Millennium director

Chapter 30 Going to the United States

Wu Yuan did not accept John's suggestion, but he did need an English name.

It’s not that he thinks English names are better or more advanced than Chinese names, but that he will have contact and cooperation with a large number of European and American people in the next period of time.

It's really a bit embarrassing to ask them to say "yuan" one mouthful at a time.

We can't let them call Wu Yuan "Mr. Wu" all the time. This kind of respect is indeed respect, but the sense of distance is also widened, and it is difficult for people to get close. Generally, it is only called this way in formal occasions.

It is impossible to say "Mr." in a private chat, or address the director directly.

So without any hesitation, Wu Yuan gave himself an English name: Daniel. It didn't have any special meaning, just to make it easy to pronounce and remember.

After confirming the cooperation with John, Wu Yuan did not delay any more. He dealt with domestic matters, reported to the school and Director Han, and then got on the plane to Los Angeles.

By the way, Wu Baige’s English name is John.

Wu Yuan's first Hollywood movie "Juno" will be produced by John from Fox Searchlight.

Fate, wonderful beyond words.

On the plane, Wu Yuan would not treat himself badly because he had to take a long flight of more than 12 hours. He bought a first-class ticket and the flight experience was quite comfortable.

But he was not resting, but settling accounts.

Before leaving the country, Wu Yuan dealt with some trivial matters, mainly the issue of splitting accounts for "The Night the Comet Came".

This movie has been released in China, and the mainland box office was finally set at 18.56 million, which did not exceed 20 million, which is a bit regretful.

The film's reputation and response are very good. There are plans to introduce it to Hong Kong Island and Taiwan, and China Film is still following up.

The division of mainland box office profits is not settled so quickly, but the money obtained from selling copyrights can already be settled.

At the suggestion of Director Han, Wu Yuan opened a leather bag media company, and for the time being only applied for [artist agency] business.

There is no way, now movies do not allow private capital to enter, and TV series require a filming license, and Wu Yuan cannot apply for it for the time being.

The biggest advantage of establishing his leather bag company is that he can apply for a public account at the bank, which facilitates settlement with China Film.

As for finance and taxation, Director Han asked China Film's finance department to help handle it, which was considered a convenience.

For the next planning, Wu Yuan discussed with Director Han that all settlements this time would be in US dollars, including the subsequent mainland accounts.

Originally, he planned to use the money to invest in "Juno", but Fox Searchlight did not agree, so he could only save the money temporarily.

After Juno is released, plus the money from the box office split, we can do some small things in Hollywood.

Yes, even though Fox Searchlight gave in, Wu Yuan still only planned to cooperate with them once.

It’s really not a big deal to make a movie for other people!

How could Wu Yuan, who clearly knew the general development of Hollywood in the next 20 years, be comfortable working as a filming tool for Fox?

The movie "Juno" can be regarded as a way to get a name in Hollywood, build a good relationship, and at the same time prove that you have the ability to make a living.

After "Juno", Wu Yuan will definitely set up his own independent production company and make his own film projects.

You don’t need to make it too big. You can make three or five movies a year, earn a profit of 100 million US dollars, and then distribute the distribution benefits to the six Hollywood majors. Then the six major Hollywood majors can tolerate Wu Yuan’s tossing. of.

The premise is not to touch too much of their cake, but also to learn to share more benefits.

The reason is very simple, just like it is difficult for foreigners to operate the film industry in China, even in 2020.

Similarly, it is difficult for Hollywood to accept a Chinese person investing in film capital here.

The invasion of the world by Hollywood movies has always been one of the important weapons in the hands of American imperialism. How could it be allowed to be accessed by outsiders?

Even if Wu Yuan knew which movies would be popular in the next 20 years, he would have the opportunity to write scripts or invest in them first.

He is also destined to be unable to reach the level of the big six in Hollywood, not even in the second tier like New Line and Lionsgate.

What a joke.

The film industry has always been exclusive, and any country with some ambition will control its own film industry.

The Japanese and Korean film markets do not allow outsiders to enter, and India has enacted legislation to prohibit foreign investment. Even small Southeast Asian countries have their own policy support and protection.

Even if Hollywood claims to be the most open and tolerant in the world, its top capital is still controlled by its own people.

Even British gentlemen can only work as actors, directors, screenwriters, or at most producers in Hollywood, without being able to become a part of capital.

The good thing is that China has not yet begun to rise these days, and Hollywood does not believe that the Chinese film industry will pose a threat to Hollywood.

Therefore, Wu Yuan can still be a high-profile director in Hollywood and a low-key production company in Hollywood for at least the next ten years.

If he makes three to five movies a year and earns one to two hundred million dollars, no one will care, or they won't be able to embarrass him.

He has already made plans. In the next five years in Hollywood, he will mainly focus on making quick money, while he himself will make some artistic films in China and go to the three major European countries to pursue honors and properly lay out the domestic market.

When the domestic film market picks up, he will shift his focus to Chinese-language commercial films and use the money earned from Hollywood to train more outstanding domestic new directors to accelerate the growth of the mainland film market.

The long-term goal is to lead Chinese films into Asia. Not to mention counterattacking Hollywood, at least the Asian market must be captured!

Back then, Hong Kong movies were able to be popular across Asia. There is no reason why Chinese-language movies in the future cannot do this!

The long voyage must eventually come to an end.

On December 16, Los Angeles time, Wu Yuan landed at Los Angeles International Airport.

"Director Wu, finally see you again."

“Welcome to the film capital of the world!”

"Here are the most handsome men and beauties in the world, the best film practitioners, and the most advanced film industry system!"

"You should have come a long time ago!"

John, who came to pick up the plane in advance, successfully picked up Wu Yuan and gave him a bear hug as soon as he came up.

He was a little bald, but John still had a pretty good figure. At least Wu Yuan could feel the two pectoral muscles on his chest when they hugged him. They were really big!

"Hey John, good to see you too."

"You will also be the producer of "Juno" and we will be working together for a while."

"Oh, I just love working with an outstanding young director like you." John smiled, patted Wu Yuan on the shoulder, and pulled him towards the parking lot.

The two got into the car that picked up the airport, and the driver took them to the hotel where Wu Yuan was going to stay.

It's five-star, and it's an executive suite. Fox Searchlight will not treat Wu Yuan badly in this regard.

"I'm sorry you didn't accept my suggestion, but Daniel is a good name too."

As soon as he got in the car, John teased Wu Yuan, but the topic quickly returned to the topic.

"Daniel, can I call you that?"

"The company has completed the remake of your movie "Coherence", but the script has been adapted in some localized ways. It is now being edited in the post-production process and should be released in January."

"This is an ultra-low-budget movie, with a total cost of less than one million US dollars, so the company does not plan to spend too much on promotion, but there will still be a premiere."

"Are you going to participate? It's just in a movie theater in Los Angeles, and you're the signed screenwriter of this movie!"

"Action so fast?" Wu Yuan was first surprised at the speed of Hollywood, and then shook his head: "I still won't go. The copyright has been sold to you. This movie has nothing to do with me in North America."

"We'd better start working on Juno as soon as possible. I can't wait to make this movie."

"How's it going? Have you found the actor I need?"

"Of course!" John raised his eyebrows and said easily: "They are all ready and waiting for your call at any time."

"But you have just experienced a transoceanic flight, so you need to rest for a day. There will be a welcome party for you tomorrow. After the party, I will bring the actors to see you the day after tomorrow."

"No." Wu Yuan shook his head: "Forget about the welcome party, let's start working directly."

John's eyes were strange, and he glanced at Wu Yuan with a half-smile: "No, Daniel, believe me, you will like this welcome party."

"This is a novel experience that you have never experienced in China~"

Films have no borders, but film capital has borders.

So don’t expect to see the protagonist go to Hollywood to punch Universal, kick Fox, and create a company that is more powerful than the Big Six in Hollywood.

He can be a great director who is admired by thousands of people in Hollywood, but he cannot set up a one-size-fits-all production company in Hollywood.

This is really unrealistic. This is an act of stepping on the head of the American emperor.

This kind of thing can only be done in China. Who said the protagonist is Chinese?