Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 226 Cooperation again
Why did Cao Yang want to make "Inception"?
It can be said that most people who have seen this movie would say in their hearts, "It's awesome," right?

This is a classy movie.

The themes of the film involve dreams, subconsciousness, reality and illusion. These philosophical contents can easily trigger thinking and add depth.

The multi-layered narrative structure is also a key point.

The film has a nested dream structure, with different levels of time passing at different speeds. This complex design requires the audience to concentrate to understand it, which may make people feel that the film has more connotations.

In addition, when the character asks, "Isn't the waking world also a kind of collective dream?", the film touches on the Eastern philosophical thinking of Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly.

This is also more likely to cause deep thought and debate among the Chinese people.

If we say that this is another experimental film, no one will doubt or deny it.

Cao Yang just won the Oscar for Best Director. If he can make another movie like "Inception", to put it in a more pretentious way, his "godhood" will be consolidated.

It is hard to say what his status is in Hollywood, but in China, he will definitely be the undisputed No. 1 in the future. He is someone that can be registered with the highest levels. As long as he doesn't commit suicide, no one dares to do anything to him.

Tom Rossman frowned and fell into thought.

Before this, Tom Rothman and Columbia had never considered making Inception.

They only hesitated between "2012" and "The Hunger Games", and finally chose "2012" because of the global box office of "The Day After Tomorrow" which sold 5.5 million US dollars.

As for Inception?
Tom Rothman did watch it, too.

"Inception" and "2012" are both novels in "Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey ", and he read all five chapters in it at the time.

To be honest, among the four stories, "Inception", "Interstellar", "The Martian" and "Gravity", except for "Inception" which he didn't quite understand, the other three all have a bit of "hard" science fiction flavor.

Tom Rothman thinks that Cao Yang, a director, doesn't know much about science. Will his "hard" science fiction have many loopholes? If there are logical problems, it will be easy for opponents to seize the handle and attack after the film is made.

Therefore, "2012" is the best choice.

Is there any point in watching something like "Inception" that made him dizzy at the time?
“What’s the budget for this movie?”

Tom Rossman thought about it for a while and asked.

Since Cao Yang wanted to shoot this, even if Tom Rossman was not interested in it, he had to ask everything clearly and go back to discuss whether Columbia would agree or not.

Tom Rothman actually understood that with Cao Yang's current popularity, as long as he proposed a movie he wanted to make, Columbia would follow suit even if they were not optimistic.

The most we can do is to attract a few more investors to share the risk.

No, no, no, before Cao Yang failed, bringing in investors was not called risk sharing. This was Colombia's "great mercy" in giving them a chance to participate.

I think there are still many production studios willing to get involved.

Hollywood studios are also very "superstitious". They are "superstitious" about big directors, especially big directors like Cao Yang who have never failed.

Cao Yang has roughly calculated the budget of the film. He replied: "Because I want to use real scenes for many places, I need a budget of about 1.6 million."

Tom Rothman breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, fortunately, Columbia gave 2012 a budget of about 1.8 million, while Inception only cost 1.6 million...

What a bullshit actually!

"2012" is a comprehensive consideration. Combining various factors, Columbia feels that there is a two-thirds chance of success.

What the hell is "Inception"? A stream-of-consciousness movie that required an investment of $1.6 million! Judging from what Cao Yang said, even $1.6 million might not be enough.

At this moment, Tom Rossman didn't think of giving up.

The first thought that came to my mind was not to find a partner to share the risk, nor to go to the bank for financing to reduce the risk, but to think of the private equity funds that have entered Hollywood in large numbers since last year.

In 04, private equity funds and hedge funds on Wall Street joined the ranks of film investors in the form of film investment funds. The common nature of high risk and high return made this method of third-party equity financing quickly popular.

It has even caught up with the situation in the past where films were mainly financed through bank loans, becoming another popular option in Hollywood today.

To put it bluntly, the advantages of private equity funds are too obvious.

The most important point is that the use of funds is more flexible and not as "strict" as bank supervision.

This gives major studios more room to "maneuver" and greatly reduces their own risks.

In addition, private equity funds can take advantage of policy advantages in different regions due to the choice of registration place.

For example, tax avoidance through a Cayman Islands structure, or tax incentives in Ireland and Luxembourg can reduce production costs.

The production cost is transferred through IP licensing fees, and the effective tax rate is reduced to 9.7%, which is much lower than the 21% in the United States.

At the same time, you can also get government subsidies through different strategies.

Private equity fund co-producers can obtain 25% tax rebate in the UK + 20% location subsidy in New Zealand, and can also add EU MEDIA program financing...

The more Tom Rossman thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Private equity funds have their own methods of analysis and calculation, but no matter what the method is, the director's role in a movie is definitely one of the most important.

Cao Yang, who just won the Oscar for Best Director and has never failed, his films are the best choice for any private equity fund.

What if it’s Cao Yang plus Depp, who won the Oscar for Best Actor for two consecutive years?

Tom Rothman suddenly remembered that "Inception" seemed to be a team of protagonists, so what about adding a few big stars?
Will private equity funds be scrambling to get in? Then we can talk about it.

Using the money from private equity funds to share Columbia's risks can also reduce production costs. Maybe we can give it a try?
"My dear director, this matter is not in Columbia's plan. I will go back and discuss it and give you a perfect answer as quickly as possible."

Tom Rossman came and left in a hurry.

Not long after he left, President Han came over and chatted for a while before asking tentatively, "Junior brother, Columbia wants to implement 1+1?"

President Han still has some understanding of the 1+1 plan reached between Columbia and Cao Yang.

Ever since "District 9" broke the domestic box office record, Mr. Han has been wondering if China Film Group will have a chance to follow up again?
The revenue generated by "District 9" is really huge for President Han, mainly as a political achievement.

He believes that with the success of District 9, Columbia and Cao Yang's next film plan will only be bigger.

"Well, Columbia wants to make 2012, and the budget is $1.8 million."

"How many?"

Mr. Han heard clearly the US$1.8 million, but he still suspected that he had heard it wrong.

Not to mention 1.8 million US dollars, even 1.8 million RMB is a maximum investment for the country. Currently, the only movies released that have reached this level are those starring Zhang Yimou and Cao Yang.

1.8 million US dollars...I can’t even imagine it.

Converted according to the exchange rate, this is almost 15 billion RMB!
It’s almost catching up with the total national box office in China in 04!

"US$1.8 million, but I refused it," Cao Yang said with a smile.

Rejected... Rejected...

These words kept echoing in President Han's ears, so much so that he opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.

I have so much to say that I have to get it out, but I swallow it back when it reaches my lips.

Junior Brother, do you know...

That's an investment of 15 billion, why did you refuse it?
It’s fine to refuse, but that’s a 15 billion investment. What if it goes wrong... I don’t know what the hell to say!

"I don't want to shoot 2012 right now. I have a Chinese-language art film to shoot, which I will push forward as soon as I return."

Cao Yang said with a smile.

"Uh……"

President Han had a lot to say again. He wanted to grab Cao Yang's neck and lean over to his ear and ask loudly, "Why don't you make a movie with a 15 billion investment and make a Chinese-language...art film?"

Uh, art films are good. As directors, we should make art films...

But that was a huge production with an investment of 15 billion!

There are definitely no more than ten directors in the world who are qualified to use so much funds!

I guess there are only five at most!
As a traditional director, Mr. Han felt that if Cao Yang wanted to make a pure art film, he should have been very supportive.

But no matter how traditional a director is, he can't ignore the 15 billion budget, right?
"I……"

President Han originally wanted to say that he supported Cao Yang in making art films, but the weight of 15 billion yuan suppressed what he wanted to say next.

"In fact, I want to shoot another movie called Inception. This movie requires a lot of real scenes and CG. The preparatory work alone will definitely take at least half a year. I can use this time to shoot that Chinese movie."

Cao Yang saw that President Han was feeling uncomfortable, so he quickly explained with a smile.

"How much to invest?"

As soon as President Han opened his mouth, he wanted to slap himself. I am a director with a traditional background, when did I become like this?

Art!

Movies are art, how can they be associated with the abominable world of money?
"About $1.6 million, right?"

After hearing what Cao Yang said, Mr. Han heaved a sigh of relief for some reason, and even thought involuntarily, fortunately, 1.6 million US dollars is not bad, although it is not as exaggerated as 15 billion RMB, but it is more than 13 billion...

"Brother, would you like China Film Corporation to invest a little and make it into a co-production again?"

Before Mr. Han could say anything, Cao Yang asked again.

Mr. Han shuddered and felt numb all over his body.

"Can...can you?"

"If I say yes, then it's definitely possible."

Cao Yang has already made a plan. Not only China Film Group, but also Qingdao Film Studio will be involved, as a gift to Hou Keming and Xie Xiaojing for their new appointment.

A total of 20% of the investment quota was left for China Film Group and Qingdao Film Studio, and they were allowed to divide it among themselves.

"Snapped!"

President Han slapped his thigh, a little out of control with excitement.

"Done!"

In the afternoon, Fox Searchlight sent a car to pick up Cao Yang, and Cheng Jianye came along.

During this period, Cheng Jianye has been staying at Fox Searchlight, supervising the post-production of "Juno", fearing that the editor would distort the story.

"Juno has been roughly cut into a three-hour version, and I've been watching the whole process, all within the scope of the script."

Cheng Jianye said to Cao Yang in the car.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Cao Yang patted Cheng Jianye on the shoulder.

He was still very satisfied with Lao Cheng. He was down-to-earth, hard-working, and most importantly, obedient.

When they arrived at the editing room, Cao Yang watched the rough cut and found that it basically did not deviate from the script. Cheng Jianye's supervision work was still very good.

This movie doesn't have any big scenes and doesn't require any special editing techniques. It just needs normal narration and tells the story clearly.

After discussing with the editor for a while, Cao Yang could see that the editor had a good grasp of the story framework and did not have any special ideas, which was very good.

So he instructed the editor to cut a version between ninety minutes and two hours.

This version of time is almost the final version.

We'll see if we're satisfied then.

In the evening, Jason Simmons, president of Fox Searchlight, came specially to invite Cao Yang and Cheng Jianye to dinner.

During this period, he tentatively asked Cao Yang what his next plans were, and Fox wanted to cooperate with Cao Yang.

Note that it is not Fox Searchlight, but the parent company 20th Century Fox that wants to cooperate with Cao Yang.

Cao Yang had just won the Best Director award and was at the height of his popularity. The photo of him having dinner with the president of Fox Searchlight was published in many media outlets the next day.

Fortunately, Cheng Jianye was also present at the scene and was included in the filming, otherwise, who knows how it would have been choreographed.

The paparazzi and tabloids in Hollywood are not much worse than those in Hong Kong.

Most newspapers reported that Cao Yang might cooperate with Fox.

The first ones to get restless were Columbia and Tom Rossman, even though I was the first one to arrive…

In fact, cooperating with Cao Yang again is the unchanging premise.

As for which movie to collaborate on, Columbia certainly preferred "2012", but since Cao Yang was unwilling to shoot it, there was nothing they could do.

Let "Inception" be "Inception". At most, we can bring in a few more investors or private equity funds to reduce the risk.

Of course, this is all later.

What Columbia needs to discuss and decide beforehand is how much share it can give to Cao Yang and what the company's bottom line is.

In "District 9", because the investment in the film was not large at the time, Columbia gave Cao Yang % of the total box office share.

"District 9" was a huge hit at the box office, and Cao Yang won the Best Director award. His share of the prize can't be lower than that of "District 9", right?
Colombia has never reached an agreement on how much box office share to give to Cao Yang.

It was not until many media reported that Cao Yang had dinner with the president of Fox Searchlight that Columbia quickly reached an agreement.

Precisely because Columbia's expectations for "Inception" were not as high as those for "2012", their bottom line was a little lower.

Cao Yang did not expect that he only proposed 13% to Tom Rossman, and Tom Rossman symbolically "resisted" and actually agreed!

He actually agreed!

Everyone in Caoyang was a little dumbfounded.

In his expectation, for a super production like "Inception" with an investment of 1.6 million US dollars, after "tough" negotiations, he could get 10% or 11% of the total box office share, which would be the ideal situation.

Who knew that the other party would agree so easily?

That’s a bit low!
(End of this chapter)