The reason why Li Mu pitched the theme of World War II to Spielberg was because he wanted to make the best use of people.
In his opinion, World War II was the biggest theme, and it was also the most serious theme. It was also a theme that needed to be taken seriously. Only a great director could really handle such a big theme. Only a great director with enough scope, ability, and film attainments could make a classic World War II movie.
However, in the future Hua Xia entertainment circle, most of the people who shot World War II movies were directors and actors who were terrible. That was why there were ridiculous anti-Japanese drama plots, such as gunfighting, tearing the Japanese apart with bare hands, hiding a grenade in the crotch, blowing up an airplane with a grenade, flying a bicycle onto a train, and snipers shooting eight hundred miles away with one shot.
After a few more years, there would be a reversal in the film and television industry. Most of the directors who had the ability to shoot big and deep themes would start to focus on smaller and shallow themes, such as love, inspirational, action, adventure, cartoon, and even dark humor. They would easily succeed in these kinds of themes.
As for those directors who did not have the ability to handle big themes and deep themes, they liked to make big moves. In the end, they came up with a bunch of nondescript, terrible movies that left people speechless. Not only did many people shoot a lot of bad movies about World War II, there were also many Hua Xia directors who focused on making a lot of bad historical movies, such as "Warring States", "Confucius", "Attack of Mohism", "Guan Yunchang", "The Banquet", "Orphan Zhao", and so on. They were all big themes, and they were all terrible movies. The only difference was that they were all terrible to different extents.
As a nationalist, Li Mu had endless pride and love for the Hua Xia people. However, seeing that all the big themes that were of great significance to the Hua Xia people, from World War II to the Warring States Period, were repeatedly ravaged by these terrible movies, he was naturally particularly unhappy. However, he was not a filmmaker, so he could only think of ways to create a healthy development environment.
To create a good environment, not only did he need the guidance of capital, but he also needed the guidance of the industry's big boss.
Therefore, Li Mu turned his attention to Spielberg.
Spielberg listened to Li Mu's many views on the theme of World War II and agreed, "Mr. Li, you're right. In terms of the theme of the movie, World War II is indeed bigger than any historical period or historical event. There are too many stories that can be made into movies. Whether it's us or the whole of Hollywood, we receive countless scripts about World War II every year. And as you said, the theme of World War II is the most profound."
Li Mu nodded and said, "The most important thing about making a movie about World War II is not to make a movie with high ratings or box office, but to make people remember and reflect on history. Therefore, it has a higher mission. In the future, people may remember that history by relying on the movies we left for them. Otherwise, in a few decades, young people may not even know what World War II was."
Spielberg was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "If there are good World War II scripts in the future, I will consider making one or two more."
Li Mu said, "The theme of World War II is so big. It's not enough to make one or two, or even ten or twenty."
Spielberg said, "After all, time and ability are limited. And to be honest, no director is willing to make the same theme. It will greatly inhibit the diversified development of art."
Li Mu said, "Naturally, it's not enough to rely on the ability of one or two people. So, I'm thinking if we can create a special brand through the support of capital."
"Brand?" Spielberg asked in surprise, "The brand of World War II movies?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "That's right. Just like how Marvel only makes superhero comics, Disney and Pixar focus on animated films, let's create a brand that focuses on World War II movies. What this brand needs to do is to continuously shoot excellent films and TV works about World War II."
As he said that, Li Mu said, "We will solicit scripts and directors from all over the world. As long as all aspects are suitable, we will invest in the filming and then do our own global distribution."
Spielberg thought for a moment, then said to Li Mu, "Let's calculate the time from the intention to the release of a movie in two years. To ensure a brand's exposure, at least three to five movies need to be released every year. In this case, the initial investment of this brand needs to be able to support six to ten movies. Roughly speaking, it will need at least hundreds of millions of dollars."
As he said that, Spielberg said, "World War II movies, as well as all historical movies, have a very painful problem. That is, there is no way to do product placement. In modern movies, what phone the main character uses, what car he drives, which hotel he stays in, and whose billboard the camera sweeps across can all make money. At least in this way, we can reduce the cost in the early stages. However, it is very difficult to find such an opportunity in the early stages for World War II movies. One or two movies are fine, but if there are too many, the cost will still be very high. Moreover, the box office revenue of World War II movies is generally lower than that of entertainment movies."
Li Mu said, "It doesn't matter. We have cinemas all over Hua Xia, and we have an online ticketing system all over the country and even all of North America. In the future, our cinemas will continue to expand, and the online ticketing system will also continue to develop. At that time, with our own channels, we can basically ensure that the box office of the movie will not be a flop. That is to say, even if we invest one billion dollars in the early stages, we will gradually get our money back in the form of box office revenue within two to three years, and we will even have the opportunity to make a considerable profit."
Speaking up to this point, Li Mu paused and said, "As for how to get the money, it is actually very simple. I can raise a sum of money to set up a private investment fund that focuses on film and television projects. The investors' funds will be used to invest in film and television projects, and I can share all the profits with the fund's investors. After all, I don't care about profits, but the product."
Spielberg nodded and said, "I understand. In this case, the initial funding pressure will not be so big, and the risk can also be shared with the investors. I think it is still worth doing."
Li Mu said, "Why don't we cooperate on this project? I will set up the private investment fund, and you will be the manager of the project."
Spielberg asked curiously, "Li Zong, can you tell me more about it?"
Li Mu said, "Actually, it is very simple. I will get the money, and you will spend the money. For example, my first target is around one billion dollars. This money will be used to invest in ten to fifteen films and TV series about World War II. You will shoot one, and the rest will be up to you to choose a suitable project and team. Whichever script you think is good, you will buy it and shoot it. Then, you will find a suitable director to supervise the project step by step. Finally, I will give you 10% of the net profit of the entire project. At the same time, I will also give you 10% to 20% of the shares of this brand.
As for the details, we can discuss it further. "Then, Li Mu said," This brand, like Marvel, will only make high-quality products, and strive to become the world's best brand about World War II in three to five years! Right now, no one wants to make such a brand. If we do it, we will be at the forefront. "
"One of the biggest benefits of a vertical brand is that it can naturally give users a more professional feeling in this field. For example, if you like to climb mountains, you will not go to an ordinary clothing brand to buy clothes for climbing. You will at least choose a professional outdoor brand, or even a professional mountain climbing brand."
"It's the same for film and television. If we're a brand that focuses on cartoons, then once we build a good reputation, when users think of cartoons, they'll immediately think of us. When they see our cartoons, they'll have a preconceived notion that since it's our product, it must be a masterpiece."
"Marvel has been creating superheroes since World War II. Now, every time they produce a superhero, everyone will buy their comics and even go to the cinema to watch their movies. This is the huge advantage that Marvel has in the vertical category of superheroes."
"It is the same for the World War II brand. If we can create a few classic World War II movies, then in the future, as long as the audience wants to watch World War II movies, they will first think of us. And we only need to produce a World War II movie, and the audience who likes World War II movies will buy tickets and go to the cinema to watch it with confidence. When that day comes, our brand will become the absolute leader in the World War II movie market. In the future, we can be like Marvel, constantly releasing new World War II movies, and each one that we release will become popular." “
Li Mu knew very well that as the film and television industry developed further, there would be a large number of brands that were vertical to certain subcategories. Naturally, there was no need to mention Marvel, DC, Disney, and Pixar. Domestic brands that focused on comedies and Noon Sunshine that focused on high-quality TV dramas were all very successful cases. In addition, some brands focused on online movies, some brands focused on suspense online dramas, and even some brands focused on variety shows.
However, there were so many brands that focused on segmented markets in the film and television industry, but no one had focused on World War II movies.
Li Mu decided to be the first to eat crabs. He would set up a sub-brand under Makino Image to focus on World War II movies and TV dramas. At the same time, the movies would focus on the global market, while the TV dramas would focus on the domestic and North American markets, especially the domestic market!
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