During my years at China Entertainment

Chapter 662: The sequel starts and the final glory
Wei Jin knew that once the identity of Summit Entertainment's major shareholder was made public, he would not be able to escape many official matters.

He had originally agreed to only attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing International Film Festival, but he was still asked to come and show up at today's co-production film negotiation meeting.

As expected, nothing can be accomplished in such official occasions.

The truly good projects are the private domain of major companies. How can they be easily shared?

However, due to the huge sales of several movies such as "Inception", "Pacific Rim" and "Legacy", Wei Jin was still specifically asked to speak.

However, Wei Jin was not stage-frightened. After the foreign filmmakers finished their speeches, he went on stage and started talking freely.

“In my opinion, a successful co-production must have several elements:
First, it is necessary to balance cultural differences: the cultural preferences of Chinese and American audiences must be taken into account, avoiding being overly biased towards one side and ensuring that the story and characters resonate with both sides.

Second, it must have universal themes, such as choosing globally common themes such as family, love, and heroism to enhance the universality of the film.

Third, we need to form a cross-cultural screenwriting team to ensure that the story flows naturally and smoothly within the cultural context of both countries.

Fourthly, the cast should include well-known actors from both sides, which can not only attract audiences from both countries but also enhance the international influence of the film. At the same time, the roles should be adapted to avoid unnatural performances due to cultural differences.

Fifth

Wei Jin mentioned seven or eight key points in total, but he knew very well that these were difficult to achieve because the two parties to the cooperation were in unequal positions.

After the boring negotiation meeting was over, La Peikang organized a group and invited Wei Jin, Paul, Hunter, and Ye Ning to participate, under the pretext of discussing matters related to "Interstellar".

But Wei Jin knew that the head of China Film Corporation might have other ideas.

Since "Interstellar" has not been released yet and the release date has been agreed upon beforehand, it will be released worldwide on November 11, so there is nothing to discuss.

Sure enough, after three rounds of drinks in the private room of Quanjude, La Peikang started talking about the sequels of "Pacific Rim" and "Inception".

"Boss La, it's only been less than three months since The Killing ended, and all the revenue hasn't been fully credited yet. Aren't you too anxious?"

La Peikang smiled and said, "Haha, I'm not in a hurry. Didn't the leaders say at the meeting just now that we need to strengthen multilateral exchanges and cultural collisions?

It’s a little early for “Dead Circle”, but it’s been two years for “Pacific Rim”, right? If we start now, it will be released next year or even the year after next. Three or four years is enough time.”

At this time, Paul also understood the conversation with the help of the translator, and immediately began to chime in: "Wei, I think what Mr. La said is right, Pacific Rim 2 can indeed be launched."

"Well, since everyone is looking forward to working together again, how about we finalize this project at the celebration party for Interstellar?"

"Okay, let's do as Mr. Wei says."

Ye Ning was the first to agree, and his lackey Hunter naturally followed suit, and then Paul also nodded in agreement.

The reason is very simple. Although Warner is optimistic about "Interstellar", with such a huge investment, no one can guarantee that it will be profitable.

Before the results come out, it is necessary for him to be cautious about the next investment.

After all, there are many factions within Warner. If Paul really fails, the projects that have been discussed now may be reaped by others in the future.

Seeing that all parties had reached an agreement, La Peikang had nothing to say and invited the guests from afar to eat.

But after a while, La Pecon brought up the matter of "The Joker" again, and his words seemed to be just pure curiosity.

In response to this, Wei Jin and Paul looked at each other and did not hide anything, and told each other the way of cooperation.

This contract was signed by Summit Entertainment and Warner, and of course, Wei Jin's will was implemented throughout the process.

According to the contract, the copyright lease period for "Joker" is five years, which means it will end in September 2017.

Regardless of whether it develops the film or not, Summit Entertainment needs to pay Warner $200 million in copyright fees each year, and the latter will enjoy an investment share of no less than 20% in the development projects.

The income from derivative products and peripheral products is not subject to the copyright lease period limit and is shared between the two parties according to their investment shares.

In fact, the so-called copyright rental fee is not high, it is more like a way for Warner to maintain its dignity.

As for the investment share, it was Warner's request to add it in order to protect its own interests.

After all, the Big Six in Hollywood are not fools. Since his debut, all the projects Wei Jin has managed have never suffered losses.

Since he can propose a leasing method, he must be optimistic about the profits that this IP will bring.

La Peikang obviously understands this principle, so even though he has not seen the script yet and the project is still a castle in the air, the chairman of China Film Group directly expressed his hope to continue cooperation on this project.

Even Ye Ning showed an interested expression on his face, but it was obvious that they had miscalculated this time.

Without Wei Jin even saying anything, Paul directly refused: "Mr. La, Mr. Ye, we can't cooperate this time because the script is at least restricted."

Pei Kang and Ye Ning understood the meaning of the words. The project could not enter the Chinese market, and the so-called basis for cooperation was completely untenable.

At this point, La Peikang's purpose of having dinner tonight has basically failed.

But as the chairman of China Film Corporation, La Peikang is still very graceful.

In the following time, they no longer talked about cooperation, but instead talked about the film markets of the two countries and the development trends of the global market. They talked about a wide range of topics.

During the meal, both the host and the guests enjoyed themselves.

The next day, the Beijing International Film Festival held its closing ceremony, but Wei Jin did not show up again.

Because he has already officially started filming the "Gone Girl" crew.

Although there was no high-profile press conference, Wei Jin's new films have always been the focus of media attention, and many reporters came to interview them.

The novel of the same name "Gone Girl" adapted from the script topped the bestseller list in North America for 2012 consecutive weeks as soon as it was published in 95, making it a popular novel.

Therefore, in this interview, the media focused on the plot differently from the past. The first question was directed to Gao Yuanyuan.

"Director Wei, according to the original novel, the heroine is a dark, cruel, and extremely controlling character. Do you think Gao Yuanyuan can handle this role?"

This issue has actually been the focus of discussion among many people in the circle before, and they all believed that Wei Jin was too willful in praising people.

“Of course, although Sister Yuanyuan is not a professional actor, I don’t think her acting skills are inferior to anyone else’s. This has been proven in “Searching” and “Passengers”.

In addition, as a director, if I cannot unleash the potential of the actors, it is my problem. Believe me, this time the audience will see a brand new Gao Yuanyuan who has broken through herself!"

When facing the camera, Wei Jin would of course praise his own woman, not to mention his own casting, how could he allow others to interfere?
Therefore, Wei Jin's words can be said to be decisive and powerful!

Wei Jin's undisguised protection also made Gao Yuanyuan feel very sweet, and the look in her eyes when she looked at him became more gentle.

She even had an idea in her mind about how to reward her man tonight.

"Director Wei, the original novel is full of suspense and twists. How do you plan to present it?"

"This question involves the structure of our script, which is not convenient to disclose now. But I can guarantee that our design is absolutely wonderful. I personally think it is not inferior to The Invisible Guest."

"Director Wei, some netizens have previously speculated that this film will participate in the Berlin Film Festival next year. Is this true?"

Wei Jin nodded: "According to the plan, this is what happened."

"Then are you confident?" Hearing this, Wei Jin looked at the actors on both sides and smiled, "You should ask our crew about this question. Do you think you are confident?"

"Have!"

The actors in the crew were all very excited, especially Lei Jiayin. Since his debut, he has never participated in any of the three major European competitions.

Although the focus of the script this time is not on him, perhaps there is still a chance?
"Okay, we shouted the slogans loudly just now. My requirements for the subsequent filming are very strict. I hope everyone will not let us down."

After the opening ceremony, Wei Jin gathered everyone together for a script reading as usual, and gave everyone a heads-up at the beginning.

"Now, if you have any questions or misunderstandings about the script, or any other opinions, you can raise them now."

At this point, Wei Jin looked at Lei Jiayin, who had lost several pounds, and said, "Big Head, you can set an example for everyone first."

As an artist of the company, Lei Jiayin has not only collaborated with Wei Jin many times, but also participated in many company projects. He is very familiar with this link and has even been prepared for it.

He took out the notebook he had prepared in advance and stood up immediately, "Director Wei, there are indeed some things I don't understand, such as when I first met the heroine."

As Lei Datou started speaking, the other actors also began to get into the mood and raised their own questions or opinions.

This is the first time that Reyiza has participated in a Wei Jin movie, but she has seen this scene before when she starred in "Time Traveler". She was not stage-frightened at the moment and acted very seriously.

Because she knew very well that it was not easy to get such a good opportunity this time, and she must seize it.

The same goes for Guo Jinfei. He doesn't have many parts this time, but with this collaboration, who knows, maybe he will be noticed in the future?
Wei Jin was also very pleased with everyone's active participation.

Even if the questions were naive or the opinions were one-sided, he would encourage and answer them, and guide them to a deeper understanding of the script.

The atmosphere of the script reading session is getting better and better.

But as Wei Jin had said before, the original novel was full of suspense, and the design this time was also very complicated. There was indeed a big deviation in everyone's understanding of the script.

So the script reading session lasted for most of the day, and the first scene did not begin until the evening.

Of course, this was also part of the filming plan.

This scene is the first meeting and cocktail party between the male and female protagonists, and the filming location was chosen at a restaurant in Beijing.

At this time, the set had been set up. Wei Jin sat behind the monitor, picked up the loudspeaker and issued instructions.

"Attention all units, it will be officially powered on in 30 seconds."

"Extras are in place."

"The lights are in place."

"The props are in place."

"."

As the voices from various units of the crew rang out one after another, the stagehand appeared in front of the camera and picked up the clapperboard.

"Gone Girl, first scene, first shot, action."

This scene was not difficult, except that there were many extras involved, so the coordination work was relatively complicated.

But these tasks are not a big problem for the well-trained Shanhe Media team, especially this time it is an "elite force" led by Chen Xi, so it is even more of a piece of cake.

In more than two hours, the crew completed several scenes of the same scene as planned.

After reviewing today's filming content for a while, Wei Jin announced that the crew had finished work.

This is the advantage of filming in Beijing: the staff who live nearby can go home directly after work.

But tonight, Wei Jin did not go with Gao Yuanyuan, and instructed Lao Zhu to go to another villa with better privacy - this is Liu Yan's new residence.

Previously, Wei Jin had planned to let Liu Yan go to North America to give birth, but the latter was unwilling to leave.

Wei Jin could guess what he was thinking, and after some consideration, he agreed.

Because Liu Yan is not as popular as Zeng Li and Gao Yuanyuan, the attention he receives is much lower after all. Besides, small winds and waves are nothing to him now.

However, if it is possible to avoid exposure, Wei Jin doesn't mind taking some concealment measures.

So Liu Yan has moved from her villa in Yanjiao to Changping, which happens to be not far from the filming location, so Wei Jin stopped by to take a look.

After all, Liu Yan has been pregnant for more than five months. Not only does she have difficulty moving, her hormone secretion is disordered, and all kinds of negative emotions are amplified. She needs Wei Jin to relieve them from time to time.

"Boss, you're here~~"

As soon as he entered the room, Wang Zixuan came over and squatted down to help Wei Jin change his shoes.

She has a very good relationship with Liu Yan. Since the filming of "Joy of Life 2" was completed, she has been taking care of Liu Yan.

Of course, Wei Jin did not treat her unfairly, and another female guest seat on "Running Man" has been confirmed.

"Well, is your sister Liu Yan asleep?"

"No, I'm still watching the award ceremony."

As they were talking, the two had already arrived at the bedroom, and when Liu Yan saw Wei Jin, a bright smile appeared on her face.

"how do you feel today?"

Wei Jin sat on the edge of the bed, stroking Liu Yan's belly. The latter was now wearing an anti-radiation apron and looked a bit like a maid.

"It's OK, but I feel sleepy during the day and can't sleep at night, and the little one is also very noisy."

"It's good to be noisy. It means you're healthy. Let me hear what's going on."

As he spoke, Wei Jin put his ear against Liu Yan's round belly, feeling the rhythm of life.

While enjoying this warm moment, Liu Yan instructed Wang Zixuan, "Zixuan, go and run the bath water for the boss first."

"Okay, Sister Liu Yan."

Wang Zixuan readily followed suit and went to have fun in the bathroom later.

While waiting, Wei Jin and Liu Yan watched the live broadcast of the award ceremony for a while. They noticed Ning Hao, who was sitting in the first row, was actually dozing off, which showed how bored he was.

In the live broadcast at this moment, Zhang Ziyi was giving her acceptance speech and seemed a little excited.

Thanks to "The Grandmaster", she has won a total of 10 Best Actress trophies in the Chinese and Southeast Asian film circles.

Tonight’s Best Actress Award at the Beijing International Film Festival is the 10th!
Zhang Ziyi said frankly that she would regain her past glory and continue to work hard until she surpasses others!

But in Wei Jin's view, this should be Zhang Ziyi's last glorious moment.

Because when the pit of "The Crossing" is released, she will completely fall from the altar
(End of this chapter)