Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

Zhuang Huai'an renamed the shell company he had just acquired to Sugary Heart.

Its English abbreviation is SH, and its Chinese name is 糖心 (Tangxin).

James Wan and Alex Whannell are both signed with Sugar Media, and their contracts are employment contracts—the kind where they leave after filming.

However, Zhuang Huai'an cleverly added an insurance clause to the contract, stipulating that the two had to participate in the production of eight films for Sugar Heart Media, and could only receive director or producer fees according to market rates, without participating in box office revenue sharing.

The penalty for breach of contract is as high as 6000 million US dollars, which was set by a lawyer specially hired by Zhuang Huai'an, just within the legal limits.

In other words, if the two of them quit, even if they sue in court to terminate the contract, the termination fee is reasonable.

Unlike the lenient contracts he received domestically, Zhuang Huai'an, upon arriving in Hollywood, also became tainted by the black-heartedness of capitalists.

Both James Wan and his partner signed the treaty without hesitation. In their view, it was not an unfair treaty, but a benefit, meaning they could make at least eight films.

Who would dare offer two newcomers such terms?

James Wan again chose "Saw" as his directorial debut, with Whannell also starring. The producer was Zhang Lu, whom Zhuang Huai'an brought from China. It didn't matter that she wasn't a professional; all she had to do was manage the money.

While the others went off to make their own plans, Zhuang Huai'an was still struggling with which movie to make.

He originally didn't plan to work in Hollywood for the time being, but his family situation is not good right now. The outbreak originated in Guangdong Province, and there are also cases in Hong Kong. So a few days ago, Li Ming called to ask if he could postpone the start of work.

Zhuang Huai'an knew this phase would last for several months, so rather than starting work in a state of panic, he decided to wait until this period was over.

It just won't be able to catch up with this year's Cannes.

Hey?

Zhuang Huai'an's eyes lit up. Why insist on sending Chinese-language films to the Big Three? I can just get one from Hollywood and send it over there!

Maybe the odds of winning are even higher?

How about making "Buried"? It seems more suitable for Berlin.

Searching his mental library of films, he made a decision.

You're the one, come out, Parasite!

Just in time to finish qualifying for Cannes and then for the Oscars!

As for whether or not he can win the award? With Franklin paving the way, it's a piece of cake.

James Wan made money, and Chuang Huai-an won the prize. He won twice, a double win!

Zhuang Huai'an took out a separate hard drive from his bag, plugged it into his laptop, entered the password, opened the script document for "Parasite," and began to drastically modify it.

This drama was originally filmed in 2018, and some network issues still need to be changed, such as using Wi-Fi in corners and making fake academic credentials in internet cafes.

However, some of these are quite relevant to the present day. For example, a highly criticized example is a wealthy person whose home security camera footage was cut off and who doesn't even bother to watch it or rewind the footage.

In short, we just need to make the changes as reasonable as possible.

Movies can never be 100% accurate to reality. The core of "Parasite" is that parasites do not know how to be grateful and will kill their hosts without them even realizing it.

After making the major revisions, he began to consider the issue of actors. First of all, he definitely couldn't use Brother Ni for the lead roles of eight people from both families, otherwise it would easily cause trouble.

The main cast can only be played by white actors. Fortunately, Hollywood is not completely politically correct yet, so some unimportant supporting roles can be played by black actors.

After making some minor revisions to the script and changing the character names to common English names, Zhuang Huai'an unplugged the hard drive, connected the computer to the hotel's network, and opened the Actors Guild's website. After some screening, he had a clear idea of ​​what to expect.

The father is played by Paul Giamatti, who recently rose to fame with "American Glory." His inherent sense of embarrassment, humility, and a touch of cunning perfectly fits the character.

The mother is Holly Hunter, who, although an Oscar-winning actress, has faded somewhat in recent years and mostly plays supporting roles. Her acting skills are good, and her price is not high.

My son is Ryan Reynolds. He's not the same Deadpool he used to be. He just finished filming a school comedy called "King of the Year" last year, which fits the character's storyline of preparing for exams for four years.

The actress playing the daughter is Evan Rachel Wood. Although she is not very well-known and her breakthrough film "Thirteen" has not yet been released, her exquisite appearance is very suitable for the temperament of the art teacher in the film.

The wealthy family of four includes the father, Chris Cooper, a recognized Hollywood supporting actor. He had met Zhuang Huai'an at the Berlin Film Festival while filming "Adaptation," and the two exchanged contact information at the dinner. He exudes an elite aura, but his appearance doesn't suggest intelligence.

The mother is Renée Zellweger, who has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress twice but lost both times. However, next year, her performance in "Cold Mountain" will earn her the Best Supporting Actress award.

My daughter is named Amanda Bennis, a classic American sweetheart.

The younger son is Rory Culkin, but his older brother Keenan Culkin is more famous than him, as he starred in "Home Alone".

Other important supporting characters include the former butler and his wife. The butler is played by Frances McDormand, a talented and popular supporting actress. She appears gentle and kind, which perfectly contrasts with the despair and obsession beneath the butler's exterior.

The housekeeper husband is played by Steve Buscemi, a classic actor who plays eccentric characters from the lower class. He has a naturally gloomy and down-on-his-luck temperament, which is suitable for men who are trapped in the basement for many years and are twisted and humble.

That's roughly how it is with actors. Besides acting skills, Zhuang Huai'an mainly considers price.

The total investment in this film is estimated to be between $3000 million and $3500 million, which would be considered a B-movie in Hollywood. Therefore, there was no need to find partners, and Zhuang Huai'an invested in it himself.

Anyway, with MGM's distribution channels, and not being an unknown figure, this kind of realistic portrayal of people from the bottom of society is likely to generate a lot of positive word-of-mouth.

Moreover, considering the timeline, MGM will still be on its last legs when the Oscars begin next year.

At worst, I can just spend some money to buy back this pride. As long as the price is right, I believe the board of directors will be happy to help.

Let the afterglow of MGM illuminate your path.

After making the plan, Zhuang Huai'an called the numbers listed on the website one by one.

These people mostly left their assistants' phone numbers, and after receiving the message, the other party promised to contact the person in question, and all that was left was to wait for the news.

in the afternoon,

The actors themselves called back one after another, and none of them missed a call; they all agreed to perform.

These news made Zhuang Huai'an reassess his position. He knew that although these actors were not top Hollywood stars, they were still mid-level talents. They had agreed to act in the films simply because they heard his name and hadn't even read the script.

Wow, Hong Kong, you really have something to say about yourself.

Three of Europe's best? Golden Horse Award?

Sorry, we only recognize the Hong Kong Film Awards!

Ok,

The Oscars, aren't they also golden statuettes?

Zhuang Huai'an still held the same idea: as long as the film festival organizers were willing to give, he wouldn't hesitate to spend money.

Spend some money, or even just buy it.