Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 160 President Han's Exclamation
There are really not many directors who can get a share of the total box office.

Cao Yang understood this based on information from later generations.

Peter Jackson, the director of "The Lord of the Rings", is very powerful. He can get about 20% of the net profit of the box office, not the total box office, but the net profit.

Zack Snyder, the director of "Man of Steel", took about 10% of the box office profits for directing this movie, but it was not a share of the total box office.

On the contrary, Nolan directed "Inception" and because he was the project initiator, producer, director, and screenwriter, he received 10% of the total box office share.

But when directing "Inception", Nolan had already directed such blockbuster films as "Memento", "Days of Night", "Batman Begins", "The Prestige", and "The Dark Knight".

He has proven himself sufficiently. All of these movies have been a great success in both word-of-mouth and box office, which qualifies him to get a share of the total box office.

Cao Yang estimates that Colombia's bottom line will never exceed 10%.

However, there is still a loophole here.

Because Cao Yang wants to make it a co-production, Columbia cannot invest all of it. They will only invest about 60% at most.

The budget of the film was not that big to begin with, so Columbia might not have been so persistent with this "small amount of money".

Let’s try to talk again. They are the ones who are anxious anyway.

At worst, we can just say we don’t want to make co-productions. There are domestic companies that want to invest, so let’s see what they do.

Of course, at the current stage, this kind of movie, which costs 40 to 50 million US dollars to invest, still cannot do without the American market. Otherwise, it will be difficult to recover the cost, let alone make a profit.

What's more, Cao Yang also wants Colombia to operate the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars.

Why did all the above companies intervene in the end of Zhang Yimou's "Hero"?
Harvey Weinstein's Miramax Films paid a huge price to purchase the copyright.

It is said that Miramax spent 2000 million US dollars to purchase the copyright of "Hero" in the United States, Britain, Australia, Italy and other places.

If he defaults on his debt, Zhang Weiping, Zhang Weiping and Jiang Zhiqiang from Hong Kong will probably all cry.

After another two days of delay, Cao Yang revealed the news through Berman that several private film companies in the country also wanted to get involved and were prepared to raise funds for the filming.

Colombia compromised and gave the final bottom line.

In addition to all the conditions agreed upon previously, the initial box office share was also 9%, and it is impossible to increase it further. If they increase it further, they will really just walk away.

In the field of commercial films, Cao Yang certainly cannot compare with Nolan when he was about to make "Inception". 9% is 9%. The key is that this movie was a success and it can set a precedent.

Next, we need to talk about how to make it a co-production, which requires bringing in China Film Group Corporation, and only China Film Group Corporation has the capability to do so.

China Film Corporation would certainly be happy to do so, as President Han has long had the idea of ​​co-producing a blockbuster film.

Not only Mr. Han, but also all domestic film companies with a little bit of strength are very keen on co-production at this time.

The domestic market is not good and everyone wants to earn US dollars.

As a member of Beijing Film Academy, Qingdao Film Studio has to have some symbolic involvement, which is a good political achievement in this era.

As for the share, let them negotiate it themselves. Columbia is more proactive in this regard than other Hollywood film companies.

Cao Yang called Mr. Han from China Film Corporation.

"Director Cao, you are such a busy man, why did you think of calling me?"

President Han received a call from Cao Yang and asked with a smile.

Cao Yang didn't bother to be polite with him and got straight to the point, saying, "Boss Han, this is the case. A senior executive from Columbia came and wanted me to make a science fiction film. Are you interested?"

President Han was excited and couldn't help asking, "Director Cao, is this the Asian Columbia Film Company in Hong Kong?"

It's too small, your vision is narrow, Mr. Han, you need to think bigger.

"No, they are from the US headquarters. They valued one of my novels and wanted me to adapt it into a script and then film it."

Cao Yang explained with a smile: "It's a science fiction film. The investment amount is not large, about 40 to 50 million US dollars. I think it's okay, so I thought of President Han and asked him if he wanted to make a co-production together?" President Han was shocked that someone from Columbia's headquarters had come in person.

Forty to fifty million US dollars, that's an investment of three to four hundred million. Can you say that the investment amount is not large?
As expected of a great director, he has a different vision.

Mr. Han doesn’t like anything else except big things, the bigger the better.

The greater the support, the greater the support.

Great, it’s great to have a co-production. Mr. Han was so happy that he almost slammed the table.

"Director Cao, you thought of me, Han, for this opportunity. Really, brother. I won't say any more polite words. Thank you very much. China Film Group will definitely participate. Brother, let's work together to make it bigger and stronger, break out of Asia and go to the world."

"Okay, Mr. Han, it's settled."

After Cao Yang hung up the phone, Mr. Han happily started singing a model opera. While singing, he was suddenly stunned and then he remembered what Cao Yang had just said.
Columbia took a fancy to one of his science fiction novels and wanted to adapt it into a movie, so it came to China specifically to find him.

When did this guy start writing novels?
Is this such an awesome novel?
Even Columbia sent senior executives to discuss film adaptation.

This young man is really extraordinary!
Similarly, Hou Keming was also very excited when he heard that Qingying Studio also had the opportunity to participate in this co-production. The amount of investment did not matter, what was important was participation.

Just think about it, if a blockbuster movie that sells well in Hollywood has the words "Qingying Studio" in the subtitles, what a great political achievement that would be.

"District 07" was originally filmed by a South African director in 08 and 3000, with a total investment of around million US dollars.

The reason why the cost is so low is that there are no big-name actors used, and the leading actor is an unknown little actor in South Africa.

Another reason is that most of the scenes in the film were shot in South Africa, which greatly reduced costs.

There is another important reason. Although Image Engine, the company that produced the special effects for this film, was founded in Vancouver in 95, it has never had the opportunity to participate in the production of Hollywood films.

In order to take on the special effects production of "District 9" and also to make a name for themselves, they charged extremely low fees.

All in all, this is the reason for the low cost.

This is also the reason why Columbia initially budgeted the film at $5000 million.

In their opinion, the cost for the actors alone would be at least around $1000 million.

However, Cao Yang has different ideas about the film.

What's the highlight of this movie? The leading actor?

Obviously not.

This movie is anti-traditional. The aliens who came to Earth became refugees, objects of discrimination and oppression, and weak people who were arbitrarily abused or even killed.

This is the main point.

So for several major roles in the film, Cao Yang wanted to find a domestic actor to play the male lead, but he wondered if Colombia would agree.

I think we can probably negotiate it. After all, this is a co-production, and there must be an important role for a Chinese. The male lead is not the main attraction, so maybe it can work.

In fact, Cao Yang wanted to try and see if he could produce a world-class actor who was no less famous than Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie.

Only by producing world-class actors who can attract box office success can the director's ability be highlighted.

The role of the somewhat cruel commander is very important, and a well-known second-tier Hollywood actor could be found to play the role as the highlight of the film.

Of course, if Colombia does not agree to a Chinese being the protagonist, then this role will most likely be given to a Chinese.

The protagonist's father-in-law is the director of the company entrusted with supervising the aliens, a typical politician.

For the sake of profit, he can sell out his son-in-law without hesitation and give him to a white actor in Hollywood. This is in line with their political ecology.

(End of this chapter)