China Entertainment special effects started in 1997

Gao Yuanyuan was a little confused at first, but she reacted quickly, covered her mouth with both hands and bowed, saying: "Thank you, director, thank you, director!"

She followed the instructions of the staff, went out from the side door, and waited in a small room.

Jiang Heng was still auditioning, no matter how the actresses behind him were, they had to go through the process.

The whole event ended at around 3 pm, and then he ordered someone to call Gao Yuanyuan back.

The senior executives of China Film and representatives of Columbia were also present, and they were also curious about Jiang Heng's choice.

But looking at Gao Yuanyuan's appearance, figure, and temperament, it was not surprising!

Although this girl is not famous at present, she is obviously the kind of person who is blessed by God, and she is full of goddess style.

After discussing the salary and contract schedule, she was allowed to leave.

Until she returned home, the national goddess was still a little confused, and she couldn't believe that she easily got this role that made countless Chinese actresses crazy.

Jiang Heng continued the preparations for the "Pacific Rim" project.

In terms of investment, the original historical version in 2013 cost a total of 190 million US dollars. Considering factors such as inflation and actor pay over the past ten years, Jiang Heng's initial budget was 100 million US dollars.

Among them, China Film could invest very little, only 20 million US dollars, and it took a lot of effort to get it approved.

Columbia Company is rich, but because it cannot lead this film, it dare not take too much money, so it invested 30 million.

The remaining 50 million US dollars was naturally supplemented by Jiang Heng.

In terms of actors, the male lead Wu Yuzu and the female lead Gao Yuanyuan, Xie Tingfeng was selected to guest play the male lead's brother, and his old partner Gao Xiong played the Chinese general in the film.

The rest of the roles are third-tier artists recommended by Columbia Company.

According to Jiang Heng's idea, the third-tier is a bit of a waste of money, after all, the biggest selling point of this film is mecha fighting monsters.

For human characters, only the leading actors can attract the attention of the audience.

Supporting roles and so on, it's almost the same if you don't say ignore them.

But Columbia said that the male and female protagonists are both Chinese, which is inherently insufficient in the promotion and marketing in Europe and the United States.

Although Wu Yizu is well-known for "The Matrix" and "100 Million Years BC", he is still not as friendly as white faces.

Invite one or two Hollywood third-tier stars, at least they can brag about it during the promotion and marketing.

Having said that, Jiang Heng couldn't refuse and could only let them do it.

Then there is the script. The main story line written by Jiang Heng basically follows the original story in 2013. Overall, it is relatively smooth, a proper commercial film plot.

In the original history, "Pacific Rim 2" became a big bad movie, largely because the plot was not smooth enough and mixed with too many messy things.

The mecha was not heavy enough, and it looked like Ultraman wearing a mecha skin to fight monsters, and then both word-of-mouth and box office failed.

Speaking of box office, in fact, "Pacific Rim 1" was not good enough. The production cost was 190 million, and the global box office was only 411 million US dollars.

The reason for this situation is largely due to the parting of ways between Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures. Before that, they had been working together for eight years and were one of the most successful partners in Hollywood. They jointly produced many box office successes including "Batman: The Dark Knight", "Inception", "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Hangover".

When the movie "Pacific Rim" was produced, Legendary Pictures paid 75% and the distributor Warner only paid 25%. About two weeks before the North American release, when Warner should have been vigorously promoting the stage, 70% of the publicity budget had not been spent.

If the distribution is not strong, it is almost impossible to sell well at the box office unless a miracle happens.

As for why the two companies suddenly broke up when they were working well together, it is said that Thomas Tull, CEO of Legendary Pictures, was dissatisfied with Warner, but in fact, they complained privately that the other party took the credit for themselves.

The partners had ulterior motives and undermined each other. It would be strange if the box office results were good.

As for the second reason, Jiang Heng thinks it is the timing of the release.

When it comes to the famous mecha image, the first thing that comes to the audience's mind must be Transformers, a film and television work derived from a toy product.

The cartoon appeared earlier, as early as 1984, it was produced and distributed by Hasbro.

If you want to say what influence this movie has, it is more among children.

The live-action version of the film and television version has to wait until 2007, when DreamWorks and Paramount jointly produced "Transformers" directed by Michael Bay.

When the majestic Autobots were like gods descending to earth and transformed in various ways, the audience was very excited.

Looking at other mecha images, they always feel that they are not as good as before. This is the importance of first impression.

In terms of visual effects, "Avatar 2" is not inferior to the first one, but in terms of influence, it is not the same.

Jiang Heng launched "Pacific Rim" in advance, just to intercept "Transformers".

As the first mecha special effects blockbuster in film history, "Pacific Rim", which is expected to be released in 2001, will bring visual shock to the audience, which is definitely far beyond the historical original.

The reputation and box office will surely be good. Regardless of how much money is earned, at least there will not be any "book loss".

As for the filming of the film, in addition to funds, actors, and scripts, the more important thing is the image design of the various mechas and monsters in the film.

Jiang Heng drew a large number of character concept drawings and storyboard script drawings early on.

It is precisely with these solid preparations that China Film and Columbia Corporation dare to invest heavily!

At least in their opinion, the special effects blockbusters Jiang Heng has shot since his debut are undoubtedly not high-quality, and the quality of this one will not be bad either.

Another live-action mecha movie was launched before "Transformers", and the box office prospects are still very bright.

In early October, the crew of "Pacific Rim" officially started filming in Hong Kong.

He first filmed the plot of the Battle of Hong Kong, then went to San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo and other places to shoot exteriors, and finally returned to the China Film Digital Studio in Beijing for filming, and then post-production.

After the news came out, everyone was shocked.

Especially in Hollywood, several companies had contacted Jiang Heng and wanted to collaborate on some film projects, but they didn't want Columbia to take the lead.

The person who cannot accept this the most is the famous producer Don Murphy. It can be said that without him, there would be no "Transformers".

Historically, producer Don Murphy originally wanted to make a movie called "Special Forces" after the outbreak of the Iraq War, but in the end he negotiated with Hasbro about the adaptation rights to "Transformers" and Many people were invited to complete the script. Even Spielberg once expressed his opinions on the script of "Transformers".

But when Don Murphy pitched the idea of ​​the movie "Transformers" to major film companies and told investors that this theme would be a hit, no one was interested at first.

But after weeks of no one paying attention, five film companies including DreamWorks, New Line, and Paramount came to visit almost at the same time.

It turned out that the investors Don Murphy initially contacted were all older and had old-fashioned ideas, and they didn’t think there was anything interesting about mechas and autobots.

But when they returned to the company and mentioned the idea at regular internal meetings, the young managers showed strong interest.

As for the film's director, Michael Bay, actually thought it was just a "silly toy movie."

Fortunately, he also declined the invitation, carefully studied the ins and outs of the Transformers series, and then agreed to direct in 2005, and then made the "Transformers" series of movies that made him famous.

In Hollywood, the fat Don Murphy went to Hasbro and rushed to win the adaptation rights of "Transformers".

I didn't have time to write a script, so I made a synopsis of the story and started selling it to major Hollywood film and television companies.

"Dear Sir, I believe you have also heard that the director from the East is working with Columbia Company to shoot a mecha movie!"

The old man opposite Don Murphy is a producer at Paramount, named Robert. He does belong to the category with old concepts, and his market sense is not that sensitive.

"I heard that a kid who spends his money with a little bit of talent will be in trouble soon! He has made several types of movies, including science fiction, monsters, and their country's mythology. ? Well, "Devil's Land" (Shituoling) is a bit interesting, but so what, maybe this one will be a disaster!"

Don Murphy was stunned for a moment and said in his heart, "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about!"

"Well, actually I want to say that director Jiang Heng has a good vision. Science fiction is a signature genre of Hollywood movies. If "The Matrix" is not used as a stepping stone, it is almost impossible for his subsequent works to be released on a large scale in North America. possible.

"One Hundred Million Years Before History" obviously followed the Jurassic series of movies. Although it had a mediocre reputation, it still made money thanks to its good special effects.

It is precisely because of the audience base accumulated by these two blockbusters that "Devil's Land" exploded at the box office in North America! "

Robert was also stunned, thinking to himself, did you come to me just to praise an Eastern director?

I admit that his filmmaking is really good, but as for his vision, it’s hard to say!

"you mean?"

"I think mecha movies are very likely to be a hit at the box office. Now that I have the film and television adaptation rights for "Transformers", we can jointly launch a live-action version of the movie. If we can It would be great to release it before Jiang Heng!”

After hearing this, Robert was still a little confused. He was old and had never seen the "Transformers" cartoon, so he didn't know what Don Murphy was talking about!

"Will it?" He just asked in a questioning tone.

Don Murphy was so anxious that he only regretted that he had not started the filming plan of "Transformers" earlier.

Of course, the technological level of the era is limited. Although the "Transformers" cartoon has been released for many years, everyone is still in the old thinking of the past that cannot be filmed, and has not carefully thought about the feasibility of things.

Jiang Heng's filming of "Pacific Rim" is a wake-up call to these people.

"Sure! Mr. Robert, can you help me apply to the company?"

Seeing Don Murphy's anxious expression, Robert became more and more uncertain. He was afraid that the more he talked, the more timid he would become. He drank water tactically and said immediately: "In this case, you leave the information to me. I will give it to you at the company's regular meeting later." Bring your ideas out for everyone to discuss!”

Don Murphy naturally said yes, handed over the prepared information, and when he stood up to say goodbye, he suddenly said, "For new genre blockbusters that use visual effects as their selling point, it is often the first film that reaps the biggest dividends. You Remember the grand occasion when "Jurassic Park 1" was released in 1993? It grossed nearly one billion US dollars at the global box office. It was really crazy money!

But looking back today, is this film still so shocking? The total appearance time of all the dinosaurs is only fifteen minutes, but with these fifteen minutes of slightly rough special effects shots, the company earned hundreds of millions of dollars. This is the bonus of the first film! "

When Robert heard this, he couldn't help but sigh, "If you say that, I understand. It's really the case. But "Pacific Rim" has already started filming. No matter how hard your "Transformers" catches up, it will be difficult to get ahead of the opponent. Show it!”

Don Murphy said: "That's true, but you have forgotten one thing. The film made by Jiang Heng is said to be an original story and there is no original work. The "Transformers" cartoon has been broadcast many times. Years. Many children who watched this animation have now grown up.

Do you think, if a live-action movie appeared at this time, would those children at that time buy tickets and go to the cinema? "

"hiss!"

When Robert heard this, he couldn't help but take a breath. This is really the truth.

To put it this way, the filming feasibility of this film is still very high.

He said hurriedly: "Don't worry, I will report to the president after I return!"

Seeing that the lobbying was effective, Don Murphy was secretly proud, "That would be great, because I have also made an appointment with the production supervisors of other companies. If Paramount is slow, I will have no choice but to cooperate with other companies! "

When Robert heard this, he thought to himself: "Hey, you're putting pressure on me!"

But since the project seems to be good, I don’t care about it.

Get the information and go back and report it to the company's senior management without mentioning it.

But it is said that Don Murphy met with several other producers one after another and explained the reasons behind it, and received good feedback from all of them.

Several Hollywood giants were already curious about Jiang Heng and Columbia's new mecha movie, but they suddenly discovered that there was a better project in their own land, and they immediately rushed to their heads!

For a time, DreamWorks, New Line, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros. and other companies sent high-level executives to negotiate with Don Murphy, and the final trend of the matter was in line with historical inertia, and it was finally united by DreamWorks and Paramount. get.

In order to expand their publicity influence, the two companies directly challenged Jiang Heng and Columbia, claiming that their upcoming "Transformers" is the best mecha movie in film history.

But no matter how you calculate it, it can't be released before Jiang Heng's film, so let's not mention the word first. It wants to win the best title.

For a time, major media outlets in North America reported that the terms "Pacific Rim" and "Transformers" were discussed repeatedly, creating a situation where the film became popular before it was aired.