China Entertainment started from cutting off the Hu in 1995

After Wu Yuchen heard the visitor's award-winning situation, he couldn't help but lead him into the house. After the two sat down, he smiled and said:

Mr. Harris, I'm very interested in discussing the topic you mentioned.

He knew that this large-scale European film distribution company was actually inextricably linked to the three major film festivals. It cannot be said that they can control the award results of the film festival, but they can still get information and even influence the decision of one or two judges.

After all, the three major awards are not as large as the number of Oscar voters. The judges of the three major awards are less than 10 people, sometimes as few as six or seven, which greatly increases the operability.

Harris was probably in his forties and looked quite elegant. He smiled slightly:

Wu, do you know? After seeing your Run Lola Run, it reminded me of Quentin's Pulp Fiction. It also innovated the traditional narrative method. He used a circular narrative. You Using three stages, none of you took an unusual route, but the full spirit of the movie came to you!

Listening to the other party's praise, Wu Yuchen said modestly:

Haha, Mr. Harris, you're flattered~

Wu, this is the praise your talent deserves!

But Harris changed his tone again: However, I think you made a mistake.

Wu Yuchen remained calm and asked, Oh? What is it?

Wu, you should send Run Lola Run to Cannes. It is more suitable for Cannes. If it were in Cannes, Run Lola Run may not be able to achieve the success of Pulp Fiction. But in Cannes, it is more political and social. Berlin, I think, is at risk of becoming a jewel in the dust.

Wu Yuchen knew about the film festival's style matching. Run Lola Run, which is both commercial and artistic, may indeed be more suitable for Cannes, but there is no absolute in this matter. It mainly depends on the aesthetics and tendencies of the judges. . If many award-winning films had a different set of judges, to be honest, the award might not be the same one.

The reason why Wu Yuchen chose Berlin is, on the one hand, because he won the Golden Bear for the Best Short Film at the Berlin Film Festival last year. He has the label of Berlin, so he will be favored in this case; on the other hand, looking at the three European films, Big, Chinese-language films have the most success in Berlin. So he thought about it and decided not to wait another three months to attend Cannes.

Wu Yuchen didn't speak for a while, but just looked at Harris opposite, trying to see if he was bluffing him and taking the opportunity to lower the price. After a moment he said:

Mr. Harris, is this what you mean by the award-winning situation?

Of course not. There are rumors here that 3 of the 8 judges have already expressed their love for the movie Sex Book Tycoon. It is currently the film closest to the Golden Bear.

Sex Book Tycoon is an American movie that tells the story of a multi-millionaire who publishes pornographic magazines and confronts the American government, church and other forces on a moral level. The film exposes the dirty deeds of the American judicial system and authorities, perfectly fitting Berlin's G-spot.

If according to what Harris said, 3 people have expressed their opinions out of a total of 8 votes, then the probability of winning the Golden Bear is already very high.

This made Wu Yuchen frown. He hoped to win an important award as much as possible, and the best one was of course the Golden Bear, although he knew it might be difficult. But now this hope has become so much smaller, so naturally I don’t feel very comfortable.

But soon Wu Yuchen frowned again:

Mr. Harris, I guess it's hard to tell until the results of the awards are announced, isn't it?

Of course, the judges' ideas may change, just like they like to eat grapes today, but like apples tomorrow~ Harris smiled.

Wu Yuchen looked at Harris. Generally speaking, it is difficult for a judge's aesthetics to change in a short period of time. If the judges' ideas change, it can only be influenced by external forces. The implicit meaning in the words of the guy opposite was that he could do something. Although it was a bit vague, Wu Yuchen could naturally tell it in this situation.

Mr. Harris, can you make Apple the favorite?

Dear Wu, I dare not give this guarantee. I can only say that maybe Mr. Lang will like apples. Harris smiled lightly.

Wu Yuchen pondered in his heart. The Lang he was talking about, his full name was Jacques Lang. He was the chairman of the jury of this year's Berlin Film Festival. He was born in France, so he might have a close relationship with EMI Pictures.

Although the jury chairman does not have one more vote than an ordinary judge, his influence is still considerable.

Wu Yuchen couldn't help but think of two examples.

One is that in 1993, when Lao Mouzi was the chairman of the Berlin Film Festival, he awarded the Golden Bear to both Xie Fei's Scented Soul Girl and Li An's The Wedding Banquet, creating a Chinese-language film Golden Bear Double Yolk.

The other one is that the King of Sunglasses served as the chairman of the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. He produced 5 best actors and 6 best actresses in one fell swoop. The 11 best actor and best actresses set a record among the three majors. It has never been done before and will probably never happen again. , so outrageously willful. The award ceremony, which was originally filled with the smell of gunpowder and the heartbeat was racing, was directed by him into a happy reunion comedy with a warm atmosphere and smiles on everyone's face.

This fully reflects the voice and influence of the jury president at the film festival.

If Chairman Lang really supports him, I won't talk about the Golden Bear for now, but there is still a great chance of winning an important award.

At this moment, Harris suddenly asked: Wu, can we talk about the price of Lola Run now?

Wu Yuchen stretched out his hand and said: Mr. Harris, how much is EMI willing to quote for Lola Run?

Since we have already talked to each other this far, we don’t mind chatting more.

Two million US dollars. Harris said the price, which was twice the price that Wu Yuchen had given away before.

This time Wu Yuchen did not shirk the idea of ​​talking about it after winning the award, and directly expressed his position:

Mr. Harris, that's too low. Since you mentioned Pulp Fiction before, you should also know that the European film screening rights of Pulp Fiction were sold for US$12 million. And you only quoted Run Lola Run $2 million...

At this point, Wu Yuchen shook his head, saying it was too low.

Pulp Fiction made a lot of money that year. The European screening rights were sold for 12 million U.S. dollars, and its box office in the United States exceeded 100 million. Adding in DVD revenue, this movie earned Miramax at least tens of millions. US dollars, the long-term income must be over 100 million.

Harris also smiled: Wu, Run Lola Run is indeed great, but it hasn't won any awards yet. Secondly, Pulp Fiction has a big star with appeal like Bruce Willis, and You don't. In the end, it's an Eastern story, and while Europe is very tolerant, it's inherently flawed than Pulp Fiction.

Mr. Harris, the award has not been decided yet. If we want to talk about the award, we might as well wait until the award ceremony is over in a week.

Although Run Lola Run does not look like a big star, its subject matter and entire creative form are more suitable for the young people of the audio-visual generation. This can be seen from the film festival. I believe you know this.

Finally, Run Lola Run is a movie with a female protagonist and is extremely popular among women. The current feminist movement is a trend, and at this point, it has an advantage over Pulp Fiction.

Wu Yuchen said calmly, if the other party wants to find fault, then he should emphasize the advantages. Negotiation is inherently about pulling, and it depends on who can pull whom, and how far the pulling will be in the end. Anyway, he can't show his cowardice.

Then Wu Yuchen said: Mr. Harris, I can tell you that I filmed Lola Run for four months, and the cost was US$2 million. It is impossible to trade at the price you mentioned.

The other party didn't know the specific figures for things like shooting time and cost. Didn't Ren Wu Yuchen say it himself?

Farewell My Concubine cost four to five million U.S. dollars. Is there anything wrong in saying that I spent two million U.S. dollars on Run Lola Run?

Harris frowned when he heard this. He knew that the cost of filming in the East should be lower. According to his estimate, the film should have cost between 1 million and 1.5 million US dollars. His plan was to use the temptation of helping him offset the prize and win it with the addition of US$2 million. And what the two are talking about now is just the screening rights. The other party can make a fortune by selling the DVD rights.

But now it seems that the temptation of competing for awards is not as big as imagined for the young director in front of him. This is not consistent with his impression of Chinese filmmakers.

In fact, 2 million is just a test for him. He is really optimistic about the movie Lola Run. As Wu Yuchen said, it is very popular among young people. In the words of young people, it is cool from beginning to end. And it has caught up with the wave of feminism and hit many women’s G-spots.

Although this movie is avant-garde, it is still very commercial and will not be unbearable like those obscure movies. In terms of story alone, it is easier to understand than Pulp Fiction.

Wu, what are your psychological expectations? Harris didn't want to reveal the bottom of his quotation, so he simply asked directly.

Wu Yuchen smiled faintly and revealed a number: 8 million US dollars.

Harris was stunned for a moment, but did not refuse directly. Instead, he asked: Does it include DVD copyright?

I want to wait until the release of the screening rights and DVD rights to discuss it.

Wu, this price is impossible. We have no profit at all! Harris flatly refused.

Mr. Harris, my quote is already much cheaper than that of Pulp Fiction. And it's impossible not to make a profit. It can earn 20 million at the box office in Europe. But I believe the movie's box office is far more than 20 million.

Harris glared at Wu Yuchen, Even if there is a box office of 30 million, then if we spend 8 million to buy it back, you will still make a lot of money. How is this possible for us to work for you as a co-writer?

3 million, Wu, we at EMI are already very sincere.

Wu Yuchen smiled inwardly. Look, if the price is not higher, how can they increase it from one million to one million? If he quoted 5 million, the price increase would be 3 to 500,000.

However, he still shook his finger: Mr. Harris, it's still too low. I think since the gap between us is so big, we might as well end this conversation first.

Harris thought for a while and nodded, then took out a business card and left it for Wu Yuchen:

Wu, if you change your mind, come to me at any time. EMI is your most suitable partner.

Wu Yuchen smiled, understanding that this cooperation not only refers to the release of the film, but also to win prizes.

After sending off EMI's Harris, Wu Yuchen rubbed his chin. In fact, it doesn't have to be EMI as a publisher. For example, EMI's old enemy Gaumont Pictures, EMI has already paid 3 million. Do you want to raise it? Raise the price?

In addition to these two, there are also distributors in the UK. Although the British distributors do not have a complete distribution network in Europe, they have established cooperative relationships with the eight major Hollywood companies and can distribute through their channels.

But for now, his first choice is EMI. After all, he still wants to pursue awards, and he is not as indifferent as he seems on the surface. If what Harris just said about his close relationship with jury chairman Lang is true...

Wu Yuchen thought for a while, then immediately picked up the phone and called. The reason why he temporarily interrupted the negotiations was to collect more information. There are also Chinese people on the jury!

Hey, Mr. Rong, I have something to ask you. Can you introduce Zhang Manyu to me? I want to consult her on some things. Okay, thank you, Mr. Rong!

The judges on the jury are actually very free during the screening, and it is impossible for the organizer to control them in this regard. But in order to avoid suspicion, most of them will not meet others in public. But I can't control things like communicating on the phone.

After the call was connected, it was Zhang Manyu on the other side who spoke first: Thunder Monkey, Director Wu...

Hello, Miss Zhang, if you don't mind, can I call you Maggie? Please speak English, I can understand it. Wu Yuchen said with a smile.

Zhang Manyu, who was struggling to speak Mandarin, breathed a sigh of relief and directly switched to fluent English:

Of course, no problem. My friends all call me that. Nice to meet you, Director Wu. Your film Run Lola Run was great!

Thank you, Sister Maggie, for the compliment!

Wu Yuchen and Zhang Manyu exchanged a few words and then asked:

Sister Maggie, someone is coming to talk to me about copyright issues, so I took the liberty to call and want to know about the award-winning situation of Lola Run.

Zhang Manyu actually knew in her heart that she was calling because of the award. She smiled and said:

The one with the best situation now is Sex Book Tycoon. David Hare from the UK, Humberto Soros from Cuba and Huck Pim from Germany are all leaning towards it.

Wu Yuchen nodded when he heard this, thinking that he was right with what Harris said, and he was indeed not deceived.

Marianne, the French female judge, liked your Run Lola Run very much.

Wu Yuchen felt relieved. It seemed that this time he had really gained the support of women. There were two women among the eight judges, namely Maggie Cheung and Mariana. As for whether Zhang Manyu would vote for him, he didn't ask, otherwise he would be a bit incompetent. In terms of relationship, Maggie Cheung is definitely closer to Hong Kong filmmakers. Even if she voted for Erotic Man and Woman, no one could say anything. If she is willing to vote for Run Lola Run, she has to thank others.

What about Lang, the chairman of the jury? Wu Yuchen asked.

Mr. Lang hasn't shown any inclination yet. He said that the photography and editing of your Run Lola Run are eye-catching.

Wu Yuchen thought of Lang. He was a photographer himself, so he naturally paid more attention to this aspect. But if you don’t have the tendency to publish, then you can’t say for sure.

Wu Yuchen roughly understood the current situation and said: Thank you, Sister Maggie!

It doesn't matter. In fact, these are not secrets. Many people can probably find out. However, Director Wu, it is just a tendency now. We have not yet reached the voting stage. There is no telling what changes may occur during this period. In the end, we have to vote The results will prevail.”

Well, I understand, Sister Maggie. Wu Yuchen also knew that there might be changes during this period.

After hanging up the phone, he fell into thinking. According to the current situation, Lola Run should have one vote, but it is far from the Golden Bear. Even the jury award may not be in the air.

As for other awards such as Best Actor and Best Actress, on the one hand it is hard to find out, and on the other hand Run Lola Run has little hope. Fu Dalong's acting skills are good, but the male protagonist's role is too small and unlikable. Li Xiaoran's Lola running scene has too many dynamic scenes this time. To say that the acting skills shown are just passable, but it is a bit far away from winning the Best Actress Award.

Looking at it this way, if you want to win an award, it's best to cooperate with EMI. Even if you can't get the Golden Bear, it would be good to get the Jury Silver Bear Award.