America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 75. Madness is like gravity; all you need to do is give it a gentle push. (Please subscribe and donate)

People with good looks have already won at the starting line. Being handsome makes everything easier; this is a golden rule.

With his handsome looks that surpassed everyone else present, and his approachable demeanor, Eric was already chatting and laughing with the Starshine people in less than two minutes.

"Stephen, you're too modest. Your movies are great. I've seen 'Shaolin Soccer,' and although we have different cultures, the scenes in the movie always make me laugh out loud."

"I see similar traits in you as Jim Carrey and Charlie Chaplin; you are both masters of humorous comedy."

"So when I heard Judy say you were looking for investment, I knew I had to get it!"

Upon hearing this, Judy was speechless. If it were really as you say, would people have waited for almost a whole day in vain?

If it were any big Hollywood director, let's see if you could still speak with the same confidence.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, everyone got down to business.

"Stephen, how much investment are you looking for in your film?"

Stephen Chow held up three fingers: "3000 million US dollars, I think that's the minimum."

Eric frowned. "$3000 million? I remember Miramax bought the overseas distribution rights to Hero, the one by Jet Lee. It was a spectacular movie, but it only cost $3000 million to make."

"US$3000 million is nearly 2.5 million RMB, or 2.4 million HKD. That's enough to shoot a top-tier blockbuster."

"Is your 'Kung Fu Hustle' as grand in scale as 'Hero'?"

Stephen Chow shook his head slightly: "No, Kung Fu Hustle and Hero are completely different styles. Its scenes are not that big, but in my vision, Kung Fu Hustle will use a lot of special effects."

"So Starshine is planning to hire a Hollywood special effects company? If it's from Hong Kong or South Korea, I don't think it would cost that much money," Eric asked again.

Stephen Chow is not a talkative person. Although Eric spoke with a smile, his tone and context clearly put pressure on him, implying that money is not so easy to get.

Beside him, a man with gold-rimmed glasses, whose English name was Ryan, hurriedly spoke up to express his opinion.

Eric didn't recognize the person; he was probably an executive at Star Shine Entertainment, not an actor or screenwriter.

"Mr. Eric, I understand your thinking. Yes, Kung Fu is not a big-budget production, and it won't feature Jack Chen or Jet Lee, but its selling points are completely different."

"If you only look at the script, most people can't understand how many special effects a movie will use, but from a director's perspective, Stephen had already constructed the general outline of 'Kung Fu' in his mind."

"Stephen is a mature and capable director. He is one of the top directors in Asia, as you know, and this can be seen from 'Shaolin Soccer'."

"So his proposed $3000 million investment was entirely based on the needs of the film. Mr. Eric, you should understand that without sufficient special effects, many films simply cannot achieve their intended effect."

After listening to the other person ramble on and on, explaining and clarifying, Eric laughed and said, "Ryan, are you saying I don't understand movies? That I can't understand those storyboards, or that I don't know market prices?"

The bespectacled man waved his hands repeatedly: "No, that's not what I meant. I just want to make a good movie. That's what we all think, isn't it? Only high-quality movies can earn more at the box office."

Eric took a sip of coffee, leaned back, adopted a boss-like posture, and slowed his tone.

"Yes, everyone wants to make a good movie, and everyone wants more investment, because you can only make money if you make a good movie, but you can't treat investors like idiots."

"Ryan, I'm not just the company's vice president, I'm also a director. I'm currently directing 'Transformers.' Do you think 'Kung Fu Hustle' can have more special effects than 'Transformers'?"

"So special effects are not an excuse. I read the entire script very carefully and did a professional evaluation. I also have the outline of the movie in my mind."

"$3000 million is too much, $2200 million is the price MGM is willing to pay."

Upon hearing the price, the three employees of Xinghui Company immediately changed their expressions and cut the price by $800 million, which was lower than they had expected.

After completing the script for "Kung Fu Hustle," Stephen Chow planned to seek investment in Hollywood because the budget of over 2 million was unaffordable for both Hong Kong and mainland China.

Even if they could afford to invest, they would lose interest once they heard that Stephen Chow directed and starred in the film. His box office appeal is not good enough.

The investment in Hero was only given because of Jet Li's influence; Zhang Yimou is nobody in Hollywood.

Stephen Chow first approached Miramax, the company that handled the overseas distribution of "Shaolin Soccer." He thought that, given their previous successful collaboration, the Weinstein brothers would be willing to contribute generously.

But it turned out he was overthinking it; Harvey Weinstein cut the investment in half, only willing to invest $1500 million.

Then they approached New Line Cinema, Lionsgate, Disney, etc., but either they didn't like them or the investment amount didn't meet their expectations.

A few days ago I went to Sony Columbia to lobby them. Columbia was willing to invest, but they were sticking to a $2000 million limit and wouldn't invest any more.

Finally, we arrived at MGM. We've practically visited all the major Hollywood studios, and the experience was similar to that of the Olsen twins trying to secure funding for "New York Time."

Stephen Chow's expression turned serious: "Eric, I think..."

Eric interrupted him directly: "Stephen, $2200 million is already the highest price. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a more generous company in Hollywood than MGM."

"After all, your film doesn't have Jack Chen and Jet Lee. Without them, it's hard for Chinese films to succeed."

"My words may sound harsh, but they are the truth, and you should know that, and I hope you understand."

Seeing Eric's attitude, Stephen Chow knew that there was no point in saying anything. In business, liking your movies and being willing to invest in you are two different things.

It's like dating; having a crush doesn't cost money, but actually pursuing someone requires real money.

Want to date when you're broke? Think you're some big shot?!

After a moment's thought, Stephen Chow asked, "Eric, if Star Overseas accepts MGM's investment, what do you plan to take? How much will I have to pay?"

Eric smiled. Colombia would offer a maximum of $2000 million, while he would offer $200 million more.

Two million might seem like a drop in the ocean to him, just the price of one movie from AK Films.

But in Stephen Chow's view, that wasn't US dollars, but HK$1600 million; the circumstances they were in were completely different.

Moreover, he had never worked with Colombia before; they were complete strangers. Of course, he would listen to whoever offered more.

"Stephen, I'm an investor. The copyright belongs to MGM first, and then it's about distribution. MGM has distribution rights all over the world, except for a few specific places where it might be difficult."

"You mean markets in the Middle East, mainland China, etc."

"That's right. MGM is actually planning to open a branch in China. I predict that the market there will explode in a few years."

"That's a good idea. You can take advantage of the opportunity presented by 'Kung Fu Hustle' to set up a branch office in Hong Kong."

Eric shook his head slightly: "Forget about Hong Kong, its market is shrinking. I prefer Beijing."

Stephen Chow did not comment further on this matter, because he was well aware that the Hong Kong market had indeed shrunk significantly; otherwise, co-productions would not be so popular now.

After chatting for a while, Stephen Chow said he needed to seriously consider the investment, declined MGM's dinner invitation, and left with his Star Overseas team.

After being shown for another week, "Saw" was due for a large-scale removal from theaters.

Now only the more remote small towns are still showing the film. Since the premiere time in these places is later than in the big cities, it will be delayed by about a week, but that's just a minor delay.

In its final week, "Saw" grossed $610 million in North America. This was the result of its large-scale release. When distributed among each theater, the profits had already bottomed out, and it was time to make way for new films.

The overseas box office grossed $2069 million this week, and after another week of screenings, it will be time to take it off the screens. The global box office is currently $2.37 million.

During the same week, films such as "Catch Me If You Can" and "Chicago" were also pulled from theaters on a large scale.

"Catch Me If You Can" grossed around $1.6 million in North America and around $3.5 million worldwide, living up to Spielberg's reputation.

Chicago was in a bad situation. First, it was impacted by Sharknock. The shark had just swum away when the chainsaw came to chop off its feet.

Even with the boost of an Oscar nomination, the North American box office still fell short of expectations. Analysts predicted $1.5 million in North America, but it only grossed a little over $8500 million.

It faced the same situation in overseas markets, ultimately grossing $1.45 million worldwide.

Compared to its $4500 million production cost and considerable marketing expenses, don't even think about making big money with this box office performance.

Miramax was just unlucky; after the Oscars, the Weinstein Brothers will try to recoup their losses from DVD rights.

The investment in "Kung Fu Hustle" went very smoothly, more smoothly than expected.

Just two days later, Stephen Chow visited again, and the two parties signed a contract directly, which became legally binding.

What Eric didn't know was that in the past two days, Stephen Chow had made another offer to Sony Columbia, hoping to secure a $2500 million investment.

But Colombia is adamant about $2000 million, not a penny more, even if he lowers it to $2300 million.

Then there's no other choice. Hollywood's path has essentially reached its end, and MGM is indeed the best solution.

The contract was very long, but there were only a few key clauses.

Firstly, the film's copyright belongs entirely to MGM, and MGM is solely responsible for its distribution and promotion, except in mainland China.

Secondly, since Star Overseas has completely relinquished the copyright, Stephen Chow's share of the profits must be increased by 3 percentage points. As the screenwriter, director, and lead actor, he can receive a total of 12% of the gross box office profit.

As for his fixed salaries for screenwriters, directors, and actors, these are part of the film's budget and are covered within the $2000 million budget.

Thirdly, there's the issue of cost. MGM will send producers to supervise the production on-site, but since it's being filmed in China, MGM can't manage that much.

Therefore, if the film's budget exceeds the limit, the excess amount will be covered by Star Overseas, and Star Overseas cannot use this as a reason to make other demands.

This is mainly to prevent Stephen Chow from demanding exorbitant fees for himself or colluding with other actors to demand such fees.

The last point concerns the distribution in mainland China. The specifics and procedures are handled by Star Overseas. Eric doesn't know why Stephen Chow insisted on adding this point, but it's likely due to kickbacks or private channels.

It's just an underdeveloped market, which doesn't matter to MGM, which earns dollars; they can just give it to them if they want.

According to the contract terms, the "Kung Fu" crew must start filming no later than May 10th of this year, at which time MGM will send a specialist to participate.

Eric clinked his glasses together and smiled.

"Stephen, I wish us a successful collaboration!"

"The collaboration went smoothly!"

Eric took a sip of the red liquid: "By the way, there's one more thing I need to trouble you with. Do you know anyone in mainland China? I want to get the branch office set up as soon as possible."

MGM made concessions to Star Overseas on the issue of distribution in mainland China, so Stephen Chow naturally had to reciprocate.

"I have a good relationship with Han Sanping of China Film Group. If MGM needs me, I can act as an intermediary to introduce them."

Upon hearing Han Sanping's name, Eric nodded inwardly. If he remembered correctly, although Han Sanping was not yet the chairman of Huaying, he was the vice chairman.

Moreover, he wields considerable influence within the company, overseeing production, and Huaying Film Studio controls the import of overseas films, making him a worthy ally.

Eric smiled and said, "Alright, I've heard of Han Sanping too. How about this, when you get back, you should first greet Chairman Han."

"Help me sound him out. If he welcomes it, MGM will send someone over as soon as possible."

"I think Chairman Han has no reason not to welcome him, Eric. Just wait for the good news."

After seeing off Xinghui's people, the Olsen sisters arrived right away.

DoubleStar Entertainment is also in Los Angeles, and the two are actually not far apart. If traffic is good, it only takes half an hour to drive there.

Upon seeing the two sisters, the young receptionist was immediately delighted and ran over to ask for their autographs and a photo.

In the words of this little girl, "I grew up watching your shows; you were my childhood idols."

The Olsen twins were initially happy to meet their fans, but upon hearing the word "childhood," a wave of disappointment washed over them.

If they don't find a way, their popularity will really disappear, and they might not even be able to retain their childhood fans.

"Ashley, Mary, welcome, welcome."

I hugged the two sisters separately. One of them smelled faintly of roses, while Eric couldn't smell the other.

"It's been over a week, how have you been?"

Mary Olsen, the younger sister, gave a wry smile: "It's been a tough time. We even hired a professional script doctor to try and improve 'New York Time,' but the results are still not good."

"Eric, perhaps, as you said, the only way to make this script work is to scrap it and start over."

"Sigh! You guys are still thinking about 'The New York Time'? Forgive me for being blunt, but it's garbage. It's really not worth wasting your time on this stuff."

The Olsen twins looked a little embarrassed, but still said helplessly, "You're right, we even had top screenwriters re-evaluate it, but it really was a piece of garbage."

"So what's there to consider? You have to transform, and it's urgent. Blues of Adele is undoubtedly the best opportunity."

Ashley, the older sister, said, "Eric, Mary and I have discussed your suggestion for a long time; we talk about it almost every day."

"But we are sisters after all, this is difficult, we don't know what the outcome will be, good or bad?"

"Really? But I don't think so. You've been in the industry for many years, you must understand that every movie is a gamble, a gamble on money and fame. If you can't let go of anything, perhaps being a child star is the most suitable path for you."

It's truly unbelievable that biological sisters would play lesbians.

But the words "child star" once again pierced the sisters' hearts like a knife. Since they were here today, they already had a preference, but they lacked the final push.

And Eric was the hand they found for themselves.

As the saying goes: madness is like gravity; all you have to do is give it a gentle push.

(End of this chapter)