Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 631: Continuous Phone Bombing
In the bedroom, the two were chatting.

Although the villa is very large, there are more than a dozen people living in it including Liu Xiaoli, Guo Fan, and Han Jianv. It is naturally impossible for Gu Wei and Liu Yifei to be so affectionate in the living room and attract attention.

"Hey, I saw in the domestic news that Warner is going to acquire a stake in Tomorrow's Star Film Company?"

On the sofa in the bedroom, Liu Yifei rested her head on Gu Wei's arm and asked in a low voice.

"Huh? They even know this?" Gu Wei asked in surprise.

"Really?" Liu Yifei's voice suddenly became louder.

"Warner has mentioned this to me. Not just Warner, Universal and Disney have also asked me about this."

The Hollywood film and television industry is said to be open and inclusive to the outside world, but in fact it is still a bit closed. Ordinary people cannot easily get in, and it is also common for companies to hold controlling stakes in each other.

In other words, you have the ability to eat meat and make money, but you also have to bring others to play together.

In addition, Gu Wei's past achievements are there, so naturally some people would set their sights on his company.

To be honest, as the Tomorrow's Star Film and Television Company develops better and better, the six major companies including Warner and Universal are only considering taking action against it now. It is probably because of the fact that Gu Wei has been cooperating with them.

If this is not the case, why would big directors like Spielberg, Cameron, Nolan and others choose to rely on a big company?

In particular, Cameron founded Digital Domain in 94, which once competed with Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic. In the end, both companies went bankrupt.

Of course, on the one hand, it is because commercial film directors need huge amounts of money to make movies. On the other hand, it is also because big directors are also resources, and they themselves are the kind of sustainable and renewable resources that the Big Six in Hollywood must keep firmly in their hands.

Looking at the history of Hollywood's development, it is better to say that it was individual directors and filmmakers who created Hollywood's golden age rather than individual film and television companies that created Hollywood's current glory.

Because, without people, there is nothing!!

"So what do you think?"

"Let's delay it for now. After all, the company is not large, and it is impossible for other large companies to intervene forcefully." Gu Wei rubbed the young lady's face and said with a smile.

"Well, some people asked me privately!" Liu Yifei said with a smile.

"Next time someone asks you, tell him to call me. You're idle all day long and you deserve to be scolded." Gu Wei complained.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not stupid. If someone asks me, I'll just say I don't know."

...

In the next few days, movies that have not been released in mainland China are still being promoted on a large scale, and cocktail parties in Hollywood are still going on.

"The Wandering Earth" and "The Revenant" are still being released, and Gu Wei is still filming "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" as usual.

At the same time, Warner Bros. Pictures admitted its intention to acquire some shares of Tomorrow's Star Pictures.

“We have indeed had discussions with Gu, and the communication between the two sides was very pleasant. Gu is a very talented director, and we look forward to working more closely with him…

In addition to direct acquisition, the two parties may also adopt the method of equity exchange..."

When this news came out, it was like a bolt from the blue, completely waking up the entire mainland film and television industry.

It was not until this time that people realized how high the status of Tomorrow Star Films and Gu Wei was in Hollywood.

State-owned enterprises such as China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group responded the fastest.

Giants such as Guangxian, Wanda, Huayi, Bonjana, Star Media, Orange Sky, and Yinghuang have seen the news one after another.

Entertainment companies, brokerage companies, actors and stars in the film and television industry were even more excited, especially those who had a good relationship with Gu Wei.

"If Warner and Director Gu's company exchange equity, doesn't that mean Director Gu will also be able to participate in Warner's other film projects in the future? This means that more Chinese entertainment stars will participate in the projects that the two companies cooperate on?"

Many artists are analyzing the consequences of this news.

"Whether it's the acquisition of some shares or a share exchange, it will improve Gu Wei's status in Hollywood, hey!!!"

Wang Zhongjun closed his eyes and said in a serious tone.

"Fuck, it's just news that has been passed on, maybe it doesn't happen at all!" Wang Zhonglei cursed angrily.

"Do you think this won't happen since Warner has said it publicly?" Wang Zhonglei suddenly felt like he was looking at a fool.

"I'm so damn lucky." After a long time, Wang Zhonglei said helplessly, and his mood became depressed.

"Think about how glorious we were in the past, how come we suddenly fell behind? The young people nowadays are really amazing." Feng Xiaogang was silent for a long time, and suddenly sighed. Wang Zhongjun said: "After all, there is a generation gap. I don't understand what the young people nowadays think!"

Feng Xiaogang, like the "Sixth Master" in the old gun, suddenly said, "What do you think these young people are thinking about all day long?"

Wang Zhongjun said, "A Hollywood blockbuster. Look at the movies directed by Gu Wei. They are obviously Hollywood movies. The key is that every one of them is a success, and they are both box office and popular."

After a long while, Feng Xiaogang let out a long sigh and said, "I can't do it. I'm too old to do these things. I'd better stick to my old ways."

Feng Xiaogang had previously followed Zhang Yimou’s lead and made “The Banquet”, but it failed miserably. Later, he wanted to be a master and made “1942”, but again suffered heavy losses.

This caused him to lose confidence for a while, and he decided to return to his old business and shoot "Personal Tailor". However, after the premiere, many media and film critics commented that it was a rehash of his own and a plagiarism of "Party A and Party B".

Wang Zhongjun knew that this person had lost his courage. Fortunately, Huayi's strategy was to go to the cinema. Moreover, he had found a suitable director for special effects blockbusters, that is Wuershan, who was preparing to shoot "Painted Skin 3".

"By the way, there will be a press conference for Painted Skin 3 at the end of the month, you should also go and show your support!"

Feng Xiaogang chuckled twice and suddenly asked, "Do you really think that guy can replicate Gu Wei's success?"

Wang Zhongjun said, "Of course not. However, Huayi lacks a director who can shoot special effects blockbusters. After much thought, he is the right person. After all, he was brought up by Gu Wei. Even if he has only 30% or 40% of Gu Wei's skills, it will be enough."

There is one thing Wang Zhongjun didn't say, which is that other directors under Xingchen Film and Television Company could not be poached, and only this director was persuaded.

To this end, Huayi negotiated with the other party several times and finally won the deal after promising to invest in two 3D special effects blockbusters.

Looking at the domestic entertainment industry, there are many good directors, but only a few can imitate Hollywood blockbusters.

To be honest, there is still a serious gap in mainland directors, and they are seriously biased. The fifth-generation directors are not good at making commercial films, and the sixth-generation directors have learned neither local nor foreign knowledge. They have no representative works at all. Apart from some box office results, it is hard to say about the awards.

In the original time and space, when Hollywood blockbusters dominated the domestic market, many companies and directors in the industry thought about making special effects films to compete with them, but the results were a mess.

After the release of "Avatar", if it weren't for the rise of domestic mainstream movies and Guo Fan's "The Wandering Earth", the mainland film and television industry would have been crushed to death long ago.

Of course, there are also various reasons including the prevalence of bad Hollywood movies and bad routines, the rise of China's economy, and the restoration of national self-confidence.

But no matter what, the changes in the culture, film and television industries in China and abroad over the past decade or so have been enormous.

Director Feng sighed slightly, "After all, he is still the director of Xingchen Films. We just go to show our support with a smug look on our faces. I wonder how people outside will look at us!"

Wang Zhongjun's face changed slightly when he heard this. He thought for a moment and said, "That's right. Let Li Xue represent the company. We won't show up in public, but we still need to have more contact in private."

The two men spoke in a dull tone throughout, with little interest in what they said.

But in a conference room of Shanghai Film Group, executives from Shanghai Film Group, LeEco Entertainment, and Southern Film Entertainment gathered together and enthusiastically discussed the overseas distribution of "Grave Robbers' Chronicles".

When the "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" project was first launched, Shanghai Film Group had plans to impact the overseas market.

Now that "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" has been released for a week and the domestic box office has exceeded 300 million, it is time to consider overseas distribution.

However, this matter mainly depends on Shanghai Film Group, while the other two companies are just there to make up the numbers.

"Mr. Ren, the European copyright of "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" has been sold. You still have to find a way for Asia and North America!" said a representative of LeChuang Entertainment.

He had just taken Li Rengang to France to attend the Deauville Asian Film Festival not long ago, and during this period he sold the copyright of "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" to all European countries. Although it was sold at a low price, at least it can be distributed globally.

Ren Zhonglun frowned when he heard this. He had watched the movie "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" and found it to be mediocre in quality and its reputation in China was severely polarized. It was unlikely that he could rely on the six major Hollywood movies.

Immediately, Ren Zhonglun told the head of the distribution department: “Let’s contact Harvey and ask him if he is interested in publishing this!”

The supervisor smiled and said, "Don't worry, Director Ren. Harvey contacted me a few days ago and has been wanting the distribution rights for the film "Grave Robbers' Chronicles". He said that this film is very good and can definitely be released in mainstream commercial theaters, and the number of theaters that will be open will not be less than one thousand."

When Ren Zhonglun heard this, he knew that the other party was bragging, and maybe even a little bit of deception. Even if there were a thousand cinema chains, they would probably be small and mediocre theaters.

But now the reality is here. The company's publicity and promotion department predicts that the domestic box office of "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" will be at most 500 million yuan. This result is definitely a small profit, but it does not meet his expectations.

"Okay, when signing the contract, write down the number of theaters the film will be opened in. Let's sell as many as possible." Ren Zhonglun waved his hand, and the matter was settled.

After the meeting, Ren Zhonglun sighed, "We still lack channels from Hollywood."

After a while, Ren Zhonglun suddenly seemed to think of something, picked up the phone and dialed.

……

(End of this chapter)