Three months ago, Wang Quan and his American friend Dorothy jointly invested US$2 million to shoot the low-cost suspense thriller science fiction film "Basement".
After watching so many movies in the "Film and Television Library" and receiving systematic training in commercial films at the University of Southern California, Wang Quan selected this one from the vast sea of future movies with a single scene, simple characters, and low cost, but with an exciting story and multiple responses. It's an intriguing script that performed well at the box office.
The film cost was small, and the shooting time was only seven days, which was shorter than the post-production period. After that, Dorothy took the finished film to the famous independent film trading market "Sundance Film Festival".
After ten days, as the film festival is about to end today, good news finally came from the United States.
Dorothy said excitedly, "Guess who I'm going to sell the movie to!"
"It can't be Harvey, right?" That fat guy is now regarded as the savior of many small-budget independent films.
"Harvey? The situation has become smaller. It's Paramount! Paramount, one of the six giants in Hollywood!" Since Sony absorbed MGM last year, only six of the seven major Hollywood companies remain.
"Well done!" Wang Quan was more concerned about, "Sell the full copyright or share the copyright?"
"Brother, I chose the former, you won't blame me."
Wang Quan said, "Of course not. I also hope to get the funds back as soon as possible. I can't wait to shoot my second feature film! This is the most perfect result. I'm totally OK."
The theater chain's response cycle is too long, and it may not be possible to recover the investment this year. Selling out is the best option for him who is in a hurry to use money.
Dorothy couldn't hide her happiness, "I believe I made the right choice. The other party offered me a price that I can't refuse. It's so crazy!"
"Okay, let me guess," Wang Quan became more energetic, "Before I left, the movie "Little Miss Sunshine" was bought by Fox Searchlight for $10.5 million. This is already a sky-high price. Could it be that our Is ‘Basement’ higher than ‘Little Miss Sunshine’?”
Dorothy, "That's right!"
Wang Quan boldly guessed, "12 million?"
Dorothy, "You could be more bold!"
Wang Quan, "It can't be 15 million, right? There has never been such a high price for an independent film in the history of Sundance, right?"
Dorothy, "It's still wrong. It's 20 million US dollars. Our investment has gained ten times. Brother, thank you for letting me experience the happiness of a multi-millionaire!"
In the middle of winter, Wang Quan was as excited as a fire in his chest. He finally had money and could make movies with bigger investment in the future!
"Tell me, how did Paramount agree to this heartless price? The risk of repaying the capital is too great. Are they really crazy?"
Dorothy boasted, "Because you have a super good producer!"
Kingship, "Seriously."
"Okay, seriously, you know J.J. Abrams."
Wang Quan's heart skipped a beat. I knew it all too well. The classic American drama "Lost" was written and directed by him. Before "Prison Break" became a hit, the first American drama that many young Chinese people came into contact with was "Lost".
His film directorial debut is "Mission: Impossible 3", which will be released this year. In the future, he will also direct "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", which has a global box office of over 2 billion US dollars.
But his most important identity is still the boss of a film company and a film and television producer. His company Bad Robot Pictures is deeply tied to Paramount. It is considered a younger brother of Paramount, so Paramount has the task of restarting the Mission: Impossible series. handed it to him.
An even more important point is that "Basement" filmed by King Quan also has a famous name, "10 Cloverfield Lane". In parallel time and space, its producer is none other than J.J. Abrams Sri Lanka.
Dorothy said, "JJ is also Jewish and has a close relationship with my mother's family. We are old acquaintances."
King Quan, "Do Jews still talk about this when doing business? Don't they put interests first? I'm sorry, I don't mean to criticize your nation."
"It doesn't matter, I'm still half a descendant of the dragon anyway~" Dorothy, a Chinese-Jewish hybrid, laughed. She combined the genes of the two most intelligent races. This woman was very cunning.
She explained, "JJ is preparing a sci-fi disaster movie called "Cloverfield." After watching "Underground", he felt that this movie is very similar to "Cloverfield" in terms of temperament, and the plot can also be connected. So I decided to renovate the basement and release it as a prequel to "Cloverfield" as a warm-up for his new film."
Wang Quan laughed. What a coincidence. In the film and television library, there was "Cloverfield" first, and then "Cloverfield 10", which is also this "Underground".
They were originally independent films that had little to do with each other. It was because the plots could be connected that the clever JJ forcibly turned them into a series of films.
So in 2016, "Cloverfield 10" was titled as the sequel to "Cloverfield" and earned a global box office of US$110 million. You must know that even in another time and space, the cost of this movie was only US$5 million. Typical low cost and high return.
There is also a less famous "Cloverfield Paradox" later, known as the Cloverfield Trilogy, which has a great status in the hearts of science fiction fans, and there have been rumors of building a Cloverfield movie universe.
Dorothy added, "Of course, this is only one of the reasons. There is another important reason, and I have to thank you."
"I?"
"Yes, you chose the heroine, you have great vision!" Dorothy said happily, "JJ revealed to me that Megan has just been selected by DreamWorks' super blockbuster "Transformers" to play the heroine, and the contract has been signed. , as you know, DreamWorks was officially acquired by Paramount last month, so Paramount also intends to use "Basement" to build publicity for Megan, and it will also have one more publicity point when marketing Transformers in the future."
Megan Fox, a Hollywood starlet with healthy skin and hot figure, was selected by Wang Quan as the heroine of "The Basement". This is a movie with a big heroine, and her performance is also very eye-catching.
Wang Quan, "In fact, "Basement" was released better after "Transformers". Megan will definitely gain world-class popularity because of Transformers, thereby increasing the box office of "Basement", but it doesn't matter, it can become a stepping stone for Miss Fox. ,it's my honour."
"I haven't finished speaking yet," Dorothy said, "JJ wants to take away your complete script and ask me why I didn't shoot the last part."
"How did you answer?"
"I told him that the director thought that the sudden ending at that point had a longer meaning and was more shocking, and that the rest of the film actually had little meaning." Dorothy chuckled.
The actual situation is that 2 million US dollars can only support them to shoot there. Extraterrestrial creatures and spaceships will appear later, so the funds are probably not enough, and the effect of shooting there is very good.
Dorothy said, "JJ agreed with my statement, but he felt that if he wanted to link it with his "Cloverfield", it would be best to also film the alien creatures and spaceships in the back, which only last a few minutes. The plot, so he hopes you can continue filming, and he will take care of the heroine. The funds are also provided by Paramount, and this is also an essential prerequisite for the 20 million sky-high buyout contract. I can only sign the contract if you agree. If you breach the contract, I will pay you back."
Wang Quan was silent for a moment, a little embarrassed, "But you know, Meghan and I's relationship, it will be very embarrassing to work together again."
Dorothy laughed, "Please, aren't you just sleeping? In Hollywood, this is more common than eating. As long as you are not embarrassed, no one will be embarrassed."
Wang Quan glanced at Yang Mi, who was looking at him curiously, and turned around with a guilty conscience, "Okay, I'll go back right after the Chinese New Year. Sign the contract, Boss Tao!"
"Congratulations on getting rich, Director Wang!"
