Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 161 You must be nice to her!

"$200 million."

"Haha, why don't we wait until the awards are over? What do you think, Harvey?"

Seeing that Lu Kuan was dissatisfied and the plot was developing in the same direction as last time, Harvey decisively raised the price.

"$300 million is the upper limit of my estimated value for this film. If you are not satisfied, I am sorry."

The fat guy stood up and pretended to leave. This time he was determined not to fall for Lu Kuan’s trick again!
Oh! These are just leftovers, don’t show up here.

"You sit down first."

Boss Lu hesitated and said, "How about this? Bring out your copy of Fahrenheit 911/ and have it appraised. If the price is not enough, I'll give you the rest."

Harvey became very alert!

"How did you know I had Fahrenheit 911/?"

Lu Kuan said helplessly, "To be honest, I've been following this movie for a while."

"Oh, that's impossible. I bet heavily on this movie. How could I let it go so easily?"

Boss Lu sneered in his heart, this Dogecoin started talking nonsense again.

"Fahrenheit 911/911" is a documentary directed by Moore, which directly criticizes the US authorities and President Bush by revealing the truth about the / terrorist attacks.

Harvey bought the distribution rights to the film at the beginning of this year, but at that time Miramax was still a subsidiary of Disney, and he had to get Disney's consent if he wanted to distribute "Fahrenheit 911/".

Disney's public relations department flatly rejected his proposal, and their government representatives demanded that it not cause trouble for the presidential campaign.

2004 is the year of the U.S. presidential election, and Bush will seek re-election on behalf of the Republican Party.

However, as mentioned earlier, in Cannes in 2004, a genius director, despite great disapproval from the world, awarded the Palme d'Or to this documentary that had no artistic value at all.

They even wanted to give the Best Actor award to George W. Bush, which almost scared the Cannes president Jacob.

If it were really awarded to Bush, he might have to play poker.

And this genius director is now sitting on the side eating steak and listening to Harvey and Lu Kuan discussing the deal.

And I am deeply worried about my safety in the coming week...

After "Fahrenheit 911/" won the Palme d'Or, it quickly became popular, and Disney decided to start distributing it.

The global box office is nearly 2.3 million US dollars!
This does not include the royalties from more than 300 million DVDs, which is about 3000 million US dollars in revenue.

Based on the distribution costs and proportions in the United States and Europe, this movie will probably bring Disney a net profit of $4800 million.

It would be a crime not to pick up this leak!

But at this moment Lu Kuan still had to remain calm and not let Harvey see any clues.

He had to find a reasonable excuse to dispel the Jews' doubts.

Harvey smiled and said, "Do you agree with the box office value of this movie as much as I do?"

"No, no, no, its box office value is not worth mentioning. I am interested in another aspect."

"What do you mean?"

Boss Lu wiped his hands with a napkin.

"You frequently interact with Chinese filmmakers and understand our national conditions."

"This is a film that vilifies the leader of a rival country, and I have friends who need it for their political speculation."

Harvey stared at Lu Kuan intently. He wanted to see the truth from the eyes of this cunning Chinese man!

What is the purpose of widening your road?

But he couldn't find any flaw in this reason.

After a while, the Jewish man carefully responded: "I spent $911 million when I bought Fahrenheit 900/. You should at least let me make some profit."

This bastard never speaks a word of truth.

It was later revealed that Harvey's actual purchase price was 600 million, and this incident was recorded in the book "Inside Hollywood" by Hollywood reporter and writer Epstein.

This Epstein is a writer, not the one who runs Lolita Island.

The Jewish An Lushan's wealth increased by 50% with just one word.

"Forget it then. I already said it was speculation. Such high costs and benefits are simply not proportional."

"Let's continue discussing the cost of 'The Thief'."

Harvey looked a little unhappy, but he still didn't miss any fluctuations in Lu Kuan's expression.

"What do you think of the 300 million I just mentioned?"

"No!"

Lu Kuan said arrogantly, "Harvey, you are also an insider. Quentin is my friend, so I will tell you straight."

"I met with Luc Besson and Laurent from MK2 this morning. You should know their relationship with Cannes."

"Also, this year's chairman, Patrick, is a friend of Lauren's, and my compatriot Jiang Wen is also one of the judges!"

"I'm very confident of winning the Palme d'Or!"

Harvey couldn't believe it, but he had to believe it. Lu Kuan described it in too much detail and too confidently!
"If you don't believe me, we can make a bet. If I win the Palme d'Or, I'll give you 600 million. If I don't, I'll sell it to you for 100 million!"

"Do you dare to bet?"

The Jew was dumbfounded: "This..."

Suddenly there was a ring, Lu Kuan glanced at his phone, it was Luc Besson!
What an assist!
The private rooms in high-end restaurants are very private, so he turned on the speakerphone and took the initiative.

"Hello Mr. Luc Besson, I think there's room for negotiation regarding the proposal you and Mr. Laurent from MK2 just made!"

"I wonder how confident Mr. Lauren is that I'll win the Palme d'Or?"

Luc Besson on the other end of the phone was stunned.

Is this a fool?
He looked so righteous just now, how come he changed his mind in less than half an hour?
He and Lauren had previously set up a trap together. If they could trick Lu Kuan into handing over the copyright, they would split the profits.

Is this another drama? "Well... Lu, of course, please trust the credibility of such a veteran filmmaker. You have to know that Patricia has been his friend for decades."

“Lauren has a lot of influence on him!”

Harvey in front of him was stunned after hearing this!
How the hell are you as dirty as me?
Boss Lu felt that the conversation should end here, as Harvey had already been shocked enough.

"Okay, let's talk later."

Boss Lu slammed his phone on the dining table and cast a fierce glance at the fat Jewish man across from him.

"What do you mean, Harvey?"

"He...are they looking for you to buy the European rights?"

"Yes, I have sold them the European rights at a low price. In return, they will help me lobby the Cannes jury."

"Just like when you lobbied Oscar, you should know best!"

Jewish An Lushan laughed out loud!
It's better to be open! If you're open, just name the price directly. Don't you, Lu Kua, want "Fahrenheit 911/"? Let's talk about the price clearly!
"Lu, we've dealt with each other a few times. I offered $400 million for Thief, and I wanted $911 million for Fahrenheit 1000/!"

Without waiting for Lu Kuan to refute him, he continued, "You have to know that even I can't guarantee that anyone will win an Oscar!"

"Their guarantee isn't 100%, so I can't just offer you a higher price. You have to understand that!"

Boss Lu was heartbroken: "Xavi, is this how you treat your Chinese friends?"

"You asked for 400 million for 'Thief', so I'm going to negotiate for 'Fahrenheit 911/950' too. 50 million! Is it okay for you to make ?"

Harvey was secretly delighted.

Silly boy, I only spent $600 million.

He pretended to hesitate for a while and asked to go out to make a phone call.

He was going to make one last attempt.

"Hey, Eisner, I'm in Cannes. I think Fahrenheit 911/ has great potential. Please discuss it with the board and allow me to distribute it worldwide!"

The person on the other end of the line was Michael Eisner, the current CEO of Disney.

"I've rejected you for the eleventh time, Mr. Weinstein. If you continue to be stubborn, I will consider whether Disney still needs to hold your Miramax shares."

There was a dead tone on the phone. Harvey was furious. He couldn't bear to be associated with such a brat!
He quickly adjusted his expression and turned to go into the house.

"I just discussed this with Mr. Eisner at Disney."

"Although I am very reluctant, I have to agree to your transaction request."

He feigned regret and sighed, "Lu, Fahrenheit 911/ is yours."

Please be nice to her!

I thought I was going to lose all my money, but I didn’t expect Lu Kuan to be so easy to cheat this time. I easily made back my money and even earned an extra $350 million!
"Well, if I fail in this speculation, I hope Mr. Harvey can give me a bigger profit in the next transaction."

"Just like I gave in to you this time."

"Of course, we Jews are always grateful to our friends!"

Harvey agreed repeatedly, his joy beyond words.

Boss Lu suppressed his ecstasy and walked out of the restaurant and got into a taxi.

"Hahahahahaha!"

The driver turned his head and glanced at the crazy Asian man, wondering if he had picked up a psychopath.

Paying a few million dollars for "Fahrenheit 5000/911" with a future net profit of million US dollars.

The main funds for acquiring Golden Harvest have been gathered to about 80 to 90 percent.

He called Emile and asked him to make a deal offer to Miramax through his American company.

Luc Besson on the other side couldn't hold back any longer. Knowing that "Shoplifters" had a great chance of winning an award, there was no reason not to grab it in advance.

Anyway, the negotiations between MK2 and Lu Kuan have broken down.

"Lu, are you interested in coming to the party I'm organizing tonight?"

"Tom Cruise and his ex-wife Nicole Kidman, Brody and other Hollywood stars will be there."

"You can bring your female companion with you, and I believe she will reward you with a happy night."

Cannes is one of the three major film festivals in Europe with the strongest commercial atmosphere.

This is not only reflected in the complexity of the trading market, but also in the fact that countless producers, directors, and commercial sponsors have frequently gathered and held parties in the past half month, looking for opportunities to reach cooperation.

As a native of France, Luc Besson has a strong appeal and this is his regular program.

In addition to the guests he invited, other small-time celebrities or reporters who wanted to come in had to buy tickets, which usually cost around 2000 to 5000 euros.

After a film festival, you can earn hundreds of thousands of euros just by collecting party tickets.

This is the wealth and business acumen of this director who has evolved into a businessman.

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Luc Besson."

Boss Lu readily agreed and prepared to take Bingbing with him to take advantage of the popularity.

He also has his own goal: to find partners for his next science fiction film.

If you want to get something, get the best one.

Later, Bingbing went to Paris to attend the LV special show. At that time, her status was so high that she could only sit in the second row. However, before the show started, she ran to the first row to take a photo with Gong Li, and arranged for reporters and media to do some promotion.

Then soft articles with titles like "Fan Bingbing appeared on the LV show in cheongsam, competing with Gong Li for beauty" were released.

The audience who didn’t know the situation thought that the two were of the same level.

She is a natural player in the entertainment industry and is very good at taking advantage of the situation. As long as she is given a platform, she can do a lot of things.

If Bingbing is so good at freeloading, how could her entertainment industry mentor, Boss Lu, not be any better?

(End of this chapter)