Big names rise

Since 1995, when the era of blockbuster films was introduced, only ten foreign-language films that "conform to China's national conditions and market needs" were allowed to enter the country for screening. By 2001, the domestic film industry was still relatively fragile, but because China joined the WTO, China had to do With an open attitude, after various negotiations, the number of imported films has increased from ten to twenty, and promised to increase the number of imported films to 3 in the next three years, of which 50 are account-based films, and the other 20 are buyout batches .

As a result, the pressure on domestic films will be greater, but it is also required that the box office of domestic films must account for more than half of the total annual box office. Therefore, in 04, the Film Bureau issued a document stipulating that among the 20 blockbuster films, American films should not exceed 70%. %, at this time, foreign films are watching Hollywood blockbusters. This regulation can be regarded as protecting domestic films to a certain extent.

That is to say, since 04, several major Hollywood film companies have been battling for 14 parts of the account, and there is even news of bribing the leadership of China Film Group. Many excellent films, such as "Wall-E" and the recent "Batman 2" Due to the limited number of seats, they were unable to meet with mainland audiences.

Jeff's dissatisfaction represents the psychology of most Hollywood filmmakers. They hope that the Chinese market will be more open and inclusive. The only 14 places are almost all occupied by big films and big companies, such as Lionsgate and Miramax. It is almost impossible for these independent film dealers to get a piece of the pie.

So in 07, the U.S. repeated the same old tune, hoping that China would expand the quota for the introduction of Hollywood movies. This matter is still in the negotiation process.China's concessions are certain, but how much and when will it start.This is very important.

After several years of development, Chinese-language films have produced frequent masterpieces, and they have also made some progress in their exploration of commercialization. They also understand the reason why big stars increase investment and increase publicity equals high box office. It's very unfamiliar, and I often take into account the big scene and ignore the rationality of the plot, and the rationality of the plot and ignore the depth of thought.Therefore, there is generally no good reputation. Coupled with the limited market capacity, it is not easy for blockbuster films to rely solely on the domestic box office.Other sales channels, derivative product development, and overseas market expansion are all essential, otherwise there is no hope of getting back the money.

In view of this immaturity, Chinese-language films still need policy protection for a period of time, and He Mu only hopes that this negotiation will last longer.Let Chinese movies do more preparations.Then they will be full of energy to meet the impact of Hollywood movies. This impact will always come. In the end, who can become the leader of the market depends on who the audience likes.

Facing Jeff's complaints, He Mu asked him whether the United States was open enough to foreign films.

"Of course, nearly half of the movies released in the United States are foreign movies, which is much more open than yours." Jeff said proudly.Even with so many foreign-language films, Hollywood movies still account for more than 80% of the domestic box office total.So there is more use for a fart.

He Mu is really not sure about this situation. So many foreign language films have entered the US market, so how are these films treated in the US?He Mu asked Jeff.

Jeff did not hide this question, and answered truthfully: "Of course, the treatment of foreign language films cannot be compared with that of Hollywood films. Generally, these films are released by small companies. The leading actors in the film are international stars such as Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie, otherwise it would be a few tens of screens, and it would be considered good if it could exceed a hundred."

There are a total of 30000 screens in the United States, of which 14000 belong to major theaters, such as Universal Cinemas, United Artists Cinemas, and AMC Cinemas. More than 80% of the total box office, and the remaining 16000 yuan basically belong to individuals and small theaters, which play some literary films, low-cost films or movies specially for certain ethnic groups. For example, the Chinese theaters in Chinatown belong to this category, and basically only show Chinese movies. , The box office contribution ability is very poor, and the box office contributed by more than 50% of the screen accounts for less than 20% of the remaining.

Generally, the special effects blockbusters of several major film companies can have more than 3000 yuan for the screen, and as many as [-] or even [-]. Ordinary Hollywood new films also have about [-] yuan. The influence and publicity of the main actors have increased slightly, but When foreign language films are first released, there are usually only a few dozen screens, and there are hundreds of them. If the word of mouth is good, it will be increased.

Zhang Yimou's "Hero" and Zhou Xingchi's "Kung Fu" had more than 1000 screens at the beginning. In addition to the strong support of Chinese theaters, these two have a high international reputation, and there is Mira Mike behind "Hero" "Kung Fu" has Columbia's investment. These are relatively special examples. It is more that a large number of Chinese-language films entered the American film market, but they were only screened in Chinatown and did not enter the mainstream market at all. It is ridiculous. Domestic film companies also use this to brag about simultaneous global releases.

He Mu continued to ask Jeff for advice on the performance of Chinese-language films in the United States in recent years.

Jeff replied: "The performance is not good. Except for the success of "Hero" directed by Zhang Yimou, the box office of his subsequent works "House of Flying Daggers" and "The Golden Armor" are getting worse and worse. "Ambush" still has more than 1000 million, and "Golden Armor" only has more than 600 million. The new film "Yangtze River No. 20" by the king of Chinese comedy, Zhou Xingchi, is also a childish and boring story in our opinion. The special effects are bad enough. The movie only made $[-] in the U.S., which is terrible."

"What about "Red Cliff" directed by Wu Yusen?" He Mu asked again.

Jeff shrugged, "Even fans in your own country don't approve of this movie very much. They are attracted to the movie theater by the stars. Do you think Americans will be attracted by Chinese stars?" You may feel that your words are a bit arrogant, Jie The husband continued, "Actually, it has not been confirmed when this movie will be released in the United States. Wu Yusen broke Hollywood's heart. He is responsible for a large part of MGM's bankruptcy. Now those big companies are unwilling to take over this movie." The North American distribution of the film, and small companies don’t have that much appetite, so I am not very optimistic about this film.”

From Jeff, He Mu learned that there is no Chinese film released in the United States this year that has a box office of over one million (US dollars). "The King of Kung Fu" is a Hollywood movie starring Chinese, which is not a Chinese film.

Among them, there are not only Chinese films that have not produced excellent films that can conquer American audiences, but also because China has not had international stars for a long time after Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie. They don't want to invest too much money and energy in Chinese films. Compared with Chinese films, Indian films have been popular recently. Driven by excellent works, Shah Rukh Khan and other handsome Indian names have gradually entered the United States. people's sight.

The worldwide distribution of Chinese-language films has greatly limited the development of Chinese-language films. As a category of Chinese-language films, Hong Kong films used to get hundreds of millions or even billions of box office in Japan. South Korea has also ranked among the top ten box office charts many times, but now it is different from the past. Even Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie's box office appeal in Asia is very limited. This situation is embarrassing.

Now the standard for measuring the success of a Chinese-language film is almost by its box office in the mainland, and only the high box office in the mainland can pay for those blockbuster movies with huge investment, and it cannot be sold elsewhere.

Changing this situation will not be achieved overnight. Now that Bona has established an overseas distribution company, Huayi is also actively preparing for it. Coupled with the traditional overseas distribution powerhouse Anle Films and the overseas distribution company established by the Film Bureau, Chinese-language films will have more and more opportunities. With more and more channels entering overseas, He Mu also believes that Chinese filmmakers will make more and more films that people all over the world love.

After chatting with Jeff for a long time, He Mu had a preliminary impression of the international film market and a more accurate understanding of the situation of Chinese-language films worldwide. Changing this situation cannot be achieved by one person and one company. , This requires the efforts of all Chinese filmmakers, including him, He Mu.

Seeing that the fourth aunt and uncle started to yawn when they were talking about the mountains, He Mu realized that it was a bit late, so he hurriedly got up and said goodbye. He had to pass the torch tomorrow, and in a few hours he would be ready to set off.The fourth aunt's family asked He Mu where he was going to run, and said with a smile that they would definitely go to cheer him up tomorrow.

The torch relay on the second day went very smoothly, and the crowd was orderly. He Mu saw Sigu's family and Jeff in the crowd, and waved to them.After finishing his torch relay work, He Mu accepted an interview from "Yanzhao Metropolis Daily", then changed his clothes and left.

Although the fourth aunt and the others tried their best to keep He Mu and Xiao Nan for lunch, but He Mu was pressed for time and could only refuse. Before leaving, he told Jeff that he would help him think about the tickets, so that he would also think about He Mu.

In fact, He Mu has nothing serious, just wants Jeff to ask if their company is interested in the North American release of "One Shot 147". This month, the film will participate in the Montreal Film Festival in Canada. If they are interested, they can go and see it. look.

Anle is responsible for the overseas promotion and distribution of "One Shot 147", while the mainland distribution is entrusted to China Film. Jeff’s relationship, and Jeff is mainly in charge of distribution at Lionsgate, on the premise of not violating the principle, Jeff is still willing to help with this. Jeff’s original words are “If your movie in Montreal If I can win an award, then I can directly decide.”

That's what I said, but winning an award should be difficult... (to be continued...)

ps: [ps: 33, I found that the title of the book was wrong, this book should be called "The Great Era of Movies", don't worry, Lao Buddha will write a great era of movies with his heart, the more exciting it gets later, ask for tickets and subscribe~ ! 】