Chapter 20 Overseas Distribution
Causeway Bay, Rong Kee Rice Noodle Shop, Jiang Heng was sitting in the corner eating cart noodles.

Being alone, he seldom cooks for himself and usually just eats out near home.

Some people say that Hong Kong people don’t chase stars, but in fact it is just an illusion created by the decline of Hong Kong entertainment.

During the "Tan-Zhang rivalry" era, whenever these two people appeared in public, they would attract fans to watch and cheer.

However, this phenomenon has been greatly reduced in recent years, mainly because the Hong Kong entertainment industry has been lacking in successors and no longer produces as many stars as in the past.

Another thing is that this place is too small, which makes the public lack a sense of mystery about the stars.

Jiang Heng is not an idol star and rarely causes a stir in public.

Even many young people were discussing the movie and script of "The Matrix" at the table next to him, but they did not recognize that the handsome young man eating noodles next to him was the protagonist of the public opinion storm.

"I heard that Hua Na Company has filed a lawsuit in our high court, accusing Jiang Heng of stealing their script!"

"Hey, how can you call it stealing if you take something from an American?"

"It's just a clash of ideas, they're deliberately bullying us!"

"Even if he wanted to steal it, he would have found a way to do it. Can he get access to the script?"

"How is that possible? Hollywood has always discriminated against Chinese people. I heard from the aunt of my second uncle's neighbor's daughter's boyfriend that Yuan Heping went to be a martial arts instructor and he hasn't even seen the script yet!"

"No way! How can we design the action without reading the script?"

"It's not that stage yet. Filming hasn't even started yet. Why are you, a Chinese, so anxious to read the script?"

"What the hell, you haven't even made the movie yet, and you're suing us for plagiarism?"

"Americans, what can we do?"

"Depend on!"

"Wait for what?"

"Let's go to the movies!"

"Cheng Long's film?"

"It's been the same old routine for decades, it's getting boring. Go watch The Matrix!"

"Let's go and see what kind of movies the Americans covet!"

A few young people discussed for a while, then got up and left the rice noodle shop.

Conversations like this happen from time to time in the store.

Some people also suggested going to see "The Lucky Guy", but everyone said that the movie was a money-making movie and had too few stars.

This is not the first time this has happened. Basically, the choice is between "The Matrix" and "Who Am I".

"Look at this posture, the effect is quite good!"

Jiang Heng put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and said secretly in his heart.

He had anticipated today's situation.

Because there is a peculiar phenomenon in Chinese-language films, that is, films that are box office hits in mainland China are often not very popular in Hong Kong.

If you want to achieve good results, it is necessary to arouse the curiosity of Hong Kong audiences.

Furthermore, global release is another difficult issue.

Hollywood has always discriminated against Chinese people. When Jet Li wanted to make his way into Hollywood, he had to start as a villain. The most disgusting thing was that he had to bargain repeatedly.

I'll give you one million dollars to be the villain!

You agreed, okay, 75.

You refused, but then thought about it and thought it was an opportunity. When you agreed again, the price was only 50. If it weren't for Jet Li's revelation, most people would hardly think that you could bargain so hard, but he did it anyway.

Jiang Heng also experienced several disgusting rounds of "bargaining" in the past two days.

First, a Hollywood company contacted him and was willing to buy the North American distribution rights of "The Matrix" for US$200 million, saying that they could help him get the rights from Warner Bros.

After that, the other company's offer was only 150 million.

120, 100, 80.

These Hollywood companies kept saying that Jiang Heng could not win the lawsuit, and that they could still make a profit if they sold the properties now, but if they waited any longer, they might go bankrupt.

Jiang Heng ignored it and did not answer the calls from those companies for three consecutive days.

During these three days, the box office of "The Matrix" showed explosive growth amid the heated public opinion, surpassing the two films of Jackie Chan and Stephen Chow, and was the first to break through 30 million Hong Kong dollars.

The newspaper summarized this as follows: The era of “Two Mondays and One Success” is over!
The cell phone rang, Jiang Heng picked it up and saw that it was a representative from Columbia Company calling.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally picked up the phone.

"Mr. Jiang, can I arrange for you to come out for an interview?"

Jiang Heng laughed: "I'm sorry, I make hundreds of thousands every minute, I really don't have time to go out and discuss a business worth 800,000...!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the diners in the restaurant subconsciously looked at the young man in the corner. He looked quite good, but he was talking in his sleep in broad daylight!

"Uh, Mr. Jiang, we are very sincere!"

"Eight hundred thousand?"

"Haha, it's just a business strategy! In order to show our sincerity, I can tell you a piece of news. The lawsuit will go to court in five days!"

"So fast?" Jiang Heng was indeed a little surprised.

The representative of Columbia laughed. "Warner Bros. is a Hollywood giant after all. It has some ability. I think Mr. Jiang should have the confidence to win this lawsuit, right?"

"That's natural!"

"Okay, then on behalf of Columbia, I'm formally inviting you to cooperate. After you win the lawsuit, I'm willing to pay you $5 million to purchase the distribution rights of The Matrix in North America!"

"Five million, you underestimate me!"

"Mr. Jiang, both you and the leading actor and actress of the film are complete newcomers in North America. The price of five million dollars is also a gamble for us!"

Jiang Heng sneered, "Really? If the risk is really that great, why do you keep calling us again and again to buy the distribution rights? Under normal circumstances, if an unknown Chinese director came to your company with a copy, he might not be received!"

The silence of Columbia's representatives has enabled Hollywood companies to take the initiative and use their own methods. Naturally, it is the visible interests that are at work.

The draft script of "The Matrix" has spread throughout Hollywood, causing a public opinion storm.

Major American media outlets also reported on the incident, and even media in European countries such as Britain, France and Germany reported on it.

It can be said that "The Matrix" became popular before it was even aired. The bizarre "script case" made audiences from all over the world extremely curious about the film.

Once the copyright ownership is determined, the film will inevitably cause a wave of movie-watching craze after it is released overseas.

If the quality is good, it is possible to be a big hit at the box office.

And several Hollywood giants also sent people to watch the movie after the "script case" broke out.

It turns out that the film has a grand plot structure, advanced consciousness, exciting action scenes, and the "bullet time" special effects scenes are unprecedented.

The companies estimated that based on the current level of public opinion and the quality of the film, it would be no problem for the film to gross $100 million to $200 million worldwide.

That's why they contacted Jiang Heng one after another, trying to use "psychological warfare" to lower the price and get the distribution rights first.

　Please collect and recommend!
　　

(End of this chapter)