Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 348 explores comparison
What happened next was even more unacceptable to Zhang Ziyi.

“Honey, you and Director Cao Yang are both Chinese, so you must be quite familiar with each other, right? Could you invite him out for a meal? It would be best if you could visit each other often and become good friends.”

Ivy Nevo was visibly excited when this was mentioned.

Foreigners are generally quite direct, so Ivy Nevo didn't beat around the bush with Zhang Ziyi and explained directly:
"Director Cao Yang is one of the most influential directors in Hollywood. His films have never failed, and he is one of the few directors who can achieve a balance between art and commerce."

In other words, his films not only win awards but also achieve exceptionally good box office results, which is truly remarkable.

Ivy Nevo put her arm around Zhang Ziyi's waist, stroking it a few times, and then continued speaking rapidly:

"You may not know this, but in Hollywood, director Cao Yang is a very difficult person to reach. To put it bluntly, the line of people who want to invest in his films could stretch from Los Angeles to San Francisco."

The seven major Hollywood film studios were all waving checks and offering very generous terms, wanting to invest in his films, while small and medium-sized film companies simply didn't have such an opportunity.

"Think about it, if we can become good friends with Director Cao Yang, maybe we can invest in his new movie. It's almost a sure thing."

Zhang Ziyi thought about it and realized that Cao Yang had indeed never failed. In any part of the world, including Hollywood and China, there would definitely be a kind of blind faith in a director like him.

"Why don't we just invest in his movie directly? As long as we give him more of his director's fee..."

Zhang Ziyi tentatively said.

She's a smart person; otherwise, she wouldn't have reached her current position. These words must have been a test of Avi Nevo's capabilities, or at least revealed some clues.

After what just happened, Zhang Ziyi felt she needed to reassess the value of her boyfriend.

"Ha, darling, what are you thinking about?"

Ivy Nevo's hand moved up and down from Zhang Ziyi's waist, stopping near her buttocks, and even gave it a pinch.

"Do you know how much he can get for directing a movie in Hollywood?"

"How many?"

Zhang Ziyi was somewhat curious.

She knew the approximate salaries of Hollywood stars, but it was hard to say about directors' salaries, and the composition of salaries for big directors was also a bit complicated.

However, in Zhang Ziyi's opinion, Cao Yang's income from filming a movie is comparable to that of a Hollywood star, and he would be lucky to earn more than ten million US dollars.

To put that in RMB, that's around 100 million, something domestic directors wouldn't even dare to dream of.

"His fees as a producer, director, and screenwriter are extremely high, making him one of the top three directors in Hollywood at the moment."

Seeing Zhang Ziyi's surprised expression, Ivy Nevo continued, "Of course, these are nothing compared to his share of the profits. Do you know what percentage he got in Inception?"

"How many?"

Zhang Ziyi asked somewhat mechanically, "What are the top three highest-paid directors in Hollywood?"
"A 13% cut!"

Seeing Zhang Ziyi's shocked expression, Avi Nevo added, "It's 13% of the total box office revenue, plus 13% of all subsequent merchandise revenue!"

Zhang Ziyi's mind went blank for a moment, and she was momentarily confused.

She vaguely remembered that Inception grossed $9 million worldwide. How much is 13%? It should be over $1 million, right?
How much is this in RMB?
It's close to 10 billion, right?
Cao Yang actually earned 10 billion yuan from just one movie?!

This doesn't even include the subsequent revenue from related merchandise, which is also a very large sum.

Zhang Ziyi fell silent, and was filled with regret.

If only I could have won over Cao Yang back then...

Zhang Ziyi couldn't help but glance at her boyfriend, and then at Cao Yang, who was talking to the president of Warner Bros. Pictures in the corner.

One was old, short, ugly, and had a strong body odor. The other was young, handsome, rich, and held a very high position even in Hollywood, as evidenced by his equal conversation with the president of Warner Bros. and her boyfriend's somewhat obsequious attitude.

Zhang Ziyi was bewildered at that moment.

"Honey."

Zhang Ziyi felt the hand on her buttocks twitch again, and then she saw her boyfriend smiling and saying to her:
"That girl is from China, right? She was able to become a main character in Inception and be brought to the Oscars ceremony and banquet. Her relationship with director Cao Yang must be extraordinary."

"Let's go, let's try to get on her good side first, see if we can approach her indirectly and become good friends with Director Cao Yang."

Zhang Ziyi turned her head and frowned.

Isn't that Fat Ice?

What makes her think she deserves to be approached by someone else?
To put it bluntly, before Bingbing starred in "Inception," she had already become virtually unknown, almost unrecognizable.

Even at the height of her popularity, she couldn't compare to me!

Some slut who just got lucky is expecting me to strike up a conversation with her? To actively try and build a relationship with her?
how can that be!

Isn't this lowering their own status?

I'm one of the four great leading actresses in China. What is Bingbing compared to me? What awards does she have? How can she be on the same level as me?
Before Zhang Ziyi could refuse, she felt a tightness around her waist and was pulled by her boyfriend towards Bingbing's direction.

At that moment, Zhang Ziyi felt dizzy and disoriented, and even contemplated suicide.

Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinoff approached Cao Yang, bringing up the old issue again, wanting Cao Yang to direct the sequel to "The Batman".

Warner Bros. has already passed a resolution to make a second Batman movie.

However, the point of contention is that while Nolan's first Batman film received good reviews, its box office performance fell far short of expectations.

Therefore, Warner Bros. executives were divided into two factions when it came to choosing a director for the second film.

One side believes that hiring Cao Yang to direct is the best choice, and the reasons are quite good: Cao Yang has never failed, and his box office is getting higher and higher.

Another group argues that Cao Yang is not American and therefore lacks understanding of Batman, and may not comprehend what the comic means to Americans.

In addition, he is still working on post-production for "Pirates of the Caribbean 2," so who knows when he will be available? Or he might take a break for six months or a year after "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" is released, which is something many great directors do.

Just keep asking Nolan to direct. After all, his first film was well-received, so even if the second one is bad, it won't be too bad.

Jeff Robinoff is in favor of having Cao Yang direct the film.

As I said before, many people have great faith in a director before he fails.

Of course, Jeff Robinoff also knew that big-name directors generally had reservations about directing sequels to other people's films and were usually unwilling to do so.

However, Batman is different. It's a movie adapted from a comic book, so even if it's remade, it's not considered a sequel, but rather a new story from the comic book.

This was Jeff Robinoff's advice to Cao Yang, because he was afraid that Cao Yang would think it was a sequel and thus resist it.

Actually, Cao Yang wasn't very interested in directing "The Batman," but he was very interested in making "The Joker," a spin-off of "The Batman."

"Joker" can depict the complexities of human nature, from an initially weak, pitiful character with extreme inner repression, to someone who gradually becomes cruel, ruthless, and even evil.

What made him become like this?
This also reveals how economic collapse in society leads to disorder and a widening gap between the rich and the poor, offering many points for discussion.

This is a process of human transformation. The Joker's life is a tragedy. He begins by pursuing comedy, but tragedy runs through his entire life and ends in tragedy.

It is an art film with great artistry and room for exploration.

(End of this chapter)