Chapter 110

Cao Yang's entry into Hollywood is not a secret; Bellman had already let the word out.

Once the film was truly pushed forward, Bellman received calls from countless agents of actresses. He could only regretfully tell them that this is a man's play and there are very few female roles.

Even so, in order to build a good relationship with Cao Yang, many agents of actresses indicated that as long as the role is suitable, even if it's a supporting role, they can consider it.

The seven major Hollywood film companies, plus DreamWorks, which is vaguely becoming the eighth, all showed a certain degree of interest.

They still respect art-house directors who can cultivate people—art films not only have low investment, but art films that can win awards also don't have bad box office results; they can basically guarantee a profit.

This is actually a very remarkable thing.

Before a film project is initiated at a slightly larger Hollywood film company, they will entrust a research company to conduct preliminary research to ensure as much as possible that the film can make money.

As for Cao Yang, many Hollywood film companies have his data. This young man has risen rapidly in the past two years, not only winning the Golden Lion, but more importantly, cultivating three best actresses at the three major European festivals.

This last point is what film companies value.

Being able to cultivate people means that movie stars who want to win awards will compromise, will lower their salaries, and if there is a chance to win an award, they will personally step in and spend their own money to operate.

These lowered salaries, the expenses of operating out of their own pockets, and the stars' own boost to the box office are all things that film companies crave.

The first to extend an olive branch to Cao Yang was Columbia Pictures. It's actually easy to understand; in the US, Columbia usually comes forward, and once things are negotiated, it will eventually be in the name of Sony Pictures Classics.

Sony Pictures Classics focuses on the field of art films.

Columbia started with a budget of 20 million US dollars and would not interfere with Cao Yang's creation, but they wanted to control the project.

That is to say, you have creative freedom, we won't interfere with the content, but the actors and everything in the project must be decided by me.

Simply put, you just focus on filming according to your own ideas, but the choice of actors is decided by us, and the various expenses and filming progress of the project are still decided by us.

The conditions seem okay, at least they don't interfere with creation, but Columbia was relatively vague about the final cut right, which Cao Yang values most.

Bellman told Cao Yang not to panic and not to be in a hurry to agree to anything. This is just the beginning, only the initial trial phase; it's still a long way from the final result.

Alright, as someone from Sony Pictures Classics, he stood directly on Cao Yang's side.

Perhaps to put Cao Yang's mind at ease, he also told Cao Yang that big stars had already contacted him.

"Who is it?"

Cao Yang was a bit curious.

Bellman felt like he had a toothache. He took a breath before saying somewhat reluctantly: "Kevin Costner, you should have heard of him, right?"

Cao Yang thought for a moment and asked somewhat uncertainly: "The Kevin Costner who won the Oscar for Best Director?"

"That's right, it's the guy who directed and starred in 'Dances with Wolves', which received twelve Oscar nominations in '91 and won seven major awards, including Best Director and Best Picture."

Cao Yang was somewhat enlightened; no wonder Bellman had that constipated expression.

In terms of fame, Kevin Costner was truly big in Hollywood, especially in the decade from 1990 to 2000.

It's just that he made waves in Hollywood for the first five years, and the storm was too strong in the last five years, almost drowning him.

In 1995, he directed and starred in 'Waterworld', which had an investment of 250 million US dollars, and the North American box office was only over 80 million.

In 1997, he directed and starred in 'The Postman', which had an investment of 80 million, and the box office was less than 20 million.

In 2000, he starred in 'Thirteen Days', which had an investment of over 100 million, and the North American box office was over 30 million. The successive failures of the films made Kevin Costner famous in name only, and the label of "box office poison" couldn't be removed. It's estimated that he shouldn't dream of starring in A-level big productions in this lifetime.

"Hasn't he always been in the field of commercial films? Why does he want to star in an art film?"

Bellman shrugged and explained with a wry smile: "He only has this one path at the moment to possibly rise again."

"What do you think?" Cao Yang asked.

"Using him doesn't benefit us, and it might even hinder the negotiations with the studio. 'Box office poison' isn't just a saying."

"Then let's wait a bit longer. I've finished reading the materials on Milk. Let's set up the framework of the script first, then fill it with stories, and then find some people to modify it to be more in line with local terminology and the era background."

For this script, Cao Yang will only write a framework and fill in the story; for the rest, he'll find someone to localize it.

Not long after Bellman left, Cheng Jianye walked in from outside and said to Cao Yang: "Cao Dao, the company you asked me to register, I've already had a specialized company handle it."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. For this project, I will try my best to get you a UPM (Unit Production Manager) position. You should observe Hollywood's operating mode more; maybe you'll need it when filming commercial movies in the future."

"Thank you, Cao Dao."

!

Cheng Jianye was overjoyed: "The position doesn't matter, as long as I can stay by Cao Dao's side and handle things within my power."

"Get out of here, your flattery is too naked; it's not useful at all."

Cheng Jianye laughed.

Subsequently, Cheng Jianye asked: "Cao Dao, are you going to invest in this movie in the name of the company this time?"

Cao Yang shook his head: "Not necessarily, let's see how the negotiations go. This movie is just to gain a foothold in Hollywood; there are too few conditions that can be raised. Besides, if you invest, it's very easy to get scammed. We can only wait until we have a firm footing."

A few days ago, Bellman had told Cao Yang that besides Columbia, MGM had approached him before Cao Yang even came to the US, inquiring about Cao Yang's new movie, and they seemed very sincere.

However, as Chen Kaige's 'Killing Me Softly' was released in France in early June, the market response was lukewarm and the box office was very unsatisfactory, so MGM's enthusiasm decreased somewhat.

You know, because Chen Kaige had won the Palme d'Or, his fame in France was very great, but it wasn't reflected in the box office.

By the time June 14th came, when Wu Yusen's 'Windtalkers' was released on a large scale in the US, this was starring Nicolas Cage, who was at his peak. Logically speaking, the box office should have been very good.

But the reality was that the reviews were terrible, saying that Wu Yusen filmed a war movie as a gangster gunfight movie, and one couldn't see the command system when the US Marine Corps engaged with the Japanese army.

Coupled with the chaotic scene choreography, there was always a feeling that the US Marine Corps soldiers only knew how to hold machine guns and fire wildly, while the Japanese soldiers only knew how to hide in bunkers, fire, sneak attacks, and perform Banzai charges.

There were also many unreasonable aspects that made military fans lose interest.

Reflected in the box office, it was far from expectations. According to the box office trend, it would be good if it could reach 40 million in North America; losing money is certain.

Then, with the lessons of Chen Kaige and Wu Yusen, MGM also began to hesitate about Cao Yang, a bit afraid to invest in Chinese films again.

However, Cao Yang didn't care. Now is the most chaotic time within MGM. Even if they wanted to invest, Cao Yang would still have to consider whether to accept it.

A company in a mess, who knows how many troubles there are.

When Cao Yang finished writing the script, Bellman also brought good news: two more very famous male stars had a very strong desire to cooperate.

Created a small group, 605650175

(End of chapter)