Chapter 76 74 Thoughts on Marching to the Other Side (Please Subscribe, Please First

Chapter 76 Thoughts on entering the other side of the strait (please subscribe, please subscribe first, please reward)

"Zhou Xingchi!" Eric was a little surprised.

"Uh, his name is Stephen Chow, yes, it seems that his partner also called him by his Chinese name, which is similar to your pronunciation. Wait, Eric, have you learned Chinese?"

"I learned it by myself during the holidays. Don't pay attention to these details. It's Stephen Chow, right?"

"Yes, I won't make a mistake about the English name. He is promoting his script called "Kung Fu" and hopes to get investment. We just met this afternoon."

"Although there are many slangs in this script that I can't understand, the opinion given by the marketing department is that it has potential, and this Stephen Chow is a very famous comedian in China, known as "Jim Carrey of the East."

"I've already asked. His last movie, Shaolin Soccer, was invested by Columbia and earned tens of millions of dollars for Sony."

"I see. How much investment does Stephen Chow want?"

"30 million dollars is a relatively large amount, so I want to ask for your opinion. If you think it's not suitable, I will call him to reject it."

Eric hesitated for a moment: "Hold him, my play is almost finished, and I have to go back to Los Angeles."

"OK, I understand!"

After hanging up the phone, Eric couldn't help but sigh, it has to be you, Judy, you are really a lucky star.

Regarding the movie "Kung Fu", it is generally considered to be Stephen Chow's pinnacle work. Of course, some people think it is "A Chinese Odyssey", and some people think that most of his works are pinnacle works.

But for Eric himself, "Kung Fu" is the epitome of Stephen Chow's style, whether it is considered from the perspective of narrative, performance, connotation, comedy effect, etc., especially from the perspective of the director, it is definitely the undisputed first in quality.

If I remember correctly, this movie was invested by Sony Columbia, and it seems that they invested 20 million US dollars. In the end, the global box office exceeded 100 million. At that time, many domestic media rushed to report it, so that Eric still remembers it now.

Of course, if you only look at the box office, in fact, after deducting the share of the theaters, publicity and distribution, and Stephen Chow's director's dividends, Columbia can only make about 20 million US dollars in the end.

But if the disc market is taken into account, this number will be several times higher.

It's not that Stephen Chow's appeal in the North American disc market is so strong, but the movie "Kung Fu" is strong, but it's only this one. His other movies are not good, and the disc market doesn't buy it.

The only Chinese movie stars who can really make a living all over the world are Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Although Chow Yun-fat also ventured into Hollywood, he failed completely.

He has no characteristics and irreplaceability of his own. Are there few actors in Hollywood who are as handsome as Chow Yun-fat? Why use you, a yellow man, when there are white people?

Only Kung Fu is the key for Chinese people to open the world market. Bruce Lee opened this door, and Jackie Chan and Jet Li carried it forward, but unfortunately there is no successor.

Before traveling through time, everyone was also curious about who was doing better in Hollywood between Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

So Eric and a group of friends did a survey, and after getting and analyzing various data.

The final conclusion is that Jackie Chan is the first by a large margin. His movie box office may not be very high, but the disc market is really booming.

Starting from "Drunken Master 2" in 1994, Jackie Chan's total disc market revenue has exceeded 1.2 billion US dollars, which is still the most conservative estimate.

Due to physical reasons, Jet Li made fewer films in the later period, but even so, his disc market revenue exceeded 700 million US dollars.

This is why the box office of Jackie Chan and Jet Li's movies is not high in many cases, but there is never a lack of investment, because almost all of them are guaranteed to make money.

However, Jackie Chan's later movies are an exception. At that time, he was really old and had to take the elevator instead of jumping the stairs, so almost all the movies were invested by himself.

The next day, after the last scene of Transformers was filmed at the Nevada military base, John Adams gave his young men an hour off.

The entire base suddenly went crazy, and all the soldiers returned to the dormitory to find their mobile phones, and then gathered around Vertigo to take a photo.

The props team looked at the group of American soldiers worriedly, fearing that they would damage Vertigo with heavy hands, and there would be more scenes for it later.

Eric shouted with a megaphone: "Thank you for your cooperation during this period. The movie is scheduled to be released in November. If you want to see yourself on the big screen, take your family to the cinema."

Giving the soldiers time to take photos, Eric and Colonel Adams talked again to deepen their relationship, and stuffed him with another $500,000 before leaving.

These days, I have been getting along more and more with Lieutenant Colonel Freeman. Although this lieutenant colonel is in the army, he has a literary heart.

However, due to the restrictions of his position, he is definitely not allowed to appear in the movie, and can only do the work of a military consultant to satisfy his pleasure.

From his mouth, we learned that the reason why John Adams was promoted to brigadier general before he was 40 was because he had strong connections. He was a member of the Adams family.

Yes, it was the Adams family that drafted the Declaration of Independence, one of the traditional powerful families in the United States, with tentacles throughout the military, politics and business.

To put it bluntly, the world is the same. The entertainment industry relies on connections and background, and the military is the same.

Lieutenant Colonel Freeman said that the probability of a colonel in the US military being promoted to brigadier general is only about 3%. Unless it is a great ability that is beyond the reach of the heavens, it will not be the turn of civilians, and colonel is the end.

Since the founding of the country, the game of power has always been in the hands of these big families. The only difference is that it belongs to you today and to me tomorrow.

After learning about this relationship, Eric couldn't help but blush.

The $200,000 that night was probably a bit of a slap in the face. Don't take it as an insult, so I paid another $500,000 before leaving. Maybe I will need it when I make the sequel to Transformers or other movies in the future.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the MGM motorcade slowly left the Nevada military base and headed south along Highway 5.

At about 9 p.m., the convoy entered Somano County, California, and arrived at Santa Rosa in Somano County at about 10 p.m.

The administrative divisions of the United States are very special and are divided into states, counties, cities, and towns. However, these four administrative levels are not subordinate to each other, but are relatively independent.

States cannot control counties, counties cannot control cities, and cities cannot control towns and villages. Governors, mayors, and county heads are all elected, and each is responsible for the residents in their own jurisdiction. ɱ

There is a very famous high school here in Santa Rosa - Santa Rosa High School, where many Hollywood movies have been filmed.

MGM has contacted the principal of Santa Rosa High School in advance and reviewed the script. The PG13 rating is definitely fine.

The motorcade pulled into the hotel parking lot, and Eric got out and pulled Patty Jenkins aside.

"I'm going back to Los Angeles to take care of some things, and I'll leave the filming here to you. Again, everything will go according to the script, okay?"

Patty Jenkins nodded: "I still say the same thing, you are the boss and you have the final say!"

Everyone opened their rooms in the hotel and dispersed. Eric looked down from the window and saw that Zhan Yimei, Fasha, Xiao Jianjian, Captain America and others quietly slipped out.

Fortunately for Zhan Yimei, the others had been training at the Nevada military base for a month and filming for a week. The hormone levels in their bodies had already exceeded the standard. It would be impossible not to give them some trouble.

"Eric, what are you looking at?" Gadot's voice sounded from behind.

"It's okay, just a few rats stealing words."

"What? Uh"

"It seems to have gotten a little bigger."

More than an hour later, a Lincoln came downstairs of the hotel. Chen Xing made a phone call, and the car left after a while.

"Eric, it's time for you to wake up."

A familiar voice sounded in his ears, and Eric opened his eyes. It was Emily Cooper, the woman who loved him most.

"Honey, it's already ten o'clock in the morning, you have to go to work."

Eric shook his slightly confused head: "Sorry, I was filming in Nevada recently and didn't have a good rest."

Hearing this, my mother looked worried again: "Then let's sleep for a while. Don't worry about work. Good health is the most important thing."

Due to the tight schedule of filming, which lasted for eight consecutive days, the actors could clock out when the time came, but the director could not.

Eric also has to watch the shots and plan, stay up late every day, and find time to write out the script of "Adele's Life". At the same time, he is still writing several new scripts and only sleeps four or five hours a day. It's the norm.

In addition, the conditions in the military base are not good. Even if you fall asleep, you are often awakened by the sound of training before you enter deep sleep.

Now that I'm back home and lying on the bed comfortably, I really feel like I haven't woken up yet.

I yawned, fell down on the bed, and my mother closed the door.

After this sleep, it was already past two o'clock in the afternoon when I opened my eyes again, and my phone kept ringing.

"Judy, what's wrong?"

Judy's confused and urgent voice came from the other end of the phone: "My boss, what are you doing? Didn't you ask me to make an appointment with Stephen Chow? He has been waiting all morning. I have called you several times but you haven't answered. , Chen Xing didn’t say what you were doing.”

Only then did Eric realize that he seemed to have forgotten something, but of course he couldn't admit that he was sleeping. The boss's authority still had to be maintained.

"Okay, I understand. It's just a temporary matter. Are the people from Xinghui Entertainment still in the company?"

"Yes, but I've been to the toilet several times. I'm afraid I'll get impatient if I keep waiting. I don't even know what to talk to them about now."

"Then tell them, wait another hour and I'll almost be there."

"Another hour more? My big boss, you are an American, not an Italian. Can't you have some sense of time?"

Eric sneered: "The concept of time? That's what restrains the weak. Now that we are the strong, we can tell them that MGM intends to invest. It's okay to make him wait for another ten days for the money."

After hanging up the phone and walking into the bathroom, the hot water washed away the fatigue and wind and sand of the Nevada desert. Eric felt much more comfortable.

After taking a shower and going downstairs, my mother went to visit a church friend. A sexy nanny in her twenties brought hot meals to her.

After eating, Chen Xing walked out of the house. Chen Xing was waiting in front of the car. He opened the door, closed it, and then got into the passenger seat. After completing the process, Lincoln slowly started to leave Beverly Hills.

"How's the investigation going for you?"

Chen Xing took out a report from his bag and handed it over: "This is the development of the Chinese film market in recent years."

Eric took it and started to look through it. Although his predecessor was in the industry, the events in 2003 were still too far away. He was only thirteen years old at that time.

After a brief browse, I probably have an idea. The current mainland market is really very weak. From 1995 to 2002, the average annual box office was more than 900 million yuan, not even one billion yuan.

The year with the highest annual box office was 1998, because Titanic was released and achieved a box office of 600 million RMB, so the total box office in 1998 reached 1.4 billion RMB, which is less than 200 million US dollars at the exchange rate.

The total box office in the United States in 1998 was about 7.5 billion US dollars, which is about 60 billion RMB when converted into RMB according to the exchange rate, a difference of 42 times.

Even if the box office of Titanic was 600 million RMB, Hollywood could only get about 46 million, which is 5.75 million US dollars when converted into US dollars.

You read it right, it was only 5.75 million US dollars, and in the end, a certain tax rate difference had to be paid in the United States, leaving only about 5 million US dollars in Disney's hands.

After a long journey and a lot of work, Disney finally made money for cigarettes. This was how Disney felt at the time.

Why was the money so little?

The reason is that the profit sharing ratio of imported films in China is too low.

Hollywood movies generally share about 50% of the revenue in North America, with the cinema and the company splitting the share equally. If it is a big IP movie like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, or a sequel to a popular movie, the company's share can even reach more than 60%, while the opposite is true for bad movies.

In addition, there are clauses related to the screening week. The specific ratio can be negotiated by the company and the cinema, and it is not a fixed value stipulated by law.

Looking around the world, the revenue sharing ratio generally fluctuates between 40% and 50%, depending on the quality and popularity of the movie.

But what is it in China?

The answer is 13%!

You read it right, it is 30% lower than Africa, and the annual quota is limited to 20 films. This ratio was not increased to 25% until 2012.

This is why the revenue share of Titanic is so low.

At this stage, the Chinese market is a chicken rib for Hollywood, and it is a pity to throw it away.

You may not make money even if you work hard, because 90% of it is taken by others! I am not a beggar on my knees!

So although the quota of 20 imported films each year seems limited, the competition pressure is actually not great.

However, it is the world's most populous country after all, and its economy is also developing continuously. What if its potential explodes one day? So there are already companies setting up offices there.

Since he just crossed over in April last year, Eric has been considering whether to set up a branch on the other side in the future.

Make arrangements in advance and establish good relations with senior management in advance. When the film market heats up around 2008 and 2009, you can seize the opportunity.

Another very important factor is that this year's Transformers must be released in China, otherwise it will be difficult to sell toys and peripherals, and the income is more considerable than the box office.

After discussing with his father, he didn't have any objections. Anyway, registering a company doesn't cost much money to put it there, just burying a nail first.

But later, various things entangled him, and this idea was slowly forgotten. Now that Stephen Chow suddenly came to the door, the idea came up again.

MGM Building, Lincoln stopped in front of the steps, and Eric walked directly to the elevator.

When they see him now, the company employees are obviously not as afraid as they were a few months ago. Instead, they greet him with a smile.

Mainly because they know Eric's character, he will not lose his temper easily, and he is usually kind to his subordinates.

In addition, the company is really making money. Since the Cooper father and son took over MGM, the performance has soared visibly.

At the end of the year, Charlie Cooper gave everyone a big hand and increased their year-end bonus by 10,000 US dollars. It was quite morale-boosting, and everyone felt that life was more promising.

Ding!

The elevator opened, and Eric walked straight to the reception room.

The etiquette lady opened the door and saw three people sitting on the sofa. The one in the middle was too familiar to him.

He was wearing a black striped casual suit, a sweater that looked very warm inside, and his hair just reached his shoulders.

His facial features were handsome, but his eyes were a little cold. He was Stephen Chow, known as the King of Oriental Comedy.

Seeing Eric coming in, Stephen Chow hurriedly stood up. He had learned some information last night. The young man in front of him was even more handsome than the information.

As the host, Eric stretched out his hand first: "Hello, Mr. Zhou, I am Eric Cooper!"

Stephen Chow quickly shook his hand: "First meeting, Mr. Cooper, just call me Stephen."

"First meeting? No, no, no, I have seen you many times in movies, the King of Comedy in the East."

Hearing this title, Stephen Chow was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand modestly: "I am not the King of Comedy, I am just an actor."