Chapter 198: Using Their Own Strategy Against Them

Harvey and Tang Mu Cruise, who knew Lu Kuan's strength, couldn't help but be stunned.

Especially Tang Mu Cruise's expression was particularly strange.

He is a producer, and only by investing his social relations and industry connections can he take 13% of the profit share.

The pre-sale film that just played for about ten minutes shocked these buyers who have read countless movies, he should undoubtedly be happy, right?

Harvey glanced at Tang Mu Cruise, just wanted to say something but stopped.

He looked at Liu Liu Yifei beside him, quietly moved his chair, and got closer to Tang Mu Cruise.

Harvey looked at Lu Kuan on the stage, knowing that he would return to his seat after the movie was finished, so he had to get Tang Mu Cruise, who seemed to be struggling, done first.

"Tang Mu, you won't change your mind, right?"

Tang Mu Cruise looked at Liu Liu Yifei vigilantly, seeing that she seemed a bit indifferent, and heard Harvey's explanation.

"Don't look at her, the movie is so noisy, she can't hear it."

"I must tell you Tang Mu, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you can't be soft-hearted! This is business!"

Tang Mu Cruise sighed for a long time.

"The movie is very wonderful, I just think it is unwise for us to turn against such a genius director."

After all, his identity is first an actor, then a businessman or producer.

Lu Kuan's Hollywood special effects commercial film production level shown in these fifteen minutes alone has already made him tongue-tied, just compared to the non-low economic rewards...

Harvey's eyes were fierce: "The more excellent he is, the more we have to win the copyright of this movie!"

"Since the high-quality potential of this movie has been proven, do we still have any reason to let go of the fat meat at our mouths?"

Tang Mu Cruise's face struggled sharply, and he fell into a dilemma.

The plan and trap Harvey communicated with him can allow the two to get the copyright of *The Domain* at the lowest cost, and come to a cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest.

But compared to offending a director like Lu Kuan who can undoubtedly enter the hall in his later career, which is lighter and which is heavier?

To be fair, Lu Kuan's plot design and imagination of lenses and scenes in this science fiction film even have the potential to catch up with James Cameron.

This is also the psychological recognition of almost all Hollywood film company buyers present today.

What is imagination?

It is the natural division between genius directors and mediocre directors. This seems to be a talent, an ability that is very difficult to effectively improve through acquired exercise.

For a profession like a director who plays with light and shadow art, imagination is not a whimsical screenwriter work, but the ability to build text on the screen through film techniques!

For example, the star gate crossing in *2001: A Space Odyssey*, the audience sees strange colors, abstract geometric shapes, and fast-flowing light and shadow;

Rivendell in *The Lord of the Rings*, the audience sees the elf territory full of fantasy colors, where there are exquisite buildings, flowing clear streams, and shining magic elements;

There are also rotating cities in *Inception*, bioluminescent forests in *Avatar*, and cyberpunk cities in *Blade Runner*.

And so on.

Specifically to the filmmakers in the country, there is a masterpiece of imagination design that is talked about by the teachers of the Beijing Film Academy director department:

Jiang Wen's *Devils on the Doorstep*.

There is a beheading scene in the movie. The design of the mediocre director is to give close-ups of knives, people, and necks, then scream, and blood flies.

Jiang Wen gave an alternative full-score answer.

After Ma San in the film was beheaded by Hanaya Saburo, he designed a subjective perspective of the head.

Let the audience follow his perspective and roll on the ground, the whole lens becomes bright red, and the audience looks absurd and immersive!

The lights in the screening hall were slowly turned on. Even the reserved Hollywood film buyers were no longer stingy with applause for this Chinese director who had just emerged!

Tang Mu Cruise's meditation was awakened by the intense applause. Looking at Lu Kuan who was smiling and greeting the audience on the stage, he sighed imperceptibly.

"Harvey, I hope your decision this time is correct."

Jewish An Lushan suddenly beamed and gave a positive look to the temporary partner.

He has already begun to look forward to the considerable rewards brought to him by this unique *The Domain*!

It's just that the two who were about to celebrate were unfortunately not found that there was a little yellow bird that looked harmless to humans and animals beside them.

Boss Lu didn't pay attention to the eye contact between the two. He had to first determine whether the tone of these fifteen minutes of film could attract Hollywood buyers and obtain mainstream recognition.

This is related to his later filming direction and lens design.

Honestly, many special effects creativity and detail designs in the movie are borrowed from the future.

But time has changed, can such "innovation" be considered wonderful in the eyes of these professional buyers?

After the fifteen-minute film was finished, he was excited to determine this point!

No problem!

Lu Kuan was surrounded before he returned to his seat. Almost all buyers expressed their willingness to cooperate, including independent film companies like Lionsgate that had cooperated before.

The buyers of major companies greeted each other and left. They had to go back to the company to apply for adjustable distribution points, and the real negotiations would be reached one after another in the next week.

Only Harvey was still persistent, and was retained by Tang Mu Cruise again.

"Lu, it's still early, if you don't mind, I invite you to go to the club to be dashing."

Boss Lu's heart moved. The last time he went with Tarantino was a strip club in Santa Monica. Los Angeles's is obviously at the top level!

It's a pity that there is a drag bottle today...

"No, it's late today, I have to send my female companion home safely."

Harvey exchanged eyes with Tang Mu Cruise beside Lu Kuan calmly.

"How about this, Lu, delay your twenty minutes, I guarantee that after you finish listening to my conditions, you will enjoy these twenty minutes very much!"

Tang Mu Cruise helped: "Lu, let's talk?"

Boss Lu came as he was: "Okay, but my female companion is still young, I think your trade secrets don't have the risk of being leaked, can I take her?"

"Of course, such a beautiful girl is a benefit to our eyes."

Harvey squeezed his eyes at Lu Kuan and Tang Mu Cruise, and then laughed loudly and hugged his shoulders, arriving at the study on the second floor.

I don't know if it was guilty or to avoid suspicion, Tang Mu Cruise did not accompany, but went downstairs under the excuse of entertaining guests.

Liu Liu Yifei can once again observe Boss Lu's "high-end business war" at close range.

It's a bit worse than swinging a big hammer and grabbing a public seal, that is, engaging in some small fraud.

Lu Kuan took the lead: "Harvey, this is not just my own movie. If you want to talk about cooperation, it is better to find Tang Mu Cruise."

Jewish An Lushan has his own excuse to deal with it.

"I have already read the detailed information produced by his studio, including film sales evaluation reports and box office and profit forecasts."

This report is a paradigm text for Hollywood to engage in pre-sale, which will make scientific predictions for the price range of each region in global distribution.

This is conducive to reducing differences in negotiations between the two parties and reaching an agreement on numbers.

"Compared to him, I think your vision and judgment are more accurate."

"Harvey, don't praise me. Last time I predicted that I could win the Palme d'Or, didn't I lose my horse?"

This refers to Cannes in May this year. Lu Kuan promised that *Shoplifters* would at least win the Palme d'Or and Best Director to raise the price with Harvey.

"No no no, even we Jews cannot guarantee that every business will be profitable, that is not your fault."

Harvey's good words are not money, and even Liu Liu Yifei, who has gradually evolved into a little oily, feels wrong.

She kicked Lu Kuan under the table quietly, feeling anxious that there was no time to convey the conversation between the two to him.

Boss Lu pretended not to know: "To be honest, Harvey, I am not very at ease with you, this is your home court."

"Do you still remember Miyazaki Hayao's samurai sword?"

Harvey's face changed slightly. This is a public case on him, and he is famous in the industry.

In 1997, Miyazaki Hayao and Disney reached a distribution agreement for *Princess Mononoke*. Miramax, a subsidiary of Disney responsible for Harvey, was responsible for dubbing and distribution.

Given Harvey's notorious reputation as a "scissor hand" in the industry, that is, he likes to forcibly edit the films distributed by the company according to his own preferences, and even destroy the emotional core of the director's film.

Miyazaki Hayao specially sent him a samurai sword, with "No Editing" written on it.

Harvey repeatedly complained: "Lu, you really misunderstood me. I have said to you in Venice and Cannes that I have always been honest and tolerant to genius!"

"I heard that you are very familiar with Tarantino, I think you can get a guarantee about me from him!"

Boss Lu smiled: "Unfortunately, I don't think I am a genius, I ask myself that it is still difficult to get privileges from you."

"No no no, Lu, you cannot be humble like traditional Chinese people. This sentence is a little lie you told me, I will not take it to heart."

Liu Liu Yifei felt a bit disgusted on the side, how could there be such a person who can lick.

Lu Kuan no longer talked to him: "To tell the truth, for such a blockbuster with an investment of 100 million USD, the number of screens of your Miramax alone cannot satisfy the distribution needs."

"I have chatted simply with the heads of Paramount and Columbia, and they can guarantee me the number of 3,000 screens in film distribution. The Big Six can also fully occupy an advantageous position in negotiations with theater chains."

"I have no intention of offending you, Harvey, but you are indeed not enough to see compared to them."

Harvey was fully prepared to deceive Lu Kuan, and his excuses were also open.

"Lu, you are a smart person. The Big Six are indeed better partners, but that is for filmmakers of Tang Mu Cruise's status."

"I also have no intention of offending you, Lu. You will not make any concessions in distribution points in negotiations with the Big Six. They will not make concessions in distribution points."

"In addition, according to the filming progress I learned from your completion guarantee company, *The Domain* should be released in the summer file next year. Do you know how many self-made blockbusters they have in the same period?"

Jewish An Lushan's business ability is still unquestionable, counting his fingers and telling Lu Kuan like a family treasure.

"Columbia's *Spider-Man 2*, *Hellboy*, Warner has *Harry Potter 3* and *Troy*, New Line's *Blade 3*..."

"If you hand over *The Domain* to them, do you think they will value this co-production?"

Boss Lu showed a trace of astonishment and defeat at the right time.

This is the helpless shock at the terrifying strength of the Big Six.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Harvey took out a contract from his bag and marked the key distribution conditions in the most prominent position.

"25%?"

"Are you serious?"

This number refers to the proportion of Miramax's agency distribution, that is, extracting 25% of North American distribution revenue as distribution fees.

The common proportion of this fee was mentioned when talking about *Paranormal Activity* with Lionsgate before.

The proportion given by film companies like the Big Six is generally 35% to 50%, top 50%, a very harsh number.

For film companies like Lionsgate and Miramax that are relatively independent and niche, reducing the proportion of distribution fees in competition with the Big Six is a common bargaining operation.

But such a large concession is still a bit tongue-tied.

If it were an arrogant or not very self-aware director, maybe he would be complacent, thinking that his talent won the favor of capital.

But Boss Lu had long been on guard against him, and even suspected from the clues that he and Tang Mu Cruise had joined forces.

Just pretending to be flattered on the surface.

"Harvey, maybe my previous questioning of your idea was wrong, you are indeed full of sincerity to me!"

Liu Liu Yifei was inexperienced, unable to distinguish whether what he said was true or false for a while, worried that Lu Kuan was deceived, and kicked his leather shoes with high heels.

Lu Kuan remained motionless: "Harvey, talk about your distribution strategy."

Harvey was secretly happy in his heart, this fish had already taken the bait.

"According to my experience, as long as you avoid *Troy*, *Harry Potter 3* and *Spider-Man 2*, with the level shown by the pre-sale film just now, other opponents can fully compete head-on." 【198-

"I think setting the release date for mid-to-late June is more appropriate. By that time, 'Harry' will have been in theaters for nearly 10 days, and its box office will have entered a stable period. The film's core fans will have basically finished watching it, so it won't have a siphon effect on other films."

"Moreover, 'Spider-Man 2' is still at least two weeks away from that time; we can fully utilize this time gap to do some things."

"Regarding the promotional strategy, I suggest adopting a long-cycle, high-frequency, multi-dimensional promotional strategy similar to 'The Matrix', starting from the big screen in Times Square..."

Boss Lu listened to his output without changing his expression; it was undeniable that some of his viewpoints indeed possessed strong foresight and practicality.

People all have multiple facets; the Jewish An Lushan was indeed a bit of a beast, but his professional ability and eye for selecting films were beyond reproach.

It was just a pity that now was not the time to sit and discuss the Dao with him; Lu Kuan only felt a faint sense of vigilance toward him and Tang Mu Cruise at this moment.

As for what methods they would use and what goals they wanted to achieve, one could not know without luring the snake out of its hole.

With high skill comes boldness; the cheat-using little immortal simply decided to play along with their scheme.

"Harvey, I am impressed by your professional ability; I must admit that I have been persuaded by you."

"How about this: I will take this proposal of yours very seriously. If Tang Mu Cruise has no objections, it can basically be finalized."

Liu Liu Yifei felt extremely anxious upon hearing this and suddenly stepped on his leather shoe with her high heel.

"Hiss!!!"

Lu Kuan still couldn't help but make a sound. Facing Harvey's suspicious and cautious gaze, he could only make something up on the spot.

"My companion thinks I've been chatting with you for too long, which will delay a wonderful evening. Please excuse us."

Harvey burst into laughter, quite pleased to regard him as a kindred spirit.

Liu Liu Yifei's face flushed slightly; she snorted, picked up her coat, and walked out the door.

Boss Lu did not hesitate any longer; he gave Harvey an apologetic look and chased after her.

A Fei drove the two of them toward the hotel from the manor entrance.

"Are you an idiot? I was about to kick your shoe to pieces just now—couldn't you tell?"

Boss Lu looked at the real idiot with some speechlessness, thinking to himself that she still needed practice.

"Judging by what you mean, the conversation they had while watching the film contained a lot of information?"

"I couldn't hear it very clearly, but I analyzed it using the character observation method from the acting training you taught me."

"How so?"

"Harvey kept trying to persuade Tang Mu Cruise. The latter had a conflicted expression and only nodded reluctantly after seeing you were about to walk down."

"Analyzing from the perspective of character personality and action chains, this was Harvey trying to persuade Tang Mu Cruise of something, and the topic was related to you and 'Exotic Land'."

"For Tang Mu Cruise, he should be happy that the pre-sale film's effect was recognized by the buyers, but now..."

Lu Kuan looked at her with newfound respect; she was learning and applying things very quickly.

Through the information she provided, he could at most confirm that the two had indeed joined forces to plot against him, but what method would they use?

"Hey! Why are you ignoring me!"

Lu Kuan looked at her pouting in dissatisfaction and had an urge to reach out and flick her nose.

"I'm thinking about how they're going to screw me over."

Liu Liu Yifei laughed: "I think you're thinking about how you're going to screw them over, right?"

Boss Lu laughed loudly: "Little Liu knows me best!"

"However, these two are far from being the kind of scumbags like Liu Liu Zeyu. What's more, this is their home turf; even a single word or punctuation mark in the contract text could be a trap or a loophole!"

"A single word can screw someone over?"

Lu Kuan nodded silently and gave her a crash course on the "unequal treaty" between Tang Mu Cruise and Paramount.

Liu Liu Yifei gasped in secret as she listened, thinking to herself that these levels of gamesmanship were truly spectacular.

Only by Lu Kuan's side could she catch a glimpse of these industry secrets at such a young age.

"So you were planning to agree to his conditions first, and then look for flaws to play along with their scheme?"

Lu Kuan lightly patted the back of her head: "Focus on your acting; don't ask so much about the affairs of the Jianghu!"

Little Liu had already been "blackened" once; she couldn't be allowed to get more and more twisted as she was raised!

(End of Chapter)