Generation Z Artists

Chapter 292 Kill Them All at Once

With everything about "Hero" coming to an end, Fang Xinghe's next focus is the global release of "Young You".

In fact, as a Chinese youth film, its global box office potential is definitely not as good as "Hero", and there is even a considerable possibility that it will be a flop.

The only point worth considering is Fang Xinghe's global influence.

Women in the audience are still likely to be willing to watch the movie. If we include some casual fans who just want to join in the fun, the basic overseas audience should be around 20 to 30 million viewers.

From this perspective, the lower limit is not very low.

But as for the upper limit, it depends on the environment, the overall market, marketing, and even more so on the competitors.

Coincidentally, this year has been a legendary year, with the summer movie season being nothing short of hell.

After making a few inquiries, Brother Fang's smile vanished.

X-Men 2, 20th Century Fox.

The Matrix Reloaded, Warner Bros.

Finding Nemo, Disney.

Fast & Furious 2, Universal Pictures.

The Hulk, Universal Pictures.

Charlie's Angels 2: Full Speed ​​Ahead, Sony Pictures.

Terminator 3: The Machines Awaken, Warner Bros.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Disney.

Bad Boys 2, Sony Pictures.

"Seabiscuit," produced by Universal Pictures, is an inspirational sports film that Fang Xinghe really likes.

As a Gen Z, Fang Xinghe has almost no memory of 2003. However, of the 10 films released in North America this summer, he has personally seen 8 of them. What does that mean?
Even if he was bedridden for a long time and had no other entertainment, such as watching movies, the proportion was still too high.

This only proves one thing—this year's main competitors are all classics, and the competitive pressure is immense.

The filming schedule is still undecided, but in Fang Xinghe's mind, the rankings are already set.

The top three are likely to be Pirates, Undersea, and Hacker. The other films should also be quite good. It's highly probable that all of them will gross over 100 million domestically. How high they can actually go is unclear.

As a campus youth film, "Les Young" is sandwiched between so many visually stunning blockbusters, which is really tough.

Admittedly, no one can take away his core audience, but the problem is that if he can't attract casual viewers, then with the market being severely squeezed by other films, "Less You" will definitely not reach the heights Fang Xinghe wants.

He did not accept this result.

Therefore, Fang Xinghe immediately focused his attention on the two movies he hadn't seen yet.

Hulk and Charlie, what's going on between you two?

The head of the online trolls fixed his gaze on the two most crucial figures—Mark Schumacher and Jeff Black.

It's decided, we'll start with the two of you!
The information that couldn't be gleaned at the banquet, Fang Ge used that radish to catch it.

The following day, Sony held a separate celebration banquet.

The scene of all the stars gathering to celebrate the rise of Hollywood star Fang needs no further mention. Anyway, Fang Xinghe made sure Jeff was completely drunk. Well, he didn't drink much; he sent out Comrade Nakamura instead.

Then, early the next morning, he went straight to the office of the president of global marketing and distribution at Sony Pictures.

"I'm here to fulfill my promise."

Brother Fang picked up a check and held it high in front of all the employees.

"Although there are only 4 awards, it's still 500 million because it includes the crucial Best Picture award!"

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted in the office area.

"Oh yeah! SR, you are our god!"

"Oh my god! I love you so much! When is your next movie coming out? Is it still a collaboration with Sony? We'll do everything we can!"

"Don't worry."

Fang Xinghe pointed to the most sensible employee and said with a smile, "I was just about to talk to your boss about this. I believe there's a great chance."

"YES! That's awesome!"

After waving goodbye to the staff, Fang Xinghe, led by the hungover Jeff, entered his private office.

"What should I drink? Oh my god, coffee or ice water would be best. My head can't take another hit from the alcohol..."

"Coffee it is then. I'm here to talk business today."

Fang Xinghe stared intently at Jeff.

"Come on, let's continue yesterday's topic. What's the story behind 'Charlie's Angel'?"

Jeff rubbed his forehead, looking troubled. "SR, my professional ethics don't allow me to reveal too much to you. It's a key project within Sony..."

Does your professional ethics allow you to accept large gifts from partners?

Brother Fang smiled sarcastically, picked up the check on the desk, and pretended to put it into his wallet.

"stop!"

Jeff was terrified and clasped his hands together, begging for mercy: "Please don't do this, dear Fang, the employees outside will kill me!"

"So, in fact, there's room for adjustment in everyone's professional ethics, right?"

Fang Xinghe stared at him with a smile, and said leisurely like a devil, "Besides, you already told me a lot of things yesterday that I shouldn't know."

Nakamura wasn't a heavy drinker, but he paid the price of still being hospitalized, dying together with Jeff.

So Jeff, who was drunk, talked about a bunch of things that should have been confidential.

This tactic isn't sophisticated, but it's the most authentic and basic form of business warfare.

"OK, OK, keep your voice down!"

Jeff slumped back onto the sofa, completely giving in.

"Let me think, where should I begin... You want to know the quality of the finished product, and then decide how to present 'Less You,' right?"

Fang Xinghe raised an eyebrow: "I know the final product isn't very good. You'd better tell me something more useful."

"what?!"

Jeff was so startled he almost jumped up, his expression as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Impossible! I absolutely did not say that! How did you know that?"

Fang Xinghe smiled mysteriously, like a charlatan, and then comfortably crossed his legs.

"Jeff, don't forget how Heroes won its major awards..."

He tapped his temple lightly and, to Jeff's astonishment, bragged a huge boast.

“My ties with your country’s current government and certain departments are far closer than you imagine.”

"..."

Jeff was stunned for a while, then suddenly slapped his thigh hard.

"Damn! So that's why!"

He believed it, and he believed it without a doubt.

You can't blame him for being naive and easily fooled. Anyone who witnessed Fang Xinghe's actions would be crippled. The resources and information Fang Ge mobilized were truly terrifying; he couldn't possibly be just an ordinary foreigner.

"Then ask him yourself, what exactly do you want to know?"

"Release date, publicity strategy, overall budget, work objectives... and who exactly is pushing and leading this project?"

"..."

Jeff glanced cautiously at the locked door and the window with the blinds drawn, swallowed hard, and slowly spoke.

Ten minutes later, Fang Xinghe completely understood the cause and effect.

Simply put, "Charlie's Angels 2: Full Speed ​​Ahead" is a super-important project that Sony has high hopes for, with huge investment and extremely high expectations.

The film stars four stunning actresses: Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and Demi Moore.

Their individual careers are at a new peak compared to when the original film was released in 2000, so Sony is confident that the sequel will be even more successful.

The previous film, with a total budget of $9300 million, grossed $2.64 million worldwide and nearly $2.11 million in video sales.

The second film alone cost 1.3 million to produce, and the global marketing budget was roughly the same, bringing the total cost to at least 2.5 million.

This is Sony's core project that they are pushing hard for this summer's release, even putting Will Smith's "Bad Boys 2" behind it.

As for "Less You"...

You, Fang Sheng, are indeed very powerful. "Less You" is a sure-fire way to make money, but you are not worthy of being compared with our angels—their prediction ceiling is far too low.

Jeff took Fang's money, so he told a lot of truths.

"Although in my personal assessment, Angels 2 is an overly exaggerated and terrible movie, the company's senior management is still very confident in it."

After all, the first movie had this kind of tone: sexy fights, gorgeous costumes, cool special effects and humor, plus a sexy angel in a trinity. We even specially invited Demi Moore to play the main villain, the fallen angel!

Isn't this what the audience likes?

Therefore, the opinions of professionals are not so important. Bad movies also have their audience, and no one can control the market trend forever.

I, too, don't believe that Angels 2 is necessarily doomed to fail.

Therefore, whatever you want to do, try to avoid Angel 2. The Columbia leadership will not be willing to weaken Angel for your sake.

Even if you win three more Oscars for Best Picture, it won't be enough..."

Finally, Jeff said something quite meaningful.

"Sony Columbia, it's Sony plus Columbia, but the will of the Japanese headquarters doesn't always shine in Hollywood. After all, this is America..."

Got it. The top executives at Sony Pictures are like warlords now, with their own ideas.

At least in terms of film production, they have their own ideas and are not willing to accept interference from Sony Japan.

So, the core question of who is actually leading the Angels project is no longer important.

no difference.

The consensus within Sony Pictures is to fully promote Angel 2.

"Then I'm afraid it will be very difficult for me to cooperate with Sony."

Fang Xinghe pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

"At the very least, this time, we should be on the opposite side."

Jeff was puzzled and annoyed: "Why do you have to use 'You're the One' to compete with Angels? You have other options! For example, that crappy pirate movie starring Poison Dog, or that car chase movie. Wouldn't it be easier to differentiate yourself from them? Our cooperation has been so pleasant, and the company is willing to provide you with the best conditions, as long as it's released 20 days apart from Angels!"

Wow, you're really good at coming up with ideas.

Fang Ge chuckled, offering no explanation whatsoever.

After your Angels movie 2, the entire cast sank into the sea. Meanwhile, Fast & Furious made over a dozen movies, and Pirates of the Caribbean 5 movies grossed 50 billion at the box office. Why would I go after them instead of you? Am I crazy?

"No reason."

Fang Xinghe got up and left, but before leaving the office, he suddenly turned back and smiled.

"Also, although keeping it a secret is fine, I suggest you don't rush to reveal my information."

Jeff felt a chill run down his spine and immediately thought of Fang Xinghe's incredible prize-winning maneuver, and made up his mind.

"Rest assured, regardless of whether we can cooperate or not, I will always be your most loyal friend!"

OK, then bring your loyalty and watch my performance...

Fang Xinghe immediately partnered with Universal Pictures.

Well, to be more precise, he hooked up with Mark Schumacher, the vice president of Universal Pictures responsible for global operations and strategic planning.

Universal's distribution and public relations team is under his control; this guy is even more powerful than Jeff in Hollywood.

Fang Xinghe's bait was the global release of "Less You".

To reiterate: "Les Young" is not bad, it's just that its potential is lower compared to those blockbusters.

But it's still a good pie, widely regarded by the entire Hollywood community as a sure thing.

How could I possibly lose money?

Invest 5000 million in marketing and distribution, and you can easily rake in around 2 million at the box office, with the distributor taking 40% of the revenue, not even counting DVD sales and the fraudulent accounting practices in between...

Because of this tangible income, Mr. Mark treated Fang Xinghe with the utmost hospitality.

Then Fang Ge completely tricked me.

Bad news: The Hulk is also a core priority project for Universal.

Good news: Same as above.

Without looking back with hindsight, there's nothing wrong with Global Times' confidence.

Li An's Chinese kung fu films have all been huge hits, so now he's making a film about America's favorite superhero. With a classic IP, a top-notch director, and top-notch special effects, what reason is there not to make it a summer blockbuster?

To make enough room for the Hulk, Universal has already set a release date, just waiting for the official announcement.

On June 6th, another Universal production, "Fast & Furious 2," was released.

Half a month later, on June 20th, Universal's core summer blockbuster, The Incredible Hulk, was released on a large scale.

Mark passionately announced to Fang Xinghe: "Throughout June, the entire United States will tremble under the pressure of Universal! If you are willing to hand over 'You' to Universal for operation, then our rule will continue until August!"

All we need to do is avoid Terminator 3 in early July; all the other pirate movies, sports movies, and movies featuring beautiful women are simply not worth mentioning!

Wow, he's really great!

Looking at Brother Mark, Fang was completely aroused and his heart was pounding.

December!
What a good time!
How can I persuade Sony to release their Amazing Angels in June as well, to fill up the screen space?

Dog Fang was having a gleeful thought in his mind about gathering them all together, squeezing out all the formidable opponents, and then killing them all at once, but his expression was so sincere and serious.

"Thank you for your attention. I really admire your passion, and I will definitely give your proposal serious consideration."

"Hahaha! Then I'll definitely keep my expectations high! Partnering with Universal is definitely a more promising option than relying on Sony!"

Yes, yes, yes, Universal is awesome!

Fang Ge smiled so kindly, looking at Mark Old Deng, who was more than three times his size, as if he were looking at a dutiful grandson who was bringing a gold mine to his grandfather.

It's decided. Tomorrow I'll go and persuade Nakamura to get Sony to release their Angel in June too, and then...

Kill them all at once!
(End of this chapter)