Entertainment 2000: Supporting female stars will bring you a hundredfold return

Chapter 369 Another Victim Appears (Please Subscribe)
Look at his subsequent career development.

Wen Ziren is undoubtedly a successful director.

The core theme expressed by the Saw series is actually "cherishing life".

It originated from Leigh Whannell, a friend of James Wan, the screenwriter of "Saw".

For a time, Ray Whannell kept thinking he was sick, and was even hospitalized for it, only to find it was a false alarm.

This incident greatly moved Wen Ziren and inspired him.

cough.

Of course, he has nothing to do with the Chainsaw series now.

No, that's not accurate.

Wen Ziren has a remarkable talent in the horror film genre.

Tang Wen's "Saw" has only just reached its third installment. Perhaps the later parts of the series could be handed over to Wan Tsz-yan?

When the topic of horror movies came up, the introverted Wen Ziren became excited:
"I absolutely love horror movies. I've watched your 'Saw' series dozens of times, and it was the first time I ever watched a movie that gave me goosebumps..."

Wen Ziren adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, his gaze towards Tang Wen filled with a fanatical enthusiasm.

He continued to rave about "Saw," his tone and expression so sincere.

It seems to be praising a film about a dream.

Even Tang Wen, a man who had copied Jay Chou's songs in front of him, couldn't help but feel uneasy and uncomfortable in the face of such a sincere attitude from the other party...

“Okay, I can feel your passion for horror movies. Take a look at this story and see if you have any ideas.” Tang Wen quickly interrupted him and handed him the synopsis of “House of Wax”.

At this time, Wen Ziren had only filmed short videos.

But for some people, directing ability is a talent.

After being spotted by Hollywood, Wan Chi-yan completed the first "Saw" film in just 18 days with a total budget of $120 million.

I spent a few minutes carefully reading the story of "House of Wax".

Wen Ziren slowly spoke: "Director Tang, I wonder what the budget is for this film? This film may require the construction of a real-life set. Considering the cost and box office, I think it would be better to film it overseas where the cost is cheaper."

As for the story…

Tang Wen nodded secretly: He does have a good grasp of the big picture.

That coincides with my thoughts.

Wen Ziren's talent extends beyond the horror film genre.

His later film, Aquaman, grossed over a billion US dollars worldwide.

The box office of "Furious 7" was even more outrageous, but that was because the actor "Paul Walker" died.

"You're still young, haven't you ever made a feature film before?" Tang Wen, born in 82, asked Wen Ziren, born in 77.

Wen Ziren glanced cautiously at Tang Wen, and looking at the other's excessively young face, shook his head in shame.

Director Tang is so young and already so successful.

She was clearly older than him, yet she had only recently moved out of the basement.

"It takes a long time for a director to go from trying out feature films to becoming a successful director. But reality is cruel, and it's even crueler in Hollywood..."

Unbeknownst to him, Tang Wen had begun to engage in PUA... frustration training.

His tone was calm, but the more Wen Ziren listened, the more flustered he became.

He hadn't actually moved to Los Angeles yet; he held an Australian passport and could only stay in Los Angeles for 90 days.

But the competition in Hollywood is fierce, he's heard a lot about it.

If a director botches just one film, he may be forgotten forever.

No company or investor will give him money again.

Wen Ziren's head was getting lower and lower.

Tang Wen couldn't bear to continue bullying the honest kid, so he changed the subject: "However, since you're Chinese and genuinely passionate about horror movies, I'll give you a chance to sign a contract!"

"Sign, sign the contract?" Unexpectedly, happiness came so suddenly. Wen Ziren looked up, his eyes filled with surprise.

"Well, you're still young. How about we sign a long-term contract? The company can properly train your directing skills. Even if your first film fails, after some time to mature, we'll give you another chance. Think about it."

"No, no need to think about it! Thank you, Director Tang, I'm willing! I'm willing! I'm willing to do anything!"

Tang Wen: "...Don't get too excited. By the way, the company is also hiring screenwriters. You have a friend who works as a screenwriter, right? Why don't you have him come along?"

"I...I will definitely work hard." Overwhelmed with emotion at being able to take care of his friend, Wen Ziren was speechless, his eyes welling up with tears!
"Okay, go back and tell your friend that the contract will be signed tomorrow. Call Pat Kinsley over."

Wen Ziren bowed deeply to Tang Wenshen and left with a slight bend in his waist.

A short while later, Pat Kinsley entered the office.

"I've got my eye on two directors," Tang Wen said bluntly.

Jaume Collet-Serra, the original director of "House of Wax", also intends to give him a chance.

Pat Kinsley's face crinkled with laughter: "It's their good fortune that you've taken a liking to them."

"The person you recommended is good. Has she worked as a producer before?" Tang Wen was going to give her a little something in return.

This was quite a windfall, leaving Jin Sili stunned: "You mean, a film producer?"

Tang Wen nodded.

Jin Sili couldn't help but take a deep breath. She knew Tang Wen was generous, but she didn't expect him to be this generous.

“I’m willing to give it a try!” she said firmly.

"Okay, that James Wan, I'm going to give him a horror movie with a budget of tens of millions of dollars to test the waters."

As for that Jaume Collet-Serra, ask him if he'd be willing to film in southern China.

If he's willing, you can handle the acting as well.

Kim Sylvie was overjoyed and couldn't help but smile: "Jaomi Shera has auditioned for feature film directing positions at other companies before, but he failed. No one but you will give him a chance, so he will definitely agree."

Tang Wen nodded, indicating that Jin Sili could leave.

"You think highly of that Chinese-American director, Wen?" The caring older sister, Lin Chih-ling, had been listening in the background without saying a word.

"Yes, he's very passionate about horror movies."

“Then I’ll prepare an office for him.”

"Don't do it yet. Let him work in the scriptwriting department. Just give him a workstation."

The compensation should be increased step by step.

Tang Wen wanted him to direct a film that wasn't the "Saw" series.

"Saw 3," which will be released this Halloween, was filmed last year along with "Saw 2."

When the fourth installment will be filmed depends on how well the third film performs at the box office.

If box office performance is weak, the deadline will be extended by one year.

Wan Chi-yan is going to film—Orphan.

It was also directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, another director he had his eye on, and was released in 2009.

The film "Orphan" was made in 2009 at a cost of nearly 2000 million US dollars.

Prices are not that high now.

Actors' salaries have not increased across the board.

Director Wan Tsz-yan is a nobody, at most earning a director's fee of tens of thousands of US dollars.

The horror film doesn't need big stars, and the cost is expected to be reduced to less than 1200 million.

In short, you can earn more money by shooting now.

Lin Chih-ling noted down the arrangements for these two dramas. For "Orphan," she arranged for Pat Kinsley to be the second producer and handle the executive work.

The primary producer was Tang Wen.

The use of Pat Kinsley was not a spur-of-the-moment decision by Tang Wen.

Firstly, he needed the other party's connections in Hollywood, which they had cultivated over many years.

Secondly, Tang Wen has just finalized a collaboration with Paramount President Shirley Lansing, and he will also send people to participate in the foundation she is about to establish.

Director Tang feels it is his duty to support unknown female artists from humble backgrounds.

He needs someone to help him establish connections with working-class actresses.

Pat Kinsley, as a seasoned agent, is a perfect fit, especially given her own initiative to align herself with Tang Wen.

Nicole Kidman has dirt on her.

I'm not afraid of her causing trouble.

As Pat Kinsley walked out of Galaxy Entertainment's office and got into her car, she looked up once more.

The sky over Los Angeles is so beautiful!
She became increasingly convinced that following Nicole Kidman to get closer to Tang Wen was the right choice.

Think about how many years you've followed Tom Cruise?
Tom has also invested in quite a few projects.

But has he ever thought about becoming a producer himself?
No!

there has never been!

The next day, the two new directors who had been given the opportunity came to Tang Wen's office again.

As expected, Jaume Collet-Serra accepted the conditions and agreed to bring a crew to China to film "House of Wax".

The cost of this film will be reduced to a sufficiently low level.

The total production cost, including actor salaries, is estimated to be no more than $700 million.

This is still an overestimation.

After all, 700 million US dollars is more than 5600 million RMB these days.

In 2003, the purchasing power of the RMB remained quite strong.

Tang Wen plans to film in Jiangnan Province.

Having close relationships provides a powerful backer.

Gangnam Ui-si has many wax craft manufacturers, and producing wax figures is no problem for them.

The company's legal counsel produced the contract, which the two directors signed before leaving.

Wen Ziren was given a long-term contract.

The contract stipulates that Galaxy Entertainment has the right of first refusal to invest in Wen Ziren's projects even after the contract expires.

Wen Ziren didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

He just felt that Tang Wentai thought too highly of him.

Holding the thin contract in my hands, it felt as if it weighed a ton.

It's not that Wen Ziren is short-sighted.

Tang Wen's version is simply too ahead of its time. Wen Ziren has just moved out of his basement in Melbourne and has absolutely no idea where his future lies.

How could one not be moved by Tang Wen's "vigorous cultivation"?
It's like when Liu Qiangdong faced the 500 yuan and 76 eggs that his fellow villagers from Suqian had pooled together back then.

Even though this amount of money isn't much.

How could I not be moved?
Lin Chih-ling introduced them to everyone in the company at a meeting.

He then handed the script to the two of them.

The script for "House of Wax" was submitted to the Galaxy Entertainment Script Competition.

The script for "Orphan's Lament" was written by Tang Wen overnight.

In the evening, Tang Wen booked a table at the famous Shancheng Hotel near the Avenue of Stars to celebrate the signing of the contract between the two.

Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Pat Kinsley were all present at the dinner table.

He watched as Nicole Kidman, a Hollywood actress who was once unattainable and whose status was worlds apart from his, poured him a drink himself.

The two were incredibly excited.

Jaume Collet-Serra thought to himself: I must make good films, seize the opportunity, and become a successful director like Tang Wen in the future!

He has Oscar-winning actresses, female celebrities, and supermodels revolving around him.

Wen Ziren secretly resolved: He must film well and live up to Director Tang's kindness in recognizing his talent!
The two were full of energy.

Within two days, they each came up with their own filming plans.

Neither of them had any experience, and their skill levels were evident from their shooting plans.

Wen Ziren had been living without money for a long time.

The filming schedule was very tight.

They seemed afraid of exceeding their budget.

In addition, he has experience in filming short films, so he is confident in his ability to shoot.

Tang Wen nodded secretly, made some minor modifications, and approved his plan.

Jaume Collet-Serra is in big trouble.

His plan was too much of a perfectionist and too presumptuous.

For example, regarding the site selection, the plan is to go to the grasslands and pastures in western China, disperse the cattle and sheep, rent the pastures, and build a small town.

The plan for the wax figures is to hire dozens of wax sculptors to work together to handcraft and polish the wax figures...

Tang Wen didn't know if this was how it was done in his original timeline.

If so, then the time and cost would be sky-high.

He realized he needed to find a suitable producer for this person.

Otherwise, even if he filmed back in China, he could still exceed the budget!
Tang Wen directly expressed his dissatisfaction, telling Jaume Collet-Serra that filming like this would cost too much and that he had to reduce the cost to under $700 million.

And during filming, you have to listen to the producer.

Jaume Collet-Serra was not an assertive person, and he had no confidence to refute Tang Wen.

We had no choice but to withdraw the filming plan and go back to make the necessary revisions.

After the two directors left, Tang Wen sent the script for "House of Wax" to Tang Wei.

Tang Wei called soon after: "Why did you give me a horror movie script? Do you want me to make a horror movie? This won't be released in China, will it?"

"We want you to be the producer. The American team will go there to film it, but he's a new director, and the actors don't have much acting experience, so you'll need to keep an eye on them."

"This," Tang Wei wondered.

Can you really control foreign directors, especially those from Hollywood?
Tang Wen understood what she was worried about:
"This project is mediocre, a bit of a dud. If it's not filmed domestically, it'll most likely lose money."

Hollywood operates on a producer system; once you're on set, you're the one with the most power!

The director has to listen to you. If he doesn't cooperate, then fire him.

I can just hire more people. Hollywood may not have much else, but it has plenty of directors.

Hearing this, Tang Wei was intrigued: "Alright then, I was just wondering what project to choose."

The work on "Super Girl" was mainly handled by the teams from Blue Star Entertainment and Jiangnan TV. Tang Wei wasn't too busy; she only needed to make decisions on behalf of Tang Wen.

She doesn't need to personally film any scenes or work on the front lines.

The two poured their hearts out to each other and talked for more than an hour before Tang Wei hung up the phone.

"House of Wax" is a small project, worth a few million US dollars. Even if it loses money, it can be recouped through the rental and sale of DVDs and videotapes.

Jaume Collet-Serra was not prolific, but he later directed a masterpiece like The Shallows, which cost $1700 million to make and grossed $1.19 million at the box office.

Not to mention Tang Wei.

They're completely one of our own, so it's worth spending some money to train them.

In the case of "Orphan", Tang Wen gave Wen Ziren a lot of power, while Pat Kinsley knew nothing about filming and was only responsible for things outside of filming.

In "House of Wax," power lies with Tang Wei.

For the production of the wax figure, Tang Wei contacted a company in Jiangnan.

The other party said it was perfectly feasible.

More than 100 wax figures can be made in three months at most by the master craftsmen in their factory.

If it's really urgent, I'm willing to work overtime for two months.

Wax figure making is indeed a delicate craft, and it can't be rushed.

Compared to the seven months it takes in the US, the efficiency in China is already incredibly fast.

Moreover, this is only the time it takes for one factory.

Tang Wei plans to subcontract the work to four or five factories, with all operations commencing simultaneously.

It is estimated that it can all be completed within a month.

As for setting up the outdoor scenes, that's even simpler.

China is currently in the golden age of the civil engineering industry; building an abandoned town would definitely not take more than a month.

Given Tang Wen's connections in Jiangnan, he could simply find an open space near Hengdian to set up the set.

After filming is completed, the set can remain in place and be rented to other film crews.

The business will be handed over to Hengdian Group, and the profits will be split between the two companies.

This way, the pressure to break even is less.

The box office statistics for "Pirates of the Caribbean" in overseas markets for the second week have been released.

Multiple markets outside North America continued to rise.

The total overseas box office reached a staggering US$1.05 million.

Excluding the box office from the first few days of this week, the total box office has reached 3.55 million US dollars.

The industry is going crazy!

This is only the first movie in the series!

There's a consensus in the industry that a film is considered to have broken even if its box office revenue exceeds 2.5 times its production cost.

The publicly disclosed cost of "Pirates of the Caribbean" was $1.4 million.

The box office of 3.55 million is just over 2.5 times that of the previous year.

Pirates of the Caribbean has been in theaters for half a month.

Tang Wen also participated in several programs.

Let me sing the praises of the actors and Disney.

To be fair, this first installment in the series, which cost a lot of money, was amazing to the audience.

Mainstream media outlets have all given it praise.

[The film's visual effects are impeccable – The New York Times]

[Chicago Sun-Times: This is a pirate epic full of sly humor and visual spectacle.]

Johnny Depp portrays Captain Jack Sparrow as a comical and charming anti-hero.

The film transcends the simple framework of an adventure movie.

Despite the occasional plot inconsistencies, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley...

Tang Wen lay on the sofa, his head resting on Miranda Kerr's lap, listening to Lin Chih-ling read newspaper reviews in her signature "sweet and mature voice".

Why is everyone praising Depp?

Sister Lin flipped through the magazines and newspapers in her hands.

Flipping through the bi-monthly Rolling Stone magazine, I found a review of the director.

Young director Tang Wen has reimagined the pirate legend with his wild imagination.

From the curse of the ghost ship to the chase on Coral Island, every scene is like a roller coaster at Disneyland—thrilling, glamorous, and addictive.

Don's editing rhythm perfectly complements Depp's manic performance, keeping the audience laughing from beginning to end!

Director Tang Wen breaks free from the conventions of horror films, using classical oil painting-like compositions and natural light to create atmosphere...

The shot of Captain Jack Sparrow spinning in mid-air combines drama and humor.

Of course, there were also some negative reviews.

For example, saying that a character lacks motivation.

Lin Chih-ling skipped over the word "lack of motivation," saying that Captain Jack Sparrow, who is crazy and loves adventure, has personality as the best motivation!

[...I seem to see a new legendary director rising, and I can't help but look forward to more of Tang's works.]

The two women felt that this comment was very accurate.

Tang Wen couldn't help but smile. He decided to increase cooperation with this newspaper in the future!
Besides praising Tang Wen's directing skills, some people also noticed the background music.

The orchestral arrangement of "He's a Pirate" is soaring and magnificent that it is destined to become a classic in film history... a veritable auditory adventure guide. Tang Wen truly deserves his title as the King of World Pop Music!

【…】

Newspapers and magazines discussed the film extensively, and numerous reviews appeared on the internet.

The next day, when Tang Wen went to Warner Bros., he was unsurprisingly surrounded by reporters.

At the Warner Bros. entrance, he briefly answered a few questions.

I'm here today at the invitation of the producers and director of the Batman movie to discuss a collaboration.

Ten minutes later, in the conference room, Tang Wen met the now-famous director Christopher Nolan for the first time!

Upon meeting, Nolan, visibly excited, grabbed Tang Wen's hand: "I've read Director Tang's script for 'Batman'..."

(End of this chapter)