The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 400 Worldwide box office 8000 million dollars
At 2007 pm on October 10, 20, Los Angeles was blowing a cold wind from the west.

There was very little traffic on the streets, and even street lights were turned off in most areas.

Only the city center and some wealthy areas are still lit with street lights.

A villa in Beverly Hills is currently having a party.

There are many beautiful girls, white, black, yellow, and South American.

Despite the cold weather, they wore very little and even played in the swimming pool of the villa.

Girls are much more numerous than men.

If you often pay attention to Meiyu, you will find that many of them are actors from the beautiful country.

The owner of this villa is the Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr., and he will hold a party tonight to celebrate his completion of the filming of "Iron Man".

"ah!"

The door opened, and two young, beautiful, and hot Caucasian girls left the room while arranging their clothes.

This room is located on the top floor of the villa. It is brightly lit and has a glass wall to see the night view of Los Angeles outside.

Downey was 42 years old at this time. He looked older than his actual age, with a tired face and thin cheeks, as if he had been sucked by a vixen.

The door was not closed, and a bald man walked into the room with a handbag in his hand. He smelled a smell of the sea, wrinkled his nose, then took out a pack of cigarettes, lit a cigarette, and took a deep puff. A cigarette The burning sensation rushed into his lungs, and he felt better, then handed the cigarette to Downey.

The bald man is in his forties, and he is Downey's agent. His name is Hindelson. The two have known each other for more than [-] years, and they are true best friends.

"Take it easy, two girls, aren't you afraid of going to the hospital?"

Downey took the cigarette, then took out the lighter, and lit a cigarette.

"What do you know, I'm challenging the limit."

Hindelson chuckled, then turned around and took out two manuscripts from his handbag, "Let's have a look, these are two new invitations, I think you might be interested."

Downey has had some bad history in Hollywood, but his resources have always been good.

A big company like Disney, which attaches great importance to the image of an artist, entrusts him with the role of the company's important IP "Iron Man".

Downey glanced at the manuscript, and didn't reach out to pick it up. Instead, he stood up, smoked a cigarette and came to the window, looking down, lingering on the beautiful girls.

Hindelson was a little dissatisfied, and frowned, "Dude, you are in your forties, and you rarely exercise, so be moderate, I don't want to see you in the hospital."

Downey shook his head, "Don't worry, I have been very quiet during the filming period. I have been a vegetarian for almost half a year. Now let me indulge a little bit, and God will approve my thoughts."

Henderson shook his head speechlessly.

Downey finished smoking a cigarette, then turned around and took out a box of cigars from the drawer, took out one and lit it again, "Smoking this is good for your health."

He then tossed the cigar to Henderson.

Then turn around and continue watching the young girl below.

"Do you know the women in "Gossip Girl", those young and beautiful women, are there any rumors about them in Hollywood?"

Hindelson shook his head, "No, those people are not random women, there is no benefit, they will not mess around."

Downey nodded with some regret, but didn't answer, his eyes locked on a dark-skinned woman who looked like Kardashian.

Seeing this, Hindelson frowned.

He put Downey's cigar away, threw it into a drawer, and then closed the drawer, "I read these two scripts, one is Warner's and the other is DreamWorks'."

"Let me tell you about the situation of these two scripts, please listen carefully."

He was sure that Downey had been a vegetarian for a few months, and that for the next period of time, he might be full of sperm and wouldn't be able to read the script carefully, so he planned to talk about the two scripts himself.

Hearing this, Downey took a deep puff of his cigar, "Go ahead."

"The first script was provided by DreamWorks. It's an action comedy. The actors they plan to invite include Ben Stiller and Jack Black. The total investment is around [-] million."

"This action comedy tells the story of the Annan War. The encounters of several beautiful country soldiers in Annan should be filmed in Southeast Asian countries. It may be the Philippine Island or Tyrande."

Upon hearing this, Downey immediately continued, "I like these two places. The girls there are very enthusiastic and petite. I like them."

Donnie is not tall, he likes petite girls.

Hinderson nodded, and continued: "The second movie was sent by Warner. They want to invite you and Zach to act in a road comedy together."

"Zack?"

Downey thought the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it for a while.

"It's that cheap brother-in-law in The Hangover."

"Oh, it turned out to be him, I know."

Downey has watched "The Hangover". After all, this movie is too popular recently. If you haven't watched it, you have nothing to talk about with other people.

He feels okay.

To be honest, for an old man like him, his favorite comedies are those old-school comedy movies he watched in his youth.

It's like "Dragon Brother and Mouse Brother", "Journey to the Beautiful Country", "Laughing Through the Iron Curtain".

Comedy movies at this time are more popular with the combination of two male protagonists, and interesting stories that happen after different personalities rub against each other.

He finds the little humor of old-school comedy movies amusing.

And a movie like "The Hangover" is too noisy for him, with too many transitions, and he can't even sort out the relationship.

Of course, when interviewed by reporters, he still seriously boasted about his hangover.

That's actually true for a lot of people in Hollywood, because The Hangover is so popular among young people, so it doesn't look like you're out of touch with the times.

Hinderson went on to say: "This is a road comedy, similar to "The Hangover". It also has a very cheap character, like that brother-in-law. It is very noisy and has many adventures."

"The investment for this movie is much less, it should be around 6000 million."

Downey nodded, still staring at the black sister below.

He has paid attention to the NBA and knows that basketball stars like this model. He has never tried it before and wants to try something new.

That's it.

I've been crazy in the past few days, and I don't know if my current body can continue to play.

Hindelson got up on his own, opened the drawer, took out a box of chocolates, peeled off the wrapping paper, and started eating.

"Do you have any idea?"

Downey's mind is now full of that black sister, so he doesn't have any thoughts.

He paused for a while before he came back to his senses, then shook his head, "I don't know, whatever you want, you can choose one for me."

Henderson rolled his eyes.

"Of course not. You have to choose by yourself. I don't want to do those thankless things. You have to choose by yourself."

"Okay, then tell me about the two movies."

Hindelson heard the words, put down the chocolate, was silent for a moment, and then slowly said: "The action comedy in DreamWorks has big actors and a larger investment, which is more in line with your current status, and this movie has anti-war thinking. , should receive more attention.”

"Oh, do you like this movie more?"

Upon hearing this, Downey immediately asked a question.

"No, Warner's movie is also good. They have already named it "Due Date". It is said that it was influenced by "The Hangover". After watching "The Hangover", Toby specially organized a seminar for Warner's screenwriters. Get them serious about learning how 'The Hangover' is funny."

Hindelson showed a slight smile, "Toby is a guy who can do great things, and he always walks ahead of others."

"Now everyone is discussing "The Hangover", not only the audience and fans, but also many directors, screenwriters, and comedians in the industry."

"Many people think that the aesthetics of the beautiful country is changing. Now the audience is too tired, and everyone likes to watch noisy, heartless movies like "The Hangover". Such movies make the audience more relaxed and more involved. in."

He went on to say: "And you were not the main character in the DreamWorks movie, but you were the leading role in "Due Date". If "Due Date" is a hit, then it can better reflect your appeal."

After Tang Ni heard this, he finally stopped looking at beauties.

He put down his cigar, then stretched himself, and sat on the bed, "Do you think the box office of that movie will be higher?"

Henderson shook his head, "I'm not sure."

Upon hearing this, Downey fell back and lay down.

"I need high box office to prove myself now."

In Hollywood, the box office is everything. Only when the box office is high can the producer be asked for a higher salary.

He was paid just $50 for his role in Iron Man.

This is something he has been thinking about for a long time.

Hindelson nodded, "If that's the case, let's choose "Due Date". Now that "The Hangover" is on fire, Warner's idea extracted from "The Hangover" should not be bad at the box office."

"How much box office did "The Hangover" take in Pretty Country?"

"It's 6000 million, and it should reach 7000 million when the painting is done."

This data can be shot in the top five of the annual box office list of the beautiful country this year.

Hinderson went on to say: "The box office statistics in European countries are not more than 1000 million. In the end, it should be 8000 million, which means that the total box office is around [-] million."

"so tall."

Donnie's eyes widened in disbelief.

He naturally knew that "The Hangover" was popular, not only in beautiful countries, but also in Europe, but he still felt that it was too powerful to get 8000 million.

Hinderson nodded, "Yeah, it's really too high. I don't know how many high-level Hollywood executives have been overwhelmed by the news these two days."

"Li's movie earned more than 1 million US dollars."

When Downey heard this, he was filled with envy.

For the filming of "Iron Man", Disney only gave him $50. If he didn't have a lot of savings, he might not be able to pay the electricity bill of this villa.

It's not a joke, the tax in the Los Angeles area is high, and the agent has to be paid a share of 50, so he only got 10,000+.

"Let's make "Due Date", this movie has a future."

He hopes that "Due Date" can replicate the success of "The Hangover". He doesn't expect [-] million, and a [-]% discount is enough.

……

When Robert Downey Jr. was having fun in the villa, Cheng Long was also drinking in his Los Angeles villa.

However, compared to the hot scene on Robert Downey Jr.'s side, the atmosphere here is a bit gloomy.

At this time, more than a dozen martial artists from the family-making class were sitting together drinking, one glass at a time, bragging while drinking.

Cheng Long sat on the other side, drinking quietly.

Yuen Biao sat across from Cheng Long, he looked at Cheng Long with a smile.

Yuen Biao had just finished his domestic affairs and came to the beautiful country for vacation.

In recent years, he hasn't worked much on Hong Kong Island, mainly in mainland China, where he works in movies, TV dramas, and martial arts guidance.

Regarding the mainland film market, Yuen Biao thinks he knows better than Cheng Long.

"I feel that the mainland film market is developing very fast. Maybe it will surpass the island countries in a few years and become the number one film market in Asia."

"However, Hong Kong Island's approach will not work in the mainland."

Hearing this, Cheng Long raised his head and looked over.

Yuen Biao went on to say, "Tsang Chi Wai and Wong Pak-ming actually made a lot of comedies, all of which were family comedies like Hong Kong Island, but the response was not good."

Hong Kong Island used to be very popular to gather a bunch of stars and make some messy comedies.

Except for a few movies with Zhou Xingxing, which are still funny, the others are really not good.

Huang Baiming later planned to replicate this comedy mode, but it was obviously not acclimatized in the mainland.

"However, kung fu movies like "Fuse" have a good reputation in the mainland. "Fuse" has not been released in the mainland, but this movie has a high number of views on Director Li's video website, with tens of millions of views and many comments. , Hundreds of thousands of messages."

"I feel that Zhen Bullet is going to be popular, he just needs a big hit movie right now."

Cheng Long nodded, "He is in his forties, if he doesn't get up again, he will never be able to do it in this life."

Yuen Biao smiled, "What about you, what movie do you plan to make next?"

Cheng Long was silent for a moment, then said, "It should be Director Li's "Taken 2"."

His voice was slightly lowered, and he didn't seem very excited.

Yuen Biao was taken aback, "What's wrong with you?"

Hearing this, Cheng Long picked up the wine glass and took a big sip, "It's okay, but I'm not in a good mood."

"The Hangover" has become a hit in Europe and the United States recently. When this movie is released, it should have a global box office of [-] million US dollars.

This figure is higher than all the films that Cheng Long has acted in the past, including "Rush Hour 2".

When Cheng Long heard the news, he was stunned.

It's really naughty.

Then came a deep loss.

He claims to be the number one Chinese superstar today, but he has not yet achieved a box office of over US$[-] million for a single film.

He, the number one superstar in the Chinese circle, is a bit hypocritical.

Then he thought of the next movie, and he was even more worried.

In the past, Cheng Long's movies, he was the No. [-] signboard, and there is no doubt that the most important person in the movie.

Since "The Serpentine Hand" became popular, except for "Taken", which he collaborated with Lee Sheng Yew, the director listened to him for other films.

As for cooperating with Director Li, he listened to the director.

He doesn't dare to read newspapers now, because he is afraid of seeing a piece of news saying that he is an actor who rubbed against Li Shengyao.

What kung fu comedy is not working, what is he not unique, what is his appeal.

In fact, he is used to it, after all, the beautiful country media often say so.

But as the number one Chinese super giant, he has his dignity and pride.

He was really worried that someone would say that he was the one who stalked Director Li, and that if he left Director Li now, he would lose his glory.

If he saw such news, he would rather not cooperate with Li Shengyao, he would rather not make this money.

Yuen Biao was Cheng Long's good brother for decades, and after a little thought, he naturally knew the reason for Cheng Long's behavior.

He sighed, and then said: "Currently, there are not [-]% or [-]% of domestic actors who want to cooperate with Director Li, whether it's Wanwan, Hong Kong Island, or the mainland, they all praise him. "

"The box office of "The Hangover" on Hong Kong Island is not high, but people in the entertainment industry still praise it. If they can act in Director Li's play, let them pay for it, and they will be willing to pay no money."

"You are different. You are a big star. If you are asked to act in Director Li's play, you feel ashamed."

Cheng Long heard his friend's ridicule and rolled his eyes, "I don't feel ashamed, I'm just afraid that others will say that I depend on Director Li to survive."

Yuen Biao curled his lips, "It's not because I'm afraid of losing face."

"You have to be strong for the rest of your life, you have to earn the first place in everything, and you have to be famous. Don't you feel tired?"

"If it were me, as long as there was money to be made, I wouldn't bother to pay attention to what other people said."

He continued to persuade: "Why didn't Director Li find someone else, but you, the most expensive Chinese actor, to play "Taken", isn't it because you are the only one who is qualified? Why are you worried about other things?"

Cheng Long paused when he heard the words, and after thinking about it carefully, Yuen Biao's words also made sense.

Yuen Biao went on to say: "[-] million US dollars, if I am asked to act in such a movie, let alone the lead role or not, I am willing to make a cameo."

At this moment, a group of martial artists who were drinking next to them became more and more enjoyable and began to punch.

Cheng Long came back to his senses for a while, glanced at the martial artists, and suddenly understood something.

In fact, many media ridiculed the martial artists in the family class, saying that they were moths who followed Cheng Long.

But the martial artists didn't feel ashamed. After all, they could afford food, so why care about face.

Playing with Li Da's director, not only does he earn some money, but also the martial arts masters in the family class.

Such a good treatment, so what is there to care about?

Moreover, at the age of 27, he won a global box office of [-] million US dollars, and it may be even higher in the future. It is possible to become the world's number one commercial film director.

There is no shame in filming with such a director.

……

At 2007:10 pm on October 21, 8, at the Huaxia Theater in Los Angeles, Disney held a celebration banquet for "The Hangover".

Lee Sung Yew brought Lively to attend.

He and Lively are both good-looking and good-looking people, and they have become the most concerned people in the audience as soon as they showed up.

The two then separated.

Warren came to Li Shengyao with a happy face, "Li, it's a pity that you don't become an actor."

He was in a very good mood, "The Hangover" sold well, and the higher the box office, the more Disney's distribution commission.

In addition, he can also produce and distribute discs in the later stage, and this time he helped Disney make a lot of money.

If you count the dividends of the investment of 500 million, he even helped Disney earn 4000 million dollars this time.

Disney invests in a lot of movies a year, but there are only a handful of movies with profits exceeding $4000 million.

He has been in Disney for so many years, but this time is the most beautiful.

Li Shengyao smiled, and warmed up to Warren.

"Li, last time you told me to make "Taken 23" next time, are you going to shoot two films at the same time?"

Li Shengyao nodded, "Yes, I plan to spend a year shooting these two films in one go."

Warren nodded, and then said: "It's a good idea. As long as the quality of the first film can be maintained, the box office will definitely not be a problem. On behalf of Disney, I would like to express our sincerity to you. Whether it is publicity, distribution, actors, or funds, there is no problem." question."

"We can give you anything you want, the only requirement is for us to work more closely together."

Upon hearing this, Li Shengyao smiled and nodded, "I will seriously consider it."

"The Hangover" is a big hit, so it goes without saying that Director Li has become the God of Wealth for major Hollywood companies.

As long as he starts a movie, whether it's the sequel to "Taken" or "The Hangover" or a new movie, Hollywood will have a hand in it.

It may be impossible to occupy so many dividends and own all copyrights like before.

He hasn't fully considered this matter yet, so he plans to delay it for a while.

Warren smiled and nodded, "I'm waiting for your news."

Warren then left, and within 3 minutes, Toby Emmerich came to Li Shengyao with a glass of wine.

He represents Warner, expressing the same meaning as Warren.

Finally, Toby said: "Lee, I arranged for a group of screenwriters to study "The Hangover". We plan to shoot a road comedy called "Due Date". When the time comes, I will invite Zach. What do you think?"

In Li Shengyao's previous life, "Date of Birth" had a global box office of [-] million, which is considered a pretty good road comedy.

"I haven't seen the script, so I'm not too sure."

Toby nodded, and then looked forward to the past, "Help me read the script, I will give you some investment shares."

Li Shengyao shook his head, "I can read the script, but I don't want to invest in shares."

Warner is a master of accounting. Based on the cost and box office of "Due Date", it must be making money, but who knows what they will calculate in the end?

Li Shengyao didn't want to take any risks.

He said directly: "I built a video website in China, sell your Warner movies, the exclusive network rights in the mainland to me."

Toby hesitated a little, then nodded, "Okay, no problem."

Toby then left. Li Shengyao was holding a glass and drinking clear water. Actors, directors, and producers still came to congratulate him.

Amanda also came over and hinted that he could have a special event tonight.

But Director Li has already made an appointment with Lively, and he will learn English with Lively tonight.

He communicated with Anne Hathaway in Toronto that day, and it was actually very enjoyable, but Anne was still too cautious, and left in a hurry the next morning.

This made Director Li a little regretful. He planned to prepare a one-piece leather jacket for Anne Hathaway when he had the opportunity in the future.

The celebration banquet lasted about an hour.

The on-site host loudly invited Director Li to speak on stage.

In the warm applause, Li Shengyao stepped forward with a smile, and then said some words of thanks to the actors and partners.

He looked very calm, but the bright lights came down and shone on the faces of Hollywood actors, directors, and producers in front of him.

The aroma of red wine wafted in the air.

He seemed to see numbers from these people.

More and more zeros, and finally converged into 8000 million US dollars.

With so much money, plus the subsequent discs, TV rights, and streaming media rights income, Lee Sheng Yew should be able to get 2000 million US dollars for this movie.

That's one billion yuan. He can buy a building in Yanjing and use it as Fenghua's headquarters building.

He doesn't need to go public like Huayi to harvest investors' money, he can buy a building with just one movie.

When he thought of this, his face remained normal, but his heart flew up, and an emotion called joy filled every cell in his body.

I'll post again in the morning.

(End of this chapter)