Li Mu hoped to increase the coverage and influence of zombie films overseas as much as possible. Based on this, he requested Makino Image to look for capable distributors and lower the percentage of Makino Image's share of profits.
Under normal circumstances, for most countries, when an overseas film was imported, the box office share of the film company should be between 25% and 35%. Most of them were in the 30% range. The cost of these copyrights was surprisingly low for Li Mu. Just by relying on the income of the copyrights broadcast by domestic TV stations, he could recover all his investment in the copyrights and even have a surplus. Therefore, the income of overseas licensing was not so important to Li Mu.
Immediately, Makino Image came up with a plan internally. They would only look for the most influential distributor in a country's market. If the other party did not take the initiative to contact them, Makino Image would take the initiative to contact them. Makino Image's conditions were that the box office share could be lowered to 15% or even 10%. However, there had to be a certain guarantee for the film's screen time. Furthermore, the distributor had to specify in the contract that 50% of the revenue that Makino Image would give up to the cinema chains.
Giving the distributor more profit margin would make them work harder to promote the film. Giving the cinema chains more profit margin would make them take the initiative to provide more screen time.
If Film A's attendance was 10% higher than Film B's, the cinema chains would naturally be more willing to give Film A more screen time. However, if Film B's profit margin was 10% or 15% higher, the cinema chains would be more inclined towards the latter.
The overseas market was very fragmented. The core regions were North America and Europe, followed by Japan and South Korea, and the rest were a variety of countries. Traditional film distributors, even the top film companies in Hollywood, would find it difficult to promote their films globally. However, the internet was an exception. If globalization was a trend in all industries, then the root of globalization was the internet. Therefore, today, when all industries had not truly globalized, the only thing that could be globalized was the internet.
The awesome thing about Plants vs Zombies Online was that it had a wide reach and was suitable for both young and old. After the new version was released, players were very receptive to it. Therefore, there was a strong curiosity about Hua Xia's zombies. This was very important as it was equivalent to warming up the global market for zombie films in advance.
In order to improve the performance of Mr. Zombie in the North American market, Li Mu specially contacted Spielberg, hoping that he could introduce him to a capable distributor to promote the release of the movie in the North American market as soon as possible.
Spielberg was busy with the filming of Flying Tigers. A few days ago, under the pressure of Hua Xia's SARS, he led the team to Hua Xia and set up the set in Spring City. After that, he never left Hua Xia. He was so focused on his work that he naturally didn't have time to pay attention to what was happening on the internet. He hadn't even heard of the new version of Plants vs. Zombies Online.
When Spielberg suddenly heard that Li Mu wanted to release a 1985 Hong Kong film in the United States, his first thought was that it was impossible. No matter how good a 1985 film was in the United States, it was impossible to re-release it. There was no space for it even in the DVD and videotape market, let alone a Hong Kong film. No matter how strong Li Mu's influence was, he couldn't force the audience to pay for an 1985 Hong Kong film.
However, Spielberg didn't directly say this because he knew Li Mu's way of doing things. Once he had decided on something, it was very difficult for ordinary people to change his mind. Even if Spielberg talked until his mouth was dry, he still wouldn't give up. What's more, he was asking for help. If Spielberg refused to help, it would hurt the cooperation between the two.
Therefore, Spielberg could only agree first. He promised Li Mu that he would communicate with the distributors he knew and use this to help Li Mu promote cooperation.
Then, Spielberg immediately called the distributor that had the closest cooperation with DreamWorks. He expected to ask for help from the other party. If the other party refused, he would do them a favor. Li Mu rarely asked for help. If he couldn't do it this time, he would lose face.
Spielberg had been in contact with Hua Xia people recently and more or less understood the ways of the world in Hua Xia. He treated this way of the world as an Eastern philosophy of life and seriously studied it for a period of time.
At this time, it was night time in Los Angeles. The other party received Spielberg's call and immediately teased him like an old friend. "Hey Steven, how are you in Hua Xia? Did you get infected with the terrible SARS? "
"Shit, Lucas." Spielberg smiled helplessly and said, "Hua Xia is very safe, at least safer than the United States. You've lived here for 30 years and you might not hear a gunshot with your own ears."
"Haha." The other party laughed and said, "I don't even dare to imagine life without guns. Two days ago, there was a shooting in Hollywood. A retard who always acted as a third-rate character in third-rate TV series shot a director and a scriptwriter to death on the set. That day, I happened to go to the set next door to visit. I was so scared that I almost peed my pants."
Spielberg laughed and said, "You should thank God. You're such a jerk, but God still protects you."
"Come on." The other party laughed and asked, "Why are you calling me from half a world away, bro?"
Spielberg laughed and said, "You know Li Mu, right? Li Mu from Makino Technology. "
“Fuck！” The other party's voice immediately became serious and said, "Of course I know him. Not to mention other things, just his Shepherd's Movie ticketing system helped me a lot. Otherwise, how could the box office be so good? The Internet is awesome. Li Mu is awesome. That guy is simply a god!"
"Okay." Spielberg laughed and said, "Since you know him, then you should pay more attention to what I'm going to say next. After all, Li Mu has helped you a lot."
"Go ahead!"
"It's like this …" Spielberg said with some difficulty, "Li Mu has a movie that was filmed in Hong Kong in 1985. Yes, you haven't heard of it. It was filmed in 1985, in the 1980s. The movie is called something like 'Mr. Zombie.' According to him, it's about some Chinese zombie. Sorry, I don't know what Chinese zombie is …"
The other party laughed and interrupted, "Shit Steven, you're out of touch with the times now! Chinese zombie, this is Hua Xia zombie. This thing is so popular now! Don't you play Plants vs. Zombies Online? Even my three-year-old grandson knows how to play it. "
"Oh, please …" Spielberg said helplessly, "I'm working. It's a big production with nearly 200 million USD investment. It's almost draining all my energy. How can I have energy to play computer games?! But I've played this game before. What does this have to do with Chinese zombie? "
"They've come out with a new version!" The other party laughed and said, "In the new version, there are a lot of local elements in Hua Xia. Among them is a whole set of images and systems related to Chinese zombie. To be honest, their zombie system is much more interesting than our zombies and vampires. At least their leveling system is very clear and huge, unlike us. Our zombies are about the same, and their combat power is uniform. There's also no clear level system for the strength of vampires. It just depends on who lives the longest …"
As he said that, the other party suddenly came back to his senses and blurted out, "Wait, Steven, what did you just say? Li Mu has a Hong Kong zombie movie? God, does he want to cooperate with us?! Release it in North America? "
Spielberg nodded and said with some embarrassment, "If you think it's difficult, don't force it. Oh, no! I hope you can help me with this … "
"God!" The other party said excitedly, "Steven, if you can get the North American distribution rights for this movie, you'll be doing me a favor!"
"What?!" Spielberg was full of surprise and confusion.
The other party said excitedly, "Do you know, now everyone is talking about Hua Xia zombies. Many people have dissected Hua Xia zombie movies into video explanations, and it has attracted a lot of curiosity and attention on the Internet. Everyone wants to go to the cinema to see a Hua Xia zombie movie. This thing is really too damn mysterious. It's said that they have a profession that specializes in dealing with zombies. They can use a piece of yellow paper to freeze the zombies, and they can use glutinous rice, black dog's blood, and black donkey's feet to drive the zombies away. It's just like how our vampires are afraid of sunlight and garlic. What an interesting setting …"
Spielberg was puzzled and asked, "Do you mean that American audiences are looking forward to seeing a 1985 Hong Kong movie in the cinema?!"
"Yes!" The other party said excitedly, "Everyone wants to spend a few dollars to understand the mysterious Eastern culture. It's so damn worth it. To see an exhibition of foreign culture, the tickets are at least a few dozen dollars. That's why the future of money is limitless!"
Spielberg felt that his worldview had been turned upside down, but thinking about it from another perspective, this was how Li Mu did things! Impossible things became possible when it came to him, and he would always come up with many amazing operations.
Thus, Spielberg asked him, "Then are you willing to release this movie in North America?"
"Shit Steven, of course I'm willing. I'm so damn willing! Do you know how many distributors in the world want to get the distribution rights for this movie? God, too many. And Makino Image hasn't responded to these requests yet. If you can help me get the North American distribution rights for this movie, I'll personally fly to Hua Xia to kiss your ass! "
Spielberg said, "Li Mu is asking me to help find a capable distributor in North America. Since that's the case, I'll help you pull some strings. You can discuss the details with Li Mu's people in detail!"
"That's great!" The other party was pleasantly surprised and said, "Help me tell Li Mu that right now, there's a shortage of cinema movies. If possible, we'd better release this movie as soon as possible. Otherwise, it won't be easy to handle if we delay it until the summer break. Right now, the overall vacancy rate in the cinemas is more than 60%. When the time comes, I'll definitely fight for the biggest shot and let this movie make a lot of money in North America!"
Spielberg laughed and said, "I think it's necessary for you to make a trip to Hua Xia. Li Mu cares a lot about the sincerity of the other party."
The other party was silent for a moment, then suddenly made up his mind and said, "Okay, I'll fly to Yanjing tomorrow morning!"
"Do you have a visa?"
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