China Entertainment: The happiness of being a director is as simple as that

Chapter 80 Two Watching Sessions

On August 8th, "Source Code" held a viewing meeting at Nortel.

The Nortel school is extremely supportive of the works of its own students, not only providing venues, but also strengthening security.

When Lu Ping'an and Guorong arrived at the place, many people from the screening hall had already arrived.

Hu Qingquan and the rest of the producers each welcomed the contacts they had contacted.

"Source Code" is about to be released, and the Oscar short film is not yet tense, so Hu Qingquan will naturally come back to help deal with it.

It's just that after these people came, what they talked about was not "Source Code", but "Heroes".

Just after the news of the "Source Code" screening was released, "Heroes" also released news that a pre-press conference will be held the day after tomorrow, and it is said that there may be a screening of the finished film.

The popularity of "Hero" is higher than that of "Source Code", and it is very powerful.

From start to finish, singing all the way.

With the support from above, Zhang Weiping of New Screen is also very good at marketing.

Every node of "Hero" has been highly hyped.

Now they have to develop a press conference, and it is said that they can still watch the film.

This also made the filmmakers who came today discuss "Hero" at the beginning.

""Hero" is finally ready?"

"I've been working on this film for over a year. I really want to see how good it will be."

"Is there any comment on the overseas copyright of "Heroes", please help Mr. Han to ask, we are very willing to cooperate if we have the opportunity."

A group of filmmakers were talking about "Hero", which made the producers a little embarrassed.

Of course, everyone's interest in "Source Code" must be there, but it's not that high in comparison.

When Wattsberg saw Lu Pingan, Guorong and others finally arrived at the scene, he was very happy to greet them, and then shared the good news with Lu Pingan:
"Lu, "Chain Saw" has been rated, it's rated R."

"That's great, you can go to the big theater."

"Yeah, I'm going to the Sun Denis Film Festival in January, and I'm going to make it a hit."

"It's up to you to decide on the distribution. The quality of the film depends on it, you know."

Lu Pingan shrugged and didn't continue.

Wattsberg naturally understood the meaning, and he promised with a smile: "Unless the tastes of American audiences change, I can guarantee that this time it will be a success."

"Then wish us luck!"

"Of course!"

The two chatted, and then started talking about "Source Code".

"Lu, this movie is a sci-fi movie, right?"

"Yes."

"Sci-fi films with Asian faces are rare in North America, and they may not sell well at that time."

"I know, you Americans like to watch Chinese Kung Fu movies and martial arts movies."

"Yes, but I dare to believe that your film will definitely not be bad. When the time comes, remember to leave the right to adapt it to me first."

"Let's talk about it after you watch the movie."

"Of course, I will definitely not miss your film."

As Wattsberg said, he glanced around at the other producers, showing some disdain and said, "They don't think much of you. I think you will probably surprise people again this time."

"Thank you, but then you have to worry about whether you have enough money."

"Don't worry, I have the money!"

Generally speaking, filmmakers are still interested.

But with "Hero" under the pressure, the degree of interest will naturally not be as great as Lu Ping'an expected.

The time soon approached three o'clock in the afternoon, and the guests from all parties also took their seats one after another.

The media, film producers, distributors, theaters and advertisers sat down one by one.

At a glance, apart from some student actors and teachers, there must be about a hundred people in total.

The scale is indeed worthy of the title of "second blockbuster".

Several producers such as Huayi and Guangguang are also in place. In addition to them, several distributors such as Bona, Shanghai Film, and Xiying are also in place at the same time.

Among them, Bona is ambitious. In August, they successfully released "Legend of Tianmai", with a box office of nearly 8 million, which is also the highest box office of a Chinese film since the establishment of the theater.

With this successful distribution experience, they will naturally look further, and the only second blockbuster "Source Code" is their next goal.

Of course, their thoughts are the same, that is "Source Code", is it really qualified?
The film was blown up badly, and there were not a few people who actually turned over.

Isn't that the case with "Legend of Tianmai", which is still in theaters, with an investment of 1.6 million Hong Kong dollars, but the actual film is a bad film, with a big name, whoever buys it loses!
Wasn’t it the same with Lu Tailang’s "Looking for a Gun" before? It was so popular that the audience actually didn’t buy it. This is especially important to the domestic distributors here, who rely on the box office for their food!

The reporters have already got their pens ready.

Lu Ping'an is still a student and has always been successful since his debut. Is he going to suffer a lot today?
Among them, Feng Ke, Lu Ping'an's younger brother, was also full of worry.

If Lu Ping'an is not strong enough, he will not be easy to wash.

After a while, "Source Code" began to be screened.
An hour and a half later, applause resounded throughout the screening hall.

After the sound effects and dubbing are all polished, "Source Code" brings a viewing experience that even Han Sanpin, who has watched it twice, thinks it is much better.

He was already like this, not to mention the people present.

Everyone's expressions changed from the beginning, and then followed the plot all the way to the end.

The quality of the film has been affirmed by everyone, even amazing!
"The story is attractive enough, and the script is well-polished!"

"It's really rare for Chinese science fiction to do this."

"Some Chinese symbols are missing."

"Lu is really different from other Chinese directors."

"Is he only 20?"

"tsk tsk"

The 8.7 social score of "Source Code" given by Goldfinger is not a joke.

At this time, filmmakers, distributors, theaters, and advertisers are gearing up.

The slight doubts and contempt at the beginning have already turned into eagerness at this moment.

The atmosphere in the screening hall has also changed a long time ago.

He officially turned his eyes to the filmmakers who had changed their faces, and raised his chin with a smile. Although it was not a real mountain sculpture, the momentum had already taken shape. He stood up and calmly greeted the guests: "Let's change places, Talk slowly."

. . . . . . . . .

After the viewing session ended, distributors from all sides also started the first round of quotations.

In the first round of quotations, 16 studios offered low prices, and most of the rest were on the sidelines, waiting for "Hero".

Among the 16, South Korea issued a buyout price of 30 US dollars, Neon 45 US dollars, six European places quoted a total of 80 US dollars, and other small countries offered a total of 50 US dollars.

In North America, the largest market, the highest quotation for distribution rights is 80 yuan, plus 120 million yuan for adaptation rights. The adaptation rights are still reported by Wattsberg.

In the first round of quotations, excluding Watzberg, the total distribution rights reached 285 million US dollars.

In addition, domestic disc dealers also quoted a copyright price of 100 million RMB, which is hundreds of thousands higher than that of "Big Wrist", which is quite acceptable.

This also makes the producers very happy.

After all, how much does this movie cost?

It was reported to be about 600 million US dollars, but in fact only more than 400 million US dollars were spent, minus the advertising sponsorship, it was only less than 200 million US dollars.

If it is sold at this price, the distribution rights alone will have already paid back, and can make a lot of money!

In the future, there will be box office splits in mainland China, Xiangjiang and other places, so you can earn as much as you have.

This money scene is itchy to see.

And this price is also the highest price that Lu Pingan has sold for all the movies so far.

The previous highest "Tuner", the distribution rights + adaptation rights are only 205 million US dollars, and "Comet" has a total of about 80 US dollars.

"Source Code" can reach about 285 million US dollars just by publishing, which seems to be very good.

Even if the news is released now, in terms of Lu Pingan's personal director achievements, the media will start to tout it.

Just judging from the "second blockbuster", the price is obviously not enough.

After all, this is the "second blockbuster", with a total distribution rights of less than 300 million. In other words, excluding mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the global box office of "Source Code" is expected to be less than 2000 million US dollars!
This is seriously underrated!

The original version of "Source Code" has a global box office of 1.2 million US dollars. Although the protagonist is replaced by a yellow face, the box office may be discounted a lot, but even if it is 4000% off, it will still have a box office of 300 to [-] million US dollars. If the distribution fee is less than [-] If you sell it, you can make a lot of money.

So Lu Pingan asked Han Sanpin and Hu Qingquan: "The price is too low, are they lowering the price?"

Hu Qingquan explained: "The first round of negotiations is like this. Negotiations, just take your time."

The same goes for Han Sanpin and other producers, they didn't think there was any problem.

After all, the quotation of 285 million distribution rights is not much different from the estimate.

This price can be higher after several negotiations, and it has always been like this before.

So everyone is not in a hurry.

At the end of the screening that day, Lu Pingan and Guorong bid farewell.

Next, the copyright negotiations will be out of Guorong's business. Yu Feihong will help him take him around for a day, and then he will return to Hong Kong tomorrow.

Guorong seems to be in a much better mood tonight than at the beginning, and Lu Pingan knows that this is all brought about by the film.

"Ping An, I'm really handsome in the movie."

Seeing Lu Pingan looking at him, Guorong laughed.

"That's right, I didn't choose you as the protagonist randomly."

Lu Pingan also smiled easily.

Before entering the airport, Guorong sent an invitation to Lu Pingan alone: ​​"September 9 is my birthday, Ping An, can you come?"

"Okay!"

Naturally, he would not refuse such an invitation.

Guorong was also very happy, but then added: "Don't bring gifts, bring cash, I want to donate money."

"Haha, of course it's no problem."

"You don't need to bring too much, just make up an auspicious number."

"88 thousand?"

"It's too much, twenty-eight thousand is fine."

"Okay, I'll be ready."

"Then I'm leaving, don't be late then."

"Watching "Source Code" will amaze people in the industry"

"Lu Ping'an breaks doubts, the quality of the new film is excellent, and the copyright negotiation may hit a new high"

"The second domestically produced blockbuster "Source Code" is scheduled for November this year"

""Source Code" or Cheng Guorong's highest-grossing film"

"..."

After the screening, the news about the "Source Code" screening was also posted on the portal website.

Early publicity has already begun.

In the future, fans' expectations and doubts will continue, and the final decision will only be made after the final screening of the film.

Two days later, the "Hero" pre-press conference began.

This time there were more filmmakers, and the scale was several times that of "Source Code", because it is said that "Hero" will be released into a film, and there may be screenings.

But in the end, there will be no viewing of the film, but a 30-second clip was also released.

But even this 30-second clip shocked everyone present.

The cavalry of the Qin Army rode their horses and galloped, and the Qin Army phalanx was densely packed.

There is also the momentum that tears the screen: wind, wind, gale!
Now it's all right, the filmmakers can't sit still.

"It's difficult, Ping An, it may not be easy to sell here."

After watching the press conference, Hu Qingquan immediately called Lu Pingan.

And what happened next was indeed as Hu Qingquan expected, the copyright negotiation of "Source Code" encountered a lot of obstacles
. . . . . . .

"Lu, the film is really good, the plot creativity and rhythm are excellent, but the problem is that this film does not have many Chinese elements, and the stars are not well-known to Americans. In addition, Americans are not used to Chinese films except for kung fu movies and martial arts. Themes outside the film, especially sci-fi films, at least currently have no reference precedents, so I think that the distribution prospect of "Source Code" in North America may not be great."

"Director Lu, it's not that I don't like "Source Code", it's that my strength is limited, and I can't offer a higher price."

"Lu, to be honest, if I was really rich, I would definitely give priority to "Hero". That film will definitely make money, but who made me just a small film producer."

"Director Lu, your "Source Code" is really good, but you can't add more. If your film is a kung fu movie, I will definitely double it. For Chinese science fiction, we dare not take this risk."

The second round of negotiations begins.

Theoretically, in the first round of negotiations, everyone made a tentative offer, which was regarded as a reserve price, and the price would gradually increase in the second round.

But because "Hero" came up with a clip, the filmmakers flocked to it.

Although it is not a finished film, "Source Code" is so powerful, isn't "Hero" even more powerful?
As a result, there are a lot fewer filmmakers on the "Source Code" side.

The strong ones went to fight for "Heroes", and those who stayed to talk about "Source Code" were not so strong, so they couldn't pay too high a price.

What's more, even a small film studio cannot buy the first-hand distribution rights of "Hero", and will have to ask the big film studios to buy the distribution rights when the time comes.

So the money has to be covered, unless "Hero" is given up.

This is still one reason.

On the other hand, although the quality of the finished film "Source Code" is very high, because it is Chinese science fiction, it is not as good as martial arts, kung fu and other films. There is no particularly successful precedent abroad, and the risk of paying a high price is huge.

So the overall price and the first round of negotiations did not go up much.

After chatting for a while, Lu Ping'an and Hu Qingquan summed up, generally speaking, the distribution rights have indeed been raised a lot.

40 in South Korea, 60 in Neon, 150 million in Europe and other regions, and 150 million in North America.

It has increased from 285 million to about 400 million.

The price actually looks pretty good.

At least it can make "Source Code" earn about twice as much on the basis of paying back its capital.

But Lu Pingan was still not satisfied.

Take South Korea as an example. Guorong has a lot of popularity in South Korea. They only reported 30 in the first round, and only 10 in the second round.

"Alien Space" hit the box office, and people bought it for 20 US dollars. "Source Code" is only that much better than "Alien Space"?
This is obviously impossible.

So in the third round, Lu Pingan simply went on his own.

(End of this chapter)