Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1407 New Ideas for the Chinese Film Industry
Director Zhang did not expect that his film would also be loved by Ronald. Afterwards, the two had tea and chatted alone, and Director Zhang also talked a lot about his designs and ideas during the filming.

There are quite a few technical differences between this film and "Prague Love", which also edited historical documentary footage into the main feature of the film.

The documentary "Prague Love" is mainly based on images shot by many tourists at the time using handheld amateur cameras, which were finally edited into the main film. Only some freehand editing was done to give the audience a sense of being there.

The documentary in "Sanmao's Military Life" adapted from the comic book is some footage taken during the Anti-Japanese War by professional photographers at the time. In addition, the actor surnamed Sun plays the role very similar to the original, so a lot of historical footage was added.

Director Zhang used some methods to ensure that the characters were integrated into the scene at that time. He restored the original background of the scenery and let the actors re-enact the scene at that time. This, combined with the documentary of the time, achieved the transition between reality and history.

This is also due to a very favorable situation, that is, the current Chinese audience is very unfamiliar with the video materials of that time. Because this generation of audiences has not seen many documentary images from half a century ago, they are not familiar with the historical figures and events of that time. The quality and tone of the photography are also very different from the later film styles.

In this way, this practice of actors deliberately acting out history will not only not cause the audience to feel that something is "wrong", but will instead create a sense of strangeness in the images as if "this is not our time", making it easy to immerse oneself in it and take the actors' performances seriously.

American audiences have gradually become familiar with historical events since the 1950s and 1960s, and they may have grown up watching live broadcasts of the historical figures and events that appear in "Forrest Gump". If actors were to recreate the events, the effect of Forrest Gump's participation in history would not be achieved.

After staying at the film studio for a few days, Ronald took away a copy of the film and invited several directors to Los Angeles for inspection. In recent years, China has seen a sharp decline in movie box office, and many cinemas are no longer profitable.

Therefore, it is difficult for these talented directors to find good filming opportunities and investments. The filming funds that the studios have guaranteed to make are not enough to make any good films, as many stars go abroad and Hong Kong to make films, and under the market economy, there are no good films.

Ronald's invitation was motivated by personal relationships, but also a way to find some money for them to make movies. After all, the tradition of Xujiahui Film Studio is to make commercial films and make money in cinemas. Unlike some filmmakers in the north, who still have the option of participating in European film festivals and selling copies.

The film studio leaders enthusiastically invited Ronald to attend the first film festival. However, Ronald, who understood Eastern culture, knew that they always respected seniority and authority. Not only was he young, he had not won the Oscar for Best Director.

For this first international film festival, the organizers would definitely want to find a director of special status to support the event. So Ronald declined the invitation on the grounds that he was about to prepare a new project, and promised to help contact several directors who had won the Oscar for Best Director and were closer to Eastern values ​​after returning.

Gregory Peck was in poor health and would have been the best candidate for the jury. So Ronald planned to invite Francis Coppola and Oliver Stone, two directors of famous anti-war films...

After leaving China, Ronald, accompanied by Xiao Qiu from Era International, went to Hong Kong, Ang Lee's hometown, and several Southeast Asian countries to investigate the local film markets.

Sometimes you have to see it to believe it. This time, Ronald took a quick tour, staying in each place for a day or two, communicating with local directors and producers, and then going to the cinema to watch the screenings in person.

Although they are very close to each other, moviegoers in different places still like to watch very different things.

Hong Kong productions have a strong influence on Southeast Asia and other regions. Most mainland viewers can only watch pirated copies in video halls, but Ang Lee's hometown and several Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and other countries with some Chinese cultural traditions, have accepted them very well.

These countries lack local film production capabilities, and Hollywood films have language and cultural barriers, so the most popular ones are those produced in Hong Kong. Many gangster films, action films, police and gangster films, and ancient costume freehand martial arts films have unexpectedly attracted a lot of audiences.

Moreover, the cinemas in these countries are not very powerful. They are all one or two distributors with close ties to the government who go to Hong Kong, Cannes, and Hollywood to buy movies. Their ability to predict box office and monitor local box office is also weak. It is technically impossible to achieve a profit-sharing system.

Most of the Hong Kong movies that are bought are bought out in bulk. The purchase is muddled, the release is muddled, and the final box office is also muddled. They learn a lot from each other. If a Malaysian movie businessman buys a movie and it becomes popular, other people will follow suit...

In contrast, all cinemas in the mainland are theoretically under the jurisdiction of the head office. Although their box office supervision has many loopholes, fortunately, they only need to deal with one company. To be honest, everyone is doing business, and the effort and cost are actually much cheaper.

……

"So, you mean that the mainland of China is the most worthwhile to explore and has the most potential?"

"It can be said that their... is still very desirable."

When Ronald and his team returned to Los Angeles, the first thing they did was to have a secret talk with Jack Valenti, the president of MPAA.

The MPAA and the film company reached a profit-sharing agreement, but privately, because of the recent most-favored-nation treatment issue, Jack Valenti was unsure to what extent the other party would respect the agreement.

This time when Ronald went there, Jack Valenti privately asked him to make an assessment to see whether he could continue to encourage film producers to expand the market there, or to temporarily stop...

Ronald's conclusion from the investigation is that not only should he not retreat, but he should also launch a fierce offensive in that direction and thoroughly establish the Hollywood background of this market.

Ronald took the opportunity to criticize Warner Bros. for their rash decision to participate in the construction of the cinema chain, and pointed out many inappropriate aspects of this approach.

Because there are still many smart young leaders at the head office level in China. They have worked in film studios at the grassroots level and received higher education in college in the 1980s. They usually have opportunities to go abroad that ordinary employees do not have, and their horizons are also relatively broad among the people.

These people have good vision and skills, and they all see that the most critical factor in the agreement is the distribution channel issue that is not written in.

The key to Hollywood's success in America is its control over distribution channels, which are not resources that can be created quickly in a short period of time, and often change in units of ten years.

No matter how powerful your movie is and how much money it can sell in China, it is still under the overall control of the head office. As long as the distribution channels are not eroded, what movies to release and how long to release them are still decided by others. Hollywood is just a producer who supplies movies.

The cinema that Warner Brothers opened in Guangzhou was a direct attempt to take advantage of the openness of the South to challenge the bottom line of others. Whenever there are setbacks in the most-favored-nation trade, the first to be targeted are those who want to exploit loopholes like this one.

Ronald's approach, on the other hand, was very conservative, providing what the leaders wanted most, advanced technology and advanced management experience, while Hollywood could also make some money by updating its equipment.

The most important thing is that, through a window project like the film festival, we can persuade the entire Chinese film projection equipment system, which has not been updated for decades, to switch to Hollywood standards.

As long as they use Hollywood standards instead of European or Japanese standards, or some domestic standards they come up with, then Hollywood movies will still be the lowest-cost option among imported movies.

Jack Valenti was a little worried about the import quota, but Ronald advised him not to be afraid and just send the best commercial films. In the end, whether they want it or not is up to them.

In the numerous Hollywood commercial film productions, there are all kinds of values ​​and political orientations, and the standards there are often unpredictable.

Ronald's own film "Breakdance" unexpectedly became the first musical film introduced there in many years because it reflected racial discrimination and depicted the dilapidated scene of Los Angeles (caused by B-level films not having money for the set).

However, "Hi, Frank", which seemed to satisfy their taste, almost failed to be released due to various reasons.

Therefore, the best business strategy for Hollywood in the mainland market is to think for them in every aspect, provide them with what they want most, and respect their vision in selecting movies.

Because of the monopoly position that these people in the head office are in, they will naturally understand the concepts and logic of various Hollywood commercial films over time. Imperceptibly, the personnel changes there are slower than in Hollywood, so it is easy to establish a long-term relationship. When trust is established, it will not be too late to talk about more things.

"When I went to see the filming of The Last Emperor with you, I noticed that you have a deep understanding of doing business with these countries. But after hearing what you said today, I think I underestimated you." Jack Valenti invited Ronald to smoke his cigar with great satisfaction.

"I hope that the MPAA can also accept the organization there as a member of the International Federation of Producers Guilds. Their current slogan is to keep pace with the world. You know, the Chinese are a very self-respecting nation. The success or failure of something they do is often based on the world's advanced level in a certain year.

As long as we actively accept their idea of ​​embracing the world, we will see the most dining tables at the door of the world's largest single market. The Chinese are very sensible about who treats them well. "

Ronald talked about a lot of his own ideas. The International Federation of Producers Guilds is an alliance of producer associations from various countries that meet together to discuss and negotiate. Originally, the Producers Guild in China was not truly accepted because of the lack of real producers under the business model. Now if they can be helped to obtain the corresponding status, they will definitely be grateful.

Most importantly, all kinds of industry regulations and industrial standards must make them believe that Hollywood is the most advanced in the world today. In this way, Hollywood movies can be shown there by simply shipping copies over.

Jack Valenti was a little worried about Warner Bros.'s actions, fearing that they would affect Hollywood's overall exports. Ronald did not continue to add insult to injury, but said that perhaps going to Vietnam would be a good attempt.

Jack Valenti was puzzled and asked him why something that didn't work in China worked well in Vietnam, a country with a similar system.

Ronald mentioned two points. First, after the end of the Cold War, Vietnam began to reform in the same way as China. However, they did not have the profound cultural accumulation of China, and often over-reformed.

Second, there is no film headquarters there, but Hollywood can use traditional Hollywood methods of infiltrating distribution channels to influence and control the market there.

Jack Valenti was very satisfied with this method of analysis. He said on the spot that he would follow Ronald's idea and make a presentation at the next MPAA meeting to introduce the special features of the Chinese market.

"Some people say you are a panda lover, but I don't think so. I haven't heard such an insightful marketing strategy for a long time." Jack Valenti suddenly said this while smoking a cigar after listening to Ronald's ideas.

"Actually, it's true that I'm a panda lover." Ronald's heart moved. The reason why Jack Valenti was able to control the MPAA for so many years was that as President Johnson's man, his connections in Washington were very important.

"Oh?" Jack Valenti glanced at him. Many members of Congress wanted to vote in favor of the most-favored-nation treatment. Some of those who opposed it also said bad things about Ronald through channels, thinking that he was too close to China.

It was just because Ronald himself, and the previous rumors of his ancestry had no evidence, that it was hard to believe that a very wealthy Hollywood capitalist would be willing to be a spy for China. The source of his wealth had nothing to do with that country.

"Panda leasing is actually a business. The San Diego Zoo is very profitable. Their pre-sale tickets have been lined up until the end of the year. The same is true for the overseas distribution market. No matter whether it is pandas or movie copies, as long as it can make money, our good people in Hollywood will rush for it. This is the foundation of our country, the entrepreneurial spirit."

"Well said..." Jack Valenti was very happy. Compared with the schizophrenic demands of that group of Jews, he could still talk to a businessman like Ronald who was a business man.

……

"Hehehehe..." Knowing that he had conveyed his attitude to Washington's agent in Hollywood, Jack Valenti, Ronald went home happily.

After Paramount upgraded its equipment at the processing plant outside Los Angeles, the old equipment was sold, and Ronald was ready to buy it and rebuild it in China. Because it was an old production line with old technology and Jack Valenti's endorsement, this kind of thing would not cause complaints from others.

Xiao Yan was responsible for the relocation and reconstruction of the entire printing factory, and also sold many process flow instructions and empirical formulas for the proportions of various chemical drugs. The worker team was newly recruited.

In the future, Chinese directors can easily develop printed copies to participate in film festivals, or prepare subtitles according to the standards of European film festivals. There will no longer be a situation where a good film like Director Xie's "Furong Town" is delayed in making it to a film festival.