Chapter 192: Investors flock to join! The richest man makes an appointment!

At this time, Han Jie, whom Lin Xiao valued, was also there.

Although he is the assistant director of Director Jia, the two people have different creative ideas.

Han Jie still prefers to show off his skills.

In "HELLO, Mr. Tree", in addition to humanity and humanistic care, it is more of a show of skill.

Because this stunt was buried too deeply, many viewers did not notice it and thus underestimated the film.

So, when he saw the movie "Crazy Stone", he was also full of surprises.

He is not a big director now, nor does he have the diseases that big directors have, but he knows that making commercial films is also difficult, even more difficult in some ways.

There are certain shortcuts for art films.

For purely commercial films, it is already a little difficult to pass, and it is extremely difficult to be excellent.

This movie is undoubtedly excellent.

And he is still able to enjoy a movie as a viewer.

I think it looks good. Very good looking.

Of course, he has not yet made a complete decision about the olive branch from Lightning Entertainment.

After watching the movie, Jia Zhanke smiled lightly, neither expressing affirmation nor denial.

But also a little disappointed.

Because he felt that Master Ergou would make a more stylish and artistic movie.

I didn’t expect it to be so commercial, after all, this is a Hugo Award winner.

Jiang Wen, on the other hand, was more disappointed.

He originally thought that the works of Master Ergou would at least be more artistic than those of Feng Dapao.

Whether it is the previous "Big Shot" or this year's "Cell Phone", they both have a certain depth.

I didn’t expect that this movie by Master Ergou would be so popular.

The songs I made for grassroots singers were already very vulgar. I didn’t expect that they would still be so vulgar when they were made into movies.

Although "If You Are the One" is also a comedy, it still has some flavor if you take a closer look.

And this "Crazy Stone" is completely for entertaining the public.

"The movie is quite good..." Jia Zhanke was still quite polite and smiled at Lin Xiao.

As for Jiang Wen, he said nothing.

The president of Columbia Asia, whom Lin Xiao valued, thought for a moment and said to Lin Xiao, "Because I watched it with English subtitles, and this movie is a very localized work with no attempt to be internationalized, so I found it difficult to watch."

"However, there are some camera languages ​​in it, and I think I'm pretty good."

“Of course, I have great respect for the market.”

"Mr. Lin Xiao, you accurately predicted the success or failure of Heroes of Heaven and Earth in China. What do you think will happen to the box office in Japan and the United States?"

Lin Xiao glanced at Jiang Wen beside him and said it anyway.

“It didn’t do well at the box office in the Chinese market, but relative to overseas markets, it made almost all of its money domestically.”

As soon as these words came out, Jiang Wen and Amy Pascal's faces almost changed.

What does this mean? The main purpose of the movie "Heroes of Heaven and Earth" is internationalization, and the main purpose is the global market. Therefore, the fact that the domestic box office did not meet expectations was not a big blow to Columbia Pictures, because they were looking forward to making some gains in the global market.

After all, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero have performed very well at the global box office. And Lin Xiao meant that Heroes of Heaven and Earth might be able to make a lot of money in the global market? This is a huge blow to Columbia, because a considerable part of the investment in this film was paid by Columbia Asia, which means a huge loss.

For Jiang Wen, this meant a huge setback in his internationalization, and of course it was also a huge setback for Huayi Company. So historically, after this film, Huayi directly terminated the contract with director He Ping.

"If, and I mean if, Columbia Pictures approached you to work with them, what type of movie would you make?" asked Amy Pascal.

Lin Xiao: "At present, the only type of Asian films that want to enter the North American market are kung fu films."

"But I will definitely not make a kung fu movie. I will look for a new and groundbreaking subject."

A completely new and groundbreaking topic? The female CEO frowned slightly.

She also feels that the only Chinese films that can be shown off in the global market are kung fu films. How dare you say you want to explore new themes?

Are you too confident? Or too arrogant?

Amy Pascal: "So how much do you think you can give Columbia in return if we work together?"

Lin Xiao thought for a while and said, "The work I'm planning should completely penetrate the entire East Asian market and get excellent box office in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia."

“It can almost open up Colombia’s strategic vision in Asia at once.”

"If it's purely about economic returns, I think it should be no less than three times, or even more than five times."

When these words came out, Jiang Wen felt it was ridiculous.

How awesome is Hero? It didn't say it would pay five times as much.

The female president looked at Lin Xiao again and made sure that his attitude was serious.

Of course, she was not moved by Lin Xiao's promises, but continued to ask: "How much did you spend on this movie? Can you tell me?"

Lin Xiao: “Less than one million dollars.”

Amy Pascal: "So how much do you think it's going to do at the box office?"

Lin Xiao: "It should be much better than "Heroes of Heaven and Earth"."

Amy Pascal frowned slightly: "Mr. Lin, you are really full of confidence."

Lightning Entertainment is a small company, this movie is a small production, and even Bona Film Group, which will be responsible for the distribution, was only established this year.

In this world, the box office of "Heroes of Heaven and Earth" is close to 50 million. For a large-scale production of this scale, it is already a flop, but it is also the box office champion of mainland Chinese films so far this year.

Lin Xiao actually set the box office target for this small-scale movie at more than 50 million. This can really be said to be super confident.

Even in Amy Pascal's opinion, it was a bit blindly confident.

Amy Pascal: "We'll see."

This is a typical American capitalist thinking. I don’t understand your movie, so let the market speak.

I will not be moved by the big promises you paint for me, and you still use the market to prove yourself.

Next, this busy woman left first.

"Then you go ahead and do your work. I'll leave first. As for Han Jie's matter, I fully respect his personal will." Jia Zhan Ke also left.

Jiang Wen also bowed to Lin Xiao and said, "Goodbye, brother."

Lin Xiao, Bona's President Yu, and people from various theaters were still chatting inside.

When Jia Zhanke came out, many media immediately flocked to the scene.

"Director Jia, we've finished watching the movie. What do you think of it?"

Jia Zhanke: "You will know when you go to the cinema and watch it yourself."

"Director Jia, the Lunar New Year movie Crazy Stone will collide with Cell Phone. Which movie do you think will win?"

Jia Zhanke: "I can't comment on this, thank you!"

Then he left.

After Jiang Wen came out, almost all the media rushed to the scene.

"Director Jiang, you have watched the first film of Master Ergou. What is your evaluation?"

Jiang Wen: "I have nothing to say."

"Director Jiang, have you seen Cell Phone in advance? How do you think it compares to Crazy Stone?"

Jiang Wen: "I prefer Cell Phone."

"Director Jiang, how does "Heroes of Heaven and Earth" compare to "Crazy Stone"? "

Jiang Wen: "I think Heroes of Heaven and Earth is better."

"That's all. Thank you..."

He wasn't saying it for revenge or anything like that, he just really thought so.

………………

Lin Xiao hosted people from Bona Film Group and various cinema chains at a nearby five-star hotel.

"Master, we in the movie industry don't talk nonsense. Let's communicate directly without using clichés."

“I also watched the preview of Cell Phone. I think the movie is pretty good.”

“Whether it’s the actors’ performances, the story, or the topicality, they’re all very good.”

"But I like your movie Crazy Stone better."

Having said that, the cinema manager paused for a moment.

"But again, Huayi and Feng Xiaogang have dominated the Lunar New Year period for many years, and the cast is much stronger. Audiences have become accustomed to watching Feng's Lunar New Year films."

“So, I think in terms of box office alone, Crazy Stone still can’t compete with Cell Phone.”

"I have been in this industry for many years. Based on my professional experience, if it weren't for the added bonus of Ergou's halo, it would have been a huge victory for Crazy Stone to exceed 15 million. With the added bonus of your fame, the box office exceeded 30 million, which is totally worth holding a celebration banquet!"

"It's almost impossible to beat Cell Phone. Even the chance of beating Heroes of Heaven and Earth is slim."

"These are judgments based on our market experience, and we apologize if they do not meet your expectations."

Of course Lin Xiao understood their judgment very well.

Because these days, there is no such thing as word-of-mouth fermentation, tap water, etc.

The most important factor in determining whether a movie performs well at the box office is whether it is a blockbuster?

Because movie tickets are expensive and there are not many cinemas, many viewers want to see movies that are worth the money. For ordinary movies, I just watch pirated DVDs at home, and only big productions and big scenes are worth going to the cinema to watch.

So, the correlation between movie box office and movie quality is not that high.

Unlike 20 years later, high-quality movies are likely to surge to the top, while rubbish movies will soon plummet even if they do well at the box office at the beginning.

Nowadays, whether audiences go to the cinema or not depends first on whether there are grand scenes and whether it is a big production.

Secondly, it depends on whether there are any big stars or big-name actors.

In this respect, "Crazy Stone" is far behind "Cell Phone".

Historically, Crazy Stone was released in 2006 and grossed 25 million. Now, because of the aura of Ergou, the cinema manager directly predicted that under optimistic circumstances, the box office would exceed 30 million, which was already a great exaggeration for Lin Xiao.

But Lin Xiao has a completely different judgment.

Because things have changed, he has control of Facebook.

The number of registered Facebook users has not been made public, but... it has exceeded 11 million.

The numbers are growing by leaps and bounds every day.

This registration number even puzzled Lin Xiao and Xia Xi.

The total number of college students, graduate students, and teachers in colleges and universities across the country seems to be just over 20 million, less than 30 million.

How did Facebook get 11 million users? At first, people thought that most of the credit went to the full version of Plants vs. Zombies, but now two months have passed and everyone has played the game, but Facebook's registered users are still increasing.

Moreover, many IP addresses no longer come from universities, but from society.

Obviously, there is already a large group of people who have found ways to cross the threshold and successfully registered.

Because Facebook has now become a necessity, it has its own chemical reaction and does not require much publicity at all.

Now, there is a high degree of overlap between Facebook users and moviegoers.

They are either college students or graduate students, or white-collar elites, and they are the mainstream audience of movies.

Once word of mouth for "Crazy Stone" spreads, it will be very easy to form viral marketing in Facebook communities and Facebook news.

As long as the word of mouth is good enough and it becomes a trend.

Then...the box office might see a big explosion.

Damn, even in 2024, who would have thought that the box office of "Oufen 2" would exceed 8 billion and hit 10 billion.

Therefore, the box office of the movie "Crazy Stone" is the moment to truly test the quality of the halo of Master Ergou. Historically, it has only had a box office of 25 million. Let's see how much it can get this time.

As for the miracle of grassroots singers’ album sales, that is not the miracle of Master Ergou, because he has been so awesome in history.

"Of course, Mr. Lin, please rest assured about one thing. Let alone 30 million, even if the box office is 20 million, we will not be vague about the film scheduling." These theater managers patted their chests and vowed.

However, Lin Xiao would not take it too seriously. These theater managers would not do anything without profit. As long as your attendance rate is high, they will certainly try their best to schedule your film.

As long as the attendance rate is low, it will be useless even if we talk a lot now.

……………………

After seeing off the people from the cinema chains, Mr. Yu from Bona stayed.

The specific contract will be negotiated by people from Lightning Entertainment, and the two CEOs are just setting the tone.

"Do you want to sign a guaranteed contract?" Mr. Yu asked proactively.

Generally, it is the producers who ask for a minimum guarantee, so that at least they will not lose all their money.

"It doesn't matter." Lin Xiao: "But I hope to adopt a tiered profit sharing system."

"Can."

Lin Xiao said: "20 to 30 million is one level, 30 to 50 million is one level, and 50 million and above is one level."

The specific contract will of course be very detailed, Lin Xiao only gave a rough idea.

President Yu: "President Lin, are you really not going to hold a premiere?"

Lin Xiao thought about it for a while and finally refused.

Because the people who came to the premiere were basically the media and professional film critics.

But in the final analysis, "Crazy Stone" is a movie aimed at general audiences.

President Yu: "President Lin, the president of Columbia Asia obviously did not come for no reason. I'm talking about if..."

"If we succeed in making Crazy Stone, if Columbia is really interested in working with you, and if we are very happy with this cooperation, you are welcome to bring us along."

Lin Xiao: “Okay.”

For Lin Xiao, what he wants is power and influence, not the box office revenue.

Next, the two of them chatted.

The teams from both sides were in the next room, with lawyers and accountants, working out the specific contract details.

Because Bona Film Group just opened this year and wanted to make "Crazy Stone" a real success, it made concessions on many details.

So the two parties reached an agreement on the entire contract without any effort.

Then, Gao Changhe officially signed on behalf of Lightning Entertainment.

The cooperation between the two parties has been officially reached!

After signing the contract, Mr. Yu couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Lin, give me an estimate. How much do you think this movie will make at the box office?"

Lin Xiao thought for a while: "More than 60 million?"

Suddenly, Mr. Yu couldn't believe it.

Wouldn't this number be enough to win the box office championship this year? If it is really achieved, it will be a huge victory for Bona Film Group.

An absolute great start.

In the competition with such a strong rival as "Cell Phone", you actually want to get a box office of 60 million? The key is that only blockbusters can have big box office in the Chinese market. No matter how good other movies are, they can only have a box office of tens of millions.

……………………

Han Jie looked at the famous Lin Xiao in front of him and was really wondering why the other party would fall for him, an unknown person.

At present, Han Jie’s only real work is a short film called "New Year", which was really well made and won an award.

His only truly outstanding work in the future was "HELLO, Mr. Tree". Although he also directed commercial films, they failed both in terms of reputation and box office, such as "The Little Shop of Sorrow".

So Lin Xiao really loves his talent.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

It's just a movie called "Hello, Mr. Tree", although this movie did not win any major awards or do well at the box office.

"I've seen your film "New Year", it's very well made, are you interested in coming to my place?" Lin Xiao: "I'll give you a special film and let you be the director directly?"

Han Jie was extremely surprised by Lin Xiao's straightforward response.

Of course, I was also very excited, because Ning Hao, who was also a grassroots, followed the leader Ergou and directly made a movie like "Crazy Stone".

Everyone dreams of becoming a film director on their own.

But on the other hand, Jia Zhanke was both his teacher and friend, and he wanted to study under him for a few years.

From Lin Xiao's perspective, Chen Sicheng actually has greater commercial value and his movies sell better at the box office.

But for some reason, he always felt that Han Jie in front of him was more talented, and if there was an excellent script, he would do a better job.

"Can I think about it for a while?" Han Jie said, "Actually, I am very, very moved, because you have created so many miracles."

"But I always feel that I am still immature in all aspects and I still need to learn a lot, so I stay with Director Jia."

Lin Xiao laughed and said, "In fact, it's too mature, which makes it meaningless and full of craftsmanship."

“When you are immature, your heart is full of emotions and feelings, and what you lack may be skills.”

“When you mature, skills become more important than emotions and feelings.”

"And if you want to mature, you probably don't learn from an excellent director, but throw yourself into a movie, suffer all kinds of hardships, and grow much faster than an assistant director."

Art is really different from other things, and it doesn’t necessarily require maturity.

Just look at Jiaozi and you will know. After making two animated short films, they started working on "Nezha 1".

"I will definitely consider it very seriously." Han Jie stood up and said, "But first of all, I am still very grateful that you have chosen me."

Lin Xiao laughed and said, "You follow him to learn, but if you follow me, isn't that also learning?"

After these words came out, Han Jie almost froze.

A strong urge surged in my heart.

……………………

The next day!

Lightning Entertainment and Bona Film Group released a press release that the movie "Crazy Stone" will enter the Lunar New Year holiday and will be released on December 18! Almost a few hours later!

Huayi Films released a press release that the movie "Cell Phone" will be released on December 16! The two movies really collided with each other.

Moreover, historically, "Cell Phone" was scheduled to be released on December 18, but now it has been moved forward two days to the 16th. There is no doubt that this is to block Lightning Entertainment's "Crazy Stone".

The situation is very clear.

After a lot of publicity, the box office in the first two days was very good, and then it occupied a large amount of screening resources, suppressing "Crazy Stone" and preventing it from coming to the fore.

You don't need to press it for a long time, even just a week is enough.

At Huayi’s internal meeting.

The atmosphere is very serious!

The tone is very intense and very formal!

"We have given Leader Ergou a way out, but he won't do it."

"They are determined to compete with us during the Lunar New Year holiday. It seems that they are determined to step on us to get to the top."

"So I have only one request, no matter the cost, his movie must be suppressed!"

"A theater manager predicted that because of the aura of Er Gou Jiaozhu, the box office of this movie may exceed 30 million!"

"Thirty million? Even twenty million won't let him go!"

"The president of Columbia's Asia branch also attended the preview. Leader Ergou is still slandering our film Heroes, saying it will not make any money at the global box office."

"What will it mean if his film is released during the Lunar New Year holiday?"

"It means Columbia may cooperate with him. After all, his book won the Hugo Award, which is an American award."

"Among Hollywood giants, the only ones closest to Chinese films are Columbia and Sony Entertainment, which is behind it."

"And Columbia's resources are limited. Next they are going to cooperate with Zhou Xingchi and Zhang Yimou. If they cooperate with Ergou Jiaozhu again, our chances will be slim."

"I've heard that Columbia's Asian female president is not very satisfied with Crazy Stone, but she respects the market. If Ergou really makes a name for himself in this Lunar New Year film, the probability of Columbia cooperating with them will increase greatly, which will be very disadvantageous to us."

"Now all entertainment companies want to enter the international market. This resource cannot fall into the hands of Master Ergou no matter what."

"So I emphasize again, this Lunar New Year holiday, we don't just want to win, we want to completely crush the other team so hard that they can't even raise their heads."

"We must completely extinguish the so-called halo of the Ergou leader. Let him go back to his own internet and don't come to our territory to make trouble."

"Mobilize all your connections and resources to accomplish this goal."

………………

There is still some time before the two movies are released, but the news has already started to make a lot of noise.

Many media have even called, wanting to interview Leader Ergou and Director Ning Hao.

In theory, Lightning Entertainment should cooperate and seize the opportunity of "Cell Phone" to make trouble for itself and hype itself.

Because in everyone's opinion, "Cell Phone" is the strong one, and "Crazy Stone" needs to take advantage of this popularity.

but……

Lightning Entertainment does not accept any interviews and does not cooperate with any hype.

Still maintaining an unshakable attitude.

This really confused the media and filmmakers.

Master Ergou, this is not how you play the game.

The movie schedule is very precious, and you are only given a few days to do so. If the box office is not good in the first five or six days, then you will have no chance at all.

Now Huayi has started to make an effort, promoting and hyping it up everywhere, trying hard to increase the popularity.

And you are old enemies, so this is a golden opportunity, so just grab the opportunity and try your best to get attention from "Cell Phone".

But you are so calm.

Come on, that's a small production.

You are not a big production like "Hero", waiting for others to take advantage of your popularity, and you don't need to take advantage of others' popularity.

At a time like this, how can you stay calm?

Do you really think you are a movie star? Do you think that as long as you make a movie, countless audiences will come to support you? Don't have this sense of superiority, don't have this kind of fantasy.

Not to mention you, even if it is Zhang Yimou's movie, it should be promoted and hyped.

If his movies didn't have gimmicks and weren't big productions, they would have flopped.

Don't be too confident.

Don’t be too proud! ………………

Lin Xiao is really busy.

The second weekend of "If You Are the One" is here, and the third and fourth episodes have begun airing.

The ratings directly reached 2.6% and 2.8%.

On such a high basis, it still completed the rise.

Jiangnan TV and Lightning Entertainment were once again in ecstasy.

Too strong.

Each episode has higher ratings than the previous one.

Even more ecstatic were the advertisers and brand owners who spent huge sums of money on the gamble at the time.

I was a little nervous at that time.

And now...

Making a fortune!

It's not just because the ratings are high, but also because the viewers of this program are all high-spending groups, so the advertising effect is particularly good.

I felt that I had spent a lot of money before, but now it seems that I have achieved more than twice the advertising effect with the same advertising budget.

So the phones of Director Zhou, Director Zhang Yan, and Li Shuang were flooded with calls.

They are all brands and advertisers who want to book advertisements for the next season of If You Are the One in advance.

Lin Xiao is still a little bit slower.

Li Shuang was really busier than ever before.

Because not only do they have to record four new episodes of "If You Are the One", but they also have to select new male and female guests, and plan a new program "The Brain".

For this "The Brain" planning proposal, Lin Xiao only completed a rough outline, and the specific details had to be handed over to Shuang Lin for completion.

Director Zhou and Zhang Yan would call almost every one or two days, not to talk about anything, but just to keep in touch.

He always says he wants to come to Shanghai and have dinner and drink with me.

Moreover, when he heard that "Crazy Stone" had been scheduled, Director Zhou immediately called Gao Changhe and said that Jiangnan Satellite TV planned to promote the film directly on the news program, and also mobilize the relationship with the Provincial Radio and Television Bureau to directly influence the theaters in Jiangnan Province and increase the screening of "Crazy Stone".

"Boss Gao, please tell Boss Lin that we cannot influence other places, but the theaters in Jiangnan Province will definitely stand on the side of the leader."

Although there was no urging Shuanglin Entertainment to produce new programs, their inner urgency was self-evident.

It’s almost like I’m telling you, Master, stop wandering around and start planning a new program. Let’s strike while the iron is hot and move Jiangnan TV directly from the second tier to the first tier.

Just one "If You Are the One" is too lonely, let's have another popular show.

Another unexpected call came from Wang Shiqing, the production director of Shanghai TV, who called Li Shuang.

"Congratulations, Comrade Li Shuang!"

"Although I have always insisted that as long as it is gold, it will shine."

"But I still greatly underestimated you. I didn't expect you to shine so quickly and so brilliantly."

"Although you have left our station, don't forget that Shanghai Satellite TV will always be your home."

At this time, there was no ambiguity between men and women in the director's tone, but rather he was having a warm and equal-level conversation.

"By the way, there is one small thing. Lightning Entertainment's movie Crazy Stone is about to be released, right? I am personally very much looking forward to it."

"In addition, our Shanghai Radio and Television Group still has some influence on the theaters in Shanghai. Don't worry, we at Shanghai Radio and Television will definitely stand on the side of Lightning Entertainment."

"If you need anything, just ask, or even without asking, we will help."

After hanging up the phone, Li Shuang sighed again.

As long as you are strong, everyone in the world is a good person.

Resources that you never dared to dream of before are all pouring in.

Not only that, Lightning Entertainment soon received a call from relevant leaders of Shanghai Theatre Academy.

The meaning of the words is very clear.

Facing the upcoming Lunar New Year box office battle, Shanghai Theatre Academy and even Shanghai Film Group will support Lightning Entertainment and hope for more cooperation in the future.

Because in "Crazy Stone", two of the actors are from Shanghai Theatre Academy.

The most important thing is that Huayi is in the Beijing circle, although the Shanghai circle has not yet been formed. But everyone is in Shanghai, and it has been formed unknowingly.

Lightning Entertainment was clearly prepared to fight alone, but before the battle even started, allies from all sides took the initiative.

It is clear that the intention is to turn the competition between the two companies into a factional dispute.

When Lin Xiao received these calls, he sighed inexplicably. Why is a faction about to be formed? If the movie "Crazy Stone" is a big hit at the box office, and then there will be a few more successful movies.

Then the Shanghai circle with Lightning Entertainment as the core will be completely formed.

At this time, Xia Xi pushed the door open directly.

She has always been very calm, but at this moment she seemed very excited.

"Someone's meeting us!"

"This time it's a giant, a real giant!"

"Who do you think it is?"

Lin Xiao: “Redwood?”

Xia Xi: "No."

Lin Xiao: “IDG?”

Xia Xi: "Not really."

Lin Xiao: “SoftBank?”

Xia Xi nodded and said, "Yes, SoftBank, and it was Masayoshi Son's office who called personally, wanting to meet with us!"

SoftBank’s boss, Masayoshi Son.

That...that is indeed a real giant.

The man behind Yahoo, the man behind Alibaba.

He was a legendary figure for a long time.

……………………

Note: I wrote half of it on the high-speed train, and when I got home, I immediately buried my head in typing. Finally, I finished it! Dear benefactors, do you still have monthly tickets in your pocket? Can you give them to me? (End of this chapter)