This director loves making friends.

This director loves making friends, Chapter 153

Xu Jinglei and Ren Dahua left Berlin the next day and went back home, but Qin Keqing stayed.

The European and American rights to "Old Boys" haven't actually been sold yet. Although there's no worry about selling them, as a Golden Bear winner, and especially with this incident at the Berlin Film Festival, it has inadvertently increased the film's publicity.

Qin Keqing met with Marcy Bloom, Executive Vice President of Sony Classics, who was primarily responsible for film acquisition and production development at Sony Classics.

She is known in the independent film and art film fields for her keen artistic eye and profound understanding of the independent film market.

She is usually in charge of film acquisitions for the three major European film festivals.

"It's so nice to see you again, Marcy."

"Hey Qin, congratulations on winning the Golden Bear! You've really given me a big surprise."

Qin Keqing originally wanted to shake hands with Marcy Bloom, but Marcy Bloom gave him a big hug instead.

This made Qin Keqing a little unhappy.

If it's a woman in her twenties, a hug is fine, but you're a woman who's almost forty. Most white people in Europe and America show signs of rapid aging after their thirties, and they especially like to wear perfume, so the smell is a bit strange.

Qin Keqing was definitely not that willing.

Just as he was trying to break free, he heard Marcy-Bloom say, "Qin, to express our congratulations, the two bosses and I have specially requested that you receive a share of the profits from 'Uncle Fu,' and Ta Yan has already agreed."

"Oh, thank you so much, Marcy. You're beautiful and kind-hearted."

Qin Keqing didn't try to break free; instead, she hugged Marcy-Bloom to express her gratitude.

According to the original agreement, the North American rights to "The Man from Nowhere" were sold to Sony Classics for a guaranteed fee of $60.

Since it's a guaranteed release, there must be a revenue-sharing agreement.

Therefore, it was stipulated that $400 million would be the threshold, and if the North American box office exceeded $400 million, Zhiyuan Pictures would receive 28% of the excess.

If The Man's final box office exceeds $800 million, Sony Classics will also be responsible for submitting it for relevant awards in North America.

The final box office of "The Man from Nowhere" reached more than $3500 million, breaking the box office record for Chinese-language films in North America, and even raising the North American box office record set by Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon" twenty years ago by more than $1200 million.

As a newly established film company relying on Samsung Columbia, Sony Classics was able to release a "record-breaking" film in its second year at a very low cost, which was extremely beneficial to Sony Classics' brand and reputation.

Just two days before the opening of the Berlin Film Festival, Sony Classics internally discussed and upgraded Qin Keqing's director rating from B to B+.

Who would have thought that just a few days after the ranking was raised, Qin Keqing actually won the Golden Bear in Berlin.

Sony Classics was established to focus on art films and independent films. A director who wins the highest awards in the three major European film festivals will automatically become a top-tier client of the company.

In other words, within just over ten days, Qin Keqing's rank within Sony Classics rose by two levels.

For A-list directors, Sony Classics, as a sign of respect, will shorten the revenue sharing period from ten months to six months.

"The Man from Nowhere" was released in North America on September 30. According to the agreement, the film's revenue share will be paid to Zhiyuan Pictures within ten months.

However, the so-called ten months actually meant that the payment would not be made until the tenth month, which means that the profit share would not be received until the end of July 1994.

Sony Classics also takes about six months to receive its share of the box office revenue from North American theaters. This is not fixed, as the time it takes to receive revenue varies depending on the theater chain, such as mainstream commercial theaters, secondary theater chains, and art-house theaters.

It's only the end of February, and only five months since "The Man from Nowhere" was released in North America.

Marcy Bloom didn't exactly deceive Qin Keqing. Indeed, after "Old Boys" won the Golden Bear, she urgently called Tom Bernard and Michael Barker, co-presidents of Sony Classics, to discuss the matter.

Considering that Qin Keqing won the Golden Bear at such a young age, and that his films are not as "boring" as traditional art films, and that he has even led a new style, Qin Keqing seems to have a bright future.

While we can't give Qin Keqing an S rating yet—after all, Sony Classics hasn't had an S-level director since its inception, or even an A+—Sony Classics is already considering giving him an A+ rating.

Paying a month in advance was one of the ways to win over Qin Keqing, and also a show of "sincerity" in trying to acquire the copyright of "Old Boys".

Qin Keqing had already calculated it: of the over $3500 million in North American box office, after deducting the $400 million base gross, there was still $3100 million left.

More than 10,000.

28% of 3100 million is approximately 870 million US dollars.

In this day and age, this is a considerable sum of money.

Just as Qin Keqing was about to "break free" from Marcy-Bloom's embrace, she heard her say again, "Qin, I kept my promise. Tomorrow is the day the Oscar nominations are announced, and I think you'll receive a little surprise."

Oscars?

A little surprise?

Qin Keqing was taken aback, but then he remembered a clause in the agreement: if the final box office of "The Man from Nowhere" exceeded $800 million, Sony Classics would also be responsible for applying for relevant awards in North America.

In fact, this clause is not binding at all; applying for an award does not guarantee a nomination.

Just like this year's Golden Globe Awards, "The Man from Nowhere" was also submitted for consideration, at least that's what Sony Classics told Qin Keqing.

However, at the 51st Golden Globe Awards held on January 22 at the Hilton Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, The Man didn't win any awards, and it didn't even receive any nominations.

Qin Keqing had given up hope for this year's Oscars, but then a pleasant surprise came.

Of course, he also knew that if Marcy-Bloom called it a small surprise, then it could only be considered a small surprise. Winning an award would probably be difficult, as Sony Classics probably didn't put in much effort at all.

But even a small surprise is still a surprise.

"Thank you, Marcy, you're the best partner."

Qin Keqing said.

"Haha, you're right, Qin. We'll definitely be the best partners. I can promise you that if you give the North American rights to 'Oldboys' to Sony Classics, we'll start promoting this Golden Bear-winning film starting in June and prepare for next year's Oscars."

Marcy-Bloom assured.

Is it still a guaranteed release?

Qin Keqing asked.

He actually prefers to collaborate with Sony Classics.

This company shares distribution channels with Columbia Pictures, one of the six major Hollywood studios. "Oldboy" is a Golden Bear film, and Sony Classics wants to make a name for itself at the Oscars. Golden Bear films naturally have good brand recognition and influence, which can save a lot of marketing and distribution costs.

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