Chapter 166: Coming to the Door

Speaking of male traffic groups in China, when people talk about it in later generations, it must be the TFboys, who are really popular in China. But if we really talk about the influence in the whole of Asia, it is really not as good as F4!

F4 can be called the most top-tier Chinese boy band. They were popular as soon as they debuted, and quickly became popular in Asia. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand were all crazy about them.

And 95% of the credit for this depends on a TV series, a TV series that counterattacked the home of South Korea when Korean dramas began to become popular throughout Asia, *Meteor Garden*.

How should I put this drama? Many lines and styles in the drama are very exaggerated. Putting it in reality, it feels like it's not a normal human being. After listening to it, it's embarrassing to pick your toes, but it is this taste that makes young people all over Asia feel head-on.

Wu Yuchen still cares about his reputation. If he really hangs his name on it and gets a title like "Idol Godfather," he will inevitably become a laughing stock for many people in the circle. Just say, if you meet Kaizi in the future, and he comes to say "Why did you film such a thing? What art does this show?", I am afraid Wu Yuchen can only chant poems to him on the spot.

However, F4 and *Meteor Garden* have such terrifying influence, and such simple operations, there is no reason not to make this money. Therefore, let the Hong Kong company that was registered long ago operate independently, which has nothing to do with Miracle Film, and it can't be pulled to Wu Yuchen.

But to be honest, although everyone mentions *Meteor Garden* and feels that it is very childish and very immature, in fact, as the existence of the pioneer of idol dramas, how can *Meteor Garden* be so simple?

This drama also almost includes all the classic bridges of subsequent idol dramas, including love that is not right, the love triangle between Cinderella and the domineering president, and the gentle knight, the ugly duckling turning into a white swan, the betrayal of the best friend, the brothers turning against each other for love, the passive cohabitation of the male and female leads, the fiancee falling from the sky, the hero saving the beauty to see the truth...

All the routines of idol dramas in later generations basically cannot escape the scope of *Meteor Garden*. At most, one of the bridges is brought to the extreme.

And the original *Boys Over Flowers* manga, since the day of its birth, has been adapted into a live-action film and television more than 10 times, spread across Asian countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea, and its popularity has remained high.

With Huang Huang Xiao Ming's current acting skills, Wu Yuchen is not good at helping him, but his exaggerated style is really just right for acting in *Meteor Garden*. And Huang Huang Xiao Ming, you like to play the domineering president, right? You haven't played enough in middle age, and you have been hanging a charming and wild smile. Then just let you be the ancestor of the president!

Maybe Huang Xiao Ming will enjoy it for a lifetime, who knows?

Since we want to create a top-tier boy band in the Greater China region, the personnel must be from the three places. Huang Huang Xiao Ming is the first one to be decided. Wu Yuchen intends to leave the other candidates to Cai Yinong. Cai Yinong's aesthetics are still very trustworthy. The handsome men and beautiful women picked out basically didn't disappoint the audience, but they still have to be reported to Wu Yuchen at that time.

He doesn't intend to worry too much about F4 and *Meteor Garden*, basically leaving it to Cai Yinong. As for what Huang Huang Xiao Ming will develop into in the future, it depends on his own creation. Anyway, the road is his own choice, and this opportunity is something many people want to ask for.

At this time, Wu Yuchen also received an international call from across the ocean: "Wu, Bruce Willis wants to talk to you face-to-face. Can you rush back to Hollywood as soon as possible?"

"Oh, of course."

Hearing this news, Wu Yuchen also showed a smile. The domestic affairs were almost done, and he had to rush to Hollywood to carry out his new project.

Arriving in America, the people who came to pick up the plane this time, in addition to his agent Carl, were producer James. The two had cooperated quite happily before, so Wu Yuchen still found him for this *The Sixth Sense*. When Wu Yuchen was in China, he had already let James start the crew's preparation work, such as location scouting, prop production, film shooting applications, etc.

On the way back, Wu Yuchen asked: "Is Bruce Willis in Los Angeles?"

James nodded and smiled: "Yes, he is specifically waiting for you. Being able to enjoy the wait of a big Hollywood star, Wu, this is enough to prove your charm~"

The current Bruce Willis is really popular. Not to mention the *Die Hard* series, his recent *Armageddon*, *The Fifth Element*, and *12 Monkeys* have all had good box office and word-of-mouth.

Wu Yuchen smiled, and then he asked Carl beside him: "Are there any other arrangements?"

Carl nodded immediately: "Knowing that you are coming back, many people want to visit, in addition to the Big Seven, there are Spielberg of DreamWorks, Harvey Weinstein of Miramax, etc."

Regarding Wu Yuchen's new project *The Sixth Sense*, in fact, as early as half a year ago when it was spread, it had attracted the attention of all parties. No way, who let Wu Yuchen achieve great success with *Frequency* and *Phone Booth*?

Even if *The Sixth Sense* is a horror-themed movie, many film studios have come to the door to want to cooperate, such as Sony, Warner, Fox, etc., who have thrown olive branches.

To be honest, Wu Yuchen's Miracle Film is not short of money now. The previous *Phone Booth* was full. This movie can be developed by itself, so it has never been loose.

But he also knows that in order for the movie to go smoothly this time, I am afraid that he must choose a big factory to cooperate and release a certain investment share to protect it.

Wu Yuchen didn't delay here. As soon as he arrived in Los Angeles, he went directly to see Bruce Willis. Other things can be put aside. The male lead must be settled first.

After Wu Yuchen saw Bruce Willis, he smiled and shook hands and hugged him: "Sorry, Bruce, I just got off the plane and couldn't wait to see you!"

For Wu Yuchen's enthusiasm, Bruce Willis also said: "Wu, I also hope to see you as soon as possible, but I have been in the crew for the past few months. You know, my schedule is very tight~"

"Of course, Bruce, you are the hottest big star in Hollywood now!"

The two exchanged pleasantries, confirmed that the other was not a weirdo, and then talked about business:

"*The Sixth Sense* script is great, but I have some questions. Wu, I want to know what style you plan to film this movie in?"

Wu Yuchen smiled:

"Bruce, you have already read the script. This is a ghost movie, so thriller and horror elements are indispensable. But I won't keep it in horror throughout, that would be too cliché. A thriller opening, then entering suspense, then turning to family warmth, and finally the climax of the last five minutes to reveal the mystery. All the foreshadowing in front is for this, which will shock all the audience!"

Bruce Willis thought for a while and said: "Can I understand that this is a package wrapped in a ghost movie, but in essence, it is a family problem movie?"

Wu Yuchen snapped his fingers: "Bingo! Bruce, you are right. This is a movie about communication. The adults in the film don't believe the child's claim of seeing ghosts, which is consistent with the blind spot that adults always don't listen to children. Listening to each other is an important method for communication between two generations."

In fact, this is also one of the reasons why *The Sixth Sense* can create such a high box office of nearly 300 million US dollars in America. There are definitely more than one movie with divine twists in so many years. To say horror, it is not as good as many horror movies, and as Wu Yuchen said, *The Sixth Sense* is a family movie. Family movies have always been the most widely received film theme in the United States.

It is not to say that the divine twists and thriller elements in it are not important, but the core of the movie is also very critical, which is also a common feature of many successful movies. *The Sixth Sense*, as a ghost movie, can get multiple Oscar nominations and be shortlisted for Best Picture, the reason lies in this.

Afterward, Wu Yuchen added another sentence: "Just like *Ghost*, a love movie wrapped in a ghost movie."

This made Bruce Willis show a wry smile on his face: "Wu, mentioning *Ghost* makes me regret it. This is also one of the reasons why I want to act after seeing the script of *The Sixth Sense* this time."

The female lead of *Ghost*, Demi Moore, is Bruce Willis's wife. In fact, the male lead was originally invited to Bruce Willis, letting this real-life couple act in a love story in the movie, which is a very good gimmick.

But Bruce Willis directly rejected the film party and the director because ghost movies have no future. Which Hollywood first-line star would run to act as a ghost? He thought this was a movie that would definitely fail.

And the result, *Ghost* became a classic, which slapped him hard in the face, and this became a regret for Bruce Willis.

In fact, with Bruce Willis's current appeal and status, there are really dozens of scripts in line waiting for him, but the reason why he is willing to wait for Wu Yuchen this time is that after seeing this script, he thought of the previous things and wanted to make up for the past regrets.

He was very satisfied with Wu Yuchen's answer just now, but he didn't agree immediately, and continued to ask:

"Wu, I want to ask, for this *The Sixth Sense*, do you still plan to be completely independent?"

Wu Yuchen also guessed his thoughts, shook his head and said: "Bruce, are you worried about the film review? Don't worry, I will find a big factory to cooperate this time to ensure that the film rating will not be stuck."

This is why Wu Yuchen must release a certain investment share.

Hollywood has a film review agency called MPAA, which is the Motion Picture Association of America rating committee. In North America, the film's rating is in the hands of this MPAA agency, and its main constituent members are actually the current Hollywood Big Seven.

Do you say its power is great?

Small companies are fine, but companies like DreamWorks, led by Spielberg, which have emerged rapidly and have capital, connections, and excellent production capabilities, have to be jointly suppressed by the Big Seven.

And the most direct way is to stick you from the rating system here. In most movies, there will be more or less shots that are not suitable for children, such as horror, bloody, etc., and is there a clear boundary to divide the rating?

In fact, there is no, or even if there is, its interpretation power belongs to the MPAA. The Big Seven are constituent members. People are referees. It is a completely different treatment to hit a movie that was originally PG-13 by DreamWorks into an R-rated movie!

PG-13 children can still go in to watch, just suggesting parental accompaniment, but R-rated is that those under 17 must be accompanied by parents to watch, which greatly reduces its viewing population.

People are both players and referees. How do you fight with the Big Seven? DreamWorks actually lost in distribution and MPAA, and finally split internally and was incorporated by big factories.

And for *The Sixth Sense*, there are also a few horror shots in the movie. If you are not your own person, as long as one of the MPAA members doesn't like you, you are likely to be hit as an R-rated movie. For a family movie, this is a very big blow. If you want to get such a high box office in the past life, it is absolutely impossible!

Therefore, to pass the review and rating level, Wu Yuchen must choose a big factory to cooperate, so that he can strive for PG-13 treatment.

Bruce Willis heard Wu Yuchen's answer, and finally showed a smile, then reached out his hand: "Wu Dao, I am very happy to cooperate with you this time!"

Wu Yuchen also reached out and shook hands with him. After some communication, both sides understood that they were smart people, so it would be easier to cooperate later.

After settling Bruce Willis, the main actors of the crew were settled. The female lead had long been promised to Jennifer Connelly by Wu Yuchen. As for the little actor who performed supernaturally, he was a child star who had been famous for a long time, Haley Joel Osment, who appeared in *Forrest Gump* in 94. Wu Yuchen didn't start the audition to waste time, and designated him directly.

The little actor and Bruce Willis in *The Sixth Sense* both played very well, so Wu Yuchen would not change people to increase uncertainty.

After Wu Yuchen settled Bruce Willis, he met with people from major film studios, and finally gave up 25% of the investment share and reached a cooperation with Disney. When it comes to family movies, Disney is one of the best in Hollywood, and the movie itself was invested and distributed by Disney in the past life. It achieved such good results, so it is natural for Wu Yuchen to choose them.

However, Wu Yuchen also negotiated some benefits, that is, in terms of distribution fees, Disney had to lower it to 10%. Wu Yuchen plus Bruce Willis's movie has appeal, and Disney also agreed.

As for Spielberg's personal visit to win over, I can only say sorry, you don't have distribution, and the film rating will be stuck, Wu Yuchen will not pay for your dream.

As for the production cost of the movie, unlike the 40 million in the past life, this time it is much higher.

First of all, in the past life, Bruce Willis signed a contract with salary plus dividends, because the producer didn't want to bear too high risk, which led to Bruce Willis earning 120 million US dollars from a movie through dividends after the box office exploded, winning numb!

And now Wu Yuchen knows how high the final box office and profit of *The Sixth Sense* are, so he will naturally not sign any dividend contracts, but give Bruce Willis 20 million.

Then there is Wu Yuchen's own director salary. His director salary in Hollywood is about 10 million, and for this film, he set a condition of 5 million plus 10% of North American box office and disc revenue in his capacity as director and screenwriter.

In fact, he wanted to take no money and want a 15% dividend ratio, but the partner Disney didn't agree. Finally, the 10% dividend ratio was negotiated.

In Hollywood, what position you are in is what treatment you get. Even if Wu Yuchen invests independently and sets a sky-high salary for himself, the outside world will not recognize it. On the contrary, it may attract the tax department to check the accounts and think you are playing tricks.

Then Wu Yuchen also plans to make the production cost of *The Sixth Sense* higher. Many things can be stuffed into the crew, bought through the crew, and left for the company and himself after filming. Of course, because Disney is watching, he doesn't dare to go too far.

In short, the production cost of *The Sixth Sense* has also been raised to 60 million. It is not low for a ghost movie.

Wu Yuchen has been fully preparing for *The Sixth Sense* with James. The movie was chosen in Philadelphia and will start filming at the end of October and early November. The tone of the whole film is cold, so he chose to film in early winter.

At Philadelphia Airport, two middle-aged Chinese walked out of the airport and directly stopped a taxi and reported an address.

One of the elegant middle-aged men asked the short person beside him:

"Brother Qiang, it's not good for us to come to the door in such a hurry..."

Jiang Zhiqiang shook his head upon hearing this and smiled bitterly:

"No way, who would have thought that Chen Taiming would withdraw capital as soon as he said it. I can only see if Wu Dao can help for the sake of being Chinese. Only by coming to the door in person and explaining it clearly can it be considered sincere!"

Li An sighed upon hearing this, very sad.

He bought the copyright of *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* a few years ago, and then spent two years changing the script. Afterward, he contacted the investor in Taiwan, Chen Taiming, the boss of Taiwan Yageo, to invest 80 million to film this martial arts movie.

The male and female leads were determined, Jet Li and Yang Ziqiong. Everything went smoothly. In September, Li An led the team to the mainland to start collecting wind and recruiting roles. Even some supporting roles had already been selected.

As a result, at this time, bad news suddenly came: the investor in Wanwan, Chen Taiming, withdrew capital!

Jiang Zhiqiang and Li An ran to Wanwan in a hurry, but people spread their hands, just two words, no money!

It's useless for the two to be angry, so they can only start discussing the next step.

According to Li An's idea, he was a bit scared by this kind of investor who withdrew capital at any time. It is best to return to Hollywood to pull investment. After all, the whole production process in Hollywood is very formal, and there are many mechanisms and measures to ensure the completion of the film.

But Jiang Zhiqiang felt that Hollywood might not be willing to invest in this kind of pure Chinese-style martial arts film. This is why the investors they found at the beginning were Chinese.

And at this time, Jiang Zhiqiang thought of Wu Yuchen. After all, his Miracle Film is now a Hollywood company, will follow the formal production process in Hollywood, and he is a Chinese who understands Chinese martial arts films, perfectly meeting the requirements of him and Li An, so he flew directly from Wanwan to America.

Jiang Zhiqiang said: "Before, Hollywood rumored that Wu Dao's Miracle Film earned 100 million US dollars through *Phone Booth*. I don't know if there is so much, but he can definitely afford this little money."

Listening to Jiang Zhiqiang's words, Li An also sighed:

"100 million US dollars..."

Thinking of the time he met Wu Yuchen at the Berlin Film Festival more than two years ago, he was just a new director who had just filmed a short film *Car 44*. He didn't expect that in just two years, he would become an international big director who surpassed him, and his mood couldn't help but be quite complicated.

Afterward, he sighed again: "But no matter how much money people have, it's not blown by the wind..."

"So the two of us have to come to the door in person, and I inquired about Wu Dao's reputation through mainland friends. I heard that he is righteous and supports the development of Chinese films!" Jiang Zhiqiang said, giving a thumbs up, as if cheering for himself and Li An.

Li An also showed a smile upon hearing this, and could only pray in his heart that this time it would be successful. ===== CHAPTER 167 =====