When Spielberg heard with his own ears that Li Mu wanted to start the Flying Tigers project as soon as possible, he was not surprised at all.
Although he had not had much contact with Li Mu, he had basically figured out Li Mu's way of doing things.
He was resolute and resolute, and he would do it once he had made up his mind. He was not sloppy at all. He was young and full of courage.
Li Mu's idea was very simple, and he told Spielberg very straightforwardly, "We have the script, the director, and the leading actors. Needless to say, we have the funds. We can use them at any time. The basic plan is almost complete. It's time to move quickly."
Spielberg said seriously, "After Annie is discharged from the hospital, we will immediately return to Los Angeles. I will talk to them face to face again and sign the contract. Then, we will decide on the other members of the crew. Don't you want the entire Hollywood production team? Then, I will pull out all the people I use!"
"That's great!" Li Mu exclaimed and said, "In that case, I will immediately prepare 30 million dollars of start-up capital and put it in the account of Makino Image. You will have full control of it."
As he said this, Li Mu added, "Steven, I promised before that whether DreamWorks is willing to invest or not, I will give you 10% of the net profit. As for the remaining 20%, you can go back and discuss it with others. If you invest, I welcome it at any time. If you don't, it doesn't matter, but this 20% investment is only for you. You have no right to resell it."
Spielberg hurriedly nodded and said, "Rest assured, Mr. Lee, I agree with you very much. As for whether or not to invest, I will discuss it with them as soon as possible when I return to the United States. But I personally feel that the probability of investment is very high. You can wait for my good news in Hua Xia."
Li Mu smiled slightly. "I will also go to the United States soon. If the time is right, when Annie is discharged, we can go together. I will arrange a business jet then."
Spielberg asked in surprise, "Mr. Lee, you are going to the United States soon?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "That's right. Actually, I want to go in the next two days, but Annie is still in the hospital. I have to wait for her to be discharged before making any plans."
Spielberg immediately said, "When Annie is discharged, let's discuss it again. If possible, it would be best to go together."
This time, Li Mu was going to the United States not for Flying Tigers, but to confirm the supply of materials for 3M and Honeywell. The reason why he had not left yet was that Annie Hathaway was still in the hospital. After she was discharged, Li Mu would almost set off, and Spielberg and Annie Hathaway would almost immediately return to the United States. So the timing was just right for the two groups.
After communicating their intention to go to the United States together, Li Mu asked Spielberg about the preparation time needed before the movie started shooting. Spielberg said, "Mr. Lee, I can't give you the exact time yet, because we are going to shoot a war movie. So I have to prepare the storyboard, prepare the props, and then start selecting the location and making the shooting plan. Especially the props, including the fighter jets, I'm afraid they can only be ordered in the United States and shipped to Hua Xia."
Li Mu nodded and said seriously, "Don't be stingy with the props. Bring out the props you used in Saving Private Ryan, or even more than that."
Spielberg laughed and said, "Don't worry, this time I will definitely get a few P-40C fighter jets from the United States that can fly, as well as Japanese Zero fighter jets. I will definitely shoot the aerial battle scene perfectly!"
Li Mu also warned himself in his heart that he must invest more experience in this movie. If this movie could achieve worldwide success, it would be of great significance to Hua Xia's movie, to the people of Hua Xia, to the international image of Hua Xia, and to the image of Hua Xia in the hearts of the people all over the world.
Thinking of this, Li Mu couldn't help but think of an American-Japanese movie he had seen in his previous life — The Last Samurai. This movie, starring Tom Cruise and Watanabe Ken, was about the Japanese Bushido culture during the Meiji Restoration, and the violent collision of the culture and ideology produced by the Westernization of the Meiji Restoration. It was such a commercial movie that not only made more than 400 million US dollars in the global box office, but also vigorously promoted the Japanese Bushido culture to the world.
When Li Mu watched this movie in his previous life, he always sighed in his heart that the Japanese attached too much importance to the hidden export of culture. They cooperated with the Americans to make such a commercial movie, not only to make money, but also to export culture.
Even though Japan's cultural exports had been going on internationally for many years, the Japanese still understood that if they were to make a Japanese Samurai movie, they would not be able to gain recognition around the world. Even the young people in their own country might not like it. Therefore, they mixed Western elements and Americans into the story.
Therefore, The Last Samurai highlighted the advanced technology of the United States, and highlighted the savior aura of the Americans, that is, the character played by Tom Cruise, while at the same time promoting the Bushido spirit through a character like Watanabe Ken. This kind of work was liked by the Japanese, the Americans, and people who liked to watch Hollywood blockbusters.
This kind of operation was also what Li Mu wanted to learn humbly.
The Last Samurai had garnered countless fans for the Japanese Bushido culture, but Hua Xia had never made a movie that could have such an impact. Some people who didn't know the truth thought that The Hero could barely be counted as one, but what they didn't know was that The Hero was the work of Quentin Tarantino. Moreover, The Hero did not promote the true essence of Hua Xia culture to the world, nor did it allow the world to accept and recognize it.
From Li Mu's point of view, The Last Samurai was actually very simple. Its core position was to promote the Japanese Bushido spirit and culture, so all the plot settings were developed around this core point. Many domestic directors were sometimes too greedy and incompetent. They wanted the audience to like their movies, but at the same time, they wanted to deliberately mystify things so that the audience couldn't understand it. Sometimes, they would blindly pursue the so-called "pretentiousness", making the movie a mess, with no main line, and no core. They even hoped that such a movie would have a high box office after it was released. They didn't understand the principle that you can't have your cake and eat it too.
And now, Li Mu's positioning for the core of Flying Tigers was also very simple. It was to highlight the heroism and fearlessness of the Huaxia people when they fought against the Japanese invaders and the great sacrifices they made. Everything else was to serve this core!
When he thought of The Last Samurai, Li Mu felt a little unhappy. This movie was very successful in his previous life, and it helped Japan to export a lot of culture. However, in his previous life, Li Mu only watched the pirated DVD of this movie after he graduated from college, so he didn't know when the movie was released. But he was sure that it hadn't been released yet.
So, Li Mu pretended to be curious and asked Spielberg, "Steven, are you familiar with the actor Tom Cruise?"
Spielberg nodded. "Of course I am. We just worked together the year before last. It was a movie I directed, called Minority Report. It was released last summer. Why did you suddenly think of him? Do you want to invite him to join us? "
Only then did Li Mu remember the movie Minority Report. It turned out that Spielberg had just worked with him.
Immediately, Li Mu said, "I don't want to invite him to join Flying Tigers. I just think that this actor is also very good. If there is a chance in the future, we can work together."
Then, Li Mu tentatively asked, "By the way, Steven, what movie is Tom Cruise making now?"
Spielberg said, "He is making a movie about Japanese Samurai recently. It is a movie he has been preparing for a long time and attaches great importance to."
Li Mu subconsciously asked, "Oh? Really? Do you know the specific story? "
Spielberg shook his head and said with a smile, "I really don't know the specific story, because every crew will keep the complete script strictly confidential, so I don't know very much. I only heard a general idea. It is said that it is a movie related to Japanese Samurai, called The Last Samurai."
Speaking of this, Spielberg added, "Tom seems to attach great importance to this movie. Not only did he start preparing a long time ago, but it is said that he will also undergo professional training for more than half a year. He is very devoted."
Li Mu's heart skipped a beat. He didn't expect that The Last Samurai was being filmed now, which made Li Mu feel very bad.
"The Last Samurai" was a film that promoted and praised the Japanese samurai spirit, while his "Flying Tigers" was to criticize the Japanese war crimes and expose the extreme samurai spirit devoid of humanity. If he let "The Last Samurai" succeed in gaining fans of the samurai spirit all over the world, then there would be great resistance if he wanted to realize his goal of criticizing and exposing it.
If "Flying Tigers" can be released before "The Last Samurai", it couldn't be better, because once the audience all over the world deeply realizes the crimes committed by Japan in the war, "The Last Samurai" will naturally face much greater resistance if it wants to wash away the samurai spirit at that time.
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