China entertainment that year eighteen

Chapter 243 Lu Heng's New Opportunity! (two in one)

The box office of "Red Cliff" in the mainland was close to 6000 million when Lu Heng arrived in Magnesia. Although it has basically peaked now and dropped to a few million a day, breaking [-] million is already a certainty.Converted into magnesium dollars, it is more than [-] million.

The combined box office of Baodao and Xiangjiang is more than 2000 million in magnesium dollars, and that of Koryo is also more than 2000 million, plus the Neon side is also close to 9000 million dollars. These add up to almost 9000 million dollars. .

Those countries in Southeast Asia, all of them add up to more than ten million.

Therefore, the total box office of "Red Cliff" only in East Asia has broken [-] million yuan.

As for the cost of this film, which cost 3000 million U.S. dollars, it has already made money. However, other parts of Asia, Europe, America, Latin America, and even Australia have not yet been released.

What's more, there is also disc sales. The disc sales of many blockbuster films can even exceed the box office revenue. Of course, this is a relatively long timeline.

The reason why Neon, Koryo, and Southeast Asia were released so quickly, not much worse than those in the mainland, is mainly because Lu Heng's relationship and influence were negotiated before the release, and the post-subtitle or dubbing work began at that time.

In fact, the English dubbing is almost done. Although we haven’t negotiated well, it’s just a matter of time. It’s not a problem to do it in advance. Many movies will have two versions, one is the original sound with subtitles, and the other is the language version of their country. - This needs to be matched.

When he came to Los Angeles, accompanied by Jiang Zhiqiang, the first thing Lu Heng met was Sony Corporation, or more precisely, Columbia Pictures, which was once one of the eight major Hollywood film companies and was acquired by Coca-Cola 20 years ago. , but it was acquired by Sony for 60 billion yuan in a few years, and it was under Sony until Lu Heng was reborn. The full name is Sony Columbia Pictures, which belongs to Sony Pictures Entertainment-it is also a subsidiary of Sony.

This kind of behavior is simply nesting dolls and dolls, but it is the direction that Lu Heng wants and is moving towards that model.

Two years later, Sony spent another 50 billion to acquire MGM, and the last independent production company of the eight major film companies also disappeared. Instead, Sony Pictures became the strongest, but a few years later MGM was again After changing hands several times, it almost went bankrupt, and finally turned around with "The Hobbit" and "007", and invested 84 billion US dollars in Amazon.

The reason why Jiang Zhiqiang approached Columbia Pictures was also because of his close relationship with Huaxia Films. They invested in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" before, and they also released it in the North American market. After that, they also invested in Feng Xiaogang's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". "Big Name", Zhou Xingchi's "Kung Fu" and so on.

But after going to talk, their attitude is still polite, they can sell it outright or share it, but the sale is not high, and the share... It's not even as good as Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and Jiang Zhiqiang said in a low voice :
"Ann Lee used to work hard in Hollywood, got acquainted with them, and won an award, so..."

Lu Heng shook his head, and in the end the negotiation ended without a problem.

Then Jiang Zhiqiang took Lu Heng to see Miramax.

Compared with the eight major film companies, this company is a rising star. It was only established in the 70s. It started producing small-budget and niche films, but the results were good, either earning box office or winning awards.

After Miramax was acquired by Disney in 93, Quentin's "Pulp Fiction" was the first to be produced, and it went up all the way. The previous movie "Cold Mountain" related to Hanshan Temple was produced by their company. There are movies like "Infernal Affairs" and "Shaolin Soccer".

But on the way there, Lu Heng suddenly remembered that "Hero" was released by this company in his previous life!

To be precise, it should be sold out to them, and the rest has nothing to do with the producer.

Hero's producer, Zhang Weiping, who later had a falling out with Lao Mouzi, complained more than once, saying that "Hero" was too bad to be sold out at the beginning. It was sold out for 5000 million Hong Kong dollars. Magnesium's box office was 1000 million in the first week, with a total box office of 1780 million U.S. dollars, and disc sales also reached more than 5371 million magnesium dollars, making them a huge profit.

But in fact, it was just that Zhang Weiping was jealous when he saw this achievement later. At that time, the eight major film companies were all interested, and Miramax was obtained through premium competition. Zhang Weiping and the others invested heavily and had a lot of loans at that time. In order to get back the funds as soon as possible, they are eager to sell out.

Another point that made Zhang Weiping dissatisfied was that his company still held down the film and did not release it. The reason analyzed by various parties later was that it would affect the investment of "New York H Gang" and "Chicago" by Mira Company. The investment exceeds [-] million magnesium yuan.

Therefore, we can only succeed and not fail, and we must do our best to ensure that other films interfere with the two films as little as possible. Because of this, we paid such a price to get "Hero", so that they can control the release time and avoid being disturbed.

It wasn't until later that Disney's project in Hong Kong came under pressure from China, and Disney let them release it quickly, but they made a lot of money. Looking at the two films, the money earned by "Chicago" was exactly equal to the compensation of "H Gang of New York" It's like tossing a loneliness.

Don’t look at what Zhang Weiping complained about. At that time, he even said that North Magnesium would not be sold out after the release, so as not to be taken away by foreigners. But later, when "House of Flying Daggers" was released, Sony Columbia offered [-] million Hong Kong dollars. "Hero" sold out twice as much, and then Zhang Weiping and the others... really smelled good again.

It was said before that Mira company cheated "Hero", but this time, they cheated Sony again. Sony's buyout price was 700 million Hong Kong dollars, a total of [-] million yuan, but the box office of North Magnesium was worth more than [-] million yuan. Yuan, and the box office has to pay a large sum to the theaters, etc., even if the disc sales are added, the loss is still lost.

After that, Lao Mouzi's box office in Beimei declined year after year, and he and Zhang Weiping also had a bad relationship, let alone go to Beimei to get a share.Later, the box office of "Curseful of Golden Flowers" in Beimei was only more than 600 million. Compared with the original "Hero", it dropped by almost [-]%!

As for Mira Company's behavior of suppressing the release of the movie, Lu Heng had to guard against it.According to Zhang Weiping, they were playing with words on the contract - although the two parties signed the contract at the time, although the release date was stipulated, there was another clause that must be approved by the publisher before it can be finalized.

Not only that, they also performed a 'surgical operation' on "Hero", edited "Hero" beyond recognition, and was later scolded by some experts in Hollywood.

Ren Zhiqiang did have his contacts, and the one who came to contact directly was Mira's boss Harry, and he really wanted to buy out "Red Cliff" as expected by Lu Heng.

"700 million magnesium dollars, this price is not low." Harry took a puff of cigarette, and his voice floated in the smog.

The current exchange rate of magnesium dollars to Hong Kong dollars is about 7.8, which is equivalent to 400 million Hong Kong dollars. Compared with "Heroes", it is indeed higher... a small amount, 400 million more.

At the beginning, they spent 5000 million Hong Kong dollars to buy out "Heroes", which was still at a premium under the competition of several companies. Looking at it this way, it is indeed quite a face.

But they are really shrewd. After all, the box office of "Red Cliff" is not only in China, but also in East Asia. It is much better than that of "Hero". It's a fool.

"Sorry, this price is unacceptable, and we want to find a cooperative distribution, not just sell out."

"Actually, you should know that the box office of your Huaxia movies, not to mention Beimei, is very low even overseas. The only exception is probably Mr. Jiang Zhiqiang's previous release of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Harry smoked the cigarette in his hand, and said: "But you also have to understand that a large part of the producers of that movie came from Columbia Pictures, so to be precise, they only belong to China, but they should be called Magnesium Country." Movies are just right, it’s like the "Mulan" animation movie produced by Disney before, can you say it’s a Chinese movie?"

"So, this kind of movie has a good box office in Magnesia, not only because of Huaxia Story, but also the role of the producer. They have invested money, and they definitely hope to make money. Naturally, they work very hard to distribute it."

Lu Heng looked at it calmly: "Whether this movie can make money, the box office in East Asia has already given you the answer."

"No no." Harry shook his head: "Your story is based on your ancient Chinese wars, and those countries in East Asia have historically been related to you, so they may care a little bit, but the people of the United States may not care about it at all. It is not clear when those countries are, those characters, and the plot may not be clear."

After a pause, Harry said again:

"Oh yes, I just heard from you that you have already been to Columbia Film, how about it, is it not as good as mine?"

Lu Heng did not deny it, nodded and said: "Indeed, but what I want to say is that this movie is not just about telling a story, just like Star Wars before, people have never been to space, if according to your theory, isn't it Can't you understand?"

Harry choked, but then retorted: "It's a sci-fi blockbuster, and people see it as special effects."

Lu Heng shrugged his shoulders: "My film is also a blockbuster with special effects, and the plot..."

With that said, Lu Heng stood up and looked at him calmly: "Believe me, this is a very good story. If you are sure not to publish it, then goodbye."

Harry didn't hold back, just watched Lu Heng leave, followed by Jiang Zhiqiang who hesitated endlessly, took a step and looked back, looking very embarrassed.

Seeing Jiang Zhiqiang's appearance, Harry shook his head: "Do you want to say that I will regret it in the future? How is it possible? I will soon have two big investment movies, and I will definitely earn a lot of money."

He was talking about the two "New York H Gang" and "Chicago".

The former is directed by Martin Scorsese. He is most famous for "Shutter Island" and so on. Like this "H Gang of New York", it is also starring his queen actor Leonardo, although the investment is as high as 1 3500 million US dollars, but the final global box office is only 8 million.

The latter "Chicago" is an urban musical film adapted from Broadway, so the cost can be imagined. The cost of 5000 million won the global box office of more than 3 million yuan, and the box office of North Magnesium alone was 1.7 million yuan, which is enough to make a profit. up.

After Lu Heng went out, Jiang Zhiqiang couldn't help but said, "What's your bottom line?"

Lu Heng thought for a while and said, "I want as much as the share of European foreign language films. Of course, if there are other interests, this ratio can also be discussed."

Jiang Zhiqiang was stunned for a moment: "Other interests? For example?"

Lu Heng didn't speak, looked at a guy who was coming outside, raised his chin at him, and said with a smile: "Isn't this here?"

Tom!

Lu Heng stepped forward, and Tom had already opened his arms: "Old friend, you miss me."

Tom was found by Jiang Zhiqiang from Industrial Light & Magic. Of course he knew him. Seeing this guy coming, and Lu Heng still said that, he was even more surprised.

Following behind, Jiang Zhiqiang was puzzled and said, "Him? You mean you want to cooperate with Lucas' film company? But they are just a film production company and don't do distribution?"

Lu Heng shook his head and said with a smile, "I'll take you to meet someone."

While Tom took Lu Heng into the car, he couldn't help but said: "Did you bring me any presents? You know, since I came back, I feel that my taste buds have failed. It's too bad."

Lu Heng spread his hands: "I came in a hurry this time, sorry."

Tom's face froze, and he said, "Oh, I just remembered, I have one more thing to do later, why don't I lend you the car and drive around by myself?"

Lu Heng looked at him with a half-smile: "What if I said I brought it?"

Tom looked at him suspiciously, and then said, "If that's the case, I can leave things to others first, after all, it's a pleasure to accompany friends."

Lu Heng laughed loudly, Tom got a positive answer from his smile, and said happily: "Okay, sit down guys, I'm going to drive!"

"Whoosh!" The car sped out as soon as it accelerated, causing Jiang Zhiqiang's head to almost hit the back of the front seat. He couldn't help but said to Lu Heng:
"What are you talking about, who are you going to see?"

"You'll know when you get there." Lu Heng made a fool of himself.

Jiang Zhiqiang was speechless, but he didn't ask again.

On the way, Jiang Zhiqiang found out from Lu Heng that the gift Tom mentioned was food brought by Lu Heng from China. It can be eaten every day."

"I hope so." Tom grinned, but Jiang Zhiqiang was a little confused.

When he got there, Jiang Zhiqiang knew that the person he wanted to meet was Bruckheimer!
At that time, the eyeballs almost straightened in shock!
"It turned out to be him?" Jiang Zhiqiang suddenly had an incredible idea: "Could it be, you?"

"Why not?" Lu Heng smiled, then stepped forward, and under Tom's introduction, hugged Bruckheimer.

And Bruckheimer smiled at Lu Heng: "As soon as I heard that you were willing to invest, I gave up all my jobs and came here directly to see what I want to eat. Here is the best food in Los Angeles."

(End of this chapter)