"What a huge mansion. Its area must be over ten thousand square meters, right?"
Inside a black Rolls-Royce, a young man looked out the window at the various facilities within the estate and said, "If this were in China, which film director could afford such a luxury home?"
"Is making movies really that profitable?" he asked the person beside him.
Zuo Shandiao lightly patted the young man's arm. "Xiao Liu, did you watch Batman: Begins that was released in China last year?"
"I did."
The young man named Xiao Liu immediately nodded and said, "It was a really interesting movie."
"Do you know how much Duke Rosenberg made from that film?"
Before the young man could answer, Zuo Shandiao raised one finger. "Not counting his share of the profits, just from the position of director alone, he earned at least one hundred million U.S. dollars after tax."
"That... that much..." Xiao Liu couldn't help widening his eyes.
"That's just the publicly announced figure. The actual amount is likely much higher." Zuo Shandiao sighed. "Xiao Liu, you're about to enter film school. This time, the old leader asked me to bring you here so you can see the latest developments in the global film industry and experience the presence of the industry's top directors..."
"I understand!"
Although he was a bit of a jerk in some aspects, people who received elite education like him were undoubtedly very serious when it came to important matters and knew how to prioritize. So Xiao Liu nodded firmly. "Duke Rosenberg has always been my idol."
If he could one day achieve even half no, even just a quarter or a half of Rosenberg's success, then choosing the film industry would be well worth it.
The Rolls-Royce that brought them stopped in front of a uniquely designed villa. Immediately, someone came over to open the car door. Xiao Liu straightened his formal attire and followed Zuo Shandiao out of the car.
The first thing he saw was the host standing at the villa entrance. It was a man and a woman. The man was Duke Rosenberg. He looked to be in his early thirties, with short brown hair standing upright, making him appear especially spirited. His deep brown, nearly black eyes were like bottomless pools—no matter how you looked, you couldn't see the end.
Even without having interacted with him before, Xiao Liu's upbringing told him that this must be a wise and determined person.
The blonde woman standing beside him was a classic American beauty. Though her facial features might seem a bit sharp from an Eastern perspective, she was undeniably sexy and beautiful.
Xiao Liu recognized this woman a moderately well-known Hollywood actress. Judging by how she was holding onto Duke Rosenberg's arm, she was likely the super-director's girlfriend.
In recent years, with increasing information freedom, a lot of Hollywood-related news had spread to their side. For instance, this director was the most famous Hollywood figure over there, and various stories about his romances were all over the internet. Xiao Liu had even seen a gossip headline claiming that the Hollywood actresses he had dated could form an entire reinforced platoon.
However, Xiao Liu didn't dwell on it. On such occasions, given his identity, he would never behave inappropriately. He followed Zuo Shandiao toward the villa entrance.
"Hello, Mr. Han, welcome."
Duke took a couple of steps forward and shook the outstretched hand, then introduced, "This is Miss Scarlett Johansson."
After shaking hands with Scarlett, Zuo Shandiao introduced the young man named Xiao Liu to Duke. Under Duke's guidance, the group entered a small banquet hall.
Dinner was held in the form of a formal banquet. Both parties understood that the dinner was just a formality. Duke inviting Zuo Shandiao over clearly had a purpose, and Zuo Shandiao accepting the invitation of an American director was definitely not just for the meal.
After a brief dinner, the group moved to a sea-facing reception room. They chatted about customs and cultures from both sides, and the conversation gradually shifted toward their shared industry film.
"Cinemas are one of the foundational infrastructures of the film industry." Zuo Shandiao sipped his coffee, put down the cup, and said, "The cinema company jointly operated by Warner and China Film has already built over fifty locations and is currently adding five new cinemas every month."
He suddenly extended an invitation. "Director Rosenberg, we've always had close cooperation. On behalf of China Film Group, I'd like to invite you to attend the China-U.S. Film Forum this November."
"I can't confirm my schedule just yet."
Since the event was still far off, Duke couldn't yet confirm whether he could make it and didn't want to promise rashly—otherwise it would be troublesome if he couldn't attend. "Mr. Han, I'll need some time before I can give you an answer."
"I understand." Zuo Shandiao smiled. "Director Rosenberg is a busy man."
He suddenly shifted the topic. "Aside from Iron Man, does Director Rosenberg have any other upcoming film projects?"
Roughly able to guess some of Zuo Shandiao's intentions, Duke thought for a moment and replied, "For now, just the Batman sequel and a movie about robots."
"I wonder if Director Rosenberg has considered investment from China?" Zuo Shandiao suddenly asked.
Duke didn't beat around the bush either. His eyebrows rose slightly. "Mr. Han, is China Film Group interested in investing in my films?"
Zuo Shandiao slowly nodded. "That's exactly what we're considering."
Since China Film Group officially began importing Hollywood films, the director's movies had consistently been the most popular and best-selling in their market. By the turn of the century, Duke Rosenberg had even built a large fanbase over there. The films directed by him that China Film introduced were almost always the top-grossing and most profitable among all imported films.
Capital ultimately chases profit, regardless of whether that capital comes from private sources or the government.
After considering for a moment, Duke finally said, "Hollywood values international cooperation. Personally, I'm not opposed to investments from outside Hollywood. But Mr. Han, you should talk to Warner Bros. about the specific terms."
Given the current development status, Warner Bros. might not completely reject outside investment, but these external funds would likely only be entitled to a share of the box office. As for sharing in the revenue from merchandise or other peripheral channels, that would be nearly impossible.
Duke's attitude was clear he wasn't opposed, but neither would he get involved directly. He only focused on making movies. And from the beginning until now, with the exception of Independence Day being too overtly pro-America and Chicago having a relatively niche subject matter, all his other films had been imported by China Film Group.
Relatively speaking, he was a director with a very neutral attitude toward the other side of the Pacific.
Introducing films by such a director would undoubtedly help China Film Group avoid a great deal of political trouble.
Overall, the conversation between the two sides was quite pleasant. This type of cooperation was, after all, a process of seeking common ground while shelving differences. Duke needed the market across the Pacific in the future, and China Film Group was profiting handsomely from importing his films this laid a solid foundation for cooperation.
"Director Rosenberg…"
Zuo shandiao couldn't stay long. After a little more than half an hour, he rose to take his leave. As he was departing, he said to Duke again, "China Film Group sincerely invites you to shoot a film in our country. We also hope to see some Chinese actors or behind-the-scenes crew involved in your top-tier productions as one of the world's leading directors."
Duke shook his hand. "That will certainly happen in the future."
As long as the market over there exploded, Duke wouldn't need much prompting. He would naturally begin casting some Chinese actors in minor roles in his films.
For instance, according to his plan, when Transformers hit theaters, the market across the Pacific would be entering a phase of rapid development. He was already considering introducing a few actors from over there.
Moreover, Transformers held a special significance for many people on that side of the Pacific. As long as the project was properly managed, it was bound to become a wildly profitable film series. Optimus Prime and Megatron were unforgettable memories for countless fans.
This series was also relatively easy in terms of difficulty. As long as the special effects were solid and Optimus Prime and Megatron remained, box office attendance would be guaranteed.
According to Duke's idea, for commercial reasons, Optimus Prime and Megatron would keep fighting and reconciling on the big screen loving and hating each other forever. Even if they died, they could be brought back.
At the right time, it would even be possible to bring in actors from that region as one of the main cast members in the series.
After sending Zuo shandiao and his team off, Duke returned to the living room and sat on the couch, still pondering his future plans. His project schedule was already booked years in advance, and it was filled almost entirely with big-budget commercial films. One film per year was practically his limit.
As for the Oscars, ever since winning Best Director for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Duke had no longer included Oscar campaigns in his plans. Unless the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences changed its stance and stopped discriminating against commercial films, he was essentially done with the Oscars.
However, being aware of the trend toward increasing niche tastes at the Oscars, Duke knew that possibility was vanishingly small.
Although many people constantly criticized his completely commercialized production style, Duke knew very well what he liked and what he needed. He wouldn't change the path he had carefully planned just because of a few dissenting voices.
Just like when he first entered Hollywood if even he didn't enjoy the films he made, what fun was there in making them?
Those slow-paced art films might be considered elegant or artistic by some, but Duke understood clearly if he were forced to make that kind of film, forget issues of style, concept, or technique the lack of interest alone would stifle him.
For example, there was word going around the industry that a certain director he'd once thrown out had impressed some investors with a single-shot filming concept and finally secured funding. But Duke didn't care in the slightest.
Maybe that director would go on to win big at the Oscars but so what? Not to mention anything else, just the fact that the guy had to talk for years to scrape together a few million dollars in investment?
Time is precious. Duke would never waste it on anything he deemed unworthy.
...
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