Full-time actor

Chapter 632 [58] Goodbye Tom Cruise, "Mission Impossible 3" movie screening!

clap clap clap!
"Oh oh oh--"

There was warm applause and cheers in the viewing room inside New Line. The filming of "Escape Plan" was surprisingly successful.

Even Chen Yu, who had seen the original film in his previous life, had to admit that Brother Long's version felt much better than Uncle Liam's.

Because... Kung Fu comedy!
Just now, Chen Yu, Liu Yifei and others finished watching Jackie Chan’s new film "Escape Plan" which will be released soon!
Relying on Cheng Long's unique Long-style fighting style, he allows the audience to relax a little in such a tense and dangerous plot, instead of having their nerves constantly tense like in his previous life.

This effect of alternating tension and relaxation is the best.

"It's a good performance!"

Chen Yu spoke softly to Liu Yifei beside him.

Liu Yifei seemed very happy, not because of her boyfriend's praise, but because even she felt the excellence of this new commercial film in which she starred.

The plot may seem old-fashioned, but it is full of new ideas, and the filming is very attractive and touching.

Although she has a lot of scenes in the film, she is the leading female role after all.

Although he looks like a tool, I can still appreciate Cheng Long's grasp of the role of the father at the beginning, and his open-hearted admiration for his father at the end. This contrast in acting is still very good.

"I can already sense how popular this movie will be after it's released. I can't wait!"

Robert Shea of ​​New Line was there, smiling happily.

He stood up and hugged Cheng Long, the director and others one by one.

And feedback forms from internal movie viewings were handed out to everyone.

This is a routine step, and many Chinese production companies in later generations also adopted this strategy.

Before the movie is released, there will be a small internal viewing party, inviting the leading actors, directors, staff and friends to watch the movie.

Then compile statistics of opinions and internal scores.

Later, movie viewing began to expand to film critics and company employees.

This is of course done to get the most realistic evaluation of the movie, but even so, bad movies cannot be completely eliminated.

The reason is of course simple.

Because not everyone will give their most truthful answer.

The human heart is the most unpredictable, you can't guarantee that everyone will tell the truth.

Some people may have a low level of film-watching skills and cannot tell that it is a bad movie, but this is only a minority; the vast majority of people, in fact, will not say it out loud even if they know it is bad.

What if dozens of people watch the movie and you are the only one who gives a bad review?
Even if this is really bad, you are still dangerous.

Therefore, this kind of internal viewing is very difficult to control.

It’s okay if the film is good, I will give it positive reviews, but I’m afraid that the film is really bad.

In this way, there is no fair evaluation. Many people say it is bad, but many people who are worldly-wise and have a broad perspective say it is good, and they call it high emotional intelligence.

Some directors and producers will start re-editing, which may make the film even worse... some may become mysteriously confident, etc. It's all possible.

Moreover, even if the film is really well made, it is still crucial whether the audience buys it or not.

Movies are such a mysterious and complicated thing.

The success of the box office has nothing to do with word of mouth. All we can say is that a well-made film has a higher probability of having a high box office than a bad film.

Many bad movies also have high box office.

Now "Taken" has only achieved the first step of success. At least the opinions of the internal screening group are very consistent, and everyone's scores are in the range of 9-10 points. This is the most authentic feedback for a masterpiece.

Many internal movie ratings are 9 points, and their reputation on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb is often not bad.

But if it's low, anything is possible.

"Yuzi, how is it?"

Cheng Long walked up to Chen Yu, who high-fived him and gave him a thumbs-up: "Great, you are worthy of being the first name card of Chinese action movies!"

"Haha, just kidding, is it really okay?"

Cheng Long pointed at Chen Yu, and Chen Yu nodded solemnly: "Really, I'm really afraid that my new film will be released in the same schedule as yours!"

"Fast and Furious 3" and "Taken" are both summer releases.

The release date in North America is one month apart, but it is hard to say about the mainland, as it has not yet been scheduled. New Line is discussing with China Film, and Relativity also wants to get a good release date.

Currently, most Hollywood blockbusters are introduced by China Film Group.

These two films, together with Mission: Impossible 3, should be the top three box office hits in China's summer season this year, and China Film Group Corporation certainly attaches great importance to them.

China Film Corporation, which was established just two years ago, has not yet fully launched its distribution business, so it is no match for China Film Corporation in overseas distribution. It will take a few years before it can get a share of the pie from China Film Corporation.

"You have one-third of the investment share. Strictly speaking, if this movie is a big hit at the box office, you will make more money than Fast and Furious 3!"

Cheng Long was joking, but what he said was true.

"Escape Plan" did well at the box office and Chen Yu earned more money.

"Chan!"

At this time, Robert Shea also walked up to Chen Yu and said, "I am actually very sad. Why didn't you sell "Departures" and "Extraction" to us at New Line?"

New Line also participated in the bidding for these two films.

He's here to call for punishment?
of course not.

"You're definitely not interested in art films like 'Departures', but as for 'Extraction', you'll be the first one I'll call!"

"But the Legends gave us so much!"

Chen Yu was laughing, and Xie Yi shook his head: "Shit, I really didn't expect this movie to sell 2 million in North America, otherwise I would have won it no matter what!"

At the beginning, it was he who didn't think highly of the movie, not Chen Yu who didn't sell it.

So Chen Yu could certainly say this with confidence.

"We should focus on "Taken", which is our next big project!"

“It could even be made into a series, like Rush Hour!”

"The difference between the original story and the spin-off story!"

Chen Yu changed the subject, and Xie Yi was indeed very excited: "That's right, only series can make big money!"

The two chatted and laughed. Because Chen Yu had to catch the next movie, he said hello to Cheng Long and Xie Yi, then took Liu Yifei to the Beverly Center.

In the afternoon, there will be a screening of "Mission Impossible 3" in a hall of the Beverly Cinema.

This is also an operation before Hollywood blockbusters are released.

Before a movie is released, exhibitors and distributors will negotiate on a sample film to determine the format of the release and the ratio of film rental.

The exhibitor, that is, Paramount, will definitely want to reduce film rentals as much as possible.

The so-called film rental is the share of the box office revenue, which is a Hollywood release model.

When a movie starts showing in theaters for four weeks and 28 days, the theater must pay the distributor a certain share of the box office revenue!

This share is mainly determined by the contract content negotiated between the theater and the producer before the release of the film. The expenses other than the share are called film rental.

For example, if a movie's first-week box office is $1 million, and the rental rate is 10%, then the producer, that is, the investor and distributor, can get up to $9000 million. This is definitely a super high share ratio, and obviously everyone wants to have such a share of the rental rate.

However, not everyone can afford such a low rental fee.

This is the source of the confidence of the Big Six. The Big Six can get so much. The higher the investment in a movie, the lower the film rental.

Of course, this film rental system is not always implemented. It is usually in the first week. In the second week, the film rental will be raised to 20%, then 30%, and so on... So the better the box office in the first week, the more beneficial it is for the producer.

This is also why the first week box office in North America is so important.

However, this method of renting films is only a system implemented by many commercial blockbusters.

There are other independent films in North America, etc., which have other cooperation models, such as agreed minimum price, fixed price, etc.

Giants like Paramount, of course, disdain this kind of thing. They basically implement a variable total percentage agreement for film rental, which means that the film rental is different every week.

But to get such a low share of the film rental, the cinema is not stupid. Of course, it has to take a look at the quality of the movie before making a judgment.

Therefore, the film screening before the release in North America is such a cooperation model.

It is a very complicated process to show movies in theaters all over the country, let sales managers and exhibitors in various markets watch them, and then discuss how to release the movie, how many screens should be there, how much the movie should be rented, etc.

As one of the most lucrative film markets in the world, North America's film system is also the most complex in the world.

……

"Hi, Cruise!"

Chen Yu waved to Tom Cruise, whom he hadn't seen for a long time. The movie show hadn't started yet and many people were in the cinema's lounge.

Chen Yu greeted each of them, including the senior executives from Paramount.

"Chan, long time no see!"

Tom Cruise stood up and gave Chen Yu a big, warm hug.

They look harmless, but the relationship between the two people is actually not as harmonious as outsiders see.

It's all acted.

There was no way out. Tom Cruise missed the opportunity to get the distribution rights of "Exodus", which led to the movie earning a crazy $6.5 million at the global box office.

When Tom Cruise knew this number, he was completely shocked.

I sat there for a long time digesting it, and I couldn't believe that this movie could have such a perverted box office.

He didn't expect the movie to be a big hit, but 2-3 million was a number he had in mind. Unexpectedly, the final box office would actually double, setting countless records and miracles.

You know, no movie starring Tom Cruise in his life has ever achieved such a remarkable box office.

The highlight of his life was the $5.91 million box office of "War of the Worlds" last year, but the credit was not primarily his, because the film was directed by Spielberg.

However, the word of mouth is very bad, and it only earned 2.34 million in North America!
The only high-grossing movie starring Tom Cruise is probably Mission: Impossible 2, which grossed 5.65 million worldwide. This shows his true strength and level.

But there are only 2.13 million in North America.

And Chen Yu has now completely caught up with this number.

In North America, the number is just over 2 million, and in Asia, it is over 3 million. Even Tom Cruise can't beat this number, let alone others.

This means that Chen Yu now has absolute box office influence in Asia.

This is very helpful for consolidating his position in Hollywood.

Any director or film producer who has some ambition for the global box office will not give up on the huge Asian film market, so Chen Yu will be a priority choice. He will not end up as a marginal figure in Hollywood like Chow Yun-fat.

The Asian market is now Chen Yu’s strongest trump card for his success in Hollywood.

Therefore, no matter how afraid Tom Cruise is of Chen Yu, he still has to do a good job of appearing friendly on the surface.

After three days of separation, you should look at each other with admiration.

The current Chen Yu is no longer the Chen Yu he just met two years ago, but one of the top action stars in Hollywood.

Even though he is not as good as Jackie Chan at the moment, he is still comparable to Jet Li.

"Chan, I haven't congratulated you yet, your new movie has grossed 6.5 million!"

"This is really a beautiful and brilliant result. I said after watching the movie that your movie will definitely be a success..."

Tom Cruise was speaking hypocritically.

Chen Yu also shrugged: "'World War' is also very good, I went to the cinema to watch it!"

"It's still a little bit worse. I heard recently that you invested in a new film yourself?"

Tom Cruise asked curiously.

The two of them chatted like old friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time.

There are no secrets in Hollywood.

Besides, the news about "Operation Undercover", which was written, performed and invested by Chen Yu, has been all over the place.

The video of him doing extreme climbing on the South Coast for a movie went viral online, and even China knew about it.

There is no way Tom Cruise didn't know this.

"Well, the sequel to "The Force Awakens"!"

Chen Yu did not hide it and continued talking.

Tom Cruise spread his hands and made a weird expression: "You are really crazy, don't you need a rest?"

A Hollywood movie star is talking to Chen Yu, another movie star.

Chen Yu suddenly smiled: "Cruise, didn't you take a break too?"

This guy is also shooting a new movie.

"Lions for Lambs" directed by Oscar-winning director Robert Redford.

It is not a commercial film, but a war film that tells the story of the choices made by an idealistic university professor, a reporter dedicated to digging out news, and an ambitious young congressman in the face of the upcoming war on terror.

Just looking at the plot, you can tell that this is an award-winning movie.

Tom Cruise was obviously upset about not winning any awards and wanted to win an Oscar for Best Actor.

He really has everything now except the awards.

Chen Yu is the opposite of him. He has won many awards, but what he lacks now is a starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster.

"Mission Impossible 3" is his first "debut" in Hollywood, so Chen Yu still has some fantasies about this movie. He always hopes that the word of mouth and box office will be better than in his previous life, so that he can become more famous in Hollywood.

Paramount invited him to attend a film screening, and Chen Yu readily agreed.

But Liu Yifei couldn't attend and was shopping downstairs.

After chatting with Tom Cruise and several Paramount executives present, Bob, the head of the Beverly Cinemas, walked in.

"Ok, we can start!"

Bob obviously knew Chen Yu because just two months ago, he held the premiere event of "Extraction" here.

The two shook hands and then walked into the theater one by one.

Soon, Mission: Impossible 3 will have its first premiere here!
(End of this chapter)