Huayu started as a substitute director

Chapter 741 Cannot Change History
The idea of ​​net profit sharing is unreliable; Hollywood accountants typically make their books show a loss.

The actual share received is very small, not much at all.

The 3% global revenue share is a long-term source of income, just like how Zou Zhaolong sold his action copyrights to others.

Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian sat at a desk with a laptop on it, showing an old man named Lao Zha Na in a video call.

This person is still the same, with a kind of aristocratic air.

"Oh my god, Principal, you're asking for way too much! You want bonuses, profit sharing, and all the subsequent revenue. How can we afford that? Who knows if this movie will make money? If it doesn't, we'll still need to recoup our costs later." Old Zha exclaimed dramatically in the video.

Fang Hong smiled and said, "Alright then, this movie has grossed over 800 million US dollars worldwide. You give Mr. Yu an 8 million dollar bonus. That's five times your production cost. You'll make money no matter what!"

After thinking it over, Lao Zha concluded that with such high box office numbers, giving a bonus was reasonable, as it proved that you did a good job and that we could work together again next time.

“Five million dollars. A bonus of five million dollars will be given for box office revenue exceeding eight hundred million dollars.” He held up five fingers.

“OK, five million dollars it is.” Fang Hong agreed.

Liu Tianxian translated his words from the side, glanced at Fang Hong, and thought, "He's too easy to talk to. It's only 15 million dollars. Yu Xian's income has already exceeded 100 million."

This is much more lucrative than domestic directors, whose basic salary is at most 20 to 30 million yuan. Of course, top directors have negotiating power.

It includes box office profit sharing, bonuses, and investment rights.

This is determined by the economic situation. After all, Hollywood targets the global market, and A-list productions often cost hundreds of millions of dollars, so the directors' salaries are naturally high.

"What about the 5% net profit share?" Fang Hong asked again.

"This one"

"Stop refusing. I've already agreed to everything else, but if I agree to this too, this movie really won't be able to be made." Fang Hong reached out to stop the other person from saying anything more.

"Okay, 5% it is, I can give you that," Old Zha said with a smile.

Anyway, Hollywood accountants are world-renowned, so the net profit will ultimately be up to them.

“You can’t say that your movie is clearly profitable, but you still lose money despite having a box office of 10 billion. That would be too unfair.” Fang Hong seemed to see through the other party’s thoughts.

"No, no, how could that be? You Chinese people think too badly of us Americans." Old Zha smiled awkwardly.

“You Americans are inherently bad, so bad it’s oozing pus,” Fang Hong casually remarked in Chinese.

Old Zha didn't understand at first and looked puzzled.

“Oh, he said you Americans are good, good, good.” Liu Tianxian gave the other person a thumbs up.

I actually found it quite funny; he had read my message but replied randomly.

"Hahaha, yesyes!" Old Zha laughed heartily.

"Next up is the 3% global derivative revenue, which we can't afford to miss," Liu Tianxian translated.

This is a long-term meal ticket; even if Mr. Yu dies, his descendants will still receive this money.

"We've already given you a lot; we really can't give you any more," Old Zha said, looking troubled.

"This is a guarantee for your film production. There will be future collaborations. Besides, even if you, Lao Zha, were to find other big Hollywood directors, they would still want you! Compared to your investment, what we're asking for isn't much," Fang Hong said.

Not only do Hollywood directors have the right to a share of the profits from subsequent copyrights, but screenwriters and authors who adapt novels also have this right.

Just like Stan Marvel, who makes a fortune from merchandise royalties.

“That 3% is too much,” Old Zha said.

“Then we’ll concede 2%, that’s the lowest we can go,” Fang Hong said firmly.

"Principal, this is really putting me in a difficult position." Old Zha pretended to be serious, putting on an act as if the matter was not going to be resolved.

“You and Mr. Yu have been working together for a long time, not just this once. You can ask him to do it again next time you make a film. You have worked with him on the Conjuring Universe for so many years, and you know his abilities. He can bring box office success, honors, and professional skill.”

Seriously, you're underpaying him. He might as well keep making horror movies for me. With horror movies, even if they gross three to five hundred million dollars, he can still earn twenty to thirty million dollars in razor blade fees.

Why bother making this movie, which only attracts people with its brand name? With Yu Xian's current prestige, he can easily recoup his investment.

Fang Hong's words were direct.

Honestly, if he makes so little money from making movies, Yu Xian might as well go back to making horror films.

After hearing this, Lao Zha fell silent. He had decided to have Yu Xian direct the film because he saw that every film Yu Xian directed was a box office hit and he even had an Oscar.

I have a lot of confidence that he can film it well.

Even if we didn't hire Yu Xian, we would still need to spend this much money on other directors. If we give them too little, Yu Xian might as well make niche horror films and earn a lot of money.

"Alright, it's settled then. A base salary of ten million dollars, a bonus of five million dollars, 5% net profit, and 2% global revenue sharing. Have Yu come to our Warner headquarters to sign the agreement." Old Zach compromised.

"Then it's a pleasure to cooperate." Liu Tianxian smiled.

They then exchanged pleasantries for a while, and the distribution of director Yu Xian's "Aquaman" was settled.

After hanging up the video call, Liu Tianxian asked, "In that case, will Mr. Yu be able to get 20 million dollars for making this movie?"

"I estimate it's possible." Fang Hong nodded. This movie had grossed over a billion dollars in its previous life.

We will give you a share of the profits, but as for the subsequent global revenue sharing, that's a lifetime income.

“It would be better to let him make horror movies. Yu Xian earns quite a lot from horror movies. If a horror movie grosses $300 million, Yu Xian can earn $15 million.” Liu Tianxian calculated it at 5%.

The financial allocation of the Chinese government, including the profit share given to Mr. Yu, is now managed in advance.

“People always need to have some aspirations. You can’t keep him confined to one area. You have to let him try to go out and shoot something different,” Fang Hong said.

“That makes sense. I’ll report the good news to Mr. Yu and say that we’ve reached an agreement.” Liu Tianxian nodded.

After saying that, he took out his phone and dialed Mr. Yu's number.

"Let me tell you, we went through a lot of trouble to get this deal done for you," Liu Tianxian told him about the profit-sharing arrangement.

"Only this much? That's an A-list Hollywood blockbuster, the box office won't be small." Yu Xian was a little disappointed.

“There’s also the long-term meal ticket. You can’t expect others to give you as much money as we do. Whether you’re close or distant, you’re still distant,” Liu Tianxian reasoned with him.

“That makes sense,” Yu Xian agreed.

The fact that the principal gave him so much money for a movie is entirely due to this relationship, which allowed him to maintain his extravagant lifestyle.

Others still want to talk about interests and how much money they can make.

"Thank you so much then." Yu Xian was grateful. The principal and Liu Tianxian hadn't received anything from making this film for Warner. They were doing it entirely for him on a voluntary basis.

"No need to thank me for this relationship. Just keep making good films. When I go to Hollywood, I'll ask you to be the director. You can make a Hollywood blockbuster for me so I can experience what an A-list production is like," Liu Tianxian joked.

He hasn't even made a big-budget production that costs over a billion dollars yet; 1.6 million US dollars is over 11 billion.

"With the principal here, why would I need to take your picture?" Yu Xian laughed.

"Him? He can't film without help. He's only suitable for others to direct for him." Liu Tianxian knew that the post-production of the few movies she had directed was basically done by the assistant director.

The on-site filming direction was also handled by the assistant director; Fang Hong would simply explain the artistic aspects.

All you need to do is clearly explain the effect you want and the artistic expression; the rest is done by others.

Anyway, other directors spend a lot of time in post-production, but her man basically never stays there.

When Fang Hong heard Liu Tianxian speaking ill of him, he pinched her smooth earlobe and rubbed it with his two fingers as if he were chasing banknotes; it was quite moist.

Liu Tianxian slapped his hand in dissatisfaction.

"It takes skill to be able to get someone to direct the desired effect and story. Many people, even if you asked them to make the exact same movie, might not be able to do it well," Yu Xian said.

“Yes, that’s right,” Liu Tianxian agreed.

The issues of filming "Aquaman" and the money owed to Huayi Brothers have been resolved.

Stephen Chow was very frustrated. His perfectly good film, "The Demons Strike Back," was going to take a share of the principal's profits. He wanted to get rid of the principal, but he didn't expect that he couldn't get rid of him.

Not only that, but we also have to accept being controlled by others. When it comes to making investments, they will definitely send financial personnel over.

After that, it came to the matter of "The Martian." Fang Hong decided to release the film globally after the Oscars.

That would have a much greater impact, and it would be a gamble to win the prize.

Even without winning an award, TikTok and Musical.ly will complete their merger, their data will be officially integrated, and a massive increase in global users is expected.

Leveraging TikTok's global reach, we can launch a major promotional campaign, which would be a safer approach.

We want both accolades and box office success.

As November arrived, temperatures in Beijing plummeted, and the final box office figures for the National Day holiday period were released.

The top-grossing film was "Operation Mekong," which ultimately grossed 11.86 billion yuan. This film can be considered a milestone in mainstream films.

However, this film did not help Bona Film Group go public smoothly; the IPO application was rejected because too many things happened in the entertainment industry that year, which had a very negative impact.

This left Bona Yu, the fat man, quite frustrated, and he could only wait until next year to apply again.

Fang Hong was helpless. If the company couldn't go public this year, it wouldn't be able to go public for the next few years either. The entertainment industry would only become more and more decadent, with more and more scandals.

Sometimes he can't change history!
The second-ranked film is "I Belonged to You" with a box office of 8.13 million yuan. This film is expected to earn around 2.6 million yuan, without deducting production costs.

In his previous life, the production cost of this movie was 250 million, and the marketing cost was 50 million, which is about 300 million. That's utter nonsense. The production budget of "The Wandering Earth" that Fang Hong watched before was only about 300 million.

This movie should have a production cost of at least 50 million.

Other films like "L.O.R.D.: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties" and "Mission Milano" have already been heavily criticized by audiences.

Now, Andy Lau just hopes that "The Martian" will be released soon to make up for the popularity and value he has over-exploited.

Now that movies are available on streaming platforms, there's a pay-per-view feature. A popular movie with high box office returns can earn you 30 to 50 million yuan.

The streaming video platform has been almost completely wiped out by the copyright war between companies like Chang'e, Tencent, Alibaba, and iQiyi.

Basically, it's just these four competing parties; others like Sohu and LeEco have been eliminated.

LeEco is on the verge of collapse, just waiting for it to happen. This collapse will shake the entertainment industry, as many celebrities have invested in LeEco.

More than a dozen well-known celebrities, including Zhang Yimou, Guo Jingming, Yan Wang, Sun Li and her husband, and Huang Xiaoming, received donations ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of yuan, including Su Mang.

The individuals mentioned above were among the largest investors, especially Liu Tao, who invested 60 million yuan and also suffered the greatest losses.

However, she is good at making money. Not only can she pay back her husband's money, but she can also invest and lose tens of millions more. Celebrities can still make a lot of money.

This financial scandal has essentially wiped out almost all the money the celebrities had invested, since they all entered the market at high levels.

This is also why almost all of these people go out and participate in variety shows in large numbers; variety shows are a quick way to make money and can make up for losses quickly.

But once they've made money, they want to go back to filming movies and TV series to recoup the value they've lost, but unfortunately, there's no place for them anymore.

The Lunar New Year film season in November has entered its pre-release phase. This is the most important film season of the year, with approximately sixty films scheduled for release.

It can be said that this is a period when major film and television companies gather, and the one with the most momentum is of course "The Great Wall", which can be said to have a full lineup.

Another example is "The Ferryman," which was primarily controlled by Alibaba and tested the possibility of using big data to write scripts.

Anyway, it's a movie that ruined Wong Kar-wai's career.

On November 26, the annual Golden Horse Awards were held again, and this year's awards were still highly controversial.

The main controversy is that a mediocre, melodramatic youth film swept the Best Actress award, and even gave it to two people, Zhou Dongyu and Ma Sichun.

The Golden Horse Award-winning actress, jokingly referred to by netizens as "buy one get one free"!

Some netizens even said, "It would be better to give the award to Liu Yifei. 'Lucy 2' is much better than this, and her acting is not bad either."

"Liu Tianxian doesn't come anymore. She used to come every year. What a pity!"

"Empress Gong isn't coming either."

"The Golden Horse Awards are getting less and less popular. It's better to watch the Macau Film Festival, which is still quite authoritative."

"How could it not be authoritative? The hosts of the previous two sessions were all more outspoken than the last. I just don't know who they'll invite this time."

The online discussion was lively, but people always brought up comparisons between several film festivals.

I found that the Macau Film Festival is more authoritative.

This year's Macau Film Festival will be held on December 31st, which is about a month later. It's important to stagger the dates to avoid making the stars travel back and forth too much.

This year's Macau Film Festival can be described as the most popular ever, with not only Principal Alan Tam and Michelle Reis in attendance.

The event was attended by executives from various film and television companies, including Huayi Brothers, Bona Film Group, and New Classics Media, as well as directors such as Feng Xiaogang and Dante Lam, and top stars from the film and television industry, including Andy Lau, Shen Teng, Huang Xiaoming, Fan Bingbing, and Zhang Ziyi.

Not only do prominent figures in the film and television industry participate, but their films are also included in the judging panel, resulting in a richer selection of films and a more dazzling array of stars than ever before.

(End of this chapter)