I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 355, "Jinling," is scheduled for release!

"Boss, the acquisition talks have fallen through!"

Outside the set of "Killer Dragon," Tom Quinn reports to Harvey with a speechless expression.

He was truly depressed by what Chen Jin had just said.

"why?"

Harvey was puzzled.

"This guy is insane!"

"He asked for $3000 million!"

Harvey: "..."

He was genuinely shocked by the number, 3000 million?
It's worth noting that when he sent Tom Quinn to negotiate the North American distribution rights for "The Flowers of War," his highest expected figure was only $300 million.

If the amount exceeds this, there is no need to purchase it.

That bastard asked for 3000 million?
Are you obsessed with money?

"At this price, I don't see any need to discuss it!"

Tom Quinn shrugged, and Harvey gave a cold laugh: "Tom, come back. This isn't your fault. This bitch is a vampire, even more greedy than that Zhang we were working with before!"

3000?
That's enough to buy 10 movies.

To hell with Heroes of Nanjing, let it rot in your hands!

Harvey was praying there.

"Boss, I'm so sorry, but I really wanted to make this deal happen!"

"But this Chan is different from all the Chinese people we know; he's very assertive!"

Many Chinese people admire Hollywood and treat it with great respect.

Only Chen Jin, in his view, was very arrogant.

"He probably doesn't want to sell to us!"

Harvey guessed.

Tom Quinn shook his head: "No, quite the opposite, he really wanted to sell, and I was almost convinced by him, but the final price was something I never expected!"

"Oh?"

Harvey adjusted his posture, picked up the cigar his female assistant had cut, took a puff, and said casually, "Tell me, what did that bastard say?"

"First, the voice acting!"

"He said they're already working on the English dubbing for 'Heroes of Nanjing'!"

"He's a smart guy!"

Harvey raised an eyebrow, as if this was the first Chinese filmmaker he knew to volunteer to do English dubbing.

In their words, the North American market is too unpredictable, and voice acting requires a large sum of money, which they cannot afford to gamble on.

Therefore, they usually buy the overseas distributors and find someone to do the dubbing themselves. Some distributors don't dare to gamble on the North American box office, so they simply use English subtitles, which costs almost nothing.

Subtitles are the cheapest option, and for films like "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," North American theaters only offer English subtitle versions!
Very few distributors do their own English dubbing, let alone production companies; this is because the dubbing production cycle is very long, taking at least 2-3 months, which many distributors cannot afford to wait for.

Moreover, dubbing is actually quite useless; even if you seem to be trying to please North American audiences, they are not really interested in foreign language films.

Unless there's something they want to see, like Jet Li in "Hero" or the Oscars in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Even with subtitles, many people will still watch it.

This is an answer that many filmmakers, including those in China and North America, agree on.

Spending a lot of money on dubbing doesn't necessarily boost box office revenue; it's a waste of money. Good movies will go even if they only have subtitles, and North Americans will still watch them... This is a deep misconception.

Only Harvey, that old fox, who had worked on dubbed DVDs, truly understood how popular dubbed versions of foreign films were in the audio-visual market.

This is not icing on the cake, but exorbitant profits.

He couldn't imagine how explosive the sales would have been in North America and the video rental market if "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" had been dubbed from the beginning.

For many blockbuster movies, dubbing is a game-changer.

For movies that aren't popular, there's really not much difference between the dubbing and the subtitles.

"With Christian Bale in 'Heroes of Nanjing,' it's definitely worth doing voice acting!"

"And there were Japanese people too..."

Harvey pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully.

To be fair, from a filmmaker's perspective, he was well aware that "Heroes of Nanjing" was an international film, not just because many countries were involved in its production; but because the Holocaust, like "Schindler's List," was a history involving multiple countries.

"Yes, he mentioned that too!"

"With Bell, the dubbed version alone is worth it!"

"But fuck, it's not worth 1000 million. Does he think a dubbed version can make it work in North America?"

In North America, the most important factor at the box office is not film quality or dubbing, but distribution channels.

The six major distribution channels.

Even a bad movie, if it opens in more than 4500 theaters in North America at the same time, will not have a bad box office; but this requires the approval of several theater bosses. Not every movie can get so many theaters to screen at the same time.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was initially released in 16 theaters, and it was because of the film's North American success that it grossed $1.28 million, which led to "Hero" opening in 2000 theaters.

This was Weinstein's doing.

Managers of similar cinema chains have this confidence.

Even for films from the six major cinemas, securing support from so many theaters requires going through screenings and securing deals with each one individually. You have to convince the theater managers that your film has potential before they will schedule it for you.

In North America, everything is about money; if your film makes money, you're the boss.

Without market validation, who will give "Heroes of Nanjing" screenings?

This is unlike in China, where once you've secured deals with China Film Group or Bona Film Group, you can leave the rest to them.

"Of course, that's just one point!"

"He analyzed the overseas market for a certain film for me, and apart from 'A Simple Noodle Story,' the response to them was indeed quite good!"

Weinstein also has a say in this.

Because he was in charge of all the distribution.

But the film "A Simple Noodle Story" has already caused Weinstein to face a crisis of trust.

He said the theme of this film is completely different from that of "A Simple Noodle Story," and even "The Curse of the Chrysanthemum" is not suitable for North America!

"Even so, 'The Curse of the Chrysanthemum' still grossed over 3000 million overseas!"

"The Curse of the Chrysanthemum" is the foreign title of "Curse of the Golden Flower".

"Is it the overseas distribution rights for 3000 million?"

Harvey suddenly asked a question.

"No, just North America..."

"Then why did he mention 'The Curse of the Chrysanthemum'? That movie only grossed $600 million in North America!"

"He was just using an analogy to prove that 'Heroes of Nanjing' is different from these movies. It's not a martial arts film, nor is it an ancient film, but a war history film like 'Schindler's List'!"

"There is a market in North America!"

"Fuck the market..."

Harvey took a deep drag, his bloated, ulcerated face peeking out through the swirling smoke: "They're just trying to drive up the price. Tim's right, this movie has absolutely no value!"

"Let's abandon this project and let that bastard think about his 3000 million every day!"

Harvey no longer wanted to hear his men analyze the pros and cons of the film; in his view, it was no different from a pile of dog shit.

If he doesn't like a project, then others will definitely not like it either.

He didn't believe any fool would spend 3000 million to buy a film with no future in sight.

It seems that Zhang Yimou's new collaborator is an even more despicable bitch than Zhang Weiping.

Harvey had done his research on Chen Jin, and he was well aware of the film science, the Venice Film Festival Best Actor, and the huge waves this company had stirred up in China, but he still stuck to his own opinion.

This movie is worth at most $500 million.

This is only because it's a dubbed version.

"Go to hell..."

After Harvey hung up on Tom Quinn, he couldn't help but curse.

Harvey was genuinely taken aback that a 20-year-old woman was raising an Oscar-winning actor and could demand such exorbitant prices.

Chen Jin was blacklisted by him, and he had completely forgotten about the movie "Heroes of Nanjing".

On the other hand, Chen Jin was not angry because her talks with Tom Quinn had fallen through.

This is also a necessary part of his plan.

If "The Flowers of War" follows the original timeline and fails to make a splash at the Berlin Film Festival, then selling the North American rights would be meaningless.

Since Japanese companies like Sony and Columbia will definitely step in, a complete box office failure is foreseeable.

It is estimated that, as before, the box office will be around 10 yuan, and only 30 cinemas will be able to open the film.

With this box office figure, the corresponding distribution rights price is destined not to be too high.

Having been fooled by "A Simple Noodle Story," Weinstein certainly wouldn't let himself be taken advantage of; other distributors wouldn't pay too high a price to buy it either.

So what's the difference between selling or not selling the North American distribution rights?
However, if they achieve success at the Berlin Film Festival, especially by winning the Golden Bear, the subsequent effects will be entirely different. And if the domestic box office performs well as well...

Even if it draws a lot of criticism, it's all worth it to capitalize on the huge audience generated during the Spring Festival season.

This kind of movie deserves to be promoted in cinemas worldwide.

Three major awards and box office data in mainland China are enough to make countless distributors around the world flock to it; even if Japanese capital tries to sabotage it from behind the scenes, it will be to no avail.

As long as it's profitable, capital doesn't care about insulting Japan.

Especially white people.

What does his daily life have to do with him?
At that point, let alone 3000 million, Chen Jin feels that even a Japanese release wouldn't be a fantasy.

"Chan, shall we continue?"

David Leitch called out to Chen Jin as she walked onto the set.

"continue!"

"Give me 10 minutes to adjust!"

Filming for "Killer: Dragon" is once again proceeding at a rapid pace.

A few days later, filming at the Dragon Residence officially wrapped up. Next, they had to head to the most important location in the original "John Wick"—the Continental Hotel!
The concept of this mainland hotel is actually quite interesting.

When David Leitch saw the script, he became very interested in this "organization".

He found it very novel.

The so-called "Mainland Hotels" literally means a hotel chain that is located all over the world.

But in reality, it is an assassin organization, belonging to the core power center of the global assassin system.

Its power is so great that it can be said to control the dark side of the world.

It can be responsible for overseeing the code of conduct for hitmen, maintaining the rules of the underworld through strict regulations, such as prohibiting killings in hotels.

Of course, in addition to this, they can also provide "assassin logistics" services such as custom bulletproof suits, weapon procurement, and corpse disposal, using special gold coins as internal currency and adopting a membership system.

The branches in different regions have very different styles, such as the solemnity of New York, the cyberpunk style of Osaka, and Chen Jin also set the ancient style of China... but each has independent jurisdiction.

With a clearly defined hierarchical management system, the hotel managers, as the regional power center, possess extremely high authority and directly connect with the higher-level "High Table" organization.

In any case, this organization is very important in "John Wick" and can be said to be the core of the series.

The subsequent John Wick movies all revolve around this premise, and there's even a standalone spin-off film/TV series called "The Continental Hotel".

Now, Chen Jin has further refined this concept and proposed it earlier, even adding a branch of the China Continent Hotel.

It's worth noting that the script for "John Wick" was written from the very beginning.

The Mainland Hotel was only mentioned briefly, and the writers probably haven't even started to finalize the system yet. It wasn't until the sequel, "John Wick 2," that the Mainland Hotel's related settings began to be gradually revealed.

But now, after watching several "John Wick" movies, Chen Jin has already raised her expectations ahead of time.

Therefore, the mainland hotel setting in this installment of "Killer: Dragon" is extremely important.

This is because it involves subsequent film series, and even spin-offs and TV dramas related to "The Continental Hotel".

Correspondingly, this version of "Killer: Dragon" is more outstanding in terms of setting and plot than the original "John Wick".

"The elders and the highest decision-makers of the original Continental Hotel are in the desert!"

"In this life, it will be Mount Everest of China..."

Chen Jin is actually still enriching the setting and script; the first part really only revealed the tip of the iceberg.

After a day of filming, he would spend every night brainstorming ideas for the second part and subsequent episodes.

buzzing-

The cell phone on the table rang.

A few days ago, the license for "The Flowers of War" was officially issued, which means that the film can now be officially distributed and released.

For domestic distribution, China Film Group was naturally chosen, while the publicity and distribution were handled by Film Science itself.

"How to say?"

Chen Jin pressed the answer button; the call was from Chen Su.

He was in charge of the overall publicity and distribution coordination for "The Flowers of War".

A few days ago, while browsing Weinstein's news, Chen Jin accidentally saw Chen Su's photo; it was truly an unconscious recollection.

Chen Jin never expected that this kid would have such a remarkable background.

I was right after all.

He will be the Vice President of LeEco Pictures in the future, in charge of strategy, branding, film marketing, and IP co-operation business.

He studied under Zhang Zhao, China's top marketing and publicity master.

It's a real pity about Zhang Zhao. He was very famous in the industry, especially for his ground promotion and cooperation with cinemas, which he was the first to propose. The team that Enlight Media has led to do so well in private distribution is the one he brought together.

Sadly, he passed away in 2021 due to illness at the age of 58.

Otherwise, he should have been able to witness the success of "Ne Zha 2," even though he left Enlight Media in 2011, founded a film company backed by LeTV, and brought in Zhang Yimou.

However, Zhou Jia, the top executive of LeEco, is unreliable, but the team is indeed full of talented people.

Chen Su was Zhang Zhao's protégé.

"Brother Jin, we've secured the slot for the first day of the Lunar New Year!"

Chen Su's slightly helpless voice came from the other end of the phone.

He personally, as well as everyone in the company, including Director Zhang, actually did not approve of the first day of the Lunar New Year.

But since the boss has spoken, he will definitely do his best.

China Film Group was also quite surprised, and the Spring Festival slot was really easy to secure.

With few competitors, except for Mission: Impossible 4 on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the show can be fully booked for the other five days.

It's during this time of year... everyone's at home celebrating the Lunar New Year, who's going to watch movies?

Besides, it's a film like this.

It's no wonder they think that way, and it has nothing to do with the movie itself, because nobody thinks that a movie can make money during the Spring Festival.

Avatar is an exception.

But foreigners are actually more perceptive than Chinese people. Hollywood has analyzed the data on Avatar's release in China several times. There is box office revenue during the Chinese New Year.

However, they were unsure whether anyone would go to the movies on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Based on past data analysis, very few people actually went to the cinema.

That's why Mission: Impossible 4 was scheduled for release on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

They had calculated this time.

From the first to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Chinese people are very busy visiting relatives, exchanging New Year's greetings, and attending various banquets. However, things become less busy from the sixth day onwards.

And it's also a holiday.

However, this is actually the first time that a Hollywood movie has been released during the Spring Festival.

Avatar was a transitional period.

Even so, Mission: Impossible 4 still grossed less than 7 million yuan at the Chinese box office.

Compared to the original timeline, this box office data is absolutely impressive.

This is before the Spring Festival film season has been promoted; if it had been promoted... Chen Jin didn't even dare to think about it.

Just like next year when Stephen Chow's "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" will have some publicity, but it won't be a massive release.

This was also Stephen Chow's first attempt, so he didn't dare to spend a lot of money, fearing that his predictions might not be accurate. He simply did a routine promotional campaign for the Spring Festival release.

As it turns out, this guy really has the talent to produce Lunar New Year films.

"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" broke numerous records and grossed over 12 billion yuan at the box office.

Now, Chen Jin is clearly preparing to make the Spring Festival season, like the previous Double Eleven, popularize it both online and offline.

At the very least, everyone needs to be aware of the concept of going to the cinema during the Spring Festival and watching movies with the whole family.

"Thanks for your hard work!"

Chen Jin comforted her capable assistant, and after chatting for a few minutes, the two turned to the topic of "Jinling".

"We can start the publicity campaign now!"

"First, we need to promote the concept of the Spring Festival film season and generate buzz, especially encouraging families to watch movies together during the Spring Festival!"

"Then, bring Zhang Yimou's works!"

"Bale and I star in it!"

Those who are interested will definitely look it up; the combined appeal of Zhang Yimou and Hollywood stars is unbeatable. And just a few days after its release, they release promotional trailers for "The Flowers of War"!

One trap at a time.

If the traffic is full on the first day, even if there is a collective outcry from the entire internet in the following days, it won't matter. In this day and age, even bad movies can make hundreds of millions at the box office. "Jinling" is not a bad movie, and the criticism can't stop the hype of taking the whole family to see the movie.

"I'm sorry, my fans!"

"Some hatreds should be remembered!"

Though there are millions of people, I will go. Chen Jin's main purpose for this film release is publicity.

Promote this history.

The Spring Festival is undoubtedly the most suitable holiday.

He may not be suitable for theatrical release, but he is definitely suitable for promotion!
(End of this chapter)