The two continued their journey of discovery in the trading area, and Ronan glanced back, and it was almost the same as before, and the booth he had just left was crowded with people again.

Most of them are buyers from other issuing companies.

Ronan believes that if he expresses interest in a certain film and makes direct contact with the seller, it is estimated that many people will pour out and directly drop his bid.

Tony Koch asked, "That film didn't work just now?"

"Don't worry. Ronan reached out to Finch for a copy of the information, and quickly skimmed through it as he went.

There is a very simple plot introduction in the material, in just 36 hours, an unexpected car accident pushed a group of people who lived in Los Angeles before and after the incident into a domino emotional abyss.

The title of the film is "Crash", and the director, writer, and producer are the same person, named Paul Haggis.

Translated, the film is called "Crash".

Because of Ang Lee's relationship with "Brokeback Mountain", Ronan has watched "Crash".

This is the work that once defeated Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" and won the Oscar for Best Picture.

This work by Paul Haggis, which seems to have many stars, is actually a collection of out-of-fashion actors.

It seems that from this film, Sandra Bullock changed the decline after "Life and Death 2" and embarked on the road to the front line.

The production budget for the film is on the material, and the public cost shows that it is only $6.5 million.

Perhaps, the true cost will be lower.

After watching another French film, Ronan deliberately stayed for a while, this is a French musical drama, if memory serves, the former Chinese translation is called "Spring of the Cattle Herding Class".

Ronan seemed to be a little interested, at least as others seemed to be.

In fact, Ronan has always had very big doubts about the market prospects of French films other than Luc Besson in North America.

The people in the back were gathering in this direction, and Ronan said to Tony Koch, "This film is kind of interesting, you go talk to them?"

Tony Koch was not stupid, glanced at the people who were following him, and said, "You're trying to attract firepower?"

Ronan smiled and said, "After talking, I'll treat you in the evening." ”

"Okay, I attract firepower. Tony Koch knew very well that he had accompanied Ronan around this circle, and it was not suitable to see the real target: "You always have to tell me which film you fancied, right?"

Ronan whispered, "The "Crash" I just watched. ”

Tony Koch sighed: "Sure enough, Hollywood studios value Hollywood films the most. ”

Ronan said directly: "Because Hollywood films are the most suitable for the North American market." ”

dragged a European movie, even if it is a world-renowned European film such as "Two Big Smoking Guns" and "Angel Amelie", the response in the North American market is not very good, and even the former is still hitting the streets in North America to a certain extent.

Tony Koch didn't say much and said, "You go, I'll go in." ”

Ronan moved on, leaving Tony Koch and a business assistant behind, and someone else entered the booth behind, and someone else continued to follow Ronan.

Connie took out her mobile phone, dialed the phone number of a buyer from Embassy Pictures, briefly explained a few words, followed Ronan, and whispered: "Someone from Embassy Pictures is in the exhibition hall, and he will come over soon." ”

Ronan nodded, "Let's continue." ”

Shortly after Ronan left, Tony Koch had just tried to make an offer of $1 million, and someone immediately raised it to $3 million.

Tony Koch is well aware that the film has some value, but for Embassy Pictures, limited value.

The Frenchman's showroom is bustling with activity, but Tony Koch is no longer the protagonist.

Not far from here, Lionsgate's Keylor Navas stood in the booth of DEJ Productions, watching the film as if he had seen the lives of ordinary people in Los Angeles.

A seemingly ordinary car crash has triggered a series of racial discrimination issues.

This film is very socially realistic, very much in line with the social environment of Los Angeles and even many states in the United States, and it seems to be very suitable for the taste of the mainstream judges of a certain award.

Navas didn't walk away, he has been watching this film intently, and as a person who lives in Los Angeles all year round, the film can give him a lot of feelings.

But he also knows that personal feelings cannot be used as the only criterion for judging whether a film has purchase value.

There aren't many people standing here watching the film, but there are still seven or eight, and Navas is not as famous as Ronan and doesn't attract the attention of others.

Taking advantage of the interval between watching the film, Navas also quickly browsed the materials specially prepared by the producers.

Over the next 36 hours, an unexpected car accident brought together a large group of strangers who lived in Los Angeles but never met, and in just 36 hours, completely changed their lives. ”

This is the most impressive sentence in the information that impresses Navas.

The film is a group drama, with a multi-line narrative, which is difficult to film, but it is rare to shoot very smoothly and naturally, with many characters and thousands of clues, but the explanation is clear.

As for the theme, it is the issue of racial discrimination, which is very prominent in the United States.

The director put the old topic of "racial discrimination" in the foreground of the film, which seems to be very radical, but in fact it is more subtle.

For Navas, this film has an Oscar-like face.

But there are many films with long Oscar faces every year, what is the real value of such an independent small production?

It is also a gamble to win the Olympics, and if you lose, you will lose a mess.

So, to win this film and keep the price as low as possible.

If the price is too high, then give up......

Not every small indie production is called "Blair the Witch".

Over the years, there has only been one "Blair the Witch".

After watching the film and thinking about it for a few minutes, Navas went directly to the staff of the booth and identified himself and wanted to talk to the producers.

The staff immediately took him to a small makeshift office behind the booth, where Navas met a middle-aged man with an almost completely bald head.

Originally, the middle-aged man's face was a little depressed, but when he saw Navas, he quickly cheered up, first shook hands, and then introduced himself: "I am Paul Haggis, the writer, director and producer of this film. ”

Navas also introduced himself: "I'm Navas from Lionsgate. He directly stated his intention: "I just watched the clip of the movie you were showing and was very interested. ”

"Thank you. Paul Haggis smiled: "Lionsgate is interested in buying?"

The producer is already in a weak position, and coupled with his own financial difficulties, Paul Haggis is somewhat anxious.

In order to change from screenwriter to director, Paul Haggis has made a lot of efforts, and he does not hesitate to touch the bottom line that Hollywood directors generally adhere to - directors should not use their own funds to make films.

Although he has made a lot of achievements in the screenwriting industry, and even valued the old cowboy Clint Eastwood and wrote the script for his new film "Million Dollar Baby", Paul Haggis is not willing to be a screenwriter with relatively limited status and money, and it is not easy to take this step.

The most important thing is money.

The so-called DEJ production company is nothing more than a partnership he co-founded, so most of the production funds come from self-raising, and Paul Haggis almost invests all of his screenwriting income on this film.

The budget of the crew is very low, and the funds have to be used for key filming and production, but fortunately, he has been in the screenwriting industry for many years and has some connections.

For example, the actors helped a lot, and the travel expenses of people like Sandra Bullock and Don Cheadle during the filming were all out of their own pockets.

In order to save money, Paul Haggis has to use his house and his car in many scenes.

Many of the non-key actors are also Paul Haggis's neighbors who volunteer to star.

It was with this support that he was able to complete the film.

But that's just the beginning.

Like most small independent films from small companies, it's hard to shoot, but it's relatively easy, and the hardest part is getting into the distribution channel.

Many of the films that participated in the festival's trading session were in a similar situation.

There was no need for Navas to hide his intentions, and said directly: "I came here to negotiate the release of this film on behalf of Lionsgate. ”

Paul Haggis was just about to speak, but Navas said, with the strength of the distributor: "$2 million, buy out the North American distribution rights of 'Crash'." ”

He is personally optimistic about this film, but being optimistic does not mean that he has to offer a high price.

"The price is too low. Paul Haggis frowned: "I can't even get the cost back." ”

He shook his head: "The film festival is not over yet, I will wait a little longer." ”

Navas didn't want to waste too much saliva on such a small production, so he simply said: "$4 million, all North American rights to the film belong to Lionsgate." ”

Paul Haggis thought about it for a moment and said, "Sorry, I can't accept it, but the film has an investment of $6.5 million. ”

"$4 million for North American distribution. "Director Haggis, Lionsgate only needs the rights in North America, and you have income from other markets in North America," Navas emphasized. ”

With the successive failures of "City of God" and "Ambush on All Sides", Navas was much more conservative and became more cautious.

He was very optimistic about those two films, but the results were very miserable.

How could Paul Haggis not understand that this is a North American copyright, but such a small production, if the North American copyright is sold alone, what about the overseas copyright?

This is a typical film that reflects American society, and overseas studios will not be very interested.

He was about to say something more when Navas's cell phone rang.

The call came from a previous assistant: "Ronan Anderson's guy is in a showroom in Passage Five, talking to the producer about a musical comedy film. ”

Ignoring Paul Haggis's presence, Navas immediately said, "You join on behalf of Lionsgate, don't let Embassy Pictures get it easily, I'll go over." ”

"I'm sorry, Director Haggis. Navas left a business card: "You think about it, you can call me." ”

With that, he hurriedly left the exhibition hall.

Paul Haggis looked at the business card and shook his head slightly, why is it so difficult to find a suitable publisher for small productions?

After sitting for a while, the company's staff brought another person in.

"Hello, Director Haggis. The man shook hands politely with him: "I'm from Embassy Pictures......

(In reality, Lionsgate paid $4 million for the North American distribution rights to "Crash.") ）