Chapter 77 75 Madness Is Like Gravity, All You Have to Do Is Be Gentle

Chapter 77 Madness is like gravity, all you have to do is give it a gentle push (please subscribe, please give rewards)

People with good looks have already won at the starting line. Being handsome makes everything easier. This is good advice.

With his handsomeness that surpasses everyone present and his approachable temperament, Eric was already chatting and laughing with the people from Star Shine in less than two minutes of meeting.

"Stephen, you are so modest. Your movies are great. I have seen "Shaolin Soccer". Although the culture is different, the scenes in the movie always make me laugh."

"In you, I see similar characteristics to Jim Carrey and Chaplin. You are all humorous comedy masters."

"So when I heard Judy say that you were looking for investment, I thought I must get it!"

Hearing this, Judy was speechless. If it was really like what you said, would people have waited for almost a day in vain?

If it was any big Hollywood director, I would see if you could still speak as tough as you do now.

After a while of greetings, everyone got to the point.

"Stephen, how much investment do you want for this movie?"

Stephen Chow held up three fingers: "30 million US dollars, I think this is the minimum."

Eric frowned: "30 million US dollars? I remember that Miramax bought the overseas distribution rights of "Hero", which was Jet Lee's movie. The scene of this movie is very spectacular, but the investment is only 30 million US dollars."

"30 million US dollars, if converted into RMB, it is nearly 500 million, and if converted into Hong Kong dollars, it is 400 million, which is enough to shoot a top production."

"Is your "Kung Fu" as grand as "Hero"? "

Stephen Chow shook his head slightly: "No, "Kung Fu" and "Hero" are completely two different styles. Its scenes are not big, but in my conception, "Kung Fu" will use a lot of special effects."

"So does Star Shine Company plan to find a special effects company in Hollywood? If it is from Hong Kong or South Korea, I don't think it will cost so much money." Eric asked again.

Stephen Chow is not a talkative person. Although Eric was talking with a smile, his tone and context showed that he was putting pressure on him. Money is not so easy to get.

Next to him, a man with gold-rimmed glasses named Ryan hurriedly expressed his opinion.

Eric had no impression of this person. He should be an administrative staff of Xinghui Company, not an actor or screenwriter.

"Mr. Eric, I understand your idea. Yes, Kung Fu is not a big scene, and Jack Chan or Jet Lee will not be invited to star in it, but its selling point is completely different."

"If you only look at the script, most people can't understand how many special effects a movie will use, but from a director's perspective, Stephen has already constructed the general outline of Kung Fu in his mind."

"Stephen is a mature and capable director. He is the top in Asia. I think you also know that this can be seen from Shaolin Soccer."

"So the $30 million investment he proposed is completely based on the needs of the movie. Mr. Eric, you should understand that if the special effects are not enough, many movies will not be able to show the effect.

Listening to the other party's chatter, explaining and explaining, Eric laughed and said, "Ryan, are you saying that I don't understand movies? Do you think I can't understand those shots, or do you think I don't understand the market price?"

The man with glasses waved his hands again and again: "No, that's not what I mean. I just want to make a good movie. We all think so, don't we? Only high-quality movies can earn more box office. ”

After taking a sip of coffee, Eric leaned back, sitting like a boss, and his tone slowed down.

“Yes, everyone wants to make a good movie, and everyone wants more investment. After all, only by making a good movie can you make money, but you can't treat investors as idiots. ”

“Ryan, I am not only the vice president of the company, but also a director. The movie I am directing is "Transformers". Do you think the special effects of "Kung Fu" can be more than "Transformers"? ”

“So special effects are not an excuse. I read the entire script very carefully and made a professional evaluation. I also have the outline of the movie in my mind. ”

“30 million US dollars is too much. 22 million US dollars is the price MGM is willing to pay. ”

Hearing this price, the faces of the three people in Xinghui changed, and they directly cut 8 million US dollars, which was lower than their psychological expectations.

After finishing the script of "Kung Fu", Stephen Chow planned to come to Hollywood to attract investment, because the cost of more than 200 million yuan was not affordable for both Hong Kong and the mainland.

Even if they could afford it, they would lose interest when they heard that Stephen Chow was directing and acting himself, because your box office appeal is not good.

The investment in Hero was given for Jet Li's face, and Zhang Yimou was nothing in Hollywood.

Stephen Chow first approached Miramax, which was responsible for the overseas distribution of "Shaolin Soccer". He thought that the Weinstein brothers would be generous with their successful cooperation last time.

But the result was that he thought too much. Harvey Weinstein directly cut it in half and was only willing to invest 15 million US dollars.

Then he approached New Line, Lionsgate, Disney, etc., but they either looked down on it or the investment amount did not meet their psychological expectations.

A few days ago, he went to Sony Columbia to lobby. Columbia was willing to invest, but it insisted on 20 million US dollars and would not invest more.

Finally, we came to MGM. Starlight has almost run through all the big Hollywood companies. The experience is similar to that of the Olsen sisters in attracting investment for "New York Time".

Stephen Chow's face was solemn: "Eric, I think..."

Eric interrupted directly: "Stephen, $22 million is already the highest price. I think it is difficult for you to find a company more generous than MGM in Hollywood."

"After all, there is no Jack Chen and Jet Lee in your movie. Without them, it is difficult for Chinese movies to be popular."

"Maybe my words sound a little harsh, but this is the fact. You should understand and hope you understand."

Seeing Eric's attitude, Stephen Chow knew that it was useless to say anything. In business, liking your movie and being willing to invest in you are two different things.

It's like falling in love. You don't need to spend money to secretly love someone, but you have to spend real money to pursue them.

You want to fall in love without money? You think you are a good brother!

After thinking for a while, Stephen Chow asked, "Eric, if Star Shine accepts MGM's investment, what are you going to take away? How much will I have to pay?"

Eric smiled. Columbia could only offer 20 million US dollars at most, and he had 2 million more than it.

2 million might be a drop in the bucket in his eyes, just the money for a movie of AK Films.

But in Stephen Chow's eyes, it was not US dollars, but 16 million Hong Kong dollars. The environment they were in was completely different.

What's more, he had never cooperated with Columbia before. They were both strangers. Of course, he would listen to whoever gave more.

"Stephen, I'm an investor. The copyright belongs to MGM first, and then it's distribution. MGM has the distribution rights all over the world, except for those specific places where it will be difficult."

"You mean the Middle East, China and other markets?"

"Yes, in fact, MGM is planning to open a branch in China. I have a feeling that in a few years, the market there will usher in an explosion."

"This is a good idea. Taking advantage of this opportunity of "Kung Fu", you can set up a branch in Hong Kong."

Eric shook his head slightly: "Forget about Hong Kong, its market is shrinking, I prefer Yanjing."

Chow Sing-chi did not express more opinions on this matter, because he knew very well that the Hong Kong market was indeed seriously shrinking, otherwise co-productions would not be popular now.

After chatting for a while, Stephen Chow said that he would consider the investment carefully, rejected MGM's dinner invitation, and left with Star Shine's people.

After another week of screening, "Saw" was also about to be taken off the screen on a large scale.

Now only the more remote small towns are still showing. Since the premiere time in these places is later than that in big cities, it will be postponed for about a week, but it is just a mosquito leg.

In the last week, the box office of "Saw" in North America closed at 6.1 million US dollars. This is the result of large-scale screening. The profits of each cinema have bottomed out. It is time to make way for new films.

The overseas box office closed at 20.69 million US dollars this week. It will be time to take it off after another week of screening. The global box office is currently 3.7 billion US dollars.

In this week, "Catch Me If You Can" and "Chicago" were also taken off on a large scale.

"Catch Me If You Can" had a North American box office of about 600 million US dollars and a global box office of about 500 million US dollars, which is worthy of Spielberg's reputation.

"Chicago" was miserable. It was first hit by "Sharknado". The shark just swam away and the chainsaw came to cut its feet again.

Even with the blessing of the Oscar nomination, the North American box office was still not as expected. Analysts predicted that North America would be 500 million US dollars, but in the end it only got more than 85 million.

The overseas market was in the same situation, and the global box office finally received 4.5 billion US dollars.

Compared with its production cost of 45 million US dollars and the high cost of publicity and promotion, this box office result can't make a lot of money.

It can only be regarded as Miramax's bad luck. After the Oscars, the Weinstein brothers will find ways to slowly make money from the copyright DVD.

The investment in "Kung Fu" went very smoothly, unexpectedly smoothly.

Just two days later, Stephen Chow came to the door again, and the two parties signed the contract directly, and the law came into effect.

What Eric didn't know was that in the past two days, Stephen Chow made another offer to Sony Columbia, hoping to get an investment of 25 million US dollars.

But Columbia insisted on 20 million US dollars, and it was impossible to get more than one cent, even if he reduced it to 23 million.

Then there was no choice. The road to Hollywood was equivalent to the end, and MGM was indeed the best solution.

The content of the contract was very lengthy, but there were only a few key clauses.

First, the copyright of the film is completely owned by MGM. Except for the mainland of China, MGM is responsible for the publicity and promotion.

Second, since Xinghui has completely given up the copyright, Stephen Chow's dividend must be increased by 3 percentage points. The screenwriter, director, and leading actor are all in one, and they can share a total of 12% of the gross box office profit.

As for the fixed salary of his screenwriter, director, and actors, this is part of the film cost and is within the 20 million US dollars.

Third, the cost issue, MGM will send a producer to supervise the work on site, but after all, it is filmed in China, and MGM cannot control it so much.

So if the cost of the film is overspent, the overspending will be made up by Xinghui, and Xinghui cannot make other requests on this basis.

This is mainly to prevent Stephen Chow from giving himself a sky-high salary, or joining other actors to get a sky-high salary.

The last item is the issue of distribution in Mainland China. Xinghui is responsible for the details and how to deal with it. Eric doesn’t know why Stephen Chow insists on adding this item. It is most likely because of kickbacks or private channels.

It's just an undeveloped market. It doesn't matter to MGM, which earns dollars, as long as it wants to give it to him.

According to the terms of the contract, the "Kung Fu" crew must start filming by May 10 this year at the latest, and MGM will send someone to participate.

The two wine glasses clinked together, and Eric smiled.

"Stephen, I wish our cooperation well!"

"Smooth cooperation!"

Eric took a sip of the red liquid and said, "By the way, there is one more thing I want to trouble you with. Do you know anyone in China? I want to complete the establishment of a branch as soon as possible."

MGM gave Xing Fai a favor on the issue of mainland distribution, and Stephen Chow naturally wanted to reciprocate the favor.

"I have a good relationship with Han Sanping of China Film Group. If MGM needs it, I can be an intermediary for introduction."

Hearing Han Sanping's name, Eric nodded secretly. If he remembered correctly, although this man has not yet taken the position of chairman of Huaying, he is also the vice chairman.

Moreover, he has a strong voice in the company, is in charge of production, and Huaying controls the introduction of overseas films, so he is a person worthy of friendship.

Eric smiled: "Okay, I have also heard of Han Sanping. Let's say hello to Director Han when you go back."

"Help me find out what's going on. If he welcomes it, MGM will send someone there as soon as possible."

"I think Director Han has no reason not to welcome him. Eric, just wait for the good news."

After seeing Xinghui away, the Olsen sisters came to the door.

Double Star Entertainment is also in Los Angeles. The two parties are actually not far apart. If the traffic conditions are good, it can be reached in half an hour by car.

Seeing the sisters, the young receptionist was so surprised that she ran to ask for an autograph and a photo.

In the words of this little girl, I grew up watching your dramas, and you are my childhood idols.

The Olsen sisters were originally very happy to meet fans, but when they heard the word "childhood", they suddenly felt disappointed.

If they don't think of a way, their popularity will really disappear, and by then I'm afraid they won't even be able to keep their childhood fans.

"Ashley, Mary, welcome."

I hugged the two sisters respectively. One smelled faintly of roses, but Eric couldn't smell the other.

"I haven't seen you for over a week. How are you doing?"

Sister Mary Olson smiled bitterly: "This is a difficult time. We also found a professional script doctor, hoping to modify and improve "New York Hours", but the effect is still not good."

"Eric, maybe it's like you said, if you want to get this script done well, you have to tear it down and start over."

"Alas! You are still thinking about "The New York Hour". With all due respect, that is rubbish. It is really not worth wasting time on such a thing."

The Olsen sisters looked a little embarrassed, but they still said helplessly: "You are right, we even asked top screenwriters to re-evaluate, but it is indeed a piece of garbage."

"So what else is there to consider? You must transform, and it is urgent. "Adele's Life" is undoubtedly the best opportunity."

Sister Ashley said: "Eric, Mary and I have been discussing your suggestion for a long time. We discuss it almost every day."

"But we are sisters after all. This is difficult. We don't know what the consequences will be, good or bad?"

"Really? But I don't think so. You have been in the industry for many years. You don't understand that every movie is a gamble, a gamble on money and a gamble on reputation. If you can't let go of anything, maybe child stars are the most suitable for you. path of."

It's really incredible that biological sisters play lesbians.

But the word child star once again pierced the hearts of the two sisters like a knife. Now that they are here today, they already have a tendency in their hearts, but they lack the final push.

And Eric was the hand they found for themselves.

As the saying goes: Madness is like gravity, all you have to do is give it a little push.