Chapter 511 Chapter 2 Returning to China "Kung Fu "?
Mainland market, so far.

There are still only a handful of Hong Kong films that can earn more than 2 million yuan at the mainland box office.

However, Wong Kar-wai's "The Grandmaster" successfully crossed this threshold during this Lunar New Year holiday.

After only two weeks of release, the cumulative box office reached 2.62 million.

Up to now, the daily box office is still six or seven million.

Looking at the situation, it seems that we can still try to break through the 3 million mark.

As the leading actress, Zhang Ziyi has been in the limelight recently thanks to this movie. She is in high spirits and very active, frequently appearing in major media outlets.

However, as the film continues to be released, "The Grandmaster" has received more and more negative reviews online, many of which are sarcastic and mocking.

But Zhang Ziyi doesn't care at all. Sometimes, we have to say that the big stars are really not comparable to ordinary actors in terms of thickness.

The box office of "The Grandmaster" indeed exceeded the expectations of many people, such as Bona, one of the investors.

As the producer, Yu Dong felt a little comforted when he saw the box office of this movie.

“Although I don’t make much money, as long as I don’t lose money, it’s a good thing.

Unfortunately, there are too many investors and the company only gets a small share, which doesn’t quench its thirst.”

In the office of Bona Company, Yu Dong muttered to himself.

At this moment, Yu Dong was the only one in the office. Even his favorite secretary had been sent out by him.

As the boss of one of the most prominent film and television companies in the industry, he basically has no free time on weekdays. Now, two films invested by the company have been successfully released.

Regardless of whether it was a profit or a loss, Yu Dong was relieved. He had some free time to think about the follow-up arrangements.

There are many investors in the movie "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy". Although Bo Na is the leader and main investor, he doesn't need to pay too much attention to it because Xu Ke is taking care of it.

Sitting on the sofa, leisurely drinking tea, Yu Dong couldn't help but pick up a document and flipped it over. The first page had the words "The Legend of the White-Haired Witch: The Kingdom of the Moon" written in large letters.

This is a script submitted by Zhu Yawei, a well-known screenwriter in the industry. He has read the script and also let the head of the company's screenwriting department read it. To be honest, the quality is pretty good.

But generally speaking, for this type of movie, Yu Dong's first reaction is that Xu Ke should be in charge. However, considering that Xu Ke is currently busy with other things, after much deliberation, Yu Dong made up his mind and decided to hand the movie over to director Zhang Zhiliang.

.........

At the end of January, several Spring Festival movies are about to be released, and there are more and more major movie premieres.

At this time, Gu Wei also rushed back to China from Hollywood.

Originally, he planned to stay in the United States for about two weeks, and then spend three or four days in South Korea to see the filming of "New World".

However, plans cannot keep up with changes, and the selection of filming locations for "The Revenant" alone took more than a week.

By the time he returned to the capital, it was already February 2st, less than a week away from the New Year.

When you are on the plane, you have to adjust to the jet lag. The best way is to take a nap so that it is still daytime when you wake up.

Twelve hours later.

Domestic time, around ten o'clock in the morning.

In early February, the weather in the capital seemed a bit dry and cold.

Gu Wei, wearing a down jacket and a mask, followed two assistants out of the Capital Airport.

The media has been waiting for a long time and finally caught this big fish.

Gu Wei also knew that he probably couldn't escape.

After all, I went to Hollywood this time and confirmed the project launch time for two films. These people will not let me slip away easily.

"Director Gu, can you introduce the movie "The Revenant"?

During this period, everyone is really curious about this movie. After all, only Leonardo DiCaprio is revealed to be in the film, and the other female lead and supporting roles have not been announced to the public. "

"Uh!" Faced with this question, Gu Wei was also considering how to answer. Should he just say that this movie does not have a female lead, and supporting roles are also being invited, but it has not been confirmed yet?
“I’m sorry, I can’t reveal the specific details.

If it can be released in China by then, everyone can go to the cinema to watch it.”

Hearing this, a group of reporters became excited, "Director Gu, is this movie sure to be introduced?"

"It's very likely to work. After all, judging from the investment and the cast alone, this movie can be called a 'Hollywood blockbuster'."

To be honest, Gu Wei didn't really want to introduce the film into China as an imported film. He wanted to do it in the form of a batch film because the profit share of imported films was too low.

If it is a batch production, it would be easy to operate with the several quotas that Han Sanping gives to Xingchen Film and Television Company every year.

However, if it enters the mainland in the form of a batch of films, Gu Wei actually only needs to pay a part of the funds to Leonardo's Appian Way, and the rest of the losses are just taxes.

Moreover, the profit sharing ratio between imported films and wholesale films differs by nearly 20 percentage points. The profit difference is huge.

At this time, a reporter from Sina Entertainment asked at the right time.

"Director Gu, will The Revenant be nominated for the Oscars next year, as you said?"

After the reporter asked this question, all the reporters widened their eyes, looking forward to Gu Wei's answer.

"Of course, after all, he has already given a positive answer in an interview in Hollywood, so he has definitely won the Oscar."

Gu Wei gave a direct and clear answer that he would attend the Oscars, and this was just a reaffirmation.

Sure enough, the eyes of the reporters at the scene suddenly lit up. Oscar!

This year's Oscars haven't ended yet, but Director Gu has already mentioned the next Oscars. There is a full year in between, so this is material that can be reported continuously.

"Director Gu, last time at the premiere of '2012', you said that you would focus on commercial films in the next few years. So why did you suddenly decide to make an art film for an Oscar bid this time?" the reporter from Sohu Entertainment continued the interview.

Hearing this, Gu Wei remained calm. He had considered this issue before returning home.

For this reason, Gu Wei brought out Leonardo again and used him as a shield, saying that he was scared by the other party and made the temporary decision to shoot "The Revenant".

After hearing Gu Wei's slightly humorous reply, the reporters at the scene had already made a draft in their minds. They would write about this in detail and give it a good report when they got back.

.........

Gu Wei returned at a very coincidental time, just in time for the celebration party of "Lost in Thailand".

Or maybe Song Ge and the others had prepared a celebration banquet, waiting for him to come back.

This is the first domestic movie with a box office of over 10 billion yuan. Although it was just a simple celebration party, many people from the industry came to show their support.

Apart from Gu Wei, Xu Zheng has the most people around him, although everyone thinks the latter's foundation is a bit weak.

But no matter what, he is indeed the first director in the mainland to join the 10 billion box office club.

Compared with Wuershan, Ning Hao, Lu Yang and others.

Xu Zheng has been a little panicky lately because the box office of "Lost in Thailand" was so high, so high that he felt a little dazed whenever he thought about it, as if he was in a dream.

The box office revenue is nearly 1.3 billion, a result that not only the four great directors Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang and Jiang Wen cannot achieve.

As for the group of "famous directors" who moved north from Hong Kong Island, I'm afraid they haven't even thought about it.

But his second film as an actor turned director was a huge success! The only pity is that he didn't invest a dime and only received a director's salary.

Even though Xingchen Film and Television Company gave him a red envelope afterwards and gave him 20 million in compensation, which was equivalent to Zhang Yimou's salary, this money was indeed a bit hot to handle!
At the press conference for the release of "Lost in Thailand" a few days ago, Xu Zheng blurted out, for some reason, that there would be a sequel to this film series.

But after Xu Zheng realized what was happening, he felt a little regretful. He regretted that he had not thought it through and had not consulted Gu Wei before leaking the matter.

The impact of this incident within the Xingchen Film and Television Company continues to ferment.

Not to mention whether the other directors were jealous, even Ning Hao subtly hinted to him to keep a low profile.

When he saw Gu Wei again, Xu Zheng was obviously feeling guilty and spoke more cautiously, as if he was afraid that Gu Wei would think he was getting carried away.

"There will be a sequel to the '囧 series', don't be too anxious, this kind of comedy can't be connected too closely, it will easily make the audience aesthetically fatigued."

Gu Wei patted the other person on the shoulder, seemingly not caring at all about what the other person had said before.

This move made Xu Zheng secretly relieved.

"Director Gu, it's my fault. I said the wrong thing in front of the media reporters." Although Gu Wei didn't care, Xu Zheng still continued to express his attitude.

"You, sometimes you think too much. Let's have a good chat when we have time."

Gu Wei shook his head and said, and then didn't mention it any further.

...

"Director Gu, congratulations."

Cheng Long walked over with a glass of wine in hand and a smile on his face.

"You're too polite, brother. I should say I'm happy for you. Didn't the Chinese Zodiac sell nearly 1 billion?

With the addition of foreign copyrights, we made a lot of money.”

Compared with the original time and space, with the blessing of Liu Yifei, the box office of "The Chinese Zodiac" increased by more than 100 million and almost broke the 1 billion box office mark.

“Hey, it can’t be compared with this movie produced by Director Gu’s company.

The cost of making "Chinese Zodiac" alone was 3 million yuan, so it won't make much money."

Cheng Long said this, but the smile on his face did not diminish at all. After all, he accomplished what so many big Hong Kong directors had failed to do. The honor alone cannot be measured by money.

Hearing this, Gu Wei nodded and did not deny it. This was almost an open secret in the circle.

Wang Changtian took advantage of the opportunity, walked up to the two of them and asked directly.

"Director Gu, when will the sequel be made? Don't forget to bring the light when the time comes."

"There will be a sequel, but it will take at least one or two years. After all, the company's directors are very busy recently." Gu Wei said with a smile.

"That's right, haha." Wang Changtian understood that Gu Wei didn't want to continue talking about this in front of so many people, so he just went along with it.

.........

February 2rd was the day after the celebration banquet for Lost in Thailand.

"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" held a high-profile premiere press conference in the capital.

With director Zhou Xingchi coming in person, plus Huayi's Wang Da, Wang Xiaogang and Feng Xiaogang, there were an unusually large number of people from the circle who came to show their support.

Not to mention other filmmakers and film and television company bosses, even Yu Dong, who had a feud with Huayi Company, came here early.

After greeting the two Wangs, Yu Dong saw Zhou Xingchi not far away, his eyes lit up, and then he ran straight towards him.

After the two greeted each other, Yu Dong was also very direct and asked about the plans for subsequent films in the "Journey to the West" series. Judging from his appearance, he was planning to get involved.

So now there is a striking scene.

Zhou Xingchi's silence and Yu Dong's endless talk formed a sharp contrast.

Poor Zhou Xingchi, he just kept nodding and smiling. Even Gu Wei couldn't help but shook his head when he saw this scene. Some people are still too impatient.

"Mr. Yu, what are you talking about? You look so happy."

"Haha, let's talk to Director Zhou about his experience in making a movie." Yu Dong said with a laugh.

"Oh, I didn't realize that President Yu is quite interested in filming." Wang Zhonglei's timely arrival saved Zhou Xingchi from trouble.

Just as the two were chatting, Gu Wei came to Zhou Xingchi.

Since Liu Yifei was still catching up with the progress in the "Parasite" crew, she not only did not attend the celebration banquet for "Lost in Thailand", but also attended the premiere of "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", which was attended by Gu Wei, Song Ge, Lu Yang and others.

"Director Zhou, I wish the movie will be a big hit!" Gu Wei said cheerfully.

“Thank you, Lost in Thailand also did very well at the box office.

I really like your movie "2012". I watched it three times. The special effects and plot are very good.

I heard that you are going to shoot an art film for an Oscar. I envy you for having so many good ideas and creativity in your mind. "

I have to say that if someone has never come into contact with Zhou Xingchi, they will definitely be able to adapt to the way he speaks.

"Haha, as long as Director Zhou likes it." Gu Wei was also happy to be praised by someone, especially the famous Zhou Xingchi.

"Director Zhou, have you ever considered making a sequel to the movie Kung Fu?"

The two chatted for a few sentences, and Gu Wei asked directly.

"Part two?" Zhou Xingchi was obviously not prepared. He was confused for a moment and stood there at a loss as to what to do.

"Well, I really have no idea. Now I just hope that Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons can sell well." After being stunned for a while, Zhou Xingchi reacted and said immediately.

"That's right, this is the most important thing now." Gu Wei was not in a hurry. He looked at Wang Zhonglei walking towards him and said casually.

Seeing that almost all the guests were present, Zhou Xingchi led Shu Qi, Huang Bo, Luo Zhixiang, Zhou Xiu Na and others to go on stage and be interviewed by reporters, while the leading actor Wen Zhang was absent because he was in the United States.

Wen Zhang was absent because his directorial debut, Little Daddy, had just finished filming in China and needed to go to the United States to shoot the rest. Although it was understandable, it was not a good thing to say that the leading actor was absent from the premiere of a movie.

But Wen Zhang was on a strong upward trajectory at that time, and he probably didn't take it to heart at all.

Who would have thought that just seven months later, when he was promoting "Little Daddy" everywhere, he was unanimously criticized for neglecting the media in his hometown of Chang'an.

All old and new grudges were dug up, and news segments such as "playing big", "bad character", and "pretentiousness" were too much for the readers to keep up.

Although the leading actors were absent, Stephen Chow worked very hard in promoting the film. However, due to the appearance of Gu Wei, the four-character slogan of the trailer from another time and space, "Invincible New Year", was removed at the premiere.

Ever since the box office failure of "A Chinese Odyssey", Stephen Chow has been very cautious in film investment.

Otherwise, he would not have been overly cautious on "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" and ended up in court with Huayi Film Studio.

After the premiere, the release of "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" is approaching, which also means that the Chinese New Year is coming soon.

As for the start of filming of "New Police Story 2013", Gu Wei was urged several times by Lu Zheng. After repeated consideration, Gu Wei felt that it could only be postponed until after the New Year.

.........

(End of this chapter)