Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 26 The Two Hundred Million Dollar Movie

Columbia Pictures is one of the oldest film and television companies in the United States and has substantial assets.

Only companies with deep expertise and sufficient funds would be interested in his script, since it's not cheap to produce.

"This is my boss, Shouzhuo Chen."

Inside Columbia Pictures, Chen Shouzhe met their producer, and Lu Sen introduced Chen Shouzhe to him.

“Hello, Chen, I’m Walker Engel,” a middle-aged white man said.

“I know you, Hollywood visual effects producer. I have immense respect for your film special effects,” Chen Shou said in broken English.

“Your accent is very… distinctive, thank you for your appreciation. Would you like some coffee?” Walker asked.

"Coffee, I'm still jet-lagged," Chen Shou said, perking up.

"OK!"

The assistant came in and prepared coffee for everyone. Chen Shou didn't ask for sugar; he wanted it bitter enough to keep him awake.

"Alright, buddy, let's get started. Your script is excellent. Roland and I were incredibly excited after reading it. We want to turn it into a movie. What do you think, buddy?"

“Of course I would love to. If a script can’t be made into a movie and shown to people, it’s like gold buried in the ground – it’s worthless.” Chen Shou nodded.

“That’s great, we’d like to buy your script.”

"A fixed price?" Chen Shou chuckled.

“Yes.” Woka looked at Chen Shouzhe.

Chen Shou hesitated for a moment and then said, "Mr. Walker, do you know me?"

“Oh, sorry, I don’t know Mr. Chen yet,” Walker said, shrugging.

“I am also a director,” Chen Shouzhe said.

"Oh!! Really?" Walker looked at Lucien next to him.

“Yes, Mr. Walker, Chen is a director, and a very good one at that. Last year, a comedy he directed broke the box office record in mainland China. It had a budget of just over two hundred million US dollars and grossed two hundred million US dollars. This year, he made a movie with eighteen million US dollars and it grossed one hundred million US dollars,” Lu Sen said.

"My God, I'm sorry, I didn't know that you were a director, Chen." Walker's expression finally changed as he looked at Chen Shouzhe.

“Mr. Walker, I am very honored that you have taken a liking to my script, and I am also happy to work with Columbia, but I would like to ask if it is possible to work together in another way?” Chen Shou said.

"In what way?" Walker asked, squinting.

"I believe Mr. Woka has already read the script for this movie."

"Yes, I've only seen a rough draft. The rest of the script should be in your hands, Chen."

"That's right, I also brought some storyboards that I drew. As a director, my drawing skills are pretty good."

Chen Shouzhe took a folder out of his prepared backpack and handed it to Walker. Walker was stunned when he opened it; he was an expert in visual effects.

When he saw the storyboard drawn by Chen Shouzhe, he thought about his own vision of the apocalypse, and it was probably similar.

"Chen, you were prepared all along?" Walker looked up at Chen Shouzhe after reading the document and asked.

"Yes, I hope this movie..."

"No, impossible, Chen. Although you're a director, special effects movies aren't something a newcomer can handle. You're not suitable..."

“Mr. Walker, please don’t interrupt me. I don’t want to be a director. I hope that Roland will be the director of this film, and if possible, I would like to assist Roland in the filming.” Chen Shou interrupted him as well.

“That’s great, your storyboard is fantastic, Roland will be delighted.”

“Mr. Walker, this movie has a lot of special effects, so you should know what that means.”

"Chen, what do you want to say?"

"Columbia is indeed excellent, but what if it could bring in more allies?"

"You mean, a joint venture?" Walker tilted his head, incredulous.

“It’s a co-production. You’ve seen the script. The final base is in China. I hope the two countries can cooperate. China has a huge, untapped market. Films are risky. With a budget of up to 200 million US dollars, even Columbia Pictures couldn’t possibly take it all at once,” Chen Shou said.

"Chen, I need to think about this. If we're going to do a co-production like you suggested, then we'll need Chinese actors and at least a third of the investment, right?" Walker said after a moment of contemplation.

"Yes."

"You just said it yourself, two hundred million US dollars, which translates to 1.3 billion in your currency. Can you come up with six hundred million?" Walker asked, squinting.

“Don’t underestimate China!” Chen Shou laughed. “Ten days, Chen, let’s make a bet. Ten days from now is your New Year. If you can give me a reply within ten days, I will allow the co-production. If you can’t, then sell the script to me, and I will give you a good price,” Walker said.

"No, ten days is too short, Walker," Chen Shou said, waving his hand.

"Chen, you should know that we need to get this movie released this year. I don't have much time left. From the moment you agreed, I had to assemble the whole team and quickly select actors. Time is money!!!" Walker said with utmost seriousness.

“December, 21st,” Chen Shou muttered a number.

Walker nodded, and Chen Shou took a deep breath: "OK, Mr. Walker, ten days. Senior Lu, please book a flight for me now. I need to go back."

"Waiting for your news, Chen!"

"I hope to come back within ten days."

……

Chen took the flight that day, so he didn't have to adjust to the time difference and returned directly the next day.

After getting off the plane, Chen Shou picked up the phone.

"Hello, Chairman Han, Happy New Year! Are you at the company right now?"

"Okay, I need to talk to you. I just got back from the US."

The car went directly to the entrance of China Film Group. Chen Shou had already taken a nap on the plane, and it was now daytime.

China Film Group was as bustling as ever. It was just past the New Year and only the beginning of February when Chen Shou entered the entrance of China Film Group carrying a briefcase.

Reporters often squat outside the gates of China Film Group. When they saw Chen Shou rushing into the gates with a briefcase, they couldn't help but take a few photos out of curiosity.

"Why is Director Chen in such a hurry? He came straight here as soon as he got off the plane," Han Sanping said with a smile.

"Chairman Han, I'll cut to the chase. I went to the US a couple of days ago to discuss a script," Chen Shou said.

"Oh? What script? Are you going to make an American movie?" Han Sanping thought Chen Shouzhe had bought a foreign film to remake and was here to ask China Film Group for investment.

"No, it's a film company over there that's interested in one of my scripts and wants to make it into a movie," Chen Shouzhe said.

"That's great! Why did you come to see me?"

Chen Shouzhe took a deep breath and said, "I'd like to make it a co-production. Does China Film Group have any ideas?"

"How much is the budget for a co-production?"

Han Sanping's eyes widened upon hearing this. Co-productions meant huge investments and the opportunity for external promotion. The co-productions that China Film Group had worked on before weren't very good, but the word "co-production" was full of magic. Over the years, he had been looking for big projects and big-name movies. It was very difficult to get access to excellent scripts from the United States, so he basically consumed them internally.

Unexpectedly, Chen Shou's small boat had already set sail, bringing him a ticket for the New Year.

"Chairman Han should know about the Mayan apocalyptic legend, right?" Chen Shou said, taking a deep breath.

"I've heard of it; it was already quite popular online at the beginning of the year," Han Sanping nodded.

"Please take a look at the script." Chen Shou handed the script to Han Sanping.

Without any hesitation, he started reading. When he saw the last few panels drawn by Chen Shouzhe, his eyes widened again.

"Are these all special effects?" Han Sanping looked up at Chen Shouzhe and asked.

"Yes, so the budget should be around 200 million," Chen Shou said.

"Twenty million?"

"Beautiful knife."

"hiss!"

13 billion RMB. The highest-invested film in China is only 2 million RMB. The Americans are going for 13 billion RMB. This is not just a big production or a big cast. It's out of this world.

It would take at least $5 million to break even, and Han Sanping's scalp tingled.

"Did they agree to film together?" Han Sanping asked, his eyes wide.

“Forty percent of the investment means we need eighty million US dollars. Besides China Film Group, I will also visit a few other companies. If we can finalize the deal, I will put up one hundred million,” Chen Shouzhe said.

"You really think so highly of this project?" Han Sanping thought Chen Shouzhe had gone mad.

"Because this year is 2012."

(End of this chapter)