The reason why Li Mu promoted the theme of World War II to Spielberg was actually to make the best use of people.
In his view, World War II is the biggest subject, the heaviest subject, and the subject that needs to be taken seriously most. Only great directors can truly master this kind of big subject, and only those with sufficient structure, ability, and filmmaking skills can truly master it. Only great directors can make classic World War II movies.
However, in the Chinese entertainment industry in the future, those who gathered to make World War II films and TV shows were mostly directors and actors who were extremely bad at it, so they had gun fighting, tearing up Japanese soldiers with their hands, hiding mines in the crotch, bombing planes with grenades, and flying on bicycles. This is a ridiculous anti-Japanese drama plot like a train and a sniper shooting eight hundred miles.
In a few years, the film and television industry began to undergo an inversion. Directors who were capable of making big and deep themes began to focus on small and shallow themes, such as love, inspiration, action, adventure, cartoons, and even black humor. They could easily succeed in this subject matter;
And those directors who are not capable of handling big and deep themes, like to make big moves, and end up with a bunch of nondescript bad movies that leave people speechless. Not only many people made a lot of bad movies about World War II. , there are also many Chinese directors who have made a lot of bad historical movies, such as "Warring States", "Confucius", "Mo Gong", "Guan Yunchang", "The Night Banquet", "The Orphan of Zhao", one by one, they are all They have big themes, and they are all big bad movies. The only difference is the degree of badness.
As a nationalist, Li Mu has endless pride and love for the Chinese nation. However, seeing that from World War II to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, all major themes that are of great significance to the Chinese nation have been repeatedly trampled and ruined by these bad movies, he naturally feels particularly unhappy. , but he is not a filmmaker himself, so he can only find ways to create a healthy development environment first.
If you want to create a good environment, you must not only have the guidance of capital, but also the guidance of industry leaders.
Therefore, Li Mu turned to Spielberg.
Spielberg listened to Li Mu's many views on the theme of World War II and said in agreement: "Mr. Li, you are right. Simply looking at the subject matter of the movie, World War II is indeed bigger than any other historical period or event. , there are indeed too many stories that can be made into movies. Whether it is us or the entire Hollywood, we receive an overwhelming number of scripts about World War II every year, and the theme of World War II is indeed the most profound as you said."
Li Mu nodded and said: "The most important thing about making a World War II-themed movie is not to make a movie with high ratings or high box office, but to make people today remember history and reflect on history. Therefore, it has a higher In the future, people will remember that period of history by relying on the film works we left them. Otherwise, if we wait a few decades, young people may not know what World War II is."
Spielberg was silent for a moment, nodded slightly, and said: "If there are good World War II-themed scripts in the future, I will consider making one or two more."
Li Mu said: "The subject of World War II is such a big one that one or two, or even ten or twenty movies will not be enough."
Spielberg said: "Time and ability are limited after all, and to be honest, no director is willing to shoot the same subject over and over again. It will greatly inhibit the diversified development of art."
Li Mu said: "The abilities of one or two people alone are naturally not enough, so I wonder if we can build a specialized brand with the support of capital."
"Brand?" Spielberg asked in surprise: "The brand of World War II movies?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "That's right. Just like Marvel, which only produces superhero comics, and Disney and Pixar, which focus on animated films, create a brand that focuses on World War II movies. What this brand needs to do is to continuously invest in and produce outstanding films. World War II-themed film and television works.”
After that, Li Mu added: "We are soliciting scripts and directors from all over the world. As long as everything is suitable, we will invest in filming and then distribute it globally ourselves."
Spielberg thought for a moment and then said to Li Mu: "Based on the two years from conception to release of a movie, if you want to ensure the exposure of a brand, at least 3-5 movies must be released every year. In this case , the initial investment of this brand must be able to support 6-10 movies, and roughly calculated, it will require at least hundreds of millions of dollars."
After that, Spielberg added: "There is a very painful problem in World War II-themed movies and all historical-themed movies, that is, there is no way to do advertising placement. When making modern movies, what mobile phone does the protagonist use, what car does he drive, etc. Which hotel to stay in, and whose billboard appears when the camera pans over, these can all make money. At least you can reduce costs in this way in the early stage. However, for World War II-themed movies, it is difficult to find such opportunities in the early stage. Two movies are okay, but if there are too many, the cost pressure will still be great, and the box office revenue potential of World War II-themed movies is generally slightly lower, which is not as good as entertainment movies."
Li Mu said: "It doesn't matter. We have theater chains all over China and an online ticketing system across the country and even North America. In the future, our theater chains will continue to expand and the online ticketing system will continue to develop. By that time , our own channel capabilities can basically ensure that the box office of the movie will not be a hit. In other words, even if one billion US dollars is invested in the early stage, within two to three years, the money will be paid back in the form of box office, and there may even be a chance to win considerable profit."
Having said this, Li Mu paused and said: "As for how to get the money, it's actually very simple. I can raise a sum of money to set up a private equity investment fund focusing on film and television projects, and raise investors' funds to use it for film and television projects. With the investment, I can distribute all the profits to the investors of the fund. After all, what I care about is not the profits, but the products.”
Spielberg nodded and said: "I understand. In this case, the financial pressure in the early stage will not be so great, and the risks can be shared among investors. I think it is still necessary to do it."
Li Mu said: "Why don't we cooperate on this project? I will launch the private equity fund and you will be the project manager."
Spielberg asked curiously: "Mr. Li, can you tell me more specifically?"
Li Mu said, "Actually, it's very simple. I'll get the money and you spend it. For example, my first-stage goal is around one billion U.S. dollars. This money will be used to invest in ten to fifteen World War II-themed films. You will personally shoot one drama, and the rest will be up to you to select suitable projects and teams. Whichever script you think is good, you will buy it and cast it. Then you will find a suitable director and supervise the implementation of the project step by step. In the end, I will start from I will give you 10% of the net profit of the entire project. At the same time, I will also give you 10%-20% of the shares of this brand. We can communicate in depth about the details."
As he said that, Li Mu added: "This brand should be like Marvel, which only produces high-quality products, and strives to become the best World War II-themed brand in the world within three to five years! Now, no one wants to build such a brand. If we do that, we can be at the front.”
“One of the biggest advantages of vertical brands is that they can naturally bring users a more professional sense in this field. For example, if you like mountaineering, then you cannot go to an ordinary clothing brand store to buy the clothing needed for mountaineering. You will at least choose a professional outdoor brand, or even a professional mountaineering brand.”
"The same is true for film and television. If we are a brand that focuses on cartoons, then after we build a reputation, when users think of cartoons, they will think of us immediately, and when they see our cartoons, they will have a preconceived impression of us. , since it is produced by us, it must be a high-quality product.”
"Marvel has been creating superheroes since World War II. Until now, every time it releases a superhero, people will buy their comics crazily and even go to the cinema to watch their movies. This is Marvel's role in superheroes. Huge advantages in this segmented vertical category.”
"The same goes for World War II-themed brands. If we can create a few classic World War II movies, then in the future, if the audience wants to watch a World War II-themed movie, they will first think of us. And we only need to produce a World War II-themed movie, and if they like World War II-themed movies Movie audiences will feel confident buying tickets and going to the cinema to watch. On that day, our brand will form an absolute leader in the World War II film market. In the future, we can continue to launch new World War II-themed films like Marvel did. And one of them is popular and the other is popular."
Li Mu is very clear that if the film and television industry develops in the future, there will be a large number of brands that are vertical in certain sub-categories. Needless to say, Marvel, DC, Disney, Pixar, etc., domestic comedy-focused Happy Twist, and high-quality TV dramas such as Noon Sunshine is a very successful case. In addition, some brands focus on making big online movies, some brands focus on making suspense online dramas, and even some brands focus on making variety shows.
However, there are so many brands in the film and television industry that focus on market segments, but no one has been focusing on World War II-themed films and television.
Li Mu decided to be the first to try something new and create a sub-brand under Makino Image, focusing on World War II-themed movies and TV series, and only making high-quality movies. At the same time, the movies must focus on the global market, while the TV series focus on the domestic market. market and the North American market, especially the domestic market!
If this brand under my own brand can produce one or two excellent Chinese TV series on the theme of World War II in the future, it will have a great impact on the future development direction of domestic anti-war film and television dramas. If there are High-level World War II-themed TV dramas such as "My Captain, My Regiment" and "Bright Sword" and anti-Japanese dramas about tearing apart Japanese enemies basically have no room for survival.
(End of chapter)