Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 110 Implicated
It was no secret that Cao Yang was entering Hollywood; Bellman had already spread the news.

When the film really started to move forward, Behrman received numerous calls from agents of actresses, and he could only regretfully tell them that this was a man's play and there were very few female roles.

Even so, in order to establish a good relationship with Cao Yang, many female star's agents said that as long as the role is suitable, even if it is a supporting role, they would consider it.

The seven major Hollywood film studios, plus DreamWorks, which is poised to become the eighth, have all expressed some interest.

They still respect art film directors who can promote people - art films not only require less investment, but art films that win awards will also have good box office results, and are basically guaranteed to make money.

This is actually a remarkable thing.

Before a film project is launched, larger Hollywood film companies will commission a research company to do preliminary research to ensure that the film will make money as much as possible.

Many Hollywood film companies have information about Cao Yang. This young man has risen rapidly in the past two years. Not only did he win the Golden Lion, but more importantly, he produced three Best Actresses.

The last point is what the film companies value.

Being able to promote someone means that movie stars who want to win awards will compromise, take a pay cut, and even personally pay for the event out of their own pockets if they have a chance to win an award.

The reduced pay, the out-of-pocket operating expenses, and the stars' own blessing to the box office are all things that film companies are eager to get.

The first to extend an olive branch to Cao Yang was Columbia Pictures. This is actually easy to understand, as it is usually Columbia that comes forward in the United States, and once the negotiations are completed, Sony Classics will eventually come forward.

Sony Classics focuses on the field of art films.

Columbia offered a budget of 20 million U.S. dollars right away, and said they would not interfere with Cao Yang's creation, but would take control of the project.

That is to say, you have creative freedom and we don't interfere with the content, but I have the final say on the actors and everything in the project.

Simply put, you just need to make the movie according to your own ideas, but we have the final say on the choice of actors, various expenses of the project and the shooting progress.

The conditions seemed OK, at least they did not interfere with the creation. However, Columbia was vague about the final editing rights, which were what Cao Yang valued the most.

Berman told Cao Yang not to panic and not to rush to agree to anything. This was just the beginning, just the trial stage of initial contact, and it was still a long way from the final result.

Well, as a Sony Classics guy, he directly sided with Cao Yang.

Perhaps to reassure Cao Yang, he also told Cao Yang that a big star had contacted him.

"who is it?"

Cao Yang was a little curious.

Berman felt like he had a toothache. He took a breath and said reluctantly, "Kevin Costner, you should have heard of him, right?"

Cao Yang thought about it and asked uncertainly, "Kevin Costner, who won the Oscar for Best Director?"

"Yes, it was this guy who directed and starred in Dances with Wolves. It was nominated for twelve Oscars in 91 and won seven awards, including Best Director and Best Picture."

Cao Yang understood a little. No wonder Berman had a constipated expression.

In terms of fame, Kevin Costner was really big in Hollywood, especially in the decade from 90 to 2000.

It’s just that he was a big shot in Hollywood in the first five years, but the wind and rain were so strong in the last five years that he almost drowned.

In 95, he directed and starred in the $2.5 million film Waterworld, which grossed only over $8000 million in North America.

In 97, he directed and starred in the movie "8000 Ultimate God's Messenger" with an investment of 2013 million yuan, but the box office was less than million yuan.

In 00, he starred in the film " Days Later", which had an investment of hundreds of millions and grossed over million in North America. The failure of the film made Kevin Costner famous in vain, and he could not get rid of the title of box office poison. It is estimated that he will never be able to star in an A-level production in this life.

"Hasn't he always been in the commercial film field? Why does he want to act in an art film?"

Berman shrugged his shoulders and explained with a wry smile: "This is the only way for him to rise again."

"What do you mean?" Cao Yang asked.

"Using him won't do us any good. It may even hinder our negotiations with the studio. He's not just a box office poison."

"Then wait a little longer. I've already read Milk's materials. I'll first build the framework of the script, then fill it with the story, and then find someone to revise it to make it more in line with the local language and the background of the times."

This time, Cao Yang will only write a framework to fill in the story, and he will find someone to localize the rest.

Not long after Bellman left, Cheng Jianye walked in from outside and said to Cao Yang, "Director Cao, I have already found a specialized company to register the company you asked me to register."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. I will try my best to get you a UPM production director position for this project. You can learn more about the operating model of Hollywood. Maybe you will need it when you shoot commercial films in the future."

"Thank you, Director Cao."

Cheng Jianye was delighted, "It doesn't matter what position I take, as long as I can stay by Director Cao's side and handle things within my ability."

"Go away, your flattery is too blatant, it's not helpful at all."

Cheng Jianye chuckled.

Then, Cheng Jianye asked, "Director Cao, are you going to invest in this movie in the name of the company this time?"

Cao Yang shook his head. "Not necessarily. We'll see how the negotiation goes. This movie is just to gain a foothold in Hollywood. There are too few conditions that can be proposed. Besides, it's very easy to be cheated if you invest. We can only wait until we have a firm foothold."

A few days ago, Berman told Cao Yang that in addition to Columbia, MGM had contacted him before Cao Yang came to the United States and asked about Cao Yang's new movie, and seemed very sincere.

However, as Chen Kaige's "Killing Me Softly" was first released in France in early June, the market response was mediocre and the box office was not ideal, MGM's enthusiasm decreased a little.

You know, because Chen Kai won the Palme d'Or, he is very famous in France, but this is not reflected in the box office.

On June 14, Wu Yusen's "Windtalkers" will be released on a large scale in the United States. Starring Nicolas Cage, who is at the peak of his career, the box office should be very good.

But the reality was a flood of negative reviews, saying that Wu Yusen turned a war film into a gangster shootout movie and failed to show that there was a command system when the U.S. Marines fought the Japanese army.

Coupled with the chaotic scene scheduling, there is always a kind of American Marine Corps soldiers who can only shoot randomly with machine guns, and the Japanese can only hide in bunkers and shoot, sneak attack and charge on board.

There are still many unreasonable things that make military fans distracted.

This is reflected in the box office, which is far from expectations. According to the box office trend, it would be good if it could get 4000 million in North America, and it is certain that it will lose money.

Then, with the previous experiences of Chen Kaige and Wu Yusen, MGM began to hesitate about Cao Yang and was a little afraid to invest in Chinese films again.

But Cao Yang didn't care. Now was the most chaotic time within MGM. They just wanted to invest, and Cao Yang still had to consider whether to accept it or not.

A company that is in a mess may have countless troubles.

After Cao Yang finished writing the script, Berman also brought good news. There were two very famous male stars who showed a very strong willingness to cooperate.

　Created a small group, 605650175
　　
　
(End of this chapter)