Chapter 412 Little Cotton-padded Jacket is about to be kidnapped
The overseas journey of "The Wandering Earth" is not smooth.
Although it has demonstrated a high level of quality and strong box office strength in the domestic market, overseas distributors are still nitpicking about various cooperation conditions.
The reason is actually very simple, that is, "The Wandering Earth" is a Chinese movie.
China Film initially focused on the North American market for overseas distribution, but the results were not satisfactory. The feedback from the North American market is mainly on two points. One is that the movie is almost entirely in Chinese, and the overseas version only has subtitles. But American audiences generally don't like to watch subtitles and are not used to this form.
Shouldn't people in the universe speak English?
Another point is that from various film associations to ordinary American audiences, many people cannot accept a science fiction movie that saves the world, and the protagonists are actually a group of Asians. The only "foreigner" with more shots is actually Maozi.
Where does this put our great "Americans"?
Many domestic audiences like to complain that domestic films like to hold "protection months" and various main-theme movies eat "patriotic meals". In contrast, Hollywood's view on movies is more "inclusive and free".
But in fact, audiences who have watched American blockbusters seriously know that the Americans' control over the ideology of the film industry is actually quite strict. It's just that it's not the government that is responsible for this, but the Film Rating Association and the Jewish consortium behind it. Any overseas movie that wants to be released in the United States will find it difficult to pass the MPAA's review if there is any problem.
Just like the plot in "The Wandering Earth" that "Israeli scientists have proposed a relevant plan seven hours ago" -
you put "Israeli scientists" in front, and "Old Israel" is very happy; but you say that this plan was rejected, and "Old Israel" doesn't like it.
The crew doesn't know whether there is such a reason. In short, the final result is that only a few theaters are willing to show "The Wandering Earth", such as AMH, which was acquired by Wanda a few years ago, and some small joint theaters, and the audience is basically mainly Chinese.
But despite this, "The Wandering Earth" won a box office of 3.8 million US dollars in the North American market in the first weekend after its release with an attendance rate of more than 80%.
There is no Spring Festival in the United States, and this period is not an important schedule, so no blockbusters are released. Therefore, "The Wandering Earth" unexpectedly won the first place in the North American box office chart in the first weekend.
Don't say it, this result has really attracted the curiosity of many American audiences. Many American audiences went to the cinema to see what this science fiction movie from Asia looks like.
The theater chain has also done statistics, and the results are unexpected. Many audiences who were attracted said that they liked this movie very much.
[I thought it would be an action movie like Jackie, but I didn't expect it to be a standard science fiction movie, and the quality was unexpectedly good. The idea of running with the earth is also very interesting. The only problem is that there is no English dubbing, and the subtitles switch too quickly, so I didn't see many places. If the film crew sends discs, I would still be happy to collect a copy and watch it several times slowly. ]
This is the high praise for "The Wandering Earth" on Rotten Tomatoes, which is obviously supported by many American audiences.
Perhaps it feels that this movie is really something. Starting from the second week, the number of theaters showing it increased from 164 at the beginning to 235. Although it is still inconspicuous compared to the more than 16,000 theaters in the United States, it is good news after all.
Compared with the North American market, the situation in the European market is slightly better. La Peikang of China Film Group used to study in Europe and has some connections.
The audience is still mainly Chinese. As for the local audience, the response in Northern European countries is relatively cold. Many people don’t understand why they have to take the earth with them when they run away. Southern countries like Italy are slightly better, and they have received a box office of four to five million US dollars overall. What is
really unexpected is the Japanese and Korean markets, which belong to the East Asian cultural circle. Especially in Sakura, because it is close, the crew invested more in publicity funds, and prepared a lot of slogans such as [Boys and Girls Hoping for Freedom] and [The Last Hope of Mankind].
There are also many international students in Japan who simply made their own "Japanese version of the promotional video", such as "brother-sister bond", "boys and girls saving the world", "shouting for hope and the future", "I really want to drink another bowl of miso soup"... In short
, it is full of various second-year elements. This is really what many Sakura viewers like. The movie has been released for more than a week and has won a cumulative box office of more than 800 million yen. This result even exceeds the North American market.
In addition, with the addition of several overseas markets such as Australia and Southeast Asia, "The Wandering Earth" can almost increase the box office by tens of millions. Although there is still a gap from "Wolf Warrior 2", it is still an improvement.
This is actually the real strength of science fiction movies. Comedy needs a language background, fantasy needs a cultural background, and suspense needs a national background - action movies don't need anything, but the problem is that in the current global film market, action movies are on the decline.
In contrast, science fiction movies don't have these concerns. After all, no matter which country the audience is from, their imagination of the future is always similar. The "Chinese culture" of "The Wandering Earth" is already very strong, but it can still attract many foreign audiences. This is the charm of science fiction.
"What are your plans next?" Meng Bai asked.
Guo Fan touched the stubble on his chin and sighed: "Let's take a break first. I have hardly had a good sleep in the past few years. Just a while ago, Huace talked to me about a new theme, which looks quite interesting."
"New theme?" Meng Bai asked curiously: "What is it about?"
"Evacuation of overseas Chinese." Guo Fan introduced, "The main background is taken from the evacuation of overseas Chinese from Libya in 2011, and the many evacuation operations in the past 20 to 30 years."
"It sounds a bit similar to "Operation Red Sea."
"The type is similar, but the protagonist of the story is different." Guo Fan smiled: "They are commandos, taking the action route. The protagonist here is set as a diplomat, translator and other civilian personnel, with a different style."
Meng Bai nodded. In recent years, due to the turbulent situation abroad, evacuation incidents have occurred frequently, which naturally became a new material for the film and television industry. The audience is also very interested in this theme. The box office of "Wolf Warrior 2" and "Operation Red Sea" are both very high.
However, this type of movie is usually an action movie, where the protagonist or a team goes deep into danger, and then relies on force and tactical skills to fight their way out. It feels good the first few times I watch it, but it gets a bit boring after watching it too much.
I haven't really seen this "diplomatic" route that Guo Fan mentioned. After all, it's impossible for civilian staff to arrange any action scenes, so there are fewer exciting scenes. But in fact, when encountering similar emergencies abroad, the first people to face the scene are really these diplomats.
But...
"How far have you progressed with this project now?" Meng Bai asked.
"It's still in the early stage of data collection and script preparation. There are relatively few materials related to this aspect, and many of them have to find specific people to interview." Guo Fan said.
"Data collection, early preparation, crew construction, actual shooting, post-production... This set will probably take at least two years." Meng Bai said: "What do you plan to do with "The Wandering Earth 2"?
"Hiss——"
Guo Fan showed a painful expression on his face.
When he first took over this project, "The Wandering Earth" had not yet been released. Although those who have seen the finished film think the quality is good, no one can be sure of the result without market feedback.
If the first part fails or the performance is average, then the second and third parts will naturally not be considered.
It was with this idea that Guo Fan took on this new project from Huace.
Unexpectedly, the performance of "The Wandering Earth" went straight to the sky and was so good that it exploded. In this case, whether it is China Film or other producers, they must hope to continue to shoot a sequel.
What? The choice of director?
Are you kidding? Is there any other choice besides Guo Fan?
Those "art student" directors who don't even know what "escape velocity" is, let them shoot science fiction, maybe they will make "The Wandering Earth" into something like "a love story in the era of escape" or "underground city firefighting storm".
For Guo Fan, he is definitely unwilling to hand over the "The Wandering Earth" series. This is not only a matter of fame and fortune, but more importantly, he is reluctant to hand over his years of hard work to others.
But telling China Film to wait for him for two years and shoot another movie first is definitely unrealistic. So now the only way is to hand over this "evacuation" theme project to other directors.
"Alas, there is really no other way." Guo Fan said a little depressed: "It's a pity that so much interview material was collected in vain."
"Well, how can you say it was in vain." Meng Bai said: "Let's find someone from our own family to replace him, so that we can use the information."
"Our own people..." Guo Fan thought for a while, "Let me discuss it with Huace and see who is more suitable to replace him."
Putting this matter aside for the time being, he looked at Meng Bai and said, "What are you going to do with the script of "The Wandering Earth 2"? "
"Don't let me come for the second part." Meng Bai waved his hand, "It's not easy for me, a liberal arts student, to understand the first part. No matter what the second part is, there will definitely be more science fiction elements. We still have to find some professionals."
After that, Meng Bai patted Guo Fan on the shoulder again: "Okay, didn't you say you wanted to take a break for a while? Don't worry about these now. After you have rested, we will consider what to shoot specifically for the second part."
"Okay." Guo Fan nodded, then smiled and said, "Oh, it's true. If I had known the results would be so good, I shouldn't have let Brother Jing be blown to death. Now I don't know who to find for the second part."
"It's okay, we can adjust the time span a little bit and let Liu Qi become a middle-aged man, so that Brother Jing can continue to play." Meng Bai spread his hands, "After all, it's normal for a son to look like his father."
"Haha, that's a good idea. I'll go discuss it with Brother Jing later."
The two chatted for a few more words, and Guo Fan went to deal with the follow-up matters of the celebration party. Meng Bai looked around and felt that there was nothing for him to do here, so he planned to leave.
"Mr. Meng!"
Just as he was about to leave, he was suddenly stopped by someone. Turning his head, he saw a middle-aged woman leading a little girl.
"Mr. Meng, I'm sorry to bother you."
The middle-aged woman looked at Meng Bai with a smile: "I came here mainly to say thank you. Thank you for taking care of Mai Mai over the years."
While speaking, she patted the little girl next to her, who was Zhao Jinmai who was making faces at Meng Bai. As for this middle-aged woman, she was naturally Zhao Jinmai's mother.
She came here today, one to accompany Zhao Jinmai to participate in the event, and the other was to thank Meng Bai specifically.
Since the release of "The Wandering Earth", Zhao Jinmai's popularity and popularity have risen rapidly, and she has received countless script invitations.
Mother Zhao naturally knew how these invitations came about. The title of "5 billion box office heroine" is not something that anyone can get, even if it is just a free pass.
Zhao Jinmai was able to star in "The Wandering Earth" mainly because of Meng Bai's recommendation. So she brought her daughter here today to express her gratitude. Although this gratitude is not worth much, they still have to show their sincerity.
Hearing Zhao's mother's sincere gratitude, Meng Bai smiled and said, "You're welcome. Actually, I didn't do anything. Mai Mai has a good image and her acting skills are also good among actors of the same age. She got the opportunity mainly because of her own efforts."
After saying that, he glanced at Zhao Jinmai on the side and said, "In fact, we should thank Mai Mai. At that time, no one knew what the result of this movie would be, but she was willing to join, and she performed the role of 'Han Duoduo' very well. She also contributed to the 5 billion box office."
Hearing Meng Bai's words, Zhao Jinmai immediately became proud. There was an unconcealed smile on the corner of her mouth. If her mother hadn't been here, the little girl would have laughed out loud.
Brother Meng Bai is pretty good. He knows how to praise me in front of my mother, and then cross out one of the bad things he did in the notebook... well, two.
I don't know if she sensed her daughter's change of mind, but Mother Zhao gently pushed her and whispered, "Why don't you say thank you?"
"Oh." Zhao Jinmai responded, and then said to Meng Bai seriously, "Brother Meng Bai, thank you."
Mother Zhao frowned when she heard it, "Tsk, who are you calling brother? You are so disrespectful."
Zhao Jinmai's mouth sank, and Meng Bai waved his hand indifferently, "It's okay. We were used to calling each other when we were on the crew. Besides, I have known Mai Mai for so many years, and she is almost like my sister. It's good to call me brother, and it makes me look younger."
"Mr. Meng, you are joking. If you think you are old when you are only in your twenties, then what are we like?"
Mother Zhao replied with a smile, and then looked down at her daughter. Seeing her expression of "I told you not to bother with that", she wanted to say something, but she opened her mouth and finally held it back.
Meng Bai remembered another thing: "I remember that Mai Mai should be in the third year of high school this year, right?"
"Yes." With the permission of "Brother Meng Bai", Zhao Jinmai rushed to say: "After the summer vacation, she will be in the third year of high school."
"How are your grades?"
"Very good!" Zhao Jinmai said confidently.
"Really?" Meng Bai looked at her suspiciously, then looked at Zhao's mother, and saw that she nodded, then said: "That's good. The cultural courses of actors are also very important. If you don't know anything, you can't even understand the lines. And good colleges and universities have high requirements for grades. I'm still waiting for you to come and be my junior sister."
"Don't worry, Brother Meng Bai, I will definitely be admitted to the Central Academy of Drama next year!" Zhao Jinmai said confidently: "I still remember the female lead drama you mentioned."
"Don't worry, no need to remind me every now and then, I remember it."
"Hehe, I just said it casually..."
After chatting for a few words, a staff member came to find Meng Bai. He said something to the mother and daughter, and then said goodbye and left.
"Goodbye, Brother Meng Bai!"
Zhao Jinmai waved his hand and looked straight at Meng Bai as he left. It was not until his figure disappeared that she reluctantly withdrew her gaze.
Mother Zhao looked at the somewhat lost expression on her daughter's face, squinted her eyes and looked at the direction where Meng Bai left, and couldn't help sighing in her heart.
A girl of sixteen or seventeen is the age of a young girl's love. What's more, her daughter is still in the colorful entertainment industry, so as a mother, she naturally pays more attention.
However, it seems that her daughter has nothing to do with those boys of the same age, but she seems to have a little affection for her "Brother Meng Bai".
This is a bit of a headache, not to mention the twelve-year age difference between the two, and more importantly, she has heard a lot of "romantic affairs" of this Mr. Meng. It's hard to say whether it's true or not, but it shows that he is not an "honest man".
Today, she actually has another idea, that is, she wants to see if Meng Bai has any thoughts about her daughter.
Now it seems that there are both good news and bad news.
The good news is that Meng Bai doesn't seem to have any thoughts about her daughter, at most he just treats her as a little sister.
The bad news is that her daughter seems to have a vague meaning.
Alas, my daughter has grown up. As a mother, I am really worried. I have to talk to her father later. I can't let my little girl be kidnapped.
(End of this chapter)
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