Entering the Chinese entertainment industry is like entering a deep sea

Chapter 67 Buying Wen Zairen at a Low Price

Tim is fluent in English and French, and has a bit of difficulty speaking Chinese, but he is understandable.

As soon as they met, Tim recognized that the young oriental man in front of him was the Chinese director who had just won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

"Oh, Li, it's hard to imagine, you are even more handsome than in the photo."

As soon as they met, Tim started to flatter me as if they had known each other for a long time.

Unfortunately, Li Chen didn't buy it. He knew whether he was handsome or not.

His face certainly can't be compared to that of a celebrity, but it's not the kind that you can't find in a crowd.

"Tim, stop talking nonsense. I'm sure you have guessed why I'm looking for you." Li Chen said straight to the point.

Tim smiled awkwardly.

I couldn’t help but wonder: Don’t Chinese people all like to flatter each other?

"Please help me make an appointment with James Wan. I want to meet him."

"No problem, Li, see you today?" Tim agreed readily.

With Li Chen's current fame, it would be no problem for him to meet the up-and-coming Wen Zairen.

"Well, the sooner the better. I have something to do tomorrow." Li Chen nodded.

Tim is very efficient.

Li Chen and Wen Zairen met at the Peninsula Hotel in the evening.

They are all Chinese, but Wan Zairen can't speak Chinese.

But with Tim next to him, Li Chen doesn't need to speak English.

In the coffee shop of the Peninsula Hotel, after a brief greeting, the two got down to business.

Wen Zairen looked at the person in front of him who was younger than him.

But his fame is no less than that of any well-known Asian director.

He couldn't help but wonder why the other party was looking for him.

Li Chen didn't waste any time and directly took out the script from his bag and handed it to Wen Zairen.

"Take a look at this script first." Tim translated for Li Chen.

"Lurking?" Wen Zairen muttered to himself.

He thought to himself, he was indeed asked to make a movie with me, but wasn't he the director himself?

But in a flash, Wen Zairen figured it out.

The other party has already won the Palme d’Or, so some films may not be suitable for shooting.

Wan Zairen initially held a nonchalant attitude, thinking that not everyone could handle horror movies.

But the more I looked at it, the more its color changed.

This lurking is completely comparable to Saw.

After closing the script, Wen Zairen couldn't hide his joy: "Li, this script is great, can you sell it to me?"

Li Chen laughed and said, "You are so funny, Wen Zairen."

"I'm not short of money. I came to you because I want you to direct this movie."

Wen Zairen smiled awkwardly, the other party was right.

Although I am not clear about the other party's strength, given their current reputation, they will definitely not lack investment.

Hollywood has never lacked money and actors; what it lacks is good scripts and directors.

Wen Zairen only thought about it for a few seconds and then nodded.

"Li, I agreed. How are you going to produce and distribute it?"

The corners of Li Chen's mouth curled up slightly, as if he had expected it.

Although Saw brought attention to Wan Zairen, he was still not taken seriously.

The most realistic thing is that he is not needed to direct Saw 2, and Lionsgate has let him work behind the scenes.

If Darren Lynne were to direct, it would be like this: he would just get rid of the donkey after it has served its purpose.

Li Chen laughed and said, "Wen Zairen, since Lionsgate has replaced Darren Lynn, why are you still hanging on a tree?"

"There is a Chinese saying: 'Moving a man will live, but moving a tree will kill you.'"

"Come to my place. I will set up an independent production and distribution company in Hollywood and let Tim run it."

"Mainly focusing on horror movies, Lurking will make a name for us."

Tim was so stunned that he didn't even bother to translate the last sentence.

"Li, you, you mean, you want to open a company and let me run it for you?"

"Why? Are you unwilling or incapable?"

"No, no, no, Li, I do. No, boss, I do." Tim stood up excitedly.

He is a native American and has been in Hollywood for nearly ten years.

I have seen too many independent production and distribution companies emerge from nothing and then disappear quickly.

Li Chen had already made a plan in his mind.

It is not difficult to start a company. You can just buy a small company and change its appearance. B-type horror movies like the Insidious series do not need to be promoted by a lot of advertising.

After all, the production cost was only over one million US dollars.

Once the cinema poster is up, just release a few exciting trailers.

Plus the gimmick of being written by Li Chen and directed by Wan Zairen.

Tim is fully capable of doing this, otherwise Hollywood would have been wasted the past ten years.

Tim felt like he was kissed by the goddess of luck today.

Li Chen ignored Tim's excitement.

"What do you think, Wen Zairen? This "Lost" is also a series." Li Chen put out another bait.

"You said Hidden is a series?" Wan Zairen was surprised.

"Of course, I wrote it with Saw as the imaginary enemy."

Wen Zairen was completely moved now.

It's not difficult to make a movie in Hollywood.

Equipment can be rented, people can be hired, and distribution can be done by large, qualified companies.

Such as Lionsgate, New Line, Summit, Lakeshore and so on.

As long as there is a good script and director, and no funding issues, then there won’t be any problems.

The filming of Saw, which he and his classmates collaborated on, took only about twenty days from planning to completion.

What's more, Hollywood directors, especially big directors, can get a share of the movie box office.

When filming Saw, Lionsgate wanted to pay him a director's fee, but he refused.

Instead, they wisely chose to share the box office revenue.

The extremely high return rate after the release also proved that his choice was correct.

Even without Li Chen's reminder, Wan Zairen knew that the script had to be kept secret.

After sending Wen Zairen away, Li Chen asked the people from Warner to help find a professional lawyer and accountant in Hollywood.

Then a contract was signed with Tim and the other two.

In this way, the three of them can check and balance each other and are only responsible to him as the boss, so he can feel at ease.

Then Li Chen asked Tim to take the script he had prepared to the guild to register first.

These include Insidious, The Conjuring series, and Inception, etc.

Tim was full of energy and assured that as long as the funds were in place, buying a small company could be done in minutes.

Because there are too many small companies like this in Hollywood.

It can be bought for one or two million US dollars.

Going further down, you can actually choose a personal studio.

But Li Chen couldn't afford to lose face, after all, he was a Palme d'Or director.

Tim was very professional and did not ask his boss where the funds came from.

When I returned to the hotel, Miss Liu called me.

"Go online, I want to video chat with you," he said and hung up the phone.

Li Chen turned on the computer and connected the video.

Miss Liu wore a pink headband and a white waistcoat, and raised her golden palm and shook it gently.

Smiling like a flower, she said, "I received the gift."

"This girl Yang Siwei is not proactive in doing other things, but when it comes to currying favor with you, she's like a fast runner." Li Chen scolded with a smile.

"Why, you don't want to?" Miss Liu pretended to be angry.

"How dare I? I just have a sour feeling for some reason."

"I'm obviously her boss, why do I feel like you are more like her?"

Miss Liu laughed in a very unladylike manner.

"Xixi, stop laughing. If you laugh again, I'll take a picture with my phone and post it online."

"Let netizens see what the fairy sister in their minds is like on a daily basis."

Miss Liu's expression changed in an instant: "You dare!"

"By the way, when will you come back? I heard from Yang Siwei that you are going to Hong Kong Island."

"How about I go find you?"

"No, you're coming, what does Auntie think?"

"I can't stay in Hong Kong Island for more than two days. I will go back soon."

After hanging up the phone, Li Chen thought about having a showdown with Liu Xiaoli when he got home.