The king of ghost horse comedy

Chapter 373 $500 Budget

This kind of movie that is not enough to make up the drama is actually very criticized by the audience.When audiences go to kung fu movies, they don't just want to watch the fighting scenes, otherwise it would be better to just watch the action clips.

Audiences also need to have a sense of substitution when watching movies, and the literary drama before the play is for this purpose.If there is not enough literature and drama, the audience's sense of substitution is not strong. No matter how exciting and exciting the play is, it is nothing but rootless weeds.

Hong Jingbao, Cheng Long, Yuan Biao and others, because they all came from theater troupes, have a certain understanding of Chinese drama.They also have a hazy awareness of the dramatic structure of succession and transition, so they focus more on film and drama, and they have also developed very good acting skills.

For example, Hong Jingbao once won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor, Cheng Long also won the Taiwan Golden Horse Award, although Yuan Biao did not win the award for acting skills, but his acting skills are not bad.Seeing how he vividly portrayed a policeman who traveled from the Ming Dynasty to modern times in "Frozen Man", you can know that he is actually an excellent actor.

……

The movie "Project A" was specially prepared by Xu Guanwu for the three brothers Hong Jingbao, Cheng Long and Yuan Biao.This movie in the previous life was the first collaboration between the three brothers Hong Jingbao. After it was released, it won a box office of 900 million Hong Kong dollars, ranking third in the annual box office list. It can be said to be a very popular movie.

Moreover, the movie "Project A" has a very high investment. The scene of jumping the clock tower alone cost 200 million Hong Kong dollars, and the filming time of this movie lasted for two years, which is the movie that Cheng Long put the most effort into. .The super high box office of the film also proves that his hard work was not in vain. The film not only sold well in Hong Kong, but also won a sky-high box office of 31 billion yen in Japan.

"Mr. Xu, this script is really good." Cheng Long said with a smile, "Thank you for writing such a good script for us."

"Mr. Xu is talented. This script is written so that professional screenwriters would be ashamed after reading it." Hong Jingbao also said with a smile.

"Okay, there's no need to say more about flattery." Xu Guanwu waved his hand and said, "You three have also read the script, do you have any other comments?"

"No, no more. If you still have opinions on such a good script, then you are really nitpicking." Yuan Biao waved his hand and said with a smile.

"Mr. Xu, the scene of this movie is so big, it involves jumping off buildings, chasing in back alleys, and hiring boats to film. The cost must be very high?" Hong Jingbao said with a smile.

"I know what you mean. Don't worry, this drama is Xu's highlight this year, so you can't save investment at all. You can discuss with the producer and tell me how much money you need." Xu Guanwu nodded and smiled. Said, "I plan to release this film across the U.S., so please don't save me money. The filming is so petty that I can't get it out."

"It will be screened in the United States?! Mr. Xu, won't we be able to enter Hollywood in that way?" Hong Jingbao and the three said happily.

"That's right, but Hollywood is not so easy to break into. It's nothing if a movie succeeds. The follow-up movies continue to earn high box office, so that your net worth can continue to rise, and you have the power to bargain with the movie company." Xu Guanwu smiled.

The three of Hong Jingbao nodded together. They had also inquired about the Hollywood system, and knew that the stars there were also classified into ranks.The salaries of first-class stars are several million dollars, and even the salaries of third-tier Hollywood stars are several times higher than their brothers.So their brothers dreamed of going to Hollywood, but the boss Xu Guanwu didn't want them to go there so early.

The kung fu films of Hong Jingbao, Cheng Long, Yuan Biao and others have a certain audience base in the United States, and each kung fu film can earn hundreds of thousands to over one million box office.This box office figure is already very high in the eyes of Hong Kong filmmakers, but compared with other Hollywood films, these Kung Fu films only achieved the box office of C-level films.

Hollywood's top big productions are called A-level films, usually starred by first-line stars, or directed by first-line directors, with high investment, big scenes, strong cast, and box office revenue basically in units of [-] million.

Generally, medium-cost productions are called B-level movies, usually starring second-tier Hollywood actors, or popular TV actors, or directed by second-tier directors, with medium investment, medium scenes, average cast, and box office income. as the unit.

Generally, low-cost films are C-level films, usually starring unknown actors, or moderately well-known TV actors, or generally directed by unknown directors, with low investment, average scenes, extremely weak cast, and box office revenue. Basically in millions.

Xu Guanwu previously invested in films such as "Rocky" and "Moonlight Panic" shot by Stallone, which are actually legendary C-level movies.And the "Star Wars" filmed by George Lucas is actually a legendary B-movie."Superman", invested together with 20th Century Fox, is truly a strong A-level film.

With the box office achieved by the three-person Kung Fu film, if they go to Hollywood to develop now, they will only start with third- and fourth-tier actors. Not only do they not have tailor-made roles for them, but there are not many opportunities to really make their mark.Even if there is Xu Guanwu pushing hard behind, it may actually have the opposite effect of counterproductive.

So it's better to first conquer the American audience through a series of good works, and then gradually enter Hollywood.Just like filmmakers from other European countries, they first showed their talents with their works and won the respect of Hollywood filmmakers before choosing to enter Hollywood.Only in this way can we have a relatively high starting point, instead of starting from scratch like other filmmakers.

It's like the famous French director Luc Besson, who first made a film in France that achieved excellent box office results, and then successfully won the favor of a Hollywood film company, and directly handed him an olive branch.And Luc Besson, who has shown his talent, naturally has more room for choice, and the treatment he receives is naturally much higher than other film directors.

For example, Cheng Long was promoted by Golden Harvest at the beginning, and he went to the United States to film "The Killer" and "The Dragon Detective".But because Cheng Long was not well-known in Europe and America at the time, he was completely restricted by the director in the United States, and it was difficult for a strong dragon to overwhelm the local snake.

As a result, the film produced according to the director's wishes was not Cheng Long's usual style at all. As a result, not only did it fail to open up the market in the United States, but even Hong Kong complained.The bad Cheng Long has no idea of ​​entering Hollywood in the next few years.

This is actually a shortcoming that overwhelms the young. The actors have not achieved the results of their shots. Even if the investors throw more money, the actors will not get the respect they deserve.It's like spending money to buy roles, which is more popular in the Mainland now, and a lot of money is often allocated, but the actors are scolded after they play the role.

……

Xu Guanwu just wanted to use this "Project A" to make Cheng Long and his three brothers successful in Hollywood.Because Kung Fu movies began to show signs of decline in the early Republic of China last year, he has been thinking about the future of Kung Fu stars such as Cheng Long.

In addition to helping them transition to the urban action field as soon as possible, there is also a trip to Hollywood that should be arranged.In this way, at the rate of one or two blockbuster films per year, they will achieve several years of box office success in Hollywood, then Cheng Long and the others will be able to enter Hollywood smoothly.And the positions left by them after they left just happened to be filled by other rising stars, so as not to cause a waste of talent, and to find a way out for Hong Kong movies.

Xu Guanwu hasn't mentioned this idea to anyone yet, because he can't guarantee that the three of them will be able to enter Hollywood successfully, so naturally he won't shout around before they succeed.But it depends on human effort. If it doesn’t work this time, it will be the next time. If the impact continues, you won’t be afraid that you won’t be able to open the US market.

Although the three brothers Hong Jingbao didn't understand Xu Guanwu's painstaking efforts, they were still very happy to hear what Xu Guanwu said about the US joint screening.So after getting the script, I happily went to prepare.And since Mr. Xu said not to be too petty, then everything will be made bigger.In the end, the three boldly compiled a budget of 800 million Hong Kong dollars and reported it to Xu Guanwu's desk.

The budget of 800 million Hong Kong dollars was astronomical in the 70s.Cheng Long's "Master Dragon" and "Junior Brother Out of the Horse" and other films only had a box office of more than 700 million.With so much money invested, whether the cost can be recovered in the future is open to question.

Unexpectedly, the budget book was handed over to Xu Guanwu. Xu Guanwu saw that there was only a budget of 800 million Hong Kong dollars, and threw it back casually.

Hong Jingbao was taken aback, thinking that the boss was upset because of too many reports, so he hurriedly said, "Mr. Xu, this budget can still be cut down a bit. If it is too high, we will cut it down by [-]% or [-]%." , [-]%..."

"I don't mean that the budget is too much, but that the budget is too small." Xu Guanwu waved his hand and said, "You have to look a little wider. The cost of 800 million Hong Kong dollars is only more than 100 million dollars when converted into US dollars. Not enough money for Star Wars special effects."

"Mr. Xu, "Star Wars" sold several hundred million dollars, how dare we compare with others." Hong Jingbao said with an embarrassed smile.

"There is nothing to compare to. I also invested in "Star Wars", I also invested in "Project A", and I wrote the script." Xu Guanwu waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about winning or losing, right? I alone will bear the profit or loss, if you don’t dare to add me to the budget, just add it to $500 million.”

With one sentence, Hong Jingbao almost sat down on the ground, "500 million, 500 million US dollars?!"

Xu Guanwu nodded, "After you get the money, make a good film and make it with your heart. This is a major issue related to whether you can successfully enter Hollywood. I have already approved all the money to you. What kind of movie will be made, you can make up your own mind." .”

Hong Jingbao's fat face turned purple with excitement, "Mr. Xu, don't worry, I will never let you down."

"Okay, it's good to have this kind of confidence." Xu Guanwu nodded, "If that's the case, then go down and prepare."

Hong Jingbao agreed, and walked out the door while muttering. "Five million dollars, five million dollars, five million dollars..."

Xu Guanwu couldn't help feeling both ridiculous and deplorable when he saw his devastated appearance. 500 million US dollars can almost be regarded as a sky-high price in the Hong Kong film industry. The super high cost of 500 million Hong Kong dollars is only in the late 80s and early 90s, the golden age when Hong Kong films were most developed. Movie.Of course, if inflation and currency depreciation are included, the current 500 million Hong Kong dollars is almost equivalent to 90 million Hong Kong dollars in the [-]s.So this cost can really be regarded as unprecedented and unprecedented.

However, 500 million US dollars is just an investment in a B-grade movie in Hollywood, USA.Xu Guanwu invested in "Superman", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Star Wars", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and so on, all of which cost more than tens of millions of dollars.Now this mere 500 million US dollars is really not taken seriously.

Moreover, Xu Guanwu believes that the 500 million US dollars must be worth the money. He believes in the strength of the three brothers Hong Jingbao, and also believes in his current strength in Hollywood.Not only 20th Century Fox, but also National Entertainment, will contribute to the release of "Plan A".

With the second largest theater chain operator in the United States and the most prestigious distribution company at present, Xu Guanwu believes that "Plan A" will definitely be able to recover the cost.Of course, if it can be sold for tens of millions of dollars, it will be even more unexpected.

(End of this chapter)