"Mike, it's been a long time."
"Chen, it's been a long time. Please have a seat."
"This is a gift I brought for you specially from China."
Shen Kun handed the brick of black tea that Shen Fang had prepared to Old Mike.
Mike's eyes lit up, and he picked up the tea brick and sniffed it with his hooked nose.
"Thank you very much, Shen. I really like this gift."
"You came here today to talk about Saw, right?"
Shen Fang smiled and nodded: "I guess so, but I'm not worried about that. You've seen the sample footage, and you know the production costs of Saw are there. It's definitely going to make money. As for how much, that depends on Universal's support. I'm here to talk about another project."
Mike was taken aback. As for the other project, to be honest, when Shen Fang came over today, he was thinking about how to get rid of him. A low-budget horror film with less than $2 million, offering 600 screens was already a huge concession considering the revenue from the Heroes DVD. Universal Pictures wouldn't bother distributing this kind of film.
Universal's production direction is mostly A-list productions, with very few B-list productions. They follow a high-investment, high-risk, high-return path and are not interested in low-budget films.
Old Mike took a box of Monte A from the cabinet and handed it to Chen Fang.
Shen Fang waved his hand; he didn't like cigars. Instead, he took one and tasted it.
Shen Fang handed Mike two prepared scripts: "Rapid Chase" and "Kung Fu Dream".
"These are two scripts I've carefully crafted. I'm planning to cast Jack Cheng as the male lead. I know him very well. The budget for these two films is around $20 million. Take a look."
When Mike heard the name Jack Chan, he was intrigued. At that time, Jackie Chan was still a top-tier kung fu superstar in Hollywood. Casting Jackie Chan would make the movie a sure thing. Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon were huge hits in North America, and Jackie Chan had not yet fallen from grace.
But when he heard about the $30 million investment, he was stunned.
"Chen, do you know that Jack Cheng's current salary is 15 million US dollars?"
"Of course I know. Didn't I tell you? I'm very familiar with Jackie Chan. These two films were tailor-made for him. I can convince him to take on these two films at the market price. Take a look at the story first."
Old Mike nodded, opened the script, and began to study it carefully.
An hour later, old Mike took a sip of coffee and looked up.
"Both of your scripts are typical popcorn movies. Whether it's John Wick or The Karate Kid, they both capture the core aesthetic of Western moviegoers. I never expected you to be so talented," Old Mike praised. To be honest, before reading the script, he had already figured out how to get rid of this young Asian man.
After watching it, he had only one thought: he had to get these two movies. Especially "The Karate Kid," kung fu is all the rage in America right now, and if they hype it up, it'll be very interesting. It has the potential to be a huge hit.
"Chen, how are you planning to collaborate on these two projects?"
Shen Fang drew a smoke ring and looked at Old Mike: "Mike, I'm a man who knows the rules. There's an old Chinese saying that when there's food, everyone should share. We'll take 50%, and the global distribution will be handled by Universal Pictures. You're in charge of creating hype, and I'll just be in charge of collecting the money."
"It seems you have a lot of confidence in these two films."
Shen Fang chuckled: "With JAKC Cheng involved, an excellent script, such a low production budget, and Universal's distribution, how could it not be profitable?"
“But Chen, I think an investment of 30 million US dollars is a bit too little. Not to mention Cheng’s salary, which takes up most of the salary, there are also the salaries of other actors, production costs, special effects costs, and labor costs.”
"30 million US dollars is enough, but anything can happen. I didn't say we can't invest more, but we should save where we can."
"By the way, for the little boy in the kung fu dream, let's use Freddie Highmore."
"Freddy Highmore? That little boy from London?"
Shen Fang nodded: "Yes, she's quite fair-skinned."
“Chen, in your script, the young male lead is a lively, active, and opinionated boy. Doesn’t Freddie Highmore seem a bit unsuitable?”
Well, to be honest, Jaden Smith in The Karate Kid is not only too ugly, but he's also Black and gay. He's only 5 years old now, so there's no way he could possibly be in The Karate Kid.
In fact, Shen Fang also had a few people in mind: Justin Bieber, Freddie Highmore, and the male lead of Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe.
Unfortunately, Chen Fang is also a sucker for good looks, and he didn't want to cast a Black actor as the male lead in Kung Fu Dream.
"How about Daniel Radcliffe? Harry Potter is a global phenomenon right now. If we could invite him to join Kung Fu Dream, it would boost the hype considerably."
"Uh, that's a bit heavy. Daniel Radcliffe's salary now starts at $5 million. And we can't get him to join us; he's already committed to the Harry Potter series and won't be taking on any other projects anytime soon."
$5 million? Wow, that's expensive.
Shen Fang stroked his chin: "Then you decide what to do. Jack Cheng will be in the US tomorrow, so we can meet and talk again. Do you have any recommendations for directors or producers? I have an idea: let Jackie Chan serve as executive director for Kung Fu Dream, and let him direct it."
"For a high-speed chase, I have one requirement: the action scenes must be outstanding. We need the most professional martial arts choreographer. It must be a brutal, life-or-death struggle, tense and exciting, with a climax throughout."
Mike chuckled and said, "Chen, everyone says that Easterners are very reserved, but you seem unusually crazy to me. Are you planning to make an R-rated film?"
"You have to cook the right kind of food for the right place, that way you'll attract good foodies. Since we're in Hollywood, we have to make movies that appeal to Western audiences."
“No problem. Universal will take on these two projects, with us jointly funding each one at $15 million. Universal will be responsible for the distribution. In addition, after the finished films are released, Universal Pictures has the right of first refusal to buy out the DVD distribution rights in North America.”
"No problem, we don't need to bother two people. Global and our Dragonlink are friendly partners."
Old Mike laughed: "Chen, we're good friends. In that case, I'll return the favor. I'll apply for an extra 200 screens for Saw."
Shen Fang smiled and said, "Old Mike, I think we can definitely become very good friends."
The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.
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