my movie years

Chapter 158 Warner Pictures' Determination

"A Little Thing of First Love" didn't last long. On May [-]th, the Marvel superhero blockbuster "The Avengers" officially landed in the mainland market.

Zhang Hao also pays attention to the box office of this film at any time, because this film is likely to be an opportunity for him to direct the "Batman" series.

I don't know what it was like in the previous life, but in this life, "The Avengers" was released simultaneously in China and the United States.

Because of the time difference, North America was released one day earlier than mainland audiences, so North American audiences could see the movie one day earlier than mainland audiences.

In the mainland market, "The Avengers" performed well.

The film scored 459.3 million box office at zero point, and 6348.8 million box office on May [-]th. This box office almost surpassed the box office of "The Golden Heist".

On May 5129.3th, the film continued to cut 1.19 million box office, so that the film was released for two days, and it won the box office championship of the next week, cutting [-] million.

The first week's box office is not high. After all, many domestic films can exceed [-] million yuan in the first week, but "The Avengers" created the highest box office record on the first day and the second day in the mainland market.

When the previous "Iron Man" and "Captain America" ​​were released, everyone didn't feel much about Marvel movies, but it's different now.

With the explosion of "The Avengers" in the mainland market, the Marvel superhero movie universe has become completely popular and has begun to quickly accumulate fans.

This is not only happening in China, but also in other parts of the world.

On May [-]th local time in North America, "The Avengers" finally met with North American audiences. Warner Pictures has been paying attention to the situation of "The Avengers".

"Jeff, how's the opening weekend for 'The Avengers'?" Severin Meyer asked in the office of the Warner Bros. president.

Jeff Robinoff replied: "The North American box office grossed 1.69 million U.S. dollars in the first week, which has already broken the [-] million U.S. first-week box office record of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" produced by our company."

Hearing this statistic, the three people sitting in the office were all a bit bitter. There is no doubt that Marvel Comics movies have achieved great success, but when will their DC success come?
"Did you go to the movie? How was it?" Severin Meyer asked again.

Rick Solomon said: "I have seen it, and it is indeed a very ambitious movie. There are many foreshadowings and easter eggs left, and their superhero movie universe seems to be realized."

"The development route that the Chinese director said, Marvel has already started to go, CEO, we can't fall behind, we must quickly start our DC movie universe." Jeff Robinov is very anxious.

Severin Meyer tapped his fingers on the table and said: "I have already asked the group company about this matter, and the group company has already planned to launch our DC movie universe.

Learn the Marvel mode and realize the collection of superheroes through single-player movies. "

"The "Superman series" has been taken over by Zack Snyder, but the question is, who will take over the "Batman series?" Rick Solomon asked.

"Perhaps, we should consider that Chinese director, President." Jeff Robinov looked at Severin Meyer.

"I don't agree. We have all read the script of the Chinese director. The story is too complete to be integrated into the League of Justice Heroes." Rick Solomon is still the same and firmly opposes it.

"I'm not saying that the Chinese director is in charge of the DC movie universe, in fact, I don't trust him to do a good job of the entire DC universe.

But Batman needs a chance at rebirth, and Bruce Wayne needs a chance at rebirth. ’ Jeff Robinoff urges:

"It's been more than ten years, so long that movie fans have forgotten that there was a superhero named Batman, what do you think movie fans are discussing now?
It's Iron Man, it's Captain America.

In the past, these second-line comic heroes could not be compared with Batman, who was popular all over the United States. "

Maybe because Batman has been forgotten for a long time, or maybe Zhang Hao's thoughtful and wonderful script moved Severin Meyer, he finally made up his mind: "So, Jeff, you go to China and find Talk to the Chinese director.

I convinced the group company and the board of directors to restart the Batman series. "

Rick Solomon objected: "President, should we think about it again? Perhaps it would be a good choice for another director to take over. After all, we have already obtained the complete trilogy script."

"Don't think about it," said Severin Meyer, who was stimulated by the box office of "The Avengers": "Just treat it as a big gamble. I will end my term next year. If the project fails, it is my responsibility. You don't have to." What pressure is there?"

Now that the president has made a decision, Rick Solomon will say no more.

But he is really not optimistic about Zhang Hao being able to direct "Batman". As a foreigner, does he know what a superhero is?
Forget it, after he takes over as the president next year, we can set things right. Now we should coordinate our work and do a good job in market research.

Rick Solomon also hopes that the movie will succeed, because if it fails again, it means that the restart of the Batman movie will become far away.

From this point of view, although Rick Solomon and Jeff Robinov have competition for positions, they are more for overall consideration.

Rick Solomon thinks that Jeff Robin Roff is a little dizzy, and I'm afraid he won't be able to wake up if he doesn't stumble. The one who can save DC is none other than Rick Solomon.

As "The Avengers" set off a frenzy in the global film market, many Hollywood companies have become jealous.

Warner Pictures stepped up their actions, and Zhang Hao's trilogy script was officially brought to the board of directors for discussion, and then submitted to the group company for discussion.

With the full promotion of Severin Meyer and Jeff Robinov, the group company passed the resolution to restart the Batman movie and the resolution to re-plan the DC movie universe.

According to the resolution, "Superman: Man of Steel", which is under production, quickly revised the script, learning from the foreshadowing in the single-player movie of Marvel next door, leading to "League of Justice Heroes".

The new Batman movie will not be included in the DC movie universe, and will become a brand new extra movie.The group company discussed that if the first film is successful, the latter two will continue to invest.

If it doesn't work, just learn from Marvel next door and continue to restart.

It can be said that this resolution is the most powerful decision for Zhang Hao, and I don't know how it was passed.Many people in Warner Pictures said that Zhang Hao is actually the illegitimate son of a senior executive of Warner Pictures or a group company in China.

Otherwise, why would you find a Chinese director who is not well-known in North America to direct Batman?
After the meeting, Jeff Robinov set off for China to find Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao brought the crew of "Butterfly Effect" back from Chengdu to Beijing for filming, and his assistant Tang Xiqian told him the news.

Zhang Hao was taken aback after hearing this: "Really?"

"It's true. Warner Pictures has received news that Jeff Robinov has arrived in the capital and is currently resting at the hotel." Tang Xiqian said.

Zhang Hao stroked his chin and said, "Well, after Jeff has rested, invite him to visit the crew of "Butterfly Effect", and I will chat with him on the set."

"Okay," Tang Qianqian went to work.

Chen Kun, who was holding the script, asked upon seeing this: "Director, what happened?"

Zhang Hao thought for a while, told Chen Kun that it was okay, and said, "I may be directing "Batman"."

Chen Kun couldn't believe his ears for a moment: "What?"

"I said, I'm going to Hollywood to cooperate with Warner Pictures to direct "The New Batman"." Zhang Hao said again.

"I'll go," Chen Kun immediately jumped up from the chair: "Really?"

"I'm not sure yet, but Jeff Robinov, the senior vice president of Warner Pictures, has come to the capital, and we'll know when we see him," Zhang Hao said.

Breaking into Hollywood is the dream of many actors. Cheng Long, Li Lian, International Zhang, and even the fairy sister have all gone there.

But without exception, they didn't last long.

As a Chinese-speaking director, Wu Baige is the only one who made his way to Hollywood. He filmed "Face Changing" and also directed "Mission: Impossible 2".

It was only later that "Wind Talker" failed miserably at the box office, which not only directly promoted the bankruptcy of MGM Films, but also cheated Nicolas Cage.

Wu Baige couldn't get along by himself, so he returned to Hong Kong Island in despair, and went north to direct the "Red Cliff" series.

Although Ang Lee is Chinese, he is not a Chinese-language film director. He is a European and American director following a pure Hollywood line.

Soon, the main creators and leading actors of the crew knew that Zhang Hao had received an invitation from Warner Pictures and was about to go to Hollywood.

No matter whether Zhang can succeed or not, his talent and ability can be recognized by the Hollywood company, which makes everyone in the crew happy for him.

It's not that everyone in the film crew worships foreign countries and fawns over foreigners, and they think it's awesome to go to Hollywood to develop.

In fact, as the center of the world film industry, Hollywood is the stage that all filmmakers yearn for.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many Chinese stars and actors stepping into Hollywood one after another, even if it was only a few tens of seconds of shots, they would be happy.

But Zhang Hao thinks more. He has been thinking about how to make Chinese-language films, or the Chinese-language films he directed, go to the world instead of being limited to the domestic stage.

So when asked by Da Mi Mi, Zhang Hao was calm and did not appear very excited.

"Locality is still my foundation, and I cannot and will not stay in Hollywood for a long time." Zhang Hao said.

"Why?" Da Mi Mi asked curiously.

Zhang Hao explained: "Although Hollywood is the center of the world's film industry, it is still a conservative circle in essence, and the North American film market is still very exclusive.

If I fail directing a Hollywood film, it will be a matter of time before I come back. "

Zhang Hao didn't say a word. For a pure Hollywood director, there can be many failures, and there will always be a chance to start over.

But as an outsider, as long as a movie fails, he will immediately lose the trust of Hollywood studios, and then there will be no chance to start again.

The reason why Zhang Hao seeks to direct "Batman" is not only the impression of this series of movies in his previous life, but also to open up the market.

I still remember the grand plan that Zhang Hao made in his mind about Chinese science fiction movies. The plan is huge, but the reality is very skinny.

The fact is that the Chinese film market has not yet grown to the point where it can support a sci-fi film with an investment of [-] to [-] million yuan.

Converting an investment of [-] to [-] million U.S. dollars, it is a small and medium investment in Hollywood. Many large-scale science fiction film projects have an investment of [-] million U.S. dollars or even more than [-] million U.S. dollars.

In addition, including Zhang Hao, none of his team members, or other behind-the-scenes staff of Chinese-language films have any experience in making large-scale science fiction film projects.

Zhang Hao directed the movie "Three-Body Problem" in his previous life. It was a large-scale project, but it was a failure.

Therefore, if Zhang Hao can direct the "Batman" series, he will be exposed to the core things of the Hollywood film production industry and accumulate experience for himself.

With experience, Zhang Hao has a sense of purpose and confidence when launching those large-scale sci-fi movie projects in his mind.

And this is Batman, a well-known superhero in the United States. He became the director of the Batman movie and achieved success. His name will be remembered by North American attention.

When the Chinese-language film directed by him is released in North America, North American audiences will be interested in seeing that this is actually the latest work of the director who once directed the Batman series.

Even if only a small number of them enter the cinema to watch, it is not a small force.

At that time, Zhang Hao can be China's Spielberg, or George Lucas, or Christopher Nolan...

After Jeff Robinov had a good rest, he met Zhang Hao's assistant Tang Xixi.

"Miss Tang, where is Zhang?"

"Mr. Jeff, please come with me. The boss is filming on the set, and he asked me to take you to visit the crew." Tang Xiqian said.

"OK, let's go!"

Sitting in the car, Jeff Robinov looked at the streets on both sides of the downtown area of ​​Beijing, the continuous flow of cars, and the bustling crowds on the road, and sighed a little.

"The last time I came to China was more than ten years ago. I didn't expect such a big change here. The speed of China's development is too fast." Jeff Robinov sighed.

Tang Xiqian smiled and said, "Mr. Jeff, maybe you can take a good stroll in the capital and go to our cinema. My movie market is definitely booming."

"I've heard that your place has become the second largest film market in the world. If things continue like this, it's not impossible to become the world's number one film market."

As Jeff Robinov said, he saw a luxurious commercial plaza, and the trailer of "The Avengers" was played on the outermost LED electronic screen.

Looking at the crowd gathered in the commercial square, I can't help but sigh that there are so many Chinese people.

Where are these people? These are mobile box office contribution machines, walking swords and hope for the future.

The Chinese film market is on the rise, and Warner Bros. must seize this opportunity and deeply participate in the development of the Chinese film market. The market potential here is really amazing.

In fact, all these things that Jeff Robinov saw were given by Zhang Hao and told Tang Qianqian face-to-face.

Wanting to make himself the director of a Batman movie, Zhang Hao thinks this is not enough, he also wants his team to participate in the production of Batman movies.

The reason why I do this is to let my team have experience in making a large-scale film project.

Think about it, when Zhang Hao's team members have been exposed to the most cutting-edge film production technology and concepts in the world, and then return to China for development, what kind of effect can it bring.

In this way, when Zhang Hao launches his own large-scale film project in the future, he will avoid many unnecessary detours and save a lot of trouble.

Not only that, although Zhang Hao's Tiangong Yicai Studio has been making technological innovations and has made rapid progress, it is still far from a world-class special effects company.

So Zhang Hao wanted to take this opportunity to go abroad with all the backbones of Tiangong Yicai Studio to study in the best special effects studio in the world.

But all these, people will not teach you in vain, you need something in exchange.

Zhang Hao still remembers that when China Film Group organized a study tour group to study in Hollywood, Zhang Hao had met Chinese working in a Hollywood special effects company at that time.

They have also made it very clear that the flow of Hollywood's advanced special effects technology into China is restricted.

In fact, special effects are just burning money. The more money you burn, the better you can do it.

But the problem is that if you can't find the direction to burn money, no matter how much money you burn, it will be useless.

Zhang Hao is to find a way to burn money for Tiangong Yicai Studio, let them see what the best special effects production in the world is like today, and then work hard in this direction.

What is the best special effect, not to make it look like it, but to present a real and believable world to the audience.

So Zhang Hao arranged for Tang Xiqian to give Jeff Robinov a little psychological hint.

He hinted that the Chinese film market is huge, and there is still a high potential to be tapped. It depends on whether Warner Pictures can grasp it.

This is the previous development idea, trading the market for technology.

However, Zhang Hao can't decide or promote such a big matter by himself. After talking with Jeff, Zhang Hao still needs to talk to the third master.

The car drove through the bustling urban area and gradually came to the film and television city in Huairou.Compared to the urban area, the film and television city looks a bit dilapidated.

The film and television cities near the capital are basically like this, and the good film and television cities are in Hengdian.

"Hey, Jeff, I finally met you. Is the journey going well?" Zhang Hao was waiting at the door when he received the news.

"Of course it went well," Jeff Robinov and Zhang Hao hugged and said with a smile, "I'm full of praise for the food here, especially the Quanjude roast duck."

The last few words Quanjude Roast Duck Jeff Robinov pronounced in broken Chinese, but Zhang Hao still understood.

Zhang Hao said with a smile: "Jeff, none of us locals in Beijing will go to that restaurant. I will take you to eat real Beijing roast duck when I have time."

"Okay, I'm looking forward to it very much." Jeff Robinov made an expectant expression.

"Let's go in..." Zhang Hao led Jeff Robinov to visit the set.

A red-haired foreigner came to the crew, but the crew members maintained good quality, except for curious glances, they were busy with their work.

Zhang Hao took Jeff Robinoff around the set, and introduced to Jeff Robinoff in detail the situation of the "Butterfly Effect" he filmed.

Then the two returned to the director's tent. After the assistant Tang Xiqian delivered two cups of coffee, everyone in the director's tent went out, leaving room for Zhang Hao and Jeff Robinov.

"Who is that?" Some crew members became curious and began to ask other people.

"I heard that he is the vice president of Warner Pictures. This time he came to China to invite our director to develop in Hollywood." A staff member with some inside information said.

"I'm going, is it true?"

"Hush, keep your voice down, it's not good to be heard by the team leader."

The arrival of Jeff Robinov was like throwing a small stone into a calm pool of water, splashing water and causing a ripple.

At this time, no one knew what his arrival meant to Zhang Hao and to Chinese films.

(End of this chapter)