Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 389 The Most Reliable Ally

"Love in the Seaside City" has no special effects, no grand scenes, and a simple plot, so post-production was not difficult.

If Cao Yang hadn't played around with the editing and hadn't been so demanding with the music, the post-production of this film could have been completed in just over ten days.

However, even with Cao Yang's high standards, the post-production of the entire film was completed in less than a month.

Cao Yang breathed a sigh of relief as he left the Qingying Film Studio.

This movie was a bit faster and easier than expected.

Compared to commercial films, art films without large-scale scenes are easier to make, have shorter production cycles, and are less stressful to shoot.

The only downside is that it will be difficult for art films to achieve high box office returns in China in the future. Given a choice, most viewers will definitely still choose to watch commercial blockbusters that stimulate the senses.

In the future, the polarization of art films will be extremely severe. Directors with little fame will not be able to hire big-name actors, and even if their art films win awards, they will find it difficult to achieve high box office returns.

Even if a highly influential director like Cao Yang doesn't use big-name actors in his art films, his core audience is still guaranteed.

What's the first thing to do after a movie is finished?

Go away, who said to submit it for review immediately?

The first thing to do, of course, is to relax.

Men's ways of relaxing are actually quite similar. Those with girlfriends find girlfriends, and those without girlfriends do the same old things.

Coincidentally, Gao Yuanyuan returned to Beijing a couple of days ago.

Knowing that Cao Yang would be coming that evening, Gao Yuanyuan actually cooked a few dishes that had been prepared outside, and put them on the table.

She had originally planned a candlelight dinner, with red wine, candles, flowers, and music all prepared, but then she thought it would seem too formal.
She wanted to settle down and live a normal life with Cao Yang, but she was making it so romantic, like a date or a marriage proposal. What if she scared Cao Yang away?
That shameless second wife of Li Xiaoran is probably hoping to scare Cao Yang away.

No, we absolutely can't let Li Ernai get away with this.

Ugh, just thinking about those two papaya-like things on her chest makes me sick. My own is so much better; Cao Yang always has it all under his control.

Gao Yuanyuan ultimately didn't have a candlelight dinner. Instead, she simply laid out the dishes on the table, set out the chopsticks, thought for a moment, and then tied an apron around her neck.

I turned around in front of the mirror and looked at myself.

Perfect, an apron completes the look, perfect for a housewife...

bah bah.

Gao Yuanyuan couldn't help but laugh. It was all Cao Yang's fault for showing her those things. She used to be such a naive person, but now she couldn't help but think about these messy things.

By the way, what did he say last time?

Don't wear it inside the apron...

bah bah.

Gao Yuanyuan quickly stopped thinking these thoughts. It was all Cao Yang's fault. He said that the more tricks and perverted the two of them played, the more likely they would never separate in this life.

Look at what kind of talk this is! How can you say something like that?

Even with these thoughts in mind, Gao Yuanyuan still unconsciously tied her hair up in a high ponytail.

After that, she changed her trousers into a short skirt.

After thinking about it, it's already early December, so wearing a short skirt at home isn't really appropriate. Even though I wore it on purpose, I can't let Cao Yang know that I did it on purpose.

So she added black stockings under her short skirt.

A short skirt, black stockings, a ponytail, and an apron tied around her waist—that's it!

perfect!

It's about nine o'clock in the evening.

Cao Yang was having an in-depth discussion with Gao Yuanyuan about the material of the short skirt, black stockings, ponytail, and the apron that had been lifted up.

His phone rang at that inopportune moment.

"Honey, wait a minute, your phone is ringing..."

Gao Yuanyuan spoke haltingly.

Cao Yang glanced at the phone. He and Gao Yuanyuan were currently at the kitchen doorway, and the phone was on the coffee table next to the sofa, a bit far away.

"Forget it, let's not worry about it now, we'll talk about it later."

Cao Yang was a little reluctant to answer the phone now. Who could be calling at this hour?

His first reaction would most likely be that he couldn't answer the phone at this time because he had close relationships with several women.

"Wait, wait a minute."

Gao Yuanyuan stopped holding onto the kitchen door frame, turned to look at Cao Yang, and said, "What if... what if it's an important call?"

Cao Yang smiled and squeezed the "All Under Control" sign.

"How about we go together, just like this?"

After saying that, he even played a trick.

Gao Yuanyuan rolled her eyes at Cao Yang.

I won't fall for that; it would be too embarrassing.

"Hurry up, hurry up..."

After the two finished discussing the material of the apron, Gao Yuanyuan went to take a shower.

Cao Yang then picked up his phone and took a look.

It wasn't the call he expected; it was from across the world—Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney.

Upon seeing this phone call, Cao Yang could probably guess what it was about: the screenwriters' strike and the release of "Pirates of the Caribbean."

As previously planned, "New Pirates of the Caribbean" will be released four days before Christmas this year, on December 21st, which happens to be a Friday.

The period around Christmas is the Christmas season in North America, which is crucial for the film market because it is a peak time for family gatherings and moviegoing, similar to the Chinese New Year holiday season in China.

In North America, this is considered the best release window outside of the summer season.

I checked the time; it's 10:30 PM, which is 7:30 AM in Los Angeles. It seems Robert Iger got up quite early. When he called, it was probably around 6:00 AM there.

Cao Yang called back.

"My dear director, thank goodness you finally called me back. I thought you were already asleep, so I didn't have the nerve to call you a second time."

As soon as the call connected, Robert Iger started rambling on. "Robert, why are you calling so late... okay, why are you calling me so early? Did something happen?"

Cao Yang asked directly.

Robert Iger sighed and said, "Cao, you must know about the Writers Guild's strike, right?"
I just received news that, due to the support of numerous Hollywood stars for the Writers Guild of America's decision, and in support of this decision, they have issued a statement announcing their collective absence from the 65th Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

The Foreign Press Association, the organizer of the Golden Globes, has had no choice but to decide that this year's Golden Globe Awards ceremony will be downgraded to a one-hour press conference.

NBC will provide live coverage of the Golden Globe Awards, an event attended only by journalists—a first in the awards' 65-year history since 1943.

Cao Yang never expected that the first victim of the screenwriters' strike would be the Golden Globe Awards in the United States. The organizers must have suffered heavy losses.

Especially NBC, the broadcaster of the Golden Globes, which had already signed contracts with advertisers, is likely to lose a lot of money.

Disney also owns a broadcasting company called ABC, which is actually related to NBC.

ABC was founded in 1943 and was originally the Blue Broadcasting Network, a subsidiary of NBC.

Due to antitrust regulations, NBC was broken up into several parts, with the Blue Broadcasting Network being acquired by Edward Noble for $800 million and renamed ABC in 1945.

ABC is Disney's core platform. After NBC merged with the entertainment division of Vivendi Universal in France in 2004, it changed its original "National Broadcasting Company" to "NBCUniversal".

Therefore, ABC and NBC have a direct historical connection and a history of splitting up, and as two of the three major American broadcasting companies, they are now direct competitors.

NBC suffered heavy losses; Disney should be happy.

Oh, no, that's not right either. The Golden Globe Awards broadcasting rights belong to NBC, while the Oscars broadcasting rights belong to ABC, a Disney subsidiary.

Now that the Golden Globes are being boycotted, what about the Oscars, which are right next to the Golden Globes?
What if a bunch of celebrities issue another statement saying they're refusing to attend the Oscars in support of the writers' strike?

Since the Oscars are a global "feast," their broadcast fees are much higher than those of the Golden Globes, and their advertising costs are also much higher. It is conceivable that if the Oscars were also boycotted, ABC would lose even more money and suffer even greater losses.

“Robert, although I am a member of the board of directors of the Western Writers Association (WGAW), this writers’ strike was the result of a vote by all members. If you want me to try to mediate, I can only say that I am powerless.”

Cao Yang quickly made his position clear to avoid Robert Iger actually asking him to jump into this mess.

The Writers Guild of America was initially composed of several complex associations, such as the Writers Alliance, its subordinate Television Writers Guild, and the Screen Writers Guild, which originally intended to become independent.

Because the association was too loosely organized, they later decided to consolidate it after discussions.

The Mississippi River served as the dividing line, separating all screenwriters into two independent new organizations: the Writers Guild of the East and the Writers Guild of the West, which included television, film, and radio screenwriters from across the United States.

The eastern headquarters is in New York, while the western headquarters is in Los Angeles.

As for the original Writers Union, they can retain their original two branches—the Writers Guild and the Playwrights Guild.

Cao Yang, due to his status as a writer and screenwriter, and of course, because of his considerable fame and influence, was elected as a council member in his third year as a specially invited member of the Western Screenwriters Association.

"Ha, my dear director, what are you thinking? How could I possibly let you get involved in mediation?"

Robert Iger initially denied it outright, but then added, "However, Cao, you are a member of the Film Producers Union, and this Writers Guild of America strike is because negotiations with the Film Producers Union broke down."

"Cao, I'm planning to nominate you as a council member at the Film Producers Alliance meeting to be in charge of another round of negotiations with the Writers Guild. What do you think?"

I don’t think so!
You old rascal, if I were to become a director of the Film Producers Alliance and be responsible for negotiating with the Writers Guild, wouldn't that make me suffer from both sides?
Damn it, is the Film Producers Alliance trying to shift the blame?
If negotiations break down again.

The Film Producers Alliance would then shift the blame to me, saying that I was a director of the Writers Guild and a traitor to the Film Producers Alliance.

The Writers Guild might also try to shift the blame to me, saying that I'm a director of the Film Producers Alliance and a traitor to the Writers Guild.

This is a complete trap from both ends.

"Robert, as you probably know, I'm currently working on a Chinese-language film. The actors have very little availability for me, so I can only work overtime to film as quickly as possible."

Cao Yang paused for a moment before continuing, "So, I probably won't be able to go to the United States for the next six months. As for the release and promotion of 'New Pirates of the Caribbean,' don't worry, I'll promote it online."

Damn it, you're trying to manipulate me, aren't you?
Okay, I'll just say it straight: I'm not going to the US.

As for the promotion of the upcoming "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, sorry, I'm not even going to the US anymore, so what's the point of promoting it?

Robert Iger paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Dear Director, I was just joking. You know me, we're friends, good friends."

Yesterday at the Film Producers Alliance meeting, someone suggested electing you as a council member and having you negotiate with the Writers Guild of America. However, I and several Warner Bros. executives rejected this without hesitation.

"Are you kidding me? Everyone knows you're a board member of the Writers Guild of China. How can you represent the Film Producers Alliance in negotiations? Those who made this suggestion are completely out of their minds."

Cao Yang smiled as well.

Cao Yang certainly believes that Warner Bros. rejected the proposal at the Alliance of Film Producers meeting, given that he is currently working with Warner Bros. on "The Batman".

In addition, the Joker project has also been greenlit, but production has not yet begun.

Warner Bros. will certainly not let Cao Yang "take the blame" during this period.

While Colombian officials may not necessarily oppose the proposal, given the foundation of Cao Yang's cooperation and relationship with them, they are unlikely to support it.

As for Disney...

ABC, which owns the broadcasting rights to the Oscars, will do anything to quell this farce and make Cao Yang take the blame so that the Oscars can be held as scheduled and unaffected by the writers' strike.

To say that Cao Yang can avoid taking the blame simply because he stayed in China and didn't get involved in this matter is an oversimplification.

Do you think they can't make you take the blame if you don't go? Of course not.

As long as the Film Producers Alliance elects Cao Yang as a member of its council and puts him in charge of the negotiations with the Screenwriters Guild, they can still shift the blame even if Cao Yang stays in China.

Say that the negotiations broke down because the person in charge didn't go to negotiate... How do we resolve this?
"Robert, I remember our contract stipulated that if Disney were to develop any sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean, the production and screenwriting of those sequels would require my approval, valid for five years, right?"

Cao Yang suddenly asked.

Robert Iger frowned. Due to the failure of the previous "Pirates of the Caribbean" film, the original contract for this reboot film did indeed include such a clause in order to get Cao Yang involved.

"Yes."

Robert Iger couldn't deny it either.

“Robert, you know, I’ve never failed at making movies because I have a special intuition, and right now my intuition tells me that the global box office of ‘New Pirates of the Caribbean’ should not be less than $8 million…”

At this point, Cao Yang fell silent.

He keeps talking about the sequel to the Pirates of the Caribbean series and about his "intuition" about box office performance. What is he trying to achieve?
Cao Yang seemed to hear a "smack" sound on the other end of the phone, most likely the sound of someone slamming their hand on the table. Then, he heard Robert Iger say in a righteous and indignant tone:

“My dearest director, my dearest friend, I swear to God, as long as I remain the CEO of Disney, and as long as I remain the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Alliance of Film Producers, I will absolutely not allow your interests in the Alliance to suffer any loss, and I will absolutely not allow those damn proposals to pass!”

Robert Egerton paused for a moment, then extended a very warm invitation:

"Cao, my brother, 'New Pirates of the Caribbean' is about to be released. Hurry up and come promote the movie. Let's work together to make this series a timeless classic!"

(End of this chapter)