Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 281 Publication Costs, Risks of Hard Science Fiction

The following morning, a faint golden hue appeared on the horizon of Los Angeles, and sunlight streamed between the buildings of the post-production company.

Wu Chen and James Wan met in the post-production studio, where Michael Burns of Lionsgate and several heads of the market screening department were also present.

"If we do the fine-tuning, it should be done next month." Wen Ziren said as he flipped through the editing schedule and sat down to watch the horror movie with Wu Chen and the others.

It has to be said that horror movies are perfect for making money in Hollywood.

From preparation to completion, it only takes two months, and post-production can also be completed in one or two months. The production cycle is short, and post-production is fast. A horror movie can be made in three months.

Wu Chen nodded, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Scenes from "Lurking" flashed by on the screen.

The atmosphere in the screening room was tense. The Lionsgate staff watched very attentively, much more so than Wu Chen and James Wan.

"The entrance scene for this 'red-faced demon' was well done: a rapid violin accompaniment, followed by the camera slowly zooming in on a scarlet door, and finally a sudden cut to a close-up of the demon."

"I'm still thinking about whether to turn up the sound effects a bit more, darken the color tone, or add some graininess to the visuals to make the audience feel more depressed."

Wen Ziren turned to Wu Chen and they discussed it.

Wu Chen stared at the screen with great interest, nodded slightly, and couldn't help but give a thumbs up to James Wan's expertise in horror films.

Meanwhile, the Lionsgate staff were glued to the screen the whole time, enjoying the show while also getting startled every now and then.

The atmosphere, the tight plot, and the clever sound effects created over a hundred minutes of filming left the Lionsgate staff pale-faced as they rushed to turn on the lights afterward.

"Phew, I was almost scared to death!"

"There's not a drop of blood, but the sense of horror is overwhelming!"

"Jack, you have to come home with me tonight, it's too scary!"

"."

As everyone chattered amongst themselves, a chill ran down my spine. But when I looked back at Wu Chen and Wen Ziren, who were still calmly discussing sound effects and color tones, I was speechless.

So it turns out we were the only ones who got scared.

After they finished talking, they looked at Michael Burns: "Michael, how was it?"

James Wan was even more excited at this point, because he had the highest screen time in any horror film he had ever made, and he felt that he was in excellent condition during filming, so this was definitely going to be a blockbuster.

For Lionsgate, every 1% increase in distribution revenue means a significant loss of US dollars.

“Fantastic! Wu, Wen, can Lionsgate buy it out?” Michael Burns sighed and then said.

"That won't do. We still need to film the second and third installments. Let's talk about distribution fees instead."

Wu Chen refused outright. He said he could earn more money immediately by buying out the project, but "Lurking" was a golden egg.

"21% North American commission"

“That’s too high, Michael. We’re partners,” Wu Chen said immediately upon hearing this.

“OK, OK, 20%, Wu, you need to know that what we issue isn’t that profitable,” Michael Burns was still complaining about the difficulties of issuing the product.

Wu Chen ignored it completely, not even a single punctuation mark.

“18%!” Wen Ziren said.

“Oh, you guys are going to kill me! Lionsgate doesn’t make money easily.” Michael Burns quickly refused.

“16%, all the same series will be distributed by Lionsgate!” When Wu Chen announced the percentage, Michael Burns almost jumped up, but hesitated after hearing the following sentence.

"16% is too low; there aren't any that low in the market. Lionsgate will be ostracized. 17% is better."

“17%, that’s settled.” Wu Chen smiled and patted Michael Burns on the shoulder. “Let’s go take a look at the script for *Now You See Me 2*.”

"Wu, you are truly a shrewd businessman!"

"No, Lionsgate will make more money. Don't tell me you didn't see the brand potential of the horror film 'Lurking'!"

"All right!"

Back at Lionsgate headquarters, the air conditioning was blasting throughout the building.

In the main conference room on the fifth floor, Michael Burns handed Wu Chen a thick script, which was "Now You See Me 2".

Wu Chen reached out and opened the script. The cover had a familiar logo, and after a few pages, familiar words came into view.

He frowned slightly and quickly glanced through the outline and character summaries.

This script largely retains the core storyline he initially envisioned, and is significantly better overall than the original "The Heist 2." The original "The Heist 2" was generally criticized by audiences for its fragmented plot, disjointed pacing, and weak motivations for the villains.

The plot, in particular, is so rich in information that it "splits the Four Horsemen into different locations" and then interweaves the narrative with elements of a Macau casino, chip unlocking, and a vengeful villain. The audience was immediately "split into four pieces" by the plot.

Compared to the first film, its reputation has declined slightly.

Wu Chen has slightly concentrated the main and side storylines this time, using Macau and New York as the main settings for the dual-city story, resulting in a smoother plot and a more stable pace.

At the same time, a growth arc was added to the character relationships to avoid making the characters too one-dimensional.

Overall, the script is well-made, but Wu Chen noticed that the character of Jay Chou, the Chinese character in the original version, who is in charge of running a magic prop workshop, seems to have been rewritten by the screenwriter and is not very clear.

Seeing this, Michael Burns explained, "Wu, we are still considering this role. We plan to wait until we find a suitable cameo actor and then create a role that matches his personality, which would be more appropriate."

What do you think of Crystal? We've considered her; she's very popular right now, and if she were to make a cameo appearance, we think it would be a good opportunity to upgrade the character's image.”

Wu Chen's heart stirred slightly. If it was a cameo role, a stunning appearance would be fine, but simply showing his face was unnecessary.

I'll talk to her about it later.

After carefully reading to the last page, Wu Chen made some marks in some places, then closed the book: "This script is generally fine. I've marked some details, and the screenwriter just needs to revise it a bit more."

Wu Chen handled things in North America faster than expected.

On Paramount's side, although the initial talks went well, the actual terms became much more complicated, involving a complex web of stakeholders.

To this end, he specifically hired a legal and accounting team to liaise with the other party, going through each detail one by one.

When it comes to large projects with intertwined interests, it's always good to be cautious.

In the past few days, Wu Chen also made a special trip to Global Times.

Universal will definitely conduct an evaluation of the "Mars Rescue" project first.

Although he is now the project initiator, and many producers are in a position where if he dares to make a film, someone will dare to invest, a hard science fiction film with a budget of nearly 100 million US dollars is not something that any company can afford to lose money on casually. It can burn through money in no time and make people question their life choices.

Because hard science fiction is not only expensive and difficult to produce, if it is not well made, audience acceptance is also very limited, so it often results in a high start but a low finish, and a complete loss of investment.

The 1995 film "Waterworld" is a classic example, and it just so happens to be a Universal film. This movie cost Universal more than $100 million, almost causing Universal to go bankrupt on the spot.

Inside the Universal Pictures administration building, where huge movie posters are always displayed, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto a dark conference table, illuminating a row of executives sitting upright.

On the conference table lay a series of thick evaluation reports, printed with "Wu Chen: Proposal for the Sino-US co-production project of 'The Martian'".

David Lyndon tapped the table. To be honest, if Wu Chen hadn't made a sci-fi film, nothing would have happened. Universal expressed its support without any reservations.
Science fiction films are the nightmare of all the major Hollywood studios; every single one of them has been burned to some extent.

Universal was the one that got ripped off the most.

“I’ve read the script for ‘The Martian,’ and the story is quite interesting. I suggest pairing him with Wu Chen; he hasn’t made a mistake so far, and the film has a high probability of being profitable.”

"The risks of hard science fiction projects are not only about funding, but also about the rigor of scientific details. If you want to get involved, you must have a team of scientific advisors. I think Wu Chen has already made that clear."

"Wu Chen's earning power is beyond doubt, but Sino-US co-productions involve approval, translation, cultural differences, and overseas promotion. Any problem in any link could lead to a disaster, making our promotional requirements very difficult."

"."

Everyone chimed in, discussing the potential risks and returns of the project, but no one dared to guarantee that the movie would make money, after all, this was Hollywood.

During his time in Hollywood, Liu Yifei called every morning, while Wu Chen was in North America at night.

"It feels like you're doing ward rounds, always so punctual," Wu Chen said, leaning against the hotel balcony, gazing at the Los Angeles night sky, his phone to his ear, a hint of doting in his smile.

"Yes, you're right. Sister Na told me the other day to keep a close eye on things." On the other end of the phone, Liu Yifei was lying on the bed, her phone on speakerphone, her hands supporting her head, with a lazy smile on her face.

She said you're now a delicious piece of Tang Sanzang flesh, easily bitten by someone.

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen couldn't help but smile.

"By the way, would you like to have a cameo role in 'The Heroes 2'?"

"A cameo?" Liu Yifei's voice betrayed a hint of surprise and confusion.

"Well, we'll see if Lionsgate's writing team can come up with a good opening for you later. If not, that's fine too. Don't take it too seriously." Wu Chen didn't seem to care much about it.

“Isn’t ‘The Heist 2’ a movie you were in? I can make a cameo appearance, no problem,” Liu Yifei said with a grin.

There's no need to exploit your influence.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

(End of this chapter)