The Best Director

"Oh, oh...\

,"Hearing that Wang Yang invited himself to play the lead actor, although it was expected, Will Smith was still a little surprised. He looked at his son Jaden who was crawling on the floor, sat down on the sofa, and made a slight gesture. After thinking about it, he replied: "Jan, I am very grateful for your invitation, but you know, recently my "Wild Wild"..." He sighed in a low voice, and said: "Oh, it's too bad! I Now I want to take a break for a while and think about it."

"Wild Wilderness" was released on June 30. This $170 million film earned 49.7 million box office in the first week, but then fell sharply. Now North America has been offline, and the final box office is only 113 million; and in overseas markets, although the screening has not yet ended, several major ticket warehouses have also suffered disastrous failures, and it is necessary to "celebrate" if they can receive 110 million overseas.

With a production cost of 170 million and a global box office of 220 million, the producer, Warner Bros., is bound to stumble this time. It's fine if it's just not a blockbuster, but now the situation is full of bad reviews, almost all film critics step on it mercilessly, the average score of IDB is only 4.1, boring, empty, stupid, anyway, this is a bad film movie, a big bad movie.

The Golden Razzie Awards have already announced that "Wild Wild" will be the hit of the 20th Golden Raspberry next year, including the worst film, worst director, worst actor, etc. Will Smith has a high probability of winning Take the trophy.

Another situation is that Will Smith gave up acting in "The Matrix" for this bad movie. This is naturally an extremely bad choice, and it is also a Waterloo in his acting career. Usually as early as a few months ago, he would receive invitations to blockbuster films, and then choose the one he was most interested in and agree to act in it; but now no producer is looking for him, they are all waiting and watching, and even avoiding it less than.

Wang Yang was the first film company to invite him, which is why Will-Smith was surprised. This year, the young director doesn't seem to be afraid that his film will be played by the worst actor in Razzie?

Will Smith's "thank you" was not polite, he was really grateful for it in his heart, but he still decided to refuse, the risk was too great! Wang Yang is a "fantastic director" but he is only 19 years old. He was just about to shoot "Juno" and then he was about to shoot "When Happiness Knocks on the Door". This gave Will Smith a feeling of "playing". He can't make any more bad movies. Two consecutive bad movies will be a fatal blow to his acting career.

Wang Yang is naturally clear about the "Wild Wild West" matter. He feels that he can impress Will Smith's confidence, partly because of this, and now no one is competing with him for Will Smith's schedule. So even though he was flatly rejected, Wang Yang didn't care. He thought about it and said encouragingly: "Will, I'm sorry about the "Wild Wild" incident, but I have to say that the problem doesn't come from your performance. , but that itself is a...bad movie."

"Thank you, buddy..." Will Smith pressed his forehead with a wry smile, and regretfully said to the phone: "That was really a wrong choice.

"

"Will, I know your worry. You don't want to make the same mistake again, don't you?" Wang Yang's voice was very honest. Picking up the script of "When Happiness Knocks on the Door" on the coffee table, he said: "But please believe me, I am very confident that I can make this movie. Well, maybe you should listen to me tell the story first? This is a biographical movie , its story is real, touching, and inspirational."

Seeing Wang Yang's sincerity, Will Smith did not directly refuse again, he nodded and said: "Yes, tell me." Then he heard Wang Yang say: "His name is Chris Gard Na..." Will was calm from the beginning, and gradually became a little fascinated. When he heard Chris Gardner and his son sleeping in the toilet of the subway station, he couldn't help but stood up and hugged him on the floor. Jaden kissed his son on the forehead.

"Then, Chris Gardner became a stockbroker, and he pursued happiness." Wang Yang told the whole story in detail, took a sip of water, and said to his phone: "This is the whole story of the movie. .,,

Will Smith looked at the smiling face of Jaden in his arms. The cute baby laughed and tried to grab his chin. Will smiled and flicked his son's face, but he thought of Chris Gardner This story filled him with interest, as the young director said this year, touching and inspirational! Chris Gardner's love and dedication moved him.

Maybe it's because he's at a low ebb in his career right now, and he has a different feeling about the stories of such inspirational characters. If Miracle Yang is 39 years old, or 29 years old... Will Smith thought for a while and asked: "Young, why do you think I'm a good fit for Chris Gardner? You know, I've never acted in a biopic like this."

"It's very simple, I believe you have the ability, Will, you can act in this kind of movie." Wang Yang said very affirmatively, and then encouraged and persuaded: "And I think the failure of "Wild Wild" may mean that You need a screen transition, and Chris Gardner is an option."

In fact, when Will Smith took over the filming of "Return to Glory", the 80 million investment recovered more than 30 million at the box office. Wang Ali", although the final box office and response of that movie were not very good.

Hearing the hesitant "Hmm" from the phone, Wang Yang knew that Will-Smith's thoughts were beginning to waver, but he also understood that this kind of thing would take time to think about, and said, "Will, don't rush to reject me yet. , read the script before making a decision, okay?" Now Will Smith agreed without thinking: "Yes! Miracle Yang, no matter what, I would like to thank you for the invitation." He laughed and said with self-deprecating: "Man, honestly, I don't even have a movie, and everyone's saying 'Will Smith is fucked,' he's the worst actor, ..."

"Ha, let's shoot "When Happiness Comes Knocking"!" Wang Yang also laughed, and the two laughed for a while, and he said seriously: "Will, think about it, if the story of Chris Gardner If it can touch you, then it can touch others, can't it?"

After finishing the call with Will Smith, Wang Yang put down the phone with a sigh of relief. He was a little worried that Will Smith would resolutely refuse, but for now, he believed that with his sincerity and touching script, he could convince Starring Will Smith.

Not only is Wang Yang going to send the script to Will Smith's home, but he also has to write a long letter in the script, including why he thinks Will is suitable for Chris Gardner, why he himself wants to Make this movie, as well as the shooting plan and style of the movie, etc. Wang Yang knew that Will Smith's biggest concern was, was he playing? So he needs to clarify: "I'm not playing."

"I won't play with tens of millions." Wang Yang muttered, if Will Smith agrees to act, his minimum salary will be more than 20 million, so the production budget of the whole movie will be close to 4,000 Ten thousand.

Forty million to play with? hell! Wang Yang shook his head with a smile, picked up a movie magazine on the coffee table and began to read.

"High School Musical 2" has officially started filming and is scheduled to be released in July next summer!

Wang Yang was half lying on the sofa, holding the magazine in both hands, and quietly read the content of this special report: "The cost of this sequel is as high as 30 million, except for the return of all the original actors, and the choreographer Anne-Fletcher , original music, and David Lawrence will continue to choreograph and arrange music. But the most disappointing thing for movie fans is undoubtedly that the director has changed..." Seeing this, Wang Yang turned to the next page and saw the title, Jessica with a sweet smile on her face, and Rachel with a smirk next to her, introducing their information.

"Rachel Anne-McAdams..." Wang Yang unconsciously looked at the name on Rachel's profile and read it again. He frowned suspiciously and said: "Is Rachel also called Annie?" This was the first time he had heard of it. , he looked at the information, and there are many things that he only knows, such as Rachel is also allergic to horses. He looked at Jessica's information again, and there was nothing he didn't know. He flipped through a few more pages, and suddenly a piece of news caught his attention.

"Fox's takeover of Blue Sky Studios stalled."

Blue Sky Studio? Wang Yang's eyes lit up, and he felt vaguely familiar. He read the news carefully. It turned out that Blue Sky Studio was established by Chris Wakey in 1987. At the beginning, it only did some special effects for TV commercials and movie shots to earn money. With meager profits, last year, they launched a one-minute animated short film "Bunny Bunny", which was eight years in the making, a story about a jackrabbit and a moth competing in the kitchen.

This short film won the Best Animated Short Film Award at this year's first Oscar, which also attracted the attention of Century Fox. However, according to insiders, because of the purchase price, Fox wants to reduce the number of employees of Blue Sky Studios, and then combine with its own animation department. Chris Wakey did not agree to the purchase, and it has reached a deadlock.

Wang Yang immediately understood why there was a sense of familiarity, he searched in his mind, and sure enough, "Ice Age"! In 2002, the total global box office of this animation costing tens of millions was as high as 380 million; "Ice Age 2" in 2006 was 650 million, and "Ice Age 3" in 2009 was 880 million, not to mention DVD sales, peripherals product income. With the "Ice Age" series, Blue Sky Studios is on a par with animation giants such as Pixar, Disney, and DreamWorks.

"Oh, my God..." Wang Yang couldn't help muttering, and suddenly an idea came into his mind, which made him sit up straight. What if Flame Movie bought Blue Sky Studio?

This is not impossible. The negotiations between Fox and Blue Sky Studios have reached an impasse, and according to the only information in my mind, this impasse will continue for a long time until Fox compromises. In the early 2000s, Fox invested 75 million, and the cartoon "Frozen Planet", which took three years, was released on a large scale. However, this movie, which carried the company's high expectations, only received 36 million box office worldwide, which embarrassing Fox no deposit. Frustrated and angry, Fox disbanded its own animation department, bought Blue Sky Studios at a price of 80 million, did not lay off a single employee, and fully supported Chris Wakey's production of "Ice Age".

But in fact, Fox paid little attention to Blue Sky and animated films. In 2002, Fox once wanted to sell Blue Sky Studios. Of course, the success of "Ice Age" made them dispel this idea. However, the success of "Ice Age" did not seem to give Fox much confidence. The scale of Blue Sky Studios has not expanded, and there are still only more than 200 people. Compared with Pixar and DreamWorks, it is simply shabby.

The more Wang Yang thought about it, the more his heart became more and more excited. He has always been very fond of animated films. This form of film has a unique charm, full of childishness, blunt dreams, warm and moving. It opens up a world of imagination for the world, it drives kids crazy, it makes adults mesmerized, it's such a great thing.

And in the future, the market for animated films will grow bigger and bigger, creating absolutely astonishing profits, just like "Ice Age 3", with a production cost of 90 million yuan and a global box office of 880 million yuan! Wang Yang couldn't help thinking of a sentence Chris Gardner said at today's dinner: "When you are faced with an investment, don't hesitate too much. You must know that the opportunity is fleeting, and the opportunity will be lost if you seize it. Get rich rewards!"

"Blue Sky Studio? It should become as big as Pixar......" Wang Yang made up his mind, anyway, the company is rich now. But how much? He scratched his head and couldn't figure it out. He picked up the mobile phone on the coffee table, dialed a number, and said with a smile, "Hi, Mark, it's me! I want to know how much money is in the company's account now?"

Max Lang couldn't react for a while, and said suspiciously: "What, how much? My boss, what do you want to do? There are new plans, "? "The reason why he felt strange was that Wang Yang had always paid little attention to financial aspects, saying, "Just look at the report every quarter." Now he suddenly asked, there must be some new plan to spend money.

"Well, I have an idea, but first tell me how much money you have." Wang Yang smiled mysteriously, looked at the logo of Blue Sky Studio in the magazine, and urged a little excitedly: "Tell me!"

"My boss, I have to turn on the computer first to know the specific accounts! Wait a minute." After Max Langt finished speaking, his voice fell silent. After a while, Wang Yang heard his words again, and he began to report to the company accounts.

This year's Flame Movie's income is all due to "High School Musical". In North America alone, it brought the company 85.13 million after-tax payments and a net profit of more than 62 million; while in overseas regions, it was screened for two months. It set off a worldwide whirlwind of singing and dancing, and crazily received a box office of 210 million. The total global box office of "High School Musical" was set at a mountain of 411 million US dollars. The proportion of revenue it created far exceeded that of Wall Street analysts. According to our forecast, if the production cost of 8 million is deducted, the box office revenue will reach 51 times; it also makes Wang Yang the youngest billionaire with ease.

Of course, the 2.1 billion overseas will be divided almost half and half with the theater companies, and at the same time, it will be shared by distributors in each country by an average of 30%. Fortunately, overseas publicity costs and screening costs are borne by them; and then they have to pay taxes , so the final after-tax profit allocated to Flame Movie was only 51.24 million.

In terms of box office net profit, "High School Musical" hit a figure of more than 113 million: and including those recovered costs, the company's account has 136 million US dollars.

But it’s not the only ones. On the original soundtrack CD, the sales of "High School Musical" continued to be crazy, with more than 4 million sets sold in North America, more than 1.5 million sets overseas, and more than 5.5 million sets sold worldwide, bringing flame movies After-tax income of more than 36.48 million; the DVD released in North America just in August sold for 22.9 yuan per set, and more than 2.5 million sets have been sold, and the company has earned more than 27.95 million after-tax accounts; plus Those messy incomes from radio music broadcasts, toys, clothes, etc. Currently, "High School Musical" has made the company's account deposits reach 210 million US dollars!

"210 million?" Wow! ,, Wang Yang sighed a little blankly, he suddenly remembered the days when he was frugal, he could only eat half full every day, and he dared not call his friends to save phone bills... He now has 210 million ? incredible!

In fact, there is not as much as 210 million in the account, because the flame movie is also spending money, the company's daily expenses, and the recruitment of dozens of new employees are secondary; "High School Musical 2" invested 30 million! This project has been assigned to the crew to ensure that the film can be completed, and 20 million has been reserved for post-production, publicity, screening and other expenses.

"Juno" currently only has contracts for the leading actor and the leading actress. Michael Pitt's salary is 300,000 yuan, while Natalie-Portman's film salary is as high as 7 million yuan, so 7.3 million yuan was spent here. Regardless of its final production costs and publicity costs, because the plan will not be restarted until next month, and with the continuous income from the original soundtrack CD and DVD of "High School Musical", the company should not be short of money.

If "Happiness Comes Knocking" can invite Lewell-Smith to join, the production cost will not be less than 40 million, and the post-production cost will also need more than 20 million.

So 210 million, if not counting the reserved funds, subtract 30 million from "High School Musical 2", subtract 7.3 million from "Juno", and then subtract 40 million from "When Happiness Knocks", the current available funds There are 132.7 million!

Fox bought Blue Sky Studio for 80 million, enough! Wang Yang knocked hard on the LG of Blue Sky Studio in the magazine, and excitedly said to his mobile phone: "Mark, contact Blue Sky Studio, we want to join the acquisition! , He let out a oh, and said: "You know Blue Sky Studio, right? This year they won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, and now Fox is buying them, but the negotiations are deadlocked, this is our chance. ,,

"Yes, I know Blue Sky Studios!, Mark Slanter seemed to be intimidated, surprised she said: "But, you want to join the acquisition? ,, Wang Yang nodded with a smile and said: "Why not? The company has so much money." Max Langt was still a little suspicious: "Boss, are you serious?" Wang Yang couldn't help laughing, and said: "Mark, I No kidding about that, yeah, I mean it, I'm buying it."

"Oh God! This is a crazy decision, my boss, have you fully understood Blue Sky Studios?" Mark Slant sighed helplessly, and explained: "In fact, I have always Looking at these market dynamics, it is my job. Boss, do you know why Fox has a deadlock with them? Blue Sky Studios can’t even make animal hair and eyes, and their technology is very limited.”

Wang Yang knew this, but he didn’t care much. He had seen "Ice Age" in his mind. Compared with Pixar, this work was indeed rough. The animal hair and eyes were simplified, but Blue Sky Studio was smart. Make this into a style, with simple and natural lines, smooth and beautiful pictures, and emphasizing character settings and story content, thus making up for technical deficiencies. By the time of "Ice Age 2", Blue Sky Studio has grown up and made many breakthroughs in technology, it needs time to grow

"Mark, I know this, but I have already made a decision. Wang Yang said without a doubt that there are some things he can't explain. Fortunately, he is the chairman, and he has the final say on some decisions. He added another sentence: " If the acquisition of Blue Sky Studios fails, I will also work on building the company's animation department. Max Langt sighed: "It seems that you have really decided." ,, Wang Yang smiled and said: "Yes, Mark, go get in touch, the purchase price can reach 100 million, and tell Chris Wakey that I will not lay off any employees of Blue Sky Studio, and he will Get the maximum creative freedom of "Ice Age"."

Mark Slant sighed again and again: "Crazy! Crazy! 100 million to buy Blue Sky Studio?" He couldn't help but wow, full of emotion, and said: "Boss, this is a very risky investment. I think it will definitely fail, but the risk is really very high.” Then, he accepted the reality with a smile, and said: “Boss, you always bring miracles, I hope this time will be the same. But if this acquisition is successful Now, I think the newspaper headlines will read "Amazing Jan goes crazy! "Ha ha"

"Oh, then it's crazy!" Wang Yang couldn't help laughing. The two talked about some details of the acquisition, and Wang Yang ended the call. He put down the phone with a smile, 100 million US dollars? Ten thousand dollars? Indeed, this is madness!

[Niuwen No Ad Novel Dedication]