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

Chapter 461: Securing a Long-Term Role Contract with Marvel!
The creation of a rule is always accompanied by the establishment of previous problems.

The reason Hollywood scripts are so encrypted is precisely because of this.

Aaron, who played the lead in "The Wolf of Wall Street," may not be aware of the cast yet, as the film is currently in the early stages of auditions; however, the lead actor may have already been cast.

That is... Leonardo DiCaprio!

Chinese people like to give him the nickname "Little Li".

He is the highest-paid male star in the world, bar none, and is also currently the most popular and well-known Hollywood superstar in the world. Several years ago, he was the youngest actor in the $2000 million salary club.

One version that has been circulating for a long time is that he has to choose the best scripts in the United States before they can be given to the next actor.

This is not a rumor, it is the truth.

The Wolf of Wall Street is such a story.

It is said to be based on a true story, but unlike Dallas, the script for this movie was snapped up by multiple film studios after it was written. With Leonardo DiCaprio's involvement, the story became a hit even before its release.

"Chan, although we only auditioned for a small role in 'The Wolf of Wall Street' this time!"

"But you should know that its lead actor is Leonardo DiCaprio!"

Even in North America, this name is considered the pinnacle by many agents.

"Every role in it is destined to be fiercely sought after!"

Aaron spoke somewhat exaggeratedly, glancing at Chen Jin who was flipping through the confidential script, and said softly, "Not only the characters, but the director is going crazy for this script, and so are the investors!"

"Warner Bros. and Paramount both wanted to acquire this story!"

When the film project was about to start, several of the six major Hollywood studios wanted to participate, which led to a war between the film companies and brought the project to a standstill.

To avoid further disputes over filming and distribution rights, director Martin Scorsese stated that this would be an independently produced film!

Martin Scorsese is the confirmed director for the "Wolf of Wall Street" project.

This director's resume is also quite impressive and strong.

With seven Oscar nominations for Best Director and one win, not to mention his achievements at the three major film festivals, he is a master.

He is a top-tier director in the global film and television industry, and has been repeatedly recognized as one of the ten greatest directors in history.

Therefore, his right to speak is still very important.

As a result, The Wolf of Wall Street is indeed an independent film, with Leonardo DiCaprio himself as the investor, along with two independent investors he brought in.

Chen Jin was able to secure an audition spot thanks in large part to one of the investors.

Agassiz, a wealthy Malaysian businessman, has worked in Hollywood for many years and is the stepson of Malaysia's second-in-command.

China and Malaysia have a good relationship on the surface, so he takes good care of the Chinese community. Giving them an audition slot in a film that has global attention is indeed quite "generous".

"Martin Scorsese and Leon had already started a project for this script at Warner Bros. back in May 2007!"

"Leon won the bidding war against Brad Pitt to secure the rights to Jordan Belfort's memoir, and Wall Street played a significant role in that!"

"..."

Aaron explained the background and context of the script for "The Wolf of Wall Street" to Chen Jin.

As for this film, which is adapted from the story of Jordan Belfort, a Wall Street tycoon who has been the subject of much discussion across the United States, everyone knows how popular such a story would be when it is brought to the big screen.

“Our dear partner, Kavanaugh of Relativity Media, has some influence on Wall Street. You can have him give Belfort a call. The casting director for his own biopic will definitely take his opinion into consideration!”

"With the addition of Malaysian investors, this role can still be adapted specifically for you!"

"Only if you get the role in the audition!"

Chen Jin was to audition for a role that was of considerable importance, a Chinese-American who was Jordan's childhood friend.

Chen Jin glanced through the script; it was about 10 minutes long, but she didn't know how much of it would be left after the final cut.

For Chen Jin, who is not yet well-known in Hollywood, playing such a role can increase her exposure.

If he stars in a few more blockbusters, including the commercial blockbusters "Hong Kong Trip" and "John Wick 2," he can quickly gain popularity with audiences in this region!
This is the "three-year summit plan" his team devised for him!
Take on more Hollywood films, whether art films or commercial films, and within three years reach the ranks of top Hollywood stars, at least on par with Jackie Chan.

Chen Jin currently has one more advantage than Cheng Long did back then, which is the Chinese market behind him.

Therefore, the chances of this plan succeeding are quite high.

"Okay, then I'll study the script thoroughly and give it a try in a couple of days!"

Even just acting opposite Leonardo DiCaprio would be good.

Chen Jin should consider this a chance to showcase her acting skills against a future Oscar-winning actor.

This will pave the way for his future career in the entertainment industry.

As Aaron said, whether it's "Dallas" or "Wall Street," the auditions are all about getting exposure in North American theaters.

On the contrary, films like "Budapest" and "Whiplash," featuring a second male lead with a role no less significant than the male lead's, plus the male lead himself, are the ones that can truly give Chen Jin a boost.

Our own agent is quite good at calculating costs.

Although Chen Jin selected several scripts for "Wall Street," Aaron didn't really value them. But since his own artist had spoken up, he would definitely try to get it for him.

The two chatted as the car headed towards Chen Jin's temporary residence.

……

Meanwhile, Paula Vagola, head of Chen Jin's agent team, was in the CEO's office at Marvel Studios, discussing a proposal for Chen Jin to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Kevin Feige, the current head of Marvel.

"Kevin, Chan is really a very promising actor. Marvel previously grossed 11.3 billion yuan in China, which shows that Marvel's IP has a strong appeal in this mysterious East!"

"Isn't that right? The Avengers just finished its theatrical run, and China has already grossed $1 million, becoming the second largest market for Marvel after North America. We can't ignore the added value that this market brings to Marvel!"

"..."

Paula spoke eloquently, and Kevin Feige listened attentively.

As for this chief agent of UTA, he was the newly appointed CEO of Marvel, so of course he had heard of her.

But this woman... is too ambitious.

"Bora, we at Marvel are actually very clear about what you're saying!"

Kevin certainly values ​​China very much; in fact, it could be said that without China's support over the past few years, Marvel might have lost hundreds of millions in box office revenue.

The Spider-Man series had already gained considerable popularity in this mysterious East, but unfortunately, it wasn't a Marvel Studios project until the release of Iron Man a few years ago, which marked the true beginning of Marvel Studios' journey.

This movie grossed $6 million worldwide, $3.2 million in North America, and nearly $2000 million in China!
At the time, this market only ranked fifth in Marvel's lineup, behind the UK, South Korea, Japan, and so on. But with the consecutive releases of "Captain America" ​​and "Thor" last year, the market's growth rate exceeded everyone's expectations worldwide. In fact, it was a shocking turn of events, something very wrong.

Fourth, third... this year they even made it to second!

It only took 2 years!
In just two years, not only did Marvel become a huge success in China, but the Chinese film market also became the world's second-largest box office market.

And it has far surpassed Japan, which was previously the world's second largest economy.

The Avengers grossed a whopping $1 million in the Chinese market!
Although they weren't as wildly successful as the Transformers movies, they didn't do any marketing in China, unlike Paramount, which has already partnered with China Film Group to develop sequels for some of their films.

It's just too lucrative.

As industry peers, they have also witnessed the increased benefits brought about by joint development.

Transformers 3 set a new record for Hollywood films in China, grossing nearly $150 million, five times more than Transformers 2.

A 5-fold increase in box office revenue, a 500% improvement.

Not to mention Marvel, other Hollywood studios are also green with envy and have started to cooperate with China.

Unfortunately, despite Marvel's huge success worldwide, it is still a small company, having produced fewer than five Marvel IP films in four years; they no longer have the extra energy to develop the Chinese market.

Even though Kevin knew the Chinese market was very profitable, there just wasn't enough manpower.

Of course, it is for these many reasons that Paula set her sights on this future hot commodity.

Currently, Marvel's distribution still relies on Paramount, including in China, where Paramount negotiates distribution plans with China Film Group.

“We can give Chan a role, like we did with Iron Man 3, but as for signing a long-term contract for the role, really… I can’t do that, and the board wouldn’t agree to it!”

Kevin Feige shrugged; he could tell Paula definitely wanted more.

The so-called long-term role contract is similar to that of Robert Downey Jr., the famous North American actor who plays Iron Man, who signed a 10-year contract!
The pay wasn't high, but he could live off this one role for the rest of his life.

He completed a remarkable transformation from a prodigal son to a world-class superstar.

To be honest, Marvel needed him to play Iron Man to gain global recognition, and Downey also wanted some security.

Ten years is a constraint on each other.

Marvel couldn't replace the actor, and Downey couldn't demand an exorbitant price. The two parties collaborated on multiple Marvel films.

Several Hollywood superstars, including those who played Captain America, Hulk, and Black Widow, all had such long-term contracts.

Paula certainly hopes to win such a role from Chen Jin, then she won't have to worry about anything in North America.

"Kevin, you still don't understand Chan's value!"

“He’s different from Fan Bingbing and Li Jiayin in Iron Man 3. You’re giving roles to Chinese actors because you want to quickly open up the Chinese market, and Chan is the most suitable one!”

Paula, of course, came prepared, and handed Kevin a document directly: "Take a look at this data of mine, it's about Jin Chan!"

How could Fan Bingbing possibly compare to Chen Jin?

She landed a minor role in Iron Man 3, so Chen Jin will definitely get a long-term contract for the series.

Paula felt there was no basis for comparison between the two.

He has great confidence in his artists.

"?"

Kevin Feige glanced at Paula, who sat in front of him with an air of unwavering confidence, with a puzzled look, but in the end... he opened the file in front of him.

This is an investigative report about Chen Jin.

Actually, Paula made it herself.

"We can see that Chan starred in his first film in China, 'Under the Hawthorn Tree,' which grossed over 5000 million US dollars!"

"This was his debut film, and with his second film, he broke the box office record in China!"

"This is a low-budget urban romance film that he invested in and wrote himself, yet it grossed over 1 million US dollars!"

Paula added her comments as Kevin flipped through the documents.

"The data I presented above is all true!"

"From the moment Chen Jin entered the Chinese film industry, he has been transforming the market. It is said that their current online ticketing app was reformed by this young man. He is one of the smartest people in that country!"

"He achieved the highest ranking in the national exam, just like the NBA's number one draft pick. He got first place in the country academically!"

"He is much more than just an actor!"

Paula grew increasingly confident, noticing Kevin's increasingly slow pace as he flipped through the documents. She knew the guy was starting to consider the feasibility of the document.

"In the three years since Chan entered China, he has created five box office miracles!"

"We industry professionals in North America are all studying why the growth rate of the Chinese market is so exaggerated. I'm telling you without any hesitation, it's all related to this actor!"

"In China, his true value has not yet been realized!"

Before becoming the head of Chen Jin's team, a former personal agent of a top global celebrity naturally conducted a comprehensive study of his artist.

Not only UTA, but Paula herself also conducted a detailed investigation into Chen Jin. The final data surprised her greatly. As a result, she immediately called the head of UTA, wanting to help this young man reach the top of the Hollywood world stage.

In Paula's eyes, his future was incredibly bright, even dazzling.

She had this confidence and greatly admired Chen Jin, this young man.

To be able to create such a miracle in one's own country in just a few years—if this were in Hollywood, even Leonardo DiCaprio would be ranked lower.

That's how exaggerated it is.

Five miracles in three years, boosting the entire film market—can Leonardo DiCaprio do it?!
If Marvel isn't stupid, they'll definitely see the deeper meaning behind this report.

Compared to Paramount and Warner Bros., which collaborated with China Film Group, Universal, Relativity Media, and other companies undoubtedly saw things most clearly.

"23 billion US dollars in box office revenue over 3 years?"

Kevin's expression completely changed after he saw Chen Jin's total box office in China!

To be honest, he hadn't paid any attention to this Chinese actor.

But even now, I was still completely taken aback by this box office figure!

(End of this chapter)