"York, can you tell me the specific details of the screening?" After understanding the situation, Gu Xiaofan asked the rather cunning distribution manager of Lionsgate about the conditions for screening. [No pop-up novel network]

York seemed to check the computer, and then replied: "The best I can provide is for "The Undertaker" to be released on December 27, and it is expected to be screened in a total of seven art theaters in four cities: Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Miami.

The result of the screening is that within a week, it will reach 122,500 yuan, then we can do a larger-scale release, if it is below this number, then I am afraid that the scale of the release will not be as expected. ”

Gu Xiaofan didn't know whether this condition was good or bad, turned his head to look at Chen Ke'er, and saw Miss Chen say: "He is according to the standard of 2,500 US dollars per day for a single screen, this is the standard for C-level movies, which is already very low, and it is very reasonable......

This condition does not sound harsh, but in reality, it is not easy to reach more than $120,000 for a single screen in seven theaters.

You must know that although Ang Lee's previous "The Wedding Banquet" won the Golden Bear Award in Berlin, the screening in the United States only got a single screen of $2,300......"

Gu Xiaofan understood the situation, and secretly rejoiced in his heart that Chen Keer was very familiar with the characters and events in the industry, and there was almost nothing she didn't know.

"York, I understand, I promise you a condition, I only make one request, that is, I don't accept the buyout agreement, I want a share of the box office." Gu Xiaofan looked at York on the screen and said in a deep voice.

Lionsgate's conditions seem to be harsh, but they are quite reasonable, but he is not satisfied with the fact that the reassuring model of Chinese films in North America is generally a buyout, and the distributor does not like to share, but he must have the right to share.

"Divided...... I'm afraid...... Unruly. There was a hint of contempt in York's eyes, but his tone was still very respectful:

"Director Gu, I know that you are the No. 1 director at the box office in China, but we have distribution arrangements, and you also know that if it is a share, even if it is Mr. Hasen's influence, I'm afraid I can't convince the company's senior management to ......"

This is a Chinese with a big appetite, and it is really a little self-sufficient, even the producers of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Hero", do not dare to make such a request with the North American distributor.

The United States is not like China, where there are cruel business rules, and if you can create benefits for them, then they will treat you as a close partner, even if you are an actor or a director, you have the right to negotiate with the distribution company.

But if you can't create profits for them, then no matter how famous you are and how hard the background is, they will not look at you squarely.

Compared with those Chinese-language movies released in the United States with a box office of less than one million, although "The Undertaker" still has the help of Zhou Runfa, a slightly famous actor, but it is still not enough.

"What if we come and provide publicity costs?" Gu Xiaofan suddenly made a proposal that surprised York.

This is Gu Xiaofan's bargaining chips in order to get a share of the power, for other Chinese films, their weakness in the North American market is precisely because of the lack of publicity, and after being released casually for some reason, they began to package it into DVDs in other ways to mix with other markets, and the North American distribution companies are also seriously lacking enthusiasm for the promotion of Chinese films.

For example, in 2002, "Kung Fu", which created a box office miracle for Chinese-language films in China, received more than $50 million after its release in North America.

But in fact, few people know that the film has achieved such a good result in the United States because of the Columbia company's investment in promotional costs, which reached a staggering $8 million......

However, when York heard Gu Xiaofan say this, his heart changed again, this Gu Xiaofan didn't seem to understand the U.S. distribution market, and he was blindly confident in his works, so he couldn't take advantage of his eagerness for quick success and quick profit to trick him into taking out a little more publicity expenses, and he could also take a little more commission from it.

First here, York's tone became ambiguous, reminding:

"Director Gu, you seem to underestimate me too much, although I am not a well-known publisher, but I am not a rookie, I tell you the truth, this is a project that Mr. Hasen takes special care of, so I am ready to invest $1 million in "The Undertaker" as a publicity budget ......"

In fact, York's promotion cost for "The Undertaker" is $150,000, and if it is more, he feels that it is too risky, and there is no market for non-kung fu Chinese films in the United States, and no one will be stupid enough to invest a lot of money in publicity.

If there's such a big amount of publicity, why not support English-language films in the UK or Australia? It's better than incomprehensible Mandarin, right?

York said that he had prepared 1 million, but in fact, he was defrauding Gu Xiaofan, as long as Gu Xiaofan was willing to pay $2 million for publicity, York would have enough chips to convince the company's management. Give them the right to share.

Moreover, as long as Gu Xiaofan can contribute 2 million US dollars, his personal commission of publicity expenses alone will be higher than the expected profit from the release of this movie.

Gu Xiaofan glanced at Chen Keer, and Chen Keer drew a number 13 on the table with his finger, which means that we should pay 1.3 million US dollars, and we should be able to ask Lionsgate to hand over "The Undertaker" to accept the sharing contract.

Chen Keer obviously has an insight into Lionsgate's operation methods, and probably knows what the bottom line is acceptable to York.

Gu Xiaofan nodded, and said in a deep voice: "En...... This time, our Black Feather Studio is going to spend $13 million as the publicity cost of "The Undertaker", but I have to assign the insurance company to supervise the distribution and ensure that every penny is used for the promotion of "The Undertaker......"

1300…… Ten thousand?

York was stupid when he heard it, and thought he had heard it wrong, so he quickly confirmed: "How much?" Do you mean $13 million or RMB? ”

Chen Ke'er also heard a flash of surprise in her eyes, tugged on Gu Xiaofan's sleeve, and said softly: "I wrote 1.3 million?" ”

"Really?" Gu Xiaofan deliberately pretended to be confused, and just smiled: "If you say it wrong, you say it wrong, a manly man, it is difficult to chase after a horse." As he spoke, he turned to York and said:

"Of course it's $13 million, but Black Feather Studios wants to get 80% of the profits of "The Undertaker" this time......"

York was stupid all of a sudden, how could there be such a madman as a Chinese filmmaker known for being conservative and cautious.

Originally, according to the normal distribution model, Lionsgate and the producer split was 6:4, and Lionsgate was responsible for the publicity costs, getting 60% of the profits.

Now Gu Xiaofan has to bear the cost with all his might, and has taken out a big sum of 13 million, asking Black Feather Studio to take 80% of the share.

Do the math, "The Undertaker" must reach a box office score of $3,450 so that Black Feather Studios will not lose money...... But this box office is almost impossible.

York only felt his brain flutter for a while, thinking to himself, is this guy crazy?