Chapter 139: Gap and the Invitation from Hollywood

In the past few days, a total of five Hollywood companies came to negotiate the overseas copyright of "The Blade of the Sword".

In addition to Sony Columbia, Warner and New Line, Miramax and Lionsgate, with whom Liu and Zhou had had previous interactions, also came.

Only by actually participating in it could Liu Zhou truly realize how popular mainland martial arts movies were overseas at that time.

The grand occasion of several major Hollywood companies gathering in the mainland may only be possible in the next few years.

The reason why these Hollywood companies came to him was because Liu Zhou, Han Shanping and Yang Shoucheng had discussed the division of labor.

Liu Zhou had more experience in dealing with overseas film producers, so the task of negotiation was given to him.

Yang Shoucheng's Emperor Entertainment Group has more connections in Southeast Asia, so the transaction of that copyright was handed over to Emperor Entertainment Group.

The first thing Liu Zhou talked about was Miramax, and the person who came over was the fat guy Harvey Weinstein.

"Hey, Mr. Liu, we meet again."

Facing Harvey's enthusiasm, Liu Zhou also smiled and said:

"Mr. Harvey, I didn't expect you would still remember me even though we only met once."

"Of course, I have a good memory, and your movie The Piano Tuner left a very deep impression on me at the Sundance Film Festival."

Harvey Weinstein doesn't remember a thing!

He also heard that a new martial arts blockbuster was released in China. After some investigation, he found out that the director of this movie was actually the director of "The Piano Tuner".

But he didn't remember "The Piano Tuner" directed by Liu Zhou, but the American version of "The Piano Tuner" produced by Lionsgate.

The American version of "The Piano Tuner" had very good box office, reaching more than 50 million US dollars, making Lionsgate a big profit.

Seeing this result, Harvey Weinstein still felt a little regretful.

If he hadn't been so cunning at the time, this film would have belonged to him.

So after learning that the new martial arts blockbuster released by China was directed by the director of "The Tuner", Harvey decided to come in person.

It seems that since Li An's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", American audiences have suddenly become very interested in China's kind of flying movies.

"Hero", which was released some time ago, took in more than 50 million US dollars at the box office in the United States. Combined with other income such as videotapes, the profit of this movie is at least tens of millions.

The fact that a Chinese film could make such a high profit completely refreshed Harvey's worldview.

But even if your worldview is shattered, if you can make money, then let it shatter.

So this time Harvey personally stepped in to get this new Chinese martial arts movie.

"Thank you, but Mr. Harvey, I don't think you are here to reminisce about the past. Let's get straight to the point and talk about your offer."

The reason why Liu Zhou came to see him first was not because he had anything special about him, but because he wanted to see whether his offer was sincere.

If he still has no sincerity in playing tricks on Liu Zhou, then Liu Zhou will simply exclude him and not waste time on him.

Harvey Weinstein also knew that Liu Zhou was different from other directors of independent production companies and that he was not easy to fool, so his offer this time was not so unrealistic.

"Five million dollars, this price is not low."

"Is this your highest offer? If so, then we can end our conversation today. I have representatives from several Hollywood companies to talk to.

After we compare, we will inform you of the final result. If it is not the best, we will directly give you the highest price you can offer without beating around the bush. "

Now Liu Zhou is the one who holds the upper hand in this transaction, so he doesn't need to be too polite to these foreigners.

After hearing what Liu Zhou said, Harvey couldn't help but curse "shite" in his heart.

When negotiating with other independent production companies, which one of them was not polite to us?
When have I ever been treated like this!
But thinking of Franklin, Harvey suppressed his anger and said with a smile:

"Mr. Liu, if you are not satisfied with the five million, we can discuss it slowly."

"Mr. Harvey, I'm not kidding you. I also need to shop around, so just tell me the highest offer you can give."

"Well, the highest price we at Miramax can offer is $5.5 million."

"Ok, you don't have to wait too long. We can give you a clear answer in a week at most."

After saying this, Liu Zhou prepared to leave.

Harvey Weinstein didn't expect that he would be sent away like a little brother when he came in person to negotiate.

If it was in the United States, Harvey vowed to make him look good.

However, seeing Liu Zhou about to leave the room, Harvey suddenly said:
"Mr. Liu, please wait a moment."

"Anything else?"

“I don’t know if Mr. Liu has ever considered submitting your film to the Oscars. Hero was shortlisted for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, but unfortunately it was not selected.

I think there should be a good chance that Chinese martial arts films will once again win an Oscar, and I also have some good experience in Oscar-winning films.”

Harvey Weinstein is well aware of Chinese filmmakers' obsession with the Oscars.

Even China's top director Zhang Yimou is obsessed with the Oscars, let alone this young director.

As long as you have any thoughts about Oscar, you must vent your anger afterwards.

"And then?" "What then?"

Harvey feels that the other party is not playing by the rules!

"You said you are very keen on winning an Oscar. What do you want to say?"

"If you can sell the rights to The Blade of the Dragon to us at Miramax, I will do my best to help you get this movie an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film."

“Does it cost me money to operate it?”

"Of course, it costs money for any movie to run an Oscars."

"Forget it. If it comes to spending money, I'm not interested in the Oscars."

"Mr. Liu, this is an Oscar!"

"I know. Isn't the Oscar just an award for you to be more beautiful than your own country? It's no different from our own Golden Rooster Awards."

After saying that, Liu Zhou no longer paid attention to this fat guy who wanted to cheat others again.

At this time, mainland filmmakers were indeed obsessed with the Oscars. Zhang Yimou, Chen Shishi, Feng Kuzi and others had all made attempts to win the Oscars, and more than once.

But I always come back empty-handed!

Liu Zhou's comparison of the Oscars to the Golden Rooster may indeed be biased.

The Oscars are the most famous awards in the world, and they carry great value. Generally, the value of winning films will soar.

But Liu Zhouke has no obsession with the Oscars, making money is the most important thing.

And even if Liu Zhou wanted to win an Oscar, he would not cooperate with this fat guy. If he cooperated with him, he might not get the award and he would even lose a lot of money.

So Liu Zhou left the room without hesitation, leaving Harvey Weinstein alone in a daze.

Liu Zhou then contacted Sony Columbia, Warner and New Line in succession, but their bids were similar, with the highest being only $6 million from Sony Columbia.

Liu Zhou was still not satisfied with this, considering that the overseas copyright of "Hero" was sold for more than 30 million US dollars.

Although they have the international superstar Jet Li, the price difference is not that big.

In the end, Liu Zhou could only place his hopes on Lionsgate.

The two parties have collaborated before and have always been in contact. "The Tuner" also made them a lot of money. In addition, now is the time when Lionsgate is making great strides in development, so I think they will offer a higher price.

The person who came to China this time was Anthony Edwards, director of the distribution department of Lionsgate Entertainment, who had previously reached a deal with Liu Zhou at the Sundance Film Festival.

The two simply reminisced about the past, and Liu Zhou got straight to the point:

"Mr. Anthony, how much are you prepared to pay for the copyright of "The Sword of Embroidery"? In order to wait for your result, I rejected several offers from Hollywood companies."

Edwards didn't believe every word Liu Zhou said, but he still said seriously:
"Mr. Liu, we are not playing tricks. Seven million dollars is the sincerity of our Lionsgate."

"Seven million dollars is too low."

"I believe that no company can offer more than $7 million, and this is just for the distribution rights. The adaptation rights are useless in the United States."

"Having said that, $7 million is still too low. Hero sold for more than $30 million."

"The more than 30 million dollars that Hero sold for wasn't just for the European and American distribution rights. Besides, that movie has Jeter Lee in it, and the movie videos starring him sell very well, so it was sold at such a high price."

Liu Zhou also knew the truth of what he said, but he still wanted to fight for it, so he said:

"Mr. Anthony, add another half a million, $7.5 million, and we can sign the contract right away."

Anthony Edwards shook his head and said:

"Mr. Liu, I didn't lie to you. Seven million dollars is the highest price we can offer."

Seeing that the other party was unmoved, Liu Zhou had no choice but to say:
"Okay, but I need to think about it."

"Of course!"

In the following days, Liu Zhou asked Zhong Lifang to contact these companies again, but they seemed to have reached a tacit understanding and refused to increase the price after offering 6 million.

Liu Zhou also gave up the fantasy that "The Blade of the Immortal" could sell for tens of millions of dollars and turned to Lionsgate again.

Finally, the two parties officially signed the contract, and Lionsgate purchased the copyright of "The Blade of Spring Blossom" in all regions except Asia for US$7 million.

In fact, this price is not low, but Liu Zhou kept comparing it with "Hero", which led to some unrealistic fantasies.

After the two parties officially signed the contract, Anthony Edwards did not leave directly, but said to Liu Zhou:

"Liu, have you ever considered making a movie in Hollywood?"

"To Hollywood?"

“Yes, if you are willing to come to Hollywood, we at Lionsgate can invest, or we can invest together.”

"Anthony, I'm a little curious, why do you think so highly of me?"

"Because you have the ability!"

(End of this chapter)