Chapter 423: Entering Hollywood
After a night of lovemaking with Milla Jovovich, Paul Anderson felt that his life was complete. After another intense sex in the morning, Paul Anderson drove his car to Sujo Films.
Su Qiao Pictures is located on the middle floor of an office building owned by the Su family. Although there are only a dozen people there now, it occupies an entire floor of the office building, covering more than 3,000 square meters, and is very grand.
Now the Su family's business has reached a bottleneck period and they are in urgent need of finding a new direction for breakthrough. Lu Yiming's suggestion to them is the entertainment industry.
It just so happened that the previous tenant's lease was about to expire and he did not plan to renew it, so Su Zhenge decided to use the building as the headquarters of the film company.
After passing through the main gate, Paul Anderson was still a little nervous. He really needed this opportunity to prove himself.
Therefore, he kept encouraging himself to keep calm in his heart: "I must perform well this time and must not make any mistakes."
However, when he walked into the company, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
The boss of such a big company is actually an Asian?
And she is such a young Asian!
Could it be some wealthy immigrant family?
Lu Yiming did not feel strange about Paul Anderson's expression. It seemed that since the people here knew that he was an Asian superior, they all had this expression on their faces.
It seems that in the eyes of these people, the yellow race should be at the bottom of society, and the white race is the most noble. Even the black uncle who only knows how to make trouble seems to be more politically correct than the yellow Asians.
After all, the yellow race is too easy to bully, and only slaves would be so submissive.
Lu Yiming sat on the stool without moving his buttocks. He greeted in English from a distance: "Hello, Paul, I am Lu Yiming from Su Qiao Films. I have heard of your name a long time ago."
Paul Anderson tried to ask: "So, you are? An islander?"
Lu Yiming smiled slightly and shook his head: "No, I am a pure-blooded Xia nationality."
After learning that Lu Yiming was from Xia Country, they were even more surprised. After all, in Hollywood, the Asian faces who invested in making movies were mainly from the island countries, and Xia people were so rare that they were rarer than dinosaurs.
However, Paul Anderson was just surprised and did not have any other messy thoughts. He did not care whether his boss was a Chinese or an alien. As long as he was willing to invest in him to make a movie, it was fine.
After Paul Anderson sat down, Lu Yiming threw out a notebook and handed it to him: "Take a look at the script first, can you film this story?"
Paul Anderson read the "Resident Evil" script in his hand almost at a glance. Like the original movie, Lu Yiming also modified the plot of the game, deleting the role of the male protagonist, but added Ada Wong's plot in the first part.
The changes to the original movie are not significant and do not affect the main storyline, so Paul Anderson was greatly impressed after watching it. He was originally a literary creator, and before becoming a director, he was already a well-known screenwriter in the country, so he still has some appreciation ability.
Moreover, after experiencing the failure of "Current Horizon", he successfully smoothed out all his edges and corners. He no longer pursued the so-called philosophical thinking, but completely embraced Hollywood's "model call", believing that commercial films should be operated commercially, paying attention to factors such as scenes and technology, but must "put plot first" and adopt a typical commercial narrative strategy.
This is the bitter lesson he learned from his past painful experiences, and he personally modified the plot of the original "Resident Evil", so he liked Lu Yiming's script very much.
After a brief chat, Lu Yiming confirmed that Paul Anderson was the director he wanted to find. As a popcorn movie, "Resident Evil" should not have too profound ideas, and should just provide the audience with a visual feast.
Sure enough, Paul Anderson is still the same Paul Anderson.
Lu Yiming was quite satisfied with this guy and immediately said, "Very good, let's follow your idea. When are you free to start working?"
Paul Anderson was overjoyed when he learned that he had been selected and could continue to make movies. He said hurriedly: "Anytime! Right away."
Lu Yiming was very satisfied with Paul Anderson's attitude. He said, "I will not interfere with the selection of the protagonist, but I hope you can accept my arrangement for several important supporting roles."
Since he wants to make money from the American people, he naturally has to take into account the preferences of the locals. Lu Yiming would not do something like finding an Asian face to play the leading role. After all, commercial films need box office revenue.
However, it doesn't matter if a few Asian faces are cast to play less important supporting roles, as it does not affect the main plot. Lu Yiming likes the role of Ada Wong very much, and he also hopes to have more Asian faces in the movie.
Paul Anderson certainly had no objection to his boss's request, and he had someone in mind who he most wanted to play the leading female role - Milla Jovovich.
Is there anything better than getting your lover to play the leading lady role and strengthening your relationship every day?
Immediately, Paul Anderson said: "I hope Milla Jovovich will play the leading role."
After hearing this, Lu Yiming couldn't help but take a breath.
Several years earlier, the heroine is still Mira?
Then, he suddenly remembered that it seemed that after filming "Resident Evil", Paul married Milla Jovovich?
This is really...
I can only say that foreigners really know how to have fun. They make a movie to make their wives famous.
Of course Lu Yiming had the right to refuse, but when he thought about how the character of Mira was complementary to the "Resident Evil" series, and that Paul Anderson had to work hard, he had to give him some benefits.
Paul Anderson saw that Lu Yiming didn't speak for a long time and thought he was going to refuse. When he was worrying about what to do, Lu Yiming spoke.
"You can arrange for her to come for an interview. If she's suitable, I'll consider it."
"Thank you, boss."
Paul Anderson left in ecstasy, and on the way back, he couldn't wait to take out his mobile phone and tell Milla Jovovich the good news.
After settling on the director and the leading actress, Lu Yiming thought of another person - King Liu.
He called immediately.
"Lord Liu, long time no see."
King Liu was surprised to receive a sudden call from Lu Yiming. He was even more surprised when he learned that Lu Yiming was currently in Hollywood.
"Why did you end up in Hollywood?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "I originally came to Seattle to participate in a competition, but I saw a good opportunity. Are you free recently? Do you want to develop in Hollywood? I invested in a movie here. I can't give you the leading role, but a supporting role is no problem."
Minghua Entertainment Company had been established for some time, but it had never found any suitable job. When King Liu heard Lu Yiming say that he wanted to take him to Hollywood for development, he immediately became restless.
"I think about it, even in my dreams! Don't even mention whether I have time now. I will have time even if the sky falls!"
King Liu had just finished a call with Lu Yiming and was still excited. His agent Zhang Guozhong brought Li Cansen to see him.
In 1997, Lee Cansen starred in the film "Made in Hong Kong" directed by Fruit Chan, playing the role of Tu Zhongqiu and won the Best Newcomer Award at the 17th Hong Kong Film Awards. In the same year, he was successfully signed to King Liu's company and officially debuted.
In 1998, he continued to act in the feature film "Last Year's Fireworks Were So Many" directed by Hong Kong director Fruit Chan. He was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor at the 18th Hong Kong Film Awards for his role as Wu Jiaxuan. He successfully emerged and attracted attention in the industry. He is a newcomer with good acting skills who may not have good looks, but makes up for it with his strength.
"Ah, Sen."
"Brother."
Everyone greeted each other, and Zhang Guozhong joked, "I see you seem very happy, what's the good news?"
Since they were all family, King Liu did not hide anything and laughed and said, "Pack your things and book some tickets to Seattle, USA. Arsen, you can come with us."
Zhang Guozhong asked in confusion, "Why are you going to Seattle? Are you going on vacation? There are a lot of things going on in the company right now."
King Liu laughed and said, "Who told you we were going on vacation? We're going to Hollywood!"
Zhang Guozhong was even more confused: "Hollywood is not in Seattle either."
King Liu said: "I just received a call from Lu Yiming..."
Zhang Guozhong then learned from King Liu that the legendary elusive boss of Minghua Entertainment had set up a new film company in the United States, which specialized in the North American box office!
Zhang Guozhong was shocked and showed an expression of disbelief.
Although Hong Kong is known as the Hollywood of the East, it is still a small place and the gap between it and Hollywood is still obvious. The difference in box office alone is not on the same level.
Take "Titanic" which was released in late 1997 as an example. The box office in Hong Kong was 115 million, which was a record-breaking result. You should know that the highest box office of Hong Kong local movies was just over 60 million.
But what was the box office of the same movie "Titanic" in North America?
Six hundred and fifty-nine million dollars!
This is a size gap of more than fifty times, which means that the total amount of resources that both sides can invest in film shooting is completely different, and the economic base determines the superstructure.
The decline of Hong Kong films is actually inevitable.
People outside the circle cannot see these things, but as insiders of the Hong Kong entertainment industry, everyone knows them well. Otherwise, the Hong Kong movie stars in the 1980s and 1990s would not have cut their heads one by one in an attempt to enter Hollywood.
The most successful among them was Jack Cheng. His "Rumble in the Bronx" cost more than 100 million US dollars, but the results were also encouraging. The box office in North America alone reached 32 million US dollars. Including the box office in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the net profit was more than 100 million.
The success of "Rumble in the Bronx" is a milestone for Jack Cheng, Golden Harvest Films, and the entire Chinese film industry.
Starting from the 1980s, after more than ten years and three attempts, Jack Cheng finally succeeded in breaking into the mainstream Hollywood film market with this film, making many of his peers envious.
Now, King Liu is also going to Hollywood to develop his career, and Zhang Guozhong's excitement is beyond words.
Zhang Guozhong had always dreamed that King Liu could make a breakthrough and break into Hollywood to earn US dollars like Jack Cheng. Now, when he heard that Lu Yiming had actually opened a film company in the United States, he was immediately overjoyed.
"We are partners with Mr. Lu. He is calling you over now. He must be planning a movie tailor-made for you. You will play the leading role and become an instant hit."
King Liu shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I'm afraid it won't work this time. President Lu told me that the total investment in the new movie is over 30 million US dollars, and it's a horror movie. The most I can do is play a supporting role and show my face."
Zhang Guozhong was immediately unhappy when he heard this, and shouted, "Don't you have a good relationship with Mr. Lu? I think you can definitely fight for this opportunity. Even if it's not the main role, it should at least be an important supporting role, right? After all, you are a superstar in Hong Kong. How can you just play a cameo role in another movie?"
King Liu sighed and said, "It's not that I don't fight for it. Mr. Lu told me about the play. Several of the main characters are female. How can I play this role? Do you want me to dress up as a woman?"
Whether it is the heroine Alice, the female commando Ryan Ocampo, or even Jill Valentine in the second part, and Ada Wong in the fifth part, it can almost be said that they are all movies with women carrying the main role. Men are just embellishments and foils in them, and there are few characters whose faces can be remembered.
“…”
Zhang Guozhong was speechless for a moment, then he realized that he seemed to have thought too much.
Yes, although Lu Yiming is an amazing young man, no matter how amazing he is, how can he have a say in Hollywood? It is the playground of the capitalist world. Being able to bring King Liu there is already a great ability, and we really shouldn't ask for too much for the time being.
As a public figure, King Liu's travels naturally attract attention from the media, especially the paparazzi.
Therefore, the news that Minghua Entertainment was going to enter Hollywood quickly spread throughout Hong Kong.
Many people felt that King Liu was overestimating his abilities. Even Chow Yun-fat, who was filming "Anna and the King" in the Malay Peninsula, called him.
"Hua Zai, what's going on? Why do you want to go to Hollywood all of a sudden?"
Having worked in Hollywood for several years, Chow Yun-fat knows that it is not easy to enter Hollywood.
Chow Yun-fat is an old friend of Zhang Guozhong, who is known as the "gold medal agent". It was under Zhang Guozhong's management that he gradually reached the peak of his career.
As for King Liu, he was discovered and cultivated by Chow Yun-fat, and they have a good relationship.
King Liu had to patiently explain the whole story. When he learned that King Liu had a billionaire like Lu Yiming who was willing to spend money to support him, he immediately felt envious and said, "Why can't I meet such a sponsor?"
The filming cost was 30 million US dollars. This level of investment is not small even in Hollywood.
"Congratulations, Andy. Now that you have this opportunity, you should work hard and make a name for yourself in Hollywood together."
They are all artists from Hong Kong. Chow Yun-fat still hopes to see more Hong Kong stars successfully break into Hollywood. With more people, they will not be bullied.
