China Entertainment started in 2004

Chapter 8 Shortlisted for the main competition unit

The day after the opening ceremony, Zhang Hanyu took Wang Shu to the exhibition hall to watch the entries brought by directors from various countries.

There were many movies, and most of them were trailers, which dazzled the viewers.

While walking on the road, Zhang Hanyu suddenly asked: "Don't we need to rent an exhibition hall?"

It costs money to rent an exhibition hall, and the person standing next to you is a pauper.

He has no money.
  Even if you don’t need money, you still need connections.
  "." Wang Shu was always worried on the road. He was always worried that Zhang Hanyu would ask him about renting an exhibition hall for the screening after seeing the movie trailer.
  Finally I was asked.

In addition to competing for prizes, the most important thing for winning works is to sell the copyright.

Every time a major film festival opens, distributors from all over the world come rushing over.

Screening in the exhibition hall facilitates distributors and copyright owners to understand film information and helps film producers sell film copyrights.

For award-winning films, entering theaters is secondary, and selling copyrights is the most important.

Because everyone knows in their hearts that the audience for art films will not buy it, and even if they enter the cinema, the box office they can get is not high. The only way to make back the money or even make a lot of money is to sell the copyright of the film to distributors around the world at film festivals.

Therefore, as long as Wang Shu wants to make money by selling his film, he should rent an exhibition hall to show "Buried Alive".

Although films selected into the competition section of the Berlin Film Festival generally have no problem selling, the different levels of favorability of distributors are linked to the value of the film.

Distributors and copyright owners are all very smart. How can they buy a film that is neither shortlisted for the main competition nor well-known at a high price?

It would be polite to break a bone in one breath.

"I've already inquired about it. Because we arrived late, the exhibition hall has already been rented out, and there will be no queue when I come back." Wang Shu said nonsense seriously.

"There is no exhibition hall for screening. It's not a big problem."

"I have confidence in Buried Alive."

“As long as you are shortlisted for the main competition unit, you don’t have to worry about no one coming to your door, and you don’t have to worry about not being able to sell it at a suitable price.”

Zhang Hanyu felt Wang Shu's confidence, and his heart surged, so he stopped worrying about this issue.

Selected for the main competition unit?
  Then
  Best Actor
  He had been expecting it.

Wang Shu returned to the hotel, but he didn't expect that a film producer actually came to him.
  "Buried Alive" wasn't even screened. It showed its face during the opening ceremony. There were many films from various countries selected. How did these people find it so quickly?

Something!
  As expected of a film producer who has been participating in major film festivals all year round, he has a sharp eye.

"Hello, I'm Nicholas," the middle-aged film producer with a big belly introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Wang Shu." Wang Shu shook hands with him politely.

"I know that you are a young director from the East. I have met Director Gu Changwei from your country. You are much younger than him." Nicholas, a big-bellied film dealer, was a talkative person and pulled Wang Shu to talk.

After a long time, Nicholas finally explained his intention with a big belly, "Dear Wang, I want to buy the copyright of "Buried Alive"."

"20 U.S. dollars, buy out all copyrights in Europe."

Wang Shu almost spit out blood when he heard the price. This man seemed to be friendly, but in fact he had a really dark heart.

I want to buy out the European rights to "Buried Alive" for US$20
  No wonder he came over so quickly, he was just casting a wide net to catch the missing people.

"I want to think about it for a few days." Wang Shu did not refuse directly, but pretended to think.

"25 U.S. dollars, dear Wang, this is the highest price I can give." Nicholas, with a big belly, increased the price.

"Well, I still want to think about it for a few days." Wang Shu made no move. The $25 seemed like a lot, but this person wanted to buy out the copyright of "Buried Alive" throughout Europe.

In a market as big as Europe, 25W is really not much.

Nicholas gave Wang Shu a deep look and said with a smile: "I understand, Wang. I'll come back in a few days. I hope there will be a good result by then."

After failing to buy the European rights to "Buried Alive" at a low price, Nicholas left with some regret.

Wang Shu shook his head and returned to the hotel.

Zhang Hanyu is also in the hotel. He is talking on the phone with his wife Yang Meizi at the moment. International calls are too expensive. He briefly talked about what he heard and saw at the Berlin Film Festival and then hung up. Gu Changwei and Zhang Jingchu were also in the hotel. They were sitting in the same room, not knowing what they were doing.

This feeling, this feeling, this moment, all kinds of thoughts are indeed mixed together.

Next, Wang Shu met with some publishers and copyright dealers, all of whom were trying to find out what was missing. Wang Shu pushed them one by one to wait for a few days before discussing.

Publishers and copyright owners also knew Wang Shu's thoughts and didn't say much.

All filmmakers who bring their works to the Berlin Film Festival do not want to enter the final stage.

However, after all, only a few people can get to that point.

In addition to meeting international distributors and copyright owners, Wang Shu also met domestic staff of China Film Group.

When people from China Film were in China, they heard that a film called "Buried Alive" was submitted to the domestic film selection team of the Berlin Film Festival, but they didn't pay much attention at the time.

Because there are many people in China who rely on connections to operate like this, but in the end they basically disappear. How could they really appear in Berlin like now?
  This surprised them.

Of course, surprise is surprise.

The purpose of meeting Wang Shu was to purchase the copyright.

There is a rigid condition for films to participate in the Berlin Film Festival, that is, the film must premiere at the film festival and be its world premiere.

Therefore, China Film wants to buy the copyright of "Buried Alive" and then distribute and release it domestically.

Wang Shu was noncommittal about this, neither rejecting nor agreeing, but said he wanted to wait and see.

At least wait until the last two days, when the unspoken rules appear, before making a decision.

The people from China Film knew Wang Shu's idea and didn't force it. Anyway, they were the only people from China to come this time, and there was still some time before the end of the film festival.

Not in a hurry.

Finally, the two parties exchanged contact information and said politely that they looked forward to having the opportunity to cooperate together in the future.

In the past, in China, Wang Shu could only chat with the girl at the front desk at the entrance of China Film Group Corporation. How could he meet the middle and senior management of China Film Group Corporation who had a certain say in the film industry so easily?

Not to mention, people from China Film Group came to us to discuss cooperation matters, exchanged contact information and proposed working together in the future.

Obviously, this is the charm of the three major European films, and it is also one of the reasons that attract countless filmmakers to compete for them.

As the closing ceremony drew closer and closer, Wang Shu became increasingly uneasy.

Because success or failure depends on this!
  Although even if you are not selected for the final main competition unit, you can still earn hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling copyrights.

But if it can be shortlisted, the price of the copyright will double in an instant, and it will not be a problem to sell it for millions of dollars in an instant.

If you win the prize, it's not impossible to sell it for two to three hundred dollars.

"It's done!"

At four or five o'clock in the afternoon, the organizer notified Wang Shu to attend the closing award ceremony tomorrow.

He was so excited that he wanted to jump up.

There are unspoken rules at the film festival. Being able to be notified of the crew to attend the closing awards ceremony means that they are guaranteed to win an award!

Wang Shu immediately knocked on Zhang Hanyu's door and told him the good news.

Zhang Hanyu's agent was in his room, and the three of them were very happy.

As the closing ceremony approached, Zhang Hanyu became increasingly anxious.

That night, he took the initiative to treat Wang Shu to a drink.

Wang Shu didn't drink because he didn't want to give him face, and he was unhappy in every possible way.

(End of this chapter)