After the two sides reached a preliminary intention in Cannes, Ang Lee and Xu Ligong proposed that the formal negotiations be moved to Los Angeles, and Ronan agreed very happily, knowing that the two wanted to sign a formal contract in Los Angeles to obtain more reliable legal protection.

Ronan's purpose is simple, to buy out all the North American rights of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" at one time, and the better the agreement, the better it will be for him and Embassy Pictures.

With the all-important buyout fees negotiated, the negotiations went largely smoothly, but there were differences.

For example, Embassy Pictures proposed that the main creative personnel of the crew, including Ang Lee, must cooperate with the North American publicity and distribution plan, and Zongheng International Pictures asked Embassy Pictures to bear all personnel expenses.

This film, Ronan will try to push it to the awards season, last year I saw a lot of practical operations, and also analyzed many classic cases, and now that there is a suitable film, he also wants to give it a try.

The so-called Oscar promoter also broke out step by step.

The most important publicity plan for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is actually the promotion of the awards season.

Fortunately, the honor of the Oscar is a huge temptation for everyone in this crew, not to mention getting the little golden man, it is possible to be nominated, so that the main creators of the crew will pay out of their own pockets, and it is estimated that many people are willing.

Besides, just let them cooperate with the embassy films.

This minor disagreement did not pose much of an obstacle, and after five days of tug-of-war negotiations, the two sides formally signed the licensing agreement.

For $8 million, Zongheng International Pictures transferred the North American rights of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" except for the sequel to Embassy Pictures, and Embassy Pictures paid a one-time buyout fee to ensure that the film would be released in North American theaters, and the minimum release size would not be less than 500 theaters.

Other small details are basically in line with various provisions of copyright law and Hollywood industry rules.

A director like Ang Lee, who has worked hard in Hollywood for many years, also understands some operating rules in the circle.

Ronan didn't think about digging a hole either, and it was enough to buy out the copyright of this movie at one time.

Buying out copyright is also a basic condition for large-scale investment in publicity.

Foreign films enter the North American market, and agency distribution is a minority, and most of them buy out copyrights.

"This martial arts movie is different from Hong Kong martial arts films. ”

In the conference room of Embassy Pictures, a discussion on "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was being held, and Thomas, director of the theatrical distribution department, did not hide his worries, saying: "Martial arts films are originally niche, and the acceptance of this subversive genre is a problem. ”

If Ronan hadn't advocated the introduction of this film, Thomas would have thought that the person who made the decision was dizzy.

Terry, director of offline distribution, said: "Ahn Lee is also a typical niche director. ”

García Rodríguez, who had just returned from Argentina, was not particularly informed and did not speak.

Alan Albert joins the company and does not question the boss.

David Villa, Director of Publicity, looked at Ronan and asked, "Do you have any special ideas or plans for publicity?"

As soon as these words came out, several other people instantly remembered that bad movies like "Blair the Witch" had all turned decay into magic in Ronan's hands......

Several people's eyes turned to Ronan in unison, as if they saw hundreds of millions of dollars in income again.

Ronan smiled and said, "I don't have any special ideas, I just think this film is very interesting." He said simply: "The beautiful scenery in the film, the humanistic atmosphere rich in oriental ancient charm, is actually superficial, and the content is completely a Western story, I talked to Ann Lee, this is an oriental version of "Sense and Sensibility". ”

"I feel that way, too. Alan Albert said: "Because of Danny's relationship, I know a little bit about Eastern culture, and this film is full of Western ideas except for the expression. ”

Everyone else is lost in thought.

Ronan added: "It may be easier for North American audiences to understand and understand the film than they think, and we can also use the concept of science fiction in our promotion." ”

"Think sci-fi propaganda?" asked David Villa.

Ronan said: "That's what it means, but in moderation, how to do it, David, you come up with a plan." ”

This is not his nonsense, as he watched the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the news about "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" that I saw in my previous life also recalled some things, including the distributor's promotion of the concept of science fiction films in the promotion of ordinary American audiences.

And unlike the promotion of "Blair the Witch", this did not cause any negative effects, in the eyes of many American audiences who are not familiar with martial arts films, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a super soft sci-fi.

"Okay. David Villa, after experiencing the baptism of publicity for "Blair the Witch", was not at all ambiguous, saying: "I will make a plan accordingly as soon as possible." ”

Ronan said to Thomas: "You communicate with the theater company that when the film is released, the first theaters will be close to the Chinese community." ”

Thomas, of course, knew that this was the safest way to get the screen, saying, "I get it. ”

Garcia then asked, "When will it be released?"

"December!" Ronan answered: "The goal of this film is awards season. ”

Alan Albert asked, "Oscar?"

"Let's try it, and getting a couple of Oscar nominations means a huge benefit," Ronan said. Now the North American rights to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are all in our hands, and if possible, we want to maximize the benefits. ”

Garcia asked, "Is it the best foreign language film?"

Ronan nodded: "Priority is given to the best foreign language film." Garcia, you start looking for a professional awards season PR agency next week to strategize for the future. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has already premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and it is impossible to compete in the Berlin Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival. ”

In order to compete in one of Europe's three major film festivals, a film must premiere at the current festival.

"So be it. Ronan thought for a moment and said, "Try to apply for the Toronto Film Festival competition unit, and try to sign up for the outpost awards in the awards season as much as possible." ”

"Okay. Garcia said.

It's only May, and it's still early before the awards season starts at the end of November and the beginning of December, but a film that hits the awards season often starts at the Cannes Film Festival and even earlier at the Saint-Denis Film Festival.

Ronan plans to spend most of the film's investment in the Oscars, which will be released in December, which does not conflict with publicity such as expanding the film's popularity.

As for whether you can get an Oscar nomination or even an award, it depends not only on operation, but also on luck.

For example, competitors, and competitors' input.

Fortunately, the best foreign language films are all from outside North America, and most of the producers have little influence in North America, and the distributors are unlikely to invest huge sums of money.

The gimmick of the oriental version of "Sense and Sensibility" is also very bluffing, and it is estimated that it can satisfy many proud and arrogant white old men: You see, I am dressed in Oriental clothes on the outside, and I am all Western on the inside......

Don't underestimate these psychological effects, the Oscars' political correctness is the epitome of Hollywood.

In a few years, the quality of the film will play a further role in the Oscar selection, and some tattered films can be nominated or even golden statuettes just because they are politically correct.

A black movie dressed up in LGBTQ is simply an existence that opens the invincible mode.

Ronan is also observing the social situation, and as long as the timing is right, this kind of good opportunity to earn fame and gain income at the same time must not be missed.

Besides, after cooperating with Ang Lee once, maybe they can cooperate for a second time in the future.

Don't worry too much about Ang Lee's side, this great Chinese director has spent his entire career in ups and downs, and the next time he falls worse than "Riding with the Devil", he may be able to gain some favors when he pulls it up.

Five days later, Ronan and Garcia met with the head of a Hollywood agency specializing in Oscar public relations, and initially reached a cooperation intention, the other party is also a very powerful public relations company, last year had represented the Oscar business of DreamWorks' "American Beauty", and helped "American Beauty" win three heavyweight awards: Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture.

In a business like Oscar PR, it is difficult for newcomers to open the market, and the more successful the experience, the easier it is to succeed.

Oscar PR is a high-minded statement, but in fact, it is simply a process of elevating yourself and belittling your competitors, while making most of the judges have a good impression of you.

In this highly materialistic society, if you want to make a good impression on some strangers, the relevant investment must not be less.

However, once the Oscars are successful, most of the money invested in the film can be steadily earned, and even with the Oscar halo, it will become a big winner in the offline home entertainment market.

Heading into June, the stock market was still plummeting, with Ronan returning to the cast of "Human Removal Project 2" and "Spy Heavy", the former having already started filming at Warner Studios, and the latter also ending key actor training and being led by George Clint and Paul Greengrass to Europe to make final preparations on location in Europe.

Ronan also went around Europe, the crew operated relatively normally, and the problems encountered were basically within the controllable range, although the addition of a third-party guarantee allowed the crew to be supervised in all aspects, but in the future, filming and producing large projects, this will become the norm, and it can be regarded as adapting in advance.

In addition, the crew of "Fatal Bend" has also officially signed contracts with several actors from CAA, and the crew is currently applying for a tax rebate in Louisiana, and if they can get a tax rebate spot, all the locations of "Fatal Bend" will be filmed in Louisiana.

In mid-June, Ronan had just returned from Europe, and a movie about him was about to be released.

DreamWorks has launched Blair the Witch 2.