Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 354 Ten Million Dollars! Ma Xun Sends Away "The Shadow Room," Featuring the Bold and Open Anne Hathaway?
Wow, this place is so beautiful.

The vast desert sands won over Anne Hathaway first.

Honestly, her arrival this time was quite a surprise to Ma Xun.

However, since they came with such sincerity, Ma Xun couldn't very well turn them away.

Of course, she didn't come alone; Ge Luming also came.

The reason for their arrival was not complicated at all.

Anne Hathaway became famous because of the movie "50 First Dates," and Ma Xun was her recommender, so the girl was naturally very curious.

Why would a Chinese person have such a good impression of her?

Moreover, Anne Hathaway has indeed never been to China.

Let's take a look this time.

Although we are currently in the midst of a pandemic, their arrival would only cause a bit of trouble.

They had contacted each other by phone before, so Ma Xun naturally knew the true purpose of their group.

The key lies with that old rascal, Ge Luming.

"The scenery is beautiful, but I still want to see how our movie is going."

This guy talks like a construction foreman.

Ma Xun laughed, "Alright, I'll show you what I'm made of next."

Seeing his confidence, Ge Luming felt much more at ease.

"Honestly, I've never seen a large-scale historical film shoot before. How many people will we have this time?"

"You'll know when you get there."

Ge Luming's statement is mainly because Hollywood has actually been 'reducing staff'.

In the past, Hollywood also needed a lot of extras.

They've also filmed a lot of large-scale historical epics there, such as "Starbucks".

This refers to the version directed by Kubrick, and the screenwriter was also very famous, the one who only wrote scripts in the bathtub.

Trumbo was also a screenwriter for "Roman Holiday," but he was persecuted by McKinseyism at the time and couldn't be credited, nor did he go to accept the Oscar.

Anyone who has seen this version knows that there are a huge number of people involved.

Although Kubrick was very angry about this movie and made a huge fuss about it.

But the film was still very successful.

However, with the emergence of the Screen Actors Guild, the number of these extras decreased, and Hollywood companies simply couldn't afford to hire them anymore.

There's no other way; they can only rely on special effects now. When they make movies, they have to reduce the number of actors involved.

This involves the actors' union.

One more thing: we Chinese should never think that American labor unions are so great, because that's really... ridiculous.

American labor unions are not what we Chinese people imagine. In fact, from the very beginning, American labor unions have been bullying us Chinese.

The earliest model was started by the Irish, who targeted the Chinese laborers at the time.

And now, one of the most common arguments used by American labor unions is: Chinese workers are stealing American jobs!
This is used to deceive Americans.

And then there are these American labor unions, they profit from both sides, profiting from the workers on one side and the companies on the other, they are actually on the same side as the capitalists.

Just like the Screen Actors Guild, if someone wants to act in Hollywood, even if it's just a minor role, they have to join the guild. You absolutely can't not join, and if you do, you have to pay a fee, often several hundred dollars, which is just a membership fee.

At the same time, Hollywood companies that want to hire actors must sign contracts with the Screen Actors Guild.

You won't sign? Then don't even think about filming!

I'll take your stall!
To put it bluntly, they're more like gangsters.

Therefore, we Chinese should never exaggerate how great American labor unions are; that would truly make those who know the truth laugh themselves to death.

Thanks to the efforts of the Screen Actors Guild, the possibility of ordinary extras has been virtually eliminated.

In other words, it's not acceptable for minor actors to ask for less pay, since they're not famous.

Many college graduates from art schools in China don't dare to ask for much money for their first film or television role. Xiaoming is a good example; he simply took no pay and was later given a 5000 yuan red envelope as a reward.

That would be a real problem in the US; the Screen Actors Guild would come after him.

As such, it seems that Ge Luming really hasn't seen many big scenes.

He was busy with other things before "Hero", and he also trusted Ma Xun and Zhang Yimou a lot.

This is one we can't miss.

As for us filming, that goes without saying!

Soon, they arrived at the film set.

What a magnificent desert scene!

From a distance, you can see many people and many horses.

It was the last cavalry battalion in China that Ma Xun was already very familiar with!
Needless to say, this time it's definitely up to them again.

It's important to understand that while our history often records tens of thousands of cavalry, in reality...

We don't need that many.

Hundreds or even thousands of riders would already create an overwhelming sense of scale.

Looking at European history, if a lord led a cavalry unit to participate in the Crusades, having a dozen or so knights under his command was considered quite impressive.

Now that Ge Luming saw it, he was completely shocked.

Wow! That's amazing!

Needless to say, Anne Hathaway also gave it a thumbs up.

Next, filming officially began. On this vast desert, yellow sand rolled, men and horses roamed, and arrows flew everywhere.

Good guy, really good guy!

Ge Luming was utterly shocked.

"That's amazing! This is just fantastic!"

This guy quickly joined Anne Hathaway's fan group.

Tong Liya and Wan Qian both found this scene quite amusing.

"I didn't expect that these foreigners are so unsophisticated."

"Ha... Sis, you're kidding me."

What Wan Qian said makes some sense, and it's also quite interesting.

In the film and television industry, Hollywood is indeed stronger, and we have to admit that.

Looking at it now, they're not so special after all.

Anne Hathaway is actually about the same age as Wan Qian and the others. It's one thing to say she's naive or unsophisticated.

But Ge Luming is the same way, which speaks volumes.

We're not that bad!
For some reason, I became more confident.

But not long after, it was their turn to film.

That leaves Ma Xun, He Qing, Ge Luming, and Anne Hathaway.

"How about we find somewhere to talk?"

"no problem."

When Ge Luming made this request, Ma Xun naturally had nothing to say.

So the two men walked and talked on the edge of the desert battlefield.

"Hey Lao Ge, you didn't come here just to watch how we make movies, did you?"

"Of course."

"I knew it, you wouldn't be so stingy."

"Haha... Of course I absolutely trust you, otherwise I wouldn't have entrusted you with such a large sum of money to make a movie."

"Okay, I appreciate your trust. Now, please tell me what's on your mind."

"Well... you're very well-informed, you should know something about what happened in Hollywood this year, right?"

"Are you making me guess?"

"Hehe... If you can guess it, then I'll be even more relieved."

"Old Ge, you've learned to keep people in suspense now. But this guess... it's not hard for me. It should be that movie 'The Ring,' right?"

"Wow! Oh my god!! Ma Xun, you... you're awesome! Absolutely awesome!"

Did you actually guess right?
To be honest, Ma Xun was just testing the waters.

The reason he mentioned "The Ring" is quite simple.

Because the American version of "The Ring" was released this year, and in terms of time, it's only been about a month.

Thinking back to Ma Xun's previous film, "The Others," which made Columbia Pictures a lot of money.

Moreover, it made Naomi Watts famous. This actress was previously considered a prime example of someone who would never achieve mainstream success. She had originally bet on "Mulholland Drive," because it was a film by a renowned director.

As a result, after the movie was released... nobody could understand it!

The film "Mulholland Drive" is a masterpiece that truly left moviegoers around the world completely baffled.

Naomi Watts naturally stopped casting spells and waited for The Others.

Hey, she actually became famous!

This also shows how successful this American version of "The Haunted House" was.

Horror films have always been known for their low budgets and high returns.

What's even more interesting is that the female lead in the American version of "The Ring" is Naomi Watts!

Needless to say, this movie was a huge success in the United States.

It even reversed the slump in the American horror film industry.

Columbia was naturally worried.

Because this American version of "The Ring" is a DreamWorks film.

Fortunately, Columbia Pictures had previously produced the successful film "The Others".

Therefore, Ge Luming naturally came to find Ma Xun.

"Old Ge, are you planning to have me make a sequel to 'The Others,' or do you want me to make another horror movie for you guys?"

Ma Xun's question is very rich in meaning.

Ge Luming laughed heartily, "My old friend, you are really too good. It is so easy to do things with you."

Let me be frank, what we mean is that it would be best if you wrote a sequel.

But if you can make an even better horror movie, that would be great too.

It also gave me some creative space?

Damn it, thank you!
Ma Xun, of course, wouldn't say that; he directly pointed out the key issue.

"Don't play dumb, the key issue is how to divide the money."

Direct enough!
Ge Luming laughed and said, "As expected of you. Well, we still hope to buy out the shares."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xun's expression immediately changed.

Ge Luming quickly changed her tune, "Everything is negotiable. This time we can discuss more details. Besides, DreamWorks has already said they will be filming a sequel to 'The Ring'."

That's a point of reference for Ma Xun.

"So, if the first movie does well at the box office, then starting with the second movie, I can get a share of the profits?"

"clever."

"That's not generous enough."

"Oh, my old Ma, can we talk about the details properly?"

"What details?"

"This time, you can have another role: screenwriter or director. So, according to the screenwriter and director roles, we'll have to pay you a salary, plus the copyright buyout, and also..."

I'll give you a rough estimate: no less than $1000 million!

That number is quite tempting.

If Ma Xun doesn't give him face, then that would be going too far.

However, this guy still had something to say: "I was both the director and the screenwriter, and I even gave you the copyright, and all I got was 1000 million?"

Ge Luming was somewhat embarrassed. "Oh, we're good friends, by the way, we can still arrange roles."

Sure enough, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Ma Xun nodded, "Hmm, this is not bad."

This role, though it's unlikely to be the main character, is definitely a very valuable resource.

Many people in China want to develop their careers in Hollywood, so Ma Xun has access to a fantastic resource.

To put it bluntly, he can use his influence to elevate the status of his own people, or he can use his influence to sell them at a higher price.

Yes, other actors in the industry, do you want this opportunity?

It's like the Snow White sisters...

For some reason, I thought of that night of contrasting ice and snow again.

That's really powerful!

"Old Ma, you have to understand my difficulties. Most of the time, this is how American companies cooperate with Chinese film and television companies. There's no other way; it's much more convenient to cooperate this way."

What Ge Luming said makes sense. In fact, right now, there are many real difficulties for us if we want to get a share of the profits in Hollywood.

There are actually many rules in the United States, such as the Screen Actors Guild, whose existence can create a lot of obstacles.

Columbia, on the other hand, is not in a position to break some of the existing 'rules'.

Ma Xun could accept this approach, as Ge Luming suggested.

Keep in mind, this is equivalent to a movie, which cost almost 100 million RMB!
What more could you want?

Of course, Ma Xun absolutely couldn't say such a thing; he had to continue his deception.

“Speaking of horror movies, I have one right now.”

"Great! Awesome! Haha..."

Ge Luming was overjoyed.

Ma Xun then shared his idea for a horror movie.

Have you ever heard of the intermediate state (bardo)?

"Oh? Well... I heard about it when I was in Hong Kong."

"Very well, now, there is a family, a very harmonious family, but, in this family, there is a child..."

What is Ma Xun saying?
Simply put, it's the horror film "Insidious," which is also translated as "The Dark Room" here.

It was originally a work by James Wan, but now... take it!
Without the slightest hesitation, Ma Xun took it and immediately tried to fool Ge Luming.

Old Ge was overjoyed when he heard this.

"Fantastic! This is it! This is the one! Old Ma, you're awesome!"

Hearing this, he immediately sensed a potential opportunity. Ge Luming, who had worked on so many films, was extremely excited.

According to his logic...

This means that as soon as he found Ma Xun, he completed the task assigned to him by the head office.

How could he not be happy?

Ever since the Japanese horror film "The Ring" became a huge hit in the United States, Asian horror films have been dominating the videotape market.

Filming an American version of an Asian horror movie is definitely the next big thing for Hollywood!

Ge Luming didn't say anything, and simply reassured Ma Xun.

That ten million? Easy peasy.

As for assigning roles, there's no rush right now.

The movie "50 First Dates" hasn't been released yet.

In short, filming for "Insidious Room" will begin next March or April, and the movie will be released during the Halloween season in October.

Shouldn't be a problem.

Horror movies have low budgets, so filming is simple.

And next...

"Anne Hathaway came here because of your reputation. Actually, if you use some tricks, it should be easy to get her to sleep with you."

Good grief, Ge Luming, you're quite the expert!
Ma Xun, a true gentleman, shook his head. "Am I that kind of person?"

Ge Luming laughed heartily and left, and not long after, Anne Hathaway arrived.

"What did you two just talk about?"

"Oh, it's about the movie."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Didn't you talk about me at all?"

"You? We're just having a brief chat."

Ma Xun's statement was correct, but then Anne Hathaway laughed.

"Just a quick talk? Didn't you two discuss how to get me into bed?"

At that moment, Ma Xun's expression was priceless...

(End of this chapter)