Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 105 Wu Chen's True North American Debut
At the premiere at the Los Angeles Theater, the lights were still bright, the audience's applause gradually faded, and a warm aftertaste lingered in the air.

Michael Burns walked quickly over with a smile on his face and steady steps. He was wearing a dark suit and exuded the aura of an old-school Hollywood producer.

He extended his hand towards Wu Chen and whispered, "Wu, congratulations, the premiere was a success."

Wu Chen shook his hand and said with a smile, "Thanks, Michael. Your support from Lionsgate in promotion is also very important."

Michael chuckled, "From the feedback so far, the audience really likes it, especially your narrative style and rhythm. It's hard to imagine that this is a movie created by an actor."

Having said that, his eyes flickered slightly, and then he said in a relaxed tone:

"You mentioned in a previous interview that you're already working on your next film. Could you share some details?"

What is coming will eventually come.

"Buried" made high profits with a low budget, especially the copyright made a lot of money, so Lionsgate naturally wanted to get involved in Wu Chen's next film.

Wu Chen was well prepared and said calmly, "It's still in the early stages."

"But I guess you already have a clear direction." Michael added at the right time, "If you need investment, Lionsgate is very interested.

You know, we always like to invest in small-budget films that have potential.”

Wu Chen gave him a meaningful look and said softly, "It might be bigger this time."

Michael's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal, his tone still gentle: "Bigger. How big?"

"Tens of millions of dollars."

Michael paused slightly, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly adjusted his mood and remained calm.

He nodded gently and extended his hand again. "Tens of millions of dollars is indeed a lot of money for an independent production company. We are looking forward to your story. If you have the chance, please come to Lionsgate to find me."

This surprised Wu Chen a little. He nodded, smiled, and shook hands with him. "Thank you for your support."

“Lionsgate has made a lot of money over the years.”

Jason saw Michael turn and leave, so he came over and sighed.

Having made money, Lionsgate began to dare to break out of its comfort zone and no longer focus on small productions.

Wu Chen smiled and said, "Don't worry, with your taste, Blumhouse won't be bad either."

Back at the hotel, Wu Chen sat on the sofa. Outside the window, the night in Los Angeles deepened, and the street lights twinkled, reflecting the glass curtain walls of high-rise buildings in the distance.

He called the attorney representing Obsidian Pictures and asked about the copyright revenue.

The other party quickly responded based on the current copyright signing situation:

“According to the 55% increase in the two awards, the total copyright fee is currently $1860 million. According to the 50% share, the current copyright fee is approximately $930 million;
Delaware has no state tax. If you want to invest your funds directly in new projects as you mentioned, I recommend using a reasonable corporate structure:
The combination of offshore company + Delaware company + film and television fund can minimize corporate tax and ultimately achieve near-zero tax burden investment.

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen asked again, "Is it completely compliant?"

“Of course, completely compliant.

Even if you don’t plan to use this solution, an offshore company is a must. Otherwise, when you want to take the company’s money out in the form of dividends in the future, you will need to pay an additional 35% corporate tax and 15% dividend tax.”

Wu Chen was silent. This tax was quite exaggerated, but there were really many ways to avoid it.

"Okay, how much is the agency service fee?" Wu Chen asked bluntly.

"You can trust us with $5. Our actions are subject to regulatory oversight!"

"it is good!"

The next morning, major Hollywood media outlets quickly released reports on the premiere of "Buried."

The Hollywood Reporter wrote: [Wu Chen created a breathtaking psychological thriller in a minimalist style. Buried Alive conquered the audience at its premiere with its innovative audio-visual language.]

Variety Review: [Despite its limited budget, Buried's high-concept execution is astonishing, and Wu Chen's directing style demonstrates his mastery of extreme narratives.]

The New York Times said: [A breathtaking psychological thriller that further solidified Wu Chen's style on the international stage.]

The scores of IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, two major mainstream rating websites in the United States, have also been released.

Although not many people have rated it, it has a 7.6/10 on IMDB and an 88% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

This means that the audience and professional film critics have a high degree of acceptance of the film.

Although there are only dozens of reviews on various forums, 90% of them are positive:

"This movie is amazing! I highly recommend you to watch it. Just the coffin scene alone made me hold my breath the entire time!"

"Really, I can't believe this was directed by a Chinese director. He's so talented! I have to keep an eye out for his next work!"

"I heard he's already preparing a new film. I hope it's a good subject. His narrative style is very much to my liking."

What Wu Chen didn't know at this time was that people in China were also looking forward to the North American box office and reviews of "Buried".

The word "going overseas" has been mentioned repeatedly in recent years, especially after "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero", the domestic market has become almost obsessed with the overseas box office of movies.

Wu Chen is one of the few domestic directors in recent years who has dared to venture into Hollywood and seems to have established himself there.

Although "Buried" is not a domestic film, Wu Chen is a domestic director, and that is enough.

The portal's editorial office was bustling with activity, excerpting overseas reports and discussing:
"Wow, Wu Chen's Buried Alive is getting really good reviews in North America."

"Is this true? Don't tell me it's the distributor's shill. What are the audience reviews like?" "How many theaters are showing it? I remember when 'Hero' was first released in North America, there were over 2,000 theaters showing it simultaneously!"

"According to reports, there are more than 1800!"

“This number is not low, it’s very high!”

Editors of major domestic portals took quick action, and the overseas premiere of "Buried" became the headline news of the day.

Sina Entertainment was the first to post: ["Buried" received rave reviews at its North American premiere, opening in over 1800 theaters, second only to "Hero"!]

The article writes:

“Buried Alive, directed by Wu Chen, premiered at the Los Angeles Theater and received rave reviews from overseas media;
The Hollywood Reporter called it "a breathtaking thriller with a minimalist style", and Variety praised its "amazing high-concept execution".

The film has an IMDB rating of 7.6 and a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 88%. Audiences have given it rave reviews, some even calling it "holding your breath the entire time."

NetEase, Sohu, 21CN and others followed closely behind.

[Over 1800 theaters released the film simultaneously, making Wu Chen's North American debut a strong success, second only to Zhang Yimou's "Hero" with 2031 theaters.]

Overseas netizens praised "Buried," saying, "It's unbelievable it was made by a Chinese director."

Wu Chen revealed at the premiere that a new Hollywood film is in the works, sparking anticipation.

Reports came out one after another at a rapid pace, especially the data on the number of theaters showing the film, which became the focus of heated discussion.

When "Hero" was first released in North America, the number of theaters covered reached 2000, while the scale of "Buried" this time is 1800, which has far exceeded the number of theaters released in Hollywood by most films directed by domestic directors.

The media reported on this and emphasized Wu Chen's achievement in Hollywood, believing that this was another breakthrough for Chinese directors in the international film scene.

Even the China Film News published an article that day: [Young Chinese director Wu Chen's film "Buried" received widespread attention at its overseas premiere, with over 1800 theaters in North America showing it simultaneously.]

Various reports can't help but arouse the enthusiasm of netizens.

"Is this true? Buried Alive seems to be released in China the day after tomorrow. I want to go and see if it's really that exaggerated!"

"1800 theaters in North America, what does that even mean?"

“A little less than Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at their peak, but more than House of Flying Daggers.”

"The most important thing is that Wu Chen is still a new director! If the box office is good, it will set a new benchmark for Chinese directors in Hollywood!"

The news about Wu Chen's "Buried" receiving rave reviews at its premiere quickly spread throughout the Chinese-language film industry.

In the Huayi Brothers office, Feng Xiaogang, Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei were sitting on the sofa.

The three of them had just heard from Wang Zhonglei's secretary about the North American release of "Buried Alive", and a strange look flashed in their eyes.

Among them, Feng Xiaogang was particularly excited when he heard the news.

He has already conceived the structure of this costume drama and has even chosen a name: "Night Banquet".

"Xiaogang, according to you, is 'The Banquet' planning to enter the international market?"

At this time, Wang Zhongjun was very interested in Feng Xiaogang's "Night Banquet".

There is no reason why Wu Chen can work in overseas markets, but Huayi can’t.

In terms of strength, who are they worse than?

When it comes to box office, who else can be sure of defeating Feng Xiaogang except Zhang Yimou?

The overseas box office is so attractive. The United States can produce movies that make hundreds of millions of dollars. Just taking a little bit from there will be enough for them to make a fortune.

At this time, Feng Xiaogang stood up, paced back and forth, and said as he walked:
"We used to make movies for the general public to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Although they did well at the domestic box office, the amount of attention they attracted was far from enough.

For example, Wu Chen's film "Buried" in Hollywood attracted far more attention than any of our previous films."

Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei nodded silently, and had to say that what Feng Xiaogang said was indeed correct.

They have made so many movies, but none of them can compare to Wu Chen's "Buried Alive", which first won two awards in Berlin and was then released in Hollywood.

The popularity of this film both at home and abroad is far greater than their previous films.

Feng Xiaogang was very confident at this time, and waved his hand:
“Why was Zhang Yimou’s “Hero” so successful?

To be honest, he is not as good as me in terms of plot. The story is simple and does not have a deep meaning.

The pictures are more exquisite and the scenes are more grand than mine, but this is what commercial films in the international market look at.

Mr. Wang, I've already thought about it. Let's put together a strong lineup, invite several internationally influential celebrities, add Shakespeare's Hamlet to the Western framework, and directly expand into the overseas market."

"Brother, the domestic market is still too small. We can definitely give it a try overseas."

Wang Zhonglei couldn't help but look at Wang Zhongjun. He really wanted to give it a try, especially after seeing the various reports about Wu Chen that had set off a storm in the domestic film industry.

Just a movie that cost a few million dollars caused such a big response just because it was released in Hollywood. If Wu Chen can do it, there is no reason why Huayi can't do it.

"Then let's give it a try. Since 'The Banquet' is going to hit the overseas market, let's raise the production budget a bit, to $1500 million, and make it according to the standards of Zhang Yimou's 'Hero' and 'House of Flying Daggers'.

Invite the domestic Oscar-winning team, Tan Dun, Yip Kam Tim and Yuen Woo-ping."

Wang Zhongjun nodded slightly, his eyes fixed. Since he was going to do it, he couldn't be petty.

Huayi can also impact Hollywood like New Picture and Wu Chen
(End of this chapter)