Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 580 The matter was sold.

On Wu Chen's side, besides promoting "Black Swan" on TV, he also took the opportunity to handle some matters in North America.

James Wan has already acquired the story rights from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema;
However, the cost was that the two companies held onto the distribution rights tightly, preparing for a joint distribution.

Clearly, they also have high hopes for James Wan's success in the horror film genre.

As for "Lurking," since the "Conjuring" universe is already poised to launch, this old IP can indeed be abandoned.

We had been in talks with Lionsgate for a long time, but we couldn't reach an agreement. Of course, there's a reason why Lionsgate has been able to drag things out for so long.

Wu Chen was already very familiar with the Lionsgate building.

Unlike the classic luxury of Paramount, everything here appears more modern and pragmatic, with glass and brushed metal structures, and sharp movie posters such as "Saw" and "The Expendables" hanging in the corridors.

"Michael, congratulations to Lionsgate! I heard you're merging with MGM?"

Wu Chen smiled and shook hands with Lionsgate CEO Michael Burns.

Upon hearing this, the latter gave a wry smile and waved his hand, saying, "Wu, don't mention it. Lionsgate can't afford their four billion dollar debt."

The investors behind Lionsgate did indeed purchase 20% of MGM's debt, hoping to push for a merger and become a new Hollywood studio, but unfortunately, they ultimately failed to achieve their goal.

The losses are too great; it's not worth it.
“Wu, we’ve thought about this for a long time,” Michael Burns got to the point. “Regarding the IP of ‘Lurking,’ we still plan to purchase it by retaining a share of the profits, rather than buying it outright in one go.”

Wu Chen hadn't expected Lionsgate to be so cautious.

“The main problem is that the price you asked for was too high,” Michael Burns said with a wry smile. “It still costs fifty million dollars.”

"If we can only make one more sequel, we won't make any money at all."

“Alright,” Wu Chen didn’t insist, “then let’s stick to the reserved dividends.”

Starting with box office receipts exceeding $100 million, you will need to pay Obsidian Entertainment an additional 8% of the revenue, but the initial usage fee for the intellectual property will be $10 million.

“No problem!” Michael Burns immediately approved.

This significantly reduces the risk, and Lionsgate is confident that they can make money.

Wu Chen didn't care. Since he wasn't buying it outright, he could sell it again in the future if the opportunity arose. The total price wouldn't be much different. The main thing was that he really didn't have many ideas about the third installment.

Meanwhile, the promotional battle for the domestic Lunar New Year film season has entered a fierce stage.

The star-studded drama "The Warring States" also jumped in, releasing several scene stills that vividly showcased the understated luxury of the Warring States period.

The ultra-luxurious scenes, including the "Wei State Palace," "Tian Mansion Bathhouse," and "Qi Army Camp," which cost more than 20 million yuan to build, have been revealed for the first time.

"Besides being rich, there's nothing else to say."

"Looks like they really went all out. I heard the special effects were done by Starry Sky Visual Effects. As long as the plot isn't too bad, it should be pretty good!"

"We can look forward to it, after all, big scenes are always exciting to watch."

It must be said that in 2010, most viewers went to the movies mainly for the blockbusters.

The results of this publicity campaign were very satisfactory to Lu Zheng.

At the same time, Starry Night Pictures also quietly released news about "Love is Not Blind".

"The low-budget romantic film 'Love is Not Blind' has been officially scheduled for release on Valentine's Day next year."

As the main producer, Liu Yifei also did her best, personally promoting her project on Weibo.

"Love is Not Blind is scheduled for release on Valentine's Day next year. I hope it can warm your heart."

Fans and netizens were very supportive, and the comment section quickly became lively.

"No problem! Anything made by Sisi is guaranteed to be top-notch!"

"Support! Support! We absolutely must support this! I'm already looking forward to it!"

"Next Valentine's Day, I'm going to take all my single girlfriends to see it! Let them have a little healing too!"

"Hey upstairs, are you being polite? But you're right, I'm going too!"

"."

After seeing Liu Yifei's message, Wu Chen immediately logged in and forwarded it, adding the caption: "Support producer Liu, everyone remember this, don't forget!"

It was immediately seized upon and ridiculed by netizens.

Shortly after posting on Weibo, Zhong Lifang called.

The premiere channel for "Scarlet Heart" is finally being confirmed. "Jiangsu TV and Shanda Literature seem to have no objections, right?"

Wu Chen had no objection to this; 80 views per episode was about right at this point in time.

A TV series costing one million per episode is extremely rare these past two years.

“They have no objections, as long as the reputation and price are right,” Zhong Lifang smiled.

The advantages of dealing with non-core businesses like Shanda Literature are obvious: as long as the money and quality are right, everything else is negotiable.

"Okay, let's finalize it as soon as possible. We've been promoting it for so long, it's time to give the audience a definite answer."

This time, "Scarlet Heart" will definitely be released earlier than "Palace".

The traffic gap between the first and second place is huge, and this will be especially reflected in the revenue from streaming rights in the coming years.

Compared to that enormous number in the future, the premiere fee for this TV series is negligible now.

On the other hand, since "The Golden Era" was still in the early stages of preparation and would not start filming until after the new year, Ning Hao, who had nothing to do, did not refuse the invitation from the Golden Horse Awards and went to serve as a judge.

As it turned out, he was fine, but the Golden Horse Awards were in trouble.

"Damn it, Feng Xiaogang is like he's swallowed gunpowder, he's really blasted the entire Golden Horse Awards jury!" Ning Hao said on the phone, his tone a mix of amusement and exasperation.

At this moment, several of Feng Xiaogang's high-profile remarks are trending on Weibo's hot topic list.

There are many ways to perform, but the goal is the same: to move the audience. You may not like it, but don't pretend to be an expert.

"I'm not afraid of offending people, because others are never afraid of offending me."

"I know how to play the fool, but I just don't want to."

He's a complete troll who bites anyone he can get his hands on.

"Oh, because his wife didn't get the Best Actress award?"

Wu Chen found it interesting too.

Whether Feng Xiaogang is a genuine person is hard to judge, but if you don't give him any benefits, he will definitely start criticizing.

"Who can argue with that? Xu Fan was a strong contender before the race, but she ultimately lost to Lü Liping."

Ning Hao also felt it was difficult to stay calm. There's no such thing as a 100% certainty in this kind of situation; it's not a complete stomp.

And so, the December holiday season quietly arrived.

Domestically, the first to be released was Chen Kaige's "The Orphan of Zhao".

Although it was released the day after "The Laughing Swordsman", Chen Kaige clearly didn't take the former seriously.

In its early stages of release, the media and film critics showered it with praise.

"The Orphan of Zhao doesn't talk about righteousness, it only talks about 'forbearance'. Chen Kaige's authorial expression has returned!"

"The Orphan of Zhao: Veteran actors deliver outstanding performances in a revolutionary adaptation of the original novel!"

The box office on the first day was also quite impressive, at 2670 million.

The box office on Sunday was about 2440 million, and the box office for the first two days of the opening weekend exceeded 5100 million, which is quite good.

However, ordinary netizens quickly changed their tune and became less supportive.

"The style is seriously inconsistent! The first half is an epic tragedy, and the second half suddenly turns into a revenge story by Ge You on 'Today's Talk'?"

"Why does Chen Kai always start strong but finish weak? Every time he gives you a leopard's head, then a pig's belly and a snake's tail!"

"Brother Kai, I beg you, what did Cheng Ying do to you that you have to treat him like this? He's endured humiliation for over ten years, and you've made him look like a schizophrenic opportunist!"

"What you all said is very good, so I won't say anything more. I only know that it's difficult to be both a good director and someone who can 'tell a complete story'!"

"."

While in his hotel room in Los Angeles, Wu Chen couldn't help but chuckle as he read the sharp criticisms from Chinese netizens.

Chen Kaige's old problem of lacking stamina remains unchanged.

However, he quickly suppressed his smile.

Because in a few days, "Black Swan" will also have its premiere.

The date was set for December 10th, and the location was the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
(End of this chapter)