Faced with Li Ziwei's question, Li Mu answered with a smile, "The original 'Infernal Affairs' plot is still very interesting. Sometimes, a good story doesn't sell the plot, but the setting."
"Sell the setting?" Li Ziwei was confused by Li Mu again.
Li Mu smiled and said, "Sometimes, the setting is more valuable than the plot."
After saying that, Li Mu asked her, "You've seen Spielberg's' Jurassic Park, 'right?"
"Yes, I've seen it, and it left a deep impression."
"Actually, this thing sells the setting. If I randomly make a movie, and a large number of dinosaurs appear in the real world, the audience will definitely ask what the f * ck is going on? Isn't it too unreasonable for dinosaurs to appear out of nowhere? If that's the case, anyone can make a brainless and baseless dinosaur movie, and the setting of 'Jurassic Park' gives a set of self-explanatory settings. For example, where did dinosaurs come from? Scientists found a prehistoric mosquito in amber. Before this mosquito turned into amber, it happened to suck the blood of a dinosaur, so scientists extracted dinosaur DNA from its stomach, and then bred dinosaurs. This setting was accepted by the audience and amazed them, so it had the foundation for its success. Hollywood then revolved around this setting, and 'Jurassic Park' made an entire series. "
"I think I understand now …"
"Do you know about 'Resident Evil' that was released last year?"
"Yes, I've seen it."
"'Resident Evil' is a game developed by a Japanese game company. Its core setting is a company called Umbrella that developed a virus that can turn people into zombies. Then, the virus spread, and the entire world was scorched. It was this core setting that made the players and the audience feel refreshed, so I believe that Hollywood will definitely develop 'Resident Evil' into a series."
Li Ziwei thought for a moment, then asked Li Mu, "Li Zong, then the core setting of 'Infernal Affairs' should be the creation of a story mode where both sides place undercover agents in each other's camp, right?"
"Bingo!" Li Mu snapped his fingers and said with a smile, "In the past, when there were undercover elements in movies, most of the police would go undercover in the gangsters' camp and try to catch them all in one go. But in the setting of 'Infernal Affairs', the police sent an undercover agent to the gangsters' camp, and what was unexpected was that the gangsters also sent an undercover agent to the police's camp. If we call the traditional plot of the police sending an undercover agent to the gangsters an A-plot, then under normal circumstances, an A-plot would be enough to support a movie. But in this movie, there's a plot reversal that's completely opposite of A-plot, so we can call it a B-plot.
In this way, 'Infernal Affairs' has a different setting from previous police and gangster movies. It has become a movie with both A-and B-plots. And in the core setting of 'Infernal Affairs', there's a very exciting setting, and that is: the undercover agent of the police and the undercover agent of the gangsters have to find each other while completing their original undercover missions. This is equivalent to adding an AB plot on top of the A-and B-plots, making 'Infernal Affairs' an exciting blockbuster with A-plot, B-plot, and AB plots. This is the ingenious idea of the Hong Kong screenwriter, and it's a very, very amazing creation. So, I believe that the reason why Hollywood wants to buy the rights of this movie is because of this genius setting, and not the profoundness, human nature, and Buddhist fatalism behind it. "
Li Ziwei felt that she had been successfully brainwashed by Li Mu. This feeling was that no matter what Li Mu said, she would feel that it made sense …
At this time, Li Mu stretched and said, "The original 'Infernal Affairs' stands at the end of Hua Xia culture, but its core setting is actually very close to the front. This set of settings is not only something that we can understand, but every audience in the world with a normal IQ above the age of ten should be able to understand it. So, if I want to remake it, I have to first refine its core setting, and then fill in the specific plot. I have to trace it back to the front of the culture, to find more similarities with other ethnic groups."
As he said that, Li Mu continued, "For example, we can't make the characters, plot, and the entire story too gloomy. The relationships between the characters have to be clear, and the characters' personalities and contradictions have to be clear. Good people are good people, bad people are bad people, and bad people don't have to be good people in the end.
For example, we have to implement simple, crude, and direct methods of presentation. Less showmanship, less sensationalism, and less personal values.
For example, we can't put any Buddhist content in the remake, and we have to try our best to avoid any religious content.
For example, although good people can die tragically, we can't let bad people go unpunished … "
…
Huan Ya received a message from Makino Image. They had clearly conveyed Li Mu's attitude to the other party. This also meant that Huan Ya did not need to bargain with Li Mu anymore, because Li Mu no longer wanted it, even if it was free.
Originally, Huan Ya wanted to use the copyright in his hands to bargain with Li Mu, but he did not expect that Li Mu would directly reject their request. He even took back his previous offer and terminated the cooperation.
Only then did Huan Ya understand. They thought that the whole world wanted the overseas distribution rights of "Infernal Affairs", and Li Mu was no exception. However, Li Mu's interest in this movie was really not as strong as they thought.
Why?
Huan Ya was also thinking hard about this question.
Li Mu was a god who could sell "Mr. Zombie" for more than a hundred million US dollars. "Infernal Affairs" was a Hong Kong film that had saved the market for many years. It was much better than "Mr. Zombie" in all aspects. Why was Li Mu so uninterested in it?
However, if Li Mu was really not interested in "Infernal Affairs", why did he spend three and a half million US dollars to buy the English remake rights of "Infernal Affairs" from Warner Bros. at such a high price? Wasn't this a bit too contradictory?
While Huan Ya was scratching his head over this question, Li Mu was already in his office, holding a video conference with several people in charge of DreamWorks.
Spielberg was filming "Flying Tigers" in Yun Province. He had specially arranged the rhythm of the day's filming so that he could take time out to attend this video conference.
As for the other people in charge of DreamWorks, in order to accommodate Li Mu's time, they had already gotten up at four o 'clock in the morning, put on their ties, put on their suits, and sat in front of their computers.
The video conference was being held using the Pro version of YY group video conference. The so-called Pro version meant professional, which was what the software industry called "professional version." However, the Pro version of the group video conference did not require the user to download the YY client. The Pro version of the group video conference used an additional "value-added service." As long as the user purchased the upgrade service, they could enjoy faster and more stable direct global video connection. Like this kind of communication across the ocean, the Pro version could achieve the highest degree of stability and smoothness.
As soon as the video started, several Hollywood big shots greeted Li Mu one after another. Li Mu smiled and nodded in response to each of them. After greeting each of them, Li Mu went straight to the point and said, "Everyone, the reason why I'm holding this video conference is that I've been planning a film and television project recently. As you all know, I've bought the English remake rights of" Infernal Affairs "from Warner. Next, I'm going to start preparing for this project immediately. I wonder if DreamWorks is interested in cooperating with me?"
The CEO of DreamWorks immediately said, "Mr. Li, DreamWorks has always been very willing to cooperate with you, and we also have in-depth cooperation with Muye's ticketing system. So, no matter what film and television project Mr. Li is planning to start, DreamWorks is willing to participate to a certain extent."
For the management of DreamWorks, they had long regarded Li Mu as the key to the next take-off of DreamWorks. For a big shot like him who had money and resources, the whole of Hollywood would do the same thing, and that was to firmly cling to his thigh.
The management of DreamWorks very much wanted to be tied to Li Mu's Makino Image, which also meant that they could be deeply tied to Makino Technology, and even to Li Mu himself. So this was the critical time to show their loyalty.
What Li Mu wanted was the attitude of "Boss, I'll follow you from now on" from DreamWorks, so he smiled with satisfaction and said, "In that case, let me first talk about the cooperation model."
The big shots of DreamWorks nodded one after another. "Please go ahead, Mr. Li."
Li Mu said, "First of all, I'm going to temporarily set the budget of this movie at 100 million US dollars. I can give you a 50% discount, but your share can't exceed 25%. If you want 25%, you have to invest 12.5% of the actual investment. If you want 20%, you have to invest 10%."
In his previous life, the investment for "Infernal Affairs" was 80 million US dollars, but there was a two-year gap, and the salary and inflation had a certain impact. In other words, if he invested 80 million now, it would definitely have more purchasing power than the 80 million two years later, so there was no need to add an additional 20 million to the cost. But in this life, Li Mu had increased the budget of a big shot like Tom Hanks, and he also had to increase the production budget, so an additional 20 million should be more or less the right amount.
When Leonardo and Tom Hanks took on "Flying Tigers", they had lowered their salaries. That was the first time they had cooperated with Li Mu, and it was also their attitude towards Li Mu. However, Li Mu had to remember their kindness, so for the remake of "Infernal Affairs," Li Mu planned to give them the normal salary, and at the same time, he would also give them a small percentage of the box office.
At this time, the people of DreamWorks whispered to each other, and then the CEO said, "Li Zong, we'll listen to your instructions on how much we'll take. We'll invest as much as you say. As for the capital discount, we thank you for your kindness, but in the long term, DreamWorks can't always get this extra benefit from you, so we hope to invest according to the normal ratio."
When Li Mu was pursuing a bigger goal, he would naturally place profit as the second priority. This way, in order to ensure the realization of his first goal, he was naturally willing to lower the expectations of his second goal. He was not like some greedy capitalists who wanted to monopolize all the benefits.
Li Mu did not invest in the US version of "Infernal Affairs" to make money, but to use this movie to win a few Oscars. He wanted to represent Hua Xia Films and Hua Xia Capital to realize his dream of winning the Oscars. Therefore, he was willing to give DreamWorks a certain amount of benefits.
However, DreamWorks had their own considerations. They did not want to take advantage of Li Mu once and then run away. They wanted to hitch a ride on his ship and go further. The more it was like this, the more they could not take advantage of him. Therefore, they made their stance very clear. They were not willing to accept this kind of benefit. As for the ratio, they decided to respect Li Mu's wishes. If they took more, Li Mu might not be willing, but if they took less, Li Mu would probably feel that they were not sincere enough.
Li Mu knew what they were thinking, so he nodded and said, "If that's the case, then I won't stand on ceremony with you. DreamWorks will invest 20%, and we'll co-produce and co-distribute."
The CEO of DreamWorks immediately agreed. "Okay! We have no objections! "
Spielberg asked Li Mu, "Li Zong, do you have any thoughts about the director of this movie? I've seen the Hong Kong version of "Infernal Affairs," and it's a good movie. But to be honest, this movie doesn't fit my style. "
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