China Entertainment's whatever you want

Chapter 824 Record-breaking and Adapted Script

Hakone is 90 kilometers away from Tokyo and is a world-renowned hot spring town and health resort.

Due to its beautiful natural environment and unique hot spring resources, this place attracts many tourists from all over the world. At the same time, many celebrities and wealthy people have bought local properties and use it as a good place for vacation and leisure.

In the morning, in a Japanese-style hot spring villa in the wealthy area of ​​Nehak.

On the big bed in the bedroom, Yui Aragaki slowly woke up from a deep sleep.

"Awake?
Good morning."

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the handsome face opposite her. When their eyes met, Gu Wei greeted her gently.

"Morning~
When did you wake up?

"It's been a while"

"Why don't you get up and just look at me like that?"

Gu Wei looked down at her arms that were hugging him and her thighs that were riding over him.

"I was afraid of waking you up."

Only then did Aragaki Yui react and moved her arms and legs away, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Gu Sang is really a very gentle boy~"

Gu Wei smiled and said, "Yui-chan was too tired last night, I don't want to disturb your rest."

After he said that, Yui Aragaki thought about the craziness they had together last night, and her fair and tender face turned slightly red.

This is her personality, a little introverted and shy. She is very relaxed when she is with Gu Wei, but she gets embarrassed every time it is mentioned.

After arriving in Tokyo, Gu Wei held several fan meetings with other Japanese actors of "Detective Chinatown 3" as arranged by Toho Co., Ltd.

The effect was very good, and it caused quite a stir in the entire Japanese entertainment industry, especially online. Many young Japanese people were looking forward to the movie "Detective Chinatown 3".

After the promotional event ended, Gu Wei and Aragaki Yui, who had not seen each other for a long time, talked about their longing for each other.

Then the two of them went to Nehako, not far from Tokyo, and stayed there for two days without being disturbed.

The hot spring villa here was bought by Gu Wei when he came to Nehak for vacation with Aragaki Yui last time. The address is located deep in the rich villa area, with beautiful and quiet environment. Ali Lao Ma's manor villa is not far from his house.

"The box office of [Detective Chinatown 3] has been crazy these days. It has been a long time since a foreign film has achieved such good box office results in the Japanese film market."

Not long after getting up, the two of them washed up and had breakfast in the restaurant on the first floor of the villa. Aragaki Yui took a bite of the toast with jam in her hand and said while looking at her phone.

Thanks to the support of Toho, a leading Japanese film company, "Detective Chinatown 3" was released in 1046 large-scale well-known cinemas across the country, represented by Toho Roppongi Cinemas, the day after Gu Wei arrived in Tokyo.

The box office performance continued to rise, and soon became the number one film in the Japanese film market.

"The current total box office is only 10 billion yen~" Gu Wei did not care too much about the excellent performance of "Detective Chinatown 3".

The Japanese market is still too small.

Even the top ten movies in film history only grossed around 10 billion yen.

Moreover, Japanese people love animated films, and the best-selling films in this market must be animated films.

For example, the three best-selling movies this year are "Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End", "Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet" and "The Dragon and the Fairy".

Among them, the third-ranked "The Dragon and the Princess" had a total box office of only 3 million yuan.

[Detective Chinatown 3] No matter how popular a foreign movie like this is, the total box office will not be too high. Even though it has earned 10 billion yen at the box office just a few days after its release, Gu Wei feels that the final box office will hardly exceed 30 billion yen.

Converted into RMB, it is less than 1.5 million.

"It's already very impressive. Judging from the current situation, [Detective Chinatown 3] is likely to become the highest-grossing foreign film this year.

It's all thanks to Gu Sang. You have a great appeal in your country!"

Aragaki Yui spoke in an exaggerated tone, looking at Gu Wei with eyes full of admiration.

Gu Wei shook his head slightly.

“I do have some fans in Japan, but their support is far from enough to achieve the current box office success.

[Detective Chinatown 3] has an almost all-Japanese cast, including Satoshi Tsumabuki, Suzuki Honami, Tadanobu Asano, Tomokazu Miura, and most importantly, Yui-chan. Your performances and the good story are the reason why the movie can get good box office results."

Gu Wei knew that he had considerable influence in Japan, but he also knew that this alone would not make the movie a big hit.

Just like Hollywood invites domestic stars to star in movies for the Chinese market, the star cast of "Detective Chinatown 3" and the story taking place in Tokyo will make local audiences feel a lot.

After hearing what Gu Wei said, Yui Aragaki smiled brightly and did not refute.

"Is Gu Sang going back home this afternoon?"

"Yes, there is still a lot of work to do in China. This trip to promote the movie has already wasted a lot of time."

“Happy times are short after all”

In fact, when they first arrived in Japan, Gu Wei had already told her that she could stay for a few days, but facing the imminent farewell, Aragaki Yui still seemed very reluctant.

Gu Wei smiled and touched her head.

"There will be opportunities in the future, and if Yui-chan is not busy, you can come to China, and I will treat you well."

He returned to Tokyo from Nehak at noon, and in the afternoon Gu Wei had already boarded the flight back home.

Unlike his grand arrival, he was very low-key when he left and did not attract anyone's attention.

After separating from Gu Wei, Yui Aragaki returns to her home in Tokyo.

If we were to say who benefited the most from the hit of "Detective Chinatown 3" in Japan, it would be none other than the leading actress.

Yui Aragaki has always presented a sweet and lovely screen image. Since her debut, she has played many pure and beautiful roles. She is loved by many Japanese otakus and is rated as the female star that most people want to marry.

This was the reason for her early popularity, but over the years it has gradually become a shackle that imprisons her.

Yui Aragaki has long been aware of this and has been trying to change in recent years by taking on roles that are quite different from her own image and temperament, but the response has not been very good.

This situation is very normal for actors, it is the so-called transition pain period.

[Detective Chinatown 3] was a big hit in Japan, not only reaping considerable box office revenue, but the actors in the film also received praise from audiences and critics.

Among them, Yui Aragaki is undoubtedly the one who received the most praise.

The character she played, Anna Kobayashi, appears to be gentle and upright, always on the side of justice. However, she is actually the big boss behind the entire locked-room murder case and a truly intelligent criminal.

Especially the final scene where she confronts the protagonist Qin Feng, Yui Aragaki's performance is simply perfect, showing Kobayashi Anna's evil character to the fullest, and the look in her eyes at the end of the film is the finishing touch.

This kind of queen character who is a little bad and a little crazy is exactly what the Japanese like, so both the audience and the media praised Yui Aragaki's performance in "Detective Chinatown 3".

Everyone also realized that she is not only able to play cute and innocent roles, but she can also play the villain who is both good and evil very well.

The transformation that Yui Aragaki has always wanted seems to have been achieved unexpectedly because of "Detective Chinatown 3".

While spending the past few days happily with Gu Wei, she also did not forget to pay attention to the reviews of the movie on the Internet.

The result is that "Detective Chinatown 3" seems to have broadened her acting career, which made Aragaki Yui happy and more grateful to Gu Wei.

"Gakki, did you have a good rest during these few days of vacation?"

After returning home, Yui Aragaki was cleaning the house when she suddenly received a call from her agent.

"Fortunately, vacation always makes people feel very happy"

"Although I really don't want to disturb your vacation, I do have something important to do. I just received two movie scripts, both from famous directors in the industry, and they want you to play the leading role.

I took a quick look at the scripts. Both are literary dramas. If I perform well, I have a good chance of winning an award."

"That's great, I can't wait to see the script!" The agent's words made Yui Aragaki excited.

The opportunity that she had been seeking but unable to obtain before finally came to her on her own initiative. This was definitely a pleasant surprise to her.

“I have to say that the movie [Detective Chinatown 3] that is currently being released has really been a great blessing to you.

Many people have seen your explosive acting skills, and they know that in addition to the innocent and sweet roles you have played in the past, you can also play deeper and more complex roles.

Are you at home in Tokyo so I can send you the script?"

The smile on Yui Aragaki's face remained unchanged.

"I'm here, just come over."

After hanging up the phone with her agent, the joy in her heart slowly subsided, and Aragaki Yui thought of Gu Wei who had left today.

She sat on the tatami and looked through the window at the blue sky with white clouds floating outside.

“It seems that I won’t have time to go to China in the short term, but I will definitely thank you very much next time we meet!

Gu Weisang."

"At present, the total box office of [Detective Chinatown 3] in markets outside of China has exceeded 4 million yuan, and the global box office of the film has reached 62.7 billion yuan, surpassing [Wolf Warrior 2]'s 60 billion yuan to become the new Chinese-language film box office champion."

On the private plane, Yang Dan was reporting to Gu Wei on the current box office situation of "Detective Chinatown 3".

The release times of movies in different regions abroad are different, some are earlier, some are later. The real-time box office of some movies is easy to count, such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong Island, and Taiwan. Some movies are difficult to count and we can only wait for the local cooperating companies to provide data, such as some African countries.

But no matter what, the total box office of "Detective Chinatown 3" has officially surpassed "Wolf Warrior 2", and the box office of the movie has also become a new box office record for Chinese entertainment films.

“The second-largest box office country is actually Thailand?
I thought it would be South Korea."

Gu Wei held a data sheet in his hand and said with some surprise after reading it.

The country with the highest overseas box office is naturally Japan, where he just did some promotional work.

“Maybe it’s because of Tony Jaa.

He is very famous in Thailand, and he was very active in promoting "Detective Chinatown 3" when it was released there."

After listening to Yang Dan's explanation, Gu Wei nodded.

After returning to China, Gu Wei did not return to the crew of "Changjin Lake" but returned to the Beijing company first.

This time he took leave, in addition to going to Japan, he had some other things to do. The crew had already been notified, so it would not affect the shooting progress.

"How's the negotiation going with Lionsgate?"

After returning to the company, Gu Wei first found Yang Liwen and discussed some recent matters with her.

"After several rounds of negotiations, we have already tested each other's limits and both sides are roughly clear about everyone's bottom line.

What can be agreed upon at the moment is the investment proportion of the film. Lionsgate is willing to give up 30% of its shares, and the total investment of the film is 2000 million US dollars.

Chad Stahelski is still directing.

Because it is a co-production, some of our staff will also join the crew. In addition to starring in the film, you will also be a producer."

Gu Wei listened to Yang Liwen's words and nodded slowly. He was surprised that Lionsgate could make such a big concession. He also admired the courage of the senior management of Lionsgate.

The "John Wick" series has always been a B-level movie with small investments, and the first three films made money starting from the first one.

In fact, as long as the fourth film can be shot normally and make money, it won’t be a problem.

Just looking at the box office of the first three films, although this series of movies did not lose money, it did not make much profit.

The combined box office of the first three films was just over 5 million US dollars, which is far behind those global blockbusters.

Lionsgate chose to work with Gu Wei in the hope of taking a big risk, hoping to use his power to open up the Chinese market.

"Detective Chinatown 3" starring Gu Wei has earned more than 8 million US dollars in the Chinese market, far exceeding the box office of "John Wick" in the global market.

So they are betting that the other party's joining "John Wick" will make this movie a big hit in the Chinese market.

"Where's the script? That's the most important thing. How did they respond when I asked for a dual male lead?"

Gu Wei asked the most crucial question.

"This is what I emphasized during the negotiation. Lionsgate has already sent us the revised first version of the script to get our opinions."

Yang Liwen said as she handed over the script that she had prepared long ago.

Gu Wei took it and started reading it.

The content of this script is not much different from the original time and space of "John Wick 4".

It is still a contest between top killer John Wick and the High Table.

The character played by Gu Wei is named Kane, a top killer like John Wick. He is hired by the new leader of the Gaucho Society, Marquis Vincent de Gramont, to kill John Wick.

The two fought, but no one won.

John learned that Kane was forced to work for Marquis Vincent because his own sister was in his hands.

So he proposed to help him rescue his sister, and the two of them worked together to deal with the big boss, Marquis Vincent.

Finally, the two of them worked together to rescue Kane's sister and kill the leader of the High Table, Marquis Vincent."

The plot is actually quite old-fashioned. There are some side plots in which John asks his friends for help, but his friends also get hunted down. Overall, it still follows the routine of traditional gun battle action movies.

But the routine is not afraid of getting old, it depends on how you shoot it.

“The main plot is OK, but Kane’s plot could be more fleshed out and the character less flat.

You take the script to the screenwriting department and ask them to modify it according to what I said, and then give it to me when it’s done.”

This version is a minor modification of the original Zhen Zidan version. The kidnapped daughter is changed into a younger sister, and the blind killer becomes a normal one, but he is good at using cold weapons.

Then, as one of the two male protagonists, Kane had a lot more scenes, and his screen time was almost comparable to John Wick.

From this point of view, Lionsgate is indeed sincere.

Looking at Yang Liwen taking the script, Gu Wei suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, how much did Lionsgate offer me for the film?"

"Ten million dollars"

“They are quite generous~”

Although Gu Wei's salary in the domestic entertainment industry is high, he has never proven himself in the international market, especially the North American market.

The reason why I can get such high pay is not only because of the Chinese market, but also because I am an investor. After all, the wool comes from the sheep.

"The highest paid actor in John Wick 4 is Keanu Reeves, who got $ million, which is a bit more than you, boss.

But when he made the first movie, his salary was only 200 million US dollars. It has only increased since the trilogy made money."

(End of this chapter)