Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 704 Cooperation Agreement
As we all know, making movies, especially high-budget, big-budget movies, has never been an easy task.

In addition to the huge cost, time is also a big problem. Take Gu Wei for example, it usually takes him two to two and a half years to shoot a blockbuster. If it is a more difficult film, it may take even longer.

Of course, there are some exceptions. In the past 20 years, Hollywood has Woody Allen, who is the director who has made the most films, directing a total of 19 films.

His works include "Skyfall" and "A Beautiful Mind". His prolificacy and diversity make him unique among Hollywood directors.

On the domestic side, there is Hong Kong director Wong Jing, who has participated in the filming of more than 400 films in his lifetime.

Just as there are those who are highly productive, there are also those who are less productive. People like Spielberg and Cameron are not representatives of high productivity. There are also many directors in China who are known for being slow in taking films.

Among them are Stephen Chow and Jiang Wen. During the glorious era of Hong Kong films, Stephen Chow was quite fast in making movies. However, after the millennium, he only made six movies in 20 years, which is definitely not considered productive.

When Zhou Xingchi arrived at the door, Gu Wei was on the phone with Jiang Ping, who was also a prominent figure in the industry. He was the vice president of Shanghai Film Group in 01, the deputy director of the Radio, Film and Television Bureau in 03, the vice president of China Film Group in 08, and the vice chairman and general manager of China Film Group in August this year. Gu Wei had worked with China Film Group before, and the two had dealt with each other before.

The topic of their conversation was about mainstream movies. The huge success of Wolf Warrior made many state-owned enterprises realize the possibility of military-themed movies achieving high box office.

China Film Group wanted to start filming "The Founding of an Army" as soon as possible, so Jiang Ping called Gu Wei to ask for his views on the current market.

You have to know that a movie like "The Founding of an Army" is very different from "Wolf Warrior". The respect for history alone makes it impossible for this movie to have too many commercial elements.

In addition, this type of film needs to be impartial, and if it has a slight political tendency, it may face problems such as deletions.

China Film Group hopes to learn more from Gu Wei and even hopes that Gu Wei can direct the film himself.

To be honest, Gu Wei was somewhat interested, but he really didn't have the time, so in the end he just agreed to put his name on the project and direct a few scenes when the time came.

The assistant had been waiting at the door. When he saw Gu Wei's gesture after hanging up the phone, he immediately went next door to ask Zhou Xingchi to come over.

...

In the office, seeing that Zhou Xingchi, who was sitting opposite him, had more and more white hair, Gu Wei felt a little emotional. Time makes people grow old. It was a pity that he had never seen the other person's youthful vigor and vitality.

"Director Zhou, welcome the audience!" Gu Wei stood up and said as he looked at Zhou Xingchi and his assistant coming in, and then the two extended their hands and shook hands.

Zhou Xingchi is a relatively introverted person, but he also said in Cantonese: "Director Gu, I really like the blockbusters you have made, especially "The Wandering Earth", which has been a big hit at the overseas box office and has greatly boosted the morale of the Chinese people."

Gu Wei laughed and said, "I like your movies too. We are not good at the same genres. To be honest, I have made too many special effects blockbusters, which made me want to shoot movies of other themes."

The circumstances of this meeting were different from the last time they met. The last time the two chatted, Zhou Xingchi was busy dealing with Huayi's problems.

At the beginning, Stephen Chow asked for an additional 80 million according to a supplementary agreement. He had reached an agreement with Huayi via email, but the other party delayed signing. Then the movie was released and became a box office hit!

Huayi explained that if there is no signature, it is of course not valid! And after the court ruled that Zhou Xingchi lost the case, Huayi officially responded: The result of the judgment shows that the court understands movies better than Mr. Zhou's company.

This is reasonable and legal, but it is indeed unfair!
In comparison, Yu Dong's approach is more generous.

The other party released "The Myth" in 05, with a guaranteed box office of million, and finally sold million.

Yu Dong felt that he had gotten a great deal, so he gave Emperor Entertainment Group another 10 million.

This made Yu Dong highly recognized by the Hong Kong film industry. From 03 to the present, 80% of Hong Kong films were released in mainland China through Bona.

The fact that Yu Dong was able to start his own business successfully and listed Bona Film Group on NASDAQ at the age of 39 may be related to this way of doing things.

Of course, when "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" was released, Huayi was still at its peak, but Zhou Xingchi was already very old.

Huayi considered many reasons at the time, but they did not expect that Zhou Xingchi would make a comeback.

If nothing unexpected happens, after "The Mermaid" is released, the big and small bosses of Huayi will probably regret it so much.

And this time when the two met, the first thing they talked about was movies, which made Gu Wei feel very comfortable.

During the chat, Zhou Xingchi asked about the current global box office of "The Wandering Earth". When he learned that it had exceeded 1.3 billion US dollars, he was envious and said, "It's amazing. Look at this, it may exceed 2 billion US dollars in the future."

Then he added: "Of course, it's just a matter of time."

Gu Wei smiled slightly and waved his hand. He was not a person obsessed with past glory. If that were really the case, then one "2012" would be enough. Even if he broke his legs, it would be enough to support him for the rest of his life.

Talking about movies can get boring, and after more than ten minutes, Zhou Xingchi directly asked Gu Wei the purpose of inviting him over.

It couldn't be that they were just chatting. Zhou Xingchi was just not good at communicating with outsiders, but he was not stupid.

"That's right, I wonder if Director Zhou has ever considered starting Kung Fu 2."

After these words were spoken, even Song Ge stopped laughing.

The movie "Kung Fu" is not ordinary. Not to mention some people who became famous because of this movie, and then after a series of developments, they finally ended up in court.

The online saying “We owe Stephen Chow a movie ticket” started to circulate after this movie was released.

Song Ge didn't even have to think about it. As long as this movie could be launched and Zhou Xingchi could join, even if the quality was not as good as the previous one, according to the current market, the box office would be conservatively estimated to start at 2 billion.

After all, putting Jiang Wen aside, Zhou Xingchi is one of the most box office-appealing directors in the country.

"No wonder." Song Ge finally understood. It turned out that the reason why Gu Wei asked him not to get involved in "The Mermaid" was because he had a bigger plan.

In Song Ge's opinion, compared with "Kung Fu 2", "The Mermaid" can be thrown away directly.

After all, before the box office performance of "The Mermaid" came out, "A Chinese Odyssey" and the sequel to "Kung Fu" were the works that Chinese people most anticipated from Stephen Chow.

Zhou Xingchi was also stunned when he heard Gu Wei's words. The second part of "Kung Fu" was a long time ago. Some memories slowly came to his mind, both good and bad.

After a while, Zhou Xingchi slowly shook his head and said, "Director Gu has a good idea, but unfortunately the copyright of "Kung Fu" is not in my hands." "Kung Fu" was invested by Columbia Pictures and the copyright is also in their hands. It is not something that Zhou Xingchi can shoot whenever he wants.

Otherwise, in the original time and space, there wouldn't have been rumors on the Internet that there would be a second part of "Kung Fu", but nothing happened.

"What if Xingchen Films gets the copyright?" Gu Wei's mouth curled up slightly, his words full of temptation.

Zhou Xingchi looked at Gu Wei in surprise, not sure whether what the other party said was true or false.

Song Ge, on the other hand, did not have so many concerns. In his impression, his boss was omnipotent. To paraphrase a line from "The Godfather": "I'll give him a reason he can't refuse." Since Gu Wei said he could get the copyright, he might have already negotiated with the other party.

So Song Ge spoke up, "Director Zhou, we will take care of the copyright issue. I wonder if we can invite you to star in Kung Fu 2."

Song Ge was talking about inviting Zhou Xingchi to star in the film, rather than to direct it, naturally because he understood his boss's thoughts. Generally speaking, if Gu Wei put a lot of effort into making a movie, it is probably because he is itching to do something.

Zhou Xingchi took a sip of water and looked a little interested, but he didn't say a word.

He didn't expect Gu Wei to be so capable that he could actually deal with Columbia Pictures. Those Americans have always liked to ask for exorbitant amounts of money on copyright issues.

For example, Chen Kexin's own company invested in the production of "Sweet Honey", but later sold the copyright to Golden Harvest due to financial difficulties, and Golden Harvest transferred it to Warner.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Since then, Warner has charged a copyright fee of US$5,000 per show for every official screening of "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" around the world, and is not responsible for providing copies.

Later, Chen Kexin applied to Warner for digital restoration, but was rejected on the grounds that "piracy is a serious problem in China."

It was not until a few years later when the Cannes Film Festival held a commemorative screening of "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" that Warner approved it, believing that the intellectual property protection in Europe was in a better state, and Chen Kexin had to pay for it herself.

One of the main reasons why Stephen Chow left such a good IP as "Kung Fu" aside and instead rehashed "Journey to the West" and filmed "The Mermaid" was that he did not have the copyright.

Gu Wei made a look, and Song Ge continued, "Director Zhou, don't worry about the schedule. We can make preliminary preparations and start the project after your "The Mermaid" is finished.

Or we can put The Mermaid on hold for now, and I will take care of the investors.”

Hearing this, Gu Wei frowned slightly and said, "We can wait, just put it after "The Mermaid"."

You have to know that the super high box office of the movie "The Mermaid" has added to the second part of "Kung Fu", and Gu Wei really has no time to direct "Kung Fu 2" in the past one or two years.

Song Ge, on the other hand, couldn't understand it. The name of "The Mermaid" sounded very ordinary, so why couldn't he give it up?

Zhou Xingchi remained silent, and Gu Wei said, "You will be the male lead, and I will be the director. Director Zhou should believe in my ability."

Zhou Xingchi definitely believed in Gu Wei's abilities, and he was also secretly looking forward to the two of them working together.

Who would have thought that after Gu Wei said this, Stephen Chow still shook his head. This action made Song Ge a little unhappy. He knew before that the other party was not popular in the circle, and it seems that a big reason lies with himself.

Gu Wei also stared at the other person for a while, and suddenly understood something. Society is changing, people are changing, and Zhou Xingchi is no longer a pure actor and director. At present, he should be considered a businessman.

From a business perspective, the other party should want a share. After thinking it through, Gu Wei continued, "Xingchen Film and Television Company can give up 30% of the share, and the actors' remuneration will be calculated separately. Of course, it can also be added directly to the investment."

When he heard about the 30% share, Song Ge's face twitched slightly. Oh my god, this person was waiting here.

"Boss Gu, 30% is not enough." Zhou Xingchi spoke up. After all, he had long since changed from an actor and director to a businessman, and he was not young anymore. It was meaningless to work so hard to make a movie and let others take the lion's share.

Facing Zhou Xingchi's big mouth, Gu Wei's expression became a little serious. He stared at him and said, "Boss Zhou, 30% is not a small amount. Xingchen Film and Television Company conservatively estimates that it will give 20% to 30% to other people. In the end, the difference between our shares is not much."

Perhaps because he felt that Gu Wei's words did not impress the other party, Song Ge changed his expression and said with a smile: "Boss Zhou, if we really can't come to an agreement, after Xingchen Films obtains the copyright, we can also start the project ourselves. I believe that with the foundation you laid in the first film, the box office will still be good, but the quality and reputation, no one can guarantee it.

Furthermore, so far no one has refused to cooperate with Xingchen Films. Our power is beyond your imagination."

Song Ge usually looks like a good guy, but he is quite good at handling things, and his few words can contain a lot of meaning.

Gu Wei remained silent. He also felt that the other party had an overly aggressive appetite. If he didn't resolve the copyright issue himself, who knows when the film could be launched. In that case, it would be better for both parties to take a step back and work together for mutual benefit.

Sure enough, Zhou Xingchi also heard about the Hong Kong circle. After hesitating for a while, he finally spoke up, "There is no time to start in the next one or two years. The earliest we can start is after the production of "The Mermaid" is completed."

He is not stupid. He has experienced the darkest times in the Hong Kong industry. If he refuses to cooperate, although the mainland will not use violence against him, formal means will be more difficult. He may be attacked at any time. Moreover, China Film Corporation is unlikely to turn against the other side to help him.

In other words, comparing the two, Zhou Xingchi does not think that he alone can be as important as the other company.

"Haha, no problem, let's sign an agreement?" Gu Wei said happily.

"Okay, I'm looking forward to working with Mr. Gu." Zhou Xingchi was very happy when he heard the word "agreement". At least Mingxingchen Film and Television Company didn't want to get something for free from him.

After all, once bitten by a snake, you will be afraid of ropes for ten years! !
Then, both parties stood up and clasped their hands tightly together.

After Zhou Xingchi left, Gu Wei looked at the new contract in a good mood.

Song Ge reminded him that the other party was not easy to deal with and he should not cause any trouble in the middle of the process.

"Don't worry, this is our home ground, or in other words, including Hong Kong Island, it's our home ground, there's nothing to be afraid of."

Hearing this, Song Ge nodded. Indeed, his boss's network of connections was exaggerated and terrifying. Even in the world entertainment industry, he was one of the people at the top of the pyramid.

"After the copyright is secured, we can find an opportunity to warm up the market first." After putting away the agreement, Gu Wei turned around and said.

"no problem."

.........

(End of this chapter)