Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 437: Setting up the "Night Banquet"

In its fourth week, the box office of "A Quiet Place" reached 1.8 million yuan, and it is just around the corner to break million yuan.

At the same time, this is the third week of "The Banquet", and the box office has successfully exceeded 100 million yuan, and Huayi is preparing to hold a celebration banquet.

Coincidentally, Xingchen Entertainment is also preparing to hold a celebration banquet.

Wang Zhongjun was discussing something with Li Binbin and her sister in the office when the door was angrily pushed open. Then Wang Zhonglei roared, "Damn it, Xingchen Entertainment definitely did this on purpose~~"

"What's wrong?" Wang Zhongjun frowned.

"We've scheduled a celebration party on Thursday, and they've also scheduled a celebration party on Thursday. If this isn't special, what is?"

Wang Zhonglei became angrier as he spoke.

The celebration party for "A Quiet Place" and "The Banquet" were scheduled on the same day. In fact, Zhang Chen did it on purpose.

You celebrate breaking 100 million, I celebrate breaking 200 million, I just want to embarrass you~
This is what is called you do the first day, I do the fifteenth~
If you want to cause trouble, then be prepared to be caused.

"Now is not the time to get angry. Those are all empty talk. The most important thing now is to think about what to do with the overseas copyright. That bastard Harvey is playing tricks on us and is only willing to pay $50..."

Wang Zhongjun felt a little disappointed with his younger brother. The company was in such a state now, but he was still focusing on trivial matters.

After being scolded by his brother, Wang Zhonglei was speechless.

"None of these foreigners are good~
By the way, what did Zhang Ziyi say? "

Harvey Weinstein was introduced to the Wang brothers by Zhang Ziyi. Now Harvey suddenly changed his mind and the agreed 500 million was reduced to 50. She, as the introducer, is also responsible.

Who knew that Wang Zhongjun would get even angrier when talking about this: "That bitch is denying her responsibility now, saying that she was only responsible for the introduction and she did not participate in the subsequent negotiations. This matter has nothing to do with her..."

Every time I think of Zhang Ziyi's face, I feel anxious and angry.

"Then what should we do? We can only wait for Locarno in August and Venice in September..."

Who knew that Wang Zhongjun would shake his head again: "I'm afraid it's too late. That bastard Harvey has us in his arms. He said he would give us a week to consider it. If we don't agree, he will announce the return of the product. By then, The Banquet will be the second The Promise..."

As they were talking, Feng Xiaogang suddenly pushed the door open and walked in, followed by his bewildered secretary.

"Boss Wang, Director Feng insisted on coming in, I couldn't stop him~"

"I heard that "The Banquet" was returned?" Feng Xiaogang asked nonchalantly as he entered the door.

Wang Zhongjun said: "Don't worry, Xiaogang, it's not a return, but there are indeed some minor problems..."

How could Feng Xiaogang not be anxious? He stared at Wang Zhongjun and waited for his next words.

Wang Zhonglei waved his hand at the secretary: "Okay, it's none of your business, get out now."

The secretary left in a hurry.

Wang Zhongjun then said, “Harvey changed his mind at the last minute and reduced the promised 500 million to 50. He also threatened us that if we didn’t agree, he would announce the return of the goods. Then, The Banquet would be even harder to sell…”

Harvey's approach really hit everyone's soft spot.

"The Banquet" did not perform well at the domestic box office, breaking the 1.5 million mark only in its third week. It is estimated that by the time it is taken off the shelves, it will be difficult to break million.

Huayi Brothers borrowed 100 million yuan for "Night Banquet".

Previously, Weinstein Company expressed its willingness to bid $500 million for the North American rights to "The Banquet."

With the $500 million, Huayi Brothers didn't feel anything was wrong.

But now the 500 million US dollars suddenly shrunk tenfold to 50 US dollars, which instantly put Huayi under great pressure.

To repay the loan~
"This old guy, isn't this a hooligan?"

Harvey Weinstein was indeed a hooligan, but no one could do anything to him.

"The Banquet" is not "The Promise", which can still find Warner to take over after being returned.

Huayi does not have any overseas distribution channels, let alone China Film Group to back it up.

If "The Banquet" was returned, with Harvey's power and just random promotion, "The Banquet" would be in great danger.

"How to do?"

No one knew what to do.

"Why don't we contact China Film Group to see if they can help?" Feng Xiaogang tried every possible means to help him.

Wang Zhongjun shook his head: "It's impossible. We didn't ask China Film Group to invest in "The Banquet" and "Double J Project". How could Han Sanping help us..."

"What should I do?"

"Let's take it one step at a time. You can all ask around to see if anyone knows a North American distributor. As long as the price is higher than Weinstein's, we will sell it..."

"Brother, then aren't we at a big loss?"

"You're confused. This is to stop losses. If you don't sell it, you won't get a penny. If you sell it to Harvey, you'll only get $50. Anything above that can be considered a profit..."

That night, Zhang Chen received a call from Dong Jianqiang.

"Huayi's "The Banquet" was seized. Harvey was only willing to pay $50. If Huayi didn't agree, he would announce the return of the film..."

"Is the news reliable?"

"It's reliable. It was confirmed by someone inside Huayi."

Zhang Chen thought it was news from Infernal Affairs.

Large film and television commercial entities will always plant nails within their competitors. When Suning first came up with a marketing plan in a meeting, it would appear on the desk of Gome’s CEO the next day.

Business is war.
There are positional wars, price wars, and intelligence wars~
"Ok, I see."

After hanging up the phone with Dong Jianqiang, Zhang Chen called Dai An.

"Diane, if you get the copyright of a Chinese costume movie, how can you maximize the profits without releasing it?"

"I will sell his DVD rights~"

"How much money can be sold?"

"If it's a blockbuster, 500 million dollars should be fine. Chinese costume blockbusters are very popular in the DVD field. If I remember correctly, the movie "HERO" brought Blockbuster more than 4000 million dollars in revenue..."

The "HERO" that Diane mentioned is "Hero", the one directed by Zhang Yimou!

"Well, now there is such an opportunity..."

Zhang Chen recounted the story of "The Banquet" and Diane laughed: "Oh my God, is there anyone who dares to cooperate with Harvey? Everyone in the circle knows that this guy is a gangster..."

Even in Hollywood circles, Harvey has a bad reputation.

However, they are indeed good at competing for Oscars and have their own loyal fans. The most famous one is the "Boston" faction composed of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

"Leave it to me. I promise to negotiate a good price for the company..."

"OK, but there is one thing you need to be careful about: don't reveal my relationship with the company."

"clear."

The next day, just when everyone at Huayi was in a state of panic, Wang Zhonglei suddenly received a message that a Hollywood company called Cube was interested in "The Banquet".

People in the meeting room discuss countermeasures
Wang Zhongjun: "Who among you knows this Cube Company?"

Everyone shook their heads: "I've never heard of it. I only know that it's an independent production company that was established not long ago. They have only produced one movie, called "Hold Your Breath"..."

Wang Zhonglei frowned: "Why does this name sound so familiar?"

Feng Xiaogang said, "It's the foreign cult film written by Zhang Chen. Previously, the media had been saying that the setting of A Quiet Place was plagiarized from this film. Later, netizens dug it out and found out that Hold Your Breath was also written by Zhang Chen..."

"Is this company related to Zhang Chen?"

Feng Xiaogang shook his head. "It may not be related. They may have just worked together once. I am more inclined to believe that Cube Company started to pay attention to Chinese screenwriters or Chinese films because of the success of "Hold Your Breath", and that's why they noticed our "The Banquet"..."

Feng Xiaogang doesn't think Zhang Chen has any power in Hollywood. They still need to cooperate with New Line to make their own movies.
"I've arranged to talk to her tomorrow over the phone. You'd better be there at the time~"

The next day, the conference call was officially connected in the same meeting room.

"Hello, Miss Diane~"

"Hello, King Mist~"

With the help of a translator, the two communicated in English.

“Excuse me, but I’m very curious about where you heard about “The Banquet”~” Wang Zhongjun wanted to resolve the doubts in his mind first.

Diane replied: "This is not surprising. It has spread throughout our circle that Harvey returned a Chinese movie, which is said to be a big movie..."

Diane's answer immediately upset the people on the other side, and they all cursed at each other: "Harvey is such a bastard, how unkind! Didn't we agree to give him a week to think about it?"

"Yeah, isn't it said that foreigners have a strong sense of contract?"

"What the hell is a contract? If he really abides by the contract, would we be so passive like we are now?"

While everyone was still chattering, Diane seemed to have lost her patience: "Listen, everyone, the reason why I am willing to take over before seeing the finished film is because we are competitors of Cube and Weinstein Films.

He wants to get the movie, and I don't mind giving him a little trouble, that's all.

So, you guys better give us a price quickly. If it’s suitable, we can continue the discussion. If it’s not, forget it.

But I want to remind you that in Hollywood, no one will risk offending Harvey to buy your movie like I did~"

After Diane said this, everyone on the other side fell silent.

She was right, she was willing to acquire "The Banquet" because she had a grudge against Harvey, but apart from her, there might really be no one in Hollywood who would risk offending Harvey by buying their films.

For a moment they were forced into a corner.

The Wang brothers looked at each other, then looked at Feng Xiaogang, who nodded.

The situation is stronger than people~
There is no such shop after passing this village.

Although they are unwilling, they dare not ask for a high price.
"How about two million dollars? Harvey's previous offer was five million dollars, this is already a 500% discount..."

A sneer suddenly came from the other side: "Mr. Wang, do you think I don't know how much Harvey offered you?

$500 million?
Haha, that was the price in the past.

Now, I think the price he quoted you should be 50, is this number correct..."

When Dai An said this, everyone felt chilled.

"Since Harvey offered $50, I'll offer $60 to disgust him..."

Dai An's words made Feng Xiaogang feel like there was a fire in his heart, but he couldn't say anything.
Not to mention that he doesn't understand English, even if he does, others are now in control.

Wang Zhongjun didn't want to sit there and wait for death: "No, ma'am, this price is too low, far below the actual value of the movie. I'm selling all the North American copyrights..."

Diane on the other side was clearly getting impatient: "Well, $80, no higher. I've wasted too much time on you..."

"Ma'am, 80 is really not enough. I think you can add a little more..."

"Okay, let's stop here. Just pretend we've never been in touch. I have to hang up..."

Diane seemed to have lost all her patience and wanted to hang up the phone immediately.

“No, no, no, Ms. Diane, listen to me, don’t hang up the phone yet…”

"Damn Chinese, do you think I'm playing house with you?"

After saying that, Diane hung up the phone.

Wang Zhongjun and others on the opposite side were dumbfounded.

The only life-saving straw ran away~
The Wang brothers remembered what Diane had mentioned just now, that Harvey had spread the news that "The Banquet" was returned in the circle, which meant that apart from Cube, no other company would be willing to buy their film.

How to do?
The Wang brothers looked at each other.

Feng Xiaogang said irritably: "Promise her~"

"But~"

"Promise her~, otherwise who else can we sell it to?"

His second sentence was almost shouted.

He also invested in "The Banquet".

In Los Angeles, Diane stared at the phone in front of her, waiting for it to ring again.

Negotiation is a game of mind.

Whoever is stronger in heart will take the initiative.

Jingle bell bell~
The moment the phone rang again, a victorious smile appeared on Diane's face.

"Ms. Diane, we agree to your terms. $80 is $80~"

"I want all the North American copyrights. If there is no problem, send someone to my company to sign the contract tomorrow. Also, don't think of using our deal to force Harvey to raise the price. If I find out, our deal will be invalidated immediately..."

"Okay, see you tomorrow then."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Zhongjun's face was gloomy, as if he had signed an unequal treaty that was humiliating and detrimental to the country.

The expressions of the other two people were not much better.

"Zhong Lei, you have to fly to Los Angeles tomorrow, no, go tonight, and finalize the matter quickly..."

He was very afraid that things would get more complicated. If Diane and Harvey reached another agreement, "The Banquet" might be in trouble.

……

after one day
Diane and Wang Zhonglei signed the contract at Cube Company. Diane smiled and looked at the contract in her hand as if she saw Franklin.

After handing over the copies, Wang Zhonglei took the check.

The matter is finally settled.

Before leaving, Wang Zhonglei thought of what happened to "Hero" and asked, "Ms. Diane, can you tell me when "The Banquet" will be released in North America?"

He knew that even if "The Banquet" was released, it would have nothing to do with them because all the copyrights had been sold.

He simply wanted to know.

Although whether a movie sells well or not has nothing to do with Huayi, the influence is different.

If "The Banquet" sells well in North America, Huayi will be able to speak more confidently in China.

Dai An replied indifferently: "This has nothing to do with your company."

……

Li Binbin's home
Li Xue and Li Binbin sat opposite each other. Li Binbin asked, "Xiaoxue, is it really okay for us to do this?"

Li Xue glanced at her sister and said, "You saw how Wang Zhongjun perfunctorily treated us when we went to talk yesterday. He was still making big promises for you~
Obviously, the leading lady of "Double J Project" can be given to you, but they refuse to give it to someone else. Since the company doesn't care about us, why should we care about the company? "

"So you informed Xingchen Entertainment of the return of The Banquet?"

"Yes, I've made up my mind, sister, let's go out on our own and set up our own studio.

You are in Huayi, they call you the No. 1 sister, but you are not treated like a No. 1 sister. I heard that the Wang brothers want to sign Liu Yifei..."

Li Binbin was silent. She understood what Li Xue said.

"If you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. Listen to me. Zhang Chen now has two companies and produces at least six dramas every year. We just need to get the female lead in one of them..."

"But... our relationship with Zhang Chen is not particularly close..."

"Don't worry, leave this to me. I'm your agent, and it's my job to help you find roles..."

(End of this chapter)