Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 540 Being both a master and a father

After three months of screening, Pacific Rim is finally taken off the screen.

The box office data was also counted. The global cumulative box office was 6.8 million US dollars, slightly lower than the 7.18 million of "Transformers", but the domestic box office was 5.5 million RMB, twice that of "Transformers".

All I can say is that the home advantage is obvious.

After all, it is the first science fiction blockbuster in China, and everyone is very supportive.

Warner Bros. was not at all unhappy about being overshadowed by "Transformers". On the contrary, everyone was filled with joy.

As a blockbuster, Pacific Rim is absolutely qualified.

When "Pirates of the Caribbean 1" was released, the global box office was only 6.5 million US dollars, which was not as good as "Pacific Rim".

But the advantage of a series is that its box office is higher than the previous one. Last year's "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" had a global box office of an astonishing 9 million.

The subsequent box office results of the "Pacific Rim" series can also be imagined.

"David, have you discussed the sequel of Pacific Rim with Zhang?"

Some people in the high-level meeting are already eager to start filming the sequel.

"Of course, this is the script and project plan..."

As David Heyman finished speaking, his secretary distributed the information to the executives.

The conference room fell silent for a moment, leaving only the rustling sound of papers flipping.

hiss~
There were gasps, and then someone exclaimed, "This guy wants to link the sequel of Pacific Rim with King Kong?"

The others saw almost the same position and gasped in unison.

"Yes."

David Heyman was calm and composed. When he first learned the news, he had the same expression as the guy in front of him, but now, he was the calm one.

Everyone in the conference room looked at each other, and no one was the first to express their opinions.

"This guy probably wants to use King Kong to help Hong Huang gain popularity..."

Some people saw through Zhang Chen’s little trick at a glance, but what could they do?
Zhang Chen was really not afraid of being discovered. Even if someone asked him in person, he would dare to admit it directly, that he wanted to use King Kong to carry the sedan chair for Honghuang.

King Kong is extremely well-known. He was born in 1954 and has appeared in countless movies so far. He is a household name in North America.

In comparison, Honghuang is too young.

Although he performed well in "Pacific Rim", he appeared relatively late and his influence was very limited.

So Zhang Chen arranged for Honghuang and King Kong to form a partnership.

Of course, they were definitely rivals in the beginning, and then they became allies because of a powerful enemy.

The official name of "Pacific Rim 2" is "Pacific Rim: Inside World", but it would actually be more appropriate to call it "Pacific Rim: Prehistoric".

The story tells of Honghuang following the corpse of a level 5 Kaiju beast into a wormhole and then exploring the inner world.

In this play, Honghuang is the protagonist.

There are all kinds of monsters in the other world. Honghuang, as an invader, fights his way through, and among them is King Kong.

King Kong is also the king of the inner world. When he saw Honghuang, the invader, he was naturally unhappy and the two sides started fighting.

The deadly fight between the two sides was temporarily stopped because of the appearance of a giant octopus. The giant octopus actually tried to take advantage of their fight and was eventually eaten by the two beasts.

King Kong and Honghuang went from being enemies to temporary partners. Although they were not partners yet, they were no longer as hostile to each other as they were at the beginning.

At this time, humans sent an expedition team into the other world. Fat Fan drove the Storm Red to escort them and also searched for Honghuang's whereabouts.

The expedition team was attacked by a local monster called the Skeleton Crawlers.

There are so many monsters that Storm Red can only protect himself but not enough guards.

Honghuang appears and helps Baofeng Chihong deal with the skeleton crawlers.

The Skeleton Reptile Lord appeared, and it turned out to be a level six Kaiju, and he also had a group of level four subordinates.

On the eve of the final battle, Dangerous Wanderers appear and King Kong shows up to fight the Skull Crawler Lord and his minions.

The story is not complicated, with two narrative lines.

There is one line for the primitive world and one line for the exploration team, and eventually the two lines merge.

Everyone in the conference room, look at me and I look at you.

"David, tell me what you think. Do you think it's feasible to link up with King Kong?"

David is a gold medal producer and one of the producers of Pacific Rim 1, so his opinion is crucial.

David looked around at everyone: "I think this plan is feasible~"

"What's the reason?"

"In Pacific Rim 1, the mechas have already gained popularity. In Pacific Rim 2, we can all see that Zhang wants to make Hong Huang the second King Kong. This is a very good idea.

Don’t forget, we are also one of the copyright holders of Pacific Rim.

The richer the characters in Pacific Rim are, the greater the benefits to us.

We can make monster movies, we can make mecha movies, and we can also make mecha monster movies!
Zhang even said that if it is successful, Japan's Godzilla could be introduced later.

Haha, what is this?
This is the Mecha Monster Universe!"

The concept of the universe has existed for a long time, but it was mostly in the field of comics.

However, it does not affect everyone's understanding of what the Mecha Monster Universe is.

"So, you agree?"

"Of course!"

David Heyman shrugged, and after the others exchanged glances, some expressed their opinions:
"I agree~"

"I agree~"

"I think the Mecha Monster Universe is a good idea~"

"Then let's vote by raising our hands~"

After a while, the general direction was finalized.

More than half of the executives agree with the Mecha Monster Universe.

"Okay, go and negotiate with Universal about the copyright of King Kong in person..."

The copyright of King Kong is very complicated. Currently, the copyright of the novel and publication of King Kong is in the hands of the creator of the novel.

After the creator passed away, the copyright was inherited by his son.

But the film rights to "King Kong" are in the hands of Universal.

If Warner Bros. wants to connect Honghuang and King Kong, it will inevitably have to go through Universal.

On the same day, David informed Zhang Chen of the board’s decision.

Zhang Chen was not surprised at all.

In the original time and space, the Monster Universe was created by Legendary Business and Warner.

And that’s just the MonsterVerse.

Now with the addition of mechas, anyone with a little vision would not refuse this good opportunity to make money.

In fact, there was one thing Zhang Chen missed, which was Warner Bros.’ attitude towards him.

The success of "Pacific Rim" gave Warner a huge boost of confidence.

The prediction for the future of "2012" is that the possibility of failure is extremely low.

This made Warner want to make friends with Zhang Chen deliberately, and gave the green light to any cooperation with him.

Although they already have the Harry Potter series, who would complain about having too many profitable series of movies?
One month after Pacific Rim was released, it was put online on pplive.

The price Zhang Chen paid for this was that he lost a lot of money from selling DVD copyright.

But the benefits are equally obvious, and the number of pplive users is growing rapidly.

Within one year, pplive has the exclusive broadcasting rights for Pacific Rim in mainland China.

That is to say, if you want to watch this movie online, there is no other channel except pplive.

……

The premiere of "2012" was also held in the Great Hall of the People.

It was the same hall as the last time "Pacific Rim" was screened, and the staff was similar.

Basically half of the entertainment industry came.

The seating arrangement was very particular. State leaders such as Han Sanping, Zhang Song, and Ren Zhonglun, as well as heads of major theater chains, sat in the first row.

Huo Wenxi, Wang Changtian, Chen Xi, Yu Dong and other bosses of film and television companies and those top celebrities are in the second row. Chen Daoming, Liang Jiahui and Ge You are all in this sequence.

The people at the back were basically arranged together who knew each other. There was an area that was obviously for students from Beijing Film Academy. People like Tian Zhuangzhuang, Fu Donglai, Jiang Wei, and Xue Xiaolu were all here. From time to time, you could see people like Ning Hao and Lu Yang coming over to say hello.

There is a name on each seat, so no one is afraid of sitting in the wrong seat, and no one dares to sit in the wrong seat.

Ever since Peng Yuyan was humiliated by Zhang Chen in public last time, no one dares to play such a trick anymore. Didn't you see that Peng Yuyan is now a stink on the street~
There is still some time before the show starts, and everyone is walking around and greeting people they know.

At this time, Da Tiantian was visiting Johnnie To. The project of "The Witch" was approved and jointly invested by Xingchen Entertainment and Starry Night. The director recommended by Zhang Chen was Johnnie To, but whether he could be invited depended on Jing Tian's ability.

The script had been sent to the other party two days ago, and Jing Tian came here specifically to say hello and get acquainted with him.

Lu Zheng, as always, opened the way with money: "Director Du, if you are willing to direct this play, the fee is negotiable. If you want to invest, we can also give up a portion of the share..."

For Xing Guang Canlan, it doesn’t matter whether she makes money or not. As long as Jing Tian becomes popular, nothing else matters.

Although Du Dapao is a director with a relatively unique personality, he has long heard of Jing Tian's name.

I've heard for a long time that there is such a wealthy sponsor in the circle who has plenty of money and a strong background.

Not only can she act in Zhang Chen's plays, but even Zhang Chen's movies that fail to pass the censorship have to ask her for help.

He thought he would be an arrogant and domineering person, but when he actually met the person, he found that she was a quiet and gentle girl, and very polite.

But the guy next to him, who reeks of money, is really generous when he spends money.

"I'll go back and take a good look at the script, and then we'll talk about it in detail..."

In fact, Du Dapao was ready to agree, but he had to maintain the style of a great director and it was impossible for him to give up on the spot.

Deep down, he was actually reluctant to direct the film because the story of "The Witch" itself was not interesting.

The plot is very simple, it's about a girl who escaped from a laboratory and started killing people.

Of course, some tender elements are also added, such as the longing for family and friends.

"Actually, I'm very curious, why did Director Zhang recommend me to direct?"

After holding it in for a long time, Johnnie To finally asked what was really in his mind.

“I just happened to know this~”

Lu Zheng smiled and replied, "Because "The Witch" is a bit surreal, Director Zhang said that you are the only one who has relevant filming experience, because you have filmed "The Heroic Trio"..."

In fact, Zhang Chen’s original words were that only Johnnie To and Benny Chan were the most suitable, the former had “The Heroic Trio” and the latter had “Full Alert”.

However, since Chen Musheng has already taken on "Storm", naturally it can only be Lao Du.

Chen Daoming, Liang Jiahui, Ge You, Hu Jun and others walked around and chatted with familiar friends from time to time.

Ning Hao was still at the Beijing Film Academy, while Yang Qing got together with Xu Guangtou and others.

Guangtou Xu has confirmed that he will join Yang Qing's new film "Nightclub".

Even though Guangtou Xu is not from Xingchen Entertainment, he knows more about how Yang Qing got the directing opportunity than most people from Xingchen Entertainment.

He is very good at scheming.

Even though Yang Qing is just a small director now, maybe after one or two plays he will become a figure like Ning Hao and Lu Yang.

At this time, Lu Yang came over.

"Director Lu, Director Yang, I heard that this time we are holding the premiere at the same time as Hollywood?"

Yang Qing didn't know the inside story either, so he looked at Lu Yang, who nodded and said, "Yes, this time the mainland premiere and the North American premiere are held at the same time, so they were chosen in the afternoon. Didn't you notice that Cheng Long and Fan Binbin are not here? And I heard that there will be interactions between the two premieres..."

What Lu Yang said was not a secret. The premiere was indeed held at the same time.

David Heyman is the lead actor on the Hollywood side, and the main creators are Jackie Chan and Xiaopang Fan.

On the domestic side, Zhang Chen leads other supporting roles.

Even though the male and female protagonists are not there, all the necessary links are still there.

The red carpet is still star-studded~
Female stars also seized the opportunity to show themselves.

Fan Xiaopang is now the well-deserved number one female star in China, and the box office is there.

But now that Fat Fan is not here, doesn’t it mean everyone has to show off their talents?
……

The Hollywood premiere was also star-studded.
Warner's advantage as a big company was fully demonstrated, and it invited many celebrities to come and support the event.

Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt...

Many well-known directors also came, including Cameron, Bay, Quentin and Roland Emmerich who attended last time.

Among them, Emmerich even booked a spot for the premiere with Warner early on.

After watching the trailer for "2012," Emmerich became increasingly unconfident.

He felt that even if his own film was made, it might not be able to surpass "2012" in terms of those realistic special effects.

The disaster film project he was preparing with Universal has been stopped.

I can only watch "2012" once with my own eyes. If I really can't surpass it, then I might as well not shoot it.

……

We are still on the red carpet stage, people are coming in one after another, Zhang Chen keeps walking around and greeting everyone.

Occasionally they would stop to chat, but would be interrupted by new people after just a few words.

He was the protagonist of the premiere and also the busiest person of the entire event.

"You're busy, aren't you?"

Just after dealing with one person, I felt someone patted my shoulder. I turned around and it was Uncle Benshan.

"Look at my memory..."

Zhao Benshan must have just walked the red carpet, accompanied by several of his apprentices.

"Director Zhang~"

"Director Zhang~"

Several people greeted Zhang Chen one after another. Although many of them were older than Zhang Chen, they were far inferior in status.

The most popular among them now is Wen Song, because he starred in "Not Short of Money" and "Wulin Wai Zhu Bao Chapter", both of which were produced by Zhang Chen.

Zhao Benshan wanted to ask about buying a plane, but he didn’t explain it clearly last time in the middle of the night.

But because there were too many people around, he didn't say it and instead asked about the movie.

"When do you think it will be a good time to make the second part of "Wulin Wai Zhuan"?"

It was agreed at the beginning that Xingchen Entertainment would be the main investor in the first film, and Benshan Media would follow suit.

For the second part, Benshan Media was the main investor.

Zhao Benshan came to him to find out what was going on.

"It can be this year or next year, depending on your mood. As for the script, you can ask Ning Caishen to write it for you, or you can ask our company's screenwriter team to write it. The main thing is to do a good job of character design. If the character design is done well, the subsequent series will be easier to make, and it will also be easier for you to develop a spin-off TV series later..."

In fact, the two of them had discussed this idea a long time ago, and saying it again now is nothing more than expressing their attitude.

Zhao Benshan was indeed very happy.

"Okay then, let's not bother two people with one thing. The scripts for "Wulin Wai Zhuan 2" and "Que Dao Men" can be handed over to your company's screenwriter team. After the scripts are ready, you can help with the advice and see which of my disciples are suitable..."

When it comes to taking apprentices, Uncle Benshan is really beyond reproach.

In later years, his disciples paid a total of 100 million yuan in taxes, which Zhao Benshan paid out of his own pocket.

His original words were, "My apprentices cannot save money. They spend whatever they have, and it's impossible to take it out even if you ask them to."

So I compensated them and they don’t have to pay it back.

Is it open or not?
In contrast, the other one had a falling out with his apprentice just because the apprentice asked for a salary increase, and the master and apprentice spoke harshly to each other.

He is afraid that his apprentice will suffer, and he is also afraid that his apprentice will drive a Land Rover.

No wonder people in later generations commented that Lao Zhao raised his apprentices as his sons, and Lao Guo raised his son as his apprentice.

I won’t comment on Lao Guo’s, it’s easy to 404!

But Old Zhao really treats his apprentice as his son.

Have you ever seen a company that has a team responsible for urine testing?

Benshan Media has it!

All disciples need to have their urine tested regularly. Even if you are developing outside for a long time, you still need to fly back regularly to have your urine tested.

I have to say, the old man really sees things clearly...

He knows his disciples too well.

Before he became successful, he was a ragtag group of people, working in small theaters.

To put it bluntly, they were all second-rate people, and it was Zhao Benshan who changed their fate.

When people suddenly become rich, it is easy for their mentality to become unbalanced.

If someone else takes them out to play, they can easily go astray.

So he, as the master, became the last firewall.

(End of this chapter)