China Entertainment 2000.

Chapter 268 A word of gold

Los Angeles Artist Cinema.

Jiang Liu, Li Meijing, He Jing, and Wen Ziren waited for Fairman and a middle-aged white man who had arrived late at sunset.

"Dick Aron, the head of AMC Theaters in Los Angeles." Fairman introduced.

"Hello." Jiang Liu stretched out his hand politely, followed closely by Li Meijing: "Hi!"

"Jiang, Li." The two parties exchanged a simple greeting. Aron smiled on the surface, but said without delay: "Go in and see if Jiang has brought us a unique movie."

"certain."

Fellman smiled and gestured, and Aaron stepped into the screening room first without hesitation. Fellman held on to Jiang Liu: "AMC Cinemas is the largest theater chain in North America, with more than 600 cinemas and nearly 8000 screens. , Aron has the authority to mobilize more than 200 of them."

Jiang Liu understood in his heart, nodded and said, "Mr. Fairman is interested."

He knew that AMC Cinemas, whose theater business covers Europe, the United States, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, had been acquired by Wanda, which was a hot news in the country that year.

Obeying the words, Jiang Liu had a bad premonition as soon as Dick Aaron said this.

Asian filmmakers and films are not as popular as in previous years.

This means that North American theaters are anxious to release movies in the near future, and Asian filmmakers are wary. Dick Aron himself should have no hope for "Apes" coming from Asia. The reason why he came here is probably because of the warm hospitality.

"Even if Dick Aaron is not satisfied with the movie, Lionsgate will fulfill the contract and arrange at least 500 screens for "Apes". We have a good relationship with Harkins Cinemas, the second largest theater chain in North America, so don't worry."

"The box office of the North American film market has declined for 17 consecutive weeks. I thought that the summer vacation would wipe out the decline."

Dick Aaron smiled and said, "Let's watch a movie."

"Killing Me Softly by Chen Kaige was a failure, and Hideo Nakata's The Bells Hawk Sauce Version 2 is worse than the first one."

As the entertainment center of the world, the audience is so proud that they never read subtitles when watching movies.

Dick Aaron holds such great power as AMC, so he is not a fool, and his words and deeds are not without purpose.

"However, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "War of the Worlds," "Star Wars: Episode III," and "Batman Begins" have not significantly improved the box office."

Fairman comforted Dick Aaron with a pun.

"Ang Lee's "The Incredible Hulk", Takashi Shimizu's "The Grudge" Eagle Sauce version, "Danny the Wolf Dog" has a lot of thunder but little rain."

The North American film market is experiencing a chill.

"European independent films and Eagle Sauce films produced by Asian filmmakers are not as eye-catching as the past two years."

"'Fantastic Four' unexpectedly achieved a high box office, but it is a drop in the bucket for the most important summer holiday every year."

Jiang Liu smiled happily and invited Fellman to follow Dick Aaron.

Several people sat down in the middle of the theater one after another. Before the screen lit up, Aron shook his head at Feilman and Jiang Liu and said:

"There are still two months left in the summer vacation. Aren't there major events in August? You have high hopes for Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven", Nicolas Cage's "Weather" after "Lord of War", and "Apes" "."

Jiang Liu has thought about using English dubbing.

I gave up in the end because the mouth shape really didn’t match up and it affected the look and feel.

Fortunately, "Apes" doesn't have many lines. With a little patience, North American audiences will find the movie worth watching. In the middle and later stages of the movie, Aron, who had never said a word, turned to Jiang Liu and said:

"Jiang, if you want to steal dollars from the pockets of North American audiences, you should take the initiative to replace the Chinese word "no" with "no". This single word may win the movie tens of millions of dollars at the box office."

Jiang Liu nodded: "I have learned a lesson."

The movie, which lasts less than 120 minutes, ends quickly, and the extremely simple story is easy to understand.

But Dick Aaron remained motionless after the movie was shown, as if he was thinking and reminiscing.

After a while, he commented aloud: "The movie is inspired by the novel "Planet of the Apes". It has been filmed many times in Hollywood, with mixed box office results. The most recent one was "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" in 2001."

"Your movie is more like a prequel to Caesar. It shifts the main perspective from humans to the ape Caesar. The plot adaptation is very successful, better than all Fox's previous "Planet of the Apes" movies."

"But there are several problems. First, North American audiences may not buy it because it stars a Chinese actor."

"Second, the ape shape is not refined enough. I saw the costume, and one actor seemed to be wearing a pair of woolen pants."

"Third, after 911, North American audiences prefer to watch heroic movies that can save the world and save Hawk Sauce. "Spider-Man" succeeded because it saved Hawk Sauce. Ang Lee's "The Incredible Hulk" only knew how to destroy, so it failed at the box office. .”

"Of course, the last point is not absolute. What Caesar did seems to be neutral."

Jiang Liu was very clear about the issues Dick Aaron mentioned.

However, the audience cannot accurately guess the direction of the market trend, otherwise there would not be so many film companies going bankrupt.

Whether or not "Apes" has an audience in North America, we won't know how big it will be until it's released.

Therefore, Jiang Liu asked directly: "Is AMC Theaters interested in "Orangutan"?"

Dick Aaron pondered for a long time: "I need to think about it and more detailed survey data. We will see you in a few days."

"Jiang, re-dubbing and editing the movie as quickly as possible. Remember, the Chinese sentence must be changed to NO. If AMC Cinemas agrees to show this movie, it must be because of the "no" sentence!"

"Okay." Feilman helped Jiang Liu make his promise, stood up and said, "Dick, we are preparing a party and have a drink together."

There was no reason to refuse an invitation to a party in the hot summer. "Let's go." Dick Aaron stood up immediately.

Water Films financed the temporary lease, and the party organized by Lionsgate was held in the most famous Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. The party was very grand.

Because "Saw 2" will also be released in October, Fairman invited many Hollywood filmmakers and theater directors who have collaborated with Lionsgate Pictures, and also spent money to hire more than a dozen bikini girls. Interspersed with serving as a waiter.

Taking this opportunity, James Wan introduced to Jiang Liu the leading actors in "Saw 1 and 2", Shawnee Smith and Emmanuelle Vogia.

As well as many celebrities such as Jessica Alba who came to support.

Tom Bernard, the head of Sony Columbia Pictures' Asian business, who once had a pleasant cooperation with Jiang Liu, came up with a toast: "Jiang, have you come to North America?"

"Of course, no one can stop me from coming to North America." Jiang Liu clinked glasses with him.

Realizing that Jiang Liu's tone was not kind, Bernard deliberately made his face fall: "Hey, don't be so stiff. Use Chinese to describe me. I am just a worker. Whether to share the box office with Yi Xin is decided by the senior management."

"As your former friend, I will reveal to you an inside information."

Jiang Liu took a sip of red wine, his expression as usual. When Bernard saw this, he didn't think he was asking for trouble, and said with joy:

"Columbia decided to put "The Legend of Zorro" in the August schedule, and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," the first 8DCG feature film after Disney and Pixar divorced, will also be released in August."

Jiang Liu curled his lips: "Yeah, it's pretty good!"

(End of this chapter)