Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 714: Press Conference Warner's Appetite

The morning of the 2nd.

The attention of the entire film and television industry was attracted by China Film.

The press conference held by China Film Group this time was a grand event, with two Hollywood giants, Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures, participating.

When the full news appeared online, the industry was in an uproar again.

"This morning, China Film, Legend Pictures and Universal Pictures held a press conference in Beijing..."

"Co-produced by China Film, Legendary Pictures, and Universal Pictures, a Sino-US co-production, the movie "The Great Wall" has been officially released..."

"It is reported that the initial investment amount of the movie "The Great Wall" is 1.5 million US dollars. The film is a fantasy, action and adventure film..."

"The movie The Great Wall is planned to be directed by a top international director, with Chinese and Hollywood superstars participating in the performances, and will be released worldwide, shot and produced in 3D..."

"La Peikang, chairman of China Film Group, said that The Great Wall is the most expensive co-production movie ever made, and he does not rule out the possibility of further investment."

"LeTV General Manager Zhang Zhao said that the film will be set entirely in China, most of the leading and supporting roles will be selected in China, and the film director will also be one of the top Chinese-speaking directors..."

Needless to say, the speeches at the press conference alone have already caused a stir in the film and television industry.

All the actors from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan looked over.

The big flowers feel like they are going crazy.

China Film has a co-production film with an investment of nearly 2 million US dollars, and Xingchen Film and Television Company is planning to launch Gu Wei's new film with a starting investment of million US dollars. In addition, "The Wandering Earth " will also start shooting next year.

Zhang Ziyi, Fan Binbin, Li Binbin, Zhao Yanzi, Yu Nan...

Yang Mi, Yang Ying, Liu Shishi...

Huang Xiaoming, Deng Chao, Chen Kun, Nicholas Tse, Tong Dawei...

The big and small actresses in the circle, as well as the first-line male stars, all began to take action to inquire about the inside information.

Many people in the crew also have hopes, such as Gong Li and others who have already joined the crew of "Journey to the West: The Three Strikes of the White Bone Demon".

Because everyone knows that for a big-budget film, the time between project approval and launch will never be short, and you can wait!
The actors and artists were all eagerly waiting, and those with backgrounds and companies all ran away.

For example, companies like Huayi and Yinghuang are working hard for their own people.

Many directors in the circle are also keeping an eye on China Film's projects. After all, LeTV's general manager Zhang Zhao, an investor, said he would choose big domestic directors to direct the films.

Once it is achieved, it may be possible to go beyond Asia and go global in the future.

After all, the only two internationally renowned directors in China today, Gu Wei and Zhang Yimou, both earned this title after shooting Hollywood blockbusters.

.........

at the same time.

On the other side of the ocean, a meeting was taking place at Warner Bros.

Although the movies produced and released by Warner this year are not very good, fortunately "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is about to be released. According to feedback from major film forums, this movie is highly anticipated by the audience and may even win this year's box office championship.

Moreover, Warner's previous investments in films such as "The Day After Tomorrow", "Interstellar", and "2012" will also generate a large amount of revenue from DVD discs and cable TV on-demand channels every year, which can make up for this year's losses.

In particular, the film "The Wandering Earth" also brought Warner considerable agency fee income this year. It can be said that Warner was able to avoid losses this year, all thanks to Gu Wei.

As for media reports that Warner's large-scale distribution of the Chinese-language film "The Wandering Earth" for profit has affected the interests of other major Hollywood companies, as well as criticism from netizens.

The people from Warner Bros. just laughed and said, "It's ridiculous to talk about feelings with capitalists!"
It goes without saying that if they didn't distribute the works of Star Pictures, this year's report would definitely be particularly ugly.

However, with the decline of the overall Hollywood market this year, many companies have suffered large-scale losses, but Warner can still make profits thanks to its cooperation with Gu Wei, which makes many people jealous.

As a result, many Hollywood filmmakers regarded Warner Bros. as "American traitors" and used the media to publicly criticize Warner Bros.

"Warner Bros. helps Star Pictures sell films around the world, which will sooner or later shake the dominance of Hollywood films in the global market!" A vice president of Paramount Pictures said angrily in the media.

Other companies such as 20th Century Fox, Sony, etc. have the same attitude.

Media aspect.

The Hollywood Reporter: "Thanks to Warner, China's Star Films earned a total of $2014 million in the North American market in 4.8, accounting for 4.5% of the annual total box office..."

The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Chinese-language films are aggressively taking a share of the pie, and Warner Bros. is letting the wolf in..." Total Cinema was even more blunt: "2014 is a year that all Hollywood filmmakers should feel ashamed of.

While most companies are losing money, film companies from the East are making a lot of money, which will greatly shake the dominance of Hollywood films in the global market..."

On various forums, some angry young Americans are shouting crazily, "Warner Bros. is the sinner of America, Richard Fox, get out of Hollywood..."

However, no matter how loudly the media clamors, it cannot stop Warner's goal of making money. Today's meeting is to discuss whether or not to invest in Gu Wei's next movie.

In the conference room, Warner President Richard Fox tapped the table with his fingers. "Everyone, Gu and I talked on the phone. He can give us 10% of the share and pay a distribution fee 20% higher than the market price, so that we can take charge of the global distribution of his next film."

Mike, who had been promoted to vice president, naturally supported it. "Boss, the cooperation between Warner and Gu has brought many benefits over the years. I don't think we have any reason to refuse."

These words touched Richard's heart. Not to mention the investment, even just distributing the other party's new movie would be enough for Warner to make a fortune.

However, as a capitalist, Richard is still pursuing the greatest benefits.

"Boss, 10% of the share is too little. If Gu can give up 40% of the share, we can release this movie at the lowest price and ensure that all Warner theaters open it at the same time." This was said by another vice president.

As soon as he finished speaking, Mike was stunned. He looked up and down at the white old man opposite him and felt that the other person was not awake yet.

"Boss, even for 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', Gu only gave up 30% of the share. I think 40% is simply impossible." Mike shook his head, indicating that this was unrealistic.

"Mike, the situation of 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' is special. Almost all the actors in this movie are Hollywood stars, while most of Gu's next movie will be starred by Chinese. If Warner wants to release it in North America and even globally, the pressure on it will be very great. I think what Lean said is right. A 40% share is very reasonable." One of the vice presidents agreed.

After these words were spoken, many board members nodded in agreement.

After all, Warner has a mediocre reputation in Hollywood today, mainly because it has been cooperating with Gu Wei and blocking the interests of many companies, so it has been "blacklisted by the group."

"No.No, cooperating with Chinese film and television companies is not a problem at all. Even though the media is clamoring that Chinese companies are plundering Hollywood's interests, Legendary and Universal have directly started cooperating with Chinese state-owned enterprises." Mike still insisted on his opinion.

After all, capitalists always say one thing and do another. If Legendary and Universal did not value the Chinese market, they would not think of cooperating.

On the contrary, it is companies such as Paramount and 20th Century Fox that directly suppress Chinese-language films through the media because they cannot get any benefits.

Strangely enough, the cooperation between Disney, DreamWorks and Rising Star Pictures is not considered Sino-US cooperation in the eyes of Warner and others, and even the media. After all, the companies cooperating on both sides are all American companies, and even the media has not reported negatively on this point.

It can be seen from this that in the minds of Americans, it doesn't matter if American companies make money, but it is plunder for foreign companies to make money in their own markets.

"Mike, I doubt whether you are a member of the board of directors. You should put Warner's interests first." A board member said in a bad attitude.

"It is precisely because I am a member of the board of directors that I feel that we should not ask for too much. You should all be very clear about Gu's character. If we insist on asking for a large share, the final result may be that we cannot reach a cooperation agreement, and the loss will be even greater." Mike was still stating his reasons. Seeing that the others were lost in thought, he paused and continued:

"Moreover, the investment in Gu's new film may be as high as 3 million US dollars. A 40% share alone will cost hundreds of millions of US dollars, which will affect our filming plans for next year."

"Mike is right. Gu's movie is a military science fiction blockbuster. The subject matter is limited and no one can guarantee the box office success." Finally, someone agreed with Mike's remarks and spoke out in support.

"I care about everything except that making movies is too expensive. If Hollywood were to select the most expensive director, I would definitely vote for him."

"Hahaha."

A director's speech made everyone present laugh.

"Don't forget, everyone, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is about to be released, and it may win the box office championship this year. We still have to shoot the second and third parts later, so we can't have a bad relationship with Gu." Mike said dimly.

"Yeah, Mike is right."

"We need to maintain our relationship with Gu and not give other companies a chance..."

As the discussion arose, President Richard nodded slightly, but he didn't like this feeling a little bit. It was impossible for Warner to be influenced by an Oriental.

"Mike, go to China and talk to Gu in person."

"Okay, boss." Mike felt that he had convinced the president and immediately agreed.

But Richard hadn't finished speaking yet, "Warner needs a 40% share. If Gu agrees, we can help him distribute the film for free, and guarantee that it will be released in no less than theaters."

"Boss?" Mike was a little anxious.

"Remember, Warner's interests must be put first. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Just get ready and go." Richard said without question.

Mike was a little helpless, but he would wait until he saw Gu Wei before talking about it. However, he had a bad feeling...

.........

(End of this chapter)