Chapter 617: A shocking circle, a shocking situation
A baggy old suit.
There is a red badge on the collar to commemorate the British soldiers who died in World War I, and red socks are exposed from the dusty leather shoes.
Just such a seemingly ordinary guy, seven movies have grossed more than 3.5 billion US dollars at the global box office.
This is not the first time Zhou Yutang and Director Nolan have met.
Last year, in order to do public relations for "Dallas Buyers Club", I attended several cocktail parties and met almost every famous director in Hollywood.
Director Nolan was also among them, but there was no in-depth communication at the time.
"Hi, Zhou, you are still so handsome that it makes people jealous."
Before the premiere, Bob Sr. came up with a bear hug, and then Matthew McConaughey also came up with a friendly handshake and a hug: "Boss, we meet again."
"Nice to see you in heaven."
Zhou Yutang patted his shoulder.
At that time, the investors of "Dallas Buyers Club" temporarily withdrew their funds and ran away because they were not optimistic about the project's prospects, causing the entire crew to shut down in despair.
Zhou Yutang almost appeared as a savior and saved the movie.
Everyone on the crew has great respect for this Eastern boss who spends money generously and does things without sloppiness.
This is especially true for Matthew McConaughey. When he won the Oscar for Best Actor, he also mentioned Zhou Yutang's name, which was reported by many media.
This has also made more and more Americans aware of Zhou Yutang.
A mysterious young man from the East who won an Oscar trophy for US$5 million can be regarded as a miracle in Hollywood no matter how you look at it.
As an insider, Anne Hathaway knows more.
Zhou Yutang is the driving force behind several popular Hollywood IPs.
He is also one of the top directors that the six major Hollywood companies have publicly revealed that they most want to work with.
The legendary experience of this young entertainment tycoon came to mind. Anne Hathaway's beautiful eyes flashed with curiosity, and she showed her iconic bright smile:
"Zhou, belated congratulations, congratulations on winning the Palme d'Or in Cannes."
Zhou Yutang raised his eyebrows and said with a gentle smile: "Happy birthday to you in advance."
Anne Hathaway's birthday is November 12th, which also happens to be the day "Interstellar" is released in China.
"yeah."
Anne Hathaway smiled gracefully and said: "Thank you for reminding me that I am another year older."
"Fairies never grow old."
Zhou Yutang is proficient in the dragon-slaying skills of a scumbag, and with a few tricks, he made this Hollywood starlet's mouth shut.
She has neat short hair, a black translucent dress, and her fair shoulders and neck can be faintly seen. She is mysterious and elegant.
The snow-white and delicate skin of the palm feels refreshing and cool to the touch.
Anne Hathaway obviously has a certain fondness for this young entertainment tycoon who is top-notch in terms of power, wealth, and appearance.
Zhou Yutang's impression of Anne Hathaway has always been Catwoman in "Batman".
Wrapped in a tight-fitting outfit, her curves are exposed, yet full of wildness.
Or the beautiful and charming girl in "Love and Elixir".
No matter what kind of image, it has a fatal attraction for men.
Anne Hathaway, who is now a wife, has added a bit of young womanly charm to her body.
After a friendly but not overreaching hug, Zhou Yutang and Nolan also shook hands and exchanged a few polite words, but they mostly communicated with his wife.
Nolan has an introverted personality, and Zhou Yutang doesn't just talk to others casually.
On the contrary, his wife Emma Nolan is very cheerful and talkative.
The woman behind this great Hollywood director is not simple.
If Nolan has set countless box office records from "The Prestige" to the "Batman" trilogy to "Inception" and has already been on stage to become a god, then she is the woman standing behind the god.
According to Bob, she was the one who pushed hard for this "Interstellar" trip to China.
Zhou Yutang always feels that the combination of Nolan and his wife is a bit similar to the Plus version of Xu Ke and Shi Nansheng.
Emma Nolan is also enthusiastic about the Hollywood money printer.
Go directly to the premiere event process.
This premiere event is a tie-up between Universal and China Film Group, and is also the only stop in Asia on the global promotional tour of "Interstellar".
Not only director Nolan was present in person, but actors and actresses Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway were also on stage, which shows that the producers attach great importance to the Chinese film market.
More than 200 media reporters from China, Neon, South Korea, etc., and hundreds of fans were present.
The mere stunt of a meeting between two world-class directors was enough to send some media into a frenzy.
Since it is a premiere, questions from the media are inevitable.
Whenever asked what he thinks of "Interstellar", Zhou Yutang's standard answer is: "I'm looking forward to it."
Nolan sat on the stage with the main creators and talked about the original intention of creating the movie and some interesting behind-the-scenes incidents he encountered during filming. Finally, when the media asked about his impressions of China, he gave them enough face and said with a smile:
"I have watched "Ju Dou" directed by Zhang Yimou before, and I was very impressed. I also like the style of director Zhou Yutang. This is my first time to this beautiful country. If I have time, I would like to visit the Great Wall."
New Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey said more directly: "Director Zhou Yutang is the best director in China, and he is very famous in Hollywood."
It wasn't just him who had done his homework. The enthusiastic Anne Hathaway could even speak a few words of broken Chinese: "Hello, everyone. I'm Anne Hathaway."
The media in the audience exclaimed.
The big-mouthed beauty was quite satisfied with the enthusiastic response. She flirted with Zhou Yutang, who was sitting below and chatting with Bob, and continued to respond to the media:
"If there is a chance, I hope to work with Director Zhou Yutang."
A movie with a female lead, "Lucy", has achieved both good reputation and box office success, which has made Liu Yifei's status soar. Even the first-line women in Hollywood are envious.
It is obvious that there are only benefits to having a good relationship with such a great director.
Soon, the movie began to be shown.
The story is simple.
In the future, the climate and environment of the earth will deteriorate sharply, and food will be in serious shortage. It will be difficult for humans to survive here.
So the protagonist Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, and Anne Hathaway were selected as a member of the plan to save the future of mankind, and went to the outside of the solar system to find another planet suitable for human habitation.
Traveling through the stars, the future is in an instant.
This space light-year journey that broke through the limits of human beings gave many audiences a visual feast.
"Time can be stretched and folded, but it can't go backwards."
Zhou Yutang seemed to be oblivious to the suppressed cheers and applause of the audience.
Nolan's film is not a system of traditional science fiction films, but it has brought great shock to the audience.
At this time, Zhou Yutang's eyes were empty, but his mind was thinking about the film and television adaptations of Liu Cixin's works.
Captain Zhang Beihai, the wall-facing man Hines, the desolation of the Three-Body World, and the wandering earth
What kind of sparks will be produced when the high-dimensional world collides with human civilization?
It seems that the future science fiction of the Celestial Empire, the Chinese romance with the Chinese humanistic spirit, is just within reach.
"Next year, we can officially prepare."
After the film screening, Zhou Yutang clapped his hands gently and applauded Nolan, and the applause on the scene lasted for a long time.
He has the copyrights of Liu's "The Wandering Earth" and "The Three-Body Problem", but it takes a lot of resources to bring them to the big screen, so he has to do it slowly.
The main creators will have an interview session next, and Zhou Yutang received a call from La Peikang.
Bringing Bob, he met with Thomas Tull, the chairman and CEO of Legendary Entertainment, and Donna Langley, the co-chairman of Universal, in the small conference room of China Film.
"Zhou, you are the most special and the best Chinese director I have ever seen."
Thomas smiled and gave a rainbow fart, and then painted a pie: "Legendary and Universal are very optimistic that you can take over this project. The super production of 150 million US dollars will be a sincere cooperation between the top Hollywood team and the top Chinese team."
"I believe that Mr. La has talked to you. We come with great sincerity. I wonder what you think?"
"Saury, my schedule is scheduled until the year after next, I am afraid I don't have time."
Zhou Yutang shrugged his shoulders, and the calm expression on his face made Thomas almost doubt that he had seen it wrong.
Donna, the co-chairman of Universal, said, "Zhou, this project will take a lot of time to prepare in the early stage. There is no need to rush. We can fully cooperate with your schedule when the time comes."
La Peikang also meant this.
Thomas continued to paint a rosy picture: "As long as you take this project, we can give you a director's salary of 16 million US dollars. As for the casting of actors, we can also give you certain rights."
Facing La Peikang's eager eyes, Zhou Yutang's heart was sunburned.
Giving this director's salary is quite sincere, but Zhou Yutang doesn't care about this. The other party never talks about the script and the final editing rights, and his attitude is already quite obvious.
After a moment of silence, Zhou Yutang tapped the table with two fingers and said calmly: "I will take over this project with two conditions."
"What conditions?"
"Absolute control over the entire crew, including the script, casting, and the final editing rights."
"Zhou, I think you have some misunderstandings."
Thomas and Donna looked at each other, their faces unchanged, and continued to increase the weight: "20 million US dollars, including a portion of the share reserved for you, and retaining the subsequent box office share."
"This is our greatest sincerity. As for the script, if you have different ideas, you can also come up with a version and we will continue to discuss. What do you think?"
Zhou Yutang understands the salary market in Hollywood.
For people like Paul Greengrass and Ridley Scott, the salary is about 7 million to 10 million US dollars.
For top directors like Nolan, the salary cap is about 20 million US dollars.
There are also some hidden benefits such as box office share, which are incomparable to domestic projects.
The director's salary that Universal gave him was basically the same as what the top directors in Hollywood could enjoy.
But he was calm and composed, unmoved.
As I said before, he wanted the final editing rights.
La Peikang frowned.
In the final analysis, this is the difference between the systems of the two film and television circles.
Under the commercial model of Hollywood, a very mature producer-centered system has been formed.
The producer, who symbolizes the investor, stands at the top of the pyramid of the entire film and television chain.
The management team and the artistic creation team are cross-separated, forming a matrix structure.
In this model, the director is responsible for filming, and the final editing rights are in the hands of the producer.
Producers will make content adjustments later based on market research to ensure maximum benefits for the film.
Under normal circumstances, a director only has the right to make suggestions, even if he sees his finished film being cut.
In the Chinese film market, it initially existed in the form of unified purchasing and marketing.
That is, studios in various localities and units will produce according to quotas, and China Film will distribute them uniformly. Provincial and municipal distribution companies in various places will cooperate with the implementation work.
At that time, everything was dominated by administration and there was no concept of a producer at all.
After the "Several Opinions on Deepening the Current Mechanism Reform of the Film Industry" was promulgated in 1993, the institutional structure was adjusted.
It also absorbed some systems from Hong Kong and has developed to this day. China pursues a director-centered system.
The producer is equivalent to the butler of the entire crew under the director.
Pei Kang knew Zhou Yutang very well.
As long as he is doing the project, it must be Gan Gang's decision.
From the script, to casting, to the final edit of the film, he had absolute control.
The two parties pushed and pulled, but in the end they couldn't reach an agreement, and they were ready to go back and evaluate again.
This is also normal.
After all, this time it is a large-scale production of 150 million US dollars, which is equivalent to about 1 billion yuan when converted.
Even for Legendary and Universal Pictures, it is a big project that must be treated with caution.
"We have already given him Hollywood's top director's salary and allowed him to enter the movie to get a share of the pie, but he still wants to go further. Universal and Legendary Pictures are the leaders of this project. The final editing rights of the film can only be controlled by us. How could it be handed over to him?"
"Can you think of a way to convince him?"
"I'm afraid this will be difficult. We have done some background work in advance. Zhou Yutang is a lustful person with a strong desire for control."
A certain Global executive made it clear.
After Zhou Yutang left, the faces of the top executives of Universal and Legendary, which were originally relatively calm, turned a bit ugly.
They didn't expect Zhou Yutang's attitude to be so determined.
Thomas Tarr, chairman and CEO of Legendary Entertainment, put his hands on the table, stood up slowly, and said in a firm voice:
"Then start the preparatory plan. There are many capable directors in China, including Li An, Zhang Yimou, and Chen Kaige."
The hottest news in the entertainment industry right now is not the successful conclusion of the Tea Egg Asia Tour in Beijing, nor is it the Year of the Sheep Spring Festival Gala Directors’ Symposium on Havin.
It almost makes no sense for Han Low-Key to refute the rumors again that her grandfather is not Li Yunlong.
The two giants Legendary and Universal Hollywood have made huge waves in the entire Chinese film market.
"Legendary Pictures has signed a three-year cooperation agreement with China Film Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Film Group, and will cooperate with Universal to produce the movie "The Great Wall"!"
"The film is expected to have a total investment of more than 150 million US dollars, making it the first Sino-US co-production to reach Hollywood A-level investment!"
"After the premiere of "Interstellar", Legend Entertainment Chairman and Universal Co-Chairman had a secret meeting with Zhou Yutang at China Film Studio!"
"No. 1 in the list of directors in China, who is the director of "The Great Wall", Jiangdong Dadu?"
"The assistant to the legendary chairman accepted an interview with the media and confirmed that the Sino-US co-production project is true. The next step will be to determine the candidate for the director of China!"
The news that Zhou Yutang attended the premiere of "Interstellar" made headlines.
Then it sparked heated discussions among netizens and attracted national attention.
The big project created by two Hollywood giants together with China Film Group has once again pushed Zhou Yutang to the forefront and become the most popular figure in the entire entertainment industry.
The news that Hollywood giants like Legend and Universal are coming to China to launch film and television projects also caused a huge earthquake in the entire film and television industry.
"I'll go ahead and invest 150 million US dollars, one billion, one billion, what kind of magical situation is this?"
"I highly recommend Zhou Yutang. Who else besides him can take on such a big production?" - Sun Jiasheng
"Lao Mouzi is not bad. He is the chief director of the Olympic Games and can handle big scenes." - Destiny alone.
"Little Steel Cannon, Poet Chen's chance to prove himself has come." - Qingfeng Xiaomingzhu
"It's so funny that Xiaogangpao and Chen Poet are not as good as Ning Hao in the director rankings." - I wish to be a comfortable person.
"I personally think that the audience has a lot of misunderstandings about Brother Chen Kai. He was awarded the Palme d'Or in Cannes and has unlimited fame. He has been in a trough period, but he is still building up his skills...
I observe that among the great directors of the Chinese dynasty, Feng Xiaogang lost his original intention and did not know what he was doing as soon as he ascended to a high position; Zhang Yizheng was more than successful in planning but lacked imagination and only knew how to have children; in terms of international fame, the only ones who are famous all over the world are Chen Kaige and Zhou Yutang'er. ” - full of tears
"Poet Chen, please go up to the big box and speak." - A walk on the road of life.
"..."
In the past two days, netizens have been having heated discussions on major forums, pushing for the director they support to be promoted.
The film and television industry has not been so lively for a long time.
On the plane going to Shenzhen to prepare for the filming of "Mermaid", Zhou Yutang was browsing film and television information.
After "Interstellar" held a meeting in Beijing, it was officially released at the Chinese Film Market on the 12th, with a box office revenue of 37.3 million yuan on the first day.
The reputation is booming, and some fans of director Nolan regard it as another masterpiece after the "Inception" and "Batman" trilogy.
But after all, it was an away game, and there was still a viewing threshold, so it wasn’t an amazing result.
It’s not even as good as the first-day box office of “The Year in a Hurry” of the same period, which had a box office of 56.85 million.
Netizens all said that the line sung by the princess was very interesting.
We owe each other, we want to keep in touch...
Just when we were eating melons.
Zhou Yutang received an unexpected call