Chapter 415 I Thought It Would Be Difficult

Chapter 415 I thought it would be difficult...

"Is Xudong going to Hollywood?"

"It's Hollywood, but it's not a big studio. His character is too strong, and he's not suitable for a big studio. It's an independent film company...

"Is he just a screenwriter?"

"As long as he is a screenwriter, he won't go out of his way to go there... Please wait until he comes back to ask for details!"

Gao Fenfen answered ambiguously...

This further aroused the interest of the media at the scene.

How should I put it, Hollywood!

Shen Xudong is invited to be the screenwriter, and it seems that he will be deeply involved...

This is about to take off!

But no specific information was collected at all...

After leaving full of tangles, several media outlets even considered whether to fly to the United States to arrange an interview or something. Shen Xudong himself explained the reasons for going to the United States on his blog.

"Many friends are concerned. Let me give a unified answer here. It's not about entering Hollywood, it's just a pure job...During the Venice Film Festival, I met the judge Christine Vachan. She is a producer of Killer Film Company...she happened to have There was a novel called "The Price of Salt" that I wanted to adapt into a movie, so I was approached..."

"Okay, let me explain. I actually had a conversation with Sister Gong Li about my views on the movie "Brokeback Mountain." Sister Gong Li relayed my views on the movie "Brokeback Mountain" when chatting with Kristine Wachen. And together..."

"Why do you mention "Brokeback Mountain"? Because "The Price of Salt" is a piece of homosexual literature, "Brokeback Mountain" is about gay men, and "The Price of Salt" is about lesbians..."

"This type of subject matter is very fringe. If it is adapted into a movie, it will cost about 12 million U.S. dollars. Killer Film Company is very poor, so we provided 6 million U.S. dollars in funding..."

"The heroine has been chosen to be Sister Gong Li, and now we are choosing another heroine... As an investor, producer, and screenwriter, I will definitely go to the scene to see it... As for the director, Todd Haynes was chosen early on... "

"Wish me luck... By the way, "The Aviator" is being screened in 8 theaters in North America. Audience feedback and box office are both good. It may be nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (laughs)..."

Why do you smile like this?

Because... In the original time and space, the representative Chinese film competing for the Oscar is "The Promise"...

This stuff was selected above!

To be honest, in the original time and space, the films submitted for Olympic bid in 2005 include "Peacock", "Kekexili", "Green Red", and "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles". Each of them has a better chance than "The Promise", but... the above is still I chose "The Promise"...

——Each country and region can only submit one film to compete for Oscars every year...

A bad movie like "The Promise", which has disgraced Chinese films all over the world, can actually represent Chinese films in the Olympic bid with unanimous praise and enthusiasm from various "experts" and "scholars"?

This question fully proves that so-called experts in the film culture industry either lack professional ethics or lack the minimum professionalism to judge movies. It must be one of the two!

Therefore, Shen Xudong needs "Carol"...

Because in China, he has no chance to get close to the Oscar!

In terms of seniority, it will take at least twenty years. By that time, Oscars will no longer be valuable.

While this award still has some weight, let’s express our feelings...

Of course, when he comes to the United States this time, in addition to casting "Carol", he also hopes to win "Twilight"...

"Twilight", a must-have copy of Mei Entertainment!

A typical example of how small things can make a big difference.

Before coming, he was quite nervous because...he didn't know whether "Twilight" had been published or whether the film rights had been obtained. In addition, how to contact the author Stephenie Meyer...

Good guy, he thinks too much!

…

"Twilight" was published in April 2005, which was Stephenie Meyer's first attempt at singing.

In just a few weeks after it was released, the book soared to the top of the New York Times bestseller list!

The strange thing is...no major studios are interested!

No, Paramount's MTV Movies acquired the film rights to "The Twilight Saga" and then adapted it into a violent action movie - they thought it would attract male audiences!

Then it was flatly rejected by the original author Stephenie Meyer, and the copyright was withdrawn by the way-she wanted an original adaptation.

Just fall in love... don't mess around!

And then... no company wanted to take over.

Because the simple element of vampire romance is not enough to attract audiences in the eyes of major studios!

Otherwise, "Underworld" wouldn't be a B-movie.

"Interview with the Vampire", Tom Cruise + Brad Pitt, cost 60 million US dollars, and the global box office only exceeded 200 million...

This result obviously did not meet expectations!

And... "Twilight" is essentially a best-selling novel for teenagers. There are so many adaptations of this kind. If nothing else, "Dragon Rider" failed miserably in its first attempt...

"Dragon Rider", produced by 20th Century Fox Film Company, cost 100 million U.S. dollars, and the promotion and distribution was also 100 million U.S. dollars. However, the total global box office was less than 200 million, and in North America it was only 75 million.

The project dealt a severe blow to the market for adaptations of best-selling young adult novels.

Therefore, it was quite smooth for Shen Xudong to buy the rights to adapt "Twilight" for US$2 million.

Of course, the contract stipulates that the screenwriter must be Stephenie Meyer. It also stipulates that Shen Xudong has priority in investing in subsequent works...

"I will find a film company willing to make Twilight before the end of 2006... Guaranteed to release the first movie before the end of 2008!"

Having made a promise, Shen Xudong left New York...

Then head to Los Angeles, where Killer Films is based in Los Angeles…

By the way, he signed the contract for "Twilight" in his own name.

He also paid for the $2 million himself!

It's not that I don't want to bring the company with me, it's just that it's hard to explain why I have to spend a huge amount of money to buy the rights to adapt an American novel.

I have a feeling it will be successful?

What's the basis?

US$2 million... is negotiable, but what about the subsequent production costs?

That’s $37 million!

It's not a small amount. How do you explain it?

Forget it...

…

Shen Xudong probably has some knowledge about Killer Film Company.

In fact, Christine Vachan mainly supplies films to MGM...

In other words, MGM is responsible for distribution and investment, and Hitman Film Company is responsible for production!

The cooperation has always been smooth.

Most of the small and medium-sized independent film companies in the United States are inextricably linked to the eight major Hollywood companies, because these are the only companies with national distribution capabilities. They later joined the likes of Lionsgate and Emperor Pictures, but the latter released Works, few mainstream films...

The problem is, MGM has been in a bad situation in recent years...

In 2002, the war blockbuster "Windtalkers", which MGM invested heavily in, failed miserably at the box office. The company's top executives were forced to resign, and MGM entered the auction market.

In 2005, major shareholder Kerkorian sold off MGM Films again and was acquired by Sony for nearly US$5 billion, of which US$2 billion was used to pay off the debt owed by MGM...

Something like Killer Films' original production is impossible for them to invest in...

The risk is too great!

But after the reorganization, MGM signed agreements with independent film companies such as Weinstein Pictures and Killer Films to release 14 films per year through joint production or agency distribution...

Of course, for something like "Carol," they're only responsible for distribution!

Can't afford it.

Before Kristen Wa Chen became a producer, she had collaborated with Chinese filmmakers - "Laser Man". She was the assistant director, starring Liang Jiahui and Ye Sianwen, and the director was Wang Zhengfang...

1987 movie!

That's why she took the initiative to contact Shen Xudong...

After the adaptation of "The Price of Salt" was completed, she contacted director Todd Haynes directly.

She and Todd Hines were classmates at Brown University. They had similar views on art, so they collaborated on a bunch of works together...

The above is what Shen Xudong knows. Oh, and also, director Todd Haynes is gay~

Be careful with this. After all, Shen Xudong is handsome and cannot be taken advantage of!