Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 324 Negotiations
Going back one or two decades, the Chinese-language film industry, whether in mainland China or Taiwan, favored art-house films. Mainland China produced the Fifth Generation filmmakers, represented by Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, while Taiwan produced the Taiwanese New Wave directors, represented by Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien.

Actually, the Hong Kong New Wave also had figures like Tsui Hark and Ann Hui, but Hong Kong cinema was primarily commercial. Even Tsui Hark had to cater to the market and prioritize box office success. However, it was precisely the rise of the New Wave combined with a commercially driven market that created a golden age for Hong Kong cinema; otherwise, where would the classic "Once Upon a Time in China" series come from?
It can be said that during the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong films dominated the Chinese-language film market. No matter whether it was Taiwanese or mainland art films, they could not compete with Hong Kong films.

However, the power to evaluate films lies in the hands of filmmakers who primarily focus on art films, especially in mainland China and Taiwan, where filmmakers who pursue art films are the main force.

Li An grew up in this environment. He studied film and drama at the Taiwan Arts Academy and worked as a stage actor before going to the University of Illinois to study directing. Therefore, his creative ideas were marked by art films in his upbringing.

Therefore, it wasn't until he actually filmed "The Incredible Hulk" that he truly understood the difficulties of making commercial films. It's not something you can just decide to do. Don't be fooled by so many art-house directors who call commercial films garbage and criticize them for having no artistic merit; if you asked them to make one, they would almost certainly fail miserably.

Through the failure of "The Incredible Hulk," Li An has come to realize his own limitations. Call him pretentious or aloof, but he's clearly not suited for commercial films and must stick to his old path of art-house cinema. Therefore, his new project is also an art film.

Li An said to Wu Yuchen, "Director Wu, you must have noticed the trend in Hollywood in recent years. The voices for LGBT rights are getting louder and louder."

Wu Yuchen nodded: "Actually, it's not just Hollywood; the voice is getting louder and louder in North America and even throughout Europe."

Seeing that Wu Yuchen agreed, Li An continued, "The art world has always been at the forefront of social trends, which is why there have been many films in recent years that advocate for the LGBT community. The new project I'm planning to produce this time is on this subject."

I've already discussed Annie Procks's 1997 short story, *Brokeback Mountain*.

Wu Yuchen thought to himself, "It really is 'Brokeback Mountain'!"

The film *Brokeback Mountain* had a tremendous impact, not only because it won numerous Oscars. Although it didn't win Best Picture that year, it was undoubtedly the most talked-about, talked-about, controversial, and influential film at the Oscars, spreading its message worldwide. From then on, *Brokeback Mountain* became synonymous with homosexuality, or simply an adjective.

However, one thing needs to be clarified: it was not "Brokeback Mountain" that gave rise to the LGBT movement, but rather the LGBT movement that propelled the creation of "Brokeback Mountain".

The current development of Chinese versions is actually at least two generations behind Europe and America, so there is very little attention paid to this aspect in China. It wasn't until the release of "Brokeback Mountain" that many people felt as if such a group had suddenly emerged.

Of course, all of this is based on one foundation: Li An's directing is indeed excellent. The film's colors, atmosphere, camera transitions, and the nuances of the characters' emotions are all perfectly executed. The love between the two main characters is portrayed with great subtlety; although it's a same-sex romance, it's in no way inferior to heterosexual relationships.

However, what Wu Yuchen valued most was the film's ability to achieve huge returns on a small budget. With a very low cost of 1400 million, it garnered 8 Oscar nominations, won 3 Oscars including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, and took home the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Ultimately, it grossed $1.8 million worldwide. From any perspective, the investment in "Brokeback Mountain" was extremely profitable, and there was no reason not to invest.

After Wu Yuchen finished reading the script, he saw Li An looking at him expectantly and couldn't help but smile at him, "As expected of a Pulitzer Prize winner, the story is well written, and the script adaptation is even better. I have no doubt that Director Li can present this wonderful and delicate love story."

Li An smiled upon hearing this. Since the two had collaborated on "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," he came to find Wu Yuchen immediately. Sure enough, Wu Yuchen understood him best!

But the next moment, Wu Yuchen changed the subject: "However, Director Li, you should also know that this 'Brokeback Mountain' is extremely controversial, which means that the risk is very high. Therefore, Miracle Films does not dare to give you too much investment. I hope you can understand."

Li An wasn't surprised to hear this. He said, "Don't worry, I expect to keep the cost of this movie under 1500 million yuan to minimize the risks."

This wasn't just for the producers; it was also for his own benefit. "The Incredible Hulk" had already damaged his reputation in Hollywood, so "Brokeback Mountain" absolutely couldn't lose money. Otherwise, with both commercial and art films failing, he might hit a low point. The most effective way to ensure profitability was to reduce costs!

In fact, Li An earned quite a bit of money from filming "The Incredible Hulk" last time, but he would never use his own money to invest in a movie, even his own movie.

After listening, Wu Yuchen nodded in satisfaction. Then he thought of Anne Hathaway, the female lead in the original "Brokeback Mountain". Should he give her this opportunity?

He thought about it and realized that she was actually the most suitable person for him. With Jessica Alba and Anne Hathaway by his side, many newcomers in the past two years no longer caught his eye.

This made Wu Yuchen sigh, "There are fewer and fewer top-quality new talents in Hollywood these days!"

Shortly after Wu Yuchen and Li An finalized their investment agreement for "Brokeback Mountain," Warner Bros. representatives visited them again.

Wu Yuchen looked at the two people sitting opposite him with a relaxed expression. He was now in a dominant position. Even if Warner didn't accept his terms, he wouldn't lack projects.

Jeffrey spoke first: "Wu, you've really presented us with a difficult problem. 25% of the global box office revenue is a condition that WarnerMedia has never offered before."

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his finger: "Compared to Spielberg's 20% omnichannel revenue share back then, I don't think this is high at all. If you're willing to loosen up omnichannel, I can lower it to 15%, how about that?"

Wu Yuchen's current fame is in no way inferior to Spielberg's before he filmed "Jurassic Park." The reason he only asked for 15%, lower than Spielberg's 20%, is because "Batman" is a well-known IP with a large built-in audience, unlike "Jurassic Park" at the time.

Jeffrey shook his head and refused, saying, "No, Wu, let's not discuss revenue sharing across all channels anymore, okay? You know it's impossible." Wu Yuchen smiled; he had guessed it would be like this. Warner Bros. wouldn't open up merchandise for big IPs like "Batman" and "Superman" to the public.

Universal was willing to give Spielberg a 20% share across all channels because they didn't anticipate the phenomenal success of "Jurassic Park." Otherwise, they would have preferred to offer Spielberg a 20%+20% deal rather than skimp on the $2000 million cash salary, which ultimately resulted in Spielberg taking home $2.5 million.

It is precisely because of this example that Warner Music is even less likely to do so now.

Jeffrey then said, "Wu, after discussion by our committee, we can agree to give you $2000 million plus 25% of the global box office revenue. However, in order to prevent the project from losing money, we have the right to terminate the trilogy at any time."

Normally, this is a very reasonable condition. Given Wu Yuchen's high salary, if the film's box office performance falls short of expectations, Warner Bros. can easily terminate the production of the next two films to minimize losses.

However, Wu Yuchen keenly grasped one point and couldn't help but ask, "What if the movie is successful? And what are your standards for the success or failure of a project?"

Jeffrey sighed, "Oh, Wu, high box office is of course a success, we're just trying to reduce the risk!"

Wu Yuchen shook his head: "If that's the case, then I think we need a one-off contract! Including the script!"

Jeffrey quickly understood the meaning behind Wu Yuchen's words and said, "Wu, I don't think you need to be so wary of us!"

"No, no, it's because you didn't give me enough trust."

Let me make this clear: under your conditions, even if the film is successful, you can still create a negative profit report and use that as an excuse to fire me, the high-paid director, and find a replacement to continue filming according to my script.

"The interpretation of success and failure rests entirely with Warner Bros., and I won't agree to that kind of condition. Rather than that, let's have a one-film-one-contract deal. If the first film is successful, and you want me to direct another one, or use my script, then offer me even better terms!"

Upon hearing this, Jeffrey rubbed his head in frustration. If an ordinary director dared to say something like that, they would have already started criticizing him, but Wu Yuchen now had the right to negotiate with them like this.

He then added, "Wu, you know this is impossible. This is the best we can offer; we can't raise it any further!"

Wu Yuchen shrugged and said, "If you want to use me, then give me your full trust from the beginning! Or if you're not confident enough in the Batman trilogy, how about sharing some of the investment with me? My Miracle Pictures is happy to share some of the risk with Warner Bros."

Jeffrey thought for a moment and said, "Wu, since we agreed to such a high salary from you, it shows that we trust you. There's no need to bring up the issue of sharing the investment again; Warner Bros. can afford it."

Warner Bros. is currently the company with the best financial situation in Hollywood. After all, the annual release of one Harry Potter film alone can guarantee its financial stability, and in the past two years, it has also produced blockbusters like The Matrix.

Generally, the better a company's financial situation is, the easier it is to raise funds. They don't even need to spend their own money; many banks and investment institutions are willing to send money to them.

Then Jeffrey continued, "We can add supplementary clauses: you will be the director of the trilogy, and if we want to make a sequel, it can only be you. Your salary for each film will be the same, and it cannot be increased. On this basis, we have the right to stop the project. I think this way, both of us are protected."

Wu Yuchen sighed inwardly. He had actually hoped that Warner Bros., out of concern for risk, would contribute a certain share of the investment in "The Batman," but unfortunately, Warner Bros. was too wealthy to care. Miracle Pictures could at most get a co-production role and earn some wages; getting an investment share was out of the question.

In the previous life, Legendary Pictures and Nolan's own film company were both involved in the production of "The Batman", but they were only involved in production; the investor was definitely Warner Bros.

However, the fact that the global revenue sharing condition was raised to 25% this time can be considered as achieving the goal.

Wu Yuchen extended his hand and shook hands with the other party: "Deal."

Soon after, Warner Bros. announced a collaboration with Wu Yuchen on a Batman trilogy. This news caused quite a stir in Hollywood.

After all, this is Wu Yuchen, who is currently riding high this year. Moreover, the first two films related to him, "The Pirate King" and "Spider-Man", have already created box office miracles, with neither falling below $8 million. Now that "Batman" has fallen into his hands, just thinking about it makes people extremely excited!

Immediately, major talent agencies sprang into action, trying to gather all sorts of information about "The Batman," and actors from various fields were also eager to find out Wu Yuchen's selection criteria. Wu Yuchen's agent was inundated with calls. Warner Bros. was also bombarded with inquiries, with everyone wanting to get their hands on script clips.

And what about Wu Yuchen himself?
To be honest, he wasn't even planning on going through rounds of auditions; he intended to go straight to casting the lead roles. With his current star power, how many actors could possibly refuse him?
Besides, he didn't want to waste any more time. Now that the Batman project was settled, the preparatory work for the project had to be done. He would first select the actor for Batman and then have him train for more than six months, so that filming next year wouldn't be delayed.

He also needs to specify the requirements for some of Batman's props, such as the Batmobile, so that designers can create concept art and manufacturers can customize them. He needs to start all this work now, otherwise it will take a long time if it's delayed until next year.

Because of these Batman-related projects, his return to China will be delayed. He also has a film called "Departures" waiting for him to film in China. Where would he find the time to go through rounds of casting?
(End of this chapter)