Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 519 "The Great Wall"? (13)

In 2012, a total of 79 Chinese films were sold to more than 120 countries and regions, but the total overseas box office and sales revenue amounted to only 17.63 billion RMB…

The largest share went to "Chinese Zodiac" – $4600 million;
"The Big Shot" ranked second, with overseas box office takings reaching $4400 million...

Compared to 2011, it has shrunk by 20%—in 2011 it was 20.46 billion yuan!
Of course, the figure for 2010 was 35.17 billion…

—In 2010, there was "The Karate Kid," a Sino-US co-production that grossed $3.59 million worldwide, which is more than 25 billion yuan!
China Film Group has export KPIs!
Later, he co-founded China Film (Shanghai) International Cultural Media Company with Stanley Tong…

I've collaborated with Jackie Chan on several films...

Kung Fu Yoga, Vanguard, and... Legend...

Of course, each one was worse than the last!
But thanks to Jackie Chan's IP, "Vanguard," which was a complete disaster, sold its rights to 145 countries and regions, making it the top Chinese-language film of its time.

Before its release, the overseas rights to "Legend" had already sold for $500 million...

But it should still be losing money, at least not as much as "Project Panda" - "Project Panda" sold its overseas rights to 85 countries and regions, $10 to $30 to $50 to large countries. With various product placements and sponsorship from the Sichuan Tourism Bureau, hey, 7000 million yuan in profit was pocketed. So, "Project Panda 2" was immediately launched!
Including the overseas rights to "Police Story 2013"... it sold for a whopping $3000 million...

But China Film Group felt... or rather, Zhao Haicheng felt that they couldn't always rely on Jackie Chan for film exports, after all, he was already in his sixties.

Let's rely on Shen Yan more!
"This year, the best-selling overseas rights were for 'Northeast Folk Tales'... We sold overseas rights to 121 countries and regions... It grossed $186 million at the South Korean box office. I think if the authorities could loosen the restrictions, I could make a few more..."

"Let's forget it," Zhao Haicheng shook his head, then asked, "What about science fiction?"

Shen Yan spoke frankly: "It's a bit difficult... We don't have global distribution channels, especially in the European and American markets, it's very difficult for us to enter."

The overseas distribution rights for "The Wandering Earth" and "The Wandering Earth 2" didn't sell very well. "The Wandering Earth" only grossed $780 million overseas, while "The Wandering Earth 2" grossed nearly $1200 million overseas...

The biggest challenges facing film distribution are theater restrictions and international trade barriers.

A film's global distribution network consists of numerous small companies or conglomerates, requiring negotiations to be conducted on a case-by-case basis…

That's right, movies are extremely dependent on publicity and distribution channels!
Hollywood spent decades developing the ability to distribute products globally…

Chinese films do not yet possess this capability…

Zhao Haicheng then asked, "Do you have any ideas about making a Sino-US co-production blockbuster?"

Without even thinking, Shen Yan shook his head: "...No."

"...Thomas Tull from Legendary Pictures came to visit us recently; he wants to create a monster movie based on 'The Great Wall'."

Guo Fan immediately thought of something: "Using the Great Wall to fight monsters?"

"Correct!"

Shen Yan said, "This seems to be a plot from 'A Song of Ice and Fire'... The Wall!"

"A Song of Ice and Fire?"

"You haven't seen it? The first book of *A Song of Ice and Fire*, *Game of Thrones*, mentions the Wall, located at the northernmost edge of Westeros. Outside the walls are forests teeming with White Walkers, inside lies the civilized world inhabited by humans… protected by the Night's Watch…"

What are White Walkers?

“It’s a monster similar to a zombie…” After a pause, Shen Yan added, “If I were to direct ‘The Great Wall,’ would I have the final say on the script and the actors?”

"...I'm afraid that won't work, they already have a script!"

"Then you should find someone else who is more capable."

The Great Wall was inspired by Thomas Tull, the head of Legendary Pictures, who first saw the Great Wall of China from an airplane and thought it was a particularly magnificent structure, deciding to make a movie with the Great Wall as its backdrop…

In 2012, Thomas Tull began working with screenwriter Max Brooks on the first draft of the script for "The Great Wall"... and later Tony Gilroy was brought in to refine the script!
Max Brooks is the screenwriter of *World War Z*; Tony Gilroy's notable works include *The Bourne Identity*...

That's why we invited Matt Damon!

It was a Hollywood popcorn blockbuster from the very beginning.

What are Hollywood popcorn blockbusters?
In Hollywood-dominated films, directors have no right to tell the story, no right to choose actors, and no right to edit.

They've arranged everything perfectly.

All you have to do is hold the camera and get the audience's adrenaline pumping!

What Shen Yan didn't understand was, why would they hire a mainland director for a movie like this?

You approached Zhang Yimou, so why didn't you give him the right to make changes?

Anyway, Shen Yan definitely won't suffer this pain!
Damn it, let whoever wants to take pictures, he's not going to take on this mess anyway.

……

Zhao Haicheng leaves the "The Martian" film crew...

Filming continues!
By the way, after "Goodbye Mr. Loser" surpassed 13 billion yuan at the box office, the distributor signed a supplementary agreement with the original agreement: a 13% profit-sharing arrangement. This means that for the period after 15 billion yuan in box office revenue, the revenue share will be 30%, instead of the original 43%...

The reason is simple—they hope theaters will screen the film more often…

After all, three new films were released, taking up 75% of the screenings—"The Wolverine 2," "Special Identity," and "I Want to Be With You"...

"I Want to Be With You" is directed by Li Weiran and stars Feng Shaofeng and Nini.

Li Weiran is a representative of advertising directors who transitioned to the film industry. He directed "The Battle of Shama Town," and later "The Yin-Yang Master" and "A Journey Through the Moon."

"Special Identity" is the movie where Donnie Yen and Zhao Wenzhuo had a public feud.

In this timeline, the one who made the move was Qiankun Xingguang, also known as Lin Peng.

It's said that Yan Ge had previously promised to produce "Unrequited Love: Orange Blossoms in Huainan" for her, but Qiankun Starlight Company wasn't satisfied with the male lead casting, so they simply took it back and produced it themselves—"Hello, Old Times" has already finished filming, starring Chen Yao and Zhang Ruoyun; the female lead for "Unrequited Love: Orange Blossoms in Huainan" was given to Dilraba, and the male lead is still being cast…

To be honest, Dilraba is very suitable for glamorous and mature female lead roles, but it's not easy to find the right male lead for these kinds of dramas...

I feel like she has no chemistry with anyone.

Go for an adorable look, and cast Dou Xiao as the male lead!

Back to the film scheduling...

The announcement of the film *Goodbye Mr. Loser* offering discounts to theaters was released on October 22nd. Immediately, many influential figures, including producers of films released around the same time, were outraged, condemning it as "utterly dishonest!"

The film's production company is actually a spokesperson for LeTV...

"I Want to Be With You" did not meet box office expectations, and it is estimated that it will only make a maximum of 8000 million, making it difficult to recoup costs!

At this point, with "Goodbye Mr. Loser" announcing price reductions, cinemas and theater chains will definitely provide more support in terms of screenings...

Was he being a pervert?
When "Tiny Times" was released, Zhang Zhao of LOVE Entertainment said, "Film distribution is just a business of rebates!"

Shen Yan posted the original text directly on Weibo, adding the question, "You guys can get rebates, but we can't?"

(End of this chapter)