Chapter 289 Midas Touch for Scripts? Press Conference: "$1.5 Billion Movie Project!"

After more than ten hours of flight, Chen Fei finally landed in Los Angeles.

Bruce was waiting for him outside the airport, but... just after the two finished talking on the phone, before Chen Fei saw him, he was surrounded by a group of reporters standing at the airport exit.

"Hey? Your business has expanded to Los Angeles Airport?"

Looking at the Sina.com reporters squeezed in the crowd, Chen Fei was surprised.

These guys are becoming more and more like the paparazzi in Hong Kong Island. It's fine if they have expanded their business to Hollywood, but they have also brought the operation of besieging the airport in China.

"I'm following orders from above to spread Chinese culture."

"Hey? You're a reporter, you're really good at talking."

Chen Fei curled his lips and looked down at the time: "Since you've blocked my way, come on, let's have a quick question and answer, I have other things to do."

"Okay!"

The reporter from Sina switched between Chinese and English very smoothly:

"Director Chen, many people in China now call you the Midas Touch. All the scripts you write are big sellers without exception. Is there any trick?"

The Midas Touch?

Chen Fei raised his eyebrows. This title is quite interesting.

After thinking for a while, he replied: "Actually, there is no trick. It's nothing more than concentration, seriousness, combined with unrestrained thinking, plus a little bit of luck."

(The system helps me!)

"???"

A group of reporters were confused, but they didn't know how to continue asking.

This is the foundation of Chen Fei's rise. He certainly couldn't reveal too much. It was very respectful to be able to reply a few words.

The reporter from the Washington Entertainment News took the opportunity to take over the topic: "Fei, has Game of Thrones been completed? It is said that each episode is invested with 6 million US dollars. Is it true?"

"Yes." Chen Fei nodded and added: "The minimum investment per episode is 6 million US dollars. There are ten episodes in the first season. The current investment has been increased to 75 million US dollars."

75 million US dollars! ?

"Oh! This is too crazy!"

There were bursts of exclamations at the scene.

Investing 75 million US dollars in a TV series? How is this done? Isn't it a movie?

The reporter from Sohu was shocked: "So... Director Chen, you used 600 million RMB to shoot ten episodes of the TV series? The investment per episode is as high as 60 million RMB?"

"Well, you can understand it this way."

The group of reporters from China felt a trance in front of their eyes.

60 million RMB!

So far, the highest investment in domestic TV series has not exceeded 50 million RMB, but Chen Fei has gone straight to 60 million RMB for his transformation work, and it is 60 million RMB per episode!

You are going to take off!

Another foreign media asked: "Wall Street Pictures and Marvel Pictures have both announced that the second part of "Iron Man" and "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is in preparation. Will you still direct and shoot it yourself?"

"No, it will be directed by other directors. I should restart a new science fiction masterpiece."

Chen Fei did not mean to hide it, and also gave his new movie a wave of early warm-up.

New science fiction masterpiece?

The reporters at the scene were all bright.

The reporter from NetEase hurriedly asked: "Can you reveal it? What kind of work is this?"

"Combining dreams, reality, science fiction, magic, games, doomsday, destruction..."

The more Chen Fei said, the more curious the reporters' faces became.

"How much is the investment?"

"The initial budget is 200 million US dollars."

Boom! ! !

As soon as the words fell, the scene was boiling again.

Foreign reporters were barely calm. After all, Hollywood has top directors such as Nolan, Cameron, and Spielberg, and an investment of 200 million US dollars is quite common.

But reporters from Sohu, Sina, NetEase, and Six Princesses were in an uproar!

200 million US dollars?

1.6 billion RMB?

This is no longer a hurricane, this is taking off on a rocket!

They simply couldn't imagine that this was the filming funds that a Chinese director in China could control!

…

After parting with the reporters, Fade Chen met Bruce outside the airport.

"Huh? Where's your Cadillac? Why did you change it to a Rolls-Royce?"

Feeling the soft texture of the seat under him, Fade Chen raised his eyebrows, quite curious.

Changing from a shotgun to a cannon?

Holding a cigar in one hand and steering the wheel in the other, Bruce said leisurely: "This year's company dividends have been received. Although I only have a 10% share, it is still no problem to change to a Rolls-Royce."

From the beginning of 2007 to now, Walton Pictures has launched several works in succession, almost every one of which is a big hit and makes a lot of money.

Now that the company has begun to distribute dividends, Bruce is so happy that he can't close his mouth.

Just this year's income has far exceeded all the income in his first half of his life!

Of course, Chen Fei's dividends have also been gradually received, but his income is currently injected into Longxiang Capital, led by Leon Walras and his team of stock brokers.

Combined with the movies he watched in his previous life, such as "The Big Short", "Inside Job", "Too Big to Fail", and "Business Ultimatum", the subprime mortgage crisis has become a stepping stone for his rise!

In addition, he also entrusted many real estate, car, and heavy asset brokers to conduct searches throughout North America.

When the economic crisis completely breaks out, these originally expensive assets will fall rapidly and become cheap quickly.

And then it was a good opportunity for him to take action!

Chen Fei currently has a bold idea. He plans to ship a batch of equipment from these foreign special effects companies to China to seize the mainland's special effects market in advance.

While this is also a daunting task, preliminary planning can already begin.

"Fei, Natasha has found a great partner for you. Those long legs are simply longer than any model I have ever met."

Um? !

Chen Fei looked at him with confusion: "Why don't I understand what you mean?"

"You'll find out later."

With deep curiosity, Chen Fei returned to Volton Pictures and also met his long-legged partner.

"Catherine Bigquin, Californian, director, screenwriter, producer..."

Listening to the introduction ringing in his ears, Chen Fei's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise!

He never expected that Natasha could invite this female director with a model figure.

This female director is still at a low point. The movie "K-19: Widowmaker" directed in 2002 only grossed US$65 million at the global box office, which was a mess.

But Chen Fei knows that next year she will direct and shoot a feature film called "The Hurt Locker" and win 6 awards including Best Director and Best Picture at the 82nd Academy Awards, becoming the first A woman who won an Oscar for Best Director!

Although she is a female director, Catherine has a high talent for action and explosive films.

"Blue Angel" in 1990 and "Armageddon" in 1996 are her representative works. Without exception, they are both action crime films.

However, what really made her famous in Hollywood was her ex-husband!

In 1989, Catherine married the famous Hollywood director James Cameron.

Although the marriage only lasted less than two years, with the help of her ex-husband, Catherine still achieved a good status in Hollywood.

She even appeared in the movie "Titanic" which earned 1.84 billion US dollars. This movie still firmly occupies the first place in the global box office!

"Ms. Catherine, long time no see."

"Fei, it's an honor to meet you again."

Although the two don't know each other very well, they have met at the Oscars and Golden Globe Awards.

And Catherine's business card is still stored in Chen Fei's business card bag.

"Please take a seat."

"Thanks."

Several people sat down in the conference room, and Chen Fei didn't mean to talk to her. He asked directly: "You should have read the script, right? Do you have any ideas? Do you think you are qualified for this film with an investment of up to 170 million? A directorial position at Dollar Movies?”

"War for the Planet of the Apes: Battle for Liming" is the sequel to the first film.

The story will connect with the end of the first film, and it mainly talks about the deadly poison that spreads all over the world, and only a small part of the human beings who suffered this disaster survived and settled in San Francisco.

The evolved ape leader Caesar also established his own home with his tribe in the deep mountains and forests, and tried to bring humanity into the ape society.

However, with the arrival of a small group of humans, their tranquility was tragically broken!

In this war between humans and apes, humans are divided into two camps. The characters played by Jason Clark and Keri Russell will become friends with the apes, while the character played by Gary Oldman will be hostile to the apes... …

Facing Chen Fei's questions, Catherine was quite calm.

"I have read the script, and there is absolutely no problem in directing and filming. I have systematically studied this knowledge and have rich experience.

But I still have a question. Will this movie continue the 3D shooting method of the first movie? Abandon 2D completely? "

"Yes, we will completely enter the 3D market and use IMAX cameras to shoot the whole process."

The first true IMAX3D feature film was "The Polar Express" shot in 2004 by director Robert Zemeckis, who is also the director of "Forrest Gump".

However, the box office and reputation of this movie can only be considered average, because there were very few 3DIMAX screens at that time, and there were only 75 in the entire United States.

But it's different now.

According to statistics, there are now 150 3DIMAX screens in North America alone, and this number is still increasing!

Cameron made a great contribution to this.

And through the achievements of "War for the Planet of the Apes" in the 3D market last year, Chen Fei has also come to a conclusion.

3D movies will once again lead a wave of trends!

In the previous life, the US$1.8 billion box office revenue of "Avatar" in 2009 is the best evidence.

This is the wind outlet. When standing on the wind outlet, even a pig can fly very high!

Catherine shrugged and responded: "Ok, you are the chief producer, you have the final say, when can we sign the contract?"

Natasha, who was sitting next to her, took over the topic and said, "Any time!"

Since we have decided to invite Catherine, it means that her directing skills are no problem, and it is not difficult to shoot this kind of sequel, as long as you follow the script throughout the process.

Of course, the editing rights will definitely not be given to her. With such a large investment, Chen Fei must personally handle it.

…

After agreeing on the time to join the group for filming, Chen Fei, Natasha and Bruce sent Catherine away from Walton Pictures.

Returning to the office, the three sat down.

Natasha could no longer suppress her curiosity and asked, "Fei, are you so optimistic about IMAX and 3D? So the company's next development goal should focus on the 3D business?"

"Yes."

Chen Fei nodded seriously.

Although the popularity of 3D movies cannot last too long, it can effectively prevent the circulation of pirated copies and improve the mainland film ecology.

It is precisely because of the emergence of 3D movies that the domestic film market can usher in a huge explosion!

Many audiences who are keen on watching pirated copies and have no habit of consuming in theaters are forced into theaters by 3D movies, so that the box office and number of viewers in the domestic film market have achieved a number of jumps, and the Chinese film market has become the second largest ticket warehouse in the world!

As time goes by and technology evolves, the mainland film market has even surpassed North America and become the world's largest box office!

This is a huge wave of favorable conditions, and Chen Fei must ensure that he stands firmly on the cusp of the trend.

Pan Asia Cinema Line is currently gradually laying out 3DIMAX screens. Although this is a long process, two years later, when "Avatar" is released, it will surely shine.

Of course, there must be an "Inception" in between.

It will be released one month before "Avatar", just in time to catch this fast ship.

If you are lucky, you can even lead the new trend of 3D movies first!

"Has the filing of "Inception" been successful?" Chen Fei turned his head and looked at Bruce.

"It's all done."

After receiving a positive reply, Chen Fei turned his head and looked at Natasha, and arranged: "Your work will be very busy next. The preparations for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2" and the release of "Wall-E" must be completed in December."

"Ok, no problem."

Natasha patted her heavy fruits confidently.

"There is also the script of "Inception". This will be my shooting plan in 2008. The investment is expected to be 200 million US dollars. It is also a 3DIMAX model. You need to contact actors for this script.

I have marked the suitable actors at the end of the script. You just need to confirm their schedule and salary."

"Ok."

Natasha nodded again, and an inexplicable excitement rose in her heart.

So far, Walt Disney Studios has planned four movies!

"Twilight 2", "Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2", "Kung Fu Panda", "Inception".

In addition to Twilight, the investment in the following movies has exceeded 100 million US dollars, which is a Hollywood A-level production.

Roughly speaking, the investment in these four films alone has reached 500 million US dollars!

Such a high production cost has reached the level comparable to the six major Hollywood studios, and this is only Walt Disney Studios, not including Marvel.

But even so, Natasha was only excited, without any fear or worry.

She believed in Chen Fei, just as Chen Fei also trusted her as always.

After arranging some of the pre-production work, Chen Fei went to the post-production department.

The post-production editing of "Mulan" has been completed. With the assistance of Chen Chusheng and Zhang Jingying, the theme song, ending song and interlude have all been completed.

After taking the negative to the screening room and watching it completely, Chen Fei nodded with satisfaction.

"Perfect!"

He first praised the staff of the post-production team, and then arranged for someone to send the negative to China immediately for review and copying.

There is still more than a month before the movie is released, and the time is just enough.

Afterwards, he and the head of the animation department, Andrew Broche, watched the completed "Robot Wall-E" in its entirety.

"Ok, very good, very much in line with my requirements."

While giving praise and encouragement, he also checked the preparatory work for "Kung Fu Panda".

Andrew asked nervously: "Fei? The shooting of this animation requires the use of many Chinese elements, as well as the application of Chinese Kung Fu. You must participate in the production throughout the process."

"Don't worry." Seeing his nervous look, Chen Fei patted his shoulder and said: "In the first half of next year, I will devote myself to the shooting and production of "Kung Fu Panda."

"Oh! This is great!"

After getting Chen Fei's promise, Andrew Broche relaxed a lot.

Wall-E's schedule will be in December, and it will also participate in the selection of the best animated film of the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars.

Of course, Chen Fei does not need to follow up on this part of the work, and a dedicated person will be responsible for following up.

The negatives of Game of Thrones have been sent to Marvel Entertainment, and a professional editing team will cooperate with the special effects artists of Industrial Light and Magic to complete the post-production.

The next step is the work at Marvel Studios.

Kevin Feige has already found suitable directors for the three films "Iron Man 2", "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger".

However, when the two met, Kevin Feige took the lead in reporting on the box office of Hulk.

"The release of "The Incredible Hulk" has ended. It earned 21 million U.S. dollars on its opening day in North America and over 50 million U.S. dollars in its first weekend. The film earned 300 million U.S. dollars at the global box office."

Compared with the box office results of "Iron Man", although The Incredible Hulk has recovered its costs, its results are not too impressive.

"What does Universal Pictures mean?"

Hulk's movie rights have been sold to Universal a long time ago, so this movie is the product of a cooperation between the two companies.

If you want to continue filming the sequel, you must seek permission from the other party.

"Not ideal, Universal Pictures said the movie didn't do as well as they expected at the box office and they declined to make a sequel."

Chen Fei was not surprised by this.

"Can you find a way to get the copyright back?"

"It's difficult, but I will try my best to negotiate. Maybe I just need a suitable opportunity."

"Okay, we must speed up the copyright recovery. We will take whatever we can collect. No matter what, we must sign a cooperation agreement. Our subsequent series of movies cannot be separated from the character of Hulk."

"Ok! I will try my best."

Later, Kevin Feige took Chen Fei to meet the directors he was looking for for three other movies.

"Jon Favreau, born in Flushing, New York, USA, directed the science fiction adventure film "Jumanji 2: Cosmic Adventure" in 2005 and achieved good results. He is very good at shooting science fiction and fantasy films. director, I am going to let him direct and shoot "Iron Man 2."

Time and space eventually returned to its original trajectory.

Looking at the "Happy" in front of him, Chen Fei couldn't help but sigh: "The word fate is really wonderful."

In the original time and space, the "Iron Man" movie series is Jon Favreau's masterpiece!

"Good afternoon, Director Jon."

"Hai, Fei, congratulations on winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival."

After a brief greeting, Chen Fei looked at a pair of directors next to him who looked very similar.

"Anthony Russo and Joe Russo are brothers and famous Hollywood directors. They will be responsible for the filming of "Thor" and "Captain America" ​​respectively."

"Hello."

Chen Fei smiled and greeted the two brothers in front of him.

We all work in Hollywood. Although we are not very familiar with each other, we have met each other more or less at a few parties, and each of us has some impressions.

"It's an honor to work with Marvel."

The two brothers said in unison.

"Welcome to join us!"

…

The time soon came to November 20th.

On this day, Volton Pictures and Marvel Pictures jointly invited major Hollywood media to attend the press conference of the new movie.

Under the stage, hundreds of media outlets aimed at the press conference seats on stage.

Natasha, Chen Fei, and Kevin Feige attended the press conference as the main persons in charge.

Joining them at the venue were Woody Allen, Katharine, Jon Favreau and brothers Anthony and Joe Russo.

Young people, the main thing is to be crisp and neat!

After trying the microphone's sound pickup effect, Chen Fei announced directly: "2007 has come to an end, and 2008 is just around the corner. In order to give back to the fans and friends who support Volton Pictures and Marvel Pictures, we will More sequels and new film plans will be released in the future.

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is still directed by Woody Allen and will see you again in June next year.

"War for the Planet of the Apes" will be directed and filmed by Ms. Catherine, with me as the producer. It is expected to be released in 2010.

As for the highly anticipated "Iron Man 2", the sequel of this film will be directed by Jon Favreau, with me as the producer and executive producer.

Marvel Studios' latest releases "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger" will be directed by the Russo brothers, with Kevin serving as producer and me cooperating as executive producer.

At the same time, Volton Pictures will launch two A-class big-budget movies, "Kung Fu Panda" and "Inception."

Taking into account all film plans, we are expected to launch no less than ten films in the next three years, with a total investment of up to US$1.5 billion..."

1.5 billion? Dollar!

Seeing Chen Fei on the stage talking non-stop, the reporters below all opened their eyes wide with disbelief on their faces.

Be obedient, bang, bang, bang! This is going to be a big game!

…

The content of this press conference quickly spread throughout Hollywood, and even major domestic portals immediately published the blockbuster news jointly announced by Volton Pictures and Marvel Pictures. .

[Recently, Chen Feiguang, chief content executive of Volton Pictures and Marvel Pictures, invited the media to hold a film conference and promised to invest US$1.5 billion in the next three years to shoot no less than ten major A-level productions...]

When the news came out, the mainland film and television industry was immediately "bombed" into a mess!

Most people are still immersed in the figure of 60 million yuan for an episode of TV series, and they cannot extricate themselves from the shock in their hearts for a long time.

Good thing now, after the news that the investment in the new film was no less than US$200 million was exposed, before anyone could react, Chen Fei turned around and announced the "US$1.5 billion movie plan"!

For a time, the Internet was completely abuzz!

"Holy shit! A US$1.5 billion movie project? How much does this horse riding cost in RMB?"

"12 billion RMB."

"What the hell? Doesn't that mean that the average investment in each movie is more than 1 billion RMB?"

"That's right, but this is just the investment share. If you add in all kinds of promotional activities, I'm afraid the investment will not be less than 2 billion US dollars."

"That's 16 billion RMB? Damn! Director Chen has completely made Hollywood!"

"Awesome! So awesome! Chen Fei is probably the first Chinese director to be able to control such a big project in Hollywood?"

"Without a doubt, the number one Chinese director! Well deserved!"