Writing the script on the computer, Wu Yuan also pondered in his heart.

Gravity is an IMAX 3D movie.

That is, the film uses both IMAX shooting technology and 3D stereoscopic technology.

This has led to the high cost of filming this movie, or the shooting cost of mainstream science fiction movies after 2010.

Just a professional IMAX3D camera, to shoot 4K movie level, this kind of camera is only rented but not sold.

And the rental price alone, based on the lowest four units, requires hundreds of thousands of dollars in rental fees every day, and tens of millions of dollars in 100 days of shooting.

This thing is really expensive, when Lao Mouzi filmed "The Great Wall", it was because of the whole IMAX shooting, which led to a cost of more than one billion, and the final box office did not return the cost.

The original version of "Gravity" cost $100 million, and most of it was spent on setting up and CG production.

The film uses CG technology to restore the depths of space, building a large number of real scenes and 1:1 models of the space station.

The remaining half of the money was spent on the actual shooting, that is, the actors' salaries, the crew's salaries, and most importantly, the IMAX3D camera rental.

But when Wu Yuan came up with this script now, it was in 2005.

Even if the preparation for the filming of the project starts next year, it will be delayed until 2008 at most.

This is the early days of IMAX3D technology.

Audiences all over the world are watching 2D special effects movies, and everyone has no idea what a 3D movie is, let alone IMAX3D.

Reduce the cost of shooting one IMAX, and the cost of "Gravity" can be cut in half instantly.

In addition, if you find the space agency to help make a real-life scene and a 1:1 model of the space station, the price is definitely much cheaper than that of the United States, which has high labor fees.

The same is true for actors' salaries, and the salaries of domestic actors are also incomparable with Haolaiwu.

Even if the price of CG pictures is still very expensive, Wu Yuan can definitely control the cost of "Gravity" at about 50 million US dollars.

It is worth mentioning that the movie "Gravity" itself is a science fiction movie with a small and medium budget.

Yes, this movie is so shocking, but it is already a small- and medium-budget science fiction film.

Because in the era of IMAX3D, the cost of this movie was only $100 million.

In the era of 2D movies, a sci-fi disaster blockbuster like "2012" already costs $200 million.

Sci-fi blockbusters in the IMAX3D era, not to mention those superhero movies, take "Inception" as an example, and the shooting cost is nearly 200 million US dollars.

In comparison, "Gravity" is really a cheap movie, and like "The Martian", it is a box office dark horse produced for about 100 million US dollars.

If Wu Yuan made it into a 2D movie, the cost would be even lower.

It is true that changing a 3D movie to 2D will lose a lot of picture effects, and it will definitely not be able to achieve the shocking picture of the original.

But the picture of the original version is shocking, and it is brought to the audience in 2013.

Audiences in 2013 have already seen superhero movies like "Avengers 1" with full special effects, and if they want to be shocked, they really need more exaggerated and gorgeous pictures.

But Wu Yuan intends to bring a science fiction movie to audiences in China and even Asia in 2008.

Before "Avatar" even appeared, before the various space 3DIMAX movies appeared.

The 2D version of "Gravity", as long as the space environment and the CG of the earth, the human home, in space are good enough, it can already bring a little space shock to most Asian audiences.

The 1968 American movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" is known as a masterpiece and a science fiction inspiration movie, but looking at it now, it can't be compared with the current movie special effects.

But it didn't prevent this movie from being a classic in the hearts of moviegoers of that era, and it inspired countless science fiction fans around the world and influenced their lives.

For the current Chinese audience, the 2D version of "Gravity" is enough to bring them a science fiction movie baptism.

Because the vast majority of Chinese people nowadays have almost blank concepts of "space".

Everyone knows that the earth is blue, and the sun is red and orange, but that's about it.

How beautiful it is to overlook the earth from space, at the moment when Huaxia Aerospace is still in its infancy, most Huaxia people are actually at a loss.

Even the Internet is still rumored that the astronauts of the International Space Station can see the Great Wall when they fly over China.

In this case, even a 2D "Gravity" can already bring space shock to the audience in 2008 through its touching and philosophical story, coupled with realistic space CG effects.

After revising and revising the story of "Gravity" in his memory, Wu Yuan quickly came up with the first version of the script.

Of course, after the script was completed, he replaced the "Tiangong space station" with "China's space station" and "other countries' space station".

Without him, now "Tiangong" is indeed a must-have, and he shouldn't have chosen a name first.

After completing the script, Wu Yuan contacted Han Dong as soon as possible, sent him a copy of the script, and hoped that he could help contact the China National Space Administration on his behalf.

To make this movie well, it will definitely require technical support from the China National Space Administration.

And with the support of the China National Space Administration, you can also save money!

You can save a lot of money!

Let's put it this way, some of the equipment needed for real shooting, the China National Space Administration has one-to-one simulation props.

For example, spacesuits, out-of-cabin spacesuits, and Shenzhou series spacecraft, the China National Space Administration has one-to-one simulation models, which are used for astronaut training on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is also convenient for scientists to conduct various simulation tests.

And these things, if Wu Yuan wants to make them himself, it will cost a lot of money.

If the National Space Administration had the support for these devices, it would save a lot of money.

Although "Gravity" has not yet made a specific budget, Wu Yuan, with his experience, can roughly estimate that if this movie wants to be made at an excellent level at the moment, it will cost at least 50 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate, almost 350 million yuan.

He plans to pull in a three-party investment this time.

Part of the light and shadow era will be produced, and part of the film will be produced in the middle of the film, and then a private film company will be found to take on part of it.

There's no way, making sci-fi movies these days, the pressure to return to the cost is really high, thankless, and it is destined not to make a lot of money, and it will be fun if you can make one or two hundred million.

may have worked hard for two years to film, but it is not as much as investing 60 million in "Your Name".

But making such a large-scale sci-fi movie, the sense of accomplishment is simply full!

It's one thing to snipe Wu Baige, it's another thing to give Wu Yuan the sense of accomplishment that this movie itself can bring.

When the idea of making this movie appeared in his mind, Wu Yuan's heart couldn't be contained.

The next day, Han Dong, who was extremely shocked by this sci-fi film plan, invited Wu Yuan back to the China Film headquarters again.

"Director Wu, aren't you kidding?" I don't know how many times Han Sanping said this to Wu Yuan.

It can only be said that Wu Yuan is indeed a man who makes Han Sanping elusive.

"Certainly not kidding." Wu Yuan calmly held a cup of tea and took a sip, "Han Dong, don't you like blockbusters the most?" ”

"Don't you like such a Chinese sci-fi blockbuster?"

"Like is like" Han Dong nodded tangledly: "But can such a science fiction movie return to its roots?" ”

"Director Wu, we are making blockbusters in China, and it is not enough to only expect the mainland market, we must look at Asia and even the world to recover the cost."

"But for foreigners, our Chinese movies only attract them with themes such as costume films and martial arts films."

"So director Yimou did "Hero" and "Ambush on All Sides", and Wu Yusen also made "The Battle of Red Cliffs", both of which are aimed at the international market."

"And your "Painted Skin" also refers to the Asian market."

"But it's a science fiction movie."

Han Dong stopped halfway through his words, but Wu Yuan also knew what he wanted to express in the second half of his words.

"Why, Han Dong, as a Chinese, you look down on your own science fiction movies?" Wu Yuan asked with a smile.

"It's not that I look down on it," Han Dong was anxious, "It's because we've never made a science fiction movie before, and the risk is too high." ”

"If it were a different director to do the script, I would really feel that the risk was very high." Wu Yuan nodded and said affirmatively: "But I'm different." ”

"Han Dong, let's settle an account."

"Do you think the mainland's film box office market will be able to reach the box office of 300 million or 400 million yuan for a single film in two years?"

Han Sanping, as the helmsman of China Film, can be said to be the person who has the most data on the mainland film market, and he calculated the current expansion speed of domestic theaters in his heart, and affirmed: "It should be no problem." ”

"Then do you think my name plus the first sci-fi blockbuster in China can get this ceiling box office results?" Wu Yuan asked again.

"It's like. It's also possible. Han Dong's eyes lit up slightly, but then he said: "It's not enough!" ”

"Such a sci-fi blockbuster, even if it is filmed in China, will cost at least $50 million, right?"

"Hey, don't worry." Wu Yuan said calmly: "I remember that the North American rights of "Hero" and "Ambush on All Sides" were bought out of the distribution rights, right? ”

"Both movies have tens of millions of dollars at the North American box office, but they actually only got a few million dollars in buyout fees?"

"Hmm." Speaking of this, Han Dong's face was also ugly.

"But I have a channel for North American distribution!" Wu Yuan spread his hands, "Dong Han, now that the matter is over, I won't hide it from you, I have an independent production company in Haolaiwu." ”

"In the past few years, the cooperation with Disney and 20th Century Fox has been quite good."

"I can borrow Fox's channel and release Gravity normally in North America."

"I think that although North American fans definitely can't watch a so-called Chinese science fiction movie, with my popularity and influence in North America, as long as I promote it diligently."

"It's still possible for "Gravity" to get $350 million at the box office in North America, right?"

"According to the normal sharing ratio, the producer can also get 10 million US dollars, right?"

"In addition, I plan to invite Gong Li to play the heroine and Zhang Fengyi to play the leading role, with their popularity in Europe, plus me, the winner of the Berlin and Cannes double awards, the entire European more than 30 countries combined, it is not too much to sell him for the copyright of 10 million US dollars, right?"

"Look, isn't that just a return to basics?"

"Coupled with Hong Kong Island, Japan and South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and other markets, I think it is no problem for "Gravity" to make one or two hundred million."

Han Dong's eyes widened, and he looked shocked: "You have a film company in Haolaiwu?" ”

"Still working with Fox?"

"yes." Wu Yuan said calmly: "Light Times, you may not know the name of the company, but the R-rated film "Hangover" series that swept North America two years ago, Han Dong should know, right?" ”

"This series is what my company did."

"The North American box office of the two films combined is hundreds of millions of dollars, and the global distribution and DVD distribution are all entrusted to Fox."

"Plus, I'm going to work with Fox on a fantasy comedy movie soon, and we're on our honeymoon."

Wu Yuan opened a film company in the United States, and he couldn't hide it for long.

Although Cheng Long was very strict and did not reveal this matter to any friends in Huaxia, with the launch of the "Rush Hour 3" project and the follow-up cooperation of "Ace Agent".

"Wu Yuan X Cheng Long" will inevitably become the focus of publicity for these two projects, and the relationship between Wu Yuan and Light Times, a behind-the-scenes production company, is difficult to conceal.

It's better to make it clear to Han Dong now, and give him more confidence.

Wu Yuan really grasped the key to the landing of Chinese films in North America.

Other Chinese-language films, even "Lust and Caution" that Li Yu later filmed when he returned to the mainland, and wanted to be released in North America, they could only sell out the distribution rights, and it was impossible to negotiate a normal share.

Wu Yuan can.

Because his light age can bring a lot of benefits to Fox, driven by interests, Wu Yuan asked Fox to help with the North American distribution of a movie he made, and Fox would agree.

Not to mention "Gravity", the movie "Love", Fox is actively talking with Light Age about the release of North America release.

If you change to other directors in China, even if you take Cannes, Berlin, and Venice, it is impossible for the six major Hollywood companies to come up and take the initiative to negotiate distribution with you, at most, to talk about buyout.

Just like Wu Yuan's "The Night the Comet Comed" was sold to Fox Searchlight for two million.

Hollywood is such a realistic place, you can bring benefits to the Big Six, especially long-term benefits, then the Big Six will be very easy to talk and helpful.

Anyway, according to the distribution system in North America, the company that undertakes the distribution business has a distribution requirement every year, and a minimum of XX movies must be released.

Every year, the Big Six will release some stinky fish and shrimp in garbage month to make up for the required number of movies to be released annually.

It is not a difficult thing to help Wu Yuan release a Chinese-language movie.

The premise is that everyone is a good friend and a partner with a stakehold.

"Director Wu, you're not kidding, are you?" Han Dong asked this sentence again.

Wu Yuan's face was full of black lines, "Han Dong, who has such idle time to joke?" ”

"That's fine." Han Dong nodded fiercely!

With Wu Yuan's current fame and influence in Europe and North America, as well as the basic market in Japan and South Korea, and the domestic box office market that is higher than a year ago.

He made a science fiction blockbuster with a cost of 50 million dollars, and he really had a head!

And as the helmsman of a state-owned enterprise, Han Dong knows that China now needs a near-reality science fiction movie like "Gravity" very much!

"I'll help you contact the space agency!" Han Dong said excitedly.

If you don't understand why you want to do "Gravity", and you think you must lose, I don't have anything to say.

Don't look at 2006 with the eyes of 2022, this is 17 years ago, "Gravity" only needs to be made into a 2D special effects CG movie, which is enough to bring space shock to Asian audiences.

Before 2006, the last space science fiction movie was in the nineties

The high cost of "Gravity" is the high cost of IMAX3D, this movie has a total of three and a half actors, and the exterior is full CG, which is really not a big-budget movie

Looking at it from the current perspective, if "Gravity" were not for IMAX3D, the picture would be boring.

But in 2006, before "Avatar" and "2012", even if "Gravity" was made into a 2D movie, it was enough to shock the audience, because people at that time had never seen such a realistic space

(End of chapter)