Chapter 256 New Project

The purpose of this meeting between Wang Hao and Li Enxi was mainly to discuss the distribution of "The Man from Nowhere" in China and overseas.

As the first film jointly produced by Galaxy Pictures and CJ Entertainment, "The Man from Lone Star" carries a lot of expectations from both companies.

For Galaxy Pictures, this is an important step for the Galaxy Cinematic Universe to expand its overseas influence and consolidate its base in Asia.

For CJ Entertainment, this is an excellent opportunity for the company to break through the shackles of South Korea and develop into China.

Both parties attached great importance to "The Man from Nowhere", so the cooperation was naturally very smooth.

According to their communication, "The Man from Nowhere" will complete all the shooting and production work in July this year, and then will be released simultaneously in South Korea and China in October.

This timing just avoids the Beijing Olympics in August, and there are no Hollywood or Chinese blockbusters to compete with it during the same period.

After confirming all this, Li Enxi talked to Wang Hao about investing in his next Hollywood movie, but this was rejected by Wang Hao.

Actually, it can't be considered a rejection. After all, after filming "Taken", he planned to shoot a new version of "Wolf Warrior", which is a mainland action science fiction film like "Source Code". He has no plans to shoot a Hollywood movie for the time being.

Li Enxi expressed regret for Wang Hao's decision.

After all, in their opinion, working hard in Hollywood and then going back to shoot Chinese-language films does not seem to be a wise choice.

Although Wang Hao’s next film is not a Hollywood movie, it does not mean that there is no opportunity for cooperation between the two companies.

"Mr. Li, if CJ Entertainment really wants to invest in Hollywood movies, there are projects for you to choose from."

Wang Hao sat on the large and soft sofa, drinking coffee and saying with a smile:
"In addition to the Taken that I just finished filming, I recently submitted a script to Columbia, which has also been approved.

If Mr. Li is interested, it is not impossible to give some investment shares to CJ Entertainment."

When Li Enxi heard Wang Hao's words, her eyes suddenly lit up and she quickly asked:

"New project! Is it still the same series of stories from the Galaxy Cinematic Universe? How much is the investment?"

Wang Hao shook his head.

“No, it’s a new story, and has nothing to do with the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe]… Well… Of course, it’s not impossible to make it related when necessary.

Anyway, it's just a comedy story about a drunken incident."

Wang Hao briefly told Li Enxi about the story of the low-budget comedy called "The Hangover". The initial budget of the film was more than 3000 million US dollars, and it was a joint venture between Galaxy Pictures and Columbia Pictures.

Originally, the film was scheduled to start shooting in July this year, but considering that the crisis was approaching, most of the funds Wang Hao had on hand could not be moved, so the project was temporarily shelved.

Now that Li Enxi mentioned that she wanted to cooperate, Wang Hao naturally thought of this project.

Although to be honest, "The Hangover" is indeed a high-quality project that makes a small investment for a big return. With a cost of 3 million US dollars in the past, it was able to earn more than 2 million US dollars in box office in North America and 4.88 million US dollars in global box office.

With Li Enxi's involvement, Galaxy Pictures seems to have suffered a bit of a loss.

But again, investment in the film and television entertainment industry is not as good as imagined. Many laymen may think that investing tens of millions of dollars to make a movie and earning more than ten times the box office is already pretty good.

But for those speculating in cryptocurrencies, real estate, or investing in emerging technology companies, the profits from making movies are actually nothing.

First of all, the film and television industry is an industry with a very slow capital turnover.

For example, Wang Hao's Galaxy Films is currently investing in and producing "Raging Fire", "Taken" and "The Man from Nowhere", but none of the three films have been released yet, and even if they are released, it is unknown how long it will take for the box office revenue to arrive.

Even so, it is only because Wang Hao has been successful before and has continued to make profits in movies that he can now open such a big business.

But there is nothing we can do. With the current funding of Galaxy Pictures, the risks of launching new projects would increase exponentially.

And even if the investment is successful, the actual rate of return on the film is not that high.

For example, although the global box office of "The Hangover" is 4.88 million, nearly half of it will be divided up by theaters and film distributors in various places, and only about one-third of it will actually go into the hands of the producers.

And this one-third has to be shared with other investors, so what will actually fall into their hands in the end may be only 60 or 70 million US dollars.

Of course, investing 10 or 20 million and earning 60 or 70 million a year later does not seem bad.

But this is also based on the success of the invested film. In the film and television industry, if a movie can make a profit at the box office, it is actually a very good project.

In other words, Wang Hao has the memory of future generations and can determine in advance which movie will perform well in the future. Otherwise, if it were someone else, who knows how much loss they would suffer.

Therefore, Wang Hao does not mind giving some profits to CJ Entertainment, because compared with other film and television companies that pursue profits, what Wang Hao values more is the development of China's film industrialization and the expansion of Galaxy Pictures' influence.

Especially in terms of influence, although the investment return rate of the film and television industry is not that good, it also has an advantage, that is, the influence of the industry itself is terrifying.

The entertainment industry is naturally endowed with publicity attributes, and these are also hidden treasures.

People like Jacky Cheung, Zhang Guoshi, and Spielberg already have high value in themselves.

After the first two years of solid foundation development, Wang Hao’s current goal cannot be said to have changed, but his vision has gradually broadened and expanded, no longer limited to interests and the present.

For him, his development goal in the next few years is to emulate international directors such as Spielberg and George Lucas, gradually expand his reputation and influence in the global film and television industry, and then use his influence to promote the development of domestic film and television industrialization.

The best and most suitable way for him to achieve this goal is to go the commercial blockbuster route like George Lucas and continue to be successful.

To achieve this goal, it is natural to give up some interests appropriately and win over more allies.

It’s just a movie called “The Hangover”. Wang Hao doesn’t take it seriously anymore. The biggest benefit of the movie is that it can successfully help him increase his fame.

Faced with Wang Hao's generosity, Li Enxi did not refuse. After learning about the project of "The Hangover", he made a decisive decision without any further explanation and took over 20% of the investment share of the film.

With this amount of funds, plus the investment from Columbia, the early preparations for The Hangover crew can now start.

(End of this chapter)

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