Chapter 139: Support from Huayi Brothers
Chapter 139: Support from Huayi Brothers (Monthly Ticket 300 plus more)
Regarding the cooperation with Columbia Pictures, Deputy Chen Guo finally agreed to help Wang Hao and others report to the company's top management.
However, he couldn't agree on what the final outcome would be and whether cooperation could be achieved.
Fortunately, Wang Hao did not put all his hopes on him. After saying goodbye to Han Sanye and Chen Guofu, he turned around and went back to Huayi.
The two brothers welcomed Wang Hao's arrival. After all, who would go against the God of Wealth?
Especially when he took out the script of "Wushuang", the Zhongjun brothers smiled like flowers, with wrinkles on their faces.
"Brother Wang, it's rare that you think of us brothers. Huayi has invested in this movie!"
After reading the script, Wang Zhongjun made the decision immediately.
The two brothers still have great confidence in Wang Hao's directing ability.
After all, the billion-dollar box office of "The Call" is still there, and this alone is enough to give people confidence.
Moreover, in the film and television industry, it is difficult to find funding for film projects, and it is also difficult for funding to find a good project.
Wang Hao’s previous “Maze of the Heart” series was a success, so the subsequent “Three-Body” series naturally became a hot topic in the eyes of those who know the subject.
Now Wang Hao is still willing to play with them, which is very kind. Naturally, they will not say anything more and directly lock in a part of the investment share of "Wushuang".
For Wang Hao, it was natural to bring Huayi into the partnership.
On the one hand, they had collaborated very pleasantly on their previous film. Not only did Huayi not interfere in the affairs of the crew, it also arranged a supporting actress to serve him in the film.
On the other hand, Huayi itself has certain connections and capabilities. At least when Wang Hao raised the issue of Sino-US co-production, the two brothers were very active in helping him find a solution.
"If it's released globally, our company does have some connections."
After listening to Wang Hao's words, Wang Zhongjun took the lead and said:
“I believe Director Wang, you also know that the movie Director Feng is currently shooting, The Banquet, is intended to be released worldwide.
The company responsible for overseas distribution is the Australian branch of Bowen Pictures, which is considered the largest distribution company in Europe and the United States and is a sub-brand of the Hollywood Disney Group.
If Director Wang is interested, I can contact them and it will be released worldwide like The Banquet."
If Chinese film companies want to promote Sino-US co-production and global release, it is for the so-called political achievements.
So Huayi's desire to promote the global release of "Wushuang" is purely driven by profit.
After all, the current film market in mainland China is only so big, and the billion-yuan box office has already reached its ceiling. It is simply impossible to make a breakthrough in a short period of time.
Therefore, going outward becomes the natural thing to do.
You have to know that the money earned from distributing movies overseas is US dollars. For example, Wang Hao's "Fatal Call" was sold to Columbia for 500 million US dollars. For European and American film companies, this may be just the cost of a B-level movie, but when converted to domestic box office figures, it is a box office figure that many mainland movies can't even dream of.
In addition, if a movie can be released in Hollywood and achieve good results, it can increase the value of both the director and the actors, so many Chinese film and television companies and filmmakers are eager to go overseas.
However, going overseas may seem simple, but in fact, it has a high threshold. Overseas film and television distribution companies cannot do business at a loss.
If you want people to buy your movies, first of all, the quality of your movies must be excellent, and secondly, the subject matter of your movies must be easily accepted by overseas audiences.
Regarding these two points, the Wang brothers have great confidence in Wang Hao's "Wushuang".
First of all, "Wushuang" is a modern crime action film, and the content of the film is about how to counterfeit US dollars, which in itself is very easy to attract the attention of European and American audiences.
Secondly, as Wang Hao said, "Wushuang" is not a domestic film that uses only mainland actors, but a Sino-US co-production that combines Chinese and Western elements.
The most famous film of this model is "Rush Hour" shot by Jackie Chan when he was just starting out in Hollywood.
This movie was a success in Hollywood at the time. Now, it has only been five years since the release of "Rush Hour II". With the momentum of Jackie Chan's promotion, even if it can't reach the North American box office of 1.41 million US dollars of that movie, it would be good to get half of it.
Therefore, compared to the worries and caution of Huaying, the two Wang brothers of Huayi were much more radical. They even strongly agreed with Wang Hao's strategy of Sino-US co-production. They were all about the excitement and wanted to take a gamble.
Since someone was willing to pay him to gamble, Wang Hao naturally would not refuse, and he became more determined to release Wushuang worldwide.
After reaching an agreement with Huayi on investing in "Wushuang", Wang Hao talked about another thing, which was the cooperation with the film company in Hong Kong.
Wang Hao had mentioned this matter to them once at the celebration party of "Fatal Call" not long ago. Now that Wang Hao mentioned it, both of them remembered it.
"I have already contacted Mr. Yang in Hong Kong about what you said, but there was no specific project before, and they were not very interested."
Wang Zhongjun looked at Wang Hao and explained, then said:
"Of course, now that we have the blockbuster film 'Wushuang', it will be much easier to negotiate with them. I believe that with Boss Yang's vision, he will definitely not let go of this good project."
Wang Zhonglei on the side also nodded in agreement.
"That's right, Wang Hao, your script is indeed good. It has the flavor of a Hong Kong movie with two heroes competing against each other. It's just right for us to work with Mr. Yang and his team, using actors from Hong Kong to make an international blockbuster."
Wang Hao was not at all surprised by Wang Zhonglei's words.
Nowadays, due to the decline of the Hong Kong film market, a large number of Hong Kong actors are keen to go north to seek gold.
Many mainland directors, whenever they want to make commercial blockbusters, like to find these Hong Kong stars to star in them.
Andy Lau, Chow Yun-fat, Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Koo Tim-lok, Maggie Cheung…
Whether in the eyes of directors or audiences, these Hong Kong film and television stars seem to be more Western and more international.
Compared with them, those mainland actors are so rustic, like white swans and ugly ducklings, totally not up to the stage.
That’s why there’s a saying that Hong Kong stars are more capable of box office success than mainland actors, and they are the ones who have to be cast when it comes to making commercial blockbusters or international blockbusters.
Wang Hao does not have such prejudice. In his opinion, the most important factor in choosing a movie actor is whether he fits the content of the movie.
As for where the actors come from, it doesn’t actually matter. To make a good movie, you don’t necessarily need those so-called Hong Kong superstars.
(End of this chapter)