Harvey suddenly remembered the project that he regretted for the rest of his life, he invested in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" a few years ago, and originally planned to make two parts. However, he was not optimistic about the project, and soon changed his mind, asking to make only one film, and even threatened to let Peter Jackson go if he did not agree.

Peter Jackson disagreed, and began a gamble, using his own money to recruit actors in New Zealand and shoot a 35-minute dailies. After the sample was filmed, he found New Line. After watching the samples, the new line praised it and bought "The Lord of the Rings" from Miramax and made it into a trilogy, and finally "The Lord of the Rings" achieved a box office of 3 billion worldwide.

The young man in front of him is also making a gamble, if the 90 million project is smashed, then he will never have the opportunity to direct in the future.

Harvey missed Peter Jackson and didn't want to miss out on another. He smiled and took out a business card and put it in front of Zhang Ran: "After your project starts, call me when you need a North American publisher!"

There are two types of film distributors in Hollywood, one is the big studios and the other is the independent film distributor.

The big studios are the big six studios, they have the ability to put more than 3,000 screens in their premiere week, and more importantly, these big studios have their own TV stations and media channels, and they are able to carry out overwhelming advertising battles. At the same time, because these channels are their own subsidiaries, it is cheaper than finding other media to advertise.

Independent publishers range from large to small, with large companies like Harvey's Miramax and Lionsgate having the capacity to put in more than 1,000 screens, while smaller companies have the capacity to put in a few or dozens of theaters.

Although Miramax has a good distribution ability, it is compared to the Big Six. is much weaker, Zhang Ran hopes to cooperate with the Big Six. But he didn't refuse. Buying and selling is not benevolent: "No problem, I will definitely visit when the time comes." Now I'm going to talk to Luc Besson. I'll take my leave!"

With that, Zhang Ran stood up and walked towards Luc Besson, who was laughing with a beautiful woman.

France is one of the birthplaces of cinema, both the early avant-garde and the later New Wave, which have had a significant impact on world cinema.

Turning the page to the history of French cinema, great directors are as bright as a galaxy. If you want to talk about the status of film history, the top three must be Godard, Bresson, and Jean Renoir. But when it comes to fame, when it comes to international popularity. At the top of the list is definitely Luc Besson. "Blue Sea and Blue Sky", "This Killer Is Not Too Cold", and "The Fifth Element" are all masterpieces that fans talk about.

However, in France, especially in the film critics, Luc Besson did not like it. His works are too Hollywood, and his artistry is even more criticized, and he is considered a typical surrender to business and Hollywood. In the eyes of French film critics, Luc Besson's status in film history is not as good as that of rising stars such as Cosich and Ou Rong.

Zhang Ran walked up to Luc Besson, who had a big belly, and said with a smile: "Mr. Luc Besson, can I talk to you?"

"Of course, I want to talk to you too!" Luc Besson was very happy to see Zhang Ran. He continued, "I have watched a lot of films by Chinese directors, and I like a lot of them. But your films are different from theirs, and they make me see a completely different China!"

Zhang Ran narrowed his eyes and said, "It's a great honor to hear you say that. I've seen all your movies. I especially love "The Final Battle"!"

When it comes to Luc Besson's movies, there are many people who like "This Killer Is Not Too Cold", "Blue Sea and Blue Sky", and there are also people who like "Subway". said that I liked "The Final Battle", but it was the first time I encountered it. "The Final Battle" is his debut novel. The cost is outrageously low and the production is rather crude. Curious, he asked, "Why do you like Final Battle?"

Zhang Ran said: "Although the movie is a little rough in production. But with a strong personal style, especially imaginative, and more importantly, I can feel the enthusiasm of a young director. ”

Luc Besson was stunned for a moment, and then said with emotion: "At that time, it was very simple, and the idea was very simple, that is, I wanted to make a different movie, and I was really full of enthusiasm. I can also feel this enthusiasm in your films, so keep it alive!" At this point, he paused and asked, "Your films have obvious Hollywood imprints, have you studied in the United States?"

Zhang Ran nodded and said, "Yes, the graduate students at the UCLA Film School will return to China after graduation." ”

Although Luc Besson's films are considered very Hollywood in France, he is actually not interested in Hollywood: "Many people think that Hollywood has a good environment, but Hollywood does not need Chinese films, and no one will make Chinese films better than Chinese." China has a rich cultural heritage in many ways, not only in architecture and clothing, but also in cooking, which only Chinese can photograph. It's right to go back to China!"

Zhang Ran nodded and said: "When I was studying at UCLA, I had a teacher named Antekozak, a Pole, who made "Night and Day" in 1975, which won the Best Actress Award in Berlin in 1976 and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1978. Then, he came to the United States with his wife of the Berlin actress and an Oscar nomination, wanting to conquer the United States, but he never got the opportunity to direct for twenty years.

Once, when he invited us to his house, he got drunk and cried loudly with a pile of dusty scripts, and he said, "Is there any country in the world where Poland was invaded?" Has anyone filmed these stories well? No? Isn't it a pity? Who is best suited to film Poland's suffering? It's me Antkozak! But I can't shoot it anymore!

That's when I learned that he still had movie dreams burning in him, but he didn't have a chance. I have watched "Night and Day", the level is very high, the opening is desolate and pathetic with a panning shot, and the sense of national suffering comes out, which is very powerful. If he had stayed in Poland, or even in Europe, he would have made something as great as Lawrence of Arabia. But when he arrived in Hollywood, where his style of cinema did not suit him, and no one was interested in the suffering of Poland, he could not find a chance to direct, and could only age day by day while waiting. I don't want to be like him. So I am determined to return to China!"

Luc Besson has seen such a director, full of enthusiasm. thought he could conquer Hollywood, but in the end he hit his head and broke his blood. Sighing, he said, "Hollywood is too commercial, and they're conservative." Many people in France say that my film is too Hollywood, but it is not true, no Hollywood director dares to make a story about the life of a wooden killer and an 11-year-old girl. ”

Zhang Ran laughed, when "This Killer Is Not Too Cold" was released in the United States, it received a lot of bad reviews, and many critics thought that it was immoral for a young girl to fall in love with murder.

For the bold and open French, the United States is indeed more conservative. Most of the people who colonized the Americas were Puritans, and the conservative values of the Puritans influenced the United States until the middle of the last century. It is more conservative about sex, same-sex marriage, abortion and other issues than in Europe.

Zhang Ran stopped talking nonsense, and said directly: "Actually, I came to Tokyo this time for you!"

Hearing Zhang Ran's words, Luc Besson felt a little proud in his heart, this young director was really his fan, and smiled: "This is my honor!"

Zhang Ran explained: "I have been preparing a film recently, which is a big-budget film, and I sincerely invite you to be the producer of this film. ”

Luc Besson realized that he was thinking too much, and this kid was not his fan. Rather, they want the resources they have. He is willing to support young directors, but he is not interested in literary films: "I am a producer of Europa, and this year the company has several films to produce, including "Taxi Express 3" and "Car God", so I don't have time!"

Zhang Ran took a sip of his wine glass. Unhurriedly, he said, "I know you're busy and have a lot of projects in your hands. But if our film is successful, the income may be higher than if you made a movie yourself!"

Luc Besson was stunned. The breath is loud enough. If it is a domestic director, you may think that it is arrogant. But Luc Besson didn't feel arrogant. On the contrary, he thinks that Zhang Ran is confident in his project. If a director doesn't have confidence in his own project, how can others have confidence in that project.

Luc Besson collaborated with Jet Li on "Dragon's Kiss" the year before last. Last year, he cooperated with Yuan Kui and Shu Qi to shoot "Very Human Traffickers", knowing that Chinese films can achieve box office success overseas is kung fu films, so he thinks that Zhang Ran wants to make kung fu films, and suggested: "Zhang, no one can make kung fu movies Chinese, but it costs money to make sci-fi action movies." If it is made into a Chinese film, the market is very small. Since it's a sci-fi action movie, you'd better make it into an English-language movie for global distribution. ”

In September 2000, Luc Besson founded Europa Films with the intention of creating more freely. Unlike most French film companies, Europa's films use English dialogue. This choice provides great convenience for the global distribution of the company's films, while also allowing the production of its films to attract a more international lineup.

Take the "Death Express" series, the soul of the first three parts of the series is British actor Jason Statham, and the success of Europa's strategy is enough to show the success of Europa's strategy by topping the North American weekend box office.

The French have always been proud of the French language, and Luc Besson's films are all in English and use foreign actors, which is naturally unbearable for proud French filmmakers, which is also an important reason why Luc Besson is not welcomed in France.

Zhang Ran nodded and said: "You're right, the movie I want to make is mainly in English, with a budget of about 90 million US dollars, starring top Hollywood superstars!"

Luc Besson was a little surprised to hear that the $90 million budget was a big A-class production in Hollywood, and it took a lot of courage to run a project like this. However, he also understands that Zhang Ran is a rookie director who has only made two films, and it is impossible to raise 90 million funds on his own, and he must find a powerful producer to finance, and this person is himself: "Why don't you find a producer from the United States, there are many powerful independent producers in the United States, such as Harvey!"

Zhang Ran shook his head and said: "I don't plan to introduce investors for this movie, the main funds are achieved through pre-sales, and the targets are Europe and Japan." The channels of American producers in Europe are not particularly smooth, and the pre-sale is relatively slow, and you are famous in Europe, and you are the owner of Europa Pictures, and you have business dealings with many European film companies, so it is much easier to pre-sell with you!"

Luc Besson got it thoroughly. This young man has a big heart, he wants to take the whole project into his own hands, and he doesn't want anyone to dictate him. This made him appreciate it even more, and he set up Europa Pictures to strive for undisturbed creation, but he did not rush to agree, appreciation is appreciation, and business is business: "Do you have a detailed plan?"

Zhang Ran nodded: "Yes!"

Luc Besson said: "Tomorrow morning ten years, you come to me with a detailed plan!"

Zhang Ran smiled: "Okay!" (To be continued.) )