Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 301 North American Copyright Sold
In the room, Zhang Chen was answering the phone.

"What, you want to be on the talent show?"

The person on the other end of the phone was Dong Jianqiang: "Yes, I think this has great potential. You may not think so since you are overseas recently, but I am in China. Super Girl is really popular and makes a lot of money..."

Zhang Chen rolled his eyes and said, of course it makes money, it’s Super Girl.

Dong Jianqiang continued, "Although the Super Girl competition has ended, Mango TV's road to making money is not over. Releasing records, holding concert tours, do you know how many people are making money from Super Girl? We are losing a lot..."

The final of "Super Girl" was on August 8. Jane Zhang, Chrissie Li, and Bibi Zhou were successfully shortlisted for the top three. The organizer invited Zhang Chen, but he did not go.

But he kept his promise and gave the three people three songs.

"Fairy Tale Town", "Poisonous Mushroom" and "The Untamed".

The three of them also used the songs given by Zhang Chen to compete in the final, which shocked the audience again.

In the end, Li Yuchun was still the champion, Zhang Liangying was the runner-up, and Zhou Bichang was the third place.

I can only say that Li Yuchun is really good. Even with the support of Zhang Chen, Jane Zhang still couldn't take the championship from her.

"There's no question of whether it's a loss or not. The box office of Stone depends on others, and October's Taken also needs the help of Super Girls to call on fans to support it..."

Zhang Chen took out six songs. Dong Jianqiang felt a little unbalanced, but Zhang Chen saw it very clearly.

It's a mutually beneficial relationship. If he didn't contribute six songs, why would he help you promote your movie?

When it comes to the popularity of "Super Girl", it is truly unrivaled.

As for the top three at this stage, their popularity is probably no worse than that of first-tier female singers.

Dong Jianqiang was indeed jealous, as many of his friends in the circle were making money from "Super Girl". As long as they could have a connection with "Super Girl", they could make money.

On the contrary, Xingchen Entertainment, which provided six songs, did not seem to make much money from "Super Girl".

"Okay, we definitely can't do a talent show, at least not in the next few years...

If you don’t believe me, just watch and you’ll see a ton of similar shows pop up soon, and everyone will have the same idea as you.”

He has the memory of later life and clearly knows the power of "Super Girl" in 05.

It is no exaggeration to say that he reached his peak right from the start.

After this year's "Super Girl", similar talent shows have emerged one after another, but none of them has become popular.

In the next 10 years, no talent show can surpass this year's "Super Girl".

The subsequent "The Voice of China" and "China's Got Talent" were at best moderately successful, and seemed to be more well-known than "Super Girl", but this was only because times had changed and the means of publicity had changed.

In terms of influence alone, none of them can compare to this year's "Super Girl".

"Okay, let's stop talking. This is settled. I've also made an appointment with someone to discuss the overseas rights to Hurricane..."

Dong Jianqiang wanted to continue working, but Zhang Chen didn't give him the opportunity and hung up the phone.

He did make an appointment with someone to discuss the overseas rights to "The Hurricane". After "The Hurricane" became a hit in Venice, distributors came to them one after another and wanted to obtain the distribution rights, but the price was never agreed upon.

Looking at his wrist, the time was almost up, Zhang Chen stood up and prepared to leave.

In other cities, people take taxis when going out, but in Venice, taxis are also boats.

But Zhang Chen didn't. He chose to walk because the scheduled meeting place was not far from the hotel where he was staying.

He arrived at the coffee shop and pushed the door open. The doorbell rang as he entered.

After entering the door, he saw a Chinese man in a suit and tie waving at him, and next to him was a foreigner with a stern look in his eyes.

Zhang Chen walked over, and the Chinese man stood up and introduced the two: "Director Zhang, this is Mr. White from 20th Century Fox..."

"Mr. White, this is Zhang Chen, the producer of Taken..."

The Chinese man's name is Li Wenjia. He works for China Film Group Corporation and is responsible for coordinating the overseas copyright of "Taken". After all, they also invested in it, and it was he who helped to contact 20th Century Fox.

The two shook hands and sat down. Zhang Chen casually ordered a cup of coffee: "Mr. Bai, oh no, Mr. White, I want to hear your opinion..."

This White is the only distributor from a large studio that Zhang Chen has contacted recently. He has talked to several others in the past two days, but none of them are at the level of the Big Six in Hollywood, and their bids cannot satisfy Zhang Chen.

White's bid also did not meet his expectations~
"I'm sorry, Mr. White, I can't accept the price of 1000 million dollars." Zhang Chen shook his head. These guys were so cunning that it was harder to get them to offer a high price than to kill them. For such an excellent movie like "Taken", they were only willing to offer million for the North American copyright.

"As far as I know, the production cost of this film is only 1500 million US dollars. If you are only willing to sell the North American copyright, then 1000 million is already very high. After all, we also took the risk."

Zhang Chen continued to shake his head: "You should have seen the movie and have some understanding of its quality. Taken is a movie that is bound to be a big hit. It is impossible for you to get the North American copyright from me at the price of 1000 million..."

White couldn't be convinced by just two sentences: "Zhang, we are really sincere. The price of 1000 million US dollars is already the highest record of this Venice Film Festival."

Zhang Chen smiled and waved his hands, continuing to shake his head.

White made a conflicted expression: "How about this, we add another 500 million, but we buy the global copyright."

Zhang Chen was almost laughing at him: "Are you kidding me? If I want to sell my movies in bulk, do I need to come to the film festival? You can ask around. All my previous movies were sold to Columbia for 2000 million..."

White knew that Zhang Chen was right, but he was not prepared to follow Zhang Chen's ideas.

"Zhang, I must remind you that Taken is different from your previous films. It's an action film. In recent years, action films are no longer popular in the market. Even Jack Chen's films didn't do well at the North American box office. So I think you may have overestimated the potential of Taken. I admit that it's a good film, but a good film may not necessarily do well at the box office..."

"If that's the case, then I think we may not be able to achieve this cooperation."

As Zhang Chen was about to leave, White finally said, "Zhang, how about we both take a step back? $1500 million for North American copyright, or $2000 million for global copyright~" After saying that, White looked into Zhang Chen's eyes.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Chen continued to shake his head.

Li Wenjia next to him didn't say a word, but he was actually more nervous than anyone else.

1500 million US dollars, which is over million RMB. But even so, Zhang Chen is still not satisfied. What exactly does he want?
But before coming, Han Sanping had specifically instructed that he was only responsible for introductions, and most of the rest would be entirely up to Zhang Chen, so even if he was anxious, he couldn't say it out loud.

Zhang Chen had no idea what Li Wenjia was thinking. He just felt that the price of 1500 million US dollars was too low.

"I'm sorry, White, I can't accept your offer. The North American rights to Heroes were sold to Miramax for 2000 million. Do you think Taken is not as good as Heroes?"

White had already greeted the Weinstein brothers and their families in his heart, but he still had to explain: "Since you mentioned Hero, you should also know that Miramax's offer of 2000 million was a premium. If it was sold at the market price at that time, Hero would not be sold for 2000 million US dollars at all."

What White said was correct, and later news did say so. Miramax paid a premium for Hero at the time, and the reasons were complicated. It was partly because of Li Guanjun's introduction, and partly to clear out competitors, because Miramax had another movie at the time, and Hero was its biggest competitor.

"Haha, why don't we stop here today and let's all think about it..."

Zhang Chen suddenly wanted to end it. Li Wenjia didn’t know whether he didn’t want to talk anymore or was trying to retreat in order to advance.

White was a little anxious.

Of course he knew that Taken was a good movie, otherwise he wouldn't have wanted to get the distribution rights.

Sticking to the price is just a professional habit.

But Zhang Chen's difficulty gave him a headache.

There are not many North American film producers coming to Venice, so he still has a chance.

But he and Li Wenjia had learned from others that after Venice, Zhang Chen was going to Toronto. By then, other companies would surely be interested in "Hurricane", and with the emergence of new competitors, it would be even more difficult to negotiate.

"Director Zhang, maybe we can cooperate in a different way. Instead of buying the copyright outright at a flat price, we can give the movie to Fox and distribute it. As an investor, you can share the box office profits. What do you think?"

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

This time Zhang Chen was really angry.

This White is obviously trying to trick himself.

The examples of "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" are there. If you choose to share the box office profits yourself, won't you be ripped off and left with nothing?
Seeing that cooperation was failing, Fox was preparing to snatch the business away.

Zhang Chen stood up and was about to leave, but Li Wenjia quickly stopped him: "Director Zhang, if you have any questions, we can just talk about it. Don't be angry..."

Zhang Chen shook his hand off angrily: "I don't want to end up like Peter Jackson~"

After this reminder, Li Wenjia understood what was going on.

Although the Harry Potter incident had not happened at this point in time, the Lord of the Rings incident had already happened, in which Peter Jackson was cheated. The latter even took New Line to court.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across White's face, but he immediately returned to normal.

"Director Zhang, you may have misunderstood. Since you don't accept my proposal, I would like to hear your offer..."

Zhang Chen was no longer excited at this time and sat back in his seat: "North American copyright is 2000 million US dollars."

"This is impossible, Zhang, you are too greedy~"

Zhang Chen sneered: "You are too greedy. You can ask Columbia how much money they made from my previous works. In comparison, I can get the North American copyright for 2000 million US dollars. I am simply doing a good deed~"

"Hero" is a miracle. In its previous life, the global copyright revenue of "Hero" exceeded 4000 million US dollars, which is unmatched by any Chinese-language film.

Zhang Chen also wanted to give it a try and see if "Taken" could sell to this level.

Moreover, "Hurricane" sold very well all over the world in the previous life. Now that we have produced an enhanced version, it shouldn't be worse.

"White, I think you are missing out on a gold mine. Director Zhang Chen is going to Toronto soon. By then, you will have more competitors. And according to our plan, I will contact New Line and Columbia soon. They have all worked with Director Zhang before and understand his value better. The price they offer should be higher..."

At this time, Li Wenjia finally figured out his position and started to assist from the side.

White knew that these two guys were putting pressure on him, but what they said was true.

Given Zhang Chen's relationship with those two companies, it is possible that the other party would offer a higher price.

"Zhang, please wait for me for a moment. I need to consult the head office about the price of 2000 million~"

In the end, White didn't want to give up this opportunity and ran to make a phone call.

He had to consult the headquarters for such a large amount.

"Of course." Zhang Chen drank coffee leisurely.

Li Wenjia also relaxed and asked quietly: "What if they really don't agree?"

"If you don't agree, then don't cooperate. Gold will always shine. If Venice can't sell, I don't believe Toronto can't sell either~"

Zhang Chen is full of confidence in this.

After a moment, White returned and held out his hand: "Zhang, the head office has agreed. I wish us a happy cooperation."

Zhang Chen also smiled at this time: "Of course, believe me, you won't regret it."

(End of this chapter)