Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 600 A Struggle to Imitate
Although Aaron was in BJ, the battle in Hollywood had not subsided. Dawn & Twilight's low-budget teen sex comedy "American Pie" grossed over $1 million at the North American box office.
This film is adapted from the screenplay "His Pie" by author Adam Hertz. Dawn spent $75 to acquire this original screenplay by a newcomer!
Fortunately, American Pie grossed $1 million in North America and $1.3 million overseas, for a total of $2.35 million worldwide.

American Pie depicts the passionate youth of teenagers from a teenage perspective, resonating with young people around the world.
This film cleverly captures the awkwardness of teenagers' curiosity and fantasies about sex, yet their reluctance to express them. Through dramatic performances, it inspires reflection on adolescent sexual anxiety and opens the door to sex comedies.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: "American Pie is particularly funny, unexpectedly tender, and more erotic than a teenage boy's dream."

The Baltimore Sun: "It simply uses an old formula to express some uninteresting opinions, which are occasionally amusing but mostly disgusting."

Regardless of how others evaluate "American Pie," its success is undeniable.

Seeing the success of "American Pie," other film companies began developing scripts for similar teen sex comedies, sparking a wave of imitation from other film companies!
……

That evening in Beijing, in a private room at the China World Hotel, Han Sanping, vice chairman of China Film Group, hosted a dinner for Aaron Anderson.

"Mr. Anderson speaks really fluent Chinese!"

Han Sanping smiled and clinked glasses with Aaron and Wang Zhuxian.

"It's alright. The main thing is, I have a lot of business here, so I only learned it recently."

"Mr. Han, is there something you want to say to me that you specially invited me to this banquet?"

Aaron looked at the other person and asked.

Han Sanping sighed, "Don't laugh at me, Mr. Anderson, but Chinese cinema is now at its most dangerous point."

"The film market is sluggish, the film industry is lagging behind, and there's a lack of funding, along with various other problems. I'd like to hear your thoughts on Chinese cinema, as a Hollywood golden boy."

"Of course, given my current position, my main role is managing production; I'm powerless to help with other aspects."

Aaron smiled, glanced at Wang Zhuxian beside him, and said, "I've known Ms. Wang Zhuxian for many years and know a bit about Chinese films."

Several years ago, Chinese cinema underwent a reform that abolished the state-controlled purchase and distribution of films, allowing state-owned film studios to be responsible for their own profits and losses.

"At the same time, it also opened up a revenue-sharing model for imported foreign films, which are all progress!"

Han Sanping glanced at Wang Zhuxian, then said, "Miss Wang is already very famous in China, and now she manages Hong Kong's Huan Asia Entertainment. It's quite normal for Mr. Anderson to know about the situation in China."

"Right now, we don't have any good solutions for the future of the film market. Many directors have no projects to shoot, and even government-supported films have no audiences to appreciate them."

Movies are being made but no one is watching them. Many cinemas are being converted into video arcades, dance halls, skating rinks, and other venues, leaving a large number of film industry workers with nothing to do!
Aaron felt a little helpless; didn't this mean they were short of money?
But you don't allow private film companies to produce films. You want other people's money, but the distribution is done by your own state-owned film companies, and the production is also done by your own state-owned film companies.

This is really a difficult situation to handle.

Aaron thought for a moment, "I think that movies are not just an art form, but also a commodity, and capital is always profit-driven; investors need to see profits before they will allow capital to enter!"

At this moment, Wang Zhuxian spoke up, "Media Asia has decided to invest 3000 million RMB to produce a commercial action film."

"We also want to give it a try, to see how well mainland China accepts domestic commercial films now."

"Hmm, 3000 million?" Han Sanping was taken aback for a moment. "This is great. Does Media Asia plan to film in mainland China?"

Wang Zhuxian nodded, "Of course, it will be a co-production between Hong Kong and mainland China!"

Han Sanping was transferred to the position of director of Beijing Film Studio in 1994. The annual production budget of Beijing Film Studio was only 70 to 80 million RMB, but there were many films to be made. Finding money was always one of his goals.

Even earlier, when he was the deputy director of the Emeishan Film Studio, in order to raise money, he even hired people to shoot "cassette tapes" (small works that skirted the edge of sex, with minor violence and soft eroticism) for 50,000 to 60,000 yuan each, which could be completed in a week, and the money earned could be used to subsidize other creative works!

Aaron took a sip of his drink. "Actually, hasn't China introduced the concept of movie release schedules in the last two years?"

"The Lunar New Year film season is a great change, and operational strategies are also very important for film distribution."

Han Sanping sighed. It was obvious that Chinese films needed reform, but it was difficult to implement. Just look at the resistance encountered when the door to importing revenue-sharing films was opened up.

There are still only 10 films. There are so many state-owned and provincial film studios across the country now, but they support hundreds of thousands of people.
The BJ Studio alone has more than 3000 employees!

The Chinese New Year film season adopts the model of Hollywood commercial films, producing works to suit audience preferences and release dates.

Feng Xiaogang's film "The Dream Factory," which became a huge hit two years ago, was the first film made for a specific release date and grossed 3600 million RMB at the box office!
"The Dream Factory" was invested in by several companies including China Film Group, Forbidden City Film Group, and Huayi Brothers. With a production budget of 400 million RMB, it grossed 3600 million RMB at the box office.
Moreover, director Feng Xiaogang did not take a salary but adopted a profit-sharing model, ultimately earning 117 million RMB.

"The gap between us and Hollywood is just too big!"

Aaron raised his glass and clinked it with the other person's. "Movies are a form of spiritual enjoyment, which is linked to the economy. I believe things will definitely improve as China's economy develops."

"My suggestion is that China should lay a solid foundation, starting by cultivating a group of outstanding, up-to-date film industry professionals."

"The genre of the films needs to be changed, moving towards a more commercial direction, including action films, romance films, comedies, and other color films!"

Aaron believed the other party could understand, after all, the vast majority of Chinese films are political education or mainstream works;

These kinds of works have been made for decades, and audiences really don't like watching them anymore.

Han Sanping smiled, raised his glass, and said, "Mr. Anderson, I'd like to toast you. You're someone who has created countless miracles in just 10 years..."

(End of this chapter)