new kung fu king

Chapter 534 It's time to train the movie tycoon

In the last few days of May 1980, an oriental whirlwind quietly blew up in 5 theaters in North America.

In Hollywood, only 20th Century Fox was the agency to distribute "Myth", so the impact of this whirlwind was very small at first, but even so, after the beginning of June, this whirlwind suddenly started to exert force, and it turned out to be as destructive as a tornado. It began to be shown in 6 theaters throughout North America with lightning speed.

You must know that "Star Wars" did not have such a fast release rate last year. The major distributors also decided to join the ranks of the release after seeing the huge box office results brought by science fiction movies.

Why can these distribution agents join in just a few days after the release of "Mythology"?
The answer is simple!
Because United Artists.

United Artists is currently in dire straits. "Heaven's Gate" has entered the post-production stage, and the group company has to burn nearly 200 million US dollars in production costs. In this way, the cost of "Heaven's Gate" before and after United Artists is More than 4600 million US dollars, and before the release, it will definitely spend several million more for publicity.

United Artists is clearly stretched, and they urgently need a sum of money to turn around the company's daily operations.

Danny has been out of his mind since watching the "Myth" sample, because he knows very well that in comparison, the epic western film "Heaven's Gate" that his company spent all its money to create cannot match the plot or action. "Myth" is comparable.

The plot of "Heaven's Gate" in post-production is thin and loose, and the statuette director Michael Cimino seems to repeat the technique he used in shooting the dance scene in "The Deer Hunter", which leads to the plot dragging and narcissism.

But "Mythology" is different. Although the plot is confusing at the beginning, it has two very clear clues. At that time, the visual effects that erupted were extremely astonishing.

So after Danny returned to United Artists, he immediately had an in-depth communication with the president. Danny meant that "Myth" had more box office value than "Heaven's Gate". He explained it based on his own experience in the distribution department Yes, he thinks that the top priority should be to allocate part of the production cost of "Heaven's Gate" to distribute "Myth" as an agent, which can bring a good income to the company.

But the president of United Artists had his own ideas. He frowned and poured out his bitterness to Danny, saying that doing so would make the great director Michael Cimino angry. It will be in vain, and the whole company will be destroyed in the hands of "Heaven's Gate".

"Boss, if that's the case, we should build a good relationship with the Eastern director. This is our only way out. I believe "Myth" will set off a wave of box office in North America. Don't forget that their behind-the-scenes production team is Industrial Light and Magic. The "Star Wars" team that created a miracle at the North American box office last year!"

Danny said very angrily: "If we don't seize this opportunity, then "Heaven's Gate" will be the gate to hell for us at United Artists!"

Lianmei has recently fallen into an economic crisis, and every partner is very irritable. Danny is of course very angry when he sees that the boss is still hesitating.

The boss of United Artists, Victor Lang, was also very angry. He stared and said, "The other six companies are watching, why should we stand up and offend Warner Bros."

"Because we need this money, if the box office of "Myth" reaches 700 million U.S. dollars a week, we and 20th Century Fox can share a dividend of 350 million U.S. dollars equally. After that, our profits will increase. In short, "Mythology" The higher the box office, the higher our income. Isn’t it difficult to just invest for a week to test the water?” Danny said impatiently.

President Victor fell silent. Yes, Danny's analysis is correct. If he releases "Myth" before other companies, it will give the company a lifeline, but now
Victor was finally brought into the theater by Danny. That night, they really experienced the love and liking of "Myth" by the audience in the theater that night. At the same time, Victor himself had to admit that he had invested so much "Heaven's Gate" is like a piece of shit in front of "Myth".

So early the next morning, Danny drove to Xiehe Branch with Victor. After they explained their intentions, Wang Xiaohu gave a very inexplicable smile to Danny and Victor, as if Wang Xiaohu had expected the two People come to your door.

"You two, I think I already know why you are here today." Wang Xiaohu played with the teacup in his hand leisurely, took a sip of tea and said: "It is not impossible for you to join the United Artists Company, but I It seems that I heard that your company does not have the slightest advantage in distribution."

"No, dear Tiger, you may be mistaken. Our United Artists is still very influential in Hollywood. Chaplin and Pickley are the veterans of our company. You should know their most expensive positions in Hollywood. Bar?"

When Victor heard that Wang Xiaohu showed no signs of cooperating, he even began to doubt the company's distribution capabilities, and hurriedly brought out the two god-level figures, Chaplin and Peckley, as if this oriental had to give to the United The beauty of the elders has the same face.

Unexpectedly, Wang Xiaohu shrugged and said: "Of course, I know their names, but according to my understanding, after the American film entered a period of depression and decline in the early 50s, the two veterans successively sold their stocks to financial capitalists. It seems that it has nothing to do with United Artists, right?"

"Uh!" Victor and Danny were stunned, and their faces turned red. The foreigners were all Caucasian, so it was obvious that they blushed.

Danny snorted coldly, and his resentment towards Victor escalated again. He said in his heart that he asked you to distribute it as an agent, but you pushed and procrastinated. Signing the contract, no one is a fool in exchange for it, it would be strange who can readily agree!
"I don't know how Mr. Tiger can agree to us." Danny saw that the boss was speechless all of a sudden, and he knew that United Artists was like a salmon waiting on the chopping board at this time. If he wanted the other party to agree to sign the contract , that's the only way to be slaughtered.

"To be honest." Wang Xiaohu said with a smile on his shoulders, "You Lianmei really don't have any value that interests me. Although the 900 theaters are a little less, they are theaters that we can fully control. We can I can control the release cycle and time period of the movie, and I can release three or five shows a day. Under such convenient conditions, would I be willing to hand over the big profits to others?"

"No, don't do this, for God's sake, please give us a chance." Danny said painfully.

"You want a chance, right?" Wang Xiaohu said.

"Yes, urgently needed!" Danny nodded with certainty.

"Well, the box office share ratio for the first five weeks is adjusted to 7:3. From the sixth week onwards, it should be 6:4. After six months, it will be changed to 5:5. One year later."

While drinking tea, Wang Xiaohu said freely, and Danny and Victor's faces turned ashen when they heard this.

Obviously, if calculated according to the box office sharing ratio mentioned by Wang Xiaohu, United Artists will get very little money. As we all know, Hollywood has a very long release cycle, and the premiere time is as long as two months. The time period with the most money and the most concentration.

In other words, if "Mythology" earns 100 million US dollars in United Artists theaters, they can only get 30 US dollars, and they have to persist for 6 weeks, absolutely not!

Victor was about to leave on the spot, this oriental guy was so deceitful that he offered such harsh conditions, but Danny held him down firmly, and said to Wang Xiaohu with a smile on his face, "We'll go back and discuss it and we'll give you an answer. "

During the time they were discussing, the box office data for the first week of "Mythology" has come out, 930 million US dollars.

After seeing the box office data, Wang Xiaohu smiled. He knew that from now on, he already had enough weight to negotiate.

Driven by the huge box office results, the American media began to focus on this movie from the East.

"Los Angeles Daily" commented: "After two hours of intense stimulation, you will find that your mind is in a mess by the plot of the movie. The oriental director always occupies the superiority, and he shows us unprecedented visual art."

"Oriental Complex, Romantic Bloom!" Chicago Sun-Times.

"The Myth" may be an iconic film for Orientals, but it is nothing more than a bunch of beautiful pictures and a storyline that is put together in a mess." Julian Roberts, a famous film critic, is unequivocal Said politely.

Every powerful picture immerses you in the emotional atmosphere created by "Myth", so that you want to leave this bad era and return to that wonderful mythical world. --"Washington post".

Let me tell you this: kung fu as cool as a kaleidoscope is to package the history of the birth of an empire in this way. The way the Orientals tell stories is really unflattering. Those ugly realities will not become cute because of excessive beautification. The New York Times commented so.

"I have to admire the rich imagination of the orientals, the flying in the weightless space, the majestic palace, the majestic soundtrack, and the fascinating romance. These all show the unique directing techniques of oriental directors." "Philadelphia weekly".

The media’s comments were mixed. Some people praised "Mythology" for its shock, while others were slandering "Mythology". Looking at these invitation letters, he smiled brightly. He knew that it was time to train these movie tycoons.

(End of this chapter)