Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 208 Scared
In fact, Cao Yang also considered that if Columbia chose the North American Christmas season, the current domestic market conditions would definitely not be able to accommodate two movies with box office revenues of over 100 million yuan at the same time.

He didn't have much objection to postponing the domestic release date to next year's summer vacation or other period.

He is not obsessed with simultaneous global releases.

However, the media obviously wants to watch the fun more than the little cannon, and is more willing to see quarrels. Watching the fun or deliberately creating fun is the original intention of the media.

This is even more evident in the Hong Kong media.

Cao Yang has just responded to Columbia and President Han, and basically agreed to postpone the domestic release of "District 9".

Before the news was even released, the Hong Kong media broke the news, and the topic was very eye-catching.

It was announced in North America that "District 24" would be released on Christmas Day on the th. A Hong Kong reporter interviewed the Hong Kong actors from the "Kung Fu" crew, saying that "District " might conflict with the release date of "Kung Fu" in China, and asked them what they thought about it.

"Zhou Xingxing is the pride of Hong Kong. When he was an actor, he was invincible in the same period. Now that he is both a director and an actor, there is no need to be afraid of anyone."

"There's nothing to be afraid of about the release date clash. Kung Fu is a very good movie. There's no need to be afraid of a mainland director."

"I know Director Cao Yang, he is a very good director of art films, but in the field of commercial films, especially in the Chinese-speaking regions, Stephen Chow's appeal is unmatched."

"In Hong Kong, there is only one situation: when it comes to Stephen Chow's movies, the one that is withdrawn is always the rival."

"That's a bit troublesome indeed. Director Cao Yang, like Director Sunglasses Wang, has made great achievements in the field of art. Several of his films have done quite well at the box office in Hong Kong. However, Stephen Chow's films have never been afraid of anyone."

……

Although there are relatively sober Hong Kong actors, most of them definitely know about Cao Yang. They know that he is an art film director and that he has won many international awards, but it is not to be said how well they know him.

Cao Yang seldom uses Hong Kong actors, so the Hong Kong media is reluctant to report him. In addition, those actors generally have blind trust in Stephen Chow and are prejudiced against mainland actors and directors, so it is normal that they don't have a deep understanding of Cao Yang.

Most people only know that he is a very famous art film director who has won many awards.

But in the minds of Hong Kong people, what are award-winning art films like?
The mainland, including Hong Kong, is almost entirely filled with ignorant, backward, superstitious, marginalized, and small-time people...

How can the box office of such an art film compare with that of Stephen Chow?

Prejudice and ideas are deadly!

As soon as these reports came out, many people and companies began to panic.

Who is Cao Yang?

Maybe if you tell some filmmakers in Hong Kong how awesome Cao Yang is in Europe and how many top awards he has won, they may not feel much.

But when it comes to Hollywood and the Oscars, it’s a different story.

Cao Yang is a popular director in Hollywood. He has won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, and has also produced an Oscar for Best Actor!

Are these shocking enough?

If that's not enough, use what they can intuitively feel.

I won’t talk about how many awards “Mean Milk” won, I’ll just talk about the box office.

The North American box office was 1.46 million US dollars, the domestic box office was 2.03 million US dollars, and the global total was 2.84 million US dollars!
This is intuitive enough.

There is also the recently released "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox", which is a pure Chinese costume film. It took in 2.13 million yuan in China, nearly 6000 million yuan in North America, and 1.3 million US dollars worldwide.

Intuitive enough.

If that’s not enough, let me give you a more intuitive one.

Although "District 7000" is a co-production, it was invested with million US dollars. Note that it is US dollars.

The protagonist is Oscar winner Depp, and the heroine is said to be Oscar winner Charlize Theron. Even the supporting roles are Ian McKellen, who plays Gandalf, and Samuel L. Jackson, who won the Berlin Best Actor Award.

If a director like this and a movie like this compete with "Kung Fu" in the same period, do you still think that a mainland director is nothing to be afraid of?

Those Hong Kong actors who had spoken in front of the media were all dumbfounded when they heard their agents recounting Cao Yang's "achievements". How could the mainland produce such an awesome director?

Isn’t Cao Yang an art film director?

How could a director of an art film earn so much box office revenue?
Then they thought of the Oscar-winning Best Picture, and they all wanted to take back what they had said. This is a big Hollywood director who is much more powerful than Li An and Wu Baige!

It has box office success and can also promote celebrities, so it's more than just one plus one. No wonder Cao Yang is said to be a hot director in Hollywood.

What should we do now?
The Hong Kong media has already reported it, and the words cannot be taken back.

Apologize privately?
There must be a private channel for that.

After teaching his artist a lesson, the agent quickly contacted Wu Qihua to express his apology. All agents knew that Wu Qihua's current status was brought up by Cao Yang.

Then, the agent quickly arranged for familiar reporters to teach his artist word by word how to say and explain it.

There is no way. Many of Hong Kong's early artists dropped out of school early. Some went through training courses, some were spotted on the street, and some entered the industry by accident. To say that they had great knowledge and experience is completely self-deception.

"Director Cao Yang is a world-renowned director. His films are both profound and box office hits. He is a rare director who combines commerce and art. I think it is a very bad thing to have a conflict of schedule with Director Cao."

"The schedule clash is terrible. Director Cao Yang is so awesome. He is a big Hollywood director, very scary. Don't listen to what some tabloids say. I respect Director Cao Yang very much."

"I know Director Cao Yang. He is a very powerful director with extremely high box office. He is very appealing all over the world and even more so in China. You must not clash with Director Cao's schedule."

"In Hong Kong, there is only one situation: if it happens to be Stephen Chow's movie, the one who will withdraw the movie will always be the rival. But in mainland China, with Hollywood big directors like Director Cao Yang, a conflict in schedule is a very bad situation, so don't do it."

"That's a bit troublesome indeed. Director Cao Yang, like Director Sunglasses Wang, has made great achievements in the field of art. Several of his films have done very well at the box office in Hong Kong. A release date clash is the worst case scenario."

……

Well, some of the things that were said can still be taken back.

Columbia Pictures Asia was very panicked after hearing the initial remarks and was ready to mobilize their relationships to get those people to change their tune. However, they didn't expect that before they could make any move, their agency couldn't sit still anymore.

There was no way. The agency had many contracted actors, and these companies knew something about Cao Yang's influence and power. They had also received calls from President Han and President Wang of Huayi. They could not afford to offend Cao Yang.

Due to ideological issues, Hong Kong is a bit like the United States. They still respect capable "authorities". Columbia is panicking, but Huayi is even more panicking than Columbia.

Cao Yang’s two most recent films have grossed over 200 million yuan in China, which is an even more impressive result than Zhang Yimou’s, and he also ranks first in domestic box office.

If Cao Yang wanted to take revenge and put the release date of "District 9" between "A World Without Thieves" and "Kung Fu", considering Cao Yang's box office appeal in China, you can imagine how uncomfortable Huayi would be.

What's more, "District 7000" announced that it had an investment of million US dollars and was marketed as a co-production, but in fact it is a Hollywood science fiction blockbuster. As long as this kind of movie is above the standard, it will definitely be a hit in China.

In fact, after a few ignorant actors in Hong Kong spoke out, everyone knew that Cao Yang had already been set up.

No matter how they try to remedy the situation, they can't change this.

Because of their remarks, if the release of "District 9" is postponed in China, it will leave people with the impression that Cao Yang is afraid of Stephen Chow, so he postponed the release.

Columbia has a headache because both "Kung Fu" and "District 9" were invested by Columbia.

President Han is the one who gives him the most headache.

This is truly an unforeseen disaster.

"A World Without Thieves", "Kung Fu", and "District 9", all three movies have the participation of China Film Corporation. Is it fun to fight against yourself?

Cao Yang had already agreed to postpone the domestic schedule, but a few arrogant people made a mess of things.

These bastards screwed it up.

Even if Cao Yang wanted to postpone the schedule now, it would be impossible for President Han to agree to it for both moral and logical reasons.

Mr. Han has a scale in his heart, and he can still tell what is important and what is not.

There is no need to weigh the pros and cons. Stephen Chow is very good. His last movie "Shaolin Soccer" broke the box office record in Hong Kong and earned 6000 million in Hong Kong.

But what can I do? I still can't compare with Cao Yang.

What's more, Cao Yang and I are now family members, and the others are outsiders.

Since the two movies have the same release date, forcing them to be released will not be good for either movie, so just withdraw one of them and change the release date.

As for which one to remove, it is obvious.

What is Colombia's opinion?

At first they wanted to play dumb and get away with it.

Since the release date of District 9 has not been announced yet, while the release date of Kung Fu Movie has been confirmed and a lot of publicity expenses have been spent, it would be better to postpone the release of District 9.

The postponement of the release has little impact on District 9.

Before Cao Yang could say anything, President Han spoke up, "No, Kung Fu must be withdrawn from the schedule. This is a matter of principle and there is no room for negotiation."

The postponement of the release will have little impact on "District 9", but it will have a significant impact on Cao Yang's reputation. It is impossible for people who don't know the truth to think that Cao Yang is afraid of Stephen Chow.

Columbia Pictures Asia is really having a headache.

They are in control of "Kung Fu" and own the copyright. They spent more than 10 million US dollars in real money. The other parties can only be considered as investors, and none of them, including Stephen Chow, enjoys the copyright.

As a result, disagreements arose between Columbia Pictures Asia and its headquarters.

Columbia Pictures Asia felt that the promotion of "Kung Fu" had been going on for such a long time that the release could not be easily postponed, which would definitely have an adverse impact on the film and potential audiences.

It’s not that people will be more looking forward to the movie after it’s postponed, but rather that they will think that you obviously have no confidence in the movie and that’s why you’re avoiding it.

How can you make the audience look forward to a movie that you yourself have no confidence in?

Since District 9 hasn't announced a release date in China, what's wrong with delaying the release? Your headquarters is really useless, you can't even get a director.

But the headquarters felt that how could a Chinese-language film compare with Cao Yang’s potential value?

The actual investment in "District 4800" was 1.4 million US dollars, and the investment in "Kung Fu" was 1700 million US dollars. According to the exchange rate, it is only million US dollars.

The market for District 9 is global, while the main market for Kung Fu is still mainly in the Chinese-speaking region.

Cao Yang is not only a top director in the Chinese-speaking world, but also a popular director in Hollywood. Zhou Xingxing is just a famous director and top actor in the Chinese-speaking world.

In fact, there is nothing to weigh the pros and cons of. Regardless of anything else, the fact that Cao Yang is considered a big director in Hollywood is enough.

Cao Yang is not just a director. He is not only good at winning awards but also good at promoting people. The most important thing is that he has many popular novels that can be adapted into movies.

It can be said that the entire Hollywood is now waiting for the release of "District 9", wanting to see the quality of this movie adapted from the novel.

If "District 9" becomes a big hit, Cao Yang will be more than just "hot" in Hollywood.

Although Columbia Pictures Asia has a certain degree of autonomy, it is impossible for it to openly go against the headquarters and can only do other things quietly.

The domestic investor of "Kung Fu" is Huayi. According to convention, Columbia is responsible for overseas copyrights, while Huayi is responsible for domestic promotion and distribution.

At this stage, Huayi has always cooperated with China Film Group in distribution. Since China Film Group wants to withdraw the film from the Christmas schedule and is unwilling to distribute it, can we negotiate with China Film Group to take back the distribution rights?
Columbia Pictures Asia approached Huayi and asked them if they were willing to issue the film separately, and they would provide the greatest assistance.

Huayi is confused. Will it stop cooperating with China Film? Will it continue to release the film as planned? Will it continue to compete with Cao Yang's "District 9"?
No, brother, what are you talking about?

The Wang brothers are not stupid. The film "A World Without Thieves" that they are in control of is still on schedule. What if Cao Yang retaliates and advances the schedule, directly blocking "A World Without Thieves"? What should they do then?
You Columbia are very powerful, but Huayi is still a small company at this stage. We dare not offend China Film and Cao Yang at the same time!
Huayi rejected Columbia's private communication with Asia without hesitation.

Columbia Asia had no choice but to let Barbara Robinson, president of Columbia Asia, who had been pushing for the matter, get so angry that she threw a cup.

Therefore, "District 24" announced that it will be released simultaneously in China and around the world on the th, just like in North America.

Then a few days later, "Kung Fu" announced that it would withdraw from the Lunar New Year schedule due to technical reasons and would be moved to May Day next year.

Director and starring actor Stephen Chow is said to be very resentful privately and couldn't help complaining during an interview.

"I'm just a director. I can't influence the technical issues of a film company. In Hong Kong, it's rare for a film to be postponed due to technical issues. This is so unprofessional..."

(End of this chapter)