China Entertainment: Director’s happiness is so simple

On the 16th, Lu Pingan temporarily ended the post-production of "Insidious" and joined the "Batman" production team.

"What's going on now?"

When they arrived at the place, Lu Ping'an asked about the specific situation.

"That's it"

Xiang Guoqiang comes one by one. The current production progress of "Batman 1" is in the prop preparation stage.

Props are a very important part of Nolan's plan.

The overall props include scenery, Batman equipment, costumes, etc.

A lot, very cumbersome.

The overall estimated preparation time will be at least 4 months.

Fortunately, the progress is good. It started in October and is currently about half complete.

"The next step is to wait for the main actors to sign on."

The planned casting choices are all based on the original film.

Bale, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and more.

None of them are noobs.

We had contacted these people as early as October when we started preparing. It was not a big problem at that time, as long as the money was in place, but we did not sign the contract immediately. These people were busy and would sign it after they were done.

Now it is said that Christian Bale is still training. He has just finished playing "The Machinist" and has lost a bit of weight.

I have known about Bell's reputation for a long time.

This is the famous "Balloon Man" in Hollywood. He suddenly becomes fat and thin when acting in movies, and he is extremely dedicated.

As they continued chatting, Lu Pingan bought some props from the set.

Batman helmets, armor and more.

Nolan came over to introduce them, saying how troublesome it was to make these things and how complicated the craftsmanship was.

In short, as a producer, Lu Pingan only feels that money is flowing.

But fortunately, these props can create value again in the future.

For example, the Batman suit can be auctioned.

There's also the Batmobile, and those handsome "tanks" can all be auctioned.

Lu Ping'an thought he could buy one and return it to China after the film was finished, but he didn't know if it was banned in the United States.

After visiting for a while, Lu Pingan expressed satisfaction with the production progress.

Regarding actor selection, he reminded Xiang Guoqiang: "If there are changes, let us know in time."

Summit Entertainment is a small company, and Nolan is also a small director. Even if the money is available, big names may not really be able to watch this movie.

In addition, as an independent production company, it is not easy for Summit to operate such a big movie. It may encounter many difficulties in the future. Lu Ping An also asked Xiang Guoqiang to highlight his talents.

At the same time, Lu Ping'an was also wondering whether to bring Hu Qingquan over.

Hu Qingquan has nothing to do for the time being.

The film for Berlin next year has been sent out, and now he returns to school and continues to be a teacher.

Lu Ping An would return to China tomorrow morning, and he thought he should talk to Hu Qingquan.

I just don’t know how Hu Qingquan would react when he found out that he had made such a big movie.

Just don't be scared, it is a big project worth nearly one billion yuan after all.

After looking around, Nolan came over to talk to him: "The president of Warner wants to meet with you."

"Is it the president of Time Warner or Warner Bros. Entertainment?"

"Barry Meyer, Warner Bros. Entertainment."

"It's him."

Lu Ping'an knows this person.

Barry Meyer is the current head of Warner Bros. Pictures. He took charge of Warner from 1999 until he stepped down in 2013.

These ten years were also the most profitable period for Warner Pictures.

He has led "Harry Potter", "Batman Trilogy", etc., and they are all super hits.

The key is that this person is a Jew.

Big shot.

"Did you say why?"

he asked.

Nolan pointed to the set and shrugged: "I think I regret it."

"Okay, when?"

. . . . . .

Los Angeles, a coffee shop.

Barry Meyer is gentle and approachable.

Lu Ping'an and him had been chatting for 20 minutes.

Lu Ping'an did not openly disclose that he was leading the project, but Warner knew it because he and Warner Henry first proposed it from the beginning, and then after manipulation, Summit came forward.

It is impossible to hide this from the president of Warner.

The two chatted pretty well. The little old man in his 50s was very knowledgeable and could talk about anything.

From sports to cultures of various countries to history, we are now talking about superhero IP.

At this point, it’s time to talk about the topic.

Sure enough, Barry Meyer said: "Lu, to be honest, I didn't think you could really understand this superhero at first, but now, I think I made a mistake by renting the IP to you."

Barry Meyer used to think that the project was hopeless, but now he just feels that Nolan didn't come up with the idea earlier, allowing Lu Ping to take advantage of it.

Lu Pingan did not reveal the scripts for the latter two films, but Nolan had the idea. Now Nolan has become the director of the project. As a contracted director of Warner, Barry Meyer has naturally talked with him. He knows the general idea. Barry Meyer thought the idea was good, so he gave it some thought.

He thought that the actual operation was indeed feasible. Nolan had the ideas and the company had the team. If he took a gamble, he would at least be more confident than leaving it to a small company like Lu Ping An.

However, now that the contract has been confirmed, Lu Ping An can only express regret: "If Mr. Barry does not want to breach the contract, then everything will be easy to negotiate."

Barry Meyer laughed when he heard this, but was not affected by the words. Instead, he continued to ask: "If I want to take back the IP now, what price will you offer?"

"The liquidated damages are probably two hundred million U.S. dollars. Just stick to this."

Lu Pingping didn't feel any pity.

In fact, he is not that interested in the Batman trilogy, or the character of Batman.

Because of this, I don’t have much feeling for the highly rated trilogy.

He even said that he is not very interested in all the characters of old American DC comics and Marvel comics.

He just thinks that all kinds of superhero movies are too popcorn.

The reason why I filmed them was just to make money at the box office.

That’s why I tried to test the Batman IP with the idea of ​​​​making a difference.

Batman has been defeated, and he doesn't have much interest in actually directing the trilogy himself.

It was too time-consuming, and he just liked the second Joker very simply and emotionally. This was also the only Batman movie he had ever watched in its entirety.

So pick some peaches, work with Heath Ledger, improve your skills, and earn a movie with a box office of more than one billion US dollars.

That was all he wanted in the first place.

So now if the other party can directly offer 200 million U.S. dollars, he would naturally be willing.

Anyway, he doesn't care too much about relying on the trilogy to become a god.

Otherwise, he would have rejected Nolan long ago, so why only pick the second part of the trilogy?

However, the other party obviously does not want to spend this money.

"Two hundred million is too high. It's not certain whether the entire trilogy can make a profit of two hundred million."

Barry Meyer shook his head.

Lu Pingping said nothing.

Barry Meyer continued:

"Lu, as you know, for movies, production is one thing, and distribution is another, and distribution is more important than production. No matter how good the movie is, it's useless if it doesn't do a good job in distribution. We control global distribution. At the same time, as a large production company, it can also provide you with unexpected conveniences during the production of the film, which Summit cannot provide, and you don’t want the film to fail to achieve the effect you want, right?”

Barrymeyer continued.

Lu Ping'an frowned slightly: "Barry, you don't need to threaten me like this. I like to speak openly. The most important thing about a project is to make money. If everyone makes money, everyone will be happy. There is no need to engage in a zero-sum game, so Just tell me your conditions and we can discuss them slowly, right?"

After hearing this, Barry Meyer smiled and took a sip of coffee. He had figured out Lu Ping'an's temperament.

Lu Pingan is not that enthusiastic about Batman, he just thinks it is a business.

That's fine.

What bothers him most is talking to a bunch of people who are too artistically minded.

Just talk about business. Commercial movies are just business, nothing special.

So Barry Meyer directly showed off: "How about returning the copyright to us, refunding the original price of 16 million, and keeping 20% ​​of the investment share for you?"

After hearing this, Lu Pingan remained expressionless.

It would make sense to give him tens of millions of dollars in cash compensation, a 20% share?

Putting aside the details, everyone on Earth knows what Warner is doing, and he can’t afford to play with it.

However, Lu Pingan did not directly turn over the table and refuse.

The asking price is just to pay on the spot. If you don't go back and forth several times, how can you make a decision so quickly?

So Lu Pingan shook his head: "Sorry, it's too low."

"You make a price."

"Just follow the liquidated damages."

"You know this won't work, change the price."

"It's you who wants to break the contract, so it's your turn to raise the price."

The two of them smiled and exchanged a few words back and forth, neither of them letting go of the initiative.

Finally, Barry Meyer smiled: "Are all Chinese people so good at doing business?"

Lu Ping'an shrugged: "When it comes to business, Jews are number one."

"All right."

Barry Meyer smiled and shook his head and said, "16 million to buy back the copyright, 3 million for the script of the trilogy, and leave you a 30% share of the other three trilogy. At the same time, I will hire you as the director of the trilogy. The remuneration will be based on the market price. This price It can’t go any higher, please think about it carefully.”

After hearing this, Lu Pingan asked back: "Do you think Nolan is good at it?"

"Nolan is not as good as you."

"..."

Lu Ping'an didn't know what to say.

You don’t even like Nolan?

But it seems that Nolan is not very good now.

At least compared to Lu Ping'an, he is incomparable.

Lu Ping An's two Hollywood movies were a hit, and a Chinese-language movie was a hit in the United States. All the movies received high ratings.

His directing ability has been recognized by the industry.

In addition, the first detailed script of Batman was also written by him. There are still two scripts for the latter two that have not been announced, but Barry Meyer heard from Nolan that they will be better than the first one.

So if you really have to choose a director, Lu Ping'an is naturally your first choice.

In addition, Lu Pingping also noticed it.

In fact, it is necessary for Warner to choose him.

Warner wanted to take back the IP, but was unwilling to give more cash, so it could only promise a share.

I want to give my share but don’t want to give it away for free, so I bind him as the director to ensure the quality of the film. This is the best way.

In this way, Lu Pingan will be bound to the trilogy, that is, he will work for himself, and he can also "become a god", and Warner can also take back the IP to maximize profits.

However, this price is really not suitable.

Forget about splitting.

"Harry Potter" can suffer losses despite being supervised by three parties, but Ping An doesn't have the confidence to outperform Warner Bros.

Be a director?

Wouldn’t that make him a part-time worker?

16 million was rented for the IP, and 16 million was returned. Warner also earned the trilogy script and a director, and could resurrect an IP.

As for me, I've been working hard.

This is too bad.

Far better than doing it yourself.

What if Lu Ping An continues to do it himself?

If Warner doesn't threaten or even cooperates, then the profits that "Trilogy" can create for him will be huge.

But now, Warner has made it clear that it wants to give you some obstacles.

Who knows, I won't be so nice and angry next time.

However, this is only applicable to people who generally don’t understand the threat.

To be honest, Summit is indeed too weak right now, and its influence in the United States is not large yet.

If he really had to do it himself, the financial pressure would actually be quite high.

The production cost is more than 100 million, which does not include future publicity expenses.

Fortunately, Lu Ping An has sufficient funds.

In addition, without Warner's strong distribution channels, "Batman Trilogy" may not achieve such high box office.

But it’s not like Warner Bros. in Hollywood has a distribution relationship.

Even production companies can't get involved in theaters.

The Paramount bill hangs over its head.

In addition, the eight major Hollywood actors are not monolithic.

Without you Warner, others will not survive?

Of course, there is actually a better way here, such as directly recruiting Barry Meyer.

There are two more offers from Goldfinger.

If this thing can be used, it must be used.

No, it's basically worthless.

The function of an offer is to enable the person who accepts the conditions to be 100% loyal to him at work and maintain 100% confidentiality.

After working with Xiang Guoqiang, an "employee", for more than two years, he has figured out the making habits.

Once it is bound and a position is set, such as "assistant", then this position will be a virtual position when it is not used. Once used, Lu Ping'an's orders will take priority.

But he will only do work that does not violate his conscience and the law, is beneficial, and does not put himself in danger.

It doesn't mean that if you ask him to kneel down and offer his daughter and wife, he will do it.

This is obviously against public order and good customs.

So if Barry Meyer becomes his "assistant", it may not be feasible for him to devote Warner resources to supplement himself.

But it is still okay if I provide fair and equitable convenience when forming a cooperative relationship with Warner Bros. Entertainment.

This is also the reason why Lu Ping An kept holding on to the offer when he worked with Wattsberg before.

Offer is not to provide you with a servant, but to provide you with a professional, dedicated and honest "employee".

So if Barry Meyer can really be bound, Warner Bros. Entertainment will be another relay station for Lu Ping An in Hollywood.

With this relay station, many things can be played more smoothly.

The latest one is "Trilogy". As long as he tells Barry Meyer not to do the accounting, and to ensure that the profits are fair, there is no need to worry.

Even further away, for example, for other Warner movies, such as "Harry Potter", Pingan Lu can also participate in directing, because this is something Barry Meyer can have the final say, and Pingan Lu is also qualified to take the role when the time comes.

In addition, with Barry Meyer, he can also borrow Warner's distribution channels at any time. Many of his films in the future can also be on the fast track for distribution, instead of letting Peak slowly cultivate the situation. The pinnacle, and its own theater chain.

Summit + Warner, this way, his insurance in Hollywood will be strong.

However, Lu Ping An may not be able to afford Barry Meyer.

However, Lu Ping'an still decided to give it a try.

Chinese people pay attention to harmony and wealth, and Lu Ping'an is a typical Chinese.

Who likes to fight and kill unless absolutely necessary?

So if you can get the best, if not, then you can only use traditional methods.

It’s impossible to work part-time anyway.

Such a highly profitable work, now that it has been taken, cannot be sent back in vain.

So Lu Pingan tried to ask Barry Meyer: "Barry, I want to know what kind of remuneration would be required to be your boss. If I guarantee that the box office of "Trilogy" reaches 1 billion, is that okay?"

Barry Meyer was a little confused as to why Lu Pingan asked this, but he probably also understood that it should be because Lu Pingan wanted more.

So he shook his head: "One billion is okay, but can you do it?"

"Then 1 billion. If I can do it, can I be your boss?"

“Why do you stress about being my boss?”

"Because I do want to hire you."

"Lu, our topic has gone astray."

"I'm not biased. I just want to hire you to be fair and equitable to my project. There will be no extravagant work on the books, and I'm being paid. Tell me what price I need to pay to hire you as my fair and equitable officer." ?Is it Batman’s resurrection, or something else?”

Barry Meyer laughed on the spot: "Lu, I can guarantee that what you said is fair and impartial. You don't want to do anything fancy. You don't have to worry."

"How can I guarantee that I can join the three-party regulatory agencies?"

"I said, I can guarantee it, don't worry."

Old fox, this is, I don’t play with you on paper, I only play with you verbally.

Is this how investors in "Harry Potter" were fooled?

Lu Ping'an had already realized at this time that this guy had a plan in this regard.

Even making losses on the books is Warner's way of making profits.

So unless you can bind it, just do it yourself.

He finally said: "You'd better tell me the reward. It cost me money. I can rest assured."

"Lu, it seems our conversation can't continue."

Barry Meyer shook his head and his expression became cold, "Lu, I suggest you think about it carefully. "Batman" is a big IP. Small companies can't make it work. If you can't make it, fans will tear you apart." ."

Lu Pingan did not show weakness: "Don't worry, if you lose, you will lose. It's only one or two billion. I can afford the loss. It's okay if the fans scold me. The worst I can do is go back to China."

"Then good luck to you."

After that, the two drank the last bit of coffee in the cup and then left.

The conversation broke up unhappily.

Lu Pingan immediately informed Xiang Guoqiang that he must be prepared for the future.

Go through the props, insurance, legal affairs, etc. again to make sure nothing goes wrong.

At the same time, be prepared for the director and original actors to miss their appointments and make replacement plans.

Just in case, Lu Ping'an decided to call Hu Qingquan over as a producer when he returned.

Hu Qingquan is thoughtful and patient, and has many connections in Laos and the United States. He works smoothly with Xiang Guoqiang and Wattsberg.

With him around, the project is more secure.

Later, he talked to Wattsberg about the matter and suggested that preparations for distribution must be made in advance. In recent years, so many film studios have to maintain it in advance. When the time comes, Warner will really come up with tricks, and they will be fully prepared. .

Wattsberg was very excited after hearing this.

He has long been unhappy with Bada.

Every time I meet with their person in charge, I always feel a little shorter.

Now Lu Ping An has simply rejected Warner, which makes him feel more like a comrade in arms towards Lu Ping An.

"Lu, didn't Warner say that we are just a small company and can't make superhero movies? This time we will punch Warner in the butthole!"

"Watts, we are just operating a big-hit project. There will be many such projects in the future, so don't get too excited."

"You're right! But I still want to say that this time we must hit Warner's asshole hard and let them see that we are not weaker than them!"

"Okay, then let's do it!"

"It's a shame!"