The King of Huayu Science Fiction

Chapter 416 Qin Zhonghe's "Smart Plan"

The crazy marketing of "Monster Hunt II" did make other companies feel a little uncomfortable.

The Spring Festival file is an arms race. In recent years, the market has been getting higher and higher, but the investment of major film studios has also increased. Of course, this also restricts small companies in the Spring Festival file and raises the distribution threshold. Big companies are not unhappy with this.

But "Monster Hunt II" broke the rules by doing this, not only the superficial publicity, but also distribution fees and film scheduling fees.

Distribution fees and film scheduling fees have risen and it is difficult to bring them down. Originally, the country began to restrict ticket subsidies to make the major studios feel relieved, but they began to roll in other places again. It is no wonder that many movies The company is quite critical of the announcement of "Monster Hunt II".

But the problem is that the theater is too happy, which makes the major companies can only swallow this sulking.

Moreover, several major studios themselves are not the beneficiaries. Major companies such as United Cinema, China Film, and Beijing Film also have their own theaters. Even DreamWorks has invested in theaters.

Unhappy is unhappy, but you can only comfort yourself with the mentality that the meat is rotten in the pot. The real victims are actually small and medium-sized companies.

However, Chen Jingxing does not intend to follow suit, even though the schedules of "Red Sea" and "Kung Fu Panda" are constantly being snatched away by "Monster Hunt II".

Because he knew that the sky-high film arrangement fee was just an appetizer, and the "high service fee" would also rise soon.

Those Internet companies can't get up early without profit, can those ticket buying platforms not charge tolls after they mature?
In a few years, the service fee included in the ticket price of the ticket buying platform will even exceed 10% of the total box office revenue!

The national special fund for the film industry and business tax add up to only 8.3%.

The vampire is still behind, even if DreamWorks is not short of money and is the king of cash, Chen Jingxing will not give up any profit easily.

Zhang Weiping, Lao Mouzi's golden partner back then, although he was arrogant and domineering and had conflicts with Chen Jingxing, it is still commendable that he used his prestige as a national teacher to gradually increase the proportion of the producer's share of the film. Be an industry leader.

The relative advantage of DreamWorks may not be comparable to that of the National Teacher back then—it has something to do with the small size of the domestic film market back then, but Chen Jingxing didn't want to let this "unhealthy trend" go.

Someone inside DreamWorks proposed to increase the funding and increase the film scheduling fee. "Operation Red Sea" has been considered the number one seed player for this year's Spring Festival since it was announced in the third quarter of last year, but now it is overwhelmed by "Monster Hunt II" Everyone is a little bit upset.

Moreover, other film studios have followed suit to increase distribution fees and film arrangement fees, and DreamWorks will withdraw if they don't follow suit.

"Operation Red Sea" can still rely on the prestige of military action blockbusters and the audience's expectations to stabilize its position. After all, "Kung Fu Panda" is an animated film, not a big IP, and has no loyal fans. No matter how high the box office performance of "The Return of the Great Sage" is That's the Great Sage. The audience didn't have special expectations for a family-friendly animated film like "Panda", and the film schedule was squeezed even harder.

But Chen Jingxing still made up his mind to hold his ground and not follow "Monster Hunt II" to involve. DreamWorks has been playing word-of-mouth since its establishment. There is no need to fight for a reputation for such things as the premiere and the first three days of filming. .

Of course, the fundamental reason is that he has always been more confident in the support of domestic films. If he believes that the quality of his competitors can be above 7 points, he will definitely not dare to make such a big deal.

Word-of-mouth counterattacks can only work when word-of-mouth is overwhelmed. Once the quality of both parties is close, the one or two points you are higher than others will not be so powerful. Themes, marketing and filming are king.

The publicity show of "Monster Hunt II" and the "arms race" of major film studios have been extended all the way to the Spring Festival.

Although DreamWorks has kept relatively calm in the arms race, the premiere of "Operation Red Sea" still tried to put on an imposing manner, at least not inferior to "Monster Hunt II".

"Director Chen!"

"Chen Dong!"

……

While greeting the celebrities, Chen Jingxing walked across the aisle and sat in his own seat, next to Qin Zhonghe, Guo Fan, Wu Jing and others.

"You are so busy that you are late." Qin Zhonghe joked with a smile.

Chen Jingxing complained: "Isn't it because I'm incapable of doing two things together? Besides, "Red Sea" doesn't lack me. In fact, it doesn't matter if I come or not."

Chen Jingxing attended the premiere of "Kung Fu Panda" first, and then rushed here.

Compared with "Red Sea", "Panda" is indeed a bit shabby. Of course, it is an animated film after all, so it doesn't need much ostentation.

The premiere of "Operation Red Sea" not only included the main creators including Guo Fan, but also the leading actors of "The Wandering Earth" such as Wu Jing and Zhao Jinmai. , Lei Jiayin, Wu Yue, Lu Hongzhe and other DreamWorks actors were also present.

Although it is not as many as the premiere of "Monster Hunt II" in terms of the number of stars, the quality is almost on the other side.

These first-line actors of the "Dreamworks Department" are not only famous in China, but also well-known abroad.

Compared with main creators such as Guo Fan, Zhang Yi and Yin Fang, Wu Jing, Lei Jiayin, Wu Yue, Lu Hongzhe and others are more dazzling.

Wu Jing is the top-grossing director and actor in film history, and he has also become the top actor and commercial director in China through "Spike II".

The media and netizens pay more attention to him than Chen Jingxing, after all, Chen Jingxing is not an actor.

Guo Fan and Wu Jing, the filmmakers who collaborated twice, were also very eye-catching, and became the golden partners of the media for a while.

Wu Jing played the leading role in "Edge of Tomorrow" directed by Guo Fan. "The Wandering Earth" is the second one, and the two also directed a military action movie with the background of evacuating overseas Chinese from Africa. They both belong to DreamWorks. Quite newsworthy.

In addition, questions about "The Wandering Earth", "Matrix II", "Inception" and even "Spike III", which has not yet written a word, almost overwhelmed the attention on "Red Sea".

And Qin Zhonghe also participated in the premiere. National Film is also the producer of "Operation Red Sea". Qin Zhonghe is also the producer of the film. This boss has officially retired last year, but his influence has not diminished much. Although it is not the darling of the media, it is still very important in the industry.

With such a dazzling starlight, the first-day box office of "Operation Red Sea" may not be as good as "Monster Hunt II", but it will definitely be better in the media tomorrow.

"Your skill is so big, it's about the same as a film festival, but "Monster Hunt" is far behind."

"How can you compare with others? Their real premiere is not in the theater, but in the Spring Festival Gala. Who can compare with this skill?"

Chen Jingxing shook his head and sighed, his tone was not sour.

"Monster Hunt II" not only spread all over the world, but even sponsored the Spring Festival Gala, which is really the first time in the film industry.

"The quality of "Operation Red Sea" is still excellent. No matter how strong the publicity is, it will be the first three days." Qin Zhonghe, as the nominal chief producer, also watched the finished film in advance. His confidence in "Red Sea" Still plenty.

After Qin Zhonghe and Chen Jingxing had finished chatting about "The Martian", which had just won the Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Picture a few days ago, they turned the topic to DreamWorks films.

"Have you reviewed your alien movie "The Ninth District"? I heard it's quite serious?" Even though he is no longer the head of Guoying, Qin Zhonghe is still well informed.

Chen Jingxing nodded lightly: "It's a rather unusual sci-fi movie, you'll know it when you watch it when the time comes, and it's reviewed after a few scenes have been deleted."

There are indeed some scenes in "The Ninth District" that are relatively bloody and heavy-handed. After the first trial was sent back to ask for revision, the most outrageous scenes were deleted and submitted for review again. The film bureau gave the green light, and there was no further embarrassment. This is considered a special treatment. In terms of auditing, DreamWorks is definitely the son of the Film Bureau.

Who let DreamWorks live up to it, there is no way.

"Fifth Master..." Chen Jingxing invited Qin Zhonghe to attend the premiere this time because he did not want to drink too much: "We and Universal Pictures are going to develop a movie version of "The Walking Dead", right?"

"I know."

"Is it possible for the movie adapted from "The Walking Dead" to pass the test?" Chen Jingxing looked at Qin Zhonghe's face and asked tentatively.

Qin Zhonghe's influence cannot be underestimated. He still has a considerable say in the film review process. Many projects have hired him as a producer to a large extent for the purpose of passing the review.

Although Dreamworks and Universal Pictures cooperated to develop zombie movies because they considered that the movies developed by "The Walking Dead" might not be released in China in the future and could only rely on overseas markets, but Chen Jingxing felt that it was not hopeless.

A certain movie of "Resident Evil" in the previous life plane can also get the dragon label to be screened in Huaguo. It is naturally better that the movie can be released in China.

"What kind of scale? The scale in online dramas?" Qin Zhonghe asked after thinking about it.

Although he has resigned, he has not retired. Qin Zhonghe is also a filmmaker himself. He used to be a director, and he has also worked as a producer for an unknown number of projects. His body is still healthy, and naturally he still wants to shine .

Without the burden of being the head of the national film industry, if you only look at it from the perspective of a filmmaker, if Qin Zhonghe wants to board the ship, he must be on the ship of DreamWorks. DreamWorks also needs such a person with a huge network in the industry. senior filmmaker.

Although it is said that people take tea, but Qin Zhonghe was not born as a commoner. His father is also an old revolutionary. There are also people in the family who are officials and businessmen. Young and old classmates and even old subordinates, his cup of tea is not cold.

So the relationship between the two is actually closer than before.

Chen Jingxing also knew that if the scale of "The Walking Dead" was followed, he would definitely not be able to make it to the big screen: "We can accept deletions. I mean, is there any room for the theme of zombies to pass the review?"

Many credit-sharing movies are also subject to cuts and cuts. It is too rare to have a budget-sharing movie that is not cut at all. I believe that if the movie version of "The Walking Dead" is slightly different at home and abroad, the audience will complain but understand.

"The Film Bureau of this theme is definitely not happy to see it. Zombie movies are not considered blockbusters with special effects. You DreamWorks strives for excellence, and other companies do not have your strength, and do not need to follow your standards. If you let go of this hole , Aren’t all the zombie movies coming out?”

Qin Zhonghe shook his head. Even if the Film Bureau is biased and has double standards, it can't be too obvious. If DreamWorks makes an opening, it will cause a group of demons to dance around.

"However..." Qin Zhonghe whetted Chen Jingxing's appetite: "Of course it's not that there is no room for accommodation. Didn't you guys have already prepared? Co-production is an idea, but it's not enough. You can treat him as a part of the account..."

Chen Jingxing understood that what Qin Zhonghe meant was to introduce the movie version of "The Walking Dead" as a sub-account film. Guoying is the only company that introduces and distributes the sub-account film, and Huaguo also has a quota for the sub-account film for one year. It's nothing Foreign films can be imported.

Other companies also want to make zombie films. Domestic and approved films will definitely not be able to get the Dragon Label. If you also want to cooperate with foreign companies to "curve to save the country", that's fine.

However, there is a quota limit for blockbuster movies, and it’s up to the national filmmakers to decide whether to import them. If the zombie movie you made is too low-quality or not enough in volume to meet the requirements of a split movie, you have nowhere to complain.

Hollywood produces hundreds of movies a year, and only a fraction of them can enter China as a blockbuster.

Of course, the back door for DreamWorks should not be too much. The zombie movie you make must also look like a blockbuster, and the number should not be too large. It’s okay to release one in a year or two.

Even if other companies are not angry and bring this matter up, it will not be able to arouse too much public opinion.

Isn't it normal that DreamWorks gets some special treatment?

One beauty covers one hundred ugliness is applicable to actors, and it is also applicable to studios.

So what if a bad film is stolen at the box office and artificially discredited?Netizens will only think you deserve it.

Good work is the opposite logic.

The public's perception of cultural works and creators has always been judged based on personal likes and dislikes, and people with better work and professional capabilities will be more tolerant.

(End of this chapter)