Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 204 Chapter 214 [Hollywood stars are stupid and rich, and the most beautiful woman in Taiwan is Xiao Qiang! ]

This morning.

Li Yishu got into Monica's car and went to the art film company.

At this time, Amy had already rushed over from Hong Kong overnight. She had been busy integrating the resources of the art film company, integrating the resources of Hong Kong and mainland companies, and unifying the personnel.

The Japanese market is so large that a separate subsidiary was set up for it, and the same is true for the United States.

"Boss, these are the financing plans that have been sorted out. Currently, the headquarters of the art group is set up in Hong Kong, including production, distribution, copyright operation, and peripheral development..."

While submitting the plan to Li Yishu for review, Amy reported on the department's situation after the group's integration.

Li Yishu read it carefully and approved of Amy's plan. If the group's headquarters is located in Hong Kong, it can be moved there as soon as the mainland's economic situation and film market rise in the future.

Li Yishu thought for a moment and said, "We should separate the newly-established Golden Lion Film Company from the Art Film Group so that we can have closer business cooperation. We can treat the others as another company."

Today, American art film companies are pitifully small in scale. So far, they have only produced one film, "The Sixth Sense," which was produced in collaboration with Columbia Pictures. Naturally, they cannot be regarded as such by the six major film companies.

However, if the low-cost production strategy planned by Li Yishu is followed and developed step by step in the future, it may attract the attention and encroachment of Hollywood giants.

Later, even Spielberg's DreamWorks had to sell the company under the pressure of the six giants, so Li Yishu had to make preparations in advance.

Although it follows the original path of Lionsgate, it is unlikely to cause dissatisfaction among Hollywood giants. After all, the fundamental reason why they can become giants in the Hollywood film industry is that they have mastered huge global distribution channels.

But everything needs to be prepared in advance.

"Okay, boss." Amy nodded and made note of it.

Li Yishu asked, "How is the search for the person you asked me to find going?"

"Already found."

Amy paused and introduced, "Sadie Brent is a well-known investment consultant in Los Angeles. She mainly recommends suitable investment projects to Hollywood movie stars, mainly in finance and real estate."

"Then arrange a meeting." Li Yishu looked at her watch and saw that it was already past ten o'clock. "It would be best if it were this afternoon, because I will be flying to Japan tomorrow night and then going to Taiwan to film a movie."

He had already made an appointment with Hisao Morishima for lunch.

"Okay boss, I'll arrange it."

After Amy nodded in agreement, Li Yishu waved her hand and let her leave first.

Not long after the others left, Monica knocked on the door and came in: "Dear, Director Li An from yesterday is here."

"Let him in."

"Ok."

A moment later, Li An came with his wife with a happy face. He came today to sign the director contract and chat with Li Yishu about the production of "Final Destination".

After returning home last night, he took the script and read it carefully for a long time, and found a problem. That is, at the end, there seemed to be a hint of suspense, as if preparing for a sequel.

So we must ask clearly whether Lee Yi-su has plans to shoot a sequel. If so, then Lee An must shoot a good sequel easter egg at the end.

dong dong——

Li An's wife walked into the office under the guidance of Monica.

"Director Li An, welcome to our company."

Lee Yi-su stepped forward with enthusiasm, "If you sign the contract today, you will be able to set up your own crew tomorrow. If you need anything, just speak to Manager Monica."

"Thank you Director Li, and thank you Miss Bellucci."

Li An said excitedly: "I will definitely live up to your expectations, Director Li, and make this movie well."

"Haha, if you do well in this film, it will also help you stay in Hollywood."

Li Yishu glanced at the woman next to Li An and asked curiously, "Who is this?"

"Director Li, this is my wife, Lin Jiahui. Today is such a good day, I wanted to bring her along to witness it."

After saying this, Li An looked affectionately at his not-very-pretty wife Lin Jiahui.

Li Yishu smiled and stretched out her hand: "Hello, Mrs. Li, hello. I heard Director Li An mention you yesterday. Thank you for your aromatherapy. I used it last night and it felt very good. I slept more soundly."

"If Director Li likes it, I'll make some more later. I made it according to the ancient method. I guess Director Li, you flew here from China, and it's not easy to adjust to the time difference, so I asked Li An to bring it to you."

Lin Jiahui is not very pretty. If we were to be mean, we could describe her as ugly, but she speaks very politely and smiles very kindly.

Li Yishu also felt that the two were probably in true love.

No matter what Li An's personal reputation was later, his relationship with his wife was worthy of admiration.

This reminded Li Yishu of Xu Ke, who also had a harmonious relationship with her husband for decades.

When the rumor spread online that he and Shi Nansheng were getting divorced, Li Yishu didn't quite believe it at first, but later found out it was actually true. The reason for the divorce was suspected to be that Xu Ke, who had been a DINK for many years, suddenly changed his mind and found a young girl to have a baby.

I have to sigh at how quickly the image of people in the entertainment industry collapses.

The two sides exchanged greetings, and Li Yishu asked Monica to get the contract.

Li An and Lin Jiahui were both top students, and the director's contract was very simple, without any twists and turns. After reading it once and making sure there were no problems, Li An decisively signed his name.

Of course, the penalty for breach of contract is indeed a bit high. Once Li An refuses to make a movie, he will have to pay compensation based on ten times the director's salary of the movie he has made.

But Li An could accept it. After all, the three films paid increasing director's salaries, and the highest salary of 200 million US dollars was not low.

And even if he makes it big in Hollywood in the future, Lee Yi-su is unwilling to keep her word yesterday and give him a director's salary that matches his status at the time.

At worst, Li could just refuse to cooperate after the filming. There was no need to waste the opportunity to direct a project worth tens of millions of dollars just because of a high penalty for breach of contract.

After wasting six years in the United States, Li An understood one thing: you must seize opportunities when they arise!
He had met with Li Yishu at the beginning of the year, hoping to get her recommendation, and went to Columbia Pictures to try to get investment but failed.

During this half year, Li An was not really waiting for Li Yishu alone.

He took the script to many film companies, big and small. Li An visited almost all of them. It's not that no film company thought about investing in him, but when they heard that the production budget required at least 600 million US dollars, they all shook their heads and refused.

In the eyes of Hollywood film companies, a Golden Bear Award is only worth a million-dollar investment budget, and not much more.

"Monica, go call General Manager Amy."

The contract was signed, and Li Yishu smiled and asked Monica to call Amy over.

He had to have lunch with Hisao Morishima at noon, so he asked Amy to take him to have lunch with Li An and his wife, and to chat about the upcoming shooting schedule of "Final Destination" and the production plan of "Sense and Sensibility".

The production cost of "Sense and Sensibility" reached tens of millions of dollars. It is the second big-budget film of the art film company, so it is naturally treated with caution.

noon.

Li Yishu came to the restaurant where she had agreed to meet with Hisao Morishima.

After arriving at the place, Li Yishu met Hisao Morishima, whom she hadn't seen for half a year. At this time, he had changed from his previous decadent appearance and seemed a little more energetic.

This is not only because "The Sixth Sense" withstood the pursuit of the Tyrannosaurus Rex and achieved a huge box office of 4 million US dollars worldwide, but mainly because Hisao Morishima finally reaped the rewards of his hard work.

Or it could be said that Hisao Morishima finally waited for his competitor to suffer a major defeat.

"The Age of Innocence", directed by his competitor, was released on September 9th. It has been almost half a month since then, and the North American box office has only earned a mere 17 million US dollars. Judging from this, it will probably be taken off the screen in a few days.

Because it would be better to show Jurassic Park, which has been released for three months, to make more money. The cast of The Age of Innocence is not weak. The director is Martin Scorsese, a veteran American director who has won the Palme d'Or, the Best Director and the Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival.

Later, he filmed the American version of "Infernal Affairs", "The Departed", and collaborated with Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street".

The male lead is the famous British actor Daniel Day-Lewis, and the female lead is Depp's first love Winona Ryder.

The production budget of this love film with such a cast was as high as 3400 million US dollars, but the final North American box office was less than 1000 million. It is basically impossible to expect a return on investment from overseas markets.

This person is afraid of comparison. The success of "The Sixth Sense" directed by Hisao Morishima and the failure of its competitor "The Age of Innocence" also made Sony executives feel that perhaps they could give Hisao Morishima some more time and opportunities.

"Congratulations, Mr. Morishima."

Li Yishu raised her glass and congratulated him with a smile, "I believe Columbia will be on the road to glory under your leadership."

"Haha! Director Li is so polite. This time, it's all thanks to you. If it weren't for Director Li's "The Sixth Sense" which sold well all over the world, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to continue to sit firmly on the throne of CEO."

A smile appeared on Hisao Morishima's face. He was very proud of himself now. Although "The Sixth Sense" did not make much money, the return on investment was very high, which was something Columbia Pictures had not experienced in many years.

The two ate and chatted for half an hour.

Seeing that the atmosphere was almost created, Hisao Morishima spoke up, "Director Li, do you have any new production plans? If so, no matter how much the investment is, as long as you ask, we at Columbia will invest!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Morishima, but my work is mainly in China recently."

Li Yishu smiled and said, "But I think I will have a new movie project next year. I hope Mr. Morishima will support me then."

The next few years will be an era in which Hollywood movies will sweep the world, but it will also be an era in which the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan film markets will be sluggish.

If Li Yishu doesn't want to film TV series, her best choice would definitely be to come to Hollywood to make movies.

Because only the market here can satisfy Li Yishu's investment return. This is one of the reasons why he rushed to the United States to help after receiving a call from Hisao Morishima at the beginning of the year.

With the relationship with Hisao Morishima and Sony Columbia Pictures behind him, Li Yishu can be a better plagiarist, make more Hollywood blockbusters, quietly develop the low-cost production of Golden Lion Pictures, and make a lot of money and fame.

"Don't worry, if Director Li has a plan to produce a film, both I and Columbia will support it to the end."

At this point, Hisao Morishima advised: "Director Li, you don't have to continue making films in Asia. With your current fame and ability, the best choice is to develop well in the United States."

"I understand what Mr. Morishima means, but these projects of mine were finalized before, so let's talk about it after everything is done."

Li Yishu smiled and didn't say much about this issue.

Hisao Morishima's words are rough but his point is true. With his current status as a director with a single film that has grossed $4 million worldwide, it is not a problem for him to take on a production of tens of millions of dollars in Hollywood. If he is lucky, it is not impossible for him to direct an A-level production.

If he didn't have the memory of rebirth, Lee Yi-su would definitely agree with Hisao Morishima's words, but now he has the memory of the future and knows many movies that have been tested in the market.

If you can't participate in film investment, why work for others instead of investing in your own films?
Just like low-cost, high-grossing films like "Saw", the production costs of these films are not high. If you calculate carefully, based on the current price level, you can make it with $200,000.

Rent a factory, hire some actors who have good acting skills but are not famous, and spend some money to make those creepy killing props, and you can make a horror movie that will make people shudder.

In North America, there are magazines that specialize in reporting on newly released horror films. If you invest a little more in publicity, as long as it attracts the attention of B-level movie fans, it will naturally build a good reputation among this group. Even if the box office doesn't exceed 100 million, tens of millions is a huge profit.

There are also subsequent copyrights for discs, videotapes, etc., plus it's a series, so it's hard not to make money.

After eating and drinking, Lee Yi-su also said goodbye to Hisao Morishima. The main reason why he invited Hisao Morishima to dinner this time was that he hoped to cooperate with him in distribution. After "Final Destination" was filmed, he would find a way to ask the theaters for more screens.

However, this is also a temporary measure. This morning, Li Yishu discussed with Amy that it is basically impossible to bypass several major film companies for large-scale productions and reach a distribution cooperation with theaters.

But if it is just a low-budget film, there is a lot of room for maneuver.

The number of films produced by the six remaining major film studios in Hollywood each year is definitely not enough to sustain the huge number of moviegoers in North America. Theaters will definitely need some medium- and low-cost films to maintain their screenings.

As long as Golden Lion Pictures can establish a reputation in the low- to medium-cost field, Amy will be able to better negotiate distribution cooperation with theater chains next year. However, Amy is not very familiar with the North American market, and she has been looking for an excellent manager recently.

In the future, Monica Bellucci will at most be the producer of Golden Lion Pictures, because she is not familiar with Hollywood. If she wants to make Golden Lion Pictures grow and develop, she will definitely need managers who are familiar with Hollywood.

in the afternoon.

Li Yishu met Sadie Brent, the investment consultant Amy mentioned, at the company. She was about 40 years old, with long brown hair and a women's suit. She looked very much like Alicia in the American TV series "The Good Wife".

"Hello Ms. Brent."

"Mr. Li, just call me Sadie."

Sadie smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Li. I've seen your movie The Sixth Sense, which taught me how to get along with children. I also took my son to watch it, and he liked the movie very much."

“Thank you.” Li Yishu smiled and said, “We all grew up as children. Their words may be childish and naive, but I think we cannot completely ignore what they want to express. This is also the original intention of my making this movie.”

"Mr. Li is absolutely right."

Sadie nodded in agreement.

After discussing movies and family, Sadie turned the topic to investment. She listed the different investments she had recommended to Hollywood celebrities, both successful and unsuccessful, and Sadie did not hide anything.

However, most of the celebrities who came to him for advice were basically successful in their investments. Regardless of how much money they made, at least being able to beat inflation was enough.

It is relatively easy for top Hollywood directors and actors to make money.

However, most celebrities do not have much education, so in order to avoid taxes they have to find professional investment and financial advisors to help them arrange the use of their hundreds of millions of dollars in annual film pay.

After listening to the other party's familiar investment fields, Li Yishu said, "I don't know much about finance, but I think the Internet is a major trend in the future. Sadie, can you help me arrange some company stocks in this field?"

Sadie shook her head: "Mr. Li, I don't mind you buying these stocks, because the stock market is very unstable now. It's better to invest in some modern paintings, which will be more advantageous in tax avoidance, and..."

Blah blah, Sadie talked about many cases where she helped Hollywood stars make a lot of money by investing in modern paintings...

As Li Yishu listened, she tactfully asked Sadie to go back.

After everyone left, Li Yishu found Amy and said, "Help me find a financial advisor who is solely responsible for my personal business and investment, and who has nothing to do with Hollywood."

Amy raised an eyebrow, "This Sadie is not okay?"

"I felt like she took me for one of those uneducated Hollywood idiots."

Li Yishu shook his head. He didn't know much about modern painting, but he knew that in the future there would be several Hollywood stars who suffered heavy losses because they believed what investors said.

"I'm sorry, boss. I just heard that this person often helps Hollywood celebrities invest, so..."

Amy hurriedly tried to explain herself, but was interrupted by Li Yishu, "Okay, I know it's not your fault. From now on, if anyone who is not from the film industry and has anything to do with Hollywood comes to you, you should ignore them. Many Hollywood stars are just stupid people with lots of money."

Hearing this, Amy understood. Doesn't being a fool with a lot of money mean that it's easy to cheat? It seems that I have to be more careful in the future, including choosing the person in charge of managing the new company, Golden Lion. I have to be more careful.

After staying in the United States for a few days, Li Yishu finalized an investment consultant in New York and asked him to help buy some Microsoft and Apple stocks. He also invested in several properties in good locations. The remaining money was all invested in Art Film Company and Golden Lion Pictures. After maximizing tax avoidance, he set off for Japan.

After staying in Japan for two days and accompanying Izumi Sakai for a while, Li Yishu went directly to Taiwan.

Lai Shengchuan, the executive director, is still trustworthy. After Li Yishu arrived in Taiwan, the crew of "The Reader" had already made preparations. Assistant director Zhang Aijia, actors Qingxia and Chen Hong and others were already in place, and Zhao Fei also flew directly from the mainland.

Just wait for Li Yishu to wave her hand and start filming.

Since everyone was already there, Lee Yi-su was not in a hurry to start filming. Instead, she treated the crew to a big meal and got to know some of the actors.

Ninety percent of the actors in this movie are from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

At the hotel dinner.

Li Yishu was discussing the next shooting plan with Zhang Aijia, Lai Shengchuan and others. At this time, a beautiful woman with a melon-seed face came over with a wine glass. She said enthusiastically: "Director Li, I toast you a glass."

Li Yishu looked up and saw that it was Lin Shiyin... No, it was Xiao Qiang, who was known as the most beautiful woman in Taiwan!
(End of this chapter)