Chapter 80

"Coherence" was a hit. Wu Yuchen didn't need to look at anything else; he could tell from the occupancy rate.

The Sydney Film Festival held screenings for two consecutive weeks. During this period, the occupancy rate of most films during the day on weekdays was actually not very high, and it was only after work in the evening that crowds would pour in to watch.

But "Coherence," even during the day on weekdays, had an occupancy rate of over 70% for every screening, which was already a very high figure!

And Wu Yuchen also discovered several familiar faces among the audience; he didn't know how many times they had come to watch it, clearly fanatical suspense film lovers.

Just on the fifth day of the screenings, film distributors had already come knocking.

But it wasn't the big British and American distributors Wu Yuchen was expecting, but a small local Australian distributor that wanted to buy the screening rights for "Coherence" for $50,000, and that was for the whole world.

"Hey, Wu, you only spent 10,000 on costs, isn't our offer of five times that enough to show our sincerity?"

"Mr. Jason, I'm sorry, I want to wait until the film festival ends before talking."

Although he spoke quite tactfully, Wu Yuchen's attitude was very firm. They wanted to fleece him at this price? In their dreams!

Don't be surprised; many such local distributors try to pick up bargains. Anyway, there's no loss in trying to make an offer; what if it actually works out?

By then, they wouldn't even need to do the distribution themselves; they could make a lot of money just by reselling the rights.

"Wu, you should be very clear that the Sydney Film Festival favors art films, and your 'Coherence' is a sci-fi suspense film; it won't be favored by the judges!" This person still wanted to linger, saying things to shake Wu Yuchen's confidence.

Wu Yuchen's expression turned cold: "I think we have nothing more to talk about. Do you need me to call security to ask you to leave?"

Seeing Wu Yuchen's firm attitude, the man knew there was no possibility left, so he didn't say anything more and walked away with a cold snort.

Although Jiang Qinqin had been practicing English for several months, she couldn't fully understand the rapid dialogue between the two, but Tang Yu had been translating for her on the side just now.

She walked up, gently took one of Wu Yuchen's hands, and asked with some concern: "Is it really like what he said?"

Seeing her expression, Wu Yuchen squeezed her hand to reassure her, then smiled and said:

"Art films are favored at most film festivals, but there are 10 best films, so there might be a chance. And even if we don't win an award, it doesn't matter; just treat it as a free trip to Sydney~"

After these few days, Tang Yu had basically figured out the situation on his side, and plus, after the organizers saw the popularity of their exhibition hall, they sent two staff members to help, so Wu Yuchen finally had time to take Jiang Qinqin around.

Coming to participate in the Sydney Film Festival, how could they not go and see some good films?

The first exhibition hall Wu Yuchen took Jiang Qinqin to was the one for "Shine."

This film is truly a classic; even though he had already seen it in his past life, he was still moved watching it again now.

Wu Yuchen remembered that in Zhou Xingxing's "King of Comedy," the idol poster in the male lead Yin Tianchou's room included this film.

The performance of the male lead, Geoffrey Rush, was also truly excellent. Being able to sweep next year's Oscar Best Actor as an Australian film shows how powerful it was. He later also played the villain Captain Barbossa in "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Just as Wu Yuchen was leisurely taking Jiang Qinqin around to play, a not-so-intense argument was taking place among several judges.

The Sydney Film Festival's jury is composed of 5 members each year, one or two of whom are Australian filmmakers. At the same time, several of the ten best films each year are Australian films; this is a form of protection for local films.

"I recommend 'Coherence.' The exploration of human nature in it is very interesting. I am me, but I am not me; in order to kill me, I must try hard to pretend to be me. When people are selfish, they are even ugly enough to be jealous of themselves!"

If Wu Yuchen were present, he would definitely have recited the classic line from "My Own Swordsman" where Lu Xiucai kills Ji Wuming: "Who exactly killed me, and who did I kill!" in its entirety.

However, another man spread his hands and said: "But, it is a sci-fi suspense film; it really isn't that artistic."

Opposing him was a woman wearing glasses:

"Come on, Paul, we have 10 spots; do you want to select 10 films that are all your so-called art films?

The slogan for the Sydney Film Festival's external promotion is that it welcomes films of any subject matter!

Do you want me to read the film festival's purpose to you?

'We hope that the film creation is bold and cutting-edge, using extraordinary techniques to express the theme.'

Isn't the satirical approach to human nature in 'Coherence' novel enough?"

Seeing that the man was rendered speechless for a moment, another judge smiled to smooth things over:

"Paul, this year we have 'Shine,' and the art films are already dazzling enough. I think we should give other subject matters some opportunities. After all, the film festival still needs to maintain an open and inclusive attitude."

Paul took the hint and said: "You're right, 'Shine' is truly excellent! I've seen the short film 'The Record' by this new director Wu; he is indeed a very thoughtful young man."

……

After playing for a week, as the film festival was nearing its end in two days, Wu Yuchen didn't take Jiang Qinqin out to wander anymore and returned to the exhibition hall.

Just on the afternoon of the day before the closing ceremony, a staff member came over and said with a smile: "Wu Dao, please be sure to attend our closing ceremony and awards banquet tomorrow!"

"Thank you!" Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this.

And Tang Yu beside him was already about to cheer; now he also knew that this meant there was a high probability of winning an award tomorrow.

The next day, Wu Yuchen wore a suit and formal attire this time, but Wu Yuchen couldn't bear to let Jiang Qinqin wear a formal gown. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend the money, but it was still winter in Australia in June, and he was afraid she would freeze in this weather of less than 10 degrees.

The two walked arm in arm, with Tang Yu in tow, and walked across the red carpet together. This time, the cheers for them were much more numerous than before in Berlin; after all, through word of mouth over the past two weeks, "Coherence" had become a hot topic at this film festival.

As for the awards ceremony, honestly, there wasn't much to say, because the Sydney Film Festival's award is just the ten best films, with no order of priority and no suspense. Compared to before, the atmosphere and tension were indeed far worse than in Berlin. Each crew took turns going up to receive their awards, and finally, the representatives of the ten crews took a group photo.

Having experienced Berlin, Wu Yuchen and Jiang Qinqin were much calmer this time, while Tang Yu was incredibly happy to witness the film winning an award on his first time out.

Wu Yuchen looked at the small trophy for Best Film in his hand; he didn't value this much, but this thing is a ladder; only with it could he enter the vision of British and American distributors.

There were quite a few British and American distributors who came to the Sydney Film Festival this time, and it could even be said to be the most in recent years, all thanks to the film "Shine."

Ever since this film appeared at the film festival, those in the know quickly contacted the company. Fox Searchlight, Sony Classics, Buena Vista International, etc., all came, wanting to secure the distribution rights for this film in America.

"Damn it, Buena Vista's actions are actually this fast!" Frank cursed while unbuttoning his collar. He had rushed over from America specifically to personally inspect "Shine."

He had gone to see the film as soon as he arrived at the film festival two days ago. It was indeed excellent, and this kind of biographical film is very suitable for the Oscar campaign route. The old men in the Academy love this type the most; with a little operation, it could get an Oscar nomination, and winning the award in the end wasn't impossible.

However, his actions were still slow. By the time he wanted to negotiate with the producers of "Shine," they were already about to reach a cooperation intention with Buena Vista International. He had visited several times in the past two days and returned empty-handed, which made him somewhat frustrated but helpless.

Seeing that there was basically no hope for "Shine," but not wanting to have made the trip for nothing, Frank asked his subordinate:

"Daniel, are there any other good films at this film festival?"

Daniel thought for a moment and said: "Boss, there is a sci-fi suspense film from the East that is very hot at this film festival. Its creativity is truly excellent!"

This piqued Frank's interest. Hollywood has been using various tropes for so many years that they are almost rotten: "Tell me about it."

"Parallel worlds, time-space intersection..." Frank kept muttering after hearing it, his eyes flashing.

In a screening hall, "Coherence" was being played, but unlike during the film festival before, the hall looked empty, with only about ten people sitting inside.

Wu Yuchen glanced at the few people who were watching the film intently. Besides those from Fox Searchlight, there were also people from Sony Classics and an English film company.

Wu Yuchen didn't expect that "Shine" would attract higher-level executives from several companies this time, which allowed his "Coherence" to take the opportunity to enter their vision, and he even had to rent a screening hall specifically to show it to them again.

When the film ended and the lights in the hall came on, the people from the film companies didn't react.

Frank curled his lips and said: "The first ten minutes were too boring; most audiences wouldn't be able to endure it."

The person from Sony Classics beside him also shrugged: "Yeah, I thought it was some great idea; it turned out to be the same old time and space stuff, all leftovers from Hollywood."

"With so many Eastern faces, I think the audience will get face-blindness after watching it."

"The film's visuals are also a bit rough; I watched it with a frown."

The person in charge of the English film company on the side didn't speak, watching with interest as these two Hollywood peers acted here. The two of them complained about the film's shortcomings one after another, but neither had any intention of leaving, hehehe.

Seeing Wu Yuchen walk over, the two looked at each other and understood that they couldn't really fool the other party, so they stopped playing any little tricks.

Frank smiled and said: "Alright, I admit this film is a bit interesting."

The person from Sony Classics said: "Frank, you don't want us to just bid like this, do you?"

Frank nodded: "For a small-budget Eastern film, it's not worth losing our dignity. How about we wait for a final price?"

"OK."

After Wu Yuchen walked over, Frank asked directly:

"Wu, our time is very precious, and we have to return to our country tomorrow. May I ask what your asking price is?"

Several of them were old hands. If they could know his psychological expectation and buy the rights from Wu Yuchen at a lower price, that would be even better, so they wouldn't take the initiative to make an offer.

Wu Yuchen smiled faintly upon hearing this and said in a relaxed tone: "Oh, I'm the exact opposite; my time is very free. So I plan to run through all the film festivals in the second half of the year, such as Toronto and Sitges. I think there will always be a suitable buyer."

Wu Yuchen's statement, which revealed nothing but made his attitude clear, also made the few of them realize that this kid was not easy to fool.

Frank also smiled: "Wu, I have some interest in the film. A director's time is very precious; you wouldn't want to waste all your energy on the road, would you? $500,000, for the screening rights and disc rights in North America."

Wu Yuchen clicked his tongue in admiration in his heart; as expected of a big distributor, this was much more generous than the Australian bumpkin who came to fool him earlier!

Hearing Frank's offer, the person from Sony Classics beside him smiled and said: "Wow, Frank, it seems I have a bit more sincerity than you. I offer $600,000."

"Is that so? I suddenly feel that the number $650,000 might be even better."

Frank immediately followed up, having long since thrown his proposed final price to the side. Dignity, my foot!

He had originally come for "Shine," but failed, and really didn't want to return empty-handed. This "Coherence" gave him an unexpected surprise.

The person from Sony Classics glared at him, then looked at Wu Yuchen: "750,000. Wu, I heard that the adaptation rights for your short film were sold to us at Sony Classics; you should trust our reputation and sincerity."

Wu Yuchen looked at Frank again, but Frank didn't look at him, instead looking at the person from Sony Classics, and reported a number: "1 million."

"You!" The person from Sony Classics glared at Frank, this treacherous person.

And Wu Yuchen looked at Sony Classics with full expectation, hoping he could continue to be powerful and raise it a bit more.

But the person in charge of Sony Classics disappointed him; he didn't report another number, but said to Frank with a dark face:

"This film cannot possibly have any box office in North America!"

"I'm willing; can't I just treat it as filling the film library for Fox?" Frank said calmly.

The person from Sony Classics didn't pay attention to him anymore and handed a business card to Wu Yuchen: "Wu, if you have any thoughts, you can contact me at any time."

After saying that, he straightened his clothes and turned to leave.

At this time, Wu Yuchen asked Frank with a smile:

"Mr. Frank, are you sure it's 1 million dollars?"

"Of course, are you not satisfied?"

"Oh no no, I'm just afraid you might regret it."

Wu Yuchen said politely, but he didn't put away the business card in his hand.

Seeing this, Frank snorted coldly: "I wouldn't do such a disreputable thing. But 1 million comes with conditions; Fox Searchlight has the right of first refusal for the North American adaptation rights of the film."

Upon hearing that it was only the right of first refusal, Wu Yuchen nodded readily and agreed.

Frank had his own plans. First of all, the person from Sony Classics was right just now; this film basically couldn't be widely released in North America and could only be tried in some theaters in Chinatown and Asian residential areas.

However, "Coherence" would have very good revenue in the disc market. Not only is the creativity attractive and the plot worth repeated viewing, but the promotional gimmick of a $10,000 sci-fi film alone could attract many people. He wasn't sure how much the specific revenue would be, but this deal definitely wouldn't lose money.

Don't think that foreigners don't watch Chinese films or are all face-blind. Hong Kong martial arts films have always sold well in the DVD market, and Cheng Long's action films have been even hotter in the past two years. The DVD sales and rentals of "Rumble in the Bronx" even once broke into the top ten in North America for the year.

Frank planned to take it back and test the waters first. If the effect really exceeded expectations, he would directly take the adaptation rights and shoot a new American version. This film looks like a small production, and it wouldn't cost much to shoot.

After watching a good show, the person from the English distributor on the side finally spoke with a smile:

"Wu Dao, I think you don't need to go to the Sitges Film Festival anymore. $800,000, for the screening rights and discs in the European region. I think this price of mine is very fair."

Compared to America, the person from this English distributor was more optimistic about "Coherence."

Because to a certain extent, Europe is actually more inclusive of films and wouldn't care too much about whether the protagonist is white for this kind of independent film.

In 1996, the creativity of "Coherence" with its parallel intersections plus killing oneself was absolutely a genius idea. As long as anyone interested in suspense films watched it, they would definitely be greatly shocked. Therefore, he was very confident that this film could get a rich return in Europe.

Wu Yuchen pondered slightly, then nodded directly and agreed. This price was indeed quite good, and he really didn't want to wait a few more months.

Because Yahoo had already gone public in April, he wanted to take advantage of the fact that he could operate abroad now to invest the money he earned into Yahoo's stock; waiting a few more months would not be as good.

As for the film "Coherence," he didn't plan to run around anymore, but didn't he still have Tang Yu!

For the Sitges Film Festival in the second half of the year, he would tell him to take it and participate again, and it would be best if he could bring back another award. By then, the rights for regions like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South America could all be sold for money!

After everything was settled, the person from the English distributor smiled and said to Wu Yuchen:

"Wu, from your short film 'The Record' and this 'Coherence,' it can be seen that you are a director with many ideas and a very international vision. If there is a chance, I suggest you go to a bigger stage to show your talent."

Upon hearing this, Frank was also moved and smiled similarly: "I agree very much. Wu, if you have a suitable script, you are welcome to find me; I welcome you at any time! Perhaps you can get the opportunity to direct in Hollywood~"

Frank was actually thinking in his heart that if "Coherence" really were to be remade into an American version, this Wu would be a director candidate to consider.

"Thank you both for your suggestions; I will definitely consider them carefully. If you have time, I would like to invite you both to dinner tonight."

Wu Yuchen extended an invitation, hoping to learn more about the current situation of European films and Hollywood from them. Although he had the experience of his past life, it could only serve as a reference and was not as timely as the information obtained from these two people.

"Hahaha, then we won't be polite!" The two looked at each other and smiled.

……

Wu Yuchen, Jiang Qinqin, and Tang Yu waited in Sydney for a few more days and received a total of $1.9 million.

1 million for North America, 800,000 for Europe, and 100,000 for Australia.

Some people might think that selling for nearly $2 million at once is a bit exaggerated, but if you know that there are the Pang brothers in Hong Kong, whose two films "Bangkok Dangerous" and "The Eye" sold North American rights for $900,000 and $1 million respectively, you won't think this number is outrageous. Among them, "Bangkok Dangerous" was only in '99, not many years from now, and the remake rights were later bought, starring Nicolas Cage.

This 1.9 million plus the 300,000 he had previously deposited in the bank made a total of 2.2 million. He took 2 million of it to buy Yahoo stock.

Yahoo went public on April 12 this year with a closing price of $33, but it didn't rise in these few months and instead fell to below $20. Wu Yuchen didn't know the process in between, only remembering that Yahoo's peak market value was hundreds of times higher than when it went public. He still decided to believe in Yahoo's glory in his past life and bought $2 million worth of Yahoo stock at $18.55.

He planned to bring the remaining $200,000 back to China, which was enough for him to use.

He certainly wouldn't reveal how much money he made from selling the rights to "Coherence" this time, otherwise a bunch of people would be jealous. However, he planned to give each actor in the crew a big red envelope of 6666 yuan; mainly because he really earned a lot this time!

And there's the matter of the domestic release. When the time comes, he'll ask the Beijing Film Group and Shanghai Film Group if they want to show it. If possible, Wu Yuchen can pay for some of the distribution costs himself. He's not looking to make money from the domestic box office, but rather, since the film is made, he can at least let the crew members watch their own film in the cinema, so everyone will have a sense of accomplishment and won't feel like they worked in vain.

Time had already reached July. Jiang Qinqin didn't stay in Beijing for two days after returning. After some intimacy and a reluctant farewell with Wu Yuchen, she went straight back to her hometown. After all, she hadn't gone back during the Chinese New Year, and she couldn't not go back this summer vacation.

And the first thing Wu Yuchen did when he returned was to summon the crew of "Themselves." Now it was finally time to shoot the summer scenes.

The summer scenes in the film were exactly the days when the two lived together warmly and harmoniously. Every bit of their interaction could make people feel the care and warmth between them, just like a real grandmother and granddaughter.

Now Zhou Xun and the old lady Jin Yaqin were already very familiar with each other. Shooting this part of the scene was a natural success, and it was done in 5 days!

The crew of "Themselves" also wrapped up. At the wrap-up banquet, the old lady Jin Yaqin even told Zhou Xun to come to their house to sit often when she was free; they had truly forged a deep friendship.

Wu Yuchen, on the other hand, devoted himself to post-production. The winter, spring, and autumn seasons that had already been shot were already edited, and he just needed to edit the summer part and connect it.

As for the soundtrack, it's a coincidence. In his past life, the soundtrack for the film "Themselves" was done by Dou Wei. But the current Dou Wei doesn't know how to play the guqin, and Wu Yuchen couldn't just fixate on him.

So he ran to the Central Conservatory of Music and found Dou Wei's guqin teacher, Wu Na, and through the newly enrolled Wu Na, he found her teacher, the guqin master Li Xiangting, and finally completed the soundtrack.

The reason for being persistent in using the guqin is that this film is too suitable for an instrument like the guqin, which has a deep tone and lingering sound. As soon as you hear it, there is a sense of tradition and the passage of time.