Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 383 Business Negotiations Are Similar to Negotiating Dowry
After seeing Huang Xiaoming off, Zhang Chen was getting ready to go to bed. Before going to bed, he glanced at his phone and found that he had missed a call.

The missed call was from Diane. Zhang Chen called back and the call was connected quickly.

"Thank goodness, Zhang, I thought you were asleep?"

Zhang Chen knew that Dai An always paid attention to the time difference when she called him. This time she called him at this time, it must be something urgent.

"Nothing, I'm not asleep yet. I had some things to do during the night. I didn't hear my phone vibrate. What's up?"

"It's like this. We have edited a version of "Hold Your Breath" and want you to take a look. If it's okay, I want to release it as soon as possible~"

"Hold Your Breath" is Cube's first work, and Diane is anxious to see her return on investment as soon as possible.

“When do you want it to be released?”

"I'd like it to be this month if possible."

"So anxious? Is everything okay?"

"Don't worry, the audience for this type of film is very fixed, and it doesn't need as long a promotional period as other movies. I want to release it early to see how the response is. If it's good, I'll start a sequel right away~"

Diane is a professional in this field. Since she says it is possible, then it should be possible.

Zhang Chen believed in her judgment.

"OK, I'll take a look and get back to you as soon as possible~"

After hanging up the phone with Diane, Zhang Chen checked his mailbox and found a video file that had been sent to him.

The video is not very large, and Diane has obviously processed the format, otherwise it would not be possible to send it in its original format via email.

The Internet speed in 06 was really slow as a snail. Zhang Chen fell asleep while the download task was running. He wanted the download to last at least several hours.

When I woke up in the morning, the video had indeed been downloaded.

After making a phone call and asking the hotel to deliver breakfast to the room, Zhang Chen started watching videos while having breakfast.

The breakfast in Yinchuan is similar to that in Xi'an, with nationally popular foods such as soy milk, fried dough sticks and steamed buns, as well as local specialties such as mutton soup with steamed buns and roujiamo.

Zhang Chen was not used to eating something so hard for breakfast, so he simply ordered soy milk and fried dough sticks.

This version of "Don't Breathe" lasts a total of 81 minutes.

This type of film actually sells the creativity of the story, and the requirements for the film itself are not that high.

As long as the rhythm of the film is right, it doesn't matter who shoots it.

Long before filming began, Zhang Chen had read Fed Alvarez's storyboards and storyboards. As long as Alvarez followed these, the quality of the film would not be too bad.

The movie begins, and the opening scene is three thieves planning to steal from a blind old soldier.

Enter the plot quickly.

This is also one of the characteristics of this type of film, which is the fast pace.

Other types of movies with big investments may have a slower pace, and usually start in reverse chronological order, with a fight or a big scene placed in the front to attract the audience, and then the origin of the story is narrated from the beginning.

But low-budget horror films are generally not like this. They tell the story in the normal order, but at a very fast pace.

But the purpose is the same, which is to attract the audience to continue watching.

The old soldier was blind and looked very weak.

The three men broke into the room through the window, placed drugs, and then found that the basement door was locked, so they broke it violently.

Unexpectedly, the old soldier who should have been unconscious suddenly appeared, and then the blind old soldier turned into a killing god, easily killed the little black man with a gun, and scared the female thief next to him so much that she dared not make a sound.

The old soldier thought there was only one thief, so he killed him and disposed of the body, then sealed all the doors and windows.

During the process, they found the thieves' shoes and learned that there were other people in the house.

The chase begins.

This story is very interesting. The party that should have been at a disadvantage turned out to be too strong. The thieves, who had more people and weapons, were the ones being hunted.

The details inside are also well set up. Because he is blind, the blind veteran is very familiar with his home. He knows that the other party came in from the second-floor window just by stepping on the broken glass.

Because he is blind, his sense of smell is more acute, and he smells the stinky shoes, which drives the development of the story.

The most interesting thing is that there are no strictly good guys or bad guys in this story.

Neither the pursuer nor the pursued are good people.

Zhang Chen read it from beginning to end and felt that there was no problem.

Alvarez did not make the mistakes that new directors often make. Of course, it may also be that Diane was very strict and all his filming was based on the previous storyboard.

There is nothing wrong with the rhythm.

Zhang Chen called Diane back, "There's nothing wrong with the movie."

"Okay, then I'll start discussing the release with the people at the theater chain."

It is conceivable that as a less well-known company without any successful works, Cube would definitely not be able to get very good resources at the beginning.

But as he said, the audience for this type of film is very fixed and doesn't even require special promotion.

As long as the quality of the film is decent, there should be a basic line for the box office.

But Zhang Chen doesn't need to worry about these, Diane can handle everything.

After breakfast, almost everyone below had gathered.

Every morning, after breakfast, everyone was taken to the set in a large sedan.

Zhang Chen appeared, and everyone greeted him:

"Director Zhang~"

"Hello Director Zhang~"

"Good morning, Director Zhang~"

Zhang Chen waved his hands one by one.

He got on the bus and sat in his special seat. Before he sat down, he took a special look at Huang Xiaoming and Qin Lan behind him. Hmm, they looked radiant.
When we arrived at the set, the props team had already arranged everything.

Otherwise, the props team must be very tired. Before shooting starts every day, they have to arrive at the scene earlier than others to make arrangements.

After the day's filming is finished, they still need to pack up the props and other things, and they are often the last group to leave.

Shooting begins.

After a few days of running-in, everyone gradually adapted to each other's styles, and they had more and more tacit understanding with each other, so the speed of shooting increased.

Today's filming went particularly smoothly. Many scenes were passed in one or two takes.

After another scene was finished, the assistant came running over and handed Zhang Chen his phone: "Director, Mr. Chen Xi just called and told him to call back when you have time~"

Because "Painted Skin" uses live sound recording, everyone's cell phones were strictly muted during filming.

Zhang Chen’s cell phone has been placed with his assistant.

While preparing for the next scene, Zhang Chen called Chen Xi back. Chen Xi's voice came from the other end: "The people from CJ Entertainment have arrived. They are the head of a business unit at the Korean headquarters and the person in charge of the domestic branch..."

Zhang Chen glanced at the busy set and said, "Then you entertain them first. When we finish work at noon, I will go meet them~"

"Ok."

As long as the filming of a movie starts, the drama will definitely be the most important thing, and everything else will take a back seat.

Not to mention Xijie, who is just insignificant, even if Han Sanping came, the work cannot be stopped because of this.

The filming continued until almost noon, when Zhang Chen finished the last shot:
"Click, we're done. Take a two-hour break at noon and continue in the afternoon~"

After Zhang Chen finished speaking, he threw the director's megaphone to Wu Shixian next to him and instructed, "If I'm not back by then, you and Cheng Er will take the lead~"

With the two people's consent, Zhang Chen walked towards the car outside the set.

A van had been waiting for a long time. Zhang Chen got in and the car drove him towards the hotel.

Not long after, he returned to the hotel and met Chen Xi and people from CJ Entertainment in the hotel cafe.

According to Chen Xi's description, there were two people from CJ Entertainment, one was a senior executive from the Korean headquarters, and the other was the head of the domestic branch.

Seeing Zhang Chen coming, the three people who were sitting and chatting stood up. Just from their positions, Zhang Chen could roughly guess who was the senior executive of the Korean headquarters.

Chen Xi smiled and said, "Director Zhang, you are here. Let me introduce you to Director Zhang Chen, who you are looking for. This is Zheng Changsheng, the executive director of CJ Entertainment. The other one is Zheng Xiuhe, the manager of CJ China Branch."

Judging from their names, both of them are Korean.

Zhang Chen nodded, and Zheng Changsheng on the opposite side was the first to extend his hand and said, "Hello, Director Zhang Chen, I have heard of your name for a long time~"

Oh, you can speak Chinese?
Although he still had a slight accent, he was already quite fluent. Zhang Chen was a little surprised and shook hands with him: "Hello, Mr. Zheng's Chinese is really good."

Zheng Changsheng laughed and said, "I studied in your country when I was young, so basic communication is no problem."

"Everyone please take a seat, let's sit down and talk~"

Zhang Chen asked everyone to take a seat, ordered a cappuccino for himself, and then looked at the two people opposite him.

He originally thought that the other party would get straight to the point, but he didn't expect Zheng Changsheng to act like he was just chatting and kept rambling on.

Sometimes we talked about CJ Entertainment's status in South Korea, and sometimes we talked about the cooperation between CJ Entertainment and New Line. They are currently doing the post-production of "A Quiet Place", and CJ Entertainment is responsible for the distribution in South Korea.

Of course Zhang Chen knew CJ Entertainment, which occupied half of the Korean entertainment industry and owned one-third of the theater resources in South Korea. It was truly a giant.

It is said that he is also one of the shareholders of Hollywood DreamWorks.

Compared with others, his Star Entertainment is a complete noob.

But he didn't want to keep listening to the guy opposite him bragging.

Although the other party's tone was respectful, he still inadvertently revealed a sense of superiority.

Zhang Chen suddenly remembered a joke: Koreans generally seem to dislike Chinese people. Why?
Because Chinese people don't eat watermelon rinds~
Because instant noodles are junk food in China~
Because their state banquet in China is just a condiment station~
Whenever Koreans brag on stage about how great their nation is and how excellent their history is, the Chinese will just eat a watermelon and throw away the rind to make them lose their defense.

Zhang Chen shook his head, threw away the irrelevant thoughts, and looked at Chen Xi. The latter shook his head slightly, indicating that they had not discussed the main business in the previous contact.

Zhang Chen really didn't want to continue arguing with the other party, so he deliberately looked at his watch and said, "I have to shoot a scene this afternoon, so let's get down to business. I wonder why Executive Zheng came here this time?"

Zheng Changsheng was stunned for a moment, then immediately smiled again: "Sorry, sorry, I'm just used to it. Once I start talking about something I'm interested in, I can't stop talking~"

Zhang Chen smiled and nodded: "It's okay, it's human nature, I can understand~"

Zheng Changsheng smiled and leaned back on the sofa. Zheng Xiuhe said, "Director Zhang Chen, we came here mainly for the remake rights of "I Saw the Devil"~"

Seeing that the person who spoke turned out to be Zhang Xiuhe, Zhang Chen understood that this was probably a strategy of the other party.

Zheng Xiuhe will be the one to negotiate the matter. If they fail to reach an agreement, Zheng Changsheng can step in and there will still be room for a turnaround.

If Zheng Changsheng were to come up first, and if he and Zhang Chen failed to reach an agreement, whoever backed down would seem to lose face.

This thing is actually similar to discussing the bride price.

If the parents of both parties sit down to talk at the beginning, if the girl's demands exceed the boy's expectations, it is likely to reach a deadlock.

Therefore, when discussing the betrothal gift, many young lovers first discuss it privately:

How much does your family want?
Is that a bit too much?
I'm afraid my family can't afford so much?
Can you have less?
Of course there will be some tension in the middle:
Will the betrothal gift be given to you as private money, or will it be withheld by your family?
Take it away? Give it to your brother? Isn't this inappropriate?
In fact, every step of the young couple's feedback has been discussed with their families, but letting the young couple talk about it themselves will not hurt the face of both families.

Once the young couple has communicated well with each other, the two families have actually communicated well with each other.

As for the rest, even if the parents of both sides find a time to meet together, the discussion at that time will be just a formality.

As for the agreed upon betrothal gift, it is completely stupid to increase the price at the last minute when picking up the bride.

Zheng Changsheng launched Zheng Xiuhe, and Zhang Chen naturally retreated behind the scenes, replaced by Chen Xi.

So in the current situation, Zheng Changsheng and Zhang Chen are the parents, Zheng Xiuhe and Chen Xi are the young couple, and the two main parties in the negotiation have become them.

"I wonder how much you are prepared to pay for the Korean remake rights of 'I Saw the Devil'?"

"US$60 for the rights to remake the movie within five years." Zheng Xiuhe quoted her price.

Chen Xi rejected this price without even looking at Zhang Chen's expression.

He shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that won't work. If you really want it, please show your sincerity~"

Zheng Xiuhe had obviously anticipated this situation: "Then I wonder what your price is? If the difference is not too big, we can still negotiate~"

Chen Xi shook his head again: "If CJ Entertainment wants to remake "I Saw the Devil", then the price should refer to the normal market price. I don't think I need to remind you of this. There are already many mature examples..."

Zheng Xiuhe wanted Chen Xi to make an offer, but Chen Xi would not do as he wished.

He had discussed this with Zhang Chen in advance.

In the past two years, Hollywood has bought the remake rights of many scripts from Asia, including "Seeing the Ghost" and "Infernal Affairs" from Hong Kong, and "The Ring" from Japan.

He couldn't remember how much "The Ring" sold, but he knew that "Seeing the Ghost" sold $120 million and "Infernal Affairs" sold $175 million.

If CJ Entertainment wants to buy the remake rights for “I Saw the Devil,” they should at least take these into consideration.

You want to get it for $60? What a joke!
Zheng Xiuhe saw that Chen Xi was not a fool who knew nothing, and knew that her little trick would probably not succeed. She glanced at Zheng Changsheng next to her, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "How about one million US dollars? This is our greatest sincerity."

The greatest sincerity means the highest offer.

Chen Xi shook his head again.

Zheng Xiuhe was a little anxious: "Ms. Chen Xi, this offer is already very high. As far as I know, "Seeing Ghosts" only sold for 120 million US dollars, but that should have proven to be a successful work. "I Saw the Devil" has not been released yet. I'm afraid it's not appropriate to ask for the same price~"

What the other party said seemed to make sense, but Chen Xi sneered and said, "Then I suggest that you consider remaking it after "I Saw the Devil" is released. If the box office is not ideal, you can stop the loss in time~"

Chen Xi's words were like directly poking the other party's lungs. Zheng Xiuhe suddenly didn't know how to talk about it and looked at Zheng Changsheng next to her for help.

Zheng Changsheng also frowned, pondered and said nothing.

Chen Xi continued: "There is one more thing I need to remind Manager Zheng. I Saw the Devil is not a mainland film project, but a Hollywood one. It is the product of cooperation between New Line and Director Zhang Chen. So, strictly speaking, what CJ purchased was not the remake rights of a mainland film project, but the remake rights of a Hollywood film. I think you still understand this difference~"

Chen Xi still understands Koreans. Once something involves an American father, it will immediately become different.

Chen Xi was nominally talking about Zheng Xiuhe, but his eyes were looking at Zheng Changsheng.

Zheng Changsheng frowned and said nothing, obviously weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

This time, their target price was actually 100 million US dollars. The 60 offered at the beginning was just a test to see if Zhang Chen understood the market conditions.

But unexpectedly, $100 million could not satisfy the other party's appetite.

Zhang Chen looked at his watch again, he was a little impatient.

He simply bypassed Chen Xi and said directly to Zheng Changsheng: "Director Zheng, to be honest, I don't actually want to sell the remake rights of "I Saw the Devil". For me, the profit from selling the remake rights and selling the distribution rights is actually not much different. It's only because of our cooperation on "A Quiet Place" that I am willing to talk about it. But if this is your psychological price, I think we don't need to talk..."

Since Zhang Chen came forward, Zheng Xiuhe naturally had no chance to speak.

Zheng Changsheng said, "I wonder what Director Zhang's target price is. To be honest, this offer has exceeded our expectations..."

"$200 million."

Zhang Chen quoted his own price, which he had considered over and over again.

For films like "I Saw the Devil", it is generally unrealistic for South Korea to profit from the distribution, and the copyright is most likely sold outright.

Generally speaking, selling outright copyright costs around 300 million US dollars.

Zhang Chen offered 200 million US dollars, and the other party still had some profit.

"Sorry, Director Zhang Chen, I need to ask the headquarters for this price~"

Zheng Changsheng did not make a decision immediately, but said that he could not make the decision.

Zhang Chen didn't know whether he really had no say or it was another negotiation strategy, but he was too lazy to pay attention.

"Okay, Executive Zheng, take your time to think about it. I have to shoot a movie this afternoon, so I'll excuse you~"

Having said that, he stood up and left with Chen Xi.

It was not until the two of them left the hotel and got into the car that Chen Xi dared to ask, "You offer such a high price, aren't you afraid of scaring them away?"

Zhang Chen curled his lips: "If you can't accept it, then at worst I won't cooperate. I didn't even think about selling the adaptation rights~"

He said this, but suddenly thought of something in his mind.

"I Saw the Devil" was originally a Korean script. After he adapted it into a Hollywood script, it was still noticed by the Korean side.

This is not history being silently corrected, but South Korea just likes this tone.

This reminded him.

Why doesn't he sell those original Korean scripts back to them? There are still many good Korean film scripts, and many of them are very extreme. They can only be filmed in Korea. If they are filmed in other places, the results may not be impressive.

The more Zhang Chen thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. South Korea is the second largest voting base in Asia, second only to Japan.

Isn’t it great to make money from Koreans?

Of course, setting up a branch in South Korea and shooting directly is out of the question. Without resources and theaters, will people allow you to come in and reap the benefits?
Not to mention eating meat, even drinking soup is not allowed.

The Korean entertainment industry is the back garden of the chaebols. Will they allow a foreigner like you to get involved?

But you can't eat alone, you can cooperate with them~
Find a guide, distribute the movie in the name of a Korean film company, and just act as an investor. There should be no problem.

The more Zhang Chen thought about it, the more he felt it was feasible. He suddenly turned around and asked, "Chen Xi, are you willing to go to Korea?"

(End of this chapter)