Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 496 Disney's Big Plan

After having dinner with President Han, Cao Yang checked the time and it was already past 10 p.m.

"Where are you going? I'll have the driver take you first."

"Mr. Han asked."

"No need, I have a car."

Cao Yang pointed to an inconspicuous Audi and said to President Han.

"No, you're drinking...it's dangerous..."

As Mr. Han spoke, his voice trailed off because the driver's side window of the Audi rolled down, revealing Yu Feihong sitting inside.

"alright."

President Han nodded to Yu Feihong in the car, without showing any surprise.

After Cao Yang got into the car, Yu Feihong gave President Han a slight nod, then slowly started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

Mr. Han watched the Audi drive away. Only after the car left the private parking lot did he get into his own car. After thinking for a moment, he gave a short address that only the driver could understand.

That's not his home.

However, even after getting into the car, President Han was still thinking about Yu Feihong, the most low-key Venice Film Festival Best Actress.

It's not that I have any feelings for Yu Feihong, but rather that I feel I can't quite understand her.

A top actress who won the Venice Film Festival's Best Actress award, became a sensation in China, and was named one of the Four Great Qingyi Actresses, has been semi-retired for years, seemingly without ambition or desire. It's unclear what she's thinking.

And besides, is it really necessary to be so low-key? Driving a beat-up Audi...

Mr. Han wouldn't believe it if you said Yu Feihong had no money.

Not to mention Cao Yang's unknown wealth of hundreds of millions of dollars, even Yu Feihong herself, though semi-retired, is not truly retired. She still has some endorsements every year and occasionally takes on some movies, so her income is definitely not small.

Mr. Han shook his head, not understanding.

Then, President Han smiled unconsciously. As far as he knew, Cao Yang's female friends were all actresses he had made famous.

Of those Cao Yang made known to him openly, Dong Xuan and Yu Feihong were the only ones.

They're young after all.

Cao Yang seems to be in his thirties, and he still doesn't have a publicly acknowledged girlfriend, which is a problem for his career...

Thinking about this, even President Han himself was stunned for a moment.

It's probably Cao Yang. His achievements are so great that even family issues, which the organization has to consider, don't seem to be an obstacle for him.

Generally speaking, let alone someone like Cao Yang, even a low-level section-level cadre would be perceived as unreliable if they didn't have a girlfriend or a family. The organization might even take this into consideration when appointing or dismissing them.

Cao Yang has already reached this position, but he doesn't even have a girlfriend, let alone a family. Yet, he's about to take things a step further, and he hasn't brought this up at all.

In fact, President Han also knew that the problem was that Cao Yang hadn't fully entered politics. If he had, then people would definitely have brought it up.

"Boss, we're here."

While Mr. Han was still lost in thought, the driver had already arrived at the destination and gently reminded him.

Starting around the 1990s, for some reason, it became a trend in both government and state-owned enterprises for certain officials to be addressed by their trusted subordinates as "boss" instead of by their professional titles.

This name has been used for a long time.

Mr. Han sighed and instructed, "Come pick me up at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

The place he was going to was where the lady of the house was already forty years old and no longer looked young.

But as the saying goes, some women's charm can make you forget their age, just like fine wine that gets better with age.

It has charm, elegance, soul, and a story.

She can make you feel relaxed and temporarily forget all your troubles.

Cao Yang arrived at Yu Feihong's house.

In his view, Yu Feihong was different from his other female confidantes.

Although Yu Feihong can be a little temperamental at times, overall she is the kind of person who can make him feel relaxed and comfortable.

After taking a shower, Cao Yang rested his head on Yu Feihong's lap, feeling an unprecedented sense of warmth.

However, not long after, a phone call interrupted Cao Yang's warm moment.

Cao Yang was reluctant to answer, but Yu Feihong picked up the phone on the table, glanced at it, and said, "It's a call from America."

With a sigh, Cao Yang was even less inclined to accept the offer.

It's almost 11 PM, who would call at this hour? Don't they know... uh, America, okay, there's a time difference, what time is it there? It's probably around 7 AM in Los Angeles.

Cao Yang took the phone and glanced at it. It was indeed a call from Los Angeles, from Disney CEO Robert Iger.

"Why did this guy call so early?"

Cao Yang muttered softly.

"Who is it?"

Yu Feihong asked casually.

"The CEO of Disney."

"Is it difficult? If you don't want to answer, I'll answer for you and tell him you're already asleep."

Yu Feihong said softly.

"It's not difficult at all."

As Cao Yang spoke, he casually pinched the soft spot and pressed the answer button with his other hand.

Yu Fei glared at Cao Yang, then looked at the hand that had slipped under her shoulder, feeling somewhat helpless.

This is Cao Yang's habit.

"Robert, you'd better have something important to do. I'm about to get intimate with my girlfriend. You'll have to compensate me for my emotional distress."

Cao Yang joked.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my dear director, it was my fault. I didn't calculate the time difference correctly. I thought you were still awake. When you come to Los Angeles, I will apologize to you in person and show you my sincerity."

Robert Iger rambled on and on with a hearty laugh.

That's just how people are. When Cao Yang made such a slightly "outrageous" joke, Robert Iger felt that his relationship with Cao Yang was extraordinary.

"Alright, let me see how sincere you are when I get to Los Angeles, and then I'll decide whether to accept your apology."

Cao Yang then asked, "Seriously, Robert, you should have just gotten up, right? Why are you calling me at this hour? Is something wrong?" "No, not at all. I just received some good news and couldn't wait to call you to tell you. Guess what it is?"

Robert Iger said mysteriously.

Cao Yang racked his brains but still couldn't guess what the good news was.

Disney and Marvel have already reached an agreement, and they are just waiting for the next steps, which will take some time.

So, the good news is definitely not like that.

"what is that?"

Cao Yang couldn't guess what good news could possibly be related to Disney.

"Haha, I knew you wouldn't guess."

Robert Iger said with a smile, "Congratulations! Your production, The Hangover, has grossed over $2.7 million in North America and officially surpassed $4 million worldwide after 27 days of release."

For a low-budget film like *The Hangover*, $2.7 million at the North American box office is definitely a box office bomb this year! You've succeeded again, my dear director.

Cao Yang's first reaction was whether Robert Iger was being sarcastic or talking nonsense.

What does the success of "The Hangover" have to do with Disney? And what does it have to do with Robert Iger?
It's important to know that this film was primarily controlled by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, with a small but significant investment from Qingdao Film Studio.

If anyone's calling to congratulate us, it'll be Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, right?

"Thank you, Robert."

Cao Yang didn't know what Robert Iger was thinking, and he couldn't say too much.

Robert Iger looked at all the information about "The Hangover" in his hand: a $3000 million investment, $2.7 million in North American box office, and that wasn't even the final box office.

Based on the current box office trend, this film is estimated to gross around 2.8 million yuan when it finishes its run in mainstream theaters.

If it continues to be shown in rural cinemas for a while longer, it's still possible for it to break 3 million.

With a production budget of 3000 million, it grossed 3 million at the North American box office. That's not just a big hit, that's a massive success!

This film has not yet been released in many countries around the world, and under normal circumstances, it should have no problem grossing over 5 million worldwide.

According to Robert Iger, Warner Bros. is currently in discussions with Legendary Pictures about the possibility of a sequel to The Hangover.

Of course, a sequel is inevitable. The key question is, what kind of conditions should be offered to persuade Cao Yang to produce a sequel?

You have to understand that for a low-budget comedy like this, even if it only grosses over $5 million worldwide, let alone $1 million, there's absolutely a need to make a sequel.

Making sequels is very easy; Hollywood has its own standard production process.

The key point is that this movie was so explosive that if Cao Yang wants to make a sequel, the conditions will be extraordinary.

This is exactly what Robert Iger was worried about.

He wasn't worried that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures were offering Cao Yang too little; in fact, he was hoping they would make a fool of themselves.

The key point is that while Warner Bros. executives may seem to be seriously ill, they would never fall ill when it comes to a blockbuster like "The Hangover," which is a sure-fire box office hit.

Robert Iger's biggest worry is that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures will offer Cao Yang an incredibly attractive deal, which is highly likely to happen.

Even disregarding the huge box office profits of Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros.' stock rose by 6% simply because of this return on investment, which was released in the form of financial reports.

It's important to know that this 6% increase only occurred after The Hangover's global box office officially surpassed $4 million.

When it was revealed that Cao Yang produced and personally adapted The Hangover, Warner Bros.' box office revenue increased somewhat.

When The Hangover's opening weekend box office results came out, Warner Bros. saw a surge in sales.

When The Hangover grossed over $100 million at the North American box office, Warner Bros. saw a surge in its stock price.

When The Hangover grossed over $2 million at the North American box office, Warner Bros. saw a surge in its stock price.

The Hangover has grossed over $4 million worldwide, giving Warner Bros. a significant boost.

Robert Iger knew very well that Warner Bros. would definitely see another surge in revenue when The Hangover finished its theatrical run or grossed over $5 million worldwide.

Damn Warner Bros., in the past two years, while the world was affected by the financial crisis, they made a fortune first with "Batman" starring Cao Yang and Nolan, then with "Joker", and this year with "The Hangover"!

Warner Bros. is a piece of shit!
Why did it have to be those idiots at Warner!

Robert Iger was filled with envy and jealousy.

He is now more worried about what will happen to Disney if Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures make a tough offer to Cao Yang that he can't refuse, or if they want Cao Yang to personally direct the sequel to "The Hangover" in order to make more money!
Don't think Warner can't do it.

Robert Iger asked himself, if it were Disney, they would definitely do this to maximize profits.

Moreover, Robert Iger had originally intended to have Cao Yang participate in the production of "Iron Man 2" while directing the sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean".

There were also subsequent films like Captain America and Thor.

On this point, Disney and Paramount have reached an agreement.

Because "Iron Man," "Captain America," and "Thor" were all collaborations that Marvel had already agreed upon with Paramount, there were written agreements in place, and even if Disney acquired Marvel, it wouldn't invalidate those agreements.

Robert Iger recently tried to talk to Paramount CEO Brad Gray, hoping to revoke the distribution agreement Paramount signed with Marvel.

Unfortunately, Brad Gray did not agree.

This made Robert Iger very unhappy.

However, Brad Gray strongly agreed with having Cao Yang produce "Iron Man 2", "Captain America", and "Thor".

Robert Iger scoffed at this.

Paramount, you son of a bitch, you only have the distribution rights to a few Marvel movies. When did you start daring to tell Disney what to do with the movies they're going to make?
Damn it, if you, as the distributors, were to hire Cao Yang to produce "Iron Man 2," "Captain America," and "Thor," of course you'd be happy to do it. Everyone knows Cao Yang is the best comic book movie adaptation.
Global box office rankings don't lie, and data doesn't lie.

Cao Yang's comic book adaptation "Joker" is currently the second highest-grossing film worldwide, while the third highest-grossing film is "The Dark Knight," also produced by Cao Yang.

Both of these are from Warner Bros.' DC Comics "Batman".

The key question is, if we invite Cao Yang to produce "Iron Man 2", "Captain America" ​​and "Thor", it will cost a lot more. As the distributor, are Paramount willing to share the costs with Disney?
What? You don't want to?
I don't want you to offer such a load of crap!
Of course, even if Paramount is unwilling to share the extra costs of inviting Cao Yang, Disney will still invite him. After all, in Hollywood today, putting aside everything else, just having Cao Yang's name on a production will cause a surge in the stock market.

The most crucial thing right now is that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures shouldn't mess up the market by offering an exorbitant price to invite Cao Yang.

If that's the case, "Iron Man 2," "Captain America," and "Thor" will definitely have to raise their prices as well.

This is one of the reasons why Robert Iger called Cao Yang early this morning.

“My dear director, I have a big plan, a whole package of plans, and I would like to ask you to take charge of this big plan. When will you come to Los Angeles?”
I know you've finished your doctoral defense. Congratulations, Cao! You're now a great film doctor!

Robert Iger said with a smile.

In the US, a master's degree may be considered less valuable, but a doctoral degree is highly regarded and generally very difficult to obtain.

"At the latest, once I get to Los Angeles, we'll discuss your big plans."

(End of this chapter)