Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 167 Come to the door
When it comes to popular male idol groups in China, the first thing that comes to mind is TFboys, the three-member boy band that is incredibly popular in China. However, in terms of influence across Asia, they are definitely not as popular as F4!
F4 can truly be called the most popular Chinese boy band. They reached their peak upon debut and quickly became a sensation across Asia, with Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand all going crazy for them.

And 95% of the credit for this should go to a TV series, a series that counterattacked South Korea when Korean dramas began to become popular throughout Asia: "Meteor Garden".

How to describe this show? Many of the lines and the style are very exaggerated. In reality, they seem like something a normal person would say. After listening to them, you'd feel so embarrassed you'd want to scratch your toes. But it's precisely this kind of vibe that makes young people all over Asia so addicted to it.

Wu Yuchen is still quite concerned about his reputation. If his name were to be associated with something like "idol godfather," he would inevitably become a laughing stock in the industry. Imagine if he ran into a rich guy who said, "Why did you make this? What kind of art is this?" Wu Yuchen would probably have to recite poetry on the spot.

However, given the immense influence of F4 and "Meteor Garden," and with such a simple operation, there's no reason not to make money from it. Therefore, allowing the previously registered Hong Kong company to operate independently is unrelated to Miracle Films and has nothing to do with Wu Yuchen.

To be honest, although everyone thinks "Meteor Garden" is very childish and immature, as the pioneer of idol dramas, how could "Meteor Garden" be so simple?
This drama also includes almost all the classic plot points of subsequent idol dramas, including love between people of unequal social status, a Cinderella-like love triangle with a domineering CEO and a gentle knight, the ugly duckling turning into a swan, betrayal by best friends, brothers turning against each other for love, the male and female leads being forced to live together, a fiancée falling from the sky, and a hero rescuing a damsel in distress to reveal true love...

The formulas of all subsequent idol dramas are basically inseparable from the scope of "Meteor Garden," at most they just take one of the plots to the extreme.

Moreover, the original "Boys Over Flowers" manga has been adapted into live-action films and television series more than 10 times since its inception, and its popularity has remained high across Asian countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand.

Given Huang Xiaoming's current acting skills, Wu Yuchen can't really push him too hard. However, his flamboyant style is actually perfect for playing a character in "Meteor Garden." Besides, Huang Xiaoming, don't you just love playing the domineering CEO type? You're middle-aged and still not tired of it, always sporting that wicked and arrogant smile. Well then, let's just make you the originator of the domineering CEO archetype!
Maybe Xiaoming will enjoy it for the rest of his life?
Since the goal is to create a top-tier boy band for Greater China, the members will definitely need to be from all three regions. Huang Xiaoming is the first one confirmed, and Wu Yuchen plans to entrust the selection of the other members to Cai Yinong. Cai Yinong's aesthetic sense is generally reliable; the handsome men and beautiful women she picks have rarely disappointed the audience. However, she will still need to inform Wu Yuchen about the selection process.

He didn't plan to worry too much about F4 and "Meteor Garden," leaving most of that to Cai Yinong. As for Huang Xiaoming's future development, that was up to his own fate. After all, he chose this path himself, and this was an opportunity many people would kill for.

At that moment, Wu Yuchen also received a call from across the ocean: "Wu, Bruce Willis wants to meet with you. Can you get back to Hollywood as soon as possible?"

"Oh, of course."

Upon hearing this news, Wu Yuchen smiled. Things in China were almost settled, and he needed to head to Hollywood for his new project.

……

Upon arriving in America, Wu Yuchen was greeted at the airport not only by his agent, Carl, but also by producer James. The two had previously worked together quite well, which is why Wu Yuchen again approached James for the film *The Sixth Sense*. While still in China, Wu Yuchen had already instructed James to begin pre-production work, including location scouting, prop making, and submitting filming applications.

On the way back, Wu Yuchen asked, "Is Bruce Willis in Los Angeles?"

James nodded and smiled, saying, "Yes, he was waiting for you. To be waited for by a Hollywood star, Wu, that's proof enough of your charm!"

Bruce Willis is really popular right now. Not to mention the Die Hard series, his recent films such as Argentine, The Fifth Element, and 12 Monkeys have all done very well at the box office and with critical acclaim.

Wu Yuchen smiled, then asked Karl beside him, "Any other arrangements?"

Carl nodded immediately: "When they learned that you were coming back, many people wanted to visit you. Besides the Big Seven, there was Spielberg from DreamWorks, Harvey Weinstein from Miramax, and so on."

Wu Yuchen's new project, "Sixth Sense," actually attracted attention from all sides as early as half a year ago when it was first announced. There's no way around it, given that Wu Yuchen has achieved great success with "Frequency" and "Phone Booth."
Even though "The Sixth Sense" is a horror film, many studios approached us wanting to collaborate, such as Sony, Warner Bros., and Fox.

To be honest, Wu Yuchen's Miracle Films is not short of money right now. His previous film, "Phone Booth," made him very wealthy. He can develop this film entirely on his own, so he has not given up on it.

However, he also knew that in order for the film to go smoothly, he would probably have to choose a major studio to cooperate with and provide a certain share of investment to protect it.

Wu Yuchen didn't waste any time. As soon as he arrived in Los Angeles, he went straight to see Bruce Willis. Other matters could be put aside; the male lead had to be secured first.

Upon seeing Bruce Willis, Wu Yuchen smiled, shook hands, and gave him a hug: "Sorry, Bruce, I just got off the plane and couldn't wait to see you!"

In response to Wu Yuchen's enthusiasm, Bruce Willis said, "Wu, I also hope to meet you as soon as possible, but I've been on set for the past few months. You know, my schedule is very tight right now."

"Of course, Bruce, you're the hottest star in Hollywood right now!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries and confirming that neither of them was an oddball, they got down to business:
"The script for 'The Sixth Sense' is fantastic, but I have a few questions. Wu, I'd like to know what style you'll be shooting this film in?"

Wu Yuchen smiled:

"Bruce, you've already read the script. This is a ghost movie, so thriller and horror elements are indispensable. But I won't keep it in constant horror, that would be too cliché. A thrilling opening, then suspense, then a heartwarming family moment, culminating in the climax and revelation in the last five minutes—all the build-up beforehand is for this, and that will shock every audience member!"

Bruce Willis thought for a moment and said, "Could I interpret this as a movie disguised as a horror film, but actually a family drama?"

Wu Yuchen snapped his fingers: "bingo! Bruce, you're absolutely right. This is a movie about communication. The adults in the film don't believe the children's stories about seeing ghosts, which is the same blind spot that adults often have when they don't listen to their children. Listening to each other is an important way to communicate between generations."

This is actually one of the reasons why *The Sixth Sense* grossed nearly $3 million at the American box office. There have been many films with unexpected plot twists over the years, and while it's not as scary as many horror films, as Wu Yuchen said, *The Sixth Sense* is a family film. Family films have always been the most popular genre among American audiences.

It's not that the plot twists and suspense elements are unimportant, but rather that the film's core message is equally crucial, a common thread in many successful films. This is precisely why "The Sixth Sense," a horror film, garnered multiple Oscar nominations and was nominated for Best Picture.

Wu Yuchen then added, "It's like 'Ghost,' a romance movie disguised as a ghost film."

These words brought a wry smile to Bruce Willis's face: "Wu, I regretted it as soon as I mentioned 'Ghost,' which is one of the reasons why I wanted to take the role after seeing the script for 'The Sixth Sense'."

The female lead in "Ghost" is Demi Moore, who is Bruce Willis's wife. In fact, the male lead was originally intended to be Bruce Willis. Having the real-life couple play a love story in the movie was a great gimmick.

However, Bruce Willis rejected the production company and director outright because he believed that ghost movies had little future and what A-list Hollywood star would want to play a ghost? He thought it was a doomed film.

As a result, "Ghost" became a classic, which proved him wrong and became a regret for Bruce Willis.

In reality, given Bruce Willis's current appeal and status, he has dozens of scripts lined up waiting for him. However, the reason he was willing to wait for Wu Yuchen this time is that seeing this script reminded him of what happened in the past, and he wanted to make up for the regrets of the past.

He was satisfied with Wu Yuchen's reply, but still didn't agree immediately, and continued to ask:
"Wu, I'd like to ask, are you still planning to produce 'The Sixth Sense' entirely independently?"

Wu Yuchen guessed what he was thinking and shook his head, saying, "Bruce, are you worried about the film's censorship? Don't worry, I'll find a major studio to cooperate with this time to ensure that the film's rating isn't blocked."

This is why Wu Yuchen had to release a certain investment share.

Hollywood has a film rating agency called the MPAA, or Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). In North America, film ratings are controlled by the MPAA, whose main members are the seven major Hollywood studios. Wouldn't you say it wields considerable power?

Small companies are one thing, but companies like DreamWorks, led by Spielberg, which have emerged rapidly and have capital, connections, and excellent production capabilities, are facing joint suppression from the Big Seven.

The most direct way is to restrict access through a rating system. Most movies contain some scenes unsuitable for children, such as horror or gore, but are there clear boundaries and rating systems for these?
In fact, there is no such thing, or even if there were, the right to interpret it belongs to the MPAA. The seven major bodies are the members, and they are the judges. Classifying a DreamWorks film that was originally PG-13 as R is a completely different treatment!

Children can still watch PG-13 movies, but parental accompaniment is recommended. However, R-rated movies require parental accompaniment for those under 17, which significantly reduces the audience.

They're both players and referees, how can you fight against the Big Seven? DreamWorks actually lost to the publishing and MPAA, and after its internal split, it was acquired by a major studio.

As for *The Sixth Sense*, there are a few scary scenes in the film. If you're not one of the MPAA members, and even one member dislikes you, you could easily be rated R. This is a huge blow to a family movie, making it absolutely impossible to achieve the same box office success as in its predecessor!

Therefore, to pass the review and rating hurdle, Wu Yuchen must choose to cooperate with a large company so that he can obtain PG-13 treatment.

Bruce Willis finally smiled upon hearing Wu Yuchen's reply, and then extended his hand, saying, "Director Wu, it's a pleasure to work with you this time!"

Wu Yuchen also extended his hand and shook hands with him. After a brief exchange, both parties realized that they were both intelligent people, which would make future cooperation easier.

After securing Bruce Willis, the main cast was finalized, with the female lead already promised to Jennifer Connelly by Wu Yuchen. As for the child actor whose performance was phenomenal, he was an already famous child star, Haley Joel Osment, who had appeared in "Forrest Gump" in 94. Wu Yuchen didn't waste time by holding open auditions and directly appointed him.

Both the young actor and Bruce Willis performed very well in "The Sixth Sense," so Wu Yuchen has no intention of replacing them to avoid adding uncertainty.

After Wu Yuchen secured Bruce Willis's services, he met with representatives from various film studios and ultimately conceded 25% of his investment, reaching a cooperation agreement with Disney. When it comes to family movies, Disney is one of the top studios in Hollywood, and given that the film in his previous life was invested in and distributed by Disney and achieved such great success, it was only natural for Wu Yuchen to choose them.

However, Wu Yuchen's side also secured some benefits through negotiations, namely, Disney agreed to reduce the distribution fee to 10%. Given the inherent appeal of Wu Yuchen and Bruce Willis's films, Disney agreed.

As for Spielberg's personal attempt to win you over, I can only say sorry, you haven't released your films yet, and the film rating system is going to be restricted, so Wu Yuchen isn't going to pay the price for your dreams.

As for the film's production cost, unlike the 4000 million in the previous life, this time it's much higher.

In his previous life, Bruce Willis signed a contract with a salary plus profit sharing. Because the production company didn't want to take too much risk, the film became a huge box office hit. Through various profit sharing arrangements, Bruce Willis earned $1.2 million from the film, making a fortune!
Now that Wu Yuchen knows how high the final box office and profits of "The Sixth Sense" will be, he naturally won't sign any profit-sharing contract anymore, but will give Bruce Willis the full 2000 million.

Then there's Wu Yuchen's own film salary. His current director's salary in Hollywood is around 10 million. For this film, as both director and screenwriter, he set a condition of 1000 million plus a 500% share of the North American box office and DVD sales.

Actually, he wanted to take no money at all and instead get a 15% cut, but Disney, his partner, wouldn't agree, so they eventually settled on a 10% cut.

In Hollywood, your treatment is based on your position. Even if Wu Yuchen invests independently and asks himself for an exorbitant salary, the outside world won't accept it. On the contrary, it might attract the attention of the tax authorities who might think he's up to no good.

Then there's Wu Yuchen's plan to raise the production cost this time, so he can cram a lot of things into the crew, buy them through the crew, and keep them for the company and himself after filming. Of course, because Disney is watching, he doesn't dare to go too far.

In short, this increased the production cost of "The Sixth Sense" to 6000 million. That's not a low cost for a horror movie.

Wu Yuchen and James are already fully preparing for "The Sixth Sense". The film is set in Philadelphia and will start filming at the end of October or the beginning of November. The overall tone of the film is cold and austere, so the filming will take place in early winter.

At Philadelphia Airport, two middle-aged Chinese men hailed a taxi after exiting the airport and gave the driver an address.

One of the more refined-looking middle-aged men asked the shorter man beside him:
"Brother Qiang, isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to rush over like this..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiqiang shook his head and said with a wry smile:

"There's nothing we can do. Who would have thought Chen Taiming would just withdraw his investment like that? We can only hope that Director Wu can help us out of consideration for being Chinese. He should personally visit us to explain things to us in person to show his sincerity!"

Upon hearing this, Li An sighed, looking very sad.

He bought the rights to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" a few years ago and then spent two years revising the script. After that, he contacted an investor in Taiwan, Chen Tai-ming, the owner of Yageo Corporation, who invested 8000 million to make this martial arts film.

The male and female leads have been confirmed: Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. Everything is going smoothly. In September, Li An led his team to mainland China to conduct research, recruit actors, and even some supporting roles have been cast.

Then, suddenly, bad news arrived: Taiwanese investor Chen Taiming withdrew his investment!

Jiang Zhiqiang and Li An rushed to Taiwan in a hurry, but the people there just spread their hands and said two words: "No money!"
There was nothing they could do about being angry, so they could only start discussing their next steps.

Li An had been burned by investors who would withdraw their funds at any time, so he figured it would be best to go back to Hollywood to attract investment. After all, the entire production process in Hollywood was very standardized, with many mechanisms and measures in place to ensure the completion of films.

However, Jiang Zhiqiang felt that Hollywood might not be willing to invest in this kind of purely Chinese-style martial arts film. That's why the initial investors he sought were Chinese.

At this time, Jiang Zhiqiang thought of Wu Yuchen. After all, his Miracle Pictures is now a Hollywood company that follows the standard Hollywood production process. At the same time, Wu Yuchen is a Chinese who understands Chinese martial arts films, which perfectly meets the requirements of both Jiang Zhiqiang and Li An. Therefore, he flew directly from Taiwan to the United States.

Jiang Zhiqiang said, "There were rumors in Hollywood that Director Wu's Miracle Pictures made $1 million from 'Phone Booth.' I don't know if it's that much, but he can definitely afford to pay this amount of money."

Hearing Jiang Zhiqiang's words, Li An also sighed:
"One hundred million dollars..."

Thinking back to when he met Wu Yuchen at the Berlin Film Festival more than two years ago, he was just a new director who had just made a short film called "Car 44". He never expected that in just two years, Wu Yuchen would become an internationally renowned director who surpassed him. He couldn't help but feel quite complicated.

Then he sighed and added, "But even if someone has a lot of money, it doesn't grow on trees..."

"That's why the two of us had to visit in person. I also inquired about Director Wu's reputation through friends in mainland China. I heard that he is a man of great integrity and a strong supporter of the development of Chinese-language films!" Jiang Zhiqiang said, giving a thumbs up as if to encourage himself and Li An.

Li An smiled upon hearing this, but could only pray in his heart that this time he would succeed.

(End of this chapter)