Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

"Yang, after watching the first one, I told everyone that you are the greatest horror film designer of the 21st century. The intrigue and scheming in the second script really opened my eyes."

"..."

After several rounds of flattery, Yang Che still saw the social niceties.

When you feel that a place lacks human touch, it only means that there is no place for you there, and you are not worthy of human touch.

Afterwards, Yang Che looked at the film sets one by one, using the breakdown drawn by James Wan.

The room with the Death Mask at the beginning, the one with Michael's head trap:

The main hall of the poison gas villa, the main room where everyone awoke, and a safe;

The Needle Pit Chamber, where Amanda searches for the key;

Glass arm trap room;

Boiler room/underground passage network;

The multi-layered, winding corridor system, with numerous twists and turns, consists of six separately constructed rooms;

Jigsaw John's workshop, the place where the police interrogated him;

Special police raided the multi-story factory's partitions and stairwells;

Multiple enclosed small rooms, storage rooms, and ventilation ducts were used as entry points;

There's also a replica of the classic bathroom scene from the first movie, which is a major scene and has its own independent set.

Mark said that after Halloween, the place will be packed with tourists.

As Yang Che listened to James Wan and David Hack's explanations, he understood what they meant. One explained the filming concept and where the money was spent, while the other praised the exquisite, brilliant, and faithful adaptation of the script's descriptions to the art direction.

Yang Che was quite impressed. There was a reason why Hollywood liked James Wan; he saved money and kept everything in perfect order.

Of course, producer Laurie also deserves credit. Although he prioritizes profit over friendship, it is precisely because of this that Yang Che trusts Laurie more than James Wan.

So everyone was very happy at the scene.

People were also surprised that Yang Che did not just skim the surface; when James Wan talked about the shooting plan for a shot, his suggestions were always very appropriate.

.........

While Yang Che was inspecting the film set, in the coffee shop of the Hyatt Hotel, 6 kilometers away, the Hyatt Hotel is the official hotel of the Toronto International Film Festival.

At this moment, Barbara, the Asia president of Columbia Pictures, was telling Zhang Ziyi about the ins and outs of Lionsgate.

Compared to the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" crew, Barbara valued Zhang Ziyi the most.

When she was working on Zhang Yimou's "The Road Home," she believed that Zhang Ziyi's future was limitless.

Barbara's voice suddenly rose when she started talking about what happened last night.

"What? You said Yang Che is in Toronto? Making a movie in partnership with Lionsgate?"

Zhang Ziyi found it strange. "Are you in such a hurry to collaborate with Lionsgate on Yang Che's project? Could it be that you've already talked to Columbia Pictures but it didn't work out?"

"Yes, I even hitched a ride with him at the airport yesterday."

Barbara forced a smile: "I'm going to the restroom."

Oh, by the way, she came to Toronto to work on awards for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and there are no problems with that now.

The Toronto International Film Festival, like many film festivals around the world, calls itself one of the "Big Four" film festivals in the world. Well, the "Big Three" refers to the three major European film festivals.

However, the Toronto International Film Festival's "People's Choice Award" is widely regarded as a bellwether for the Oscars. Of course, there are many other bellwether awards for the Oscars, and it can be understood as a precursor to the Oscars, because the judges of these "bellwether" awards are basically the same as the judges of the Oscars.

That's the cause-and-effect relationship.

Watching Barbara take her phone out of her bag, Zhang Ziyi, who was sipping her coffee, narrowed her eyes. This Yang Che was even more impressive than she had imagined.

The next moment, she caught sight of two people walking over beside her and quickly stood up to greet them: "Director Wang, Sister Manyu."

Wong Kar-wai glanced at her without saying a word, while Maggie Cheung nodded: "Thunderous."

Yes, the entire cast and crew of "In the Mood for Love" are in Toronto.

Just as Wong Kar-wai walked by, he suddenly turned back and asked, "Are you available next March?"

Zhang Ziyi's pupils contracted, and after a moment of stunned silence, she nodded repeatedly with a smile on her face... At this moment, Yang Che was nowhere to be seen in her mind.

Only Wong Kar-wai mentioned "2046"...

Yang Che, who was gesturing to the famous camera position, received a call from Barbara.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Barbara said she learned from Zhang Ziyi that Yang Che was in Toronto, and suggested that they meet to discuss the film "Looking for a Gun".

Although Yang Che didn't understand, he still agreed.

So in the afternoon, the two met at a coffee table outside Yang Che's hotel.

Barbara asked directly, "Did you approach Lionsgate to collaborate on 'The Missing Gun'?"

Yang Che paused, then chuckled: "No, I won't look for other companies until you explicitly refuse. This timeframe is until the post-production of 'Looking for a Gun' is completed."

Barbara didn't answer, and picked up her coffee cup.

Yang Che smiled and said, "If there's any internal resistance within your company regarding investing in 'The Missing Gun,' then you should wait until Halloween. After the horror film I collaborated on with Lionsgate is released, we all have a lot of confidence in it, and I believe that will give you some confidence as well. Besides, I don't plan to raise the price; it's still $400 million."

Barbara shrugged. "In that case, I have nothing to say. Let's keep in touch after Halloween. Um... thank you for your honesty and understanding."

"Of course I understand, I haven't proven myself yet."

After exchanging only a few words, Barbara left.

Yang Che was neither a saint nor an idiot; he was genuinely trying to give Barbara confidence.

Can a wife you marry with a dowry of 100 million yuan be the same as one you marry without spending any money?

I would feel like I'm missing out if I didn't have a few sons.

If "The Missing Gun" wants to win awards and achieve high box office returns, it needs a high investment, just like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." This requires increasing Barbara's influence.

Although Barbara didn't say it, he understood that Columbia Pictures valued Asian films and markets, but they would have to wait for the results of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Therefore, even the mere four million dollars for "The Missing Gun" project was blocked.

Once "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" surpasses $100 million at the box office, "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" will only make $9 million...

As for the quality of the film, "The Missing Gun" is very competitive, especially in Europe, and Yang Che is very confident about it.

After Halloween, she can show the company headquarters the box office figures for "Saw" and say: Look, look! I wonder how many companies will be scrambling to cooperate with Yang Che now, while I can still negotiate back to the original terms.