Huayu: I was immediately ensnared by Jing Tian as soon as I entered the industry.

Chapter 88 Cooperation with Lionsgate

After a long 12-hour flight, the plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport.

As for the scandals surrounding the art exams, I haven't inquired about them since posting on my blog; the Beijing Film Academy has a set of mechanisms for dealing with them.

Wang Xuan was half asleep when the flight attendant woke him up.

Following the crowd out of the airport terminal, surveying the spiritual homeland of the colonists, he took a deep breath and couldn't help but chuckle.

"The air doesn't even taste sweet!"

"Boss, I'm here."

From afar, the assistant was waving, and Wang Xuan spotted her immediately.

Once in the car that came to pick him up, Wang Xuan sat in the back seat and rubbed his slightly sore nose.

There was a stench of rotting corpses wafting from the crowd that had just gathered; it was quite unpleasant to smell.

"Boss, the lawyer you asked me to hire has been found. He's an elite on Wall Street, but the fee is a bit expensive."

The assistant, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and reported.

"It's okay if it's a bit more expensive, as long as there are no problems with the contract. The foreigners here are very shrewd."

The assistant nodded. During this time, in order to complete the tasks assigned by Wang Xuan, she had traveled all over Santa Monica and encountered all sorts of difficult foreigners.

"I've contacted Lionsgate, and they're interested in the proposed collaboration, but they want to meet with you to discuss it."

Wang Xuan nodded; contacting Lionsgate was something he had specifically instructed him to do.

Eggs cannot be put in one basket.

The collaboration with Harvey was aimed at winning an Oscar.

Lionsgate, a film and television company, is the most powerful among the Big Six, and is adept at achieving big results with small investments.

Especially low-budget horror films.

The Saw series released seven films over six years, each creating a box office legend.

Wang Xuan had too many low-cost, high-return horror themes in his mind, which was the basis for his rapid accumulation of capital.

After checking into the hotel, Wang Xuan instructed his assistant, "Contact Lionsgate tomorrow and schedule a meeting."

"Okay, I'll call right away."

Wang Xuan nodded and began preparing for the upcoming meeting. He needed to present a high-quality script to impress Lionsgate, which would be beneficial for future cooperation.

Meanwhile, Wang Xuan informed Harvey that he had arrived in Hollywood.

The fat guy still wanted to ask him out to experience the passion of Hollywood, but Wang Xuan knew what kind of person he was and decisively refused.

Who knows if she has any serious illnesses? Besides, there might be some spies around her.

Santa Monica boasts a long coastline and is a renowned resort destination, home to Beverly Hills and the headquarters of Lionsgate.

On the way there, Wang Xuan kept thinking about his own circumstances.

Taking the initiative to visit someone puts you at a disadvantage in negotiations.

They should copy out all the familiar scripts, register them with the union, and attract people to come to them.

Wang Xuan made up his mind to start implementing this plan as soon as he had time.

More than half an hour later, Wang Xuan and his assistant arrived at Lionsgate headquarters.

As the director who won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, he still had a certain level of prestige, and they were received by a senior executive from Lionsgate.

Wang Xuan roughly guessed that Lionsgate was willing to talk to the assistant because of him, the director who won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

"Welcome, young Silver Bear Award-winning director," the middle-aged white man greeted him warmly.

"Thanks."

Wang Xuan shook hands and went straight to the point: "Let's talk business first."

I like your neat and efficient manner.

Shortly after, the middle-aged white man led them to a conference room.

A few more people came in after that; they were probably middle-level managers. They sat opposite Wang Xuan and his assistant.

It's clear that Lionsgate takes Wang Xuan's proposed collaboration very seriously.

That makes sense, though. As one of the earliest Hollywood companies to co-produce with mainland China, they have a long-term vision.

"Wang, it's a pleasure to meet you in person. As far as I know, you're very good at art films. How would you like to collaborate with Lionsgate?"

Wang Xuan shrugged and said confidently, "You know too little about me."

As he spoke, he took the script handed to him by his assistant, which he had copied overnight.

"Take a look at this script first, and if you're interested, we can discuss further collaboration."

Wang Xuan pushed the script off the table.

The Lionsgate members exchanged glances, and the one sitting in the middle picked up a book and began to read.

The meeting room fell silent, save for the rustling sound of pages turning.

Ten minutes later, after flipping through more than ten pages of the script, the man looked somewhat disappointed, as if to say, "Is this all the scripts the Berlin Silver Bear director is capable of?"

"Wang, if I may be so bold, the script you provided is readily available in Hollywood."

"In that case, give me back the script. There's no need to discuss the rest of the collaboration."

"7

Wang Xuan made a move to take the script, but the man quickly pressed him down and said hastily, "Name your price. If Lionsgate is willing to pay for it, consider it making you a friend."

Wang Xuan sat back down and looked over with a half-smile: "The script isn't for sale. Don't forget that I'm the director myself."

The Lionsgate member standing nearby narrowed his eyes: "Tell me, how do you want to cooperate?"

Wang Xuan, who had the upper hand, wore a faint smile and held up two fingers.

"Two cooperation models. The first is that Lionsgate will help me with the distribution, and you will collect the distribution fee."

Another option is for Lionsgate to handle filming and distribution, with me contributing a share of the script.

"You want a share? That's impossible. Your appetite is far too great," the Lionsgate representative said decisively.

Wang Xuan remained unmoved and calmly said, "So, you're choosing the first cooperation method, or neither?"

You believe in the potential of this kind of thriller/horror script more than I do; I could easily find another company to publish it.

Don't forget, Hollywood is full of actors, film studios, and distribution companies. They're partnering with you because of your extensive experience in distributing horror films.

Upon hearing this, the Lionsgate members fell silent.

Wang Xuan's words hit the nail on the head. Hollywood has everything, except good scripts and screenwriters.

The success of a series of low-budget horror films such as Saw, Hostel, and Final Destination proves that this genre has a stable audience and is very easy to succeed as long as the plot is solid.

In that instant, Lionsgate's senior executives started to consider many things.

Wang Xuan is not only a Berlin Silver Bear Award-winning director, but also a Chinese director. With a huge market of 14 billion people behind him, Lionsgate has long coveted him.

"This series has seven films, each with a low production cost. I believe that as I walk out here today, other film companies that hear about it will be very interested."

Wang Xuan spoke casually, but to the Lionsgate executives, it sounded like a threat.

The assistant, with his small eyes, looked at the handsome and confident boss. In just a few words, he seemed to have Lionsgate, a company that many domestic film and television companies wanted to associate with.

Finally, someone gave in and asked, "How much share do you want?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xuan's eyelids twitched almost imperceptibly. Suppressing his excitement, he said, "A 20% stake is required just for the script; participating in the investment would mean taking 50%."

"20% is fine, but the entire series must be handled by Lionsgate, and this percentage must remain constant." One of them made the decision immediately.

Wang Xuan nodded: "Okay, but I have the right to make recommendations regarding the selection of actors."

The Lionsgate executive thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Okay, I wish us a pleasant collaboration, and I hope to see the script updates soon."

"It's a pleasure working with you. I'll be here tomorrow with my lawyer to sign the contract and present you with the complete first script."

Wang Xuan only gave him part of the script for the "Human Purge Project," and with only one night, this was the only script he could think of.

With a budget of several million, it generated hundreds of millions of dollars in global box office revenue, and the series has seven films, each of which was a huge success.

Using the script copyright as an investment, accounting for 20% of the total investment, is simply amazing.