The award ceremony was over, but the commercial activities were at their peak.

Happy at this time, there is a sense of pleasure, "three awards in hand, I have the world". Before they could get up and return to the hotel, more than a dozen distributors from Hollywood approached them. And the price they offered today is far beyond the price they contacted him a few days ago!

Lionsgate offered $2 million to buy out its distribution rights in North America and Europe, as well as its rights to distribute its videotapes in North America. Dimen Pictures is willing to open up to $2.5 million. Still no one wants to give Grand Central Station a share, but Happy doesn't care.

As the biggest winner of this year's Sundance Film Festival, it is natural to worry about buyers. Miramax added another 200,000, $2.7 million to the offer of Timon Pictures, which was close to their bottom line, but Happy still declined.

Harvey? Weinstein was a little unhappy, this Chinese was too greedy, and admonished: "Open, I think our offer is the highest, no matter how high anyone will have concerns, after all, this is a foreign language film." It is well recognized that American viewers are not used to reading subtitles. ”

Happy does not want to stiffen the atmosphere of negotiations, and of all the distributors, Miramax has the most urgent attitude towards the pursuit of films.

Several other companies have won at the film festival, but Miramax, who has been invincible in the past, has repeatedly failed this year and has not won a heavyweight work so far. And the film festival has ended, and the works that should be sold are almost sold, leaving "Central Station" in his hands. He was the one who took the initiative, and said with a smile: "Harvey, don't talk about those useless ones. You've seen the movie yourself, do you think there will be a movie obstacle? To tell you the truth, this movie was originally written in English, and I originally planned to shoot it in the United States as a graduation project, but unfortunately the budget was a little short. You can totally find a few voice actors to re-dub it. ”

Harvey? Weinstein frowned, "So your psychological floor price?" ”

I didn't dare to relax when I was happy, I had heard too much news about this big fat man in my previous life, and even Feng Xiaogang scolded him at the Shanghai Film Festival, saying that he was a liar. But Miramax's ability is also unquestionable, and he knows that in the 12 years of Disney's 12-year collaboration with Miramax, he has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture 15 times, and "Shakespeare in Love", "The English Patient" and "Chicago" have been successful successes. The repeated murder at the Oscars is proof of this. While achieving huge box office benefits, the company also became popular with companies such as Soderbergh, Quentin? Tarantino and a group of other cutting-edge directors. Even the North American copyrights of later generations such as "Heroes" and "Night Banquet" are operated by Miramax. So even if you know that it is a black store, there are people who choose to cooperate with each other.

After thinking about it, he happily opened his five fingers and said: "Five million dollars, you can give up the box office share." But Miramax must ensure that the film is officially screened in at least 500 theaters in North America, and the main PR Golden Globe Award and Oscar. Miramax is backed by a big financier like Disney, and five million dollars is not enough to stuff his teeth, and he thinks the price is just right.

"Impossible~"

Harvey exploded instantly, even if he was optimistic about "Grand Central Station", he would not agree to this price.

"My bottom line is $3 million, to buy out the perpetual rights to the distribution rights of films other than Asia, such as overseas distribution rights, videotape distribution rights, and TV channel distribution rights, and Miramax Films is willing to give a one-time $3 million...... Note that it is a one-off. Then it can be guaranteed to give no less than 200 theaters the scale of the release. The cost of the award is greater, and it depends on the benefits and reputation after the release, but don't get your hopes up, at most it will be a foreign language film award. ”

The buyout fee of 3 million US dollars, after deducting taxes, is equivalent to 18 million yuan. Compared with the shooting cost of 600,000 yuan, this is already a sudden rich. But Happy remained unmoved, grinning: "Do you think a New York Times named 'one of the 40 best movies in a century' will only be worth three million dollars." ”

This is a big gift from the American media to Happy Happy, and this list selected by IMDB and the New York Times together, "Grand Central Station" happens to be among them, and the Chinese films "Farewell My Concubine" and "Red Sorghum" are also among them. This list alone is enough to make video collectors buy more of this disc.

Harvey? Weinstein's heart tangled up again, "Damn the New York Times." ”

The negotiation reached an impasse, and he happily compromised: "It's better to keep in touch like this, and you can think about it." See you at the Berlin Film Festival. ”

The big fat man Harvey's heart also burst again, this is the first time he faced the "little man" and could not win the situation, sneered: "You are so sure that you can win at the Berlin Film Festival?" ”

Smiled mysteriously, "We'll see." He is somewhat confident, if he still needs to register to participate in the Berlin Film Festival before, but now he is the object of active invitation.

"Cold~"

This is the first feeling you have when you arrive in Berlin.

Berlin is sunless for almost half of the year, especially in February. The temperature was only minus 12 degrees Celsius, but the cold European wind was blowing strongly, and you would shiver after staying outdoors for a while.

It's hard for all kinds of stars, from Madonna to Wenders, wearing pitiful clothes, walking the red carpet in the cold wind, and having to stop from time to time to accept sudden media interviews.

The three major film festivals in Europe, Venice favors those art films that can't be understood at all, Cannes is more inclusive, and the combination of commerce and artistry is perfect, and the key word of the Berlin Film Festival is politics. And the festival's top brass has never shied away from the Cold War in its early days. Gregor has been working on the organizing committee of the Berlinale since the 1960s, when Germany was divided into East and West. He even said bluntly: "The film festival is indeed a product of the Cold War, and the original purpose of its establishment was very clear, and the slogan was simply 'the window of the free world'." ”

The political system was the background to the birth of the Berlin Film Festival, and even in the most tense years of the Cold War, no political force directly interfered in the selection and evaluation of the film festival.

The Berlinale jury emphasizes respect for the personal will of the jury, who are almost all veteran filmmakers who look at a work from the perspective of the art of cinema rather than the topic of politics. The jury changes every year, and even if a single jury is judged from a political point of view rather than artistically, it is impossible to influence the entire festival.

Here, Zhang Yimou, Li Case, Jia Zhangke, Wang Xiaoshuai, Liao Fan and so on have been created.

In 1988, Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" won the Golden Bear Award, which was also the first time that a Chinese film won an award at an international film festival. But at home, it has sparked a controversy. Some viewers believe that it "won the appreciation of Westerners by scandalizing the Chinese people".

As a result, as long as Chinese films win international awards, the view that "Western eyes look at China with a curious mentality" will be recalled. But "Grand Central Station" is not, even the darkest human trafficking, not directly raised, but vaguely and incidentally. It is full of hope, truth-seeking, and sunshine.

After a delay in the United States, when he arrived in Berlin, he was surrounded by Bai Xiaoya and Luo Kedi and a Chinese lawyer.

The news that "Grand Central Station" won the award at the American Film Festival also began to be widely reported with Bai Xiaoya's return to China.

This is not the 90s when the news channels were narrow, in fact, the domestic media have already received the news, and this is the first time that someone has won an award at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States. Immediately call a certain bureau and ask if the film has passed the review. Once I heard and reviewed, okay, no problem, it's not a hard report. It's just that there is no detailed information, and most of the reports are in the background of the Sundance Film Festival.

After Bai Xiaoya returned to China, a dozen photos, videos, and materials were sent to major media. This time, you don't have to stuff money, you don't report to work, and some people will report it.

In recent years, film and television companies have not yet formed the habit of sending their own publicity and distribution releases. Even interviews, press conferences, and so on, are groping forward. The news and public relations behavior of the mountains and the sea is completely what I saw in my happy previous life, and I am standing at different heights to hype up the topic, how can there be anything that is not hot.