Chapter 283 294 [Life and Death + Lion + Forrest Gump, attacking John Woo from three sides]

noon.

Beverly Hills.

In the restaurant of the mansion, Li Yishu was chatting and laughing with Qingxia and Lin’s mother.

Before we knew it, we were talking about Wu Yusen’s new film which is going to be released in a few days.

“Yishu, I heard that Wu Yusen’s new film has attracted a lot of investment from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Is that true?”

After saying that, Qingxia took a sip of the winter melon soup. Her belly was getting bigger and bigger, and she was a little constipated due to the pressure from her stomach. When Huang Ma knew about it, she specially bought winter melon to make soup.

Li Yishu looked amused: “Well, he did attract a lot of investment, but I don’t know how he will go back if the box office of this movie is not high?”

Hearing this, Qingxia was slightly startled: “You don’t think Wu Yusen’s new film is good?”

Li Yishu shook her head: “I haven’t seen it yet, so I don’t know if it’s good or not, but an investment of more than 20 million US dollars is not a small amount.”

Wu Yusen’s new film “Heroic Detective” is almost a replica of “A Better Tomorrow”, with the same two heroes fighting, but the counterfeit money is replaced with flour.

Finally, under the inspiration of the third male detective, the two heroes turned over a new leaf and worked together to eradicate the drug trafficking group.

There is nothing wrong with the tone of the film, but the setting of the male protagonist is actually not in line with the current mainstream aesthetic of Hollywood.

What is popular in Hollywood nowadays is brave muscular men. Whether it is Schwarzenegger, Stallone, or Jean-Claude Van Damme, they are all iconic action stars of this type of action movies.

Wu Yusen has a chance of success if he can create a handsome and cool male protagonist similar to James Bond, but the chance is not very high. It all depends on whether Columbia Pictures takes it seriously.

Qingxia nodded: “Yeah, I don’t know what Wu Yusen is thinking. Why would he want to go back to Hong Kong Island to attract investment?”

The cost of 20 million US dollars is not a small amount. You have to know that Wu Yusen had already messed up his previous movie. If he fails this time, let alone making it in Hollywood, he might not even be able to return to Hong Kong Island.

Li Yishu touched his nose. It was he who instigated Wu Yusen, but he was unwilling to fail and wanted to replicate Li Yishu’s success.

“Maybe Director Wu thinks he will be successful, and as for the box office, no one knows whether the movie will be successful until it is released.”

“That’s true.”

“Do you want to attend the premiere of Director Wu’s movie?”

“I won’t go. I’m pregnant now and it’s not convenient to go there. You should go by yourself.”

“Okay, I’ll go to Japan after the event.”

“What are you going to do in Japan?”

“Let’s talk about a movie. There is a movie that has been delayed for quite some time.”

The two of them ate and talked, and Mother Lin watched from the side with a smile on her face, feeling that this was pretty good.

After lunch, Li Yishu accompanied Qingxia to take a nap at home. At around two o’clock in the afternoon, he drove to the company.

Inside the office.

Amy reported on the profit sharing after the release of “Final Destination”. The film grossed 1.3 million U.S. dollars worldwide, over 3000 million U.S. dollars in North America, and only over million U.S. dollars overseas.

As for why now, it’s because “Final Destination” has not yet been released in some regions, and the final box office is expected to be between 1.4 million and 1.5 million US dollars.

The overseas box office has not yet arrived, but the North American box office has.

After deducting various costs, shares, distribution fees, etc., the company’s total profit is approximately US$40 million.

The reason why there is no accurate figure is that Amy only made preliminary tax deductions. If tax avoidance and other means were taken into account, the income would probably be even higher.

If the overseas box office is taken into account later, there will probably be a lot of revenue to be earned.

“This is more than what “The Sixth Sense” made.” After reading the financial report, Li Yishu’s eyes flickered. He didn’t expect “Final Destination” to be so profitable, and judging from the rental situation of horror movie video tapes, it will definitely make more money than “The Sixth Sense” in the future.

“Yes, boss. The main reason is that this movie is solely funded by us. Secondly, the production cost is not high. In other words, we have not yet established our own distribution channels. Otherwise, we can make more money.”

When Amy thought of this, she couldn’t help but sigh. Although Columbia only charged a 15% distribution fee, which was relatively low in the industry, the company still spent nearly million US dollars in distribution fees.

Overseas distribution fees are even more expensive. After all, the reason why the six major Hollywood film studios are the six major is because of their huge global distribution channels.

In the future, “Final Destination” will have a box office of 5000 million US dollars overseas. After deducting the share with local theaters and the 22% distribution fee, it would be considered a good result if it can get million US dollars.

It can only be said that in any era, platform is the most important. Having a good overseas distribution channel is enough for any film company to make a fortune.

“We’ll take our time with the distribution channels. If there’s a suitable opportunity, we’ll see if we can find a way out for those distribution companies that are not doing well. If the channels of one company are not enough, we can acquire a few more and then integrate their resources.”

“Okay boss, I’ll ask someone to keep an eye on it.”

“Ah.”

Li Yishu nodded and took out a few thin folders from her briefcase and handed them over: “Take these scripts to David and ask him to arrange for someone to expand them, register the copyrights, and see if there are any suitable directors to arrange for them to shoot them.”

These scripts are “The Hills Have Eyes”, “Wrong Turn” and “Human Centipede”.

When it comes to horror films, Lee Yi-su is not very good at it. She only wrote the plot and setting, and the subsequent addition of horror elements had to be left to professionals.

For both “Final Destination” and “Saw”, Li Yishu wrote the outlines and then found professional screenwriters to translate and expand them.

Amy took it and said with a smile, “Boss, you write the script really fast, but I’ll find someone to expand it. David is in charge of the crew of Scream now, so I’m afraid he can’t spare the time.”

Lee Ye-seo was surprised: “Scream will start filming so soon?”

“Yes, boss. The script is ready. David is also very dedicated. He managed to get the crew together in just half a month. We started filming the day before you came to the United States.”

“Let him shoot well. When I come back from Japan, I will visit the crew.”

“I’ll tell David.”

“Well, tell him not to just focus on Scream, but to find someone to shoot Saw as soon as possible. The three subsequent scripts also need to be arranged, but they can be put on hold until next year. In the future, I hope that Golden Lion Pictures will release at least five horror films every year.” The plan for Golden Lion Pictures is to make low-cost B-level films, including horror, thriller, R-rated films and other elements.

It is basically following the future path of Lionsgate. If Lionsgate can succeed on this path, it means that the path is right. Whether it can develop depends on Li Yishu’s planning and David’s management ability.

In his opinion, if Lion Films can succeed, then it will succeed; if not, at least it must get a piece of the pie. Low-cost American horror films are very valuable, and even if the box office performance is not ideal, a lot of money can be made from video rentals.

Not to mention the future Internet era, these copyrights will be worth a lot of money, and the copyrights need to be renewed every year.

“Jingle Bell……”

Just then, Li Yishu’s cell phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Harvey calling. He said to Amy, “You go out first and find someone to get the script done as soon as possible.”

“Okay, boss.” Amy nodded, then turned and left.

After she left, Li Yishu continued, “Harvey, I hope your call can bring me some good news.”

“Haha, Li, you guessed right, it is indeed good news!”

Harvey laughed and said, “I have made an appointment with Tom…Oh, Tom Hanks, to meet at the Grand Hotel in Beverly Hills tonight. He is very interested in “Chicago” and wants to talk to you in person about the script.”

Li Yishu’s eyes suddenly brightened up and she agreed immediately, “No problem, see you tonight.”

Columbia Pictures.

Max, the head of the distribution department, was meeting with Wu Yusen in his office.

“Mr. Max, is it really impossible to add more screens? 2000 screens, I don’t think it’s enough.”

Wu Yusen frowned. He had put a lot of effort into this movie. If it succeeded, he would be a step up. If not, he would have no way out.

The big guys in Hong Kong and Taiwan will definitely not let him go.

“Wu, I know what you are worried about, but don’t worry too much. Believe me, 2000 screens are enough, and there will definitely be more after the release. Take a look at the movies that are released at the same time as yours.”

Max took out a list of movies that were recently released in North America, pointed at it and said, “Your movie will be released on Monday, June 6th. The one that will be released on the 13th is Disney’s The Lion King. Although the production cost is very high, it is an animation and does not conflict with your movie. The one that will be released on June 15rd is Paramount Pictures’ Forrest Gump. I heard that it is a commercial biographical film. Tom Hanks has been obsessed with literary dramas in recent years, and his box office appeal is no longer good…”

“I know Mr. Max. I’m worried about Speed, which is released today. We are in the same genre of crime, gunfight and action movies. His production cost is higher than mine, and he has more screens.”

Wu Yusen is not worried about animated films like “The Lion King” or biographical dramas like “Forrest Gump”. What he is really worried about is “Speed” which was released today.

At midnight today, Wu Yusen went to watch this movie and concluded that it was a very exciting popcorn gun-fighting action movie. Although the male lead Keanu Reeves is not a well-known actor, his acting skills and actions are still very good.

The movie has car chases, plane crashes, and huge explosions. The sensory stimulation is very strong, and Wu Yusen also feels like he is facing a great enemy.

Max comforted him, “Wu, you don’t have to worry too much. We’ve seen your movies, too. They’re very well made. Disney’s children’s cartoons and Paramount’s biographical dramas are no match for your film ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’.”

“Besides, the summer vacation period can accommodate two commercial films with the same theme. In the next month, you and Speed ​​will have no competitors except each other.”

Hearing this, Wu Yusen relaxed a lot. “Speed” was indeed very good, but the North American box office market was huge, and summer vacation was the time when students were on vacation. Even if two films of the same type were in competition, they could still complement each other to some extent.

only……

For some reason, Wu Yusen always had a bad feeling. As the premiere of the movie got closer, this uneasy feeling became more and more obvious.

That night.

Inside a hotel in Beverly Hills.

Li Yishu met Tom Hanks. He had met him before at a dinner in Berlin. The two had a brief exchange, but they were not very familiar with each other.

This is when Harvey’s role came into play. He introduced them with a grin: one was a director who had won three awards at the European Film Festival, and the other was a triple-Actor winner at the Berlin Film Festival, the Golden Globe and the Oscar.

The few of them ate and chatted, and with Harvey’s jokes, Li Yishu and Hanks gradually became familiar with each other.

When they were almost done eating, Hanks took out a napkin to wipe his mouth and said with a smile, “Lee, I’ve seen Chicago on Broadway. I never thought you could turn this musical into a movie.”

“In fact, I have always been interested in musicals. Decades ago, musicals were very popular in Shanghai, China, and there was also a musical venue called Paramount that was no less popular than Broadway…”

Li Yishu started to talk about the elements of future musicals. Her vision was so ahead of her time that Hanks couldn’t help but nod his head. He didn’t expect that Li Yishu, at such a young age, actually did some research on musicals.

“Tom.” Seeing that the atmosphere was almost right, Li Yishu also smiled and said, “I really like your performance style, and I have seen many of your films. I think you must have never acted in a musical. Why not give it a try? In addition to registering this film for the Oscars, I also plan to participate in the Cannes Film Festival next year.”

Tom Hanks thought for a moment, then looked up and said, “Lee, you’ve convinced me. I really want to try my hand at a musical.”

Li Yishu raised her glass and said, “Haha, I wish us a happy cooperation.”

“Happy cooperation!”

Tom Hanks also picked up the glass. Harvey beside him interrupted and said, “Hey, hey, how can you leave me as the middleman? How can you cooperate happily without me? Come on, let’s have a drink together!”

The three of them toasted and drank it all.

Half an hour later, after Tom Hanks left in style, Li Yishu looked at Harvey and said, “Go and get his salary. Don’t pay it more than $1500 million!”

Today, Tom Hanks is considered one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, with the typical asking price being $2000 million.

However, this is a low-budget musical film, and since Tom Hanks has agreed to it, it is impossible for him to quote too high a price.

Harvey said, “What if he wants a share? For Forrest Gump, he asked for $500 million in salary plus 10% of the box office share and peripherals.”

“Then pay him $2000 million in salary, and don’t give him any share of the profits. You have to get the film contract within these few days.”

Li Yishu is very clear about how high the box office of “Forrest Gump” is. If she doesn’t sign the contract earlier, the box office will probably be even higher after it is released.

After saying that, he lowered his head to read the newspaper. Looking at the promotions for recently released movies, Li Yishu also sighed that Wu Yusen’s luck was really bad.

There was “Speed” at the beginning, “The Lion King” in the middle, and “Forrest Gump” later.

　Thank you for the reward from time 1979. By the way, I would like to ask for monthly votes from all readers. Today is the last day. Please let me get 1000 monthly votes. I beg you!

　
(End of this chapter)