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

Chapter 374 Weinstein finally couldn't sit still any longer...

Two days later, all the films at this year's Berlin Film Festival had premiered.

The scores in the program have all been released. German director Feligh Feligh's "Only the Wind" received the highest score of 3.4, followed by French director Ursula's "Sister" with a score of 3.2!
"Jinling" ranked fourth, while "White Deer Plain" ranked seventh.

Although the rating doesn't represent everything, it still provides some reference for everyone in the end.

"White Deer Plain" follows the original timeline and was also invited to be reserved for the end.

Needless to say, I'm sure I'll win an award.

The Chinese media has been buzzing with excitement these past few days, giving these two films a massive amount of coverage; it's worth noting that having two Chinese-language films reach the finals at a single Berlin Film Festival is a rare occurrence, something that happens only once every few years.

Chen Jin has been hailed by the media as a "lucky charm for film festivals" because it seems that any film he participates in at a film festival wins an award.

Like "Under the Hawthorn Tree," "Major Events in Life," and now "Jinling"!
This pattern was summarized by Sina.

Even more so, he has set numerous records for Chinese-language films being nominated for the three major film festivals. For example, at last year's Venice Film Festival, Chinese-language films won an unprecedented four awards; and this year, they won two more.

When did Chinese-language films achieve such a high success rate in the three major film festivals?

What else could this be but a lucky charm?!

Contrary to the rumors circulating outside, Chen Jin has been spending the last few days idly in the hotel, writing scripts and chatting on the phone with Zhu Yanmanzi.

Although things have calmed down a bit recently, Zhang Yimou and he still don't really want to go out. What if these guys hold a grudge?
Xiao Yang also sent him a message, saying that there were indeed quite a few unfamiliar faces downstairs at the hotel.

So Chen Jin just wanted to stay in the hotel and get through the film festival peacefully, and everything would be fine after she returned to China; there was still some danger outside, who knew how crazy these guys would be.

If they can take down their own boss with a single shot, what else wouldn't they dare to do?
731. The massacres are in their very genes. Over the years, they have selectively forgotten the heinous deeds of their ancestors, and are constantly on guard against the rise of Dongda.

It's not that they dare not launch another major attack on the East, but that this country has already stood up, and they simply cannot touch it.

If it were similar to the Republic of China era, our peaceful life could be invaded again in no time.

The law of the jungle is the rule of survival in this world.

So the movie "Jinling" really got these Chinese students studying abroad very worried. They often communicate with locals overseas and know their ways. These people really want the movie to win a big award, so they seem to care more than the organizers.

However, the day before the awards ceremony, Chen Jin received a completely unexpected phone call in the afternoon.

Harvey Weinstein!

That lecherous woman who sexually harassed countless Hollywood actresses, that manipulator with immense influence at the Oscars.

Harvey is very influential even at the three major film festivals.

He attends almost every festival, partly out of interest and partly for business; his company's enormous profits come from the numerous low-budget films shown at the three major film festivals.

They buy low and sell high, then make their money in the North American market.

Harvey was virtually invincible before, and he was especially popular with Chinese films.

European films these days are all too artistic, and Japanese and Korean films don't have very high budgets, but Chinese films are the only ones that dare to spend a lot of money.

He's made a lot of money off Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. Now that China Film Group Corporation is doing so well in mainland China, Harvey, as a long-time collaborator of Chinese cinema, obviously has to try his luck too.

"Chan, are you free? Want to grab a drink together?"

I'm at the coffee shop downstairs from your hotel!

This old guy took the initiative to call, pretending to be very familiar with him, even though Chen Jin had never even met him or made a phone call to him.

That's right, this is the first time Harvey has ever called him first!

Even the Berlin premiere of "Jinling" was not attended by this guy.

Perhaps he thought the movie wouldn't be a hit, coupled with a few of Xiao Rizi's questionable actions, but he actually saw related movie reports that afternoon, which infuriated him.

It's one thing for a bunch of Hollywood sycophants to show their support, after all, Bale is the lead actor and he has the ability to gather them; but the fact that all the jury members were present is quite subtle, it's a strong signal of support!
At that moment, Harvey, who had long been a film festival scouting enthusiast, sensed something was different.

This movie... might be a hit.

Sure enough, just a few days later, the most popular film at the entire film festival was none other than "The Flowers of War".

So he immediately had Tom Quinn contact Chen Jin again, but was turned away; now, it was clearly time for him to take matters into his own hands.

Fortunately, he has a habit of attending film festivals, otherwise he would have had to fly over from North America.

But Harvey felt that even flying all the way from North America was worth it; he had been in Berlin these past few days and had personally witnessed the popularity of "Jinling," and had even secretly dragged Quinn to the cinema to see it.

It must be said that this movie is very international in style.

As expected of Zhang Yimou, he has such an international perspective.

After thinking about it for several days, and when the organizers finally decided to retain the "Jinling" crew, the old pervert couldn't hold back any longer.

……

Chen Jin did not refuse Harvey's invitation. After hanging up the phone, she tidied herself up and headed down to the hotel restaurant.

Soon, he met Harvey, who had a full white beard, in a private box.

He was so fat he looked like a mountain of flesh, and when he smiled, he did have a hint of the cunning of a white man.

"It's hard to believe you're so young..."

Harvey stood up to greet Chen Jin, who smiled politely and said, "Hello, Mr. Weinstein!"

"Waiter!"

Harvey snapped his fingers and said to Chen Jin, "I didn't know what you liked to drink, so..."

He shrugged.

"It's okay, I'm fine with anything, even plain water!"

"Haha, what you said reminds me of Yimou. When we first met, he also asked for a glass of water!"

"Chinese people have a natural craving for white water, but my family doctor told me that drinking more of that stuff is indeed good for your health!"

"..."

Weinstein seemed quite talkative. After the waiter brought over a glass of water, he immediately leaned over and said, "Chan, although this is our first meeting, you should know my sincerity!"

"Quinn has called you many times and even visited you on the set of your film. I think you should know that I really hope to reach this cooperation with you, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, and Yimou!"

"Wei Ping and I were jointly responsible for the North American market for many of Yi Mou's previous films!"

"I sympathize with that guy's situation, but I respect the laws of every country..."

Weinstein rattled off a string of eloquent words, making Chen Jin chuckle: "Mr. Weinstein—"

Just call me Harvey!

"Okay, Harvey!"

Chen Jin sat there, took a sip of water to moisten her throat, and then said, "You and Quinn are both North American filmmakers I respect. I have never said that I would refuse to work with you. I did quote a price to Mr. Quinn at the time!"

"3000 million US dollars?"

Harvey stood there, hands outstretched, a look of utter despair on his face: "Chan, your price... is outrageous, really!"

"This is my price. I feel that director Yi Mou's film is worth this price!"

If there weren't no Chinese people doing the publishing business in North America these days, how could these North American publishers be able to drastically lower prices and make huge profits!
The future holds that Chinese films will have a strong market in many countries, which has led to the emergence of several domestic film companies that pursue international distribution, allowing domestic films to earn profits through normal distribution.

Now, Chinese filmmakers only have one path: if they want to enter the North American market, they have no choice but to sell to these big American producers.

Because only these people know how to maximize the profits of a film in North America.

The premise is that he has to earn more.

Therefore, Harvey basically won't make any money from Chen Jin's 3000 million.

Do you know how much Yi Mou's previous two films grossed in North America?

"A Simple Noodle Story cost $19, and Curse of the Golden Flower cost $654 million!" Harvey said through gritted teeth, especially about A Simple Noodle Story, which made this guy lose a lot of money.

But Chen Jin simply took a sip of water and said calmly, "So?"

Harvey was clearly uncomfortable with Chen Jin's attitude; this young man seemed really annoying. However, for the sake of making money, Harvey patiently said, "So, your 3000 million is just wishful thinking!"

"Harvey!"

Chen Jin looked at him seriously for the first time: "We Chinese people actually think the movie 'Curse of the Golden Flower' is terrible!"

"Three shots are not worth mentioning!"

Even "House of Flying Daggers" has a lot of critics!

Do you know why?

Seeing Harvey shaking his head, Chen Jin explained, "Capital has shoved people in!"

"You should know what it means when a director-centric film is crammed with well-known actors who don't quite fit the script, right?"

"No, no, no!"

Harvey waved his hand and said, "I don't want to talk to you about these films right now. I just want to sincerely reach a cooperation agreement with you on this film, 'Jinling.' The previous films were Wei Ping's problem. Now that Yimou has changed partners, of course I want to talk to you!"

"I understand, but I must explain to you why I want to sell 'Jinling' for 3000 million!"

"..."

Harvey frowned; he felt that this bastard was completely unyielding.

Hearing the figure of 3000 million, he was somewhat overwhelmed.

However, Chen Jin clearly didn't have much of a chance to respond to his taunts. Instead, she said, "Director Yi Mou's previous big-budget films were all period dramas. 'Jinling' is his first attempt at this!"

"The movies you mentioned didn't do very well in terms of either critical reception or box office performance in China!"

"But 'Jinling' has already proven its market success and ratings in mainland China!"

"The most important thing is-"

Chen Jin leaned closer to Harvey, her face full of confidence, and said, "Bale is in the movie, so it's completely different!"

"None of Yi Mou's previous films featured American actors, and none of them included Christian Bale, who is currently a very popular Batman in the United States!"

"I think you actually value this point too, right?"

Otherwise, why would this old guy have been holding back for so long and still want to come and negotiate?
They just realized that this movie was profitable.

With its success in mainland China, its sensational run in Berlin, its potential to win awards, and the addition of Bale's starring role, this film has a very high chance of becoming a hit in North America as well.

No film distributor would refuse a film like this, especially one with Zhang Yimou and a Venice Film Festival Best Actor.

Even though this Venice Film Festival Best Actor winner has no fame whatsoever in North America.

Even an unknown actor can become an international film star, and publicity can still be effective.

This is why so many film distributors have been trying to buy the distribution rights for "Jinling" outside of Europe and China these past few days.

Since it's profitable, film companies naturally flock to it.

"But, 3000 million is indeed too high!"

“You have to understand, Zhang’s highest-grossing film only made a little over 5000 million in North America, and that was only achieved by opening all the theaters in North America. I even brought in Quentin Tarantino!”

Harvey was still trying to haggle.

Chen Jin waved his hand, already somewhat impatient. He had come to see Harvey to discuss the price with him.

He absolutely won't budge on 3000 million; on the contrary... he might even raise the price in a couple of days.

"Martial arts films have an audience overseas, but it's actually quite limited!"

"However, 'Hero' and 'House of Flying Daggers' sold very well in both physical music and streaming markets!"

"The current version of 'Jinling' will have a wider audience, as it contains history and the suffering of the Chinese people!"

"I want to find a major film distributor to promote it properly!"

"I'll think about it. I'm interested in The Weinstein Company's distribution capabilities and channels!"

Even though this guy has a falling out with Disney, he has a good relationship with Paramount and Universal; if he really buys "The Golden City" and wants to make a lot of money, he will definitely work hard to negotiate theater distribution.

If "Hero" could be shown simultaneously in thousands of theaters across North America, "The Battle of Jinling" with Bale will certainly be even more successful.

Even if Sony and other companies boycott it from behind, Weinstein, having spent a lot of money, will definitely find a way.

The reason why "Jinling" was so badly done in the original timeline was related to many of Zhang Weiping's actions; this guy was too hasty, and he was eager to apply for an Oscar for Zhang Yimou, so he didn't do any pre-release publicity or anything.

With the upcoming holiday season, which theater chain would dare to risk scheduling the film?
The North American theatrical market is highly capitalized.

He schedules screenings based solely on popularity.

Unlike in China, where a few major film companies like China Film Group say they'll give 40% of the screenings, and then each cinema chain will see the allocation fluctuate around that amount.

It means that the films being released will be shown in theaters across the country at the same time.

But in North America, only a very small number of films have the ability to be released in all North American theaters at the same time; if you can make their theaters profitable, they will beg you to let them be released in their theaters; if they feel they can't make money because they don't have any buzz, they will show a completely different face.

Therefore, in North America, movies that generate buzz, win awards, and are featured on the Big Six popcorn shows are the most popular.

Theaters might even offer to pay a share of the revenue to get you screen time, but such films are rare even in North America.

More often than not, they will first arrange screenings in a few theaters to see the market response; if it is good, they will increase the number of screenings, and the box office will rise all the way up.

While comeback stories certainly exist in North America, all filmmakers actually hope to follow the example of China and release a film simultaneously in thousands of theaters. That way, even a bad film can still do well at the box office.

In North America, the number of theaters that open for a film is placed too much emphasis.

Chen Jin was hesitant to attempt miracles like starting with a few dozen theaters and then turning a profit into tens or hundreds of millions in box office revenue.

Films like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" are rare occurrences.

What "Jinling" needs to do is to have enough venues from the beginning. If you can fill all the venues, why settle for second best?

You can achieve this by charging a high price because capital will work hard; if you sell it cheaply, they won't really care.

This is the mindset of someone doing business.

Whether you can afford to lose money or not.

As for whether he could sell it, Chen Jin wasn't really sure; but in any case, he'd rather have it rot in his hands than sell it cheaply.

In any case, winning the Berlin Film Festival award is a foregone conclusion, and the film is sure to become famous overseas. What Chen Jin needs to do next is to get as many viewers as possible to see the film.

In North America, Weinstein Company wasn't the only studio eyeing "The Golden City".

Bell is actually quite crucial.

Just like Hollywood blockbusters featuring Chinese actors, many interested viewers will also go to see them; this is a viewing mentality of "locals".

"Chan, I hope that one day you will change your mind!"

"3000 million...that's way too high!"

After saying that, Harvey left somewhat angrily.

Chen Jin shrugged, not afraid of making him angry.

If Harvey were to fall out over a movie's price, he wouldn't have survived in this industry for so many years.

All of his actions were meant for Chen Jin's benefit.

The two are currently engaged in a power struggle, and the final reversal may have to wait until the awards ceremony!
Fortunately, there are only two days left until that day...

(End of this chapter)