Top of the big era

After handing out the materials, Zhou Buqi sat down and asked with a smile: "The lightsaber competition is a bit like our country's kung fu."

Catherine said: "Yes, it's kung fu. When Bruce Lee's kung fu movies were popular all over the United States, George added this idea to it. This is indeed a major feature of Star Wars."

Zhou Buqi nodded, "Star Wars contains many elements, including fantasy, love, conspiracy, friendship, comedy, martial arts, advanced weapons, robots, and aliens. However, this is the Star Wars of the past, and it is the story of George Lew. Cass's Star Wars. We've thrown away his interest in the rest of the story, so we're going to innovate even further."

Catherine said very vigilantly: "Innovation must be moderate and cannot be completely different. It completely changes the fans' understanding of the Star Wars world."

"Of course." Zhou Buqi smiled, "That's what I think. We need to redesign the background of the Star Wars universe, and the timeline can be postponed to 120 years after the 1983 movie. All the old characters and actors They are all dead and have become historical figures.”

"What about continuity? How to reflect it?"

"The new protagonist will lead the fans to explore this unknown new Star Wars world, and in the process continue to discover some elements that existed in the first six Star Wars. I heard that the robot R2 is very popular among movie fans. Last year's doll sales More than 80,000 pieces?”

"right."

Catherine smiled, rather proud of it.

This is one of the most popular derivatives in Star Wars. Although the sales volume is not as high as that of the Jedi Knight's lightsaber, the price is high. A robot doll sells for more than 300 US dollars. This product alone can bring in $20 million in revenue to Lucasfilm every year.

Zhou Buqi burst out with scalable ideas, "My company... I mean Ziweixing, is developing an intelligent robot that can interact with humans for entertainment. Since R2 is so popular, maybe it can be combined with R2 in the future ."

The R2 robot has three legs and a rounder body, making it more stable when walking. With the added value of the super IP "Star Wars", if Ziweixing first combines the relevant software system with R2, it will be equivalent to a walking smart speaker, and it will be easier to produce.

It may be developed within 3 years.

By then, this new type of intelligent R2 robot will be sold well in North America, if not all over the world. Showing "Star Wars: Episode VIII" while selling the witty and brave R2 intelligent robot will ensure big sales. At least the kids will be clamoring for it, and the $2,000 price tag won’t be a problem.

However, it is difficult for others to comment on this topic.

Zhou Buqi waved his hand and began to briefly describe his Star Wars world——

"The timeline is 120 years later. No one knows what happened in these 120 years. We only know that 100 years ago, an alien galaxy from the Centaur Galaxy or the Gobbit Galaxy invaded the Milky Way and quickly dominated the Milky Way. , they implemented a high-pressure dictatorial reign of terror, erasing all past history in the galaxy."

"And more importantly, they strictly control the Force. All children with the potential of the Force in their bodies will be caught and killed mercilessly. Even people who discuss the Force in private will be killed without mercy. Forgiveness. The Force has become the biggest taboo and is not allowed to be discussed."

"The new generation of galactic people have all grown up in this cruel environment. If people dare to be angry and dare not speak out, or even speak loudly in a bar, they will be arrested. Well, it's a bit like the friendship in "1984" department."

"The male protagonist grew up in this kind of ignorance. He knew nothing but the words his father whispered to him before he was arrested - May the force be with you."

"History has been erased. He knows nothing and is being hunted by the authorities. He runs all the way. On the way she meets the heroine and may also meet the robot R2. They repair R2 and then follow R2's guidance Next, they went to another planet to find the remains of the Jedi."

"The male protagonist found the lightsaber, but was also found by the bad guys. This is the end of the first part, a decisive battle between the two sides. The male protagonist can find the lightsaber, but he can't use the force. When the situation is critical, the heroine appears, The hero was saved. Both parties escaped together."

"Then in the second part, there is a new element. They have to enter the interior of a planet, which is a brand new underground world. The ruins of Luke Skywalker are hidden here. This is a new Star Wars element, and there can be Adventure and certain supernatural elements can also have more life forms, just like in "Avatar", with visual effects. These are the protagonist's helpers against the dark forces in the future."

"The hero and heroine overcame many difficulties in the underground world, found Luke Skywalker's soul, and learned the Force. At the end of the film, the heroine is resisting, and the hero is still comprehending how to use the Force. When the stakes are at stake , the hero saves the heroine.”

"Next, the hero and heroine begin to truly resist the brutal rule of the dark forces over the galaxy, and find out the truth about the Force bit by bit. What exactly is the Force? Why do the dark forces want to block the Force? My idea, the Force It comes from something mysterious in the universe, and contains a larger and more indescribable secret of the universe."

"The hero and heroine joined forces and first defeated the villains from several planets and gained their support. Then they joined forces with all parties to drive the dark forces out of the galaxy. Unexpectedly, even greater terror was coming. The dark forces outside the galaxy noticed Here, greater risks are coming.”

Such an argument is very consistent with Kevin Feige's philosophy.

He built the Marvel Cinematic Universe by telling a complete and huge story through many superheroes, and then fighting the villains bit by bit. After conquering the earth, we will fight aliens, after we have conquered aliens, we will fight the universe, after we have conquered the universe, we will fight the multiverse, expanding outward little by little, boundless.

Zhou Buqi said: "We want to restart "Star Wars", but we have abandoned George Lucas. In this case, we might as well have greater innovation and more elements. There can be exploration, adventure, supernatural, Spells, drag racing, boat racing, spaceships, rocket launches and fascinating legends. The epic battle between humans and orcs in "Lord of the Rings 3" can also be presented in "Star Wars" and is a force for justice. The ultimate showdown with the evil force. Don’t stick to the form, you can spread your mind, design a larger story background for Star Wars, and look for more possibilities.”

"Is there a theme?" Michael Moore couldn't help but ask, "The first six movies express the story of the righteous Jedi resisting the rule of the evil Galactic Empire. Although simple, there is a very clear direction. It’s not like a Marvel movie.”

Kevin Feige coughed lightly and said quickly: "Marvel movies also have a theme, which is the story of superheroes protecting their home planet."

Zhou Buqi said: "The theme of Star Wars is stronger. The next six films can express the story of low-level heroes leading all planets and races in the galaxy to resist tyranny. You can design the specific story. The general idea is this , you can analyze it further.”

The matter is settled.

Let them write the script.

Next, more attention must be paid to streaming media rights, which is not an easy business. Fortunately, the case of the American TV series Breaking Bad that Zhou Buqi had been staring at was basically concluded.

At the beginning, Sony Pictures was very aggressive, with a one-time price of US$200 million.

This is too exaggerated.

After several rounds of negotiations, the price was reduced to US$140 million.

Sony Pictures never let up.

Because they are producing 5 seasons of "Breaking Bad", the total production budget is US$140 million. The investment will be recovered directly from Ziweixing Global, and the remaining TV drama copyrights and DVD copyrights will be net income.

The price is a bit high.

The deal was concluded with a document signed by Zhou Buqi himself. No matter how much or how little money you have for the copyright of an American drama of this level, as long as you can buy it, you will make a lot of money.

It would be best if the sequel to "Breaking Bad" also works in this mode. Ziweixing Global will provide money to help Sony Pictures produce the sequel to "Breaking Bad". Then Ziweixing Global only needs the streaming rights, and the remaining copyrights will belong to Sony Pictures. That is enough. This is more cost-effective than Netflix paying sky-high prices to rent copyrights on the market.

After all, Ziweixing Global is a company headquartered in Hollywood and has connections in the industry. What Netflix can’t do, Ziweixing Global can do it by relying on personal connections.