Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 491 You Can't Be Worse Than Warner

"World of Warcraft"?
It turned out to be this movie.

Zhou Mo reacted instantly.

He didn't know much about World of Warcraft, he had only played it and was not a veteran player. The character he knew best was Arthas and his father-killing sword.

The "World of Warcraft" that I remember is earlier in time, telling the story of the Dark Portal period, and the representative character is Daniel Wu...

Uh.

Gul'dan, to be exact.

The main content of the original "World of Warcraft" is:
The area where the orcs lived in the world of Draenor became smaller and smaller. Later, under the instigation and guidance of Gul'dan, they crossed the Dark Portal and invaded Azeroth. The human forces in Azeroth also began to prepare for war, led by Lothar, a descendant of Emperor Thoradin, and launched a fight against the orc invasion.

From this background alone, it is actually okay to make this content into a movie.

It feels epic.

There are also conflicts.

There are also wonderful visual effects.

It’s a pity that Blizzard was filming Warcraft, a story with an extremely large amount of plot and text.

And Blizzard actually wants to use a movie to explain so many things about the Dark Portal.

The results can be imagined.

In addition to a large group of middle-aged domestic players who keep buying tickets to watch the movie again and again in order to reminisce about their youth.

The original "World of Warcraft" movie did not perform well around the world.

Of course, in addition to the movie itself, Blizzard also played a very important role in the poor box office performance.

In 2015, the violent black voices on the Internet were able to compete with the violent white voices, and were even better.

Ten years ago, this kind of thing would have been unthinkable.

It can be seen how indifferent Blizzard is to human resources as the company has developed over the years.

Of course, Blizzard will be even more indifferent in the future. In a few years, not only Blizzard haters will be hoping for Blizzard's death, but even Blizzard whites will be hoping for Blizzard's death as well.

It is precisely because of Blizzard's various outrageous operations that "World of Warcraft", a game that has existed for more than ten years, has gradually gone downhill.

Blizzard is now focusing its energy on the legendary thing that can make the company dominate the world again -

Overwatch.

Also known as "butt".

Thinking of this, Zhou Mo had an idea in mind.

"Tom, you are very dishonest."

Tom: "How could that be, Zhou? We are good friends. What I discussed with you was indeed the World of Warcraft project."

Zhou Mo waved his hands: "I know, I know... What I mean is that World of Warcraft is a rubbish project, not as good as you say."

Tom immediately said, "Zhou, although World of Warcraft may not necessarily be comparable to Mario, it is also a game with a very long history and it once achieved very brilliant results."

"Yes, you are right, the game is really awesome, but the company is stupid. Is there anything wrong with what I said?" Zhou Mo asked back.

This one sentence choked Tom to the point of being speechless.

Yes.

"World of Warcraft" can be called great in the history of games.

But the current Blizzard can be called an idiot.

While Blizzard's fans are still praising and bragging about Blizzard's achievements on the Internet, those in the industry who have access to inside information know that Blizzard is now completely going downhill.

And this is not just an ordinary decline.

It's the kind of car where you step on the accelerator, blindfold yourself, and start speeding.

For example, there is a "correct" atmosphere within the company.

As an old white man, Tom is naturally not fond of new things.

Although he was not an employee of Blizzard, Universal's reach was so wide that he would often hear about "correct" new employees at Blizzard driving away technical employees.

And it's not just once or twice, but more and more frequent.

Given the situation, how could things not go downhill?

But Tom didn't expect that Zhou Mo knew it so clearly.

He sighed, "Zhou, you're right. Blizzard is not as good as it used to be, but I do think it's a very good project. The price they offered for the movie is very high, and it's really a good idea for you."

"Very high. How high? Is it as high as Warner?"

Tom thought for a moment and said, "Almost."

Oh?
Zhou Mo raised his eyebrows, a little surprised.

Warner offered him over $200 million. How could Blizzard offer that much?
"Tom, you should have heard that Warner gave me a production budget of 200 million."

"Yes, Zhou, I heard about it. But I got news from Blizzard that although they can't give 1.5 million, they are only tens of millions less, which will definitely exceed the production cost of million."

More than 1.5 million...

Zhou Mo really didn’t know the production cost of the original “World of Warcraft” movie, but for him, more than 1.5 million was already worth making a movie.

However, even if you agree, you can't be so straightforward.

Zhou Mo immediately made a tut-tut expression.

"Tom, Blizzard's sincerity is not good enough. The special effects requirements of World of Warcraft must be higher than those of Batman, but the money they paid is not as much as theirs. Is this what you call sincerity?"

An embarrassed look flashed across Tom's face, but he couldn't refute Zhou Mo.

Gou Warner's style has been ridiculed by many people in the industry.

It's negative material. As a result, Blizzard's production cost is less than Warner's.

"Everything can be negotiated, Zhou. As long as you agree, Global can help you negotiate." Tom said directly.

Since "Lucy" and "Gone Girl", although Zhou Mo himself is not well-known among European and American movie fans, his reputation among theaters and investors has become well-known, even surpassing many veteran film directors.

The reason is that since Zhou Mo made his debut, he has never failed in a commercial film.

The main point is that it’s awesome.

Directors who have never failed are not comparable to those slutty ones who have failed in the eyes of investors and theaters.

Therefore, as long as Zhou Mo is willing to accept it, some ordinary requests can be discussed.

Even the unusual ones can be discussed.

There is no need for Zhou Mo to even show up, Global will help negotiate.

Tom was quite confident. He thought that as long as Zhou Mo had this intention, he could persuade Zhou Mo with his eloquence.

However, as Zhou Mo asked more and more questions, Tom became less and less confident.

"The cost will increase a bit, but if I want to make a movie, the producer has to be my own person, and I have to invest."

"...Okay, that's easy."

"Warner invited me to shoot Batman and gave me full authority, so if I were to shoot World of Warcraft, I would have to decide on the lead actor and not allow them to interfere with the filming."

"…I need to go back and discuss this."

"Also, Blizzard should have a plan for the script, right? What is it?"

"The Dark Portal."

"It has been changed. The story of the Dark Portal was in Warcraft 2. It was put in the story of World of Warcraft. I don't know how many years ago it was. It is not very popular at all."

"what?"

Tom was shocked and asked to change the script.

This matter is really difficult.

Within Blizzard, the plot has always been the most contentious issue.

In order to grab the position of editor-in-chief, it even reached the point of fighting. In the history of "World of Warcraft", there were so many changes in the characters of the core figures, and a large part of the reason was the replacement of the editor-in-chief.

Tom really wanted to persuade Zhou Mo again.

"Zhou, does this script have to be changed?"

"Of course I have to change it, unless Blizzard has so much money that they don't care about the box office of the movie and just want to spend money to make a fuss, then I have nothing to say."

Tom hesitated for a moment: "Which part of the script are you going to change?"

Zhou Mo did not answer immediately, but asked:
"Tom, who do you think is the most famous character in the history of Warcraft?"

Tom answered without hesitation: "Arthas and Illidan, of course."

"Yes, these two people."

Zhou Mo nodded.

No matter when, in the online popularity poll about "World of Warcraft", the two people at the top are always 2234 and Yidan.

Among them, Yiledan also benefited from the version update.

And Arthas had been hacked to death long ago.

This shows how popular Alsace is.

At this point, Tom also reacted: "Zhou, are you planning to film the story of Alsace?"

"Yes, Arthas is very suitable for a trilogy. Illidan's time span is too long and he is not as good as Arthas."

The story of Arthas is actually those years in between, from Stratholme to the Frozen Throne, and then to being hacked to death by Lord Buddha.

But Illidan is much more troublesome. There are too many story lines, such as the War of the Ancients, Outland, etc.

Zhou Mo continued to ask: "Tom, what do you think? Isn't my plan obviously better?"

Tom's brows frowned and relaxed many times, and finally he sighed.

"Zhou, you're right. If we shoot Arthas, the effect will be much better than Dark Portal. Much better... But you should have heard about some of Blizzard's problems."

Zhou Mo spread his hands.

"That has nothing to do with me. It depends on whether you and Blizzard want to make money. Anyway, for me, I haven't filmed Batman yet. Whether I accept Warcraft or not, it's something I have to consider in the future."

Seeing this, Tom gritted his teeth.

"Okay! I'll help you make the contact, but I can't guarantee success."

"It doesn't matter. If it doesn't work out, let them find someone else. There are so many people who want to work with me. I can't possibly agree to a company that's not even as good as Warner."

Zhou Mo once again used the Warner method.

"It can't be that we are not as good as Warner."

To many investors in Europe and the United States, this statement sounds like a mockery.

The provocation level is maxed out.

And after hearing Zhou Mo's comments, Tom also went berserk instantly.

"No problem! Zhou, just wait, I will definitely get things done for you."

Zhou Mo looked at his departing back and waved.

What a nice person.

(End of this chapter)