yimou agreed, Gu Wei continued to remind him: "Brother, some things need to be prepared in advance. You know Zhang Weiping's style of doing things. He doesn't care about the consequences at all. You are too important to him."

In fact, Zhang Yimou is Zhang Weiping's ATM. He has been making money out of nothing over the years. Not only is the director's pay low, but he has not even paid the film's pay, and he delays it as much as possible.

"It's always a good idea to be prepared in advance."

At this moment, Zhang Yimou's eyes were somewhat solemn. Obviously, Gu Wei's words made him think of something, and Zhang Weiping was indeed a person who would do anything to achieve his goals.

"I understand, don't worry."

Zhang Yimou nodded. He wanted to part ways with the other party in peace, but Gu Wei's reminder made him defensive.

Afterwards, both parties tacitly did not continue discussing these matters, but instead talked about their respective views on movies and the current development of the industry.

Both of them understood that some things had to be well prepared before they could be announced. Once word got out that the two top directors in the industry had joined forces, it would be no less than a major earthquake.

.........

(End of this chapter)