Millennium director

China Film Group, Office of the Vice Chairman.

In the familiar reception area, Wu Yuan and Director Han sat opposite each other.

Both of them were holding a cup of tea and sipping it.

"Huh." He breathed a comfortable sigh and put down the teacup first.

"Director Wu, "Your Name" must have a box office of more than one billion yuan in Asia, right?"

"This is even better than "Heroes"!"

Dong Han's eyes were full of shock.

How much investment does "Hero" cost?

$30 million!

How much investment does "Your Name" cost?

Sixty million yuan! (Including mainland publicity and distribution costs)

The investment difference was nearly four times, but it achieved almost the same or even better box office return!

How could this not surprise Director Han?

Yes, he has indeed seen the best-selling romance film in the world.

For example, that giant ship took in $1 billion in global box office, and even Hollywood itself was frightened.

But he really never thought that a Chinese love movie could kill people in both China and Japan!

The results that the Japanese market has exploded are simply exaggerated.

"Haha, good luck." Wu Yuan said modestly with a cheerful smile.

Compared with the exaggerated performance of the dream anime "Your Name", which had a box office of over 10 billion yen in 28 days and a total box office of 25 billion yen, the results of the live-action version of "Your Name" are really nothing.

It can only be said that it is a "foreign" movie after all, and it is not an anime movie. The acceptance level of Japanese movie fans is still not that high.

"Director Wu, you are really amazing." Director Han, who has been shocked by Wu Yuan's film scores many times, was still a little scared this time.

"Among domestic commercial film directors, you are the best at selling box office."

"Even Wu Baige can't compare to you."

"Chinese Films is truly a blessing to have such a talented director like you."

Director Han sighed and patted his belly.

As the leader of the mainland film industry (the chairman is basically semi-retired), Director Han is naturally worried about the development of the mainland film industry.

In this era of economic theory, if the film industry wants to do well, it must also perform well at the box office.

To produce a "Hero", Zhang Yimou is not enough!

Wu Yuan did not make commercial films in China before, but he was worried.

Now with "Your Name", the real king of Chinese commercial films has returned to his homeland, and Director Han is certainly happy to see it happen.

What makes him even more happy is that Wu Yuan not only makes movies by himself, he also runs a company and brings other directors to make commercial films together.

"Director Zhang's "If Love" has been scheduled for this year's Chinese Valentine's Day."

"The filming of "The Butterfly Effect" produced by your company has also started.

"Director Wu, for the prosperity of the mainland film industry, half of the military medals must be given to Zhang Yimou, and the other half must be given to you!"

Faced with the sudden compliment from Director Han, Wu Yuan felt a little uncomfortable.

If you show your courtesy for nothing, you are either committing adultery or stealing!

He put down the tea cup in his hand and said with a strange expression: "Director Han, we are all old acquaintances. If you have anything to do, just tell me directly and don't flatter me here."

"Haha." There was no trace of the embarrassment on Director Han's face, and he still said in an admiring tone: "How can I be flattering?"

"It's all the truth!"

"Go out and ask any China Film employees. In their hearts, the Chinese film industry cannot live without you!"

Wu Yuan chuckled, raised his fingers and counted unmoved: "We can't live without Zhang Yimou, we can't live without Chen Kaige, we can't live without Feng Xiaogang, we can't live without Jiang Wen, right?"

"Hey, Jiang Wen doesn't need to be there." Han Dong interrupted.

The two looked at each other and laughed in unison.

Jiang Wen, who has been banned from directing for five years, really can't make sense without making a few jokes.

"Okay, no more joking." Han Dong looked serious and started talking about business.

"I'm here to see you. In addition to congratulating you, there are indeed some things I want to talk to you about in person."

Standing up and taking a script from the desk, Director Han placed it on the table in front of the two of them.

"I have read the script of "Painted Skin" and it is indeed very interesting."

"We at China Film Group also want to participate in investment."

"The premise is that this movie must be directed by you yourself."

Director Han sighed, "That director named Wu Shishan is your senior brother, right?"

"A new director, even if he is currently filming "The Butterfly Effect" of yours, can't he immediately become the director of such a big project?"

"Director Wu, this is 150 million, not 15 million. Even if it is 15 million, we cannot use such a director!"

Director Han looked at Wu Yuan sincerely and persuaded him earnestly: "How can any director make such a big production as soon as he comes in?"

"Even you, the most talented director in China, not only filmed "The Night the Comet Came" in the Mainland, but also filmed "Juno" in Hollywood, and then "The Embalmer", and only then did "Pirates of the Caribbean" ” and “Your Name”?”

"You ask him, a newcomer, to shoot "The Butterfly Effect" with an investment of only 10 to 20 million, and then to shoot "Painted Skin" with an investment of 150 million. Isn't this a joke?"

"Even if you are the producer, the risk is too great."

The script for "Painted Skin" was sent to China Film Studio by Light and Shadow Times last month.

The reason why he was sent to China Film Group was because Wu Yuan wanted to work with China Film Group on this project.

The company made a preliminary project budget for "Painted Skin". If they want to make this movie a high-quality film, $15 million is not enough.

At least 150 million yuan, or about 17 million US dollars, must be invested to make this movie.

Of course, with so much money invested, the final result will be better than the original "Painted Skin".

150 million is not a small sum of money. Although Wu Yuan knew that the movie would definitely make money, he could not turn over the money at the moment.

Thirty million people voted for "Sword of Immortality" and 60 million people voted for "Your Name".

Even if the domestic branch of "Your Name" can be paid within this year, it will only be more than 70 million. Adding the profits of "Sword and Fairy", it will be almost 130-140 million.

As for "If Love" and "The Butterfly Effect", the money back for these two movies will have to wait until 2005.

The settlement of "Your Name"'s overseas accounts will not be available on a large scale until 2005.

Wu Yuan, who only has more than 100 million in hand, really can't spend all his money on "Painted Skin". He has other projects to prepare.

So he wanted to bring China Film to do this project together. China Film now has a lot of money.

At the beginning, Director Han was very excited when he saw the script!

Wu Yuan is finally going to make a blockbuster film!

For a great director like him, it would be a waste of his talent not to make blockbusters!

After reading the script of "Painted Skin", he was extremely satisfied with it.

It is a Chinese fantasy film, and the script is written by Wu Yuan, who has filmed "Pirates of the Caribbean". This is definitely a high-quality project!

This is much more reliable than Chen Kaige's "The Promise".

Without hesitation, Director Han wanted to agree to participate in the investment.

Until, he learned that Wu Yuan did not plan to shoot the movie himself, but hired a senior from Nortel to shoot it.

Isn't this nonsense?

If Zhang Yimou's "Hero" is shot by another director, will anyone dare to vote for it?

If Chen Kaige's "The Promise" is shot by another director, will anyone dare to vote for it?

For a blockbuster movie like this prepared by a big director, the management never chooses it for the script or actors, but for the director himself.

If the "Painted Skin" project had not been shot by Wu Yuan, it would not have been a hot cake, it would have been a poisonous bun.

"Director Wu, if you come to shoot "Painted Skin", we at China Film Academy will follow you without blinking an eye. You tell me the number, and I will arrange the financial payment immediately."

"But if that Wu Ershan is allowed to film, then I can only say that this cooperation may not be able to continue."

No matter how amiable he usually behaves, Mr. Han is still a man that Zhang Weiping calls a "mountain eagle".

When encountering this kind of principle issue, he will not make any concessions.

Seeing Director Han's serious expression and feeling his "mountain eagle" aura, Wu Yuan sighed inwardly.

He did take things for granted.

He knew that Wu Ershan was good at making fantasy movies, but others didn't know that, and neither did the public.

It is indeed extremely risky to allow such a newcomer to shoot such a big production. Even with Wu Yuan's endorsement, there is a possibility of losing money.

Even going to sea is a big problem.

Dongbao is willing to cooperate with Wu Yuan and fully distribute the movies he makes, but it may not necessarily be willing to fully distribute movies from the light and shadow era.

"I thought it was too simple." Wu Yuan nodded and admitted his mistake.

Director Han immediately smiled, and the solemn atmosphere in the office was swept away.

"So, Director Wu, have you changed your mind? Are you going to film "Painted Skin" yourself?" Director Han said excitedly: "This book is still very good."

"The cost is 150 million, but I imagine if it is released in Asia, it can earn more than a billion at the box office!"

"With your influence in Japan, this story is an oriental fantasy story, and the Japanese market will definitely accept it!"

The movie viewing craze and exaggerated box office results achieved by Wu Yuan's "Your Name" in Japan gave Director Han great confidence.

In his opinion, Wu Yuan, who now controls the two major markets of China and Japan, will not lose money in any movie he makes.

For other domestic directors, investing more than RMB 100 million in a movie involves a very high risk of loss. No one except Zhang Yimou dared to make a film.

But for Wu Yuan, who has the Japanese market in mind, a movie with an investment of more than 100 million is not risky at all.

Who said that the current Japanese film market is ten times that of the mainland!

"If I were to shoot it myself, I would be a little short of time." Wu Yuan sighed and said hesitantly: "I have a Hollywood movie "Rush Hour 3" to shoot in the second half of this year, and then there will be another movie next year. Filming plan for a literary film.”

"Pirates of the Caribbean 2 is expected to start production next year."

"If I had to make "Painted Skin" myself, I might not have time to make that literary film." Wu Yuan said melancholy.

"Literary film?" Director Han was a little surprised. Wu Yuan is already a director of commercial films with box office of hundreds of millions of dollars, so what kind of literary film does he want to make?

Nowadays, the domestic market is paying more and more attention to commercial films. In terms of art films, although there are film funds to specifically support them, the emphasis is not as high as before.

"Yes, I want to make a movie about love." Wu Yuan spread his hands.

It was precisely because he knew that the influence of art films in the domestic film industry was declining that he decided to make art films.

For a director, authoritative art film festival awards are the greatest recognition for them.

It's like actors' dreams are to win Best Actor and Best Actress.

As a director, Wu Yuan certainly wants to win the Best Film and Best Director awards in Berlin, Cannes, and Venice.

But he knows that after 2010, the influence of the three major European awards will become smaller and smaller in China, and Chinese people will gradually pay less attention to these art awards.

After 2015, even if you win the top three European Best Actors or the Best Picture, you will not get any splash in China.

As human beings, they all have vanity.

Of course Wu Yuan doesn’t want to win an award but have no one appreciate it.

So he wants to win awards at the three major European film festivals as soon as possible.

The earlier these awards are received, the greater their influence will be, and the higher they will be a blessing to his own status and achievements.

Just look at Zhang Yimou, who won the Golden Lion and Golden Bear in the 1980s and 1990s. Since then, he has firmly established himself as the number one director in the country.

Even if Wu Yuan's career box office now far exceeds that of director Yimou, he would not dare to say that he is a better director than Zhang Yimou.

The public's impression of him is also the "King of Commercial Films", the most popular director in China, not the best director.

For Chinese art films, you still have to watch Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige.

Art is higher than commerce, this is something recognized by film practitioners around the world.

Naturally, Wu Yuan also has to work hard on artistic achievements and cannot just be satisfied with commercial box office.

Now he has "Pirates of the Caribbean" with a box office of US$720 million in Hollywood, and "Your Name" in Asia, sweeping the box office charts in various countries.

In a short period of time, his achievements at the commercial box office have been high enough, and it is time to work hard on artistic achievements.

"I made a script." Wu Yuan said calmly: "It tells a love story between a pair of retired music teachers who are over 70 years old."

"In this movie, I used old age, disease and death, the three most feared things of mankind, to make the ultimate consideration and test of love."

"This will be a very meaningful movie."

Wu Yuan stared into Director Han's eyes with piercing eyes, "I plan to use this movie to compete for the Palme d'Or."

"Seriously?" Director Han's expression also became serious.

He also reacted.

Any ambitious director will regard the top three in Europe as his lifelong goal.

Of course Wu Yuan is also a pursuing director. It is normal for him to make such a literary film, and it has nothing to do with the success of his commercial films.

"Both the male and female protagonists are in their seventies?"

"The conditions are very harsh. Can we find suitable actors?" Director Han asked worriedly.

"I already have a goal." Wu Yuan said in a relaxed tone: "We in China still have no shortage of such experienced actors."

"I want to find Teacher You Benchang to play the male lead."

"He is 71 years old this year. He is just the right age and his acting skills are not to mention."

"As for the heroine, I would like to hire teacher Wu Yanshu. I have worked with her twice. I believe she is qualified for this movie."

Director Han nodded in approval.

You Benchang and Wu Yanshu are both veteran actors who have been acting in dramas and dramas all their lives. There is really no need to worry about their acting skills. Their image and age are also suitable.

"What's the name of this movie?" Han Dong asked curiously.

"Love!" Wu Yuan smiled slightly: "Love."

"The eternal topic of mankind."