? Far East, a city with a long history.
In a teahouse rebuilt from a square courtyard, Zhang Baimao put down the newspaper in his hand, and sighed that the Chinese people are not confident enough nowadays. Even the professional commentators of such big newspapers need the recognition of Americans to find confidence. .
Bang--
When the door opened, a cold current rushed toward him, and the Chinese teacher with ravines on his face entered the room.
"Close the door soon!" The two have worked together for many years, and Zhang Baimao is also polite: "It's cold!"
The Chinese teacher took off his hat, took off his big coat, and went to the tea stove to bake his hands. Then he pulled the chair and sat down and said, "See the report about the Oscars? The guy Wanwan got eleven Oscar nominations! "
Zhang Baimao poured him a cup of hot tea first, then pushed the newspaper over, and said, "This guy is making a lot of money!"
The Chinese teacher did not read the newspaper, took a sip of hot tea, felt that the body gradually warmed up, and said: "It is possible to get the best director."
Zhang Baimao glanced at the National Teacher. As a partner, no one knows better than him what kind of obsession the National Teacher has for Oscar.
I just thought about the lack of self-confidence of Chinese people, and the recognition of Yankees is needed to find self-confidence. Even Chinese teachers are not immune.
"Xiao Zhang is going to show off this time." Zhang Baimao said.
The Chinese teacher did not answer, and said: "Lao Zhang, I heard from my American friends that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is very likely to exceed 150 million US dollars in the North American box office."
"It's not a big problem." Zhang Baimao felt envy and envy when thinking of the green dollar bills: "I remember that this film was sold out of copyright in North America. The North American distribution company is the real money maker."
The Chinese teacher thought that Li Ang was about to touch the Oscar trophy, so he was a little bit eager, and asked urgently: "Which company is it? Big six? Or is it Miramax, who is good at award-winning?"
Zhang Baimao shook his head: "Neither. The publisher is called Embassy Pictures, which belongs to the Relativity Entertainment Group. This is a group company that has only been established for two years. I heard Jiang Xiaojun say that at the Cannes Film Festival last year, one was called Ronan Anderson. A young producer from Ang Lee and Xu Ligong bought the North American copyright of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" for US$8 million."
"Ronan Anderson?" The national teacher remembered the name.
Zhang Baimao continued: "I specifically asked my friends in Los Angeles to inquire about the fact that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" can get so many Oscar nominations, and Ronan Anderson is behind it!"
Guo Shi's heart moved: "Xiao Zhang should know him, right?"
Zhang Baimao said: "Xiao Zhang has participated in so many activities and has to be based in Los Angeles. He must know each other."
The Chinese teacher calculated in his mind, another cup of hot tea, and said: "Old Zhang, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has given me some inspiration. I have a new filming plan.
Zhang Baimao relied on the national teacher to get up, and immediately said: "No matter what the plan, I will support you."
"The success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will inevitably trigger a wave of martial arts craze in the world." Guo Shi seemed very thoughtful: "I also want to make a martial arts movie."
Zhang Baimao was a little stunned: "This...have you never been exposed to this type?"
The Chinese teacher was quite confident: "Making a martial arts movie was a dream of my childhood." Seeing Zhang Baimao's silence, he said again: "Old Zhang, I'm not kidding. I decided to use the story of Jing Ke assassinating Qin to be a martial arts man. New packaging."
Zhang Baimao said, "Have you considered it? Someone will say you follow suit."
For the Oscar, the National Teacher didn’t care at all: “The North American Embassy Film Company and Ronan Anderson have managed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon so successfully that they have never been so successful. No matter how I do it, I can’t hide. I am suspected of following the trend. But I also thought that the impact of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is far-reaching. How many years will I have to wait? After many years, I will still be said to be photographed, and it will be followed later. It’s better to shoot now. If you say I follow, just follow, at least in the Mainland, I was the first to follow.”
Zhang Baimao asked: "Are you preparing to transform to become a martial arts director?"
The Chinese teacher shook his head and said: "Since I made movies, my specialty has been literary and artistic films. This kind of mainstream commercial film is actually not my specialty. In the future, my **** will not really sit with martial arts. My view is that martial arts originally It is a spiritual sustenance created by humans, which does not exist at all. Since it is a dream of everyone, then don’t standardize, fixate, or make this dream uniform, so I want a special martial arts."
Zhang Baimao thought for a long time, considering the status and appeal of the national teacher, as well as the huge influence of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" now in the world, he finally decided: "Shoot! We also shoot martial arts!"
"Lao Zhang, I knew you would definitely support me." Guo Shi's expression then became a little strange: "This film may be larger in scale, and the investment will not be less than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"."
What is the public production cost of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"? 15 million dollars? Or is it $16 million?
Zhang Baimao is quite courageous in this respect, saying: "We either don't do it! We will do it bigger! Our investment must be higher than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
Guo Shi is not a pedantic person, and asked: "Funds..."
Why don't you have money to make a movie? He knew that Zhang Baimao could not spend so much money.
Zhang Baimao lowered his voice and said, "Don't worry, I have a way to raise money. The coal bosses have money. They are spending money and looking for investment in Beijing. I will find someone to contact them."
The National Teacher has not been a fool for so many years, and he came up with an idea: "Tell them that this is a movie that hits the Oscars. This kind of lofty honor should be able to attract the nouveau riche."
"Good idea!" Zhang Baimao clapped his hands gently: "Let's go to Ao! Those old boys will definitely give money! It's not a big deal to pick 100 million from them."
The National Teacher heard that money is not a problem, and his thinking became clearer: "As long as I have the funds, I can gather the best crew. The cast cannot lose to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". It must be the top Chinese! Behind the scenes To be at the top level abroad. Yes, there is that little chapter. Now that I am well-known abroad, I will let her come back. I can't praise her for nothing."
Zhang Baimao and the Chinese teacher were still in their honeymoon period and waved a big hand: "Movie matters, you are in charge!"
The national teacher said seriously: "Lao Zhang, I also want to fight for Austria."
Zhang Baimao knew the Oscar knot of the National Teacher, and said: "I support you, but this matter requires careful planning."
The Chinese teacher thought for a while and said, "How about let Xiao Zhang contact that Ronan Anderson first?"
Hearing this, Zhang Baimao did not answer immediately, but seriously considered it. A few minutes later, he said: "Why not? Let Xiaozhang talk to Ronan Anderson first, and then find an opportunity to invite Ronan- Anderson is here, since Embassy Pictures can successfully run "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", it is not difficult to run another martial arts film."
"Yeah." The national teacher nodded repeatedly: "Yes."
Zhang Baimao, a businessman, added: "We can't put all the chips on Ronan Anderson. These Americans are very treacherous. Apart from Ronan Anderson, we will invite people from other American film distribution companies. "
The national teacher has doubts: "Will this affect the future Chongao..."
Oscar, a knot in the life of a national teacher that can never be shaken off.
"The names of Harvey Weinstein and Miramax, have you always heard of it?" Zhang Baimao said slowly: "He is the real Oscar promoter, once on Oscar, let a romantic comedy kill Si We also extended an invitation to Pilberg’s "Saving Private Ryan"."
Dreaming about the Oscar’s national teacher, how could it be possible that you haven’t heard the names of Harvey Weinstein and Miramax?
The Chinese teacher nodded slightly: "Okay, just do what you said. This will not only ensure our commercial interests, but also find a reliable distributor in North America."
Zhang Baimao looked at the time and said, "I will take you to a place."
The national teacher wondered: "Where is it so cold outside?"
Zhang Baimao said simply: "That Ronan Anderson's Embassy Pictures opened an office in Beijing. Let's visit it."
"This is fast enough." The National Teacher was a little surprised: "We actually set up an office on our side!"
Zhang Baimao said: "It feels like Ronan Anderson is not easy."
As expected by the outside world, just entering late March, the North American box office of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" crossed the 150 million U.S. dollar threshold. Before the Oscars ceremony, the cumulative total reached 157.45 million U.S. dollars!
This also allowed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" to successfully squeeze out DreamWorks Pictures' "Behind the Lies" and in one fell swoop boarded the tenth place in the North American box office rankings in 2000.
According to the calculation rules of the North American box office charts, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", a film that began to be screened in December 2000, all box office revenue will be calculated based on the 2000 charts.
This is also the first time in North American film history that a foreign language film has entered the top ten of the annual box office rankings. U U Reading
It is no exaggeration to say that under the operation of Ronan and Embassy Pictures, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has broken all records of foreign language films in North America.
Almost all the media, especially the Chinese media, took this film to the top.
"Li Ang did not disappoint the Chinese. His first martial arts film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" left the audience stunned. Although this film was based on traditional oriental martial arts themes, he was able to break the pattern of previous martial arts movies. , To maximize the aesthetics of oriental martial arts. The martial arts moves designed by Yuan Heping, including light kung fu and sword, all escape the mode of previous Hong Kong and Taiwan martial arts movies. Not only are they solid, they are also stunningly beautiful..."
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won warm applause from the American audience, and made the Chinese compatriots feel extremely proud and honored. Director Ang Lee not only realized the beautiful fantasy of the martial arts world as a child, and let the audience enter the martial arts world with him. Dance. I also used my own perspective and strength to fulfill the dream of every Chinese at home and abroad."
Countless lights gathered to the Oscar awards ceremony, want to see this film can get a few golden figures.