Chapter 888: Layout France

Xia Yu asked three questions expressionlessly: 'What's the name of this movie? Has it been released in the US? How much did it make at the box office?'

Jiang Zhiqiang answered immediately: "The movie is called "The Killer King', it's a kung fu movie, it was released on September 12th, but it was taken off the screens on September 27th, and it made... 107,000 US dollars in the US.'

Xia Yu's eyebrows shot up, thinking he had heard it wrong, and he asked again, 'How much? 107,000 US dollars?'

Jiang Zhiqiang's face was burning with embarrassment, and he lowered his head awkwardly and said, 'Yes.'

After confirming that there was no mistake, Xia Yu was dissatisfied.

107,000 US dollars, converted to Hong Kong dollars, was only just over 400,000 Hong Kong dollars. Even if there were no publicity costs, the estimated revenue after splitting the profits with the co-distributor and the American cinema chain would be just over 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, which was too little.

And even this little bit of money has to be split between Universal Studios and Galaxy Studios. These two companies are at least among the top 100 companies in Hong Kong, and to split such a small amount of money, which is only the income for 15 days, would make people laugh out loud.

He can't lose face by saying that this is his company, Xia Yu!

And if you calculate the time, it was only released for half a month before it was taken off the screens. A normal movie is released for four weeks, so it was almost half a month too soon, which is very unusual!

Xia Yu suppressed a hint of dissatisfaction and said calmly, 'Tell me the details.'

Jiang Zhiqiang let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the chairman Xia Yu wasn't angry, and quickly started from the beginning.

'Chairman, here's the situation,'

'At the end of last year, Universal Brokerage signed a contract with Cheng Long, and Galaxy Movies used Cheng Long as the lead character in two consecutive kung fu movies that were both huge hits. The local Hong Kong box office for each movie exceeded 7 million Hong Kong dollars. Manager Chen Shufen believes that Cheng Long has great potential, so after consulting with Manager Wu Siyuan, they decided to make Cheng Long another 'Bruce Lee'. They carefully crafted a script called 'The Killer', and assembled the best team to produce the film over a period of three months.

'After its release, 'The Killer' was a huge hit, grossing over 13 million Hong Kong dollars at the local box office, breaking the Hong Kong film box office record in one fell swoop.'

'Not only that, the cumulative box office outside Hong Kong reached a record-breaking 24 million Hong Kong dollars.'

'Then I confidently brought 'The Killer King' to Hollywood. The first company I approached was Universal Pictures, with which I had previously had some cooperation. I wanted to reach a co-operation agreement with them to distribute 'The Killer King' and at the same time establish a good relationship with them to pave the way for future film distribution.

'But Universal Pictures was adamant that they would only buy out the rights, and in the end they were only willing to pay $150,000 for the rights.'

'Then I approached other film companies, but they were all arrogant and none of them were willing to offer a revenue-sharing deal. They were only willing to buy out the rights.'

'The Killer was full of potential, and I was unwilling to accept a buyout, so I looked for a theatrical release on my own. The top US cinemas such as AMC and Regal were basically controlled by the eight major Hollywood studios. When I went to them to discuss cooperation, not only were the profit-sharing rates very low, but the key point was that I couldn't get enough screens.

'So in order to plan for long-term channels, I also signed cooperation agreements with several small and medium-sized cinemas at the same time, intending to test the broadcast first, and then use this as a stepping stone to open the doors of other cinemas.

'However, the lack of a publicity partner resulted in inadequate publicity, so the box office results were average. On the fourth day, when things were gradually picking up, the cinemas we were working with rescheduled our film 'Killer King' to midnight screenings, and the original screens were taken away by Universal Pictures' "Melvin and Howard" which was in cinemas. There were simply not many audiences at midnight screenings, and because the attendance rate was not high, "Killer King" was released after two weeks and was taken off the screen.

'After the film was taken off the screens, the people from Universal Pictures approached me again, offering to buy the rights to 'Killer King' for 30,000 US dollars. I refused, and the head of Universal Pictures' distribution department even threatened me, saying that if we didn't cooperate with them, we wouldn't be able to enter the American market.'

As he spoke, Jiang Zhiqiang's mind flashed back to the arrogant and sinister faces and condescending attitudes of the people from Universal Pictures. He couldn't help but clench his fists, his chest filled with pent-up anger.

'Chairman, Universal Pictures is deliberately squeezing our resources. I have argued with the cinema companies, but they told me clearly that they cannot refuse Universal Pictures' demands.'

'They are robbers, I can't stand it, such a low price, I would rather not make a profit than be slaughtered by Universal Pictures.'

Seeing Jiang Zhiqiang's expression of excitement and hatred on his face, Xia Yu was also annoyed, but he also knew that Jiang Zhiqiang had done his best.

Xia Yu was well aware of the exclusivity and hegemony of the Hollywood giants. Even in later generations, Hollywood was controlled by the Jews, and Wall Street capital was coveting it. They were always trying to infiltrate and control it.

Universal Pictures, which suppressed Universal Studios, was originally at the bottom of the Hollywood Big Eight, but after collaborating with Spielberg on Jaws five years ago, it once again rose to prominence. In the following years, it collaborated with Spielberg and George Lucas, and now Universal Pictures has once again entered the top few of the Hollywood Big Eight, with great influence.

With Universal Pictures' clout in the film industry, it is simply not difficult to suppress several small and medium-sized cinema companies.

What's more, the US cinema industry has not yet been consolidated. Even the top four cinema companies in the US combined only account for less than 20% of the screens in the country, so the cinema companies simply cannot afford to offend the Hollywood majors.

Furthermore, Hong Kong cinema has yet to reach its golden age, and its influence is limited to Asia.

At this time, the West looked down on Asia. After all, apart from the island countries, the economic levels of other Asian countries and regions were indeed not very good.

It was only natural that Jiang Zhiqiang would be bullied when he tried to collaborate with them.

In the previous life, Golden Harvest was able to collaborate with Warner Bros. thanks to Bruce Lee, but even so, Golden Harvest had very little say in the matter and was the one being exploited by Warner Bros.

As for Shaw Brothers Pictures, it was even worse. The leader of Chinese-language cinema for decades was still shut out of Hollywood. Later, it invested 150 million Hong Kong dollars, but lost everything, and since then, it has given up on entering Hollywood.

At this time, Galaxy Studios had just risen, and Universal Studios was only well-known in Asia. Although Jiang Zhiqiang's previous Edko Films had some connection with Hollywood through showing Western films in Edko cinemas, it was only better than Shoichi Hirota, and not much better than Wrinkle Huai.

In the absence of phenomenal films, the box office of Western films shown in Universal Studios was only a few million Hong Kong dollars, and at most, it was only a million US dollars when converted to US dollars. It was only a drop in the bucket for the eight major Hollywood giants.

The cooperation is so small, and Universal Studios is not irreplaceable. One can imagine the weight of Jiang Zhiqiang in the eyes of the eight giants of Hollywood.

Of course, Xia Yu doesn't think this way because he looks down on his own company, but this is the current situation. It's just that others look down on him!

But whether it's to win Jiang Zhiqiang's heart or for his own career, this matter cannot be settled like this!

If one's own film company wants to break into Hollywood, it must break into the inner circle of the eight giants of Hollywood, and the best way to do this is to take down one of them.

But taking down a film giant is not a guarantee of success. After all, Hollywood has always been controlled by the Jews, and it is inevitable that the other giants will unite against him.

Have you not seen that after Sony, the arrogant Japanese company from the previous life, acquired Columbia Pictures, it was also made to suffer greatly? Relying on the strong backing of the financial consortium behind it, it went through many trials and tribulations and took several years to gain a foothold in Hollywood.

So just taking down one of the Hollywood Big Eight is not a guarantee of success!

He needs a cinema chain that covers the whole of the United States and is big enough to fight for a foothold in Hollywood without fear. The current cinema giants in the US market have not yet been consolidated and cannot meet his requirements!

There is no way to do these two things at the same time in a short period of time.

And Jiang Zhiqiang can't do anything about these things.

Xia Yu calmed down and gently encouraged Jiang Zhiqiang, 'Zhiqiang, you must be ashamed and work hard. You must remember this. Hong Kong movies are not yet glorious enough. After you go back, you and Wu Siyuan should have a good exchange and go for it. Both Galaxy Studios and Universal Cinema are still young. Although they have achieved a certain level of success, their leading positions are not yet stable. This year, you should continue to cultivate the Asian market.'

'You can't build a ship by shutting yourself in a room and building the ship alone!'

'At the moment, most of the good resources in the Hong Kong film industry are in your hands and those of Wu Siyuan. Take the time to study the various models in Hollywood, learn from their strengths and weaknesses, and help transform the Hong Kong film industry.'

'I will pave the way for you here in the United States. I don't want to pave the way and then find that you're not ready.'

'Do you remember?'

Jiang Zhiqiang, ashamed, nodded firmly and said, 'Chairman, I remember. After we get back, we will work hard to strengthen our internal skills, and first, we will knock down Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers, so that we can lay a solid foundation.'

Xia Yu was suddenly happy.

However, he didn't say much. For Galaxy Studios and Universal Cinema Circuit to dominate, Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers really had to be knocked down. Not only that, but those Chinese film companies in Taiwan and the provinces also had to be knocked down.

Xia Yu thought for a moment and reminded Jiang Zhiqiang, 'When you come to Hollywood, don't go back empty-handed. Hollywood has the latest theoretical knowledge and photographic equipment here. Go shopping and bring some back. If you can hire some teachers back with high salaries, that would be best. You figure out how to do it yourself.'

Jiang Zhiqiang nodded, 'Okay, I'll do all that.'

...

At a little after 3:00 p.m., Yan Wenhan and Jiang Zhiqiang left one after the other.

Xia Yu then made a phone call and ordered someone to collect information on recent American films, which would take him all night.

The next day, Xia Yu found the right time to call Hong Kong, and the person who answered was Wu Siyuan, the general manager of Galaxy Films.

Xia Yu dictated the outline of the story to Wu Siyuan: an alien left behind on Earth and taken in by a kind little boy. He then ordered him to arrange for a team of screenwriters to improve the script, and the outline must be constructed with the thinking of a Hollywood science fiction film.

After talking to Wu Siyuan, Xia Yu went to Polaris Capital and ordered Peter Lynch to arrange for someone to investigate the American film industry and the cinema market.

After returning home again, he made another phone call to George Berkeley, asked about some arrangements in France, and asked him to secretly send someone to communicate with François Mitterrand.

Three days later, Xia Yu flew back to Xiangjiang in broad daylight, and then stayed at home for less than a day before secretly taking a boat to the island country of Tokyo.

Two days after Xia Yu's arrival in Tokyo, François Mitterrand, the first secretary of the French opposition Socialist Party, and his entourage arrived in Tokyo on business to communicate with the island country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs about some affairs between the two countries.

They carried out official business during the day, but in the evening, François Mitterrand went alone to a house not far from the residence.