The day after the annual meeting, Spielberg went to Jinyi early in the morning.
Uncle Zhou had just gone to work, and the thermos cup had not yet been filled with hot water, when he saw Spielberg's car driving to the school gate.
"Who is this, coming so early?"
Uncle Zhou put on his hat and walked out of the reception room. Spielberg stretched his head out of the car and said in English: "Hi, Mr. Zhou."
"It's you." Uncle Zhou couldn't pronounce Spielberg's name, but he had seen him here many times, so he was familiar. "It's Mr. Yu."
The two chatted a few words, one in Chinese and the other in English.
Then the driver in front helped them register, and Uncle Zhou let them in.
Watching the car drive towards the back of the school, Uncle Zhou smiled and shook his head, walked back to the communication room, and muttered: "This foreigner is here really early."
He had just picked up the kettle and was about to pour a glass of water when he heard the sound of a car again.
"Who is this again?"
I opened the window and stretched my head to take a look. I saw Jimmy getting out of the car and saying with a smile: "Hey, Uncle Zhou, for such a big leader, you arrived at your post so early."
Seeing that it was Jimmy, Uncle Zhou was very happy and said with a smile: "Xiaoji, please don't make fun of me. What kind of leader am I? Besides, no matter how big a leader is, I can't compare to you. You came so early, how can we?"
Dare you be late?"
Jimmy smiled and offered a cigarette to Uncle Zhou. Uncle Zhou took it and took a look, "Oh, China, it's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it's hard to go from luxury to frugality. After smoking your China, I still smoke my red plum."
Do you have to go down?"
"Uncle, your literary literacy is getting better and better." Jimmy gave a thumbs up, then looked at the table, "Where is the notebook? I'll register it."
Uncle Zhou waved his hand, "You go in first and I'll register you. By the way, the great American director came just now. Did you make an appointment to come together?"
"Well, we made an appointment yesterday. OK, I'll go in first. I'll trouble you about the registration." Jimmy then threw the pack of Chinese cigarettes on the table again: "I've left these cigarettes for you, okay.
It’s a luxury, but if you really can’t smoke it back, I’ll write a note and ask the company to provide you with cigarettes.”
"Hey, this is considered a bribe. Principal Wu knows that he wants to cause trouble for you."
Jimmy laughed: "I was helping him test the cadres, and it was too late for him to thank me."
…
Yu Dong had just gotten up and was brushing his teeth when he heard someone knocking on the door. He bit his toothbrush and went to open the door, only to see Spielberg standing at the door.
"Steven, why are you here?" Yu Dong asked in a vague voice.
Spielberg smiled and said: "Didn't we make an appointment last night to meet today? Have you forgotten?"
Yu Dong frowned and thought for a while. It seemed that something like this happened. He said it during dinner last night, but he drank a lot of wine afterwards and was in a daze, so he couldn't remember it clearly.
He patted his forehead: "Don't drink too much of this wine, it will delay things. Come in, have you had breakfast?"
At this time, Cheng Yanqiu also came out of the kitchen, greeted Spielberg with a smile, and asked him if he had eaten before and if he wanted to have a bite here.
"No, I ate at the hotel." Spielberg said with a smile.
"Yeah." Yu Dong nodded, invited Spielberg into the room, and asked while running back to the bathroom to wash up, "I remember that I also had an appointment with Jimmy last night, weren't you together?"
"When I went to knock on Jimmy's door, he hadn't gotten up yet. If I had to wait for him, it might have been a long time, so I came over first."
"He also drank a lot last night. He is probably still drunk. But you came really early."
Yu Dong washed his face three times, then ran out to pour tea for Spielberg, "It's cold now, so it's not easy to get up in the morning."
"I heard you said that you have something else to do this afternoon, so I came here early so that I could talk more."
Yu Dong did have something else to do in the afternoon. He had made an appointment with Wu Changxin to help them look at the video materials of acting candidates this afternoon.
"Come, have a cup of tea."
Spielberg took the teacup and was about to speak when there was a knock on Yu Dong's door again.
Yu Dong went to open the door, and Jimmy rushed in. When he entered the room, when he saw Spielberg, Jimmy complained, "Steven, you got up too early. When I came in just now, you were too early."
I saw that even Feng Ming’s dog is still sleeping. It’s winter, can’t you let me have a good sleep in bed?”
When Spielberg saw Jimmy, he was also surprised: "Why did you come so fast? When I went to find you, you were obviously still sleeping."
"Isn't it quick? I haven't even eaten breakfast."
Cheng Yanqiu came out with the rice pot and said, "I haven't finished eating yet. I made a pot of porridge and some salty pig's feet stewed with soybeans. You can eat it."
Jimmy was not polite and found a bowl to serve himself. He took a few mouthfuls of the porridge that had just come out of the pot, mixed it with a few spoonfuls of cold soybeans, and then started to stir-fry it.
After taking a few bites, he touched his belly and let out a long breath: "It's alive."
Yu Dong held the porridge and asked Spielberg first: "How about some more?"
When Spielberg saw that Jimmy was eating so well, he was quite interested in the pig's feet stewed with soybeans, but he still shook his head, "It doesn't matter, you can eat it and don't worry about me."
"Then we won't be polite."
After Jimmy finished eating the porridge, he burped first, then looked at Spielberg and said, "I have already asked about the introduction of foreign films, and there is a possibility."
Spielberg raised his eyebrows, "Does this mean that in the future, you will be able to freely choose movies to be released in China?"
Jimmy smiled and said: "How is this possible, Steven, you still don't understand China. How can this kind of thing be completely handed over to private companies like us?"
"Isn't China undergoing reforms in film distribution? Private companies can already participate in film production, so why can't they be responsible for bringing in foreign films? And, didn't you say it was okay?" Spielberg wondered.
Jimmy shook his head, "Steven, you misunderstood me. It is impossible to give all the rights to introduce foreign films to private companies in China, but that doesn't mean we can't help."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Help? What do you mean? Please tell me specifically."
"Okay, I'll tell you carefully." Jimmy stood up and poured himself tea. While pouring it, he said, "Steven, do you know how China imports blockbusters now and how it divides the accounts?"
Spielberg nodded: "Of course, after all, "The Second World" is the first off-book film introduced by China. If a film wants to enter China, it must pass the China Film Bureau, and they will select suitable films for screening outside China."
, as for the splitting of accounts, the producer is actually at a disadvantage, as it has to be responsible for publicity and distribution, and the proportion of splitting accounts is far lower than when it is released in North America, only about ten percent."
"Well, although the share ratio is small, everyone is willing to send the movie to China for release."
"That's for sure. No matter how much the accounts are divided, the money will be extra. Even if it is not released, there will be no way to make money from the CD in China." Spielberg said.
"That's right." Jimmy nodded, "And now China only imports a maximum of ten Hollywood movies every year, so the competition is relatively high."
"It's not just a matter of competition. The review of movies here in China is stricter, and many movies can't pass the test." Spielberg sighed slightly. His "Jurassic Park 2" wants to be released in China.
The reason why I haven't decided yet is because of the review.
After "The Second World", several blockbusters introduced to China performed very well, with the highest box office exceeding 100 million yuan.
This kind of box office may be very small for the North American box office, and not many people can get it, but it is very possible to help at the critical moment.
Moreover, after having been in contact with Jimmy and the others for a long time, he also inexplicably has full confidence in the Chinese market and believes that this market has a bright future.
"It's like this. I have contacted several leaders of China Film and Television, and they all said that the current model of negotiating films by themselves is too monotonous, and the partners they only cooperate with are relatively high-cost Hollywood blockbusters, which is not conducive to enriching the market."
"What do they mean?" Spielberg asked.
"What they mean is that we, Deep Space, can recommend movies to them, and the recommended movies can be cooperated in two ways. The first is to follow the original account sharing model..."
Spielberg frowned: "Is this necessary? They introduce up to ten movies every year, and they still need your recommendations? Will they share the profits with you?"
"You are wrong, Steven. Even if the original account sharing model is finally adopted, China Film will not have to pay us any fees."
"That means the producer needs to pay you?"
Jimmy snapped his fingers: "Bingo, you guessed it right. If we really follow the original splitting model, China Film will still take their share, and the profits from my Deep Space will be paid by the producer."
Spielberg opened his mouth and was about to question something, but Jimmy raised his hand to stop him, "Steven, don't worry, listen to me first. I know you must be thinking that the producer didn't make much money in the first place."
If we want to give us more deep space points, the producers will definitely not be willing to do so."
Spielberg nodded, indicating that Jimmy was right.
“But what if the movies we recommend are more likely to pass review, and our company will cover the cost of promoting the movie in China?”
Spielberg pondered, wondering whether what Jimmy said was feasible.
After a while, he said: "The pass rate is too abstract, and the producer may not buy it. As for publicity, to be honest, the investment in publicity in China is not large. Even if I leave it to you, you won't make much money."
money."
Jimmy shrugged indifferently, "It doesn't matter if you make more or less, as long as we do it. What I want to focus on is the second mode. If you can't use the first mode for various reasons,
And if our company is more optimistic about a certain movie, we can cooperate with the producer through a buyout."
"Buyout?"
"That's right, buyout." Jimmy looked at Yu Dong and said with a smile: "This model was proposed to me by YU. The so-called buyout means that we are responsible for buying the movie, and then it will be distributed under the quota of China Film Group, and the subsequent movies will be released in China
The release has nothing to do with the copyright owner, the box office is split between our company and China Film and Cinemas."
Spielberg raised his eyebrows and said, "In this way, you can buy some lower-cost movies and use China Film's quota to distribute them, and earn the difference. However, in this case, the risk is greater than the first model."
There is one thing he didn't say, that is, according to this model, it has nothing to do with him, and his movies will not be low-cost.
Jimmy certainly knew what Spielberg was thinking. He smiled and said: "Not necessarily all low-cost movies, sometimes some big-budget movies may also follow this model. After all, our deep space promotion channels in China are quite solid.
.In addition, I am telling you this because I want to cooperate with you."
"How to cooperate?"
"We at Deep Space can fund and jointly set up a company with you to collect movies from North America. We will first screen out the movies that we think can make money, and then hand them over to China Film for review," Jimmy said.
"Let me think about it."
Spielberg picked up the tea cup and took a sip. The tea was a little bitter and he couldn't drink it after a small sip.
The model Jimmy mentioned still has a head start. Whether this company can make money depends on two points.
The first point is that Deep Sky needs to establish a good relationship with China Film Group to ensure that it can be affiliated with China Film Group. Otherwise, there is no need to discuss anything. The second point is that since it is a buyout model, the most fundamental thing is to be able to buy it out at a low price and then sell it.
To achieve high box office, they need to have very good market grasp.
However, even if these two points are met, there is still a problem...
"Jimmy, there are only ten places for foreign films to be imported into China every year. Excluding those who follow the old split-account model, I'm afraid there won't be many left. We don't have much to work with."
"Haha, it's ten movies now, can it always be ten movies in the future? But when there are more places in the future, others will definitely think of this model, and we may not have a chance by then, so now we have to seize the opportunity
." Jimmy looked at Spielberg with a smile, "Steven, why are you hesitating? I won't let you pay too much, and I won't give you less points when you make money."
Spielberg looked at Yu Dong: "YU, what about you? From now on, you haven't said a word. What are your thoughts on this matter?"
Yu Dong was still eating the porridge slowly. He didn't like to scoop the beans into the bowl like Jimmy did. Instead, he liked to eat them one by one with chopsticks. He felt that he could use chopsticks to pick up the beans on the plate accurately.
This process is very interesting.
Hearing Spielberg's words, he smiled and said: "Steven, Jimmy has already told you what needs to be said. What I can tell you is that our cooperation will never stop with this company. I
To be honest with you, the reason why we want to push forward this matter is that making a profit difference is only secondary. The more important thing is that we want to facilitate the promotion of our own company's movies in the future, whether they are large-budget or small-budget, and have the opportunity to enter.
Come to China.”
In fact, Spielberg is already interested. The key is that the cost for him is not high, the risk is not too high, and if he can do it, the profits he will earn will not be small.
Moreover, in the past two years, there have been many successful cases of Deep Space Company using small things to achieve great results, and he also believed that Deep Space Company could do it.
"Of course I am willing to participate, but the matter of starting a company will have to wait until I return to the United States. As you know, I can't see those contracts."
"Of course it's no problem. The three of us have only reached a preliminary cooperation intention today, and we need to discuss it in detail later." With that, Jimmy picked up the tea cup and said, "Come on, I wish our cooperation a success."
Spielberg also picked up the teacup. Yu Dong didn't have a teacup, so he could only pick up his rice bowl.
"I wish our cooperation a success."
After talking about cooperation, Yu Dong had almost finished eating. He stood up to clear away the dishes. Cheng Yanqiu waved his hand: "You go and chat with them. I will wash the bowls. By the way, the melon seeds and peanuts are in the cabinet. Use a plate."
Decorate it."
Yu Dong ran to find melon seeds and peanuts again. Spielberg looked at Cheng Yanqiu who was clearing away the dishes and said with a smile: "Mrs. Yu, I heard Giuseppe say that you wrote a song for his new movie and also...
Involved in other soundtracks?”
When Cheng Yanqiu heard him mention this, he stopped clearing the dishes and said modestly, "I tried to write a song when I saw the script, but I didn't expect that Director Giuseppe would use it. As for the other soundtracks, I completely
educational."
"You are so humble. I also listened to that piece live. The melody caught people's ears and your playing level was also very high."
"Excessive praise."
Cheng Yanqiu only thought it was a polite compliment from Spielberg and didn't take it too seriously. However, Jimmy heard something different. He smiled and said, "Steven, you don't want to cooperate with our boss lady."
Bar?"
Spielberg smiled and said, "That's true. I want Mrs. Yu to try the soundtrack of "The Martian."
Cheng Yanqiu said blankly: "Mr. Spielberg, I have no experience in scoring such a big movie independently. The previous soundtrack for "The Pianist" was mainly produced by Mr. Morricone's team. I just helped on the side.
Just a little help."
"But I heard Giuseppe say that Ennio praised you for being very talented. It can be seen that you must have been more than just a little help. And "The Martian" is a work of YU, and you are his wife.
This novel definitely has a feeling that others don’t have, and it has an advantage when it comes to music. In addition, I have never thought about letting you take on too heavy a task alone, so I will definitely find some helpers for you."
Cheng Yanqiu didn't know what to say, so Jimmy blinked and said, "Teacher Cheng, just agree to this. Don't forget, the music company doesn't have anyone signed, and those employees have to rely on you to support them."
"What you said is too exaggerated." Cheng Yanqiu smiled and said to Spielberg, "I'll try my best."
After hearing Cheng Yanqiu's promise, Spielberg happily said: "Thank you very much."
Of course he was happy. This was not just about finding a scorer. Cheng Yanqiu was the scorer for "The Martian", so when the movie was being filmed, YU would definitely be very concerned about it.
And he doesn't question Cheng Yanqiu's ability. After all, anyone who can be praised by Elio is good, so hiring Cheng Yanqiu can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
Chapter completed!