When the senior executives of UniAsia were still considering whether to accept Li Mu's cooperation proposal, they suddenly received news that Li Mu had bought the English remake rights of "Infernal Affairs" from Warner Bros. for US$3.5 million!
And Warner is really happy. It took less than a day to think about it, and another day to complete the process. Now, the English remake copyright of "Infernal Affairs" has belonged to Makino Imaging...
UniAsia was confused when they heard the news. They didn't quite understand what kind of trick Li Mu was playing. They even gave themselves an offer to cooperate with the North American distribution rights of "Infernal Affairs", and then directly obtained it from Warner. Bought the English remake rights of "Infernal Affairs" at double the price.
Everyone knows that the English remake rights are aimed at targeting the North American market. The senior executives of Uni-Asia were especially worried. A few people got together to brainstorm and asked what the purpose of Li's move was.
"Why do you think Li Mu bought it? By cooperating with us to bring the original version of "Infernal Affairs" to the North American market, he can make money with nothing. What a great thing!"
"You ask me, who am I going to ask? Does Li Mu want to use this to coerce us into accepting his exploitation plan?"
"Oh my god, how long will it take to wait? He got the rights today and started filming today. It will take at least half a year to be released! If we find a suitable partner, "Infernal Affairs" may be released in North America next month ! Everyone is not in the same time period at all... "
"Does Li Mu think there is a greater profit margin for the English version of "Infernal Affairs"?"
"It's unlikely. Although the script of "Infernal Affairs" is very good, it will definitely not adapt to the climate in Hollywood. In Hollywood, the production cost will be 30 to 50 million US dollars, and if the box office is less than 200 million US dollars, it will not make any profit."
"Whether it's possible or not, the key depends on how the script is changed, who will film it, and who will act."
"Everyone, even if Li Mu really thinks that the remake of "Infernal Affairs" is profitable, it has nothing to do with our original version of "Infernal Affairs". Our top priority now is to determine how our "Infernal Affairs" will be operated and whether it will be sold directly to Hollywood. It’s better to accept Li Mu’s cooperation plan.”
"Li Mu's plan is ridiculous! We are the copyright owner and he only gives us 30%! This guy's heart is really not that bad! Unless he is willing to give us no less than 50% of the share, I will not follow He cooperated!”
"Not less than 50%? Then let's repay him at 50%!"
"Okay, I agree!"
…
When Li Mu heard about Uniasia's final offer from Li Ziwei, he was not surprised at all, let alone angry. He just said lightly: "Tell them directly and tell them that I will withdraw the offer. Don't talk to them again about this movie in the future." Makino Image has communicated that Makino Image will not have any form of cooperation with them based on this movie."
"Okay!" Li Ziwei nodded immediately and said, "I will reply to them right away."
Li Mu hurriedly said: "Don't be so anxious. There is no need. It is just a film company. Whether it is the size of the company or the cooperation space, it is not important to us. We can just reply to them when we are in a better mood."
After saying that, Li Mu shook his head mockingly and said with a smile: "The more I get used to it, the more I regress. Even a small film company has the confidence to bargain with me."
Li Ziwei smiled and said: "I understand how you feel. What you care about is whether Chinese-language films can break out of the Chinese circle, not how much money you can make from Chinese-language films."
Li Mu nodded and said: "For some capitalists, movies are indeed very profitable, but for me, the little money made from movies is really pitiful. Logically speaking, I should be concerned about Makino Technology and Taobao Technology. When will I go public and when will the market value exceed the 100 billion US dollar mark? Instead of trying to figure out whether I can make a million dollars by showing a movie in North America, even if I want to make this money, I shouldn’t do it myself. It would be more cost-effective to focus on other places in terms of pure value, but movies are ultimately a powerful tool for cultural export. If we want to do a good job in cultural export, we must firmly grasp the main battlefield of movies."
As he spoke, Li Mu took a sip of water and said: "By the way, Ziwei, help me contact Spielberg and ask him to tell the management of DreamWorks that I intend to start the English version of "Infernal Affairs" project. This movie It will be Makino Image's next major film after "Flying Tigers", and I hope to continue to cooperate with DreamWorks. If they are interested, we can arrange a video conference based on everyone's time."
"Okay, I'll contact Director Spielberg right away."
Speaking of this, Li Ziwei hesitated for a moment, as if hesitating for a while, and then asked Li Mu: "Mr. Li, I would like to ask you, is this the case with the original version of "Infernal Affairs"? I always feel that it is a pity..."
Li Mu smiled slightly and asked: "Ziwei, what do you think of the movie "Infernal Affairs"?"
"It's very good." Li Ziwei replied without hesitation: "It should be the best Hong Kong movie in recent years."
Li Mu smiled and asked: "What do you think is good about it?"
Li Ziwei said: "Let's talk about the plot. The plot is great, the actors also perform very well, and the cast is strong. They are all well-known actors in the Hong Kong film industry."
Li Mu asked again: "Do you think North American audiences will like the original version of "Infernal Affairs"?"
"This..." Li Ziwei thought for a while and said, "I think it should be possible, right? After all, there is a successful precedent of "Mr. Zombie"."
Li Mu smiled slightly and said: "I have a different opinion than you. I think it is not easy for North American audiences to accept the original version of "Infernal Affairs". At least, judging from their current understanding of China, they still can't accept it."
Li Ziwei asked: "Why do you say that?"
Li Mu said: "Mr. Zombie is actually very simple. It exports the system of Chinese zombies, and it is a fictional folklore. Therefore, even if North American audiences do not understand Chinese culture, they will have a sense of immersion. , this is just like when we watch Hollywood science fiction movies like "Alien". As long as we accept the system of Alien, we won't feel any different from Westerners when we watch that movie. But "Infernal Affairs" is different. .”
Li Ziwei asked him hurriedly: "Why?"
Li Mu said: ""Infernal Affairs" contains too many Chinese elements, and the flavor of Hong Kong movies is too strong. It focuses on elements such as human nature, strategy, Buddhist fatalism, benevolence and morality, and endless purgatory. We understand, Westerners don’t understand, and when making feature films in Hong Kong, there is a very unified feature, that is, the darker the better, the deeper the film is, the more successful it will be in terms of directly touching the soul. This is very important to us Chinese audiences. It’s okay because we accept and are used to such routines, but it’s too difficult for Westerners to accept so many things they don’t understand at once.”
Speaking of which, Li Mu added: "So if you look at Hollywood blockbusters, the main lines are clear, the rhythm is fast, and most of the characters have not that complicated personalities. They can be said to have distinctive characteristics, especially action movies. Basically, there is nothing else. Come on. Just click and chat, but the more movies like this, the more they can be sold around the world. Why? Because it is simple and direct. There are more than 200 countries, countless ethnic groups, and countless cultural styles in the world, and these Do you know how culture develops?"
Li Ziwei listened in confusion, shook her head in confusion and said: "I'm not sure, this question seems a bit profound..."
Li Mu smiled and said: "Actually, it's not profound at all. Let me tell you this. The various cultures in the world are like a huge towering tree. Not only do they tower into the clouds, but they also have luxuriant branches. The leaves are extremely complex, but no matter how big a tree is, at its root, it grows from a seed, sprouts from a root system, grows into a thick trunk, and then slowly spreads its branches and leaves, and continues to grow, becoming more and more mature. As it continues to develop, the gaps between different branches will become wider."
"If each branch is a different culture, then each culture is not just its own branch, but traces its origins from its own branch to the trunk and roots that extend all the way up. Although everyone has the same roots, Because the subsequent development paths are completely different, the differences are huge.
Although every culture has developed from the front end to the end for thousands of years, everyone living now lives at the end of their own culture, so you cannot take something from one end and use it as something from the other end. People adopt and accept, what is "Infernal Affairs"? It is a relatively end product of our culture. Do you think people who are not in our culture can fully understand and accept it? "
Li Ziwei shook her head gently: "According to your metaphor, it should be difficult to accept it."
Li Mu continued: "So back to the topic we just talked about about Hollywood, Hollywood action movies are very simple, have no connotation and no special end culture. They don't even use end-end thinking of Western culture, but front-end thinking, so it is Western culture is a relatively front-end product. As I said just now, every culture is actually branches and leaves growing on a tree. This is destined to be a rule: the more you explore the front-end of culture, the more you follow. The closer the culture of other nations is, and conversely, the farther away you are from them.
If we push the front end to the extreme, and go to the roots of human civilization, then the cultures of all nations are actually the same. All cultures are inseparable from eating, drinking, and eating. All cultures are inseparable from sex, love, and separation. Regardless of hatred, all cultures agree that good people should be rewarded with good things and bad people should be punished with bad things. They agree that when they are beaten, they should be beaten back. All cultures also agree that good people should be punished when they are bullied by bad people. That’s why Hollywood Taking photos of something that is so simple but has nothing to do with other national cultures is surprising. It may not have depth, but it can be accepted and recognized by everyone. "
After speaking, Li Mu sighed softly and said: "In my opinion, this is the key to the success of Hollywood commercial blockbusters. When other movies such as Hong Kong movies never return in search of depth, they turn around and add depth. Leave it behind and look for things that can be accepted by people from any cultural background around the world. So if you look at "Infernal Affairs" again, it stands at the back end of Chinese culture, and maybe some Western audiences can see it. The film has been praised for its depth, but most Western audiences will not accept its depth, which will make it difficult for it to achieve commercial success in North America."
Li Ziwei suddenly realized that she finally understood the relationship between commerce and culture, understood why Li Mu was not optimistic about the box office potential of "Infernal Affairs" in North America, and understood why Hollywood could become the leader in the field of commercial films. However, the more Knowing this, she became more puzzled by a question. After being puzzled, she asked Li Mu: "Mr. Li, since you think it is difficult for Westerners to accept "Infernal Affairs", why did you pay double the price to buy it? What about the remake rights and then investing in an English remake of it?”
(End of chapter)