Chapter 87 Selling Scripts

Chapter 87 Selling Scripts

Chapter 87 Selling Scripts

In the next few days, Zhang Chen stayed in the film and television production center of China Film.

The special effects are produced in an orderly manner and the effects are quite explosive.

The shark shots that Zhang Chen specially added to the original version had a good effect and made the plot more full. At least Zhang Chen felt that it was much more exciting than the original.

Seeing that the post-production of "The Shallows" was progressing in an orderly manner, Zhang Chen didn't have much to do now, so he started thinking about a new film.

"The Shallows" is scheduled to be released on Valentine's Day, February 2.14th, which is still 4 months away. We should not waste such good time.

He has a lot of movies in his mind, but he hasn't decided which one to choose.

However, the photographer needs to be decided as soon as possible.

He assigned Ning Hao to work on "Darkness 2", and the original photographer position became vacant.

In a movie, the photographer is a relatively important position in the main creative team. Its importance is second only to the director and higher than other creative departments.

Ning Hao recommended Song Xiaofei before leaving.

Song Xiaofei also graduated from the Photography Department of Beijing Film Academy. He is not well-known now, but he later shot "Bullfighting" and "The Grandmaster", and his level is quite good.

Zhang Chen had a detailed chat with the other party and felt that the communication was smooth, so he decided to hire him.

In later times, the relationship between a director and a photographer is often compared to a marriage.

Because many times, the director only has a vague idea but does not know how to express it. At this time, the photographer needs to make full use of his professional expertise and mobilize his own performance techniques to reflect and perfect the director's creative intent.

If the two work in perfect harmony, the resulting work will be full of spirit; otherwise, the quality of the film cannot be guaranteed.

Therefore, in the film industry, directors and photographers generally work together for a long time, which is what people often call a royal photographer.

Zhang Chen shoots commercial films, which are not that complicated in terms of camera language, but the more tacit understanding there is, the better.

Before, he and Ning Hao had a good understanding. They were good friends and had no communication problems. They also had similar personalities, so they could cooperate seamlessly.

But it may not be the same after changing the person.

That's why Zhang Chen chatted with the other party for a long time. Let's talk about whether they have a tacit understanding or not. If they are not even on the same channel of communication, then cooperation will be a nightmare.

But fortunately, the communication between the two was still harmonious.

Zhang Chen’s first two works were both heroine-centric dramas with women as the main characters, and he plans to continue with his third work.

It’s best to make your own label.

When talking about dramas with strong female protagonists, the first thing that comes to mind is Zhang Chen's works.

But what to choose?

After searching my memory, I found two alternatives: "Lucy" and "The Ship".

They are all dramas with strong female protagonists and the budgets are not high.

The former is a female action science fiction film directed by Luc Besson in 2014, which cost 4000 million US dollars and grossed 4.59 million US dollars worldwide.

The latter is a highly rated drama on Douban. Its circular narrative structure has a large number of loyal fans, and it is also a work that frequently appears in Chinese entertainment novels.

"Lucy" is undoubtedly a good movie and has been successful all over the world.

The success of this movie can actually be summed up in two points.

One is the concept of CPH4.

The movie says that CPH4 is a synthetic human hormone that is produced in very small amounts in pregnant women to stimulate the development of the fetus.

Drug cartels synthesize it in bulk and use it as a stimulant.

The second is Scarlett Johansson’s cute contrast.

There are relatively few female action movies. A woman uses force to kill everyone, and the key is that this woman is a beauty, which is very exciting.

In fact, at its core, "Lucy" is just an action movie disguised as a science fiction film, but it was packaged with science fiction concepts, but unexpectedly it got a global box office of nearly 4.6 million.

But Zhang Chen feels it’s a bit of a waste to make this movie now.

The global box office was 4.6 million, with a cost of only 4000 million, a profit of 10 times.

If it were to be filmed now, it would definitely not achieve this kind of return on investment, so Zhang Chen was a little conflicted.

As for "The Ship", Zhang Chen was even more unsure.

This movie was highly praised by netizens in the 21st century. Not only has it been interpreted in various ways, but its circular structure has also been regarded as a classic. However, this movie is actually a huge pit in the real world.

The production cost was 1200 million US dollars, but the box office was only 135 million US dollars. Who would dare to believe this?

The plot of the movie is good, the actors' performances are good, and it is indeed brain-burning, making people unable to stop watching it. It doesn't look like a bad movie in any way, but the box office is indeed so limited.

Zhang Chen was also puzzled and couldn't understand why.

But it is a fact that the box office was low.

Zhang Chen doesn’t think that if he shoots the film himself, there will be a miracle at the box office.

So he didn't dare to shoot "The Cruise". It would be better to shoot "Source Code" instead. After all, that one was profitable in history.

But it's still not safe. There has never been a movie with this kind of circular narrative structure in China. If the audience doesn't understand it, then it will be a flop.

Moreover, Zhang Chen is naturally indifferent to circular narrative structures. Even though others praise them as gods, he thinks they are just so-so.

I thought it was interesting the first time I watched it, but after watching it too many times I felt it was just whining.

On the contrary, he is quite supportive of multi-line narratives.

"Two Smoking Barrels"

"Crazy Stone"

The ingenuity of "Crazy Racing" makes people feel very advanced, but the former has already been released, and the latter two are the representative works of the good brothers.

He has been reborn, with a lot of foreign classics in his head. There is no need for him to fleece the domestic market anymore, especially since they are his good brothers.

Zhang Chen decided to think about it carefully and make sure to keep the third film.

What he needs now is success, one success after another, to forge his supreme godhood.

There can be no failure.

As for "The Ship", he can make it as an experimental film after he succeeds, but not now.

Just as I was thinking about it, the phone rang. It was Diane calling.

As soon as the call was connected, Diane's capable voice came from the other end.

"Boss, I took the time difference into consideration when calling here. How are you? Have you not rested yet?"

Zhang Chen looked at the sky outside which was just getting dark: "Thank you, Diane. It's evening here now."

"Oh, nothing. This is what I should do. I called to tell you that our first negotiation with New Line did not go through."

The news Diane brought was obviously not good news.

"what happened?"

"I contacted Pitt. They liked the script. Since you just won the Saturn Award for Best Director, they agreed to let you direct the film. But they were not satisfied with your participation in the investment."

After a pause, Diane continued: "I tried to persuade them several times, but their attitude was very firm. Maybe I should wait and talk to them after "Dark Invasion" is released in North America. If the box office is good, their attitude will definitely be relaxed."

"No need. If they don't want to, forget it. Find other buyers. They are not the only ones in Hollywood making horror movies."

Zhang Chen didn't care. He chose New Line Films simply because they had worked with Jackie Chan before and were relatively friendly to Chinese filmmakers.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. I've been in contact with people from Lionsgate these past two days."

"By the way, if we don't reach an agreement with New Line, New Line won't steal our script, right?"

Zhang Chen suddenly remembered something. It seemed that this kind of thing had happened in the United States, which was known for respecting intellectual property rights the most, in his previous life.

The big company took a fancy to the script written by the young screenwriter, but they failed to reach an agreement in the end, so they simply found a few people to rewrite the script based on the young screenwriter's.

When a small screenwriter sues a big company, the big company’s legal department is no pushover.

If you keep wasting time like this, you can eventually wear out the young screenwriter.

Don’t think that there are no such things in America. There are still many of them, but they are all covered up.

After hearing this, Diane replied confidently: "Don't worry, this will never happen, oh no, at least it will never happen to you.

You may not be very clear about your own position. Although you are not a big shot, you are not an unknown person either. The newly-crowned Saturn Award for Best Director is your amulet. Some Hollywood companies do what you said, but they only target small screenwriters with no reputation. You are not one of them. "

"Okay." Zhang Chen didn't expect that the Saturn Award for Best Director could also ward off evil spirits.

"Let's move on then. How did your talk with Lionsgate go?"

"We are still discussing it, but they are not interested in Eden Lake, but another script."

"Which one?"

"Orphan."

"Eden Lake" and "Orphan" were both written by Zhang Chen in an attempt to fleece Hollywood. Not only these two, but also the heavy-tasting "I Saw the Devil" and "Law Abiding Citizen".

Zhang Chen pondered for a moment and said, "If Lionsgate is interested in Orphan, we can sell it to them directly."

"You don't want to direct it yourself?"

"Forget about this film. I don't like the story of Orphan, and it involves children, so it would be a bit troublesome to shoot."

"Okay, I see. If that's the case, it should be easy to close the deal. So what's your final price?"

"You decide the price. Anyway, your bonus is based on a percentage. You get a bonus only if you sell the item. If you don't sell it, you only get the base salary."

"Haha, Boss, I will definitely sell it for a good price."

After they finished talking, they hung up the phone. Zhang Chen had his own considerations for agreeing to sell the script of "Orphan".

First of all, this movie is really not easy to shoot.

It's so hard to find actresses.

It is difficult for a nine-year-old child to achieve acting skills more sophisticated than those of an adult.

Not to mention that it involves the concept of 'adoption'.

In the original time and space, after the film was broadcast, it received a lot of complaints from adoptive families, and even Warner Bros. was overwhelmed.

So it’s better to just sell it directly.

In fact, Zhang Chen had another reason: he didn’t have enough money.

"The Dark Side" earned 1200 million, "The Shallows" invested 700 million, and "The Dark Side 2". Considering that it was Ning Hao's first time directing a film of this type, the budget was given a more generous budget of 300 million. He negotiated with Mr. Li, the richest man, and this time they would be given a maximum of 20% of the share, which means that Zhang Chen invested 240 million, which adds up to nearly 1000 million.

The little money left was just enough for his daily food and drink, not enough to prepare for the third movie, and he also wanted to make a TV series.

At this stage, movies are actually not that profitable. It is rare for a movie like Zhang Chen's to earn tens of millions, and most of them are at a loss.

The real money-maker is the TV series.

A hit drama will have no problem earning 2000 million.

But the investment in a TV series is also huge, starting at at least 1000 million, and you have to have connections, otherwise do you think Zhang Chen doesn't want to do it? He just has no money.

……

Can anyone guess what the next movie will be?
(End of this chapter)