Chapter 258-269 [“Rumble in the Bronx” Completed, a Billion-Dollar Series]

Canada Toronto.

Inside the set of “Rumble in the Bronx”.

“Crack!”

“It’s done!”

As the last scene was successfully filmed, Li Yishu stood up and stretched, finally finishing the filming.

This movie uses a lot of big scenes, and no matter how careful it is, several mistakes still occurred.

The most serious incident was when a member of the Cheng family team accidentally drove the car into a road pole during the filming of a car chase scene and fainted on the spot.

Three ribs in the chest were broken, but fortunately the person was not seriously injured.

At this time, He Guanchang strode over and said with a smile on his face, “Director Li, I have asked someone to prepare the wrap-up banquet. When the crew is done packing, shall we go together?”

“Sure.” Li Yishu smiled and turned to the stagehand beside her and said, “Xiao Chen, go tell everyone not to rush to leave. Manager He said that we should have a good wrap-up dinner together tonight.”

Hearing that the director and producer wanted to treat everyone to a meal, the stagehand Xiao Chen nodded with a smile: “Okay Director Li, I’ll go and inform everyone.”

After the stagehand Xiao Chen left, He Guanchang saw that there was no one around, so he said, “Director Li, can’t you give up the shares? Wen Huai and I are very sincere.”

“Manager He, I understand your and Mr. Zou’s sincerity. Jiahe is about to go public. If you invest in it now, you can make a steady profit. But…”

At this point, Li Yishu shook her head and said, “I have already handed this matter over to Amy. If you have any questions, just talk to Amy directly.”

“Okay.” He Kuanchang sighed. If he could reach an agreement with Amy, there would be no need for Zou Wenhuai to make an international call to let He Kuanchang talk to Li Yishu privately about the shares.

Arts Entertainment Group was only willing to give up 5% of its shares, which Zou Wenhuai could not accept.

He was not short of money, so he naturally didn’t care about Li Yishu’s premium investment. What Zou Wenhuai really wanted was the shares.

“Manager He, you can talk to Mr. Zou when you get back.”

Li Yishu thought for a moment and said, “If you don’t want to exchange shares, I can buy Jiahe’s shares at a premium.”

Hearing this, He Guanchang frowned, thought for a while, and nodded: “Okay Director Li, I will tell him.”

After chatting for a few more words, Ho Kuan Chang was busy arranging for the crew to finish work. The film was completed, but there was still a lot of follow-up work to be handled.

Cheng Long and Anita Mui came over here together. As soon as he saw Li Yishu, he immediately said with confidence: “Director Li, I think this movie will definitely be a sensation in the United States after it is released!”

The movie was shot by Jackie Chan himself, so he knows best about the quality of the movie. Coupled with Li Yishu’s fame in North America, Jackie Chan is confident that he can successfully enter the Hollywood market with the movie “Rumble in the Bronx”.

“Haha, it’s hard to say whether the movie will be a hit or not, but Aaron, I believe American audiences will like your hard-working spirit.”

Li Yishu has a lot of admiration for Cheng Long. He was really serious when filming and almost never used a body double. Even when there was a scene where he had to climb onto a seaplane, he did it himself.

It is no wonder that among so many Chinese actors who have ventured into Hollywood, only Jackie Chan is truly world-renowned.

Unlike Jackie Chan, who has actually made A-level action movies, and with the “Rush Hour 2.26” which grossed $3.29 million in North America and $2 million worldwide, he has officially become a member of the American $ million pay club.

Although this $20 million salary is special and only for the “Rush Hour” film series, at least he is the first Chinese to be among the “top paid actors” in the United States.

Even Jet Li, who later joined the $20 million pay club, the box office performance of the Hollywood movies he made were not very high.

The real reason why he became famous and had a high salary was that Jet Li’s movies generated considerable revenue from disc sales and rentals.

Anita Mui, who was standing next to him, was also an old acquaintance of Cheng Long, having worked together on several films. She said with a smile, “Yes, Brother Long, you worked so hard on this film, I believe the American audience will definitely see your sincerity.”

“This is all because of Director Li’s good script and the good arrangement of these big scenes. If it weren’t for Director Li, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to star in such a wonderful movie…”

Being praised by Li Yishu and Anita Mui, Jackie Chan showed his signature smile, his eyes almost narrowed into slits. He himself felt that the film was very well made, not only was his condition good, his movements were good, but also the scenes were the biggest he had ever seen in all his years of filming.

It has been 13 years since “Cannonball Run”. Jackie Chan has wanted more than once to enter the Hollywood market and become an international Kung Fu superstar like Bruce Lee, but he has never been able to realize this wish.

Now, with the collaboration with Li Yishu in “Rumble in the Bronx”, Jackie Chan truly sees his chance to become famous in the United States!
“Okay Aaron, the movie is not the director’s credit alone, it’s the result of the hard work of the entire crew.”

Seeing Cheng Long flattering him, Li Yishu smiled and waved her hands. He is not the kind of person who would take all the credit for a movie’s high box office and many awards. The script of “Rumble in the Bronx” is actually quite ordinary, at least that’s what Li Yishu thinks.

The reason why I cooperated with Jackie Chan and came up with this script is that there are not many films that suit Jackie Chan’s style and have been recognized by the market.

Whether it is “Mission Impossible”, “John Wick” or “The Bourne Supremacy”, or the movies that Jackie Chan shot in his later years, they are not suitable for the current Jackie Chan.

Moreover, since the script has been tested in the market, Li Yishu will naturally not be foolish enough to come up with a script that is not suitable for Cheng Long.

“Okay, you guys go back to the hotel and have some rest. Manager He has arranged a dinner party for us tonight.”

“Yes, I know Director Li. Ah Mei and I will go back first.”

“Go.”

Li Yishu waved his hand and sent Cheng Long and the other two away. He then turned to look at Xu Jingjiang who was not far away. After thinking about it, he asked his assistant to call him over.

Xu Jingjiang came over with a warm look on his face: “Director Li, you are looking for me.”

This time he came here to play a minor villain role, a mafia thug in the movie. With his bearded face, bald head, suit and sunglasses, you can tell at first glance that he is a bad guy.

“Have you signed a contract with the company?”

“No, no.”

Xu Jingjiang was a little excited, he felt like he had guessed something.

“Not signed yet…” Li Yishu thought for a moment and said with a smile: “Are you interested in coming to my company?”

“Yes, of course Director Li!” Xu Jingjiang said excitedly, “Director Li, I really hope to join your company!”

“Don’t worry, go back and think about it. Once you’re done, go directly to the Xiangjiang Art Film Company. I’ve already informed them. You can bring a lawyer over to take a look at the contract.”

Li Yishu still admires Xu Jingjiang very much. Although Liang Jiahui commented that his acting skills have always been three-pronged, playing dumb, pretending to be stunned and standing there grinning foolishly, but when it comes to the role of the villain, Xu Jingjiang did not have any problems at all.

Moreover, Li Yishu believes that Xu Jingjiang has acting skills. In “The Legend of Sword and Fairy”, he played the role of the Moon Worshiper very well. He played the role of a villain who loves the world very well. The reason why his acting skills are so outstanding is that it all comes down to the role positioning. Moreover, for an actor, being able to achieve perfection in one field is also a kind of success.

“No need to look at the contract. I believe that Director Li will not harm me.”

People who study painting actually have the most sensitive minds, because they can capture things that ordinary people don’t pay attention to. Secondly, they can concentrate and immerse themselves in the painting for hours.

Xu Jingjiang is such a person. Although the characters he plays are all careless, he is thoughtful and can sense who is nice to him and who is malicious towards him.

When they met in Shanghai last year, Xu Jingjiang could feel the kindness emanating from Li Yishu. This time, she specially invited him to play the villain, so he believed that Li Yishu would not harm him.

“Haha, I still need to look at the contract. Okay, let’s talk about this when we get back to Hong Kong. Go pack up and we’ll attend the wrap-up party together tonight.”

“Okay Director Li, I’ll be leaving first then.”

“Go.”

Watching Xu Jingjiang leave, Li Yishu was very satisfied with his attitude.

Regardless of whether there is a problem with this contract, the other party’s attitude alone is enough to make people feel that their help is not in vain, and they are afraid of encountering an ungrateful person.

After the wrap party ended in the evening, Li Yishu had someone buy a plane ticket and flew directly to Los Angeles in the early hours of the night.

Li Jiaxin finished filming and returned to Hong Kong more than ten days ago. She originally wanted to stay for a few more days, but the crew of “Drunken Master 3” had already started filming, and the filming progress was very fast, so she had to rush over as soon as possible.

Now that the Miss Hong Kong who can play is gone, Li Yishu is naturally not interested in staying in Toronto. Although she met Lin Zhiling during the filming, it is not the time to reap the rewards yet, so she will keep her company for now.

Los Angeles.

Art Entertainment Group, Golden Lion Films.

In the general manager’s office, David is reporting to Li Yishu on the box office performance of “Final Destination” and its overseas release.

As of now, the North American box office of “Final Destination” has exceeded 8000 million US dollars. According to this trend, it is certain that the box office will exceed million US dollars before it is released.

As for overseas releases, the film has been released in more than a dozen countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Thanks to its fame and box office foundation in North America, the total box office in these regions combined reached tens of millions of dollars in just one week.

After the report was almost finished, David made a summary: “Boss, the people at Columbia Pictures estimate that the final overseas box office of our film will be around 3 to 4000 million US dollars.”

Li Yishu nodded: “So the total global box office of Final Destination is about 1.4 million US dollars?”

“Yes, Boss. This is an estimated result. It may be more or less, but it will definitely not be less than 1.4 million US dollars.”

“Well, we will continue to follow up and have Columbia prepare to settle the share of the North American box office.”

“I know Boss, I will settle the box office with Columbia after the movie is released.”

Hollywood film companies have the habit of delaying the payment of profits, which has become an unwritten rule. Although Lee Yi-su has a good relationship with Hisao Morishima, it is impossible for her to let the other party take the lead in settling the box office share.

This is not a collaboration on “The Sixth Sense”. They are only responsible for publicity and promotion. The subsequent box office share will naturally be based on the relevant contract.

After looking through the financial statements, Li Yishu said, “I’m leaving tomorrow, so you have to hurry up with the preparations for the new movie. I’ve already told Amy that I’ll give you the corresponding authorization. As long as the production cost doesn’t exceed two million US dollars, you’ll be eligible to make the final decision. But if the production cost exceeds two million, you have to report it to Amy and the headquarters.”

“Understood, Boss! Headquarters has already told me.”

David said excitedly, “By the way, boss, I recently received a new script, which I personally think is very good.”

“What script?”

“Horror movie script.”

David took out a script from the drawer and handed it over. “At first I thought this script was a comedy, but after talking to the screenwriter, I found that it would be very good if it were presented in the form of a movie. It also referenced elements of two classic horror films, Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

Li Yishu took the script, and it clearly said Scream. Scream?
The name sounded familiar to Lee Yi-su. He opened the script and glanced at it. When he saw the masked killer holding a knife, he immediately confirmed that this was the script of “Scream”.

This movie can be said to be one of the classic American horror film series. Li Yixi remembers that “Scream” not only made six or seven films, but also later spawned a new anti-horror film routine movie “Scary Movies”.

In this anti-horror movie, the most impressive thing for Lee Yi-su was probably the scene where “Sadako” crawled out of the TV, tilted her head, and dirty water splashed out of her ears. The originally frightened black girl immediately rushed over and beat her up, saying that she had soiled her carpet.

It seems that many movies of this kind, which rely on the anti-horror film routine, have been made!
Since these two series have been able to produce so many films, it means that they must be making money, and a lot of it.

The combined value of more than a dozen films from the two series is at least one billion dollars!
“pretty good.”

Li Yishu threw the script back on the table and said, “David, since you like this script, I’ll give you a chance to try it.”

David was delighted: “Thank you, Boss!”

“How much funding do you think is appropriate?”

“This film is not complicated to shoot, but it requires a capable director. If we can invite Director Li An, the budget can be controlled within one million US dollars.”

Although horror movies are low-cost films, the director is really crucial. A good director can make a horror movie both thrilling and scary.

“Li An doesn’t have the time.”

Li Yishu shook his head. Although he had three contracts with Li An, Li An had already opened the door to Hollywood with “Final Destination”. There was no need to ask him to shoot a horror movie and waste a movie contract.

David hesitated and said, “If it wasn’t directed by Li An, I think the production cost would be at least two million dollars.”

Li Yishu thought for a moment and said, “I’ll give you three million dollars, but you have to make it a good movie!”

He didn’t want to let such a profitable script be wasted by a rubbish director.

I gave the script to Li An because I believed in his talent.

If David hired a flop director just to save money, wouldn’t that be a waste of a good script?

It’s a pity that Li Yishu didn’t remember who the original director of this movie was, otherwise she would have sent someone to find the original director to shoot it.

“Thank you, Boss. I will make sure to make this movie well!” David’s face was full of joy.

“Well, remember to sign a few more contracts with the leading actors. If the movie is successful, there will definitely be sequels later.”

(End of this chapter)