Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 57: Buddy, your words are not good enough

Wu Chen leaned back in his chair, listening to Jason Blum's plan with a strange look on his face.

Wow, this is an appetizer before the collaboration.

Is the real business war so plain and simple?
Just as Wu Chen was still pondering, a burst of Japanese voices suddenly came from outside the door, followed by Korean voices.
"Wu, it looks like you have guests coming. I'll leave first." Jason Blum stood up to leave, but was stopped by Wu Chen.

"Jason, maybe you can help me act out a scene in advance." Wu Chen raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

"?"

Outside the door, the sea breeze blew through the corridor with a salty smell, the shadows of olive trees swayed outside the window, and the sunlight sprinkled on the stone floor, breaking into golden spots.

Zu Feng, Hu Jing, and Dong Xuan surrounded the invited international student translator, their faces full of confusion.

"What are they talking about?" Hu Jing asked with a frown.

"I don't know, it's either Japanese or Korean. I only know English and Spanish." The translator spread her hands helplessly. She only knew English and Spanish.

Fortunately, the other party also brought an interpreter. After some communication, the interpreter explained to Zu Feng and the other two:
"The person coming from Japan is Toho's distribution director Kazuhiko Yamada, and the person coming from South Korea is CJ Entertainment's representative Kim Min-ah. They are both here for the copyright of 'Dark Side'."

Before he could finish his words, the door was pushed open with a creak.

Blum pulled the door handle, turned around and said in a thick American accent:

"Wu, I think you can take this hour to carefully consider my plan.

I want the North American distribution rights, plus worldwide rights except for the territories already sold.

If I were to direct The Dark Side, it would be comparable to Lionsgate's Saw, and if I put it in Hollywood, it wouldn't be buried."

Jason Blum swore with confidence and a loud voice, and his back under the jacket had a bossy aura.

Yamada Kazuhiko and Kim Min-ah were very observant and quickly went over to their translator to whisper.

They recognized Jason Blum, a veteran face active at independent film festivals.

The two looked at each other, with a flash of vigilance in their eyes.

Is this going to be unavailable?
If they were allowed to choose, they would probably prefer Hollywood. Who doesn't want their movies to be released worldwide?

Jason Blum had just taken two steps away when Kazuhiko Yamada and Min-ah Kim hurried forward with their translator, racing against time.

There is still an hour left. We should take advantage of this opportunity to win it in one fell swoop and make a contribution to the group.

Only by continuously creating value for the group can they maintain this position.

"Ms. Jin, I was here first!" Yamada Kazuhiko smiled and pointed at his hand holding the door handle.

"Mr. Yamada, I'll step into the door first." Kim Min-a raised her head and pointed at her high heels. She took half a step ahead, her skirt swaying slightly, and her calves wrapped in flesh-colored stockings were faintly visible.

"As expected of the two kingdoms."

Wu Chen smiled secretly and pointed at Jin Minya casually, "Come one by one."

Kim Min-a raised her neck slightly, brushed the hem of her skirt with her hand, and walked in with a smile without even looking at Yan Yamada Kazuhiko.

When sitting opposite Wu Chen, she lifted her legs and placed them on top of the other leg, showing her charm.

Wu Chen saw all these little movements, but remained calm.

Women still have an advantage in negotiations, especially those who are good-looking, who can easily make people let down their guard.

At Wu Chen's signal, the translator hurried in and closed the door.

The sun was shining obliquely into the room, the coffee cup on the table was still hot, and the air was mixed with the smell of the sea and a faint perfume.

"Representative Jin, please make an offer. I'm not interested if it's too low." Wu Chen leaned lazily against the back of his chair, speaking casually, as if he was chatting about the weather.

This made Kim Min-ah, who was used to taking the initiative, a little unsure. She kept raising the price in her mind, and when it reached the upper limit she had prepared, she said, "CJ is willing to spend $25 to buy the whole package."

Wu Chen heard this and shook his head: "Not enough. If it's this price, I might as well cooperate with Hollywood. The price you offer is almost the same.

You have to know that after selling the copyright to South Korea, the value of my copyright will be diminished in Hollywood."

The cultures of China, Japan and South Korea all have the same origin in China.

Both countries have always been very enthusiastic about suspense and thriller themes.

"The Dark Side" has relatively large market potential in these two areas, which is why Wu Chen asked Jason Blum to help act in the film.

You can earn tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars just by talking, so why not do it?

As for failure?

The worst-case scenario is that we'll just have to find another company to work with. If you can afford to lose money, you're a jerk!
"28!" Kim Min-a gritted her teeth and raised the price, with a hint of pity in her eyes.

"Representative Jin, there's no need to use any honey trap on me. The tricks you're using are from China." Wu Chen glanced at him and showed no interest at all.

There is no shortage of beautiful women around him, and they are all natural. I don’t know if this one has had plastic surgery or not, but she is playing this trick on him.

"30, non-technical awards will be increased by 70%!"

Wu Chen didn't push too hard. If this hadn't happened, 25 would have been about right. Getting an extra 5 was already a pleasant surprise.

"70% is too high!" Kim Min-a smiled bitterly and shook her head. She obviously accepted the 30, but she refused to give in on the floating amount.

After several rounds of negotiation, it was finally settled at 60%.

After the negotiations ended, Kim Min-a regained her previous arrogance, walked out of the house with a cat-like gait, and passed by Yamada Kazuhiko with her head held high.

Xiao Rizu still did the same thing. He didn't ask for an exorbitant price anyway. He would just ask for another 50,000 or 80,000 after meeting his psychological expectations.

I have to say that Xiao Ri Zi is still better than Xiao Bang Zi in the suspense thriller market.

Wu Chen originally wanted to get 40, but the negotiation was unsuccessful. In the end, both sides compromised and settled on 37, with non-technical awards increased by 58%.

After sending away the two "water fish", Wu Chen was in a good mood. He had an extra tens of thousands of US dollars for no reason. This was all the start-up capital for the future.

He picked up the coffee and took a sip. The rim of the cup was still warm. The waves roared outside the window. Just when he was enjoying himself, there was another knock on the door.

A white man in a suit knocked on the door and came in. Ethan Kessler handed over his business card without hesitation and waited confidently for Wu Chen to finish reading it.

He believed that Wu Chen would be surprised when he saw that he was from Hollywood and was a senior agent of CAA.

Although he admired Wu Chen very much, he couldn't be too deliberate during the negotiation and had to raise his posture, otherwise his momentum would be weakened.

Why does this process seem so familiar?

Wu Chen took the business card and thought of Jason Blum. Did you guys in Hollywood rehearse this process?
AAC
A smile appeared on Wu Chen's lips.

It’s not that CAA is bad, CAA is one of the top agencies in Hollywood and even in the world;
There are many directors and actors signed with the company, including top directors such as Nolan, Quentin, and Spielberg.

CAA will also match and find resources based on the capabilities of the contractor.

But when you gain something, you must pay a price.

The most direct one is the commission, and the second is the agency's control over the project.

CAA agents will advise the signatory on which projects to take and may even have some power of intervention;
When they believe that a project does not fit their plans, they may persuade the contractor to give up, even if the contractor really wants to shoot it.

Perhaps this is a good choice for many directors, but this director definitely does not include Wu Chen.

"Wu, do you want to take your talent to Hollywood?"

Seeing Wu Chen's faint smile, Ethan Kessler immediately spoke in a firm yet seductive tone.

No, buddy, your rhetoric skills are not good either. You are not as good as Jason Blum.

Wu Chen was stunned for a moment and complained silently.

After ten minutes of perfunctory talk, Wu Chen finally got tired of it. On the one hand, the rhetoric was actually almost the same as what Jason Blum said, and secondly, he had no interest in CAA.

He made up a random excuse and sent the guest out.

Ethan Kessler was still confused when he stepped out of the negotiation room.

what's the situation?
Is Hollywood unwelcome?

Or is CAA about to fail?

"Maybe I'm too straightforward and don't understand Eastern culture. I need to ask Yimou Zhang for help."

Ethan Kessler still didn't quite believe that CAA+Hollywood was so unattractive, so he immediately found Zhang Yi's phone number through CAA resources and called her.

Sitges is 5 hours behind Beijing, and it is afternoon in Beijing at this time.

Zhang Yi has not been seen for half a month due to the failure in the Athens Olympics, and has been lying quietly on the old chair in the yard.

The sunlight shines through the locust trees, casting mottled shadows, and the wind blows through the branches, making a rustling sound.

A phone call broke the silence. He frowned, glanced at the overseas number, and pressed the answer button.

"Zhang"

(End of this chapter)