[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr":3,"chapter-the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-348":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Academic Director: Reborn in the Film Industry",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2297348,4493,"Chapter 348: Exploring and Contrasting","the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-348",348,"\u003Cp>Something even more unacceptable to Gong Li followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Darling, you and Director Cao Yang are both Chinese, you must know each other well, right? Can you invite him out for a meal? It would be best if you could interact often and become good friends with him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of this, Vivi Nevo was clearly very excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Foreigners are generally more direct when they speak, so Vivi Nevo didn't beat around the bush with Gong Li and explained directly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Director Cao Yang is one of the most influential directors in Hollywood. His films have never failed; he is one of the few directors who can balance art and commerce.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, his films can win awards and achieve exceptionally good box office results, which is a very, very remarkable thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vivi Nevo wrapped an arm around Gong Li's waist, and his hand stroked her waist a few times as he continued at a very fast pace:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You might not know this, but in Hollywood, Director Cao Yang is a very difficult person to reach. The guys who want to invest in his films, to put it bluntly, could line up from Los Angeles to San Francisco.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seven major Hollywood film companies are all waving checks and offering very generous terms just to invest in his films, while small and medium-sized film companies don't even have such an opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Think about it, as long as we can become good friends with Director Cao Yang, maybe we can invest a little when he starts a new film; this is almost a guaranteed profit without any risk.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li thought about it; it did seem that Cao Yang had never failed. Anywhere in the world, including Hollywood and China, people would certainly have a kind of blind superstition about such a director.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can't we just invest in his films directly? As long as we give him more director's fees...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li said tentatively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was a smart person—she wouldn't have reached her current status if she weren't—and these words would certainly be able to test some of Vivi Nevo's influence, or at least reveal some clues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After what just happened, Gong Li felt she needed to re-evaluate the weight of her boyfriend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ha, darling, what are you thinking about?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vivi Nevo's hand moved down from Gong Li's waist, stopped near her buttocks, and gave them a pinch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you know how much he can get for directing a film in Hollywood?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How much?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li was a bit curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew the approximate salaries of Hollywood stars, but a director's salary was hard to say, and the compensation structure for big directors was also a bit complicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, in Gong Li's estimation, Cao Yang's income from shooting a film could be on par with a big Hollywood star; getting over ten million US dollars would be the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You have to know that when converted to RMB, that's about 100 million, something domestic directors wouldn't even dare to imagine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"His producer, director, and screenwriter fees combined are very expensive; he is currently one of the top three directors in Hollywood.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Gong Li's surprised expression, Vivi Nevo continued: \"Of course, compared to his profit-sharing, these are not worth mentioning. Do you know what his share percentage in *Inception* is?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How much?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li asked somewhat mechanically. How much is the top three in Hollywood director salaries?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A 13% share!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Gong Li's shocked expression, Vivi Nevo added: \"It's 13% of the total box office, plus 13% of all subsequent peripheral revenue!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li's brain went boom, and she was momentarily dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She vaguely remembered that the global box office for *Inception* was 900 million US dollars. How much is 13%? It should be over 100 million US dollars, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How much is that in RMB?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearly 1 billion, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For one film, Cao Yang could actually get 1 billion?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that's not even counting the subsequent peripheral revenue, which is also a very large number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li fell silent and felt extremely regretful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I had been able to land Cao Yang back then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li couldn't help but glance at her boyfriend, and then at Cao Yang, who was chatting with the president of Warner Bros. Pictures in the corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was old, short, and ugly, and also had a strong body odor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other was young, handsome, and wealthy, and possessed a status that was extremely high even in Hollywood. This could be seen from his equal conversation with the Warner president, and her own boyfriend's somewhat \"sucking up\" attitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li was lost at this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Darling.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li only felt the hand just above her buttocks act up again, and then she saw her boyfriend smiling and saying to her:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That girl is also from China, right? She was able to become a main character in *Inception* and was brought to attend the Oscar ceremony and banquet; her relationship with Director Cao Yang must be extraordinary.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let's go, let's go build a relationship with her first and see if we can approach from the side and circuitously become good friends with Director Cao Yang.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Li turned her head to look and couldn't help but frown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn't that Fatty Bing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What qualifications does she have to make me take the initiative to approach her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To put it bluntly, before Fatty Bing appeared in *Inception*, she had already become a non-entity, almost to the point of being forgotten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when she was at her most popular before, she was incomparable to me!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bitch who got lucky, and you want me to take the initiative to talk to her? Take the initiative to build a relationship?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How is that possible!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn't this lowering my own status?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am one of the four great actresses in the country; what is Fatty Bing? What awards does she have? Why should she be on equal footing with me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Gong Li could refuse, she felt her waist tighten and was led by her boyfriend toward Fatty Bing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Gong Li only felt the world go dark, and she felt like dying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeff Robinov, the president of Warner Bros. Pictures, came to find Cao Yang, still bringing up the old matter, wanting to invite Cao Yang to direct the *Batman* sequel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Currently, Warner Bros. had already passed a resolution internally to film the second *Batman*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the disagreement arose because although the first *Batman* directed by Nolan had good word-of-mouth, its profits were far below expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, in the choice of the second director, the senior management of Warner Bros. split into two factions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One faction believed that inviting Cao Yang to direct was the best choice, and the reason was also very sufficient: Cao Yang had never failed, and his box office results were getting higher and higher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other faction believed that Cao Yang was not American and must lack an understanding of *Batman*, and might not understand what this comic meant to Americans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plus, he was still doing post-production for *New Pirates of the Caribbean*; who knew when he would have an opening? Or he might take a break for half a year or a year after *New Pirates of the Caribbean* was released, which is what many big directors would do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be better to continue to invite Nolan to direct; after all, his first one had good word-of-mouth, and with that foundation, the second one wouldn't be too bad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jeff Robinov was inclined toward the faction that wanted to invite Cao Yang to direct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still the same saying: before a director fails, many people are very superstitious about him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Jeff Robinov also knew that big directors had many opinions about directing other people's sequels and generally were unwilling to do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, *Batman* was different; it was a comic-adapted film with a comic foundation. Even if it was filmed again, it wouldn't be counted as a sequel, but rather filming a new story from the comics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was what Jeff Robinov said to persuade Cao Yang; he was afraid that Cao Yang would think it was a sequel and thus become resistant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, Cao Yang didn't have much interest in directing *Batman*, but he had great interest in filming the *Batman* spin-off, *Joker*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Joker* could film complex human nature, gradually becoming cruel, ruthless, and even evil from a character who was initially weak, pitiful, and extremely repressed inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What made him become like this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It could also reveal how the social economic collapse led to chaotic order and a widening gap between the rich and the poor; there were many points to explore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a process of human transformation; the Joker's life was a tragedy. He started by pursuing comedy, but tragedy ran through his entire life, and he ended in tragedy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an art-house film with extreme artistic quality and room for exploration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1489,"2026-06-20T05:36:33.260Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","ddfadbbfcd65f7ee1562c740c566a316c4aabbe4cb62a079532532756dbf549a","the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-349","the-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-chapter-347",411,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-academic-director-reborn-in-the-film-industr-cover.jpg"]