Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 278 Let me take the risk!

Actually, the promotional work for "Brotherhood of Blades" in North America had already begun. The purpose of inviting Wu Yuchen was to have him and the crew appear on television programs, as television has remained the most important channel for promotion in North America for many years.

Actually, Jiang Qinqin is overthinking it. Even on the show, the host mostly chatted with Wu Yuchen. If Wu Yuchen hadn't steered the conversation towards them, the host might not have even wanted to talk to them. Who do you think you are in America?
Of course, they did perform on the show in the end. One was a dance performed by Jiang Qinqin, who wore a specially brought ancient costume, which was quite pleasing to the eye. However, the performance that made the audience cheer the most was the fight between Wu Jing and Zhao Wenzhuo.

That's right, it's just a performance. They've all rehearsed their routines beforehand, so the fight looks pretty good. That's the point of bringing the two of them along.

"Wu Yuchen's Chinese martial arts masterpiece 'Brotherhood of Blades' is coming to North America!"

"Wu Yuchen's most anticipated Chinese period kung fu film - 'Brotherhood of Blades'!"

Without exception, the main promotional material also features Wu Yuchen's name, and of course, the popular element of Chinese Kung Fu must be mentioned.

Actually, "Brotherhood of Blades" should be considered a wuxia (martial arts) film, but if you talk about wuxia with North American audiences, they won't understand. They only know about Chinese kung fu; they're unfamiliar with the concept of Chinese wuxia. Therefore, the promotional materials consistently used the slogan "Chinese kung fu."

This time, the film was released in around 2600 theaters, which is quite generous to Wu Yuchen. Even after "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won an Oscar, it only opened in a little over 2000 theaters. This is naturally because theaters, seeing the box office success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" last year, are willing to give Chinese kung fu films more opportunities this time.

Friday: 935 million, Saturday: 1362 million, Sunday: 1054 million. "Brotherhood of Blades" earned 3351 million in its opening weekend, also successfully taking the top spot at the weekly box office.

This result may be much worse than Wu Yuchen's previous film "The Pirate King", but in fact, with 2600 theaters showing and it being a foreign language film, a box office of 3351 million is already very good. Even Wu Yuchen himself is very satisfied. It should be noted that the opening weekend box office of "Rush Hour" was only over 3300 million.

It can only be said that North American audiences have really loved the element of Chinese kung fu in recent years, and Wu Yuchen himself has a certain box office appeal.

"Wu Yuchen's Chinese kung fu film 'Brotherhood of Blades' wins the weekly box office champion!"

"Brotherhood of Blades achieved the best results for an Asian film in North America. This is the power of kung fu!"

"Clearly, this was a powerful blow from China and Wu Yuchen. Chinese Kung Fu lives up to its reputation!"

"Brotherhood of Blades is a martial arts film that represents this century."

After the opening weekend box office results were released, media outlets naturally followed up with promotional materials. This attracted many viewers interested in the mysterious Eastern culture and Chinese kung fu. "Brotherhood of Blades" grossed 4123 million yuan in its second week (7 days), and a total of 7474 million yuan after 10 days of release.

After the success of "Brotherhood of Blades," the happiest people were naturally the "Brotherhood of Blades" crew. It won the weekly box office champion for two consecutive weeks, and Jiang Qinqin also enjoyed the glory of Hollywood. She felt that this trip to Hollywood was worthwhile.

Meanwhile, many people in China are also happy. For example, Jiang Zhiqiang, an investor in "Hero", is overjoyed to see that "Brotherhood of Blades" has achieved better results than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and that Chinese martial arts films are so popular in North America. This means that "Hero" will also benefit from this success!

Wu Yuchen himself remained relatively calm. To be honest, the North American box office performance of "Brotherhood of Blades" had virtually no impact on him. After all, he had already achieved considerable box office success in Hollywood, and a foreign-language film like "Brotherhood of Blades" obviously couldn't possibly earn more money than his domestic films. Even if "Brotherhood of Blades" performed poorly at the box office, it wouldn't affect his personal status in Hollywood in the slightest.

So his initial expectation for "Brotherhood of Blades" was just that it would gross over 100 million yuan, and it didn't necessarily have to be higher than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Now it seems that it can achieve this goal.

Besides promotional work, Wu Yuchen also took Jiang Qinqin on a trip around the United States. Jiang Wen also visited various friends, going to see Martin Scorsese one day and Quentin Tarantino the next, having a great time. Amidst all this hustle and bustle, October passed by.

At the airport, Jiang Qinqin hugged Wu Yuchen, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the cheek again: "I'm going back now. Take good care of yourself, and don't overwork yourself here~"

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "We'll be starting our Olympic preparations this month, so it'll definitely be tiring, but your husband already has experience, so don't worry!"

Jiang Qinqin clenched her delicate pink hand: "Then I wish my husband success in winning the Olympics!"

The promotional work for "Brotherhood of Blades" is almost done, so the promotional trip for Jiang Qinqin and the other leading actors has come to an end. Everyone still has work and arrangements in China. For example, Jiang Qinqin has other film and television projects waiting for her. It's already quite good that she was able to stay here for so long.

When Wu Yuchen returned from the airport, he also went to DreamWorks. Spielberg greeted him with a smile and said, "Wu, congratulations! You've brought us another wonderful and successful Chinese kung fu film!"

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "Thank you, Steven. But I don't think you asked me to come here today just to congratulate me, right?"

Spielberg led Wu Yuchen to sit down. The two were already quite familiar with each other, so he didn't keep him in suspense: "I want to talk to you about 'Pirate King'."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Our Captain Jack contacted you on his own initiative?"

Six months ago, before Wu Yuchen left Hollywood, he specifically discussed "The Pirate King" with Spielberg. Faced with Johnny Depp's exorbitant demands, he initially ignored him. It was a test of patience between the two sides, seeing who would lose patience first.

Anyway, the production company just wanted to express an attitude: we value Johnny Depp, but you can't ask for an exorbitant price; your demands must be within a reasonable range.

Spielberg smiled and nodded: "Depp's agent recently contacted me, wanting to restart negotiations about a sequel to 'The Pirate King'."

What are his conditions?

“20+10.”

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this. He would never have agreed to the initial offer of 20+20. Now, 2000 million in salary plus 10% of the North American box office? At least they're willing to negotiate properly.

Wu Yuchen nodded and said, "We can start negotiating with them now, but this time it's not just one part, but two parts at once."

"I know. That's why I wanted to ask for your opinion on the salary given to Depp for these two films. What are your thoughts?"

Wu Yuchen didn't hesitate: "There's only one principle: give him cash as much as possible, rather than box office revenue sharing."

Spielberg asked Wu Yuchen again, "Wu, are you sure? To be honest, this isn't the normal Hollywood pay strategy." In Hollywood, to reduce project risk, producers generally prefer to give actors a share of the box office revenue to offset cash costs.

"Steven, I've said I have confidence in the sequel to 'Pirate King,' don't you believe me?"

Spielberg shook his head: "Wu, it's not that I don't believe in you. I certainly believe that 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' can be a success, but the third one is a bit far off. I think we need to consider the risks."

Movies like "The Pirate King," which have a very successful first installment, usually get sequels. The producers know that even if the sequel is bad, audiences will still go to the theaters because of the first film's reputation and the existing impression. Therefore, although many sequels are bad movies, they still turn out quite well financially.

But with the third installment, things are uncertain. Wu Yuchen is currently filming the second and third films back-to-back, and without knowing the outcome of the second film, it's impossible to predict the market's reaction to the third.

Therefore, Spielberg believed that agreeing to let Wu Yuchen film two movies back-to-back was already a sign of trust in him and a rather risky move. However, for the third movie, the cash cost expenditure should be reduced as much as possible to mitigate the risk.

After listening to Spielberg's words, Wu Yuchen thought for a moment and understood his thinking. With his experience from his previous life, he certainly knew that the "Pirate King" trilogy would be a huge success, but from Spielberg's perspective, this was a prudent move by a businessman.

“Alright, alright! Steven, I understand your concerns, in that case…”

Wu Yuchen looked at Spielberg with sincere eyes: "Then I'll take all the risks! I won't take a single penny of director's salary for the third film; I'll give it all to box office revenue sharing!"

Spielberg opened his mouth, surprised that Wu Yuchen would make this decision. But seeing that Wu Yuchen didn't seem to be joking, he asked him again, "Wu, are you sure?"

"Of course! This is my own work, and I'm demonstrating my determination and confidence in it through this action!"

To be honest, Spielberg was almost influenced by Wu Yuchen's attitude and was considering taking a risk. However, after thinking about it, DreamWorks decided to stick to a more conservative approach. Even his Jurassic Park series had seen each installment decline in both critical reception and box office performance.

Spielberg nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. We'll be in talks with Depp's team. Also, regarding your personal director's fee, your agent can be included in that discussion."

Currently, Wu Yuchen and Spielberg are only discussing the general direction. In fact, both Wu Yuchen's director contract and Depp's actor contract will involve many rights and obligations, likely exceeding dozens of pages. These will require confirmation from the agents and lawyers of all parties step by step.

After chatting with Spielberg for a while about "Pirates of the Caribbean," Wu Yuchen turned and said with a smile, "Steven, I'm going to start preparing for the Oscars this month."

Spielberg smiled as well: "Hmm, I'm really looking forward to your new movie!"

Wu Yuchen's expression turned serious:

"As you probably know, during World War II, the Chinese people, like you Jews, suffered persecution at the hands of the Axis fascists. I've brought a film about China's resistance against Japan during World War II, and I hope you can attend!"

Spielberg's smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression: "Wu, fascism and Natria are our common enemies. Wu, don't worry, I will definitely be there with my friends to support you at the premiere!"

Spielberg had anticipated that Wu Yuchen would be making a film set during World War II, as the two had discussed the topic six months prior. Frankly, he was quite curious about what kind of film Wu Yuchen would produce. There were very few internationally produced films about the Chinese resistance against Japan.

Wu Yuchen then smiled and said, "Thank you, Steven!"

He was using Spielberg to gain a voice among some Jewish people, especially since Spielberg himself had made "Schindler's List," and his influence in this area was considerable.

However, Spielberg alone may not be enough, after all, there are still strong competitors this year!

Wu Yuchen has other preparations, but there's no need to reveal them all at once. He wants to take things one step at a time and get nominated first.

Not long after Wu Yuchen left DreamWorks and returned home, Warner Bros. came knocking on his door again. Six months ago, Warner Bros. had specifically discussed rebooting superhero movies with Wu Yuchen, but Wu Yuchen also talked about the possibility of a Batman trilogy.

During these six months, he also wrote the script for the Batman trilogy, which he sent to Warner Bros. as soon as he arrived in America.

Warner Bros. has had intense discussions surrounding Wu Yuchen's Batman Dark Trilogy, holding numerous meetings of all sizes, before finally approaching them again today.

Wu Yuchen calmly received the Warner duo: "How is it, McGonagall?"

"Director Wu, to be honest, Warner Bros. has a lot of reservations about your proposal to reshape Batman."

"Controversy?" Wu Yuchen asked rhetorically.

"Because Batman is already stereotyped in the minds of many viewers as an all-powerful superhero who can face all kinds of criminals. We are not sure if pulling him down from his pedestal and reshaping Batman's life story will be welcomed by the audience."

Wu Yuchen chuckled: "It doesn't matter. If Warner is unwilling to choose this option, then let's pretend this never happened."

"No, no, Director Wu, that doesn't mean Warner Bros. isn't interested. We still really want to work with you, but the risks are a bit high. The fee you asked for was really too high! Could you..."

Wu Yuchen thought to himself, "This is exactly what they were waiting for me to do." In his previous life, even Nolan, who wasn't that famous back then, was able to persuade Warner Bros., which meant that Warner Bros. was definitely interested in the Batman Dark Trilogy. It was impossible that they couldn't do it now that he was the director with more influence and appeal.

Warner Bros. was just trying to bargain with him, wasn't they? But he knew what the other party was up to, and he knew that the other party really wanted to make the film, so he wasn't going to be fooled like that.

"No, no, no, McGonagall, there's nothing to talk about! I created this project, I know its value, it will bring Batman a new life! Think about how much profit Batman will bring to Warner Bros., I don't want a penny more!"

Wu Yuchen refused to budge an inch. He couldn't get a share of the full copyright, but he wasn't going to give up the 20% global box office share so easily. He couldn't let Hollywood capitalists profit from it!

(End of this chapter)