Chapter 745: Progress of Jaws

Chapter 745: Progress of Jaws

Chapter 745: Progress of Jaws
The mainland is about to reform and open up, so it is not a big problem to open a martial arts school, because the business logic is different from that overseas. Overseas, it is to make money, but in the mainland, it is to find suitable talents;

After they are trained, they can be sent to Hong Kong to work, which is good for both parties. With the labor costs in the mainland, it is enough to support 1000 people. As long as one of them can eventually achieve the results of the martial arts star named Li in the previous life, that is enough. Even if there are no stars, some of them can come to Hong Kong to do ordinary jobs, the return rate will be enough.

In the mainland, perhaps they don’t know much about high technology, but physical fitness is something that depends on talent. The mainland has a large enough population base, so they will definitely be able to select capable people.
Of course, the mainland is relatively poor, and the supply of meat is insufficient, so you can only spend more money on this. But compared with the returns, these are trivial matters. The same food as in Hong Kong is enough, and there is no need for anything special.

Li Xiaolong didn't think much about it and nodded, "If that's possible, it would be great. The mainland has a population of nearly one billion. This number is too terrifying. And I also want to seriously cultivate the Chinese."

"Me too." Yang Wendong smiled;
If a white or black person is really talented and can learn Jeet Kune Do to a high level by self-study, Yang Wendong would be happy to see that. However, if he has to spend money to train the person seriously, even if he can eventually recoup the cost from the person he trains, he would still be willing to train the Chinese.

After all, if he is given the same opportunity, he will naturally be willing to give it to the Chinese, and it is also easier to control.

Li Xiaolong continued, "Mr. Yang, I will let the students have a competition later. Can you give them some guidance?"

"Haha, I can just watch, but I can't give you instructions or anything like that." Yang Wendong shook his head: "I have learned a little bit of Jeet Kune Do, but my level is far behind."

He had practiced Jeet Kune Do before, but as the head of a large conglomerate, even if his power was decentralized, he would not have much time to study martial arts, so he focused on fitness rather than pursuing real fighting.
The exciting internal competition also opened Yang Wendong's eyes. However, a small accident occurred during the competition. A young man injured his leg and was rushed to the hospital.
If you want to achieve success in martial arts, these are the prices you have to pay. Just like athletes are also prone to injuries, there is no way around it. All we can do is to do better in insurance, medical care, and safety protection to avoid accidents as much as possible.

After watching the competition, Li Xiaolong discussed the latest movie situation with Yang Wendong;

Yang Wendong also paid attention to the movies shot by Li Xiaolong in the past few years, but basically did not interfere. He was not a professional, and Li Xiaolong was definitely much more professional than him. Over the years, it was basically Li Xiaolong who decided what to do, and he fully supported him.

In terms of film cooperation, the agreement signed by Yang Wendong and Li Xiaolong in the early days was basically friendly, with all kinds of profits divided at about 55-, which is considered a very conscientious capitalist for Hollywood, but he also knows that he only has the ability to discover, and how Li Xiaolong can grow in the future depends mainly on himself. Besides, compared with the income from Hong Kong real estate and stock markets, what Li Xiaolong can earn is nothing.

Instead of a very high profit-sharing ratio, Li Xiaolong can concentrate on his own business and be more motivated. No one doesn't like money. In this way, Yang Wendong may also get more benefits and use Li Xiaolong's fame to increase the popularity of his company's products.

After the introduction, Yang Wendong said, "I think it's good. Just follow your own feeling."

Li Xiaolong laughed and said, "Haha, that's good, but you are the boss, no matter what, I have to make it clear to you, otherwise if I lose money, I won't be able to explain to you."

"Well, just let me know. It's okay to make a small loss. Few Hollywood movies can guarantee 100% profit." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.

Even the most famous Hollywood directors, leading actors, or producers in the past could not guarantee that their films would be 100% successful. Although Li Xiaolong is a little special, there is often uncertainty. If the audience gets tired of his style one day, that could be the beginning of his failure.
This possibility definitely exists. Even in the past, Marvel was a global hit for the first ten years, but it also fizzled out. Although there may be some ZZ correctness factors, even without this, the decline of Marvel is inevitable, because everyone is tired of it, especially because there are many low-IQ operations, such as the use of high-tech but still preferring the primitive fighting mode.
Li Xiaolong nodded and said, "I understand. I'm also trying to innovate, but it feels so difficult. I don't know how to do anything else except fighting."

Yang Wendong said: "You can only figure this out slowly by yourself. No one else can help you."

Li Xiaolong asked again: "By the way, Mr. Yang, has the filming of your own movie started? I was wondering if I could go and make a cameo appearance?"

"Haha, not yet. I plan to go and have a look when I come to Los Angeles this time. If you want to go, let's go together tomorrow." Yang Wendong said with a smile, "I will send a car to pick you up tomorrow morning."

Li Xiaolong agreed: "Okay, I'll go and take a look tomorrow."

The next day, Yang Wendong and Li Xiaolong came to an industrial warehouse near the sea in Hollywood, where they met Steven Spielberg, who was the most famous director in his previous life but is still a new director now.
"Hello, Mr. Li." When Steven saw Li Xiaolong, he quickly put down what he was holding and said with a smile.

"Haha, it seems I can introduce you one less time." Yang Wendong looked at Li Xiaolong and said with a smile: "Xiaolong, this is Steven Spielberg, the director of my movie Jaws."

Judging from the popularity of these two people today, one is a world-renowned top martial arts superstar, and the other is a director who has only made a few ordinary movies. There is still a big gap between the two. So when Steven met Li Xiaolong, he was a little excited. The status gap does exist;

However, if "Jaws" is filmed and can achieve the same results as its previous film, then this movie will be able to beat all of Li Xiaolong's films combined, and its status may even be reversed.

Seeing Yang Wendong's attitude, Li Xiaolong also hurriedly shook hands and said, "Steven, just call me Bruce."

Steven immediately smiled and said, "Okay, Bruce."

Yang Wendong looked at a white shark about four or five meters long not far away and asked, "Is this the mechanical shark you ordered?" "Yes, this is it. It is almost ready and has been tested in the sea." Steven said, "I made one before, but it was not well controlled in the sea, so I had to make it again, which wasted some time and money."

"Well, as long as it can be done in the end." Yang Wendong didn't care too much;

The budget for this mechanical shark in front of us was 150 million US dollars, but it ended up costing 350 million US dollars. This may be the norm for Hollywood directors, who first report a lower budget, and then when the time comes, they wave their hands and say: not enough money!
Many Hollywood companies have been cheated by many directors in this way. For example, Titanic had a budget of $2 million, but it cost $1.5 million to build a ship. It almost pissed off 20th Century Fox, so they were forced to bring in Paramount to invest. But they regretted it after making a lot of money.
It is even possible that these directors enriched themselves in the process, but Hollywood probably has reached a tacit understanding that as long as the movie is made and the profit is not too ugly, everyone will turn a blind eye. The same is true for Yang Wendong. It is not just about adapting to local customs. In fact, doing business is the same everywhere, including Hong Kong. Not to mention that this is a foreign territory. If he breaks the rules, it may affect future cooperation.

Steven came to call someone over. A young man in his early 20s trotted over. Steven said, "Eric, Bruce, this is the controller of the robot shark. He will perform some shark movements later. You can feel whether it looks like a shark or not."

"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded;
Then the young man began to control the shark, and it began to sway from side to side. The shark opened its mouth, revealing its sharp teeth, and then swung its head from side to side. It bit down with one bite, and it felt like a human body could be bitten in half.
A few minutes later, Steven asked with a smile, "Do you think they look alike?"

Li Xiaolong shook his head and said, "I've never seen a shark, so I don't know, but this one does look a little scary."

Yang Wendong asked, "Steven, are these movements similar to those of real sharks? Did you go to an oceanarium to watch them?"

"Yes, I went to the Chicago Oceanarium several times and observed there for a long time," Steven replied.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "That's good. I think it looks pretty similar. In fact, most Americans only know that sharks are scary, but have never seen one. As long as you act similarly, that's fine."

This is not the age of the Internet, let alone mobile phones or even digital cameras. If you want to photograph a terrestrial creature in the wild, you need to carefully prepare professional cameras, team safety, etc.
Not to mention the creatures in the sea, it is basically impossible to encounter a photo opportunity. Sharks are just famous, but the probability of attacking humans is actually very low, especially after shark nets are installed on the beaches of various cities.
This is also the reason why, in this era, many stories about the Bermuda Triangle and the Loch Ness Monster are very famous. Since few people can capture the real scene, it is natural that if someone publicizes it, it cannot be denied. But after the emergence of smartphones in the 21st century, when everyone has a phone that can record and take pictures, no one talks about the Loch Ness Monster anymore.

Even if the shark attack method shown in this movie today is different from that of real sharks, many people will believe that sharks are the same as in the movie;
In this era, there is no self-media, no large amounts of information, and the capitalists who control the media and public opinion want the people to know what they want them to know.
Steven smiled and said, "Okay, now that the shark is done, I'm ready to start filming."

"Has the film not started shooting yet?" Yang Wendong asked back, "I'm planning to release it during the summer vacation this year. Is it still in time?"

The winter and summer vacations are the top priorities for the film industry in any country. A blockbuster movie like "Jaws" must be released during these two time periods. Relatively speaking, the summer vacation is longer, and summer itself is when people like to swim, which is in line with the time of the movie "Jaws";

Of course, in history, because of the popularity of "Jaws", many people were afraid to go swimming at the beach, which made many beach management departments and capital companies angry. But that is another matter and has nothing to do with me.

Steven said, "Not really. Some basic scenes have already been filmed, but the one about the great white shark has not started filming yet. This scene is the essence of the movie and is also the most time-consuming. I have already found an island in the Atlantic Ocean and will film there, but the budget may go over."

"Well, as for the budget, just give me a new one." Yang Wendong said, "As long as the difference is not too big, it won't be a big problem."

Many times, even if you eat meat, you have to give soup to the core staff, especially for top directors like Steven. "Jaws" is just the first step. He still wants to have other cooperations in the future. Even if he doesn't have any ideas, it's good for this kind of director to have ideas and think of himself first.
However, there will be scrutiny on our side, not to catch the other party, but to impose appropriate restrictions. Appropriate concessions can be made, but one cannot be a sucker. After all, this method is not honorable. Even if one gives red envelopes individually in the future, it will be like this.

"Okay." Steven nodded in agreement.

Yang Wendong added: "Bruce is free during this period. You can arrange for him to play a supporting role in the movie Jaws."

"Haha, that's great." Steven's eyes lit up;
The investment in this movie is not low in Hollywood, but no superstars were hired. Most of the money was spent on shark machinery, ships, islands and sea shooting.
This is also a fatal problem in future promotions, as stars are also the core factor of a movie;
But if Bruce Lee comes to participate in the filming, even if it is just a supporting role, or comes to make a cameo appearance, then it will be something to promote.

Li Xiaolong also smiled and nodded.

Yang Wendong added: "But there is one thing to note. I know that many people were eaten by sharks in this movie. Bruce's character will definitely not be able to survive. He must survive to the end."

"Haha, no problem. With Bruce's skills, he can teach the shark a lesson on the boat and repel it. It also fits with Bruce's movie image." Steven agreed readily.

With such a top martial arts superstar coming to make a guest appearance, we naturally have to make good use of him. There is no way we can treat him the same as a supporting role. We have to at least give him half the treatment of a leading role, or even make him a core supporting role. This way we can attract more audiences.

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)