Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 55 Bringing Talent to the World

"The Dark Side" became a popular film at the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival and made headlines in local film festival newspapers that day.

It is a suspense masterpiece, coupled with Wu Chen's identity: a 21-year-old genius director from an ancient oriental country, and the suspenseful reversal of the plot is unrestrained.
Each of these points will be a plus if you succeed.

[21-year-old Oriental genius's "Dark Side": One side is beautiful, the other side is dark!]

[This isn't a newcomer's debut; it's the prelude to a master's arrival!]

The headlines and reviews written by major media outlets and film critics are full of hype.

The organizing committee of the film festival is also happy to see this success and is eager to spread it all over the world, taking this opportunity to add more glory to the golden signboard of Sitges.

"A Chinese director? A suspense film?"

Ethan Kessler, who arrived in Sitges, glanced at the newspaper and a look of curiosity flashed in his eyes.

He is a senior agent in the film department of CAA (Creative Artists Agency) with a clear mission: to discover new directors at international film festivals.

If Wu Chen was shooting an art film or something like that, he wouldn't be interested.

Art films are too mysterious. Even if an old director makes another one, it may not win an award. The money-making stability is poor and does not meet his standards.

But suspense films are different. They have a fixed audience, and the good and the bad are obvious at a glance. Especially in Hollywood, the routines are mature and the returns are stable.

Kessler walked into the screening room, the lights dimmed, and "The Dark Side" began.

He stared at the screen, the twists and turns came to him like a tide, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, his heart in turmoil: This composition, this rhythm, can a 21-year-old director play it so perfectly?

Far from being exaggerated, the report was actually too conservative.

He graduated from New York University with a degree in film. He was active in independent film circles such as the Sundance Film Festival in his early years and later joined CAA.
I have met countless new directors, but this is the first time I have seen such a young director who has both narrative completeness and aesthetic composition that is top-notch.

Moreover, this director can write such a wonderful script. This kind of inspiration is extremely rare.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would even doubt whether he really graduated from the film major at New York University.

How come Wu Chen from Beijing Film Academy is way ahead of him even before graduating from the same world-class film and television school?

China, Beijing Film Academy, Genius;

He possesses excellent narrative logic, a solid foundation in directing, and first-class photography aesthetics. He has a different imagination than Yimou Zhang and Ang Lee, and is not limited by the unique historical context of China, but has an international narrative style.
Risks: No other films available for reference; unknown ability to train actors; unknown ability to undertake large-scale projects
Ethan Kessler extracted Wu Chen's information almost in a short time, but still watched the movie very patiently.

The film ended with thunderous applause, but Kessler didn't bother to applaud. He took out his cell phone and called CAA executive Michael Ovitz: "Michael, I want to use this year's B-List (mid-tier signing)!"

"I'm curious, who did you meet in Sitges?" Ovitz asked with interest.

Senior agents only have one B-list signing resource per year and are responsible for utilizing these quotas. As for top-level (A-list) signings, CAA's head of management is required to negotiate.
Although mid-tier signings are not as good as top signings, each spot is an extremely important resource for these senior agents. If he remembered correctly, Kessler had not used mid-tier signings for many years.

"A young director from China, from the same school as Yimou Zhang. His films are excellent. I think he has the potential to be a top signing in the future." Kessler answered truthfully and also told him his analysis of Wu Chen one by one.

"Are you sure he's only 21?" Ovitz raised his voice, shock overshadowing all analysis.

Age means endless possibilities.

This means that Wu Chen has a long golden period of creation, and CAA can afford to wait and cultivate him.

"Yes." Kessler said firmly. Although he had not met Wu Chen in person, he had to be sure at this moment.

"Sure!" Michael Ovitz agreed decisively. "If you can't handle it, you can mobilize the group's resources. Yimou Zhang has a short-term top-level contract with us. They go to the same school, so maybe Zhang can help you."

Kessler, who had obtained the contract conditions for the core player, was full of confidence and went straight to Wu Chen.

At the same time, outside the negotiation room rented by Wu Chen, Zu Feng, Hu Jing and Dong Xuan watched numbly as groups of foreigners came in and out.

The sea breeze came in through the window, carrying a salty smell across the coffee cup on the table. The three of them watched the last film producer leave before stepping into the house.

Sitting next to Wu Chen was a Chinese student who was hired as a temporary translator. He had no problem communicating in English for daily life, but the film terminology was too professional, so he had to rely on external help.

"How many families came in these three hours?" Hu Jing nudged Dong Xuan and asked in a low voice.

Dong Xuan was still confused and was about to speak when Wu Chen glanced at the record and said with a faint smile:
"Out of eight, we negotiated with four. Filmax Spain bought the theatrical and DVD distribution rights, and HBO Spain got the TV broadcast rights;
France's Wild Bunch packaged theatrical, DVD and TV rights;
Germany's Kinowelt International was also acquired as a package."

Wu Chen was very satisfied with today's results.

The two Spanish companies sold the products for $20, the German package sold for $15, and the French package sold for $18, for a total of $53. Selling them separately could have yielded a higher return, but some of the larger companies demanded exclusivity, which was unavoidable.

Of course, this is not the exact number, because there is a floating clause in the contract, that is, if the film wins an award, the price will increase accordingly.

The floating ratio varies from country to country, and it is related to the national conditions and the preference for this type of movie.

Countries like Spain and France have a floating rate of up to 50%, while Germany has only 33%.

“It’s selling so fast?”

Hu Jing took a deep breath, feeling that the money came too quickly, considering that movies were selling so well nowadays.

Although she didn't know the exact amount it was sold for, the figures occasionally muttered by the foreigners passing by gave them a rough idea.

Zu Feng appeared calm on the surface, but he was deeply shaken.

Looking at Wu Chen, there was a sense of unreality.

Who would have thought that last year Wu Chen was still a student who needed the help of professors to introduce him to other actors, but now he is sitting in the negotiation room of the Sitges Film Festival and negotiating millions of dollars in business with global film producers.

"Those who came but didn't reach an agreement, do they not plan to buy anymore?"

Speaking of this, Dong Xuan felt a little distressed. Now she had to pay at least hundreds of thousands of US dollars for every person who came. If four people left, wouldn’t it be a loss of several million RMB?
"Some think it's too expensive, while others are waiting for a better price. It's just a negotiation tactic." Wu Chen smiled. "If they don't want to come, then they don't have to. We won't force them. Those who are worth the price will come back."

Just as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.

A white man in his thirties walked in, with slightly curly brown hair and a jacket wrinkled like a pickle.

"Hello, Wu, I'm Jason Blum." He handed over his business card with a simple line of information on it: independent film producer.

Wu Chen took the business card and narrowed his eyes slightly. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember it specifically.

"Wu, can I talk to you alone?" Jason Blum suddenly asked.

Wu Chen was stunned for a moment. It didn't feel like they were here specifically to discuss copyright.

Hu Jing and the others left tactfully. At Wu Chen's suggestion, the translator also left temporarily, closing the door behind him.

There were only two people left in the room. The sea breeze made the curtains sway slightly, and the brown stains of the coffee cup cast a shadow on the table.

"Okay, Mr. Blum, please go ahead." Wu Chen smiled and gestured with his hand.

"Let me briefly introduce myself."

Jason Blum stood up and spoke in a deep, powerful voice: "In 1995, I was working at Miramax as a film executive.

In 1999, I became the producer of the independent film "Coffee and Cigarettes" and began to get involved in independent production.

I am very familiar with the independent film market."

When Jason Blum said the first sentence of his introduction, Wu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and he finally remembered who this person was.

Founder of Blumhouse.

Blumhouse will be recognized in the industry as a leader in low-cost, high-return horror films in the future;
Its unique production model and extremely high box office returns have made it a star enterprise in the independent film industry.

Many well-known low-cost, high-return films such as "Paranormal Activity", "Insidious", "Sadako", "Whiplash", and "The Hunt" were produced by this company.

Of course, if Wu Chen remembers correctly, Jason Blum has not yet established Blumhouse, and it should be in the preparation stage.

An independent filmmaker is one who is not dependent on the major film studios or the mainstream Hollywood system;

A person who independently finances, writes, and produces films, either alone or with a small number of collaborators.

In this case, script creativity and director are the key to this group's selection.

As both a screenwriter and a director, he undoubtedly fits the other party's goals.

Wu Chen understood in his heart.

"Wu, do you want to bring your talent to the world?"

(End of this chapter)