"Someone in Hollywood is looking for us." Zhang Jiazhen's words can easily lead to misunderstanding, as if people from Hollywood have come to Hong Kong and are about to meet Zhou Wen. In fact, this is not the case.
As a Hong Kong movie, "Boxer" performed mediocrely in its early release in North America. Neither theaters nor audiences were aware of its violent aesthetics. Even Fox Theaters only arranged for 50 theaters to be released, and these 50 theaters were still Located in Chinatown or a slum area, the scale is not very large.
But a week after its release, "The Fighter" repeated the box office counterattack legend of Hong Kong and quickly became popular in Chinatown and slums.
You must know that kung fu movies have always had an embarrassing status in Europe and the United States. They are only liked and respected by a small group of audiences. Moreover, this small group of audiences were cultivated during the Bruce Lee era. It is this group of fans who admire "cult" movies after watching them. After "Kung Fu", they were immediately attracted by the passionate and realistic fighting style in the film. Their deep love for kung fu movies exploded instantly, and they became Zhou Wen's "hardcore".
"That guy moves faster and more ferociously than Bruce Lee. He's like a beast!"
"When you feel like he looks like a tiger, he suddenly turns into a nimble big bird, or a monkey jumping up and down, or a war horse playing havoc on the battlefield. It's hard to imagine that he can show so many animal forms. , the mysterious Eastern country, different from Bruce Lee¡¯s real fighting, God, he is so strong!¡±
"After Bruce Lee passed away, I once felt that no one could revive Kung Fu movies. Thank God, we have seen hope again. Another Bruce Lee has come out of Hong Kong. I wish 'Chow' a good future."
"Kung Fu, no, this is not simple Kung Fu, but the mysterious killing technique of the East. It shows amazing lethality, bloody, violent, and makes people crazy. I once saw a Chinese in Chinatown using this kind of Kung Fu."
"Hey man, tell your manager to get the damn video made quickly, we want to buy it! If there's another 'Zhou' movie coming out, we like his style!"
Fans continue to write letters and call Fox, expressing their love and praise for "The Fighter". They hope that Fox will contact the Hong Kong production company as soon as possible to introduce and distribute the video tape or other movies about Zhou Wen, because in Bruce After Li, only Zhou Wen's films could awaken their enthusiasm for kung fu.
Fox did not expect the overwhelming response from moviegoers. In view of the fact that "The Fighter" has more box office revenue-generating power than other Hong Kong movies, in order to expand theater profits, Fox quickly made adjustments, not only increasing the number of theaters showing it, but also Small theaters expanded to large and medium-sized theaters, and it was released simultaneously in 500 theaters in North America.
This directly led to the box office blowout of "Boxer". Yes, this is the first Hong Kong movie in more than ten years to show such strong box office vitality. "Boxer" became popular in North America, and everyone who watched the movie was impressed by Zhou Wen's powerful Shocked by the destructive power, the box office of "The Fighter" has been rising steadily. In the third week of its release, it directly broke the box office record of Cheng Long's film that Golden Harvest strongly supported. It sprinted as a latecomer and continued to set new box office records.
As a Hong Kong movie, as a niche cult classic, and as a kung fu movie, "The Fighter" is highly valued by Fox!
This is a signal, representing the revival of Hong Kong films, especially the Kung Fu film genre, and the emergence of another cash cow after Bruce Lee. As the original collaborator, Fox must seize this rare opportunity. Fox wants to sign Zhou Wen. Became his agency in Hollywood.
But before signing the contract, there is still an important issue that must be resolved, and that is the theater chain dividend system! In the past, the model for Hong Kong movies to be released in North America was to purchase the copyright in one go. In other words, the two parties would negotiate a mutually satisfactory amount based on the film's box office performance in Hong Kong and the size and influence of the company in Hong Kong. For example, two million US dollars would be used to purchase the North American movie. Release rights, or three million to buy video rights.
In the eyes of Hollywood tycoons, Chow Pictures, represented by Zhang Jiazhen, is just an ant, insignificant and hopelessly insignificant. It does not even have any internationally influential stars. In addition, they believe that the upgrade of the film's release in Hong Kong is entirely a publicity plan by Debao Company. To my credit, no one was willing to pay for the rights during the initial negotiations. As soon as Zhang Jiazhen saw something was wrong, he immediately changed the way of cooperation and proposed that he was willing to bear the risk with the theater chain. If the movie box office was dismal and the theater chain could not recover the operating costs, Hong Kong Chow Films would bear all operating costs. If the box office performance was good, , both parties split the dividend in half.
I have to say that this suggestion is very interesting, but few Hollywood theater distributors are willing to take the risk, even if it means full compensation. In the end, the Zhang family was shocked and used their smooth tongue to reconcileFox signed the contract. Fox had the mentality of giving it a try, but they did not expect that the audience's love for "Boxer" exceeded everyone's expectations. After the first period of box office dividends were paid, Fox had to Paying according to the contract, they think they have made a big loss!
Therefore, the box office dividend system must be abolished and the most mature one-time copyright buyout model should be adopted.
After Zhou Wen listened patiently to Zhang Jiazhen, he frowned and asked, "Is this the condition proposed by Fox?"
Zhang Jiazhen sighed and nodded: "Yes, it seems that Hollywood's control of imported films is still the same old-fashioned view. It's no wonder that we get a large share. We were lucky the first time, but we may not be so lucky again."
"Brother Zhen, this is not good news!" Zhou Wen tapped the table rhythmically and mused: "If this is the case, the only movies produced by our Zhou family in the future will be sold for release rights and video tape rights, which will cost millions. , Grandma, what I said back then has finally come true!"
Zhou Wen had talked about this aspect with Zhang Jiazhen years ago. He was not willing to let the ghosts make a lot of money. After all, the films he shot were ahead of their time. Whether it was the action style or Zhou Wen's own hardware, it was by no means those hanging wires or shoddy products. Nothing can be compared.
But the cruel reality is before us. The cooperation model between Hollywood and Hong Kong has been mature and operating for more than ten years. Unless Zhou can develop into a big company like Golden Harvest, Debao or New Art City, it will be able to cooperate with Hollywood to make films and share them together. When it comes to box office dividends, even if it is a joint production, Hollywood often has the upper hand, and others take the lion's share of the profits.
There is no doubt that the bad news brought by Fox has greatly dampened Zhou Wen's enthusiasm for hitting Hollywood. In a Hollywood world dominated by white people, the possibility for him, a yellow-skinned Chinese, to be on an equal footing and share interests is at present. It's nothing more than a fool's dream. After all, even Hong Kong companies such as Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest, and Debau, which were the first to cooperate with Hollywood, are in a weak position. It is too difficult to get fairness!
"Is there any way to change the current situation?" Zhou Wen rubbed his eyebrows and said to Zhang Jiazhen: "I don't like this model, not at all. It makes me lose my energy."
Zhang Jiazhen smiled bitterly and said: "Yes, unless you shoot several mainstream commercial films that are very popular at the Hollywood box office, or win awards at film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, and Oscars, then you will have the same status as an ordinary Hollywood film company." The company's bargaining chip However, this is an extremely difficult and tortuous route, and no one has succeeded so far."
"Does it have to be a mainstream commercial film? Like "Star Wars" or "Terminator"?" Zhou Wen asked, raising his eyebrows.
Zhang Jiazhen shook his head and said: "Not necessarily, as long as the box office reaches about 30 million US dollars. However, there is an obstacle that is difficult to achieve. It must be a mainstream commercial film. That is, the actors must be provided by Hollywood, and the Hollywood industrial order must be followed. This is also It is the most intolerable and intolerable thing for us Hong Kong directors."
"That's true." Zhou Wen nodded in agreement: "Everyone is used to being free on weekdays. Many wonderful ideas are improvised. They directly change the script, tone and shots on the set. Flexibility is the characteristic of Hong Kong films. No one can change it. I don¡¯t want to accept a rigid system.¡±
"So, Awen, I think we should implement the recognized copyright sales model."
"No, I can't swallow this!" Zhou Wen shook his head like a rattle and said firmly: "Give me some time to think about it, and I'll see if I can write a few mainstream Hollywood commercial scripts. Grandma's, isn't it just a commercial film, I No matter what, you have to give it a try!"
"Awen, it's best to learn more English. If you can only speak yes and no, you will be very, very discriminated against there. Cheng Long was rejected by the TV station's talk show because of his poor English. His self-esteem was greatly damaged. ." Zhang Jiazhen reminded kindly.
Zhou Wen sighed and said, "Okay, I will find an English tutor to help me in the near future."
After Zhang Jiazhen left, only Zhou Wen was left in the office, frowning and thinking hard. At this moment, he was thinking about how to write a mainstream commercial film script that would suit American tastes. Of course, he could have adopted the original hip-hop film plan, but for the sake of To be on the safe side, he must make more preparations to be prepared for any emergencies. If he is prepared multiple times, he will have a better turnaround in case of emergencies.
"Boss, there is an overseas phone call saying that they are looking for you." Zhang Yuan used the internal line to seek Zhou Wen's opinion: "The other party claims to be your friend. He is currently in Boston and his name is Zhen Zhuzi."
"Pick in." Zhou Wen grabbed the phone and soon heard Zhen Bullet's voice.
"Awen, it seems that you are doing well, and you are even equipped with a female secretary." Zhen Zhuan joked over the phone.
?"Senior Brother, why did you remember to call me?" Zhou Wen said with a smile.
"Do you want to hear the truth or lies?" Zhen Zhuan asked.