China Entertainment Mythology 2004

Chapter 327 The Wandering Earth Starts
After Wu Jing heard about the "Operation Mekong River" project, he was particularly excited and wanted to call Li Mu eight times a day to inquire about the results.

At that time, Huashang Media and Bona were still in communication, and the matter was not settled so quickly. Wu Jing and Li Mu carefully analyzed why they were very suitable for this movie. Li Mu smiled and told him that if he wanted to star in this movie, Not only must he be familiar with various firearms, but he must also be able to speak fluent Thai and Burmese. If it is really confirmed that he will play the protagonist Fang Xinwu, I am afraid that just two Southeast Asian languages ​​​​will drive him crazy.

Unexpectedly, when Wu Jing contacted Bernard's people later, he actually showed off a wave of Thai and Burmese, and what he said was quite similar. It turned out that Li Mu casually said that he needed to know some Thai and Burmese. After learning Burmese, Wu Jing turned around and asked professional teachers to give him professional training. He didn't care whether he could get the role in the end or whether learning these two foreign languages ​​would be in vain.

Bernard's Yu Dong saw that Wu Jing was so determined to win, and with the recommendations of Li Mu and Lin Chaoxian, he finally nodded and approved Wu Jing to play Fang Xinwu, one of the male protagonists, although his first choice for the male protagonist was actually It’s the leader Huang Xiaoming.

Bernard's original candidate for the new role in Time and Space was Huang Xiaoming. At that time, Huang had two film contracts. In addition to "Operation Mekong", there was also "Xuan Zang of the Tang Dynasty". In the end, Huang Xiaoming was more optimistic about the "Xuan Zang of the Tang Dynasty", so that later Many netizens expressed their gratitude to Master Huang for not acting.

In this time and space, Huashang Media participated in the project, and Li Mu was also named to participate in the script creation. If "Xuan Zang of the Tang Dynasty" and "Operation Mekong" are still placed in front of Huang Xiaoming, I am afraid that Huang Xiaoming will not choose "Da Tang Xuanzang" again this time. "Tang Xuanzang", and if Huang Xiaoming agrees to star, then there will probably be nothing wrong with Peng Yuyan.

In addition to "Operation Mekong", Huashang Media's most important project in the second half of the year is probably "The Wandering Earth".

After Li Mu had several communications with director Guo Fan on the phone, the "Wandering Earth" project was officially launched.

The total investment of the project is US$1 million, of which Huashang Media contributes US$7000 million, and companies such as China Film, Bernard, Wanda, and Western Film are responsible for the remaining US$3000 million, of which production funds are US$9000 million, and publicity and distribution costs are not less than US$1000. Ten thousand U.S. dollars.

The script is the script of "The Wandering Earth 1" in the original time and space that Li Mu directly copied. The original "Wandering Earth 1" screenwriting team has more than ten people. It is impossible for Li Mu to invite all of these people in this time and space. And even if everyone is invited, the time, company, and atmosphere are different, and the scripts written may be very different.

Since "The Wandering Earth 1" in the original time and space has achieved great success, there is no need for Li Mu in this time and space to go through the collective creation process again. Not only is it a waste of time, but it is also likely to lead to the failure of the project.

So this time Li Mu directly handed over the complete text script and storyboard script to Director Guo Fan. Director Guo Fan could make certain changes according to needs, but he was constrained by the detailed script, and he himself was the director of the original time and space. Therefore, the final effect will not be much different from the original time and space, thus avoiding project risks as much as possible.

Regarding the time when the project was launched, I remember that the time when "The Three-Body Problem" won the Hugo Award in the original time and space was August 2015, 8. I don't know if Liu Cixin can still win the Hugo Award with "The Three-Body Problem" in this time and space. , if the result remains unchanged, the movie can be marketed well before the movie is released by taking advantage of the popularity of "The Three-Body Problem" winning the award.

Also, the prices of the series of copyright transfer agreements signed by Li Mu and Liu Cixin were all very low. Of course, the low price is definitely not because Li Mu deliberately lowered the price, but because the market price is like this, but it was sold for 10,000+ hundreds of thousands. After obtaining a large number of high-value adaptation copyrights including "The Three-Body Problem", Liu still lost money after all.

This time, Li Mu could just take advantage of the launch of the "Wandering Earth" project to make some compensation. This amount of money is not harmful to Li Mu, and it can also give him a good reputation. There is no need for Li Mu to be too stingy.

After it was confirmed that the project was about to be officially launched, Li Mu, who was far away in the United States, personally called Liu Cixin.

""The Wandering Earth" has been confirmed to be launched." Li Mu got straight to the point.

Liu Cixin's heart skipped a beat on the other end of the phone.

Over the years, Li Mu's science fiction films have conquered the world, and Li Mu has become the world's first science fiction director with a total box office of more than 100 billion US dollars.From "Inception" to "Gravity" to "The Martian", seeing Chinese science fiction movies conquer the world, what an honor is this?It's a pity that among these hugely successful science fiction movies, there are no works adapted from Liu Cixin's novels.

Although I have long heard that the "Wandering Earth" project is about to be launched, every time it is said that there are noses and eyes, there are no specific actions every time. Liu Cixin also personally called Li Mu to ask, and Li Mu was also quick every time. It's coming soon, but at the same time there is no specific launch date.

Liu Cixin was also anxious about this.

Until today, Li Mu personally called.

It seems that the wolf has been called wolf countless times, and this time the wolf may really be coming.

The question Liu Cixin is most concerned about now is who is the director of this project.

"Aren't you filming in the United States?"

"This time the director chose Guo Fan."

Liu Ci couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he heard the news.

Of course Guo Fan is also good. Some time ago, "Passengers" also made a big splash, but after all, he can't compare with Li Mu.

If director Guo Fan's upper limit is US$[-] billion in box office, then Li Mu's upper limit is almost unlimited.

If Li Mu did not exist, then director Guo Fan would certainly be the best director candidate for the "Wandering Earth" project, but with Li Mu's existence, Liu Cixin, the original author, would of course hope that the film would be directed by Li Mu himself.

However, these were obviously beyond Liu Cixin's control. In fact, he was very grateful that Li Mu could make this call to him in person.

Next, Li Mu informed Liu Cixin of some basic information about the project, such as the estimated total investment of the project of US$1 million, and Li Mu's formal invitation to serve as a special consultant for the film.Of course Liu Cixin knew that this was Li Mu's kindness, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but feel even more grateful to Li Mu.

In fact, although "The Three-Body Problem" at this time in the original time and space is already well-known in the science fiction circle, its total sales volume is still only about 30 copies. It can be said that the sales volume of any romance novel can beat it. This also reflects from one side why Liu sold a series of adaptation rights of "The Three-Body Problem" for only 10 yuan. The current situation is that science fiction works are really very unpopular and worthless in China.

However, the fate of "Three Body" and Da Liu in this time and space is completely different from that of the original time and space.

First of all, from the moment "Three-Body" was born in this time and space, Li Mu has been praising "Three-Body" from time to time on various occasions, and has repeatedly mentioned that "Three-Body" is what he has read in recent years. Science fiction at its finest.

What influence does Li Mu have today?As long as he has nothing to do, he will look for opportunities to praise it. It is really difficult for "The Three-Body Problem" not to break the circle in China.

Even many people who have never read science fiction novels or even read novels have tried to read it because of Li Mu's crazy praise.

Of course, many of these people still can't watch it, but since "The Three-Body Problem" is really excellent, it is natural that many people will like "The Three-Body Problem" because of this. The result is that as of now, "The Three-Body Problem" The global sales of "Three-Body Problem" have officially exceeded the 500 million copy mark.There are 30 copies in the original time and space, and 500 million copies in this time and space. It can be said that most of the current sales of "The Three-Body Problem" are caused by Li Mu!
As for Liu Cixin, before "The Three-Body Problem", the sales volume of his works was only about 5 copies. Therefore, in his understanding, he probably still thinks that his current sales volume of 500 million copies is at least 490 million copies. It was Li Mu who brought it, so he was very grateful to Li Mu originally. Now that the "Wandering Earth" project has finally been launched, Li Mu personally called him to invite him to be a consultant. It can be said that it gave him enough face and dignity, so he was very grateful to Li Mu. Li Mu was naturally even more grateful.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Cixin hummed a ditty unconsciously. Although the director was not Li Mu himself, which was somewhat regrettable, it was a US$1 million investment, produced by Huashang Media, directed by director Guo Fan, and adapted by Li Mu himself. , these few items together were enough to make him excited for a while.

And this time he had to say something in front of his wife.

After dinner, Da Liu's wife sat on the sofa and watched "Let's Get Married". Da Liu also sat next to her very unreasonably, which surprised his wife.

Because Da Liu was not that interested in this kind of family emotional drama in the past, and he didn't know what happened today.

"I told you this show is very good, but you didn't believe it before," his wife said.

Liu Cixin nodded.

His wife continued: "If you ask me, Li Mu should film more dramas like this. How popular is this drama now?!"

Liu spoke up this time and said: "Li Mu is a world-class science fiction director. How could he film this kind of family drama all day long? If he hadn't gotten married to Liu Yifei this time, there probably wouldn't have been this drama."

"Didn't the news say some time ago that this drama sold for more than [-] billion in copyright fees alone? Why can't we make more movies if it's so profitable?"

Liu Cixin explained: "More than one billion is indeed a lot, but this is Li Mu. Do you know how much a movie can sell? The global box office of "Gravity" and "Frozen" is about 17 billion US dollars. Listen. It is said that the peripheral sales of "Frozen" have almost reached 60 billion US dollars. How can the TV series earn this much? Didn't Li Mu's total box office exceed 100 billion US dollars some time ago? How many TV series would it take to achieve this? income."

Da Liu's wife was obviously stunned. She took it for a while before she sat up straight and asked Liu Cixin with a smile: "Hey, didn't you sell the copyright for your novel adaptation to Li Mu a long time ago? You said it has been for so many years. Why doesn't he adapt your novel? Is it because our novel is not suitable for adapting into a movie?"

Liu Cixin was waiting for his wife to bring up this topic. When he heard this, he said in a very calm tone: "How could it be possible? Li Mu is not a fool. If our novel is not suitable for adaptation into a movie, can he buy it? He even called me today Mentioned this matter."

"Li Mu called you?" Upon hearing this, Mrs. Liu hurriedly picked up the remote control and turned down the volume, and then asked hopefully, "What did he say on the phone?"

Liu Cixin said in a rather reserved manner: "I didn't say anything. I just said that the "Wandering Earth" project would be launched soon, with an investment of 1 million US dollars. He also said that I must be invited to serve as the film's special consultant."

"Really?" Da Liu's wife looked happy, and then asked, "Hey, you said that when "The Wandering Earth" is released, will your novel also sell hundreds of thousands more copies by taking advantage of its popularity? ?”

"It should be possible!"

After finishing speaking, Liu Cixin thought: "Back then, I was drinking and bragging with Li Mu. Li Mu used the strength of the wine to say that only he and I could win the Hugo Award in China. Now Li Mu has won the Hugo Award for several years. As a result, he is far away from us." The Hugo Award is still far away.

"Hey! If I can win a Hugo Award, then the sales of the novel will definitely be able to sell hundreds of thousands more copies!"

……

After the "Wandering Earth" project was officially launched, the casting work officially began soon. Among them, Li Mu personally recommended Wu Jing for the role of Liu Peiqiang, plus "Operation Mekong" jointly produced by Bernard, China Film, and Huashang. It was also confirmed that Wu Jing would be one of the male protagonists, Fang Xinwu, and there was a lot of discussion in the industry.

Wu Jing went south to Xiangjiang for so many years, but his results were mediocre. It would be an exaggeration to say that he ran back to the mainland in despair. However, after joining Hua Shang, he was so praised by Li Mu, and everyone in the industry was surprised.

Among the films prepared by Hua Shang, "Wolf Warrior" and "John Wick" have been released, both of which have performed very well."John Wick 1" is about to be released, "Operation Mekong" is about to be launched, and "Wolf Warrior 2" and "John Wick 2" will be released in the future. Now Huashang has launched the "Wandering Earth" project. Want to use Wu Jing? !
What does Hua Shang want to do?Or what does Li Mu want to do?Want to cultivate Wu Jing into a superstar?But does it really work?Besides, isn't Wu Jing a little older?

Considering Wu Jing's comprehensive conditions, is it really worthwhile to praise him so much?
With the resources of Huashang Media, if Li Mu wanted to find a few fresh meats with thin skin and tender meat and give them a good hand, he might be able to give Huashang his own Wu Yifan, Li Yifeng, Lu Han, and Zhang Yixing. Isn't this more cost-effective than flattering Wu Jing to be a top class person?

The era of kung fu stars has passed, and now that young Cheng Long and Li Lianlian have come to work hard in this era, they may not be able to achieve the same glory as before.

"John Wick 1" is good, but its box office performance is not very good. I can only say that it is certainly not bad. "Wolf Warrior 1" is almost the same. I can't understand why Li Mu attaches so much importance to Wu Jing.

Considering Wu Jing's own conditions, the upper limit of praise for him is really not high. With this condition, it is impossible to praise him to the top no matter how much you praise him, right?

But it’s not a loss, it’s just not cost-effective.

Wu Jing himself has also heard some discussions in the industry. It is said that the reason why he went south to Xiangjiang back then was to break into his own kung fu era. Unfortunately, after so many years, he really had no achievements.

Now that I have returned to China, I am developing well, but I am still far from my goal. As for whether I can create my own era of kung fu movies?
He himself is not very clear, but he knows one thing: if Hua Shang cannot help him realize his dream, then no other company can do the same!

So why do you think so much?Just do your job well.

During this period, Wu Jing worked hard on practicing Thai and Burmese, insisted on physical exercise, and became familiar with various firearms to prepare for the future filming of "Operation Mekong". On the other hand, he also had to participate in various new movies "John Wick 2" Although I am very busy with promotional activities, I feel very at ease.

That year's "John Wick 1" took in US$2.58 million at the global box office. I don't know if this year's "John Wick 2" can maintain the reputation and performance of the first film. If "John Wick 2" this time "John Wick 3" collapsed, and there may be no "John Wick [-]" in the future.

He still likes this series very much, so as the film is about to be released, he is still feeling a lot of pressure.

(End of this chapter)