Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 108 Pulling
Upon hearing the visitor's mention of "the award situation," Wu Yuchen's heart stirred. He led the visitor inside, and after they sat down, he smiled and said:
“Mr. Harris, I am very interested in discussing the topic you mentioned.”

He knew that these large European film distribution companies actually had intricate connections with the three major film festivals. While they couldn't be said to manipulate the festival awards, they could certainly gather information and even influence the decisions of one or two judges.

After all, the three major sports leagues don't have as many voters as the Oscars. The judges for the three major sports leagues are usually no more than 10 people, sometimes as few as six or seven, which greatly increases the feasibility of the process.

Harris was probably in his forties, and looked quite refined. He smiled slightly.
“Wu, you know what? After watching your ‘Run Lola Run’, it reminded me of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction.’ Both of you have innovated on traditional narrative methods. He used a circular narrative, while you used a three-part structure. You both took unconventional routes, but the films are full of inspiration!”

Hearing the praise, Wu Yuchen humbly replied:

"Hehe, Mr. Harris, you flatter me~"

"Wu, this praise is well-deserved for your talent!"

But Harris then changed the subject: "However, I think you made a mistake."

Wu Yuchen remained calm and asked, "Oh? May I ask what it is?"

“Wu, you should have sent ‘Run Lola Run’ to Cannes; it’s more to Cannes’ taste. In Cannes, ‘Run Lola Run’ might have achieved the same success as ‘Pulp Fiction.’ But in Berlin, which places more emphasis on politics and social issues, I think it might have been overlooked.”

Wu Yuchen is aware of the importance of aligning with film festival styles. Films like *Run Lola Run*, which combine commercial appeal and artistic merit, might indeed be more to Cannes' taste. However, there are no absolutes; it mainly depends on the aesthetic preferences and inclinations of the jury that year. Frankly, many award-winning films might not have won if the jury had been different.

Wu Yuchen chose Berlin for two reasons. First, he won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival last year, giving him a Berlin label that would likely attract more attention. Second, among the three major European film festivals, Chinese-language films have won the most awards at Berlin. Therefore, after some consideration, he decided not to wait three more months to attend Cannes.

Wu Yuchen didn't speak immediately, but looked at Harris across from him, wondering if he was bluffing and trying to lower the price. After a moment, he said:
"Mr. Harris, is this the kind of award situation you're referring to?"

"Of course not. I have some inside information that three out of the eight judges have expressed their liking for the film 'Sex Book Tycoon,' and it is currently the film closest to winning the Golden Bear."

"The Sex Magazine Tycoon" is an American film that tells the story of a multi-millionaire who makes a living by publishing pornographic magazines, and his confrontation with the American government, the church, and other forces standing on moral high ground. The film exposes the dirty dealings of the American judicial system and the authorities, perfectly hitting Berlin's sweet spot.

If Harris's statement is true, and three out of eight votes have already been cast, then the probability of winning the Golden Bear is already very high.

This immediately made Wu Yuchen frown. He had hoped to win a major award, the best being the Golden Bear, although he knew it might be difficult. But now that his chances had been so slim, he naturally felt uneasy.

However, Wu Yuchen quickly relaxed his brows again:

"Mr. Harris, I think it's hard to say anything until the awards are announced, isn't it?"

"Of course, the judges' opinions may change, just like they might like grapes today but apples tomorrow," Harris chuckled.

Wu Yuchen looked at Harris. Generally speaking, a judge's aesthetic sense is difficult to change in a short period of time. If a judge's opinion changes, it can only be due to external influences. The implication in the guy's words was what he could do, although it was said somewhat cryptically, Wu Yuchen could naturally understand it in this situation.

"Mr. Harris, can you make Apple the most popular?"

“My dear Wu, I can’t make that guarantee. I can only say that perhaps Mr. Lang would like apples,” Harris said with a faint smile.

Wu Yuchen pondered. The Lang the other party mentioned, whose full name is Jacques Lang, is the president of the jury at this year's Berlin Film Festival. He is of French descent, so it is very likely that he has a close relationship with Pathé Pictures.

Although the chairman of the jury does not receive one more vote than the regular judges, his influence is still considerable.

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

One example is when Zhang Yimou was the chairman of the Berlin Film Festival in 93, he awarded the Golden Bear to Xie Fei's "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" and Li An's "The Wedding Banquet", creating a double Golden Bear for Chinese-language films.

Another example is Wong Kar-wai's appointment as president of the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. He produced 5 Best Actor and 6 Best Actress winners, totaling 11, setting a record that is unprecedented and likely to remain so. He was just that capricious and outrageous. What should have been a tense and nerve-wracking awards ceremony was transformed by him into a warm and cheerful "happy ending" comedy.

This fully demonstrates the significant influence and power of the jury president at film festivals.

If Chairman Lang really supports me, I have a great chance of winning a major award, even if I don't get the Golden Bear for now.

At that moment, Harris suddenly spoke up and asked, "Wu, can we talk about the price of 'Run Lola Run' now?"

Wu Yuchen gestured, "Mr. Harris, how much is EMI willing to offer for 'Run Lola Run'?"

Since we've already gotten this far in the conversation, I don't mind chatting a bit more.

“Two million dollars,” Harris stated, doubling the price Wu Yuchen had previously offered.

This time, Wu Yuchen didn't try to avoid discussing it after winning an award; he directly stated:

“Mr. Harris, that’s too low. Since you mentioned Pulp Fiction earlier, you should know that the European film rights to Pulp Fiction sold for $1200 million. And you’re only offering $200 million for Run Lola Run…”

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

Pulp Fiction made a lot of money back then. The European screening rights sold for $12 million, and the domestic box office in the United States exceeded $100 million. If you add the DVD revenue, the movie earned Miramax at least tens of millions of dollars, and its long-term revenue will definitely exceed $100 million.

Harris chuckled. “Wu, Run Lola Run is indeed great, but it hasn’t won any awards yet. Secondly, Pulp Fiction has a big star with the appeal of Bruce Willis, which you don’t have. Finally, it’s an Eastern story, and although Europe is very tolerant, it’s inherently flawed compared to Pulp Fiction.”

"Mr. Harris, the awards are not yet decided. If we want to talk about the awards, we should wait until after the awards ceremony in a week."

Although "Run Lola Run" doesn't have big stars, its subject matter and overall creative form are more in line with the tastes of the "audiovisual generation" of young people, which can be seen from the scene at the film festival, and I believe you know this.

Finally, *Run Lola Run* is a female-centric film, extremely popular with women. The current feminist movement is a strong trend, and in this respect, it has an advantage over *Pulp Fiction*.

Wu Yuchen said calmly, "If the other party wants to find fault, then I will emphasize the advantages. Negotiation is a tug-of-war, it's all about who can outlast whom, and how far it ends. Anyway, I'm not going to show weakness."

Then Wu Yuchen said, "Mr. Harris, I can tell you that I filmed 'Run Lola Run' for four months and the cost was $2 million. The price you mentioned is impossible to negotiate."

The other party doesn't know the specific figures for filming time and cost; it's all up to Wu Yuchen to say. "Farewell My Concubine" cost four or five million US dollars, so what's wrong with me saying my "Run Lola Run" cost 200 million?

Harris frowned upon hearing this. He knew that filming costs in the East should be lower; according to his estimate, the film should have cost between $100 million and $150 million. His plan was to use the promise of awards as bait, adding $200 million to secure the rights. Moreover, the two were currently only negotiating the broadcasting rights; the other party could easily make a profit by selling the DVD rights as well.

However, it seems that the allure of winning awards is not as strong as he imagined for this young director, which is inconsistent with his impression of Chinese filmmakers.

Actually, the 200 million was just a test for him; he really had high hopes for the movie "Run Lola Run." As Wu Yuchen said, it's very popular with young people; in their words, it's incredibly cool from beginning to end. Moreover, it caught the wave of feminism, hitting a nerve with many women.

Although this film is avant-garde, it is still very commercial. Unlike those films that are confusing and hard to watch, this one is easier to understand than Pulp Fiction in terms of storytelling.

"Wu, what are your expectations?" Harris didn't want to reveal his bottom line, so he simply asked directly.

Wu Yuchen smiled faintly and uttered a number: "800 million US dollars."

Harris hesitated for a moment, but didn't refuse outright. Instead, he asked, "Does it include DVD rights?"

"I'd like to discuss the screening rights and DVD rights after the film is released."

“Wu, this price is impossible; we won’t make any profit at all!” Harris refused outright.

“Mr. Harris, my offer is already much cheaper than Pulp Fiction. And it’s impossible not to make a profit; we can make it with 2000 million at the European box office. But I believe the film’s box office will be much more than 2000 million.”

Harris glared at Wu Yuchen. Even if it makes 30 million at the box office, we still have to spend 8 million to buy it back. You're still making the lion's share of the profits. You're asking us to work for you? How is that possible?

“300 million, Wu, we at EMI have already shown great sincerity.”

Wu Yuchen smiled inwardly. You see, if the price isn't quoted higher, how can they possibly raise it by a million at a time? If he quotes 5 million, then the price increase will only be 300,000 to 500,000.

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

Harris thought for a moment, nodded, and then took out a business card and left it with Wu Yuchen:
“Wu, if you change your mind, come to me anytime. EMI is the most suitable partner for you.”

Wu Yuchen smiled, understanding that this collaboration not only referred to film distribution but also to award ceremonies.

After seeing Harris off from EMI, Wu Yuchen rubbed his chin. Actually, it's not that EMI is the only distributor. For example, EMI's old rival, Gaumont Pictures, has already received 300 million from EMI. Do you want to raise the price?
Besides these two, distributors in the UK are also an option. Although UK distributors don't have a well-established distribution network in Europe, they have partnerships with the eight major Hollywood studios, so we can use their channels for distribution.

However, for now, his primary goal remains EMI, as he still cares about awards and isn't as indifferent as he appears. If what Harris said earlier about having a close relationship with jury president Lang is true…

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment, then immediately picked up the phone and made a call. The reason he temporarily suspended negotiations was to gather more information; they did have members of the judging panel among the Chinese community!
"Hey, Mr. Rong, I have a favor to ask you. Could you introduce me to Zhang Manyu? I'd like to consult her about some things. Okay, thank you, Mr. Rong!"

The jury members are actually quite free during the screenings, and the organizers can't really control them in that regard. However, to avoid any appearance of impropriety, they mostly avoid meeting people in public. But things like phone calls are beyond their control.

After the call connected, it was Zhang Manyu on the other end who spoke first: "Lei Hou, Director Wu..."

“Hello, Ms. Zhang, if you don’t mind, may I call you Maggie? Please speak English, I can understand you,” Wu Yuchen said with a smile.

Zhang Manyu, who was struggling with her Mandarin, breathed a sigh of relief and immediately switched to fluent English:

"Of course, no problem. That's what my friends call me. It's nice to meet you, Director Wu. Your film 'Run Lola Run' is fantastic!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Maggie!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Zhang Manyu, Wu Yuchen asked:

“Sister Maggie, someone has contacted me to discuss copyright matters, so I took the liberty of calling to inquire about the award prospects of ‘Run Lola Run’.”

Zhang Manyu actually understood that the call at this time was obviously about the award, and she smiled and said:
"The best book right now is 'The Sex Book Tycoon,' which is favored by David Hale of Britain, Humberto Solow of Cuba, and Hackim of Germany."

Wu Yuchen nodded upon hearing this, thinking that it matched what Harris had said; he hadn't been fooled.

“Your book, ‘Run Lola Run,’ was very well-received by the French judge, Marianne.”

Wu Yuchen understood immediately. It seemed he had truly secured the support of the female base this time. Two out of the eight judges were women: Maggie Cheung and Mariana. He didn't ask whether Maggie Cheung would vote for him; otherwise, it would be tactless. In terms of connections, Maggie Cheung was definitely closer to the Hong Kong film industry; even if she voted for *Viva Erotica*, no one could say anything. If she was willing to vote for *Run Lola Run*, then he'd have to thank them.

"What about Lang, the chairman of the judging panel?" Wu Yuchen asked.

"Mr. Lang hasn't expressed any particular inclination yet, but he did say that the cinematography and editing of your 'Run Lola Run' were a real eye-opener."

Wu Yuchen thought of Lang; being a photographer himself, he naturally paid more attention to this area. However, since there was no inclination to publish, it was hard to say.

After understanding the current situation, Wu Yuchen said, "Thank you, Sister Maggie!"

"It's alright. Actually, these aren't secrets. Many people probably already know them. But Director Wu, right now it's just a general inclination. We haven't reached the voting stage yet. There might be changes during this period, and in the end, the voting results will be the final deciding factor."

"Okay, I understand, Sister Maggie." Wu Yuchen also knew that things might change during this period.

After hanging up the phone, he fell into thought. Based on the current situation, "Run Lola Run" should get a vote, but it was far from the Golden Bear, and even the Grand Jury Prize was probably out of reach.

As for other awards such as Best Actor and Best Actress, it's difficult to inquire about them, and besides, "Run Lola Run" doesn't have much hope. Fu Dalong is a good actor, but the male lead has few scenes and isn't very likable. Li Xiaoran's character, Lola, has too many dynamic scenes running, so her acting is just passable, but winning Best Actress is a long way off.

From this perspective, if you want to win an award, it would be best to collaborate with EMI. Even if you can't get the Golden Bear, getting the Jury Silver Bear would be pretty good.

(End of this chapter)