The Best Director

In 1997, Canadian banker Frank Gusta was optimistic about the booming film industry, so he invested in Lions Gate Entertainment. Lionsgate Entertainment, which received funds, acquired some film-making equipment and several small distributors, and officially became today's Lionsgate Film Company.

This Canadian film company seems to have set a blueprint for development early on. It likes to release those alternative films, especially violent, bloody and heavy-tasting horror films. Their vicious vision makes them very profitable. The madness of their works It also made them controversial. The famous bloody horror film "Chain Saw" of later generations was also released by Lionsgate. The debut of Chinese director James Wen, with a production cost of 1.2 million US dollars, finally received more than 100 million box office worldwide. Praise the unique vision of Lionsgate.

At that time, what is now Lions Gate was just a small and well-known company located in the coastal city of Santa Monica.

And now, in the screening room of the Lionsgate headquarters building in Santa Monica, distribution manager Jon Feltimer, acquisitions manager Tom Oldenburg, production manager Michael Parsonekzi Gathered together, these three heavyweights from Lionsgate sat on chairs, looking nervously at the big screen in front of them; Wang Yang sat on their right, watching their reactions from the corner of his eyes from time to time.

After making an appointment with Jon Filtimer on the phone the day before yesterday, Wang Yang came to Santa Monica today, perhaps thanks to Mrs. Rachel, Lionsgate attaches great importance to him, and all three managers came to review his film , and they watched very seriously from the very beginning, the whole process was very quiet, with only occasional exclamations, just like in a movie theater.

At this time, the movie on the screen had been played to the end, and the sound of "treading" footsteps sounded. The three managers, including Jon, immediately concentrated their minds and watched with suppressed panting. The sound of footsteps stopped, and after a while , suddenly the actor Kevin was thrown in, and hit the DV machine with a bang, Jon and the others screamed in fright at this unexpected technique, Michael Parsonek almost fell from his chair, His face turned blue.

Looking at the sweet smile of the heroine Meier on the screen, Jon Filtimer stared and couldn't help exclaiming: "Oh, my God, oh..."

"This, this is really shocking..." With the end of the movie, Tom Oldenburg, who was in a cold sweat, looked at Wang Yang with disbelief in his eyes, then he laughed and took the lead in applauding and clapping his hands Admired: "Wow! Young man, this is so surprising, how did you think of it?"

The production manager Michael Parsonek was also in shock. He looked at Wang Yang in disbelief and said, "Wow! I dare say this is definitely an excellent horror movie. The last scene almost scared me to death!" He rubbed Wiping his forehead, he exclaimed: "Oh, God! The whole process uses psychological horror techniques, but in the end there is an unexpected violent scene, wow, wow! It's really scary."

Wang Yang knew this guy, because when he binge-watched the horror movies in his mind, he had seen some films he was the producer of. "'s heroine is Jessica Alba, the filming is very mediocre, and after watching this film, he vetoed Jessica as the heroine of the movie.

"Thank you." Wang Yang said with a smile. He was naturally happy with their appreciation, but it was not enough to make him get carried away. It's not that he hasn't been praised, and there are some companies that are full of praise after watching the movie, but their final decision is still "NO", just like the artisan company. Because of the blurry picture quality, they feel that even if the movie has a good reputation, it will be the kind of "unpopular" movie, so that the income is very low, and there is no need to take risks for a little money.

Sure enough, despite being quite frightened, Jon Feltimer still frowned and said, "But... I'm not sure about the market." He spread his hands and said helplessly, "I agree that this is an excellent movie. movie of,

But when you walk into a movie theater, you will find that there are too many choices. Among the two excellent horror films, should you choose a film movie with a clear picture and a stable lens; or a DV movie with a blurry picture? "

Before Wang Yang could promote himself, Michael Parsonek said "Hey" with an affirmative expression on his face: "Jon, I think there is definitely a market for this movie! Believe me, although there are no bloody scenes in this movie, But it's absolutely crazy, absolutely scary, and the psychological horror is so good!" He described: "When you look at the screen, it's like you're standing behind a DV machine, the sense of oppression is unparalleled!"

Seeing that Jon Filtimer and Tom Oldenburg were a little moved, Wang Yang hurriedly took this opportunity to promote more vigorously. He looked at Michael Parsonek gratefully and said: " Yes, I call this a first-person movie..." He looked at Jon again, and said confidently: "Mr. Phil Timmel, I can answer your previous question. I will choose DV movies because it is The first time I saw a horror film on DV in a movie theater, it was a fresh experience, wasn't it?"

"It makes sense." Jon nodded and said, "People are curious about new things."

"I think your company's considerations are nothing more than two, one is financial, and the other is reputation." Wang Yang continued. After dozens of failures, he has long been clear about the psychology of film companies, and he also knows what should be done to them. What to say.

The three of Jon looked at each other and nodded. Jon said: "Yes, they are our main considerations."

Wang Yang pondered for a while, organized his speech, then looked at them seriously, and said, "What I want to say is, why is Lionsgate able to achieve its current success? In my opinion, being adventurous is very important. One point, and alternative, controversial, and unique, these words are one of the symbols of Lionsgate." The three managers did not object, and he continued: "So in terms of reputation, Lionsgate does not have to think so much at all, no matter what it is. Is the movie a good movie, when it enters the cinema, it will be the first DV movie in history to hit the big screen, and Lionsgate released it! This title will not only not affect your reputation, but will add to your reputation A unique stroke."

"Well, you're right." Jon Filtimer had to nod, and Tom Oldenburg and Michael Parsonek also agreed.

Wang Yang exhaled slightly, and continued: "And in terms of finances, you have nothing to worry about. You don't need much publicity fees. I think only 100,000 yuan is enough; then try it out with a limited release, dozens of companies Show it in theaters, then look at the box office, and then decide whether to release it on a large scale. If the movie doesn't sell, you just lose a little; but, who can guarantee that the movie won't sell?"

He looked closely at the three managers on the opposite side, and said excitedly: "Gentlemen, this is an opportunity!"

The three of Jon each thought about what Wang Yang said, and exchanged their opinions in a low voice. Jon Feltimer suddenly asked: "Yang, I want to know, if the promotion fee is only 100,000, what do you think we What can be done?"

The publicity fee for a movie is generally 50% of the production cost of that movie. Of course, there is no hard and fast rule here, it mainly depends on the willingness of the issuing company.

If Lionsgate decides to release "Spiritual Ghost Story", it will spend 100,000 yuan for publicity, which is 10 times the production cost of the film. It looks scary, but what can 100,000 yuan do? Don’t even think about buying advertising space on TV channels and news media; don’t even think about buying trailer advertising time in movie theaters; and don’t even think about putting posters on subways, stations and other crowded places. A city can't handle it. Can say nothing can be done.

"Internet!" Wang Yang said the answer without hesitation, talking about his own thoughts: "First of all, we should build an official movie website on the Internet. It's Kevin and Mel, who want to make the effect of 'this movie is a true story'. Then we spread the story on the Internet, say it everywhere on major websites, communities, and forums, and let people spread the word by themselves , ten to one hundred."

He smiled excitedly and said, "This is viral marketing!"

Jon Filtimer's eyes lit up when he heard it, with a look of surprise and novelty on his face. As the manager of the distribution department, he naturally understood what Wang Yang meant. This way of publicity is indeed very economical, and when people think that DV movies are real documentaries, and curiosity will drive them to the cinema... This idea is really good, but... He suddenly thought of another question, and asked: "So this is a scam? So what if an audience sues us What about fraud? It would have a huge impact on our company’s reputation.”

Wang Yang shrugged and said confidently: "This is not a scam, it's just a bluff. We don't have to say 'this movie is real', we just don't have to say 'this movie is fake', and then the rest Let them imagine. And at the end of the movie, add a sentence 'this story is purely fictitious'. Fraud? We have no legal responsibility at all."

"Oh, God! I think I understand what a pseudo-documentary is." Jon sighed, glanced at Tom and the two, nodded with a smile: "This can indeed control the cost of publicity to 100,000, and this idea Very good, it sounds like you can try it.”

"Ha!" Michael Parsonek smiled immediately, gave Wang Yang a thumbs up, and said, "Wow, young man, it seems that you have a chance."

Wang Yang became tense, Michael Parsonek had supported him from the beginning, and Jon Feltimer had just been persuaded by him, and now only Tom Oldenburg, the purchasing manager, was left. .

Tom Oldenburg touched his chin with one hand, thinking calmly, after a while, he seemed to have an idea, looked at Wang Yang and asked: "If our company wants to release this movie, how much will it cost? "

How much? ! Wang Yang's heartbeat quickened all of a sudden, and he could even hear the thumping sound. After Tom said this, it could almost be said that they had entered the preliminary stage of price negotiation. This was the first film company to negotiate with him. do it! He tried to keep his composure, trying to figure out how to answer Tom's words.

Now that a film company wants to release an independent film, the purchase method is usually a one-time buyout. They give you a sum of money, and then the film belongs to them, and the next thing has nothing to do with you.

But Wang Yang is not willing to do this. If he sells "Spiritual-Ghost Records" to Lions Gate at one time, he can only get hundreds of thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars at most. Others might be quite satisfied, because compared to the 10,000 yuan production cost of the film, even if it only sells 100,000 yuan, it is ten times the income, which is undoubtedly a very rich return. However, Wang Yang knew that the global box office of the first DV movie "The Blair Witch" was more than 200 million, so he could not agree to a one-time buyout.

After thinking about it, Wang Yang smiled and said, "No, Mr. Oldenburg, I don't have a buyout fee for this movie." Looking at Tom Oldenburg's puzzled face, Wang Yang explained: "If your company Willing to release my film, I hope I get paid, a share of the gross proceeds."

"Oh, share?" Tom Oldenburg frowned. Wang Yang nodded and said: "Yes, your company does not need to give me an advance payment of one yuan."

Tom Oldenburg frowned and thought, and then exchanged ideas with Jon Filtimer. The buyout fee of not one dollar is very attractive, which means that once Lionsgate releases this movie, there will be limited The total investment during the screening period will not exceed 200,000; however, choosing to share this cooperation method also has a bad side, which depends on the final box office of the movie and the proportion of the share. Tom thought for a while and asked, "Young man, what kind of share do you want?"

Wang Yang knows that the dividend ratio of a blockbuster movie is usually only 30% to the distributor. In order to compete for distribution rights, the distributor sometimes only needs 10%; but his movie is not a blockbuster, but a DV that almost everyone does not like Movies, Lionsgate doesn't care about him at all, so of course he can't make too much demands. After thinking about it, he decided to kick the ball back, shook his head and said, "I don't know, it depends on your company's wishes."

Tom Oldenburg shrugged and said, "Too much is not acceptable, we don't need to take risks for you." He looked at Wang Yang, and said his thoughts: "15%; or an advance payment , plus a 5% dividend.”

15%? Wang Yang couldn't help frowning, no, this is too little! After much deliberation, he suddenly came up with a good idea, and said: "How about this, if the final pre-tax box office profit of the movie is less than one million, I only need 10%; if the profit exceeds five million, I will get 20%." %; over 10 million, 30%; over 50 million, 40%; if over 100 million, I will share 50%. DVDs and other profits are not included, what do you think?"

Jon Filtimer, Michael Parsonek, and Tom Oldenburg were all dumbstruck when they heard it, and then they all burst out laughing. The pre-tax box office profit exceeded 100 million! ? Was the young man joking with them?

Michael Parsonek looked surprised, put his head in his hands, and said with a smile: "Wow, young director, it seems that you are very confident in your films!" Wang Yang smiled and said: "Yes."

Jon and Tom looked at each other and nodded silently. Tom Oldenburg said, "If that's the case..." He was about to say something when the sensitive touch he had developed over the years in the industry suddenly stopped him. , He felt something was wrong in his heart, and then smiled again, what are you worried about, does this movie have an income of more than 100 million yuan? Besides, if the income exceeds 100 million yuan, even if the young man is given 50% dividends, the company will make a profit.

Tom smiled slightly, nodded and said: "It sounds interesting. Give us some time for internal discussions, oh, and we have to report to the president." He stood up, looked at Wang Yang and said with a smile: "However, these things are It's the next stage." Jon Filtimer also stood up and smiled at Wang Yang: "Congratulations, young man, you have convinced us."

Michael Parsonek stood up, spread his hands happily, and smiled at Wang Yang: "Congratulations! You passed our review."

Looking at the three of them, Wang Yang was stunned, and they agreed! ? Promise to distribute my film! ? His nose was sore, and his eye sockets felt sour and hot. He took a deep breath, suppressed the tears of happiness, and stood up, his body trembling slightly due to excitement. He hugged Michael Parsonek, Hugged again with Jon and Tom, kept saying "Thank you, thank you!"

"Young man, you deserve it." Jon hugged Wang Yang, smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

Wang Yang held back his tears, looking at the kind smiling faces of the three managers, he was speechless. They said yes, and Lionsgate said yes! They're going to release this movie, this movie is going to be in theaters!

He thought of the grievance when he was expelled from school, the hard work of handing out flyers on the street at noon, the rejection of the previous fifty-four film companies, those frustrations, those frustrations... But such as the happiness now, what are those! Now, he made it, he did it! He is not a loser, his dream will not die, he will continue to walk on the path of movies!

"Thank you!" Wang Yang wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with a smile, looked at Jon and the three managers, and said, "I think I will never forget this moment in my whole life."

Jon and the others laughed and said, "Is it the joy of success? Then remember it."

Since Lionsgate promised to come up with a specific contract plan tomorrow, Wang Yang, who left Lionsgate, would not return to Los Angeles, so he decided to find a hotel in Santa Monica for one night.

Walking on the streets of Santa Monica, looking at the sea view in the distance, enjoying the gusts of sea breeze blowing in his face, Wang Yang was still so excited that he waved his fists from time to time and laughed out loud from time to time. Look at the beach , Look at the blue sky, damn it, why is the scenery here so beautiful! ?

After walking for a while, Wang Yang seemed to wake up a little bit. He remembered something, so he couldn't wait to take out his mobile phone and tell his friends the good news. He took out his mobile phone and was startled, who should he tell first? After pressing in the address book for a while, Jessica, Rachel... He thought about these two numbers, and then selected Rachel who helped him go to Lions Gate this time, and pressed the call button.

The mobile phone was connected immediately, and Wang Yang sat down on a bench by the side of the road, and said with a smile, "Hi, Rachel! It's me, Yang." Rachel's pleasant voice came from the mobile phone: "Hi, Yang, yes Did it work out?" Wang Yang let out a haha, looking around at the surrounding scenery, and said with a smile, "Wow, the environment in Santa Monica is so good, the beach, sea breeze, sunshine, blue sky...wow, it's so beautiful!"

Rachel couldn't help being overjoyed to hear that he was so happy, and immediately asked, "Jan, you made it!?"

"Yes, I succeeded!" Wang Yang smiled happily. Before he finished speaking, Rachel yelled "Wow": "Oh, my God...you succeeded!" Wang Yang nodded He smiled and said, "Yes, let's cheer! Haha, I'm so happy." He laughed a few times, and thanked again: "Rachel, thank you, you let my interview failure record end at fifty-four times! Oh, seriously, are you an angel God sent to help me?"

Hearing Wang Yang's words, Rachel felt a little sweet, and said with a smile: "Yes, God told me 'Rachel, there is a young man in Los Angeles who wants to make a movie, you need to go'. Then I said Went to L.A., made a movie, and after that, I could see myself on the big screen in a movie theater!" She laughed and said, "Wow, that's crazy!"

"Yeah!" Wang Yang sighed, "It's been a crazy period of time."