You don't understand the happiness of the director

Chapter 151 Kingship: Father of Minions (4, Monthly Ticket 2100)

The next day, Dorothy and Lily left the set together, both satisfied.

Dorothy also took the final Oscar vote for King Throne.

Different from the nomination rules, the final ballot is simpler. Wang Quan chooses the best in his mind in the two categories of best original screenplay and best adapted screenplay.

The best picture is relatively complicated, so I won't show it for the time being.

There are not many shots left for "The Twilight Saga". After two more days of filming, the crew finally returned to Los Angeles to shoot two shots in Los Angeles. In addition, several special effects shots have to be completed in the studio here.

By February 2th, all filming of the film was completed, and Wang Quan had already completed the rough cutting of most of the shots, working day and night is no joke.

The next step is the post-production. He has to watch the whole process, when it will be finished, and when will he be able to return to China.

At this time, Gadot also had a winter vacation, and returned to Israel at the request of her parents. The last time the two got together was on the way to send her to the airport.

Dorothy also left, and she and Lily were going to England first and then to Berlin. Wang Quan finally felt a little lonely, which could only be relieved a little by talking to China on the phone.

Mimi is already on vacation, and Sissy has also passed the final review of the Spring Festival Gala and started the rehearsal work. She told Wang Quan to watch her performance during the Spring Festival Gala.

On February 2th, the 11th British Academy of Film Arts Awards was presented, Wang Quan won the best screenplay, which is not surprising, relying on "Juno", Wang Quan has received no less than ten best screenwriters or Original Screenplay Award.

However, what people did not expect was that Lily Collins actually defeated Helen Mirren ("The Queen"), who was the most popular actress and swept the best actress award in the awards season, and won the best actress. Before the Olympic award, Lily actually won a very important actress trophy, which made Oscar a little more unpredictable.

Helen Mirren can be said to be an old drama player. In 79, she played the queen in Dingdu's "Roman Empire Erotic History". Later, she won the Cannes actress twice. This time she played the current Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom .

And she is also British, with so many buffs stacked up, she actually lost to Lily, a yellow-haired girl, but "The Queen" won the best picture, which can be regarded as consolation.

Next, the two of them were going to Berlin to sell the film to promote it. Wang Quan continued to be busy with the post-production, and then he received a call from Lafite, saying that someone was looking for him.

"Who?"

"Chris Meledandri, a bigwig in the animation industry, wonders what he wants you to do."

Wang Quan, "It's normal for him to look for me, let's meet tomorrow."

The next day, Wang Quan met Chris Meledandri, the creator of "Ice Age", in the company's reception area, but he had already left Blue Sky Studios by this time.

He arrived with a comic book titled Despicable Me.

Wang Quan got up to greet him warmly, "Mr. Meledandri, it's a pleasure to see you again."

The two shook hands, and Chris Meledandri felt emotional. They met in a movie theater last year. At that time, Wang Quan was just a rookie in the film industry. This year's Oscar's most watched filmmaker is really unpredictable.

At that time, Meledandri felt that he would have nothing to do with King Quan, but he didn't expect to rush to find him in the end.

"Director David, it's like this," Chris Meledandri said with a low attitude, "I would like to buy the animation adaptation rights of your comic "Despicable Me"."

He put the comic book on the table.

This is one of the few cartoons that Wang Quan created after meeting him. Wang Quan created stories and hired two painters to work for him. Several comics were published in half a year.

Now the comics market is still dominated by superheroes, and Wang Quan did not take the initiative to promote them, so these comics are not very popular.

He asked Chris Meledandri, "Mr. Meledandri, how did you even think of buying this story?" Are my other stories not compelling enough?
There is also a translation of this story called "Despicable Me". The hero is not a good person, and he also has a group of strange creatures under his hands, speaking a strange language.

Meledandri said, "I have now resigned from Blue Sky Studios and I am preparing to start a new business. For our entrepreneurial work, my partner Christopher Meledandri hopes to make a movie with the villain as the protagonist. In the movie, he explained his thoughts in detail, and I agree very much. However, when we were collecting stories, we found that there was such a comic on the market with a thief as the main character. After reading it, we agreed that this is our Wanted stories, even those little yellow things popped in my head."

King Quan, "Oh, they are called minions, each of them has a name, probably only Gru and I can remember their names."

Meledandri said with emotion, "It's really touching emotions. They are the children you created. These minions are very cute, so do you sell them?"

Wang Quan asked, "What's the name of your company?"

"For the time being, I'm thinking about lighting entertainment."

Wang Quan asked again, "What about the source of funds?"

Meledandri felt that he asked too much, "Director David, what do you mean? Are you worried that we cannot make a movie with our strength?"

Wang Quan, "It's normal to have this kind of worry. A 3D animated feature film must cost [-] million knives."

"No, no, no, our cost control is very professional. An animation doesn't cost that much money at all, tens of millions is enough." Chris Meledandri said confidently.

Wang Quan asked, "Then do you have tens of millions?"

Chris Meledandri, "Based on my past achievements in Hollywood, I believe that investing is not difficult. As long as I am willing, any of the Big Six is ​​willing to pay for us."

Wang Quan asked with a smile, "Then what do you think of me?"

"you?"

Wang Quan, "Let me re-introduce. I am not only a shareholder of Longhoutou Films, but also the boss of February [-] Investment Management. If I want to invest in you, are you willing to accept it?"

Chris Meledandri shook his head, "It was so sudden, I might need to digest it."

Wang Quan patted the comics on the table, "You can think about it slowly, I can talk about my conditions first, I will exchange works and funds for the shares of Lighting Entertainment, and at the same time, do not interfere with the company's business direction, you and your partner People can display your ideals and aspirations as much as you want, but there is one point, the films produced by the company must be handed over to the dragon for distribution."

"No, no, no," hearing this request, Chris Meledandri, who was a little moved just now, refused to agree, "Our movie must be sold all over the world, and the dragon does not have the strength to raise its head."

Wang Quan asked, "How many years does it take to make an animated film?"

Chris Meledandri said without thinking, "At least three years."

Wang Quan smiled and said, "Well, we might as well make a three-year agreement. If Dragon Heads Up doesn't have the ability to distribute globally after three years, Illumination Entertainment's animations can find other partners."

Chris Meledandri was puzzled, "Are you so confident? Although you have had successful experiences, you don't have the backing of a big consortium. It only takes one or two movies to fail. In the next year, you may not see the logo of the dragon raising its head."

Wang Quan smiled, "Who says we don't have the support of a big consortium, I am the consortium."

Chris Meledandri sat upright, "Oh?"

Wang Quan made a phone call, "Hey, Wendy, please come and raise your head, I'm here for business."

Wang Quan brought his other partner Dorothy's mother over.

"Let me introduce, this is the former helm of Greenberg Bank, Mr. Greenberg's beloved daughter, and the current president of February [-] Investment Management Company."

Chris Meledandri had heard of this old-fashioned Jewish bank, which could indeed be called a plutocracy, and the royal power was actually related to them. No wonder the dragon raised its head so quickly.

Seeing that Chris Meledandri's attitude softened, Wang Quan smiled, "Talents are rare, I can definitely form an animation team for my comics, but I believe in your ability to work for decades, now we have Did you talk about it?"

~
Dorothy, who is far away in Berlin, never forgets to care for Wang Quan, a left-behind child.

"I met a Chinese female star in Berlin. She was so enthusiastic and said she was a fan of your movie. I inquired about her. She is indeed very famous in your China. Then I asked her for her contact information. Do you want to contact her? Send it to you now?"

Wang Quan smiled and said, "Okay, when I go back to China, I can just get to know her. What's her name?"

"Bingbing, let me see, oh, the surname is Fan," Dorothy said, "The movie she starred in has been shortlisted for the main competition, and maybe she can win a best actress."

King Quan knows what movie it is, "Apple".

Unfortunately, a few days later, another movie "Tuya's Marriage" won the Golden Bear after shining in Berlin. The director and Wang Quan are related.

Wang Quan asked, "When will you return to China?"

"arrive tomorrow."

"Well, let's discuss something with you and talk about it when you come back."

One day later, on the way to pick Dorothy back to the apartment, King Quan had a showdown, "I have invested in an animation company, and all the films I plan to produce in the future will be distributed by Dragon Head. What do you think?"

"What? How did you come up with the idea of ​​investing in an animation company? That stuff costs more money than a live-action movie!"

Today, most of the 3D animation blockbusters that can be sold internationally cost tens of millions, and many of them can exceed [-] million. What Dorothy said is not bad.

Wang Quan, "I use my works, plus a small amount of investment to invest in shares, so you don't have to worry too much about losing money, at most you won't make money."

Wang Quan is very helpless, brother, it's not that I don't tell you the truth, it's really that your mother doesn't want you to know about the two of us.

"What is your work?"

"It's just that little yellow man I just scribbled on."

"Is there anyone willing to have that thing?"

"Yeah, Chris Meledandri, the former head of Blue Sky Studios, wanted to adapt that story, and was moved by me, and agreed to join. After that, there will be another brother company."

Dorothy asked, "Then how much share do you own?"

Wang Quan said modestly, "Not much, anyway, I don't have the right to speak, it's all up to others."

In order to obtain Illumination, Wang Quan paid a lot of money. Now he is the largest shareholder of Illumination Entertainment, but the shareholding ratio does not reach 50%, which is smaller than the entrepreneurial team headed by Chris Meledandri.

This is also for the good of the company, just like a dragon raising its head. For a film company, it is not politically correct for a Chinese person to control more than half of the power of life and death.

However, there is a clause in the contract that in the future, Longsheng will have the priority to invest in lighting entertainment, and Wang Quan also intends to make lighting and Longhoutou more deeply bound.

Three years later, when the first part of "Despicable Me" is completed and is waiting for its release, as long as Dragon Head has the ability to distribute globally, Wang Quan will find a way to get Dragon Head up to invest in Lighting.

Even if the development of Dragon Rise is not so good three years later, King Power still retains its priority for the distribution of illuminated films in North America.

That's the "Despicable Me" series, "Minions" series, "The Secret Life of Pets" series, "The Voice of Joy" series, and the "Super Mario Bros. Movie" series!

With a global box office of almost US$[-] billion and derivative income much more than US$[-] billion, Wang Quan must firmly control it in its own hands, and its existence can in turn supplement the high-end film sources of the dragon. , is an important weight for the dragon to rise to the top of the MPAA.

The Spring Festival is coming soon, and Dorothy said that this year her grandfather Tao Daqi will come to Los Angeles to celebrate the New Year, and let Wang Quan go to their house for dinner during the New Year to pretend to be his grandson.

Wang Quan said, "Oh, you are late, I already have an appointment."

"Oh? Is Gadot back?"

"It's not that fast, but I received an invitation from the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, and I'm going to watch the Spring Festival Gala with the staff and make dumplings."

Dorothy's eyes brightened, "You can do it, now there are so many faces!"

Wang Quan, "Thank you for the Oscar nomination, our images will still appear in the live broadcast of the Spring Festival Gala."

This shows that the country has begun to pay attention to him, and it is estimated that some leaders of the consulate general will have a cordial talk with him at that time.

Dorothy, "Then remember to come to my house when you're done. My grandpa misses you. If you don't come, he should think we broke up."

Wang Quan shook his head, okay, the elderly are not so open-minded, and Dorothy is also afraid of making the old man angry.

In fact, Wang Quan thinks it's redundant. The old man's age doesn't prevent him from picking up girls. How can he be mad at you?

During this period, the major trade union awards in the United States were also awarded one after another. The director's union award, no accident, belonged to Martin Scorsese ("The Departed").

The Writers Guild Award, "Juno" won the best original screenplay again.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards are the most grand, and "Juno" won a best collective performance award, which is an affirmation of every actor.

With the sound of firecrackers, the Year of the Pig is coming...

(The old Buddha is here to wish everyone an early year, and it’s not too much to collect monthly tickets as red envelopes~)

(End of this chapter)