The praise of the media and the audience's pursuit made many film companies see the market potential of "Invasion of Darkness", and they then came to the door to obtain the distribution rights of the film.

When the film dealer came to the door, Cheng Peng naturally had to work hard to deal with it, and it was naturally best if the business could be negotiated, and everyone could make friends if it couldn't be negotiated.

While Cheng Peng was busy negotiating with the filmmakers, the film festival judges and related personnel were gathering in a screening room to watch "Darkness Attack".

Among the nine judges, there are two people who are most looking forward to "Dark Invasion", one is Xu Feng, as a Chinese filmmaker, she must support the films of her compatriots, the two Chinese films in the main competition unit of this year, the judges of "World" did not respond well after watching it, and there are almost no possible surnames to win the award, now it depends on whether "Dark Invasion" can win glory for Chinese films; The other is Scarlett Johansson, she is a nineteen-year-old young girl, like other girls of the same age, she likes freshness, she likes excitement, she watches sleepy literary films these days, she really wants to watch some movies that can refresh her.

As for the other judges, some have expectations for this movie, and some are disdainful of horror films, but as a judge, they have no choice at all, and they have to watch it whether they like it or not.

Sitting in his seat, Mark Mueller glanced at John Paulman, the chairman of the jury, and saw that he was sitting with a serious expression, and asked with a smile: "John, this film is quite scary, are you okay?"

John Paulman thumped his chest with his fist and laughed: "My body is as strong as a twenty-year-old boy, and horror movies can't scare old John!" ”

This is not to brag, he is indeed in great health, and can party with young girls all night long, and he does not tell that he is seventy years old.

The lights in the screening room dimmed and the movie began.

The judges are very satisfied with the opening of the movie, the selection of scenes, the movement of the camera, the arrangement of light and shadow are very elegant, and the relationship between the characters is also very clear, which can reflect the skills of Cheng Peng as a director.

At this moment, the shot of Cheng Peng's head being pierced by a steel pipe appeared, and the sudden shot startled everyone, especially Scarlett Johansson, who clenched her fists with both hands and let out an extremely loud scream.

John Paulman shook his head gently, this shot is scary, but Scarlett Johansson's screams are even more scary, a snort, too scary.

The same goes for everyone else, but everyone is a few decades old and doesn't care about a young girl of nineteen.

The film continues.

As the plot progresses, the movie becomes more and more terrifying, and John Paulman's heart beats violently, and from time to time he is frightened by the terrifying scenes that pop up out of nowhere.

The screams and shouts in the screening room were incessant, and Scarlett Johansson's screams were even more skyrocketing.

The most terrifying scene in the whole movie appeared, Zhu Zhu's ghost appeared next to Chen Ran, everyone was frightened by this scene, several ladies screamed wildly, and Scarlett Johansson leaned back heavily, didn't sit still, and rolled directly to the ground.

John Paulmann was also frightened, his heart was beating violently, his breathing became urgent, and he gasped for breath several times, but it could not relieve the symptoms.

Mark Mueller saw that John Baumann's face was a little wrong, so he asked, "John, what's wrong with you, are you not feeling well?" ”

John Paulman was about to answer, but he didn't catch his breath, rolled his eyes, threw his head back, and fell to the ground with a thud. His face was pale, his eyes were closed, his hands and feet were twitching, and he looked terrible.

Mark Mueller was dumbfounded.

Scarlett Johansson was dumbfounded.

All the judges were dumbfounded.

No one expected that John Paulman, who claimed to be as strong as a twenty-year-old boy, would be scared out of "Invasion of Darkness".

It was Mark Mueller who reacted first, and quickly squatted down to let John Paulman lie flat on the ground, and then shouted: "Call the doctor, call the doctor!" ”

Mark Mill is really in a hurry, "Invasion of Darkness" is his decision to enter the main competition unit, if he scares the chairman of the jury, it will become a stain on his entire film career, and it will also become a stain on the Venice Film Festival, which can never be washed away.

……

Cheng Peng didn't know what was going on in the screening room, and at the moment he was sitting on the couch and talking to Michael Buckle, the head of Sony Classics, about the copyright of "Invasion of Darkness".

"The Two of Us" in North America is distributed by Sony Classics, although the box office in North America has nothing to do with Cheng Peng, but he still hopes to achieve some results, asking: "When will "The Two of Us" be released?" ”

"Ready for release in January. Cheng, will your country send "The Two of Us" to the Oscar selection for foreign language films? ”

Cheng Peng submitted an application to the Film Bureau before arriving in Venice to compete for the Oscar seat on behalf of China, but he knew that he might not have a big surname: "If nothing else, I should send Zhang Yimou's "Ambush on All Sides", he is the most famous director in China, he has participated in the Oscar selection 4 times, and he can get nominated every time, and he should also give his film this time!" ”

"It's a shame that the judges of the Oscars are all old men, old age and death are their favorite subjects, and your film has a chance to get a nomination if it is contested. "Ambush on All Sides" is not the genre that the Olympic judges like, but the photography and costumes are particularly good, and the people who are nominated for these two awards are more likely to be surnamed! ”

The North American copyright of "Ambush on All Sides" is also in the hands of Sony Classics, ready to be released in December, for Sony Classics, "Ambush on All Sides" is the best choice for technical awards, and "The Two of Us" is the best choice, because once it is nominated for an Oscar, the film will attract huge attention and the box office will increase significantly.

Cheng Peng knew what Michael Bakker was thinking, but he knew too well about the film bureau's surname, they valued qualifications and fame more than the quality of the work, shrugged his shoulders, and said: "Of course I hope so, but this kind of thing is not something I can decide." ”

The two didn't go on on on the subject, and the conversation quickly returned to Dark Invasion, and after some conversation, Michael Buckle made an offer.

Sony Classic bid 5.5 million to buy out the rights in North America and Europe.

So far, Cheng Peng has received offers from two companies, Fox Searchlight bid 5 million to buy out the rights in North America and Europe, and Weinstein did not only ask for the copyright in North America after seeing the media response, but proposed to buy out the rights in North America and Europe for 6 million.

Weinstein's price is currently the highest, if the rights in North America and Europe can be sold for 6 million, plus the rights in Asia can be sold for about 8 million, it will definitely be a big profit for "Dark Invasion", which costs only 2.5 million.

However, Cheng Peng has always been a little wary of Weinstein, a company that has a bad reputation among Chinese filmmakers. After "Hero" achieved a box office of 50 million in North America, many Chinese filmmakers regarded Weinstein as a savior, and as a result, many people were cheated, so much so that many people later said that they were liars when they mentioned Weinstein.

At this moment, Cheng Peng's mobile phone rang, and when he picked it up, he saw that it was Mark Mueller calling.

Cheng Peng was a little puzzled, why did Mark Mueller call me, is there something wrong? He said sorry to Michael Buckle, walked to the window and answered the phone, saying, "Mark, what's the matter?" ”

"My dear friend, something is going on in a very serious situation related to your movie Invasion of Darkness?" Mark Mueller's tone was heavy.

Cheng Peng sensed the seriousness of the matter from Mark Mueller's tone, his heart jumped suddenly, and he asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Mark Mueller took a deep breath and sighed, "Mr. John Paulman had a problem watching Invasion of Darkness and fell into a coma and has now been taken to the hospital. ”

Cheng Peng was stunned for two seconds before he came back to his senses, when the film festival opened, he was still thinking that the old man was over seventy years old, if he was scared of the problem, who would be it, but he didn't expect that there was really a problem, and asked: "How is he doing now, is there any danger?"

Mark Mueller sighed and said: "The situation is okay, but the spirit has been seriously stimulated, and I need to be hospitalized for observation for a period of time, I'm afraid I won't be able to participate in the selection of the movie." ”

Since the opening of the festival, various situations have continued to arise, and he, as the president, has also been criticized, and now those who criticize him have found a new weapon.

"That's good, that's good. Which hospital he is staying in, I want to go and see him and apologize to him personally! Cheng Peng exhaled heavily.

It's really fortunate, if he really scares the old man out, Cheng Peng's conscience will definitely be uneasy, and more importantly, it will not only become a stain on him, but also a stain on the Venice Film Festival.

Regardless, "Invasion of Darkness" set two records at the Venice Film Festival, the first film to be selected for the main competition and the first to scare the president of the jury into hospitalization.

No, Cheng Peng also knows that this is a good thing and a bad thing for himself, the movie scared the chairman of the jury into hospitalization, this is a big news, after the media renders the overseas copyright of the film will inevitably rise, but there may be trouble in China, for radio and television, the release of the movie is definitely more than less, what if the audience is scared into hospitalization, so it is more difficult for "Dark Invasion" to be released.

Hanging up the phone, Cheng Peng returned to his seat, glanced at Michael Buckle, and said, "Mr. Buckle, I'm sorry, something happened, I have to leave." I've already seen your offer, but I suggest you go back and reconsider the offer, the price of the film will definitely go up. ”

Michael Buckle was slightly stunned and asked, "What happened?" ”

Cheng Peng smiled lightly, lowered his voice and said mysteriously: I just received a call from Mr. Mark Mueller, who told me that Mr. John Paulman, the chairman of the jury, was scared and fainted because of the excessive horror of the movie when he was watching "Invasion of Darkness", and is currently being treated in the hospital! ”

Michael Buckle's eyes lit up, for a horror movie, the most important thing is scary, many horror films will promote how scary their movies are when they are released, but they are empty and difficult to convince.

"Invasion of Darkness" is different, the winner of the two-time Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director, the president of the jury of the Venice Film Festival, John Paulmann, was frightened and fainted, this is the most real evidence, and it is also the most powerful advertisement, using this as a promotional point "Invasion of Darkness" will definitely be popular.

Michael Bakker stood up and said with a smile: "I understand, I'll come up with a new offer as soon as possible!" ”

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