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

Chapter 579 Is this thing legal? (34)

"The Continent" is a road movie...

It's very similar to Han Han's novels—as early as 02, "Like a Teenager Flying" had many stories about cars, and later, in "1988, I Want to Talk to This World," 1988 was the name of a car!
The plot of "The Continent" is simple: the main characters are two people played by Feng Shaofeng and Chen Bolin, who drive from the easternmost to the westernmost part of mainland China. Along the way, they encounter four other people played by Chen Qiaoen, Wang Luodan, Yuan Quan, and Wallace Chung, and the story revolves around the two travelers' meetings and partings with these four individuals…

There's no plot to speak of!
Han Han is very smart; he chose a road movie!

It consists of several independent short stories, in which people come and go.

It has low requirements for plot development, but high requirements for emotional build-up.

The emotions conveyed were spot-on—it captured that feeling of being homeless, adrift, striving forward but unsure of the destination.

The film basically includes all the elements of a road movie, even presenting them in a very raw and unfiltered way. It lacks technical sophistication, with long passages of life insights spewing from the protagonist's mouth, filled with memorable quotes…

Therefore, this movie was definitely directed by Han Han himself, or at least he was the screenwriter—a mature director wouldn't be so direct!
"I think it'll easily surpass 500 million. Whether it can reach 600 million depends on how well 'Brotherhood of Blades' performs!"

"Brotherhood of Blades...Lu Yang's movie?"

"Hmm, the script is pretty good, and the filming is also very good, but the plot is a bit profound... Anyway, I've given it a box office prediction of 3 million!"

Yu Dong interjected, "What about 'Lost and Found'?"

"Lost and Love is just a drama film, and the plot isn't very appealing..."

"Lost and Love" is scheduled for release on July 20th, sandwiched between "Tiny Times 3: The Golden Age" and "The Continent"...

This film took a month and a half to shoot, and is in a semi-documentary style. It begins with a reporter's interviews and recounts a decades-long search for relatives...

With investments from China Film Group, CCTV-6 (China Movie Channel), and Spark Studio, the total cost was only 25 million yuan.

Through the efforts of Mr. La Pei, "Lost and Found" became a key project of the Film Foundation Association...

Even if we don't recoup the costs, we will still include a second round of screenings in rural areas...

Therefore, everyone, including Shen Yan, didn't have high expectations for the movie's box office performance!
Seeing that several people were interested, Shen Yan added, "I originally wanted to make the anti-trafficking movie into a commercial film, but I felt it wasn't appropriate. The original protagonist cycled for 17 years, covering more than 20 miles. The story itself is moving enough... so let's not add any so-called commercial elements!"

"So you're not optimistic about the market performance?"

Shen Yan said seriously, "Tiny Times 3 is a fan film, and The Continent also has the selling point of director Han Han. How can it possibly have a market if it is released between these two films?"

Han Han couldn't help but ask, "Then why not change the date?"

Shen Yan was a little embarrassed: "...For promotional purposes..."

Both "Tiny Times" and "The Continent" are 'fan' films. Being released between two other films naturally provides them with publicity points and makes it easy to attract casual viewers...

Yes, Shen Yan didn't have high expectations for the box office of "Lost and Found," but that doesn't mean he didn't want the movie to be a big hit!

Yu Dong changed the subject: "Let's not talk about 'Lost and Love' anymore. I heard you invested in another movie in North America this year, what's it called? 'Whiplash'?"

"Yes, an award-contending film!"

"A cost of $1050 million?"

"1050 million?" Shen Yan asked in surprise, "Who told you that?"

"Ji Xiang told me!"

Shen Yan glanced at Yu Dong, then nodded: "Yes, $1050 million! After all, although the actors we found aren't big names, they're still familiar faces to the public. The male lead, Miles Teller, is the male lead in 'Good Times Now'!"

"Good Times Now," starring Shailene Woodley, who rose to fame last year with "The Fault in Our Stars," and then starred in "Divergent"...

Miles Teller is also a potential breakout star.

Later, he starred in Top Gun: Maverick... "Has it finished filming?"

"Yes, we're preparing to participate in the Sundance Film Festival, and then release it in November, aiming for awards season..."

"Then...can Bona Film Group become a co-producer?"

Shen Yan frowned: "It's already finished filming!"

"It's okay, I only need 10% of the share, I can pay a 100% premium..."

A 100% premium means double the price...

While Shen Yan was still pondering, Yu Dong had already begun to pour out his grievances.

It's simply that Nasdaq doesn't have a high opinion of Bona Film Group...

During its five years listed on Nasdaq, Bona Film Group's value was consistently underestimated by the US market. Meanwhile, Huayi Brothers and Enlight Media, riding the wave of the booming mainland Chinese film market, saw their stock prices soar in the A-share market. Huayi Brothers' market capitalization peaked at nearly 900 billion yuan, while Bona Film Group's highest market capitalization was only 11 billion US dollars!
According to him, he wants to try his luck with the Oscars. If he wins an Oscar but Bona's market value doesn't change much, then he'll have to think of something else!

"Alright, then I'll give you 20% of my investment. No need for a 100% premium, just give me $300 million!"

"Well... thank you so much!"

"It's alright, they're all Chinese filmmakers."

……

$300 million...that basically covers the production cost.

"Whiplash" was filmed in 19 days and cost $350 million to produce.

So, North American independent films are really stingy...

Converted to RMB, that's less than 2500 million!
Therefore, independent films really don't need to spend that much money.

Hollywood has always pursued big movies, big productions, and big scenes.

In recent years, several production companies, led by Blumhouse, have changed their strategy and started producing a large number of "3-5 million" short films.

This production cost has been carefully calculated. Within this range, even if the film is a flop and never gets a theatrical release, selling the rights to various video websites can barely break even. They produce a dozen or so films each year, most of which result in a slight loss, but there are always one or two blockbusters that can generate dozens of times the return.

Blumhouse produces a large number of films in this price range every year, including the Paranormal Activity series. Of course, they also have many more films that Chinese pirate websites don't even bother to release.

Oh, so the original Crewboy was made by Blumhouse...

This time, A24 was brought in – with Shen Yan in charge of production.

A24 is responsible for publicity and distribution!
As for Bona... Yu Dong paid them money in exchange for Bona's logo being added to the opening credits.

Shen Yan... doesn't care!
It doesn't matter whose leeks you fleece!
……

The second day, also a forum session, changed its theme to the integration of internet finance and the film industry…

Alibaba is the organizer!

Or rather, Alibaba Entertainment Treasure is the organizer!
The discussion revolves around 'Internet + Finance + Film'!
Upon seeing the headline, Shen Yanlai immediately asked, "Is this thing legal?"

"legitimate?"

"Internet + Finance, isn't that just P2P lending websites? Add movies, and it becomes a fundraising project using the movie project as collateral. When I saw this title, I immediately thought of a scam: packaging movie production as an investment product and selling it through an internet finance platform..."

(End of this chapter)