Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

The subtle yet unintentional interjections and the rustling of clothes as people shifted their bottoms created a familiar and noisy reverberation in the screening room—the kind of sound you hear when the lights come on in a movie theater.

Then came a round of applause.

Michelle clapped her hands and said casually, "Congratulations."

"Thanks."

Yang Che's expression remained calm. He was very satisfied; his version was better than the original in terms of both acting and cinematography.

Michelle kept glancing at him sideways, feeling that this person was completely different from the Chinese people she had always imagined. Although both were reserved, her impression of Asians was that they were shy and reserved, while this person was calm, calm to the point of being arrogant, as if everything was trash to him. She thought that his expression was truly awesome.

So Michelle, just like Huang Xiaoming in China, began to consciously imitate Yang Che's expressions and mannerisms.

Wu Shih-hsien and Leigh Whannell, who plays the young protagonist, have become the center of attention in the room. People in the front row keep shaking hands with them, praising them for making an excellent horror film.

Afterwards, the two of them went on stage with James Wan to share the script they had discussed beforehand. Wu Shih-hsien proposed the idea of ​​a horror film and found like-minded James Wan and Leigh Whannell on relevant forums. Then the group worked together to refine the story.

They also mentioned that the reason for filming the escape room scenes in Hong Kong was to keep production costs down.

Regarding the funds, Wu Shixian said that he had invested all his savings, but it wasn't enough, so a Chinese friend of his invested the remaining funds.

When it was mentioned that the film cost $80 to produce and took half a month to shoot, a gasp and exclamations immediately filled the theater.

The $80 figure is obviously nonsense. To say that only $20 was used would only cause some unnecessary trouble, and one would inevitably be looked down upon when negotiating prices.

Although $80 still seems low, when you consider that the two young people sold their house and land and gave up everything they had, it becomes a lot.

Finally, producer Laurie Torrone said on stage: "I know there are many people from distribution companies in the audience. You are welcome to come to our booth later to discuss cooperation. However, I need to say in advance that if it is less than $3500 million, please do not talk about buyout, so as not to waste each other's time."

"Whoosh!"

"Fu...that's too arrogant!"

"Go back to your mother's arms."

"You misspoke, it should be 3500 million yen."

"......"

Immediately, four or five people stood up, scolding the young man for being arrogant and ignorant, and tried to leave.

Most of the colleagues in the room looked on with expressions of anticipation for a good show.

Michelle looked at Yang Che and saw that he was still as arrogant as ever, even with a smirk on his face, like a villain watching a show from behind the scenes, or a mastermind in a movie.

Laurie Torrone, as if she had expected this, glanced at Robert Redford, who was also frowning, and shrugged: "We can sign a performance-based agreement with the distribution company. Okay, that's all for now. I won't take up any more of your time. Thank you again for watching the film."

Upon hearing this, the four or five people who were about to leave were taken aback for a moment, then smiled in unison and left the screening room one after another to watch other films. With their departure, the screening ended, and many people left while shaking their heads.

They felt that these young people had become arrogant and unrealistic, and their actions were impractical.

Even Robert Redford shook Wu Shih-hsien's hand and said:

"You made a good movie, but in the United States, in Hollywood, good movies don't always do well at the box office, which is why this film festival was founded."

However, the film festival only provides you with this platform for display; the rest still depends on you.

Capital is arrogant. Good luck to you.

Robert Redford left somewhat uncomfortably, but as he walked down the street toward another theater, he found that almost everyone was talking about the movie "Saw," either about the plot or the fact that they wouldn't accept a buyout for less than $3500.

Robert Redford slapped his forehead. Okay, after making independent films for too long, they've only been thinking in a one-dimensional way. This is clearly just a hype tactic by those young people.

"If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow's newspapers will criticize the creators of 'Saw' as megalomaniacs."

Robert Redford muttered to himself as he glanced back at the Egyptian cinema. He noticed that the four young men who had been on stage were now outside the theater, chatting and laughing with a young Asian man. Presumably, this was the Chinese investor.

Generally speaking, production companies that feel their films are good will wait until after the film festival closes before discussing cooperation with distribution companies, because they are waiting for awards, and the selling price will naturally be higher with the added bonus of awards.

However, the rights to "Saw" will absolutely not be sold. Even if Yang Che agrees, Wu Shih-hsien will definitely disagree, and James Wan, Laurie Torrone, and others are also unwilling.

Because Yang Che had already told them about the sequel's concept when he discussed strategies with them these past few days, and also expressed his hope that they would participate more deeply and then share the profits. Otherwise, would these young talents have been willing to listen to Yang Che?

Before undertaking any task, gather opinions from all team members. This will allow you to focus wholeheartedly and achieve twice the results with half the effort.

As a result, everyone was very efficient in the negotiations over the next few days.

The companies that came naturally all talked about profit sharing, because no matter how optimistic they were, they would still think that $3500 was ridiculous.

However, only Miramax (owned by Disney), Classic Pictures (owned by Sony), and Lionsgate negotiated with distribution plans in mind; the others were basically just talking nonsense.

After two days of contact, these Americans almost all said they could buy double the share held by the Chinese man and were willing to give Wu Shixian a share, as long as they could persuade the Chinese man...