hollywood melon man

Chapter 344 Factory Inspection
It was only natural for Shu Chang to get the role of Xiaoyu.

Gilbert Jr. considered choosing the younger Wang Jiaqi, but Nolan Chenglong and Stanley Tong agreed that Shu Chang was the best.

Since everyone had the same opinion, little Gilbert did not act arbitrarily and chose Shu Chang.

Compared to Bingbing Li getting the role of Xiaoshe, Shu Chang getting the role of Xiaoyu caused a bigger sensation.

The reason is simple, compared to Xiaoshe who is just a supporting role, Xiaoyu is the heroine of the film. And according to some insiders, if the film performs well, Gilbert Jr. will consider making it into a series.

This is incredible. What is a serialized film?
"The Adventures of Jackie Chan" cost 1.05 million U.S. dollars. If it wants to meet the requirements of a serialized film, the North American box office must be at least more than 1 million U.S. dollars, and the global box office must be more than 5000 million U.S. dollars.

So far, Jackie Chan still holds the record for the highest box office movie starring a Chinese Hollywood star.

His "Rush Hour 2" released this year grossed $2.25 million in North America, but performed poorly overseas, taking in $3.38 million worldwide.

However, due to the scale of investment in "Rush Hour 2", the film still made a profit.

What is even more surprising is that the film also performed well in the DVD market. In the first two weeks of its DVD release after being taken off the screen in the United States, it generated sales of 3500 million US dollars.

In other words, if "The Adventures of Jackie Chan" wants to make a profit, it must at least exceed the box office of "Rush Hour 2".

Shu Chang has this series in her hands. As long as she doesn't act weird, no Chinese film and television star will be able to compete with her in the next ten or even twenty years.

Before Shu Chang signed the actor contract, Sheena Boone's Super Artist Management Company also signed an agency contract with Shu Chang.

This is normal. Zhang Yimou also signed a contract with CAA, allowing CAA to be responsible for her business in Hollywood.

After all, Chinese agencies are not professional at all, and they don’t understand the operating model of Hollywood, so it is necessary to have an agent from Hollywood.

After the actors' auditions, Gilbert Jr. held a press conference for the actors to build up momentum for them.

Looking at Bingbing Li, who was in high spirits and holding the actor contract in her hand, and Shu Chang, who was a little restrained, the reporters in the audience took pictures and sighed.

"These two don't have to worry about their future anymore. They will definitely have a bright future."

"Yes, this is a Hollywood movie project, with an investment of over 100 million US dollars!"

"Whose daughter is Shu Chang? I also want a daughter like her."

"With your status, you can't give birth to a daughter like this."

The reporter expressed his dissatisfaction, but when he thought about the fact that he was still single, he was powerless to refute what his colleagues said.

At the press conference, Gilbert Jr. answered questions from Chinese reporters and talked about why he came up with the idea of ​​preparing "The Adventures of Jackie Chan".

"Actually, this came from a conversation between Jack and I. We talked about the story of the Chinese zodiac. I originally thought that I was a very domineering dragon or something.

But Jack told me that I was born in the Year of the Dog, which is several years away from the Year of the Dragon. I was very sad at that time."

Although this story was not funny, the reporters still laughed along.

Gilbert went on to say: "Although this was a very sad conversation, it gave me inspiration for my creation. I then thought about what it would be like if the twelve zodiac signs had magical powers.

From this, I came up with the story of The Mystery of the Spell and invited Jack to play the leading role. "

The reporters were impressed. He was indeed a talented Hollywood director. Not only did he speak Chinese fluently, but his inspiration was also free.

In fact, Hollywood has never lacked creativity, and there are many scripts written better than Gilbert's.

But Gilbert Jr. has an ability that most people don't have, which is the ability to turn his wild ideas into reality and ultimately present them on the screen.

When talking about why Shu Chang and Bingbing Li were chosen, Gilbert Jr. said frankly: "To be honest, Director Nolan, the person in charge of the team and I received a lot of gifts during this audition."

Although this kind of thing is common in the circle, when a big foreign director said it to the reporters' faces, they suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Gilbert continued: "We chose the actors because they performed well enough in the audition and were not affected by the gift.

I hope actors can demonstrate their professionalism, rather than relying on connections and gifts to get ahead.”

Gilbert Jr. said so, but in fact, whether in Hollywood or here, similar things happen all the time. This is human nature, and it cannot be changed by one or two directors who stick to their principles.

After the press conference, Gilbert Jr. handed over the follow-up work to Nolan and went south to inspect the surrounding factories in the Pearl River Delta region.

But his influence went beyond that. Not to mention Bingbing Li, Shu Chang's name spread across the country overnight and he became the hottest young actor.

The front page headlines of many newspapers and media featured the photo of Shu Chang, Bingbing Li and little Gilbert, praising Shu Chang as a future star in the entertainment industry.

While reporting on the two actors, it is inevitable to talk about "The Adventures of Jackie Chan" and Little Gilbert. It can be said that "The Adventures of Jackie Chan" has become popular in China before filming began.

Although the Chinese film market cannot be relied upon for the time being, a little bit of money is still worth having, and it is better to have something than nothing. It should be no problem to contribute 20 to 30 million US dollars to the box office.

As for the issue of peripheral piracy, the worst that can happen is that you can just learn from Microsoft and treat these pirated copies as learning materials that increase your popularity, and then you won't have to worry about this issue.

The Chinese entertainment media and the public were very excited, and little Gilbert was not idle either.

Accompanied by the local BOSS, he visited many surrounding factories and learned about the production situation in detail.

Since last year, factories have been relocated here one after another. The advantages of lower material and labor costs have greatly reduced the cost of peripheral products.

Such a big move by Disney and Warner certainly could not be hidden from other major Hollywood companies.

As a result, other large companies were tempted and began to plan to develop their own peripheral factories in China to replace the increasingly expensive products produced in North America.

Logically speaking, if these peripheral products are produced locally in China and then shipped to North America, Europe and other places, a series of fees such as freight and tariffs will be incurred, thereby increasing costs.

This makes it appear that the cost of peripheral products produced in North American factories is about the same.

In fact, it is not the case. It goes without saying that the labor cost and material cost are lower. The most valuable thing is that the freight is also quite low, and the tariff is also low.

For example, a Legolas doll is sold for $19.9 in North American peripheral product stores. It is produced in a North American factory, and the series of expenses including material, warehousing and labor costs are about $8.

But if it is produced in China, even with transoceanic transportation and tariffs, it will only cost two or three dollars, and the cost savings will be profit.

Of course, this will also cause some problems, such as suddenly imposing tariffs on products produced in China in order to protect the interests of domestic factories and workers.

But the problem is that the entire North American physical manufacturing industry is moving abroad, and this is the trend.

Factory owners have all gone to Wall Street to play stocks. North American workers have never had much of a say, and even if they protest they cannot withstand the iron fist of capital.

The masters in Washington have accepted Hollywood's lobbying and will not sue for additional tariffs on products from across the ocean just for a bunch of rednecks.

Therefore, this low-cost peripheral model can continue to be played for more than ten years.

Both sides get what they need: the local area needs jobs and investment, and North America and Europe need lower-cost and cheaper products. It is a perfect match.

When little Gilbert visited Haizhu, he was warmly received by the local BOSS.

Haizhu is very close to Men'ao next door, just a checkpoint. However, Gilbert was not interested in going there, but his assistant Anna went there to gamble a few times and lost thousands of dollars.

At this time, several factories around Haizhu have broken ground one after another, and it is expected that they will be put into operation next year and the year after.

Gilbert Jr. focused on inspecting the factories that had already opened, focusing on the proficiency of the workers on the production lines and their operations.

The factory was bustling with activity, and the workers were obviously still busy. The factory leaders accompanied them to inspect and brief them on the situation.

"So far, our factory has a total of 226 employees, 4 production lines, OC quality inspection, experimental workshops, etc. If we run at full capacity, we can produce more than pieces of goods a day." The factory leaders are very proud.

Little Gilbert picked up a product, felt its quality, and said to the factory leader: “I hope you don’t start production blindly, but ensure quality and quantity.

Even though the prices here are very low, they are sold to North America and Europe for dozens of dollars each.”

The factory leader assured, "Don't worry, Mayor Tian is very concerned about these situations and comes to inspect them frequently to ensure that there will be no mistakes."

Mayor Tian, ​​who was accompanying the inspection, nodded and said, "Yes, Director Gilbert, don't worry, there will be no problems here."

"That's good," Little Gilbert reminded again, "Also, you must pay attention to production safety issues. I don't want any production safety accidents or accidents to happen."

The factory leader reassured: "Don't worry about this. I have repeatedly told the workers that production safety is the first priority. I also personally inspect the water, electricity and fire protection issues in the factory. There will definitely be no safety accidents."

"Very good," said little Gilbert, with satisfaction.

As for the treatment of workers, their food and accommodation, salaries and so on, those were not issues that young Gilbert should be concerned about, so he did not ask much.

After inspecting the factory, young Gilbert returned to Beijing again and gave an open class at the Beijing Film Academy.

It seems to have become a routine for little Gilbert to come to the Beijing Film Academy to give lectures to students every year. He is a very competent honorary principal.

Also because of the Little Gilbert brand, Beijing Film Academy became the highest art academy in China, surpassing other schools and becoming the first choice of countless art students.

(End of this chapter)