Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 433 A Very Important Opportunity

After initially establishing a collaboration with Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures on "The Hangover" and announcing the partnership, Cao Yang hurriedly returned to China.

With less than ten days until the opening of the Beijing Olympics, as the chief consultant of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games and the chief consultant for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, he will definitely have to rush back to participate in the opening ceremony.

This Olympic Games is unprecedented in scale, with dignitaries from over a hundred countries attending, including heads of state, government leaders, princes, princesses, and ministers.

As the chief consultant of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, one of the most influential directors in the world, and one of China's most well-known representatives, he is required to accompany and receive certain foreign guests on some occasions.

It mainly consists of political figures from Europe and the United States.

Cao Yang has a very high social standing in Europe.

To put it bluntly, in Europe, for princes and princesses of some small European countries who have little real power, being able to invite Cao Yang to a private banquet hosted by him is an extremely prestigious thing.

However, Cao Yang rarely stayed in Europe. He usually only went to the three major European film festivals, and when he did go, he would attend gatherings of well-known art-house film directors—these people, at least on the surface, looked down on princes and princesses.

Cao Yang was invited several times, but he declined them all.

This time, he definitely can't refuse.

Of course, this situation is different; it's not the same as those private parties where he was invited.

On August 7, Cao Yang did not attend the banquet that was held to welcome him. Instead, he joined the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games in a closed-door meeting with Zhang Yimou, the chief director of the Olympics, and several assistant directors.

It was supposed to be a closed-door meeting, but very few people spoke throughout the entire meeting; the room was quiet, and everyone was smoking.

Even Cao Yang, caught up in the atmosphere, smoked two cigarettes as well.

At this point, saying anything is actually superfluous.

The purpose of this meeting is not to discuss or report anything—at this point, none of that is necessary.

Instead, I wanted to use this meeting to help everyone calm down. To be honest, apart from Cao Yang, the rest of us are probably under a lot of pressure and haven't been sleeping well these past few days.

These leaders of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games are probably under even more pressure than Zhang Yimou.

And so, everyone smoked in the meeting room for almost an hour.

"Alright, that's enough for now, meeting adjourned."

Finally, without even offering any words of encouragement, the meeting adjourned.

The words of encouragement are for those below; those of you here don't need them. What you should be doing is staying calm, relaxing, and preparing for tomorrow's opening ceremony in the best possible way.

Cao Yang came out with Zhang Yimou.

The two didn't say much until they were about to part ways, when Cao Yang finally said, "Senior brother, let's show the world our cultural confidence tomorrow."

Zhang Yimou grinned, which was a sign that he had smiled.

His dark circles were quite pronounced, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

He nodded vigorously and said in a deep voice, "Yes."

He then left in a hurry.

At 8 p.m. on August 8, 2008, the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympic Games was held at the National Stadium, which was packed to capacity with more than 90,000 people.

This series of "8"s seems to have added a touch of auspiciousness to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, a meaning that only the Chinese people can truly understand.

Accompanied by a resounding rhythm and a synchronized countdown, 2008 performers struck drums and sang, reciting "Isn't it a joy to have friends coming from afar?" to express their welcome to Olympic athletes and guests from all over the world.

Ink painting scroll, thousands of people striking drums, footprints of fireworks, flying apsaras lighting fires...

It opened the eyes of the world and left them in awe.

Perhaps in a few years, those who watched the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics will cherish those memories even more.

"Has The Dark Knight grossed over $7 million worldwide?"

The next day, Cao Yang returned to school and went to Hou Keming's office. Hou Keming asked him questions while making tea.

"Warner president Jeff Robinoff just called me and said it's already $7.7 million."

Cao Yang took the tea that Hou Keming handed him and said.

Having a leader from the Beijing Film Academy personally brew tea is a privilege that very few people in the entire university can enjoy.

"Is there a chance it will exceed $10 billion?"

Old Hou took a sip of tea and asked with some envy.

"It should be possible. The box office performance of this movie has exceeded my expectations. At first, I thought it would be good if it could reach 10 billion, but looking at the current situation..."

Cao Yang shook his head. To be honest, he hadn't expected the box office to be much better than in history.

It's probably because of so many factors combined.

After all, it has the added hype of Cao Yang and Nolan collaborating, and the added element of Jim Carrey and Heath Ledger sacrificing themselves for the "Joker".

"Ok?"

Old Hou paused for a moment, holding his teacup, and couldn't help but look at Cao Yang.

"You mean, more than 10 billion?"

Cao Yang thought for a moment and explained, "Based on the current box office trend and the predicted drop in box office revenue, it might be able to reach 12 billion in global box office revenue."

"12 billion? US dollars?"

Old Hou was somewhat incredulous, and his voice unconsciously grew louder.

If it really grosses $12 billion, it will become the second highest-grossing film in history, second only to "Titanic" starring a truck driver.

It will surpass the 11 billion of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and the 10.7 billion of Cao Yang's "New Pirates of the Caribbean".

Last year was a year of rapid growth for the domestic film market, but when converted to US dollars, the total was only about $5 million for the whole year.

A single Hollywood movie can generate $12 billion, not to mention the entire year's revenue. How can you even compare that?
"Hollywood movies..."

Old Hou shook his head with a wry smile and sighed, "I wish the total box office in China could reach 12 billion US dollars in a year."

$12 billion in total box office revenue?
Old Hou, you really don't believe in such a thing.

The exchange rate has fluctuated a bit this year, but it has remained relatively stable between 6.85 and 6.95 for the past two months.

Taking the middle number 6.9, then 12 billion US dollars is 82.8 billion RMB...

Compared to the total box office of over 3 billion in 2007, the figure of 82.8 billion seems huge. Based on the trend of the past two years, with the total box office increasing by about 1 billion each year, even if it continues to grow, it will still take 5 years.

Even the most optimistic person wouldn't believe that domestic box office revenue would continue to grow indefinitely.

No one could have imagined that just two years later, in 2010, the total domestic box office would exceed 100 billion yuan.

Probably no one would dare to imagine that the domestic economy and film market are about to take off.

"Don't envy Hollywood. Our film market has great potential. In two years, it might surprise you."

Cao Yang didn't explain anything, but took a sip of tea and said...

Old Hou smiled, taking it as Cao Yang trying to comfort him.

"How's the production of your 'Joker' coming along? The success of 'Batman' is a positive publicity for 'Joker.' Who knows, even a purely art-house film could gross over $2 million in North America."

"Almost done, just a little finishing touches left."

Cao Yang said with a smile.

He didn't talk about the box office of "Joker." As Lao Hou said, a purely art-house film, if it could gross $2 million in North America, that would be a huge hit. Anyone with a sound mind would think that way.

If Cao Yang said that "Joker" would sell $10 billion worldwide, everyone would think he was joking.

Old Hou put down his teacup, his expression turning serious; it was time to get down to business.

"Cao Yang, you'll be graduating with your doctorate next year."

Cao Yang was momentarily stunned.

Am I still a student?
Am I still studying?

Oh, by the way, I'm also Old Situ's doctoral student.

Damn, I almost forgot.

"You're the expert when it comes to art films. Tell me honestly, how was 'Joker' made? Will comic book adaptations like this be treated unfairly at film festivals?"

Old Hou smacked his lips and tentatively asked, "Have you ever thought about making another film this year and participating in next year's Berlin Film Festival?"

"Well, you'll graduate with your PhD next year. The school's idea is to give you all the support you need to try for the Golden Bear next year before you graduate. Your three-gold medal grand slam is just one Golden Bear away..."

Cao Yang understood several layers of meaning from Lao Hou.

Firstly, I feel that "Joker" is a comic book adaptation. Even if it's made into an art film, it's still a comic book adaptation... superhero comics have no artistic merit whatsoever. It's something that art directors despise, okay?

Secondly, it is suggested that while there is still time, a new art film be made to compete in next year's Berlin Film Festival and strive for the Golden Bear, which is missing from the three major film awards.

Third, the school will provide full assistance.

In short, the school's intention is to do everything possible to help Cao Yang win the Golden Bear in Berlin during his last period as a "student".

This allowed him to become the fourth director in history to achieve the triple crown of Golden Horse, Golden Rooster, and Golden Bell Awards, and the first director in China and Asia to do so, all while remaining a "student."

It seems the key point is this "student" identity.

Cao Yang was a little confused. Since the school wanted him to win the three gold medals as a "student," there was actually another way: if he couldn't win them, they could just keep delaying his doctoral graduation.

Cao Yang himself doesn't care about his doctoral degree.

Actually, Cao Yang doesn't care too much about his doctoral degree or even his three gold medals.

Given his current global influence, whether or not he has won the Three Gold Medals Grand Slam makes little difference.

However, even if Cao Yang doesn't care, the school and the authorities do care a lot.

Just kidding, no one in Asia has ever received this honor, no one in China has ever received it either, and there are only three people in the entire world at present.

If Cao Yang gets it, it will be very important for both the school and the authorities.

"Why is the school suddenly in such a hurry? Can I extend my studies?"

Cao Yang joked.

He mainly felt that Lao Hou was being a bit too serious and wanted to lighten the mood.

"You do not understand."

Old Hou shook his head, his face no longer so serious.

He thought for a moment, hesitated for a second, and said in a low voice, "When you won the world's first grand slam of the three best directors in Europe, you would normally be rewarded."

But considering you were also the chief advisor for the Olympics, this is a kind of qualification and merit, and you will definitely be rewarded after the Olympics, so there will be a summary after the Olympics...

"If, and I mean if, we report it up to the authorities, and you're preparing to aim for the three Grand Slam titles from the three major European clubs, then this award will definitely be postponed."

Old Hou gave Cao Yang a meaningful look before continuing in a low voice, "If you really manage to win the three major European gold medals in one fell swoop, 1+1+1 is sometimes much bigger than 3, 4, or even 5."

Old Hou didn't mention "student" or "delayed graduation," but instead explained so much to Cao Yang in a meaningful way.

Of course, the fact that Lao Hou didn't mention his student status doesn't mean that his student status isn't important.

For schools, achieving a grand slam as a "student" is far more important than achieving it as a professor or in other capacities.

Cao Yang is a full-time doctoral student, which is the standard student status, even though Cao Yang has never attended any classes, his student status is that of a full-time doctoral student.

Students represent the school's teaching achievements, and that is the most important thing.

Cao Yang was curious about how the school would help him.

To put it bluntly, the connections the school has with the top three European universities are now far inferior to those of Cao Yang, whether it's Berlin, Venice, or Cannes.

What does the school plan to do?

"I will go to Berlin first, and I may reach some cooperation with the Berlin Film Festival on behalf of the school. Then I will strongly recommend Xie Fei to become the president of the jury of the Berlin Film Festival next year."

Furthermore, it's not just the school; as long as you decide to participate in the Berlin Film Festival next year, the higher authorities will also make efforts—more than you might imagine. You don't need to worry about that.

Old Hou said softly.

The government intervened...

Cao Yang was at a loss for words.

Old Hou patted Cao Yang on the shoulder and said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. What you need to do now is go back and think carefully about whether there are any suitable award-winning themes, and then produce them to participate in next year's Berlin Film Festival."

Cao Yang really wanted to say that "Joker" would be perfect for next year's Berlin Film Festival, but he hesitated.

Joker is a Hollywood movie. It just doesn't seem right for a school and higher authorities to get an award for a Hollywood movie.

Cao Yang now has two choices.

Without needing intervention from the school or higher authorities, Cao Yang believes that with "Joker," he can put pressure on the Berlin Film Festival and talk to Dieter Kosslick, the head of the Berlin Film Festival, and he estimates he has a 70% chance of success.

Another option is for the school and higher authorities to intervene, but that would definitely involve some sacrifices or exchanges of benefits, and the chances of success would probably be even higher that way.

As for his second option, Cao Yang would probably make another Chinese-language film to participate in the Berlin Film Festival.

"If I said I didn't need the school or higher-ups to intervene, I'd be very confident with 'Joker' on my own, would you believe me?"

Cao Yang hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I've already said that you don't need to feel too much pressure. You've done enough for the school these past few years, and the school should do something at this crucial moment."

As for the above, I can tell you with certainty that they probably want you to win the triple gold medal Grand Slam even more than you do…

Old Hou thought Cao Yang had concerns, so he comforted him.

Before discussing this matter with Cao Yang, he had already spoken with Lao Situ, Xie Fei, Lao Tian, ​​and others. They all agreed that next year would be the best opportunity.

As long as Cao Yang agrees, they will all step in and talk to the higher-ups about this matter.

Old Hou couldn't help but dream.

The three major European universities have achieved a triple crown of gold medals. If a school can produce one of these, especially as a student, then the principal will definitely have this achievement recorded in the school's history.

During the tenure of a certain principal, a director who won the Grand Slam of three European gold medals and three gold medals was cultivated... It's still a little exciting to think about.

"I'm serious, I'm not joking," Cao Yang said earnestly, looking at Lao Hou.

Old Hou frowned subconsciously and emphasized again, "Cao Yang, you need to think this through. Next year is the best opportunity. It's a chance where 1+1+1 will definitely exceed 3. If you miss it, you'll never have another chance like this."

Then he waved his hand and said, "Don't rush to make a choice. Go back and think about it for two more days. Make your choice after you've thought it through carefully."

Old Hou never believed that the comic book adaptation "Joker" could have such high artistic merit.

Even if it has a very high level of artistry, it's still a comic book adaptation, which is looked down upon by major film festivals. Trying to win an award with such a discriminated film is just a joke.
(End of this chapter)