Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 405 History Part 3
American media and newspapers, especially those with entertainment sections, generally do not cover the three major European film festivals.

Unless it's a famous American director or a big star who wins a major award, this situation might be reported.

After all, the three major European cinemas have now become mere precursors to the Oscars, at least that's what the American media thinks.

Although the three major European film companies do not admit it, their actions have indeed yielded to Hollywood movies.

Just like this year's Berlin Film Festival, the main competition section had a total of 26 films, of which 8 were from Hollywood, including the opening and closing films.

The three major European awards have very few fixed awards, usually only around eight.

At this year's Berlin Film Festival, Hollywood films won two regular awards: the Grand Jury Prize and the Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution.

Cannes and Venice aren't much better; in fact, Hollywood films generally make up the majority of the films entering the main competition each year.

In other words, the three major European powers denied it verbally, but in reality, they compromised quite thoroughly.

As is customary, when an American-made film wins an award at the Berlin Film Festival, well-known publications such as The Hollywood Reporter, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Post will mention it.

Well, it's just mentioned briefly in an unimportant and inconspicuous place in the entertainment section. After all, other prominent and important sections are busy reporting on the upcoming Oscars and the gossip and schedules of many celebrities.

However, this time some newspapers mentioned it only in the most inconspicuous corner, while others didn't mention it at all.

The major newspapers mentioned above all prominently reported that Cao Yang had won the grand slam of the three best directors in Europe.

They just played a few tricks in the way they presented the report.

For example, the Los Angeles Times wrote: After winning the most important Oscar for Best Director and the Golden Globe for Best Director, director Cao Yang seemed to realize that he was still missing the Best Director award at the Berlin Film Festival.

So, after completing "Pirates of the Caribbean," before the global blockbuster was released, director Cao Yang used his spare time to spontaneously shoot a Chinese-language film, which won him the Best Director award at the Berlin Film Festival.

With this, Cao Yang, a renowned director from Hollywood, now boasts an Oscar for Best Director, a Golden Globe Award for Best Director, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director, a Venice Film Festival Award for Best Director, and a Berlin Film Festival Award for Best Director.

He achieved a grand slam of Best Director awards at the world's most important film festivals, a feat never before accomplished by anyone in history...

The other newspapers had similar content, placing the Oscar-winning director at the very top.

The global phenomenon of "Pirates of the Caribbean" has yet to lose its fervor, with many countries where the release was delayed still showing it. While mainstream theaters in the US have already finished showing it, rural theaters are still playing it.

The lingering buzz surrounding the film, coupled with reports from the US of Cao Yang achieving a "grand slam of Best Director awards at the world's most mainstream and important film festivals," has once again made him a hot topic before the Oscars.

Attention has skyrocketed.

Americans have repeatedly emphasized equality for all and that there is no racial discrimination.

But in reality, racial discrimination is everywhere.

For example, directors like Cao Yang, who have a very high level of influence and status in Hollywood, are known to film companies and agencies for their value; otherwise, they wouldn't have offered Cao Yang the highest-level revenue-sharing agreement.

Within the major studios, Cao Yang is ranked on par with Spielberg and James Cameron, who are still active today—absolutely top-tier.

However, many American media outlets previously referred to Cao Yang as "China's great director" in their reports...

Of course, this isn't exactly discrimination, but the condescension and xenophobia in the words are undeniable.

However, after Cao Yang achieved the first-ever grand slam of Best Director awards at the three major European film festivals, it was somewhat amusing that many media outlets referred to him as "a great director from Hollywood" when mentioning him.

It was as if Cao Yang had finally gained their approval.

That's fucking ironic.

After arriving in Los Angeles, Cao Yang received calls from Tom Rothman, Robert Iger, Barry Mayer, and Sid Garnier.

Tom Rothman has since been transferred to the position of Vice President of Sony Pictures. The film "The Fault in Our Stars," which received four Oscar nominations (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score), was spearheaded when he was still at Columbia Pictures.

He excitedly told Cao Yang over the phone that Amy Pascal, another global vice president of Sony Pictures and president of Columbia Pictures, had her eye on the position of co-chairman of Sony Pictures, and that the two had reached some consensus in order to seek his support.

As for what the consensus was, Tom Rothman didn't say, but Cao Yang could tell that it must be a good thing for Tom Rothman.

As for the awards for "The Fault in Our Stars," Tom Rothman told Cao Yang not to worry about it, as he would take care of everything.

Cao Yang knew about Tom Rothman's relationship with Oscar president Sid Garnier, and given the huge commotion the film had generated, it would be unreasonable for the Oscars not to award it.

Because of the questionable actions taken at the time, this movie was too politically correct.

Barry Mayer, CEO of Warner Bros., called Cao Yang to congratulate him on becoming the first director in history to win all three major European director awards, and to ask when Cao Yang would have time to visit Warner Bros.

Cao Yang knew without a doubt that it was about the release of "The Batman," which he co-starred in with Nolan, and the filming of the spin-off film "Joker."

He told Barry Mayer that he would visit Warner Bros. after the Oscars.

Sid Garnier, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and also president of the Oscars, came as a surprise to Cao Yang. He wanted Cao Yang to present the Best Director Oscar to Martin Scorsese.

Normally, the Best Director award this year would be presented by the director who won the award last year. Martin Scorsese won the Best Director award last year, and it was scheduled that he would present it this year as well.

Martin agreed, saying he would fly back from Berlin to be a presenter.

But Cao Yang has been making headlines lately, becoming the first director in history to win the grand slam of the three major European director awards, which is quite a sensation.

In addition, the writers' strike had just ended, and the impact was negative in many ways. Sid Garnier would definitely have to come up with some ideas to increase the attention and ratings for the Oscars.

Cao Yang's gimmick is just right.

His presentation of the Best Director award alongside Martin Scorsese not only generates buzz but also enhances the prestige of the Oscar for Best Director.

After considering it for a moment, Cao Yang agreed.

He has a good relationship with Sid Garnier, who was a Columbia executive before running for president of the Academy and served as executive producer on his film District 9.

Cao Yang considered that while Hollywood and the Oscars still held prestige for the next few years, it wouldn't be bad to cultivate a good relationship with Sid Garnier and win a few more awards.

As the CEO of Disney, Robert Iger not only called Cao Yang, but also visited him in person the next day.

"Congratulations on becoming the first person in history, my best director."

Robert Iger smiled and said to Cao Yang, "Robert, you already said these things on the phone yesterday."

"As you said, it was over the phone. I think congratulating you in person would show more sincerity."

"Thank you. I don't think you came here just to congratulate me."

Cao Yang smiled and asked, gesturing for Robert Iger to sit down, "Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee, thank you."

Robert Iger sat down, and his smile hadn't faded since he met Cao Yang.

“My dear director, you should have received the message that Pirates of the Caribbean has now grossed $9.78 million worldwide, and I expect it to gross around $10 million more in rural North American theaters.”

At this point, he looked at Cao Yang with a serious expression and said, "In other words, we're about ten million dollars short of reaching one billion dollars in global box office revenue. Cao, do you want to break the one billion mark?"

Cao Yang laughed and joked with Robert Iger:
"Robert, of course I want 'Pirates of the Caribbean' to break a billion dollars at the box office. Don't forget, we have a tiered contract. If the global box office exceeds a billion dollars, my share will increase from 18% to 25%. That's a lot of money."

Robert Iger smiled and nodded. "That is indeed a lot of money, so I think you would definitely like to take the extra 7% cut."

If the movie grosses over a billion dollars, Cao Yang will receive an extra 7% share, which is a very, very large amount of extra income.

It's more than ten million dollars less than what the movie cost.

There are no philanthropists in Hollywood.

Robert Iger is not a great philanthropist either.

But why would he want the film to gross a billion dollars, and thus have to spend so much more money?

For a major Hollywood film company like Disney, 9.7 million, 9.8 million, or even 9.99 million are not the same as 10 billion in box office revenue; they are, in fact, two completely different concepts.

Once a company surpasses $1 billion, it's not just about having another rare high-grossing film; it's a symbol, even a landmark.

In later years, more than 50 films worldwide have grossed over $10 billion.

And what about this era?

Some films that later grossed over $10 billion have not been re-edited or converted to 3D for release. Currently, there are only two films that have truly grossed over $10 billion worldwide.

One is James Cameron's "Titanic," the truck driver movie, which currently holds the top spot with $18.42 billion.

The other film is "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," which grossed $11.19 billion, ranking second.

The third film is "Pirates of the Caribbean," which currently has a box office of 9.78 million. It has already finished its run in many countries around the world, but it is still being shown in many countries where it was released later.

Fourth on the list is "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," with a box office of 9.74 million.

Therefore, having a movie that grosses over $10 billion worldwide has a completely different meaning for Hollywood film companies.

And the impact on the stock market is completely different from that of 9.9 million.

The third film in the world to surpass $10 billion at the box office is of immense significance, both in terms of hype and practical value.

It would be incredibly beneficial not only for Disney, but also for Robert Iger. If it succeeds, his position as Disney CEO would be absolutely secure.

"What do you want me to do?"

Cao Yang asked.

Since Robert Iger came here in person and raised this issue, he must have an idea.

"Now is a very good opportunity."

Robert Iger said.

"Oscar?"

"Oscar!"

Robert Iger said with a hint of frustration:
"Regarding the awards, the voting has long since ended. Although Disney invested a lot of money to run the awards, you know, back then no one could have imagined that this movie would be able to reach 10 billion."

The implication is that they hadn't yet made every effort to operate at that time.

Of course, if Robert Iger had known that this film had a chance to gross $10 billion, he would have definitely tried every means to invest huge sums of money in securing an Oscar.

If it wins an award, even a technical one, it will definitely boost the box office of "Pirates of the Caribbean," since the Oscars' influence expands globally along with Hollywood films.

Robert Iger couldn't help but sigh and said, "There's too much uncertainty surrounding the Oscars, so I think there are currently two ways to promote a film."

He glanced at Cao Yang and then said:
"You've won the first-ever Best Director Grand Slam in history, so you'll definitely be a major focus of media interviews, especially on the Oscars red carpet. I hope you can represent 'Pirates of the Caribbean' at the Oscars."

Robert Iger said this because he knew that although Cao Yang's "Pirates of the Caribbean" received seven Oscar nominations, all of them, except for one for Best Actor, were technical nominations.

In other words, these awards are not directly related to Cao Yang, such as Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

On the contrary, another film produced by Cao Yang, "The Fault in Our Stars," won two awards directly related to him: Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay.

As is well known, the sensation created by "The Fault in Our Stars" meant that the film had a much higher chance of winning awards than "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Robert Iger is worried that Cao Yang will bring the "The Fault in Our Stars" cast to the red carpet, and when reporters interview him, the topics will definitely be about "The Fault in Our Stars," which will definitely prevent him from promoting "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Cao Yang did not agree immediately, but instead asked, "What about the other publicity strategy?"

"Another publicity strategy is based on the first condition. I hope that when you are interviewed on behalf of the Pirates of the Caribbean crew, you can directly tell the media that there are already plans for a second film."

Robert Iger said sincerely, "I can even tell the media that most of the scriptwriting has been completed. When I am interviewed, I will tell the media that Disney has approved the sequel with an initial budget of $2 million."

He then emphasized, "What I said is true, my dear director. Disney has internally approved a resolution that the initial budget for the second 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film is $2 million, and there is room for it to go up!"

(End of this chapter)