Flame Films finally invested in "Chainsaw" according to the plan negotiated by the "Fu Ji Restaurant Meeting", with a production cost of 3 million and all its copyrights; "Father of Chainsaw" Wen Ziren and Ray Warner are both paid zero, but they respectively enjoy 10% of the North American box office revenue and 7.5% of DVD sales; as for the overseas box office, video tape sales and rentals, DVD rentals, TV broadcasts, etc., are not included.

3 million is twice as high as Wen Ziren's original budget of 1.5 million, and Ray Warner will play the leading actor with zero pay, and the total remuneration of other cast and crew will be controlled within 1 million, and 2 million will be used for filming expenses, including scenes, props, bloody effects and other places. Wen Ziren and Ray Werner laughed happily: "There is so much money that I don't know how to spend it." ”

They are all very confident that they can use the three million to create a classic, unique B-grade horror film.

The Flame Film Production Department will select suitable producers to join forces with them, Wen Ziren said that the filming can be completed in half a month at the earliest, at most a month, and even on Halloween in November this year. But there is no need to be in such a hurry, because if independent films want to stand out, in addition to the film itself is good enough, the publicity work should not be taken lightly.

After receiving Wang Yang's strong optimism and direct instructions, Peter Wilkes, who originally admired "Chainsaw" very much, immediately raised the level of attention by several levels, and this is a series of horror films that can be made into 6, 9, or even 12 films! Who in the Flame Group and in the entire film industry does not know what the chairman of the money-grabbing chairman likes, even if it is a stone, in fact, there is a big piece of gold hidden in it.

The plan of the Flame Group is to immediately launch a "no-book publicity", that is, to build an official website on the Internet and advertise in the scattered places of horror movie fans, and the publicity axis is "a horror film that Magic Young admires and is very optimistic about!"

You must know that Magic Young has an indelible place in the hearts of horror movie fans, many people "must rewatch "Ghost Record" once a year", the camera techniques and horror details in this DV movie are all a masterpiece, and some people even named him "Horror Master". How many horror movie fans are looking forward to it day and night hoping to wake up the next day, and suddenly see the newspaper saying "Amazing Yang returns to psychological horror!", and now the "Master of Horror" strongly recommends the bloody horror film "Chainsaw", although this is a fire movie's own product, but horror movie fans who saw the news couldn't help but be interested, they thought that unless Magic Yang was stupid or had the wrong vision, he would not be so stupid as to destroy his name.

But this effect alone is far from enough, Flame Films will arrange for "Chainsaw" to participate in next year's Saint-Denis Film Festival, Scream Film Festival and other important film festivals, and then launch it in April. If the film is really a blockbuster, it will be a good opportunity to start the name of FM's independent films, attract more independent filmmakers, and attract more audiences.

Although "Chainsaw" is optimistic about Wang Yang, it has not attracted any attention from the media and other film companies except for believing in his fans. It's just an independent film, and the Sundance Film Festival now has more than 100 films participating in the film every year, and countless unsuccessful films, but more importantly, Wen Ziren is a 25-year-old Chinese director, and he can't be an Australian relative of Wonder Young, right?

Another plan of "Fu Ji Restaurant Meeting" is a drag racing crime movie, which has been determined to be directed by Lin Yibin, with a production cost budget of 60 million; but other things have not been decided, and the script and story have to be created by the screenwriter, as well as the producer, etc.; As for the candidates for the starring lineup, although Michelle Rodriguez and Wang Yang are good friends, but because of the relationship between the "Fast and Furious" series, she is naturally not in the scope.

It's hard to find an actor and actress, but it's not difficult to find a suitable Biao Han hot girl.

In the office of the chairman of the board of directors of Flame Films, Wang Yang looked at the "Eliza Dushku" in the mobile phone address book and dialed it, in order to promote the effect and the quality of the film, he will be the producer in this film tentatively named "Fury", he will not supervise too much, but the style and tone of the script and story, the later editing will be asked, and the starring candidates will be finalized.

Hearing the confused "hello?", he leaned back on the rotating chair and spun around, looked at the pot of daffodils on the desk, and said, "Is it Miss Eliza Dushku? I'm Wang Yang." ”

On the streets of Los Angeles, Eliza Dushku, who was holding a handbag, stopped in her tracks, and she hurriedly looked at the trees and vehicles around her, a little unsure of what to say, and quickly thought to herself: "Could it be some kind of prank? How can he have my number? Oh! Why did he contact me for the audition for "Youth Musical"?

She will never forget that audition, not because the audition process was particularly interesting, but because the result was unforgettable. At first, she still felt that she had passed 90 percent, because Wang Yang seemed very satisfied at that time, and said something like "Miss Dushku, you played a great role in "True Lies"!" His smile was charming, maybe it was the fame of "Wonder Boy", anyway, she felt that he had a maturity beyond his peers at that time.

She likes mature and funny men the most, but if that man is the same age as her, she prefers it, and she remembers saying to Jessica Alba, "I really want to date him." Then she lost to Jessica, probably because of their relationship that they had known for a long time, and then she signed "Idle Hands" in a very sullen mood, she was not very willing to act in any horror comedy, she wanted to act in a song and dance film, she wanted to play "Youth in Song and Music".

But reality is like a train that can't be stopped, many things are decided by themselves in a second, or others decide whether to go left or right, those are two completely different paths, no turning back.

"Idle Hands" was beaten very badly by "Singing and Dancing Youth" in the end, and this year's "Xinding Arrives" was also beaten very badly by "Sweetheart...... Of course, all these things have passed, but what is the purpose of Magical Young this time? Eliza thought of a possibility, and her steady heart suddenly jumped: "Is he going to ask me to make a movie?" "Mit-21-team"?!"

"Hello?" Seeing that she didn't speak for a long time, Wang Yang blinked suspiciously, it's normal for others not to know him, but Eliza Dushku doesn't remember? He said again: "It's that director Wang Yang, "District 9", "Juno...... Miss Dushku, we've seen it before in auditions for "Youth Musical". ”

Eliza couldn't help but smile, she might not know who Eliza Dushku was, but how could she not know who Wang Yang was? She walked up and continued, and said with a smile: "Mr. Wang, I know you, Magic Young, of course. I also remember the audition for "Youth Musical", is there anything going on?"

"Well, it's about the movie. Wang Yang picked up a model of a sports car on the table, slowly drove in the air, and said: "Flame Movie is going to make a series of drag racing movies, the first one is 60 million investment, directed by Justin Lin, you shouldn't know him;

Although the script of "Fury" has not yet been finalized, and the screenwriter has not been seen, the script of a purely commercial film is not "Schindler's List" or "The Shawshank Redemption", everything has a "format", which is generally divided into two parts: story and character, and several screenwriters, directors and producers discuss together, and consider and create it completely from a commercial point of view.

As for the character part, you can design it first and then find a suitable actor, or you can first determine the temperament of the preliminary actor and then shape this role. What kind of heroine does "Fury" need? sexy, spicy, adrenaline-pumping. Eliza Dushku is sexy and spicy, her acting skills are passable, and she is age-appropriate and has a low salary. If you refer to the character setting of "Fast and Furious", she is the position of Jordana Brewster.

"Oh!" Eliza responded, feeling a little disappointed in her heart, it wasn't a movie directed by Magic Young! But she immediately felt very excited, he was the producer, and this was the heroine of a 60 million cost movie! And the cost of "The New Ding Arrives", in which she played the heroine before, was only 13 million, but with another box office fiasco, she now has no new film appointments, and the agent said that she may need to return to the screen first.

But Wonder Young seemed to suddenly remember that she was such a person, the heroine of a drag racing movie, and her luck was coming? Eliza hurriedly said, "Oh, I'm interested!" She looked at a red sports car whizzing by on the road and smiled: "I like cars!"

Wang Yang smiled happily, put down the sports car model, and said: "Eliza, I'm just going to talk to you now, and I'll talk about the specific audition when the script comes out, but I think it's you." He hasn't forgotten the audition four years ago, and knows what Eliza's temperament and camera sense are, which are actually somewhat similar to Jessica, but the sweet side is missing, but it is definitely suitable for "Fury".

He continued: "The film will probably start shooting early next year, and now I don't want to have any problems with the schedule. When the script is ready, we will talk to your agent in detail. Over there, Eliza smiled happily: "Okay, thank you very much for this opportunity!" Wang Yang smiled: "Well, then bye!"

"Bye-bye. Eliza put her phone in her handbag excitedly and sluggishly, and walked with her head blank for a while before she slowly regained consciousness, and he said, "I think it's you"......? A happy and excited smile slowly appeared on her face.

Da - the office door was knocked, Wang Yang, who was looking at the computer screen, said "Come in", Mark Slunt in a black suit and plaid tie opened the door and walked in, he sat down on the chair in front of the table, handed a document to Wang Yang, and said with a smile: "My boss, a few days ago we said that the company had a vacant series, but I didn't expect that now there are suddenly three series plans, and then four more in "The Hangover". ”

Youth movies are synonymous with Disney, and they are also a sharp weapon for flame movies since their inception, and the "Dancing Youth" series has not only brought more than 800 million global box office, but also a large number of fans who love flames, how can they give up this piece of song and dance market? After "Youth Musical", "Sweetheart" is like a pioneer who warms up hip-hop and setting, and "Dancing Out of My Life" (step-up) is the work that has become a series.

Anne Fletcher will continue the setting of the integration of the dance city and the real world of "Sweetheart", with an investment of 15 million, and the new screenwriter and producer to create a new song and dance movie "Dance Out of My Life". The world of the film is timed after "Sweetheart", following the setting and history, writing new characters and stories, with the goal of becoming a long-term series that is one every year or two years.

"Chainsaw", which represents the horror film market, plans to stabilize one per year, and "Fury" in the drag racing action market and "The Hangover" in the R-rated comedy market are both produced every two years, provided that all four projects can achieve the expected results.

Why didn't Flame follow the trend of superhero adaptations caused by "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" and make a superhero series blockbuster?

Basically, the superheroes that deserve to be brought to the big screen are concentrated in the hands of two comic book companies, D.C and Marvel, and as early as 1969, the d.c comics, which owned superheroes such as "Superman", "Batman", "Green Lantern", "The Flash", "Wonder Woman" and the Justice League, were acquired by Time Warner Group, and Warner Bros. Pictures would not let anyone else touch these heroes.

What about the Marvel comics with Avengers heroes such as "X-Men", "Spider-Man", "Fantastic Four", "Hulk", "Thor", "Captain America" and so on? It's still an independent company controlled by Stan Lee, and it uses a single adaptation with film companies, such as "X-Men" with 20th Century Fox, "Spider-Man" with Sony/Columbia, and now "Hulk" directed by Ang Lee and still in production by Universal Pictures.

It seems that there are heroes such as "Fantastic Four" to bring fire movies to the big screen with Marvel? These heroes are not without the covetousness of big corporations, but Stan Lee and Marvel Comics have to strategically activate these treasures step by step, whenever they say "We're interested in adapting this one, who's going to do it?" Paramount, Sony, Fox, ...... All rushed up.

Why should flame movies compete with other big companies now? Wonder Young? Hollywood does not have only one director who can make movies, but adapting a superhero blockbuster has to consider more factors.

This is two different natures from the acquisition of Blue Sky Studios, and what everyone wants to get now, will Marvel Comics take the risk of letting an independent film adapt its own star, or will it choose a behemoth mainstream studio? Wouldn't it be that independent companies with financial strength, such as New Line, Miramax, and Dimen, don't want to fight side by side with superheroes? The problem is that there is no chance.

Of course, the superheroes of the second order team still have a chance, after all, there are more than 5,000 heroes under the umbrella of Marvel Comics. 5,000 heroes sound terrifying, but not every comic book character and story is suitable for the big screen, some of which are old and not in line with the aesthetics of the times, and some heroes are not popular at all, and even hardcore comic book fans don't know them, so why adapt?

There are also some stories that are not suitable for the style, and it can be said that only a few people in the Avengers are suitable for adaptation, so they return to the situation of competing with large companies, leaving some marginal popular heroes to choose from. (In 04, Lionsgate put "The Punisher" on the screen with a production cost of 33 million, and the global box office was only 54 million; in 08, "The Punisher 2" with a production cost of 35 million was 10 million at the global box office.) It takes a lot of money to shoot any superhero well, and the production cost of 100 million is already a ridiculous amount, and 150 million or 200 million has become not surprising.

The whole cycle from production to release usually takes two years, and in the end, the total cost of production + publicity + miscellaneous may be 200 million, but it has only received 4-500 million global box office...... Of course, film companies don't make stupid deals, although it is likely to make a small or loss-making at the box office, but with other peripheral income, there will be a good income.

What if it's completely messed up? A well-funded corporation may be held accountable and stop making a sequel, but a loss of 100 million or 200 million is very fatal for an independent film company, and of course the flame movie will not go out of business if it encounters such a situation, but there is no doubt that superhero blockbusters and marginal superhero blockbusters are not suitable commercial investments now.

The big cake of superheroes is far from being as beautiful as it seems, but the beautiful "X-Men", "Spider-Man", "Batman", "Superman" and other guys have long belonged.

But as long as there is the right opportunity, Flame Films will still try its best to compete with other big companies for the adaptation rights and gradually develop some high-cost series of films, but the task now is to quietly develop its own power. If you succeed in creating four trump cards such as "Chainsaw" and "The Hangover", plus "Ice Age" in terms of CG animation, it is definitely more stable and enviable than producing a high-cost and high-risk superhero film that sells well and makes money.

"Mark, these four series are important plans for the next decade of flame cinema. Wang Yang looked at Mark Slimt on the other side, and said: ""Chainsaw" and James will be successful very quickly, you know horror movies are like that." I think the banner of horror films in our company will be carried by James in the future. He can continue to make "Chainsaw 2", "Chainsaw 3", or any other horror movie idea, we all agreed to invest, he definitely has what it takes to become a horror master. ”

Thinking of Wen Ziren's style, he couldn't help but smile and said, "This guy's mind is full of scary things. Mark Slunt shrugged his shoulders, and Wang Yang thought again: "Justin's drag racing movie needs a little more patience, but maybe you don't need to, maybe the first part will be a big success, who knows?" ”

"Haha!" Wang Yang rolled his eyes with a smile, he was a little afraid to hear this sentence now. After thinking for a while, he smiled and said: ""Dance Out of My Life" doesn't take much time, and now it has been accumulated, Annie will do it! Mark, as long as we build these four plans and continue the policy of the film and television library, Flame will definitely be the No. 1 of independent film companies. ”

Mark Slant had a noncommittal expression, not so optimistic and confident, and smiled, "Hey, that sounds great." Wang Yang smiled: "Of course, but I think we won't have only them in the next ten years, you know that life is like a box of chocolates." Mark smiled and spread his hands, "I think it's right, who would have thought I'd be the CEO of No.1 Independent Films?"

"Man, look at it. Wang Yang snapped his fingers, tapped the folder with the plan written on it, and said with a smile: "Start with "The Hangover" first. ”

After the two talked for a long time, Mark Slant left, and Wang Yang slowly spun his chair and looked at the names of the movies on the folder file, "Chainsaw", "Dance Out of My Life", ...... He suddenly raised his eyebrows, remembering that the directors of "Dance Out of My Life" 2 and 3 in the future were all chefs' sons and Chinese directors Jon Zhu and Zhu Haowei. It seems that Zhu Haowei is still studying at USC, and he thinks that if Anne stops directing in the future, he can also find Zhu Haowei to take over.

Thinking of USC, I immediately thought of Nancy, and they hadn't been in touch for a while, except for the congratulations on the release of "District 9". Wang Yang picked up the mobile phone on the desk, sniffed the pot of blooming daffodils vigorously, dialed Nancy, and said with a smile: "Nancy, didn't bother you, did you? I remember that I was not in class at this time, how are you doing?"

On the campus of USC, Nancy, wearing a blue bucket hat and holding a few books in her left hand, walked on the forest road, her face was full of energy, and she smiled at her mobile phone: "Very good, I now eat three big hamburgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner." Wang Yang suddenly smiled and said, "It seems that you are as fat as Harry and Kevin Smith now?"

"yes! I'm the next Kevin Smith...... No, it's the next magic Jan. Nancy also laughed, she looked down at the book in her arms a few times, and said with a smile as she walked: "I only know now that you are powerful, and your notes are more thorough than the teacher's explanation." Director, I'm literally a classroom star now, haha, they don't know I'm possessed by you. ”

Listening to Wang Yang's laughter, Nancy thought about the interesting things of the past few days, and said mysteriously: "In the movie appreciation class two days ago, do you know which movie we watched? "District 9"! Director, you used those psychological suggestion shots really vividly, I didn't even notice when I watched them, the teacher gave us an analysis one by one, we just sighed, no wonder it was so uncomfortable to watch! And then some people said that Wang Yang is not psychopathic? What a terrifying person!"

She greeted a few classmates passing by with a smile and continued to smile: "Then I said, no, I was Wang Yang's assistant director in "Juno", I know his temper, and he is very good at appealing! ”

"Ha!" Wang Yang stood up and came to the window, looked at the street scene outside that was not lively, and said with a smile: "Nancy, seriously, there are many people who have been my assistant directors, and you are the one who makes me the most comfortable." So hurry up and finish your degree and come to me. Nancy gave an exaggerated wow and smiled happily, "It's a great honor! ”

"But you can't be completely brainwashed by the academics, I don't want those dumb geese. Wang Yang pretended to be serious, and Nancy said disdainfully: "Joke! How can I be regarded as a director from the Sundance Film Festival? Okay, I'm just a passerby in Park City." ”

Thinking of her stubborn and embarrassed appearance at that time, Wang Yang couldn't help but smile, thought of something again, and asked with interest: "Do you want to participate in the filming of independent films? Our company has a horror film "Chainsaw" that is about to be filmed, and they are forming a crew, you can go to interview for part-time handymen. Help on Saturdays, Sundays, and when there are no classes, and you are guaranteed to learn a lot. ”

"Okay!" Nancy was naturally very interested, and as she walked towards the dormitory building, she asked, "Tell me the contact information?"

(To be continued)