Although Zhang Ran's design is a copy of Armani's "Bamboo" series, he has not seen the real thing, so many things may not be accurate, and there is a lot of content that needs to be communicated with Guo Pei.

The two of them discussed everything from the piping and yoke of the garment to the pattern to the fabric. By the time everything was finalized, it was already ten o'clock in the evening.

Of course, just because the design is finalized doesn't mean it's ready to be made into a garment. Custom dresses are white batches, semi-finished products, and finished products, and there must be more than three trials, which are constantly modified and improved, and the number of high-end custom trials like Dior will be more.

It was already eleven o'clock when Zhang Ran returned to his room, and he sat in a chair for two minutes and turned on the computer.

As soon as he opened MSN, Neil sent a message: "Robin, I've finished reading your script!"

After receiving the notice from the Tokyo Film Festival, Zhang Ran sent the new script to Neil's mailbox. The next film will be made in the United States, and making a film in the United States is quite complicated, and the completion guarantee, insurance, and agreements with various unions are all necessary processes, and he needs someone to help him run a lot of things in the United States, and Neil is undoubtedly the best candidate.

Zhang Ran replied: "It's based on a science fiction novel, how about it, what do you think of this story?"

Neil quickly replied, "Great, the world in the script is completely different from other parallel universes, and it is based on Planck's constant, which is a cool idea." Add to that the government conspiracy and superpowers, I love this story to death! Are you going to shoot this story next?"

Zhang Ran replied: "Yes, what do you think?"

Neil pondered for a few seconds and said, "The story is a good story, and it must be very exciting to shoot, but the scene of the movie is relatively large, and there are a lot of special effects." It wouldn't have been made without $890 million!"

Zhang Ran nodded and said, "Yes, my estimate of the cost is 90 million!"

Neil knew that Zhang Ran would definitely not find the six major to cooperate, and it would take too long for the six major to operate a project. Not many other independent studios can run a $90 million project: "Which company are you going to work with, New Line, Miramax, or whatever?"

Zhang Ran said: "No, I plan to come by myself!"

Now Germans are keen to invest in films. In Hollywood's view, it is a representative of people who are stupid and have a lot of money, just like domestic filmmakers watching coal bosses. When Neil heard that Zhang Ran was going to come by himself, he thought of the Germans, and said with a smile: "Come by yourself? Raise funds yourself, do you want to pull investment from the Germans?"

Zhang Ran smiled and said: "I plan to take a sum of money from the Germans, but I don't plan to pull investment, I am ready to operate this movie according to the capital operation method of "Tomb Raider". ”

The investment in the publicity of "Tomb Raider" was $94 million, but in fact, Paramount did not spend a penny on the production. The cost is zero, so "Tomb Raider" is hailed as a model of Hollywood capital operation.

This sounds incredible, but in fact, it is possible through a range of financial means.

First of all, according to German tax law, film investors can get a tax refund in advance, and this money can be obtained before filming starts. This is true not only for German films, but also for foreign films invested with Germans, and more importantly, German law does not require films to be filmed in Germany or to work with German filmmakers. Instead, only the German production company is required to own the copyright and dividends of the film.

Before the filming of "Tomb Raider" began, Paramount sold the rights to the film that had not yet started filming to a German company for 94 million. Next, Paramount leased the film back for $83.8 million for 20 years, and Paramount immediately earned $10.2 million. The German company nominally owns the rights to the film, and according to German tax law, the company receives a tax refund equivalent to about 10% of the future film's revenue, which is a benefit of the German company.

The UK tax law has similar provisions for tax refunds on investment in films. The only difference between Germany is that British law requires that films subject to tax rebates be filmed in the UK, or partially filmed and produced in the UK, or employed British filmmakers, so Paramount hired several British actors and technicians. Such. Paramount used the same means to sell the rights to the film to a British bank, from which it made another $12 million.

Next, Paramount pre-sold the overseas distribution rights of "Tomb Raider" to film distribution companies in Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and sold a total of $65 million.

Through the above three moves, Paramount received a total of $87.2 million, and the remaining budget of less than $7 million was obtained through the sale of the film's rights to broadcast on US pay television. In this way, Paramount solved the problem without spending a penny on the budget of the movie.

Of course, this mode of operation is only effective for large-investment commercial films, because the expensive lawyer's fees and intermediary fees are not affordable for ordinary small-budget films, and more importantly, the overseas distribution rights of ordinary films are bought only after the film is made, and the filmmakers see the sample film and think that it can be sold for money; That's the real reason why Hollywood's big six studios love to make blockbusters!

Neil knows that this mode of operation is crucial to one thing, the fame of the work. Tomb Raider is based on the game, and the Tomb Raider game has a very large global influence and has a huge fan base.

Zhang Ran's script is based on Chinese science fiction novels, and he has no influence overseas, and Zhang Ran himself is also a rookie director, so he has no fame overseas, and it is extremely difficult to pre-sell.

Neil asked: "The budget of the movie is 90 million, excluding the 20 million in the United Kingdom and Germany, you still have to pre-sell 70 million, which is neither a sequel nor an adaptation of a masterpiece, and you yourself are not famous, it is very difficult to pre-sell, not to mention 70 million in pre-sales, which is simply impossible." ”

Zhang Ran nodded and said: "Yes, this movie must find a big star, and it must be a particularly popular star, so I plan to find Keanu Reeves." His temperament is close to the image of the character, and he has a strong appeal overseas, so it is much easier to pre-sell with him. ”

Neil thought for a moment, Keanu Reeves is indeed a very suitable candidate, the sequel to "The Matrix" has been filmed and will be released soon. It is completely possible to take advantage of the east wind of "The Matrix" for pre-sale.

However, Neil still feels that the problem is very big: "The budget of the movie is 90 million, excluding the 20 million in the United Kingdom and Germany, you have to pre-sell 70 million, even if the actor is Keanu Reeves, it is unrealistic to pre-sell this number." ”

The price of the pre-sale of the film is made by the buyer according to his own expectations of the film. To put it simply, if the French distribution rights are pre-sold, then the French buyers will have an estimate of how much money the film will earn. If he thinks he can sell for 100 million, then the pre-sale price is 30 million, and if it is 40 million, he won't make any money. If you want to pre-sell 70 million US dollars, it will take more than 210 million yuan for overseas companies to recover the cost, which is too difficult.

Zhang Ran also knows this: "My goal is to solve the 50 million fund through pre-sale, of course, it is also difficult to solve the 50 million by Keanu Reeves alone, so I plan to find a famous producer and use his and Keanu Reeves' fame to pre-sell, at the same time." I need him to help me with capital operation, and now I have a good candidate. ”

"Who?"

"Luc Besson. He is the chairman of the jury of this year's Tokyo Film Festival, and I will talk to him with the script and detailed plan after the festival closes. I'm sure he will believe in my commercial film ability after watching my films, seeing my grasp of the rhythm, and handling the shots!"

"That's why you're at the Tokyo Film Festival?"

"No, when I signed up, the festival didn't have a list of presidents, and my initial idea was to sign up for the Sundance Film Festival after the Tokyo Film Festival. Then take the project to the collaborators, but now with Luc Besson. It's a lot simpler!"

Luc Besson is nothing in North America, but he has a lot of influence in Europe, and he is the owner of Europa Films, with a huge distribution channel, if he can be asked to be a producer, plus Keanu Reeves's fame. Pre-sales in Europe are easy. Neil asked, "Can you tell me to move Luc Besson?"

"It's very likely, he just needs to help us with the financing and distribution in Europe, and his reward is the distribution rights of the whole film in France. Take Keanu Reeves' "Devil's Advocate," for example, which grossed $20 million in France, plus DVD and TV rights. The income is more than 30 million. For Luc Besson, it was a small effort to gain ownership of a Hollywood blockbuster in France, and he should have said yes. If he doesn't say yes, then I'll go find Joe Seaver!"

"Even if you can say that Luc Besson can help you solve the 50 million funds, how do you plan to solve the remaining 20 million?"

"That's why I came to you, to show you the script because I wanted you to be part of the project, and I wanted you to be the executive producer. Next there is an important thing you need to do, go to New Zealand and Toronto to see, talk to the local authorities, if our film is filmed locally, how much money can be refunded to us, our goal is 15 million, the higher the better!"

Many countries, including many states in the United States, have tax laws that provide tax rebates for film production, such as in New York State, which provides a tax credit of up to 15% of the production cost for goods and services directly used in film and television production. To put it simply, if you shoot a movie in New York State, then the New York State government will give you tax rebates and subsidies. If your movie costs $100 million, New York can get up to $15 million. Peter Jackson patted the Hobbit, and New Zealand gave Warner Bros. a $67 million refund.

However, the policies of various countries and regions are different, and the amount of tax refund is also different, and the maximum can reach 30%, so it often takes a lot of effort to choose where to shoot Hollywood movies.

Being able to participate in the whole A-level production is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Neil, and he has no reason to refuse: "No problem, but how are you going to solve the remaining 5 million?"

Zhang Ran smiled: "Don't worry, this part is the easiest to solve." I will prepare 15 million within two months, so that the budget of the film is 90 million, and 10 million mobile funds. When I get the money, I'll come to the U.S. and start the program!"

Neil was completely relieved when he heard Zhang Ran say this, and he was just about to reply "Okay", when he suddenly thought of a question: "It's almost October, and the battle in the same city is about to begin, will you come to participate?"

Zhang Ran shook his head and said: "I don't have time, I have to raise money, and I have to prepare a detailed plan, just taking the script may not convince Luc Besson." ”

Neil said, "That's a pity, many people are waiting for you to slaughter Nankai!"

Zhang Ran replied with a smile: "How boring the students of USC are, there is still a chance to slaughter the directors of USC!"

When Neil heard this, he burst out laughing. (To be continued.) )