usenovelgroup Chapter 45 Negotiation
Chapter 45 Negotiation
On the third Monday of March, box office data began to circulate widely across major media outlets.
The opening week box office figures for "A Separation" have been officially confirmed by major media outlets.
It was released on Thursday and has been running for four days, grossing 9.3 million.
The industry's reaction to this figure was mixed.
The newspapers that day were half a stack thicker than usual.
The fat man carried a stack of newspapers back from the newsstand and spread them on the table; the smell of ink hadn't completely dissipated. Lin Ruiyang was packing his luggage brought back from the Fujiang River.
There wasn't much to pack. I threw two changes of clothes into the basin, put the local specialties on the table, stuffed my backpack into the closet, and that was it.
"Old Lin, take a look at this." The fat man slammed a copy of the Beijing Youth Daily on top.
The entertainment section's headline featured six bold black characters: "The Breakthrough of Art Films."
"The Berlin Film Festival's three Silver Bear winner, 'A Separation,' earned 9.3 million yuan in its opening week with a 13% screen share, ranking second on the box office chart for that week."
Nine Million Three Hundred Thousand: An Unusual Starting Point for an Art Film:
"In the past few years, the box office performance of domestic art films has mostly been between five million and ten million, and it often takes a full screening period to reach this level."
"A Separation" reached nearly the upper limit of this range in just four days.
However, the article quickly changed its tone: "However, this achievement reflects more the positive word-of-mouth effect released in the early stages than stable market demand."
For art-house films, the real test begins in the second week.
"How can these people talk like that?" The fat man turned the newspaper over.
"Nine million three hundred thousand is not enough? Do they even know how many art films like 'Peacock' and 'Letter from an Unknown Woman' are made in total?"
Lin Ruiyang flipped through several newspapers from beginning to end, and the attitudes of the various media outlets were roughly divided into three camps.
One side strongly supports it, represented by the Beijing News and Popular Cinema, repeatedly using phrases like "new benchmark for art films" and "commercial awakening of the new generation of directors" in their wording;
One group remained neutral and observed, represented by the Shanghai Morning Post and Yangcheng Evening News, which affirmed the achievements while repeatedly reminding readers that National Treasure was about to be released.
Another group is pessimistic, led by a certain right-leaning morning newspaper, whose headline reads: "Winning awards does not equal box office success. How long can the box office bubble of 'A Separation' last?"
He had seen too many reports like this in his past life. If an art film's box office performance slightly exceeded expectations, the media would immediately split into several groups with different stances and start attacking each other from afar.
Supporters hailed it as a comeback for art films, while opponents dismissed it as a fleeting phenomenon under the spotlight of awards, but the truth is usually not in either side's headline.
Discussions on forums and online communities are more emotional:
"They've already won at the box office, haven't they?"
"Don't worry, the show will be canceled halfway through next week when it airs."
"It would be a miracle if this kind of film could even make 15 million."
The data from theaters is more honest than the reviews. The number of screenings for "A Separation" has increased from the initial 13% to nearly 20%.
But almost everyone knows that this number will soon be redistributed.
It's not targeting anyone in particular; it's just following market rules.
He stacked the newspapers and put them aside, then glanced at the time. It was nine o'clock in the morning, an hour before the agreed time.
At 9:40, Lin Ruiyang arrived at the China World Hotel ahead of schedule.
He sat down by the window, placed his laptop and a printed script outline on the table, and ordered an iced Americano without sugar.
Roger Sutherland arrived even earlier than him; the key figure in CAA's international film division was sitting in a corner.
At exactly 10:00, Elizabeth Gabrielle walked in right on time.
"Mr. Lin, we meet again." She sat down opposite Lin Ruiyang.
"I've read your complete script. I remember you saying something in Berlin: if Fox wants a classic that will still be considered a bible by working women ten years from now, they have to listen to you."
Now I want to hear you tell me face-to-face, why you?
Lin Ruiyang put down his coffee cup and sat up straight.
"The first four screenwriters all made the same mistake, which led directors like David Frankel to reject the project."
My revised script is a story about the power structure of the fashion industry, about a woman who fights her way to the top in one of the most competitive and brutal industries for women, and the price she has to pay is unimaginable to men.
"My Miranda is someone who hides all her softness beneath her armor. The audience will hate her in the first half, understand her in the second half, and feel sorry for her in the final scene."
This also echoes the protagonist Andrea Sanchez's transformation from a newcomer to someone who is changed by the system, from initially believing she is pursuing success to later discovering that she is learning how to obey the rules.
These are two different career paths; Miranda has already completed one, while Andy wants to take the other.
"I know why audiences go to the cinema, and I know why they stay. I've collected a lot of information about the fashion industry, and I've also done a complete storyboard and casting direction."
Elizabeth slightly raised her hand to interrupt him: "I must say your explanation is captivating, but as a director, Lin, you are young, which is both an advantage and a risk."
"Your resume only includes a short film and a Chinese-language realistic film. Now you want to direct a commercial film aimed at the mainstream North American market and even the entire Western female market."
Do you know how far apart they are?
He picked up his iced Americano and took a sip, leaving the question hanging in the air for a few seconds.
In the email, Logue revealed beforehand that Elizabeth was very satisfied with the script, but still had concerns about the director, and the core of her concerns was only one thing:
Why would a 20-year-old Chinese director, who has never made a commercial film and has never spent a day in the Hollywood system, be entrusted with a project with a considerable budget by Fox?
He knew she would ask this, but he didn't expect her to ask it so quickly.
"Ms. Gabrielle," he said, placing the coffee cup back on the saucer, the bottom of the cup making a soft clinking sound against the porcelain.
"I'm twenty years old this year, while you've been in this industry for twenty years. You've seen too many young directors achieve instant fame, and you've also seen many more young directors flop with their second film. I have no reason to think your concerns are unreasonable."
"But I'd like to ask you to consider this issue from a different perspective." Lin Ruiyang opened his laptop and turned the screen towards her.
The table above lists the core problems of the four drafts of the original script on the left and his proposed revisions on the right.
"This project has been sitting in Fox's vault for far too long. The first four screenwriters were all very experienced, two of them even had Oscar nominations, but none of them could solve this problem."
"This project doesn't need a director who can only make routine films; it needs someone who truly understands how power structures shape women and how women survive within those power structures."
He paused.
"The production cost of 'A Separation' was two million RMB, which is less than three hundred thousand USD."
I used that money to make a feature film, won three Silver Bears, and sold the global rights for nearly five million dollars. This is the evidence I can give you to prove my execution capabilities.
Elizabeth remained silent for a moment.
Then she spoke, her tone more casual than any of her previous remarks: "Do you know why David Frankel turned down this project?"
"Because he felt the original script was too harsh."
"That's right. After reading the third draft, he said one thing: 'I don't want to make a movie that makes people hate the female lead.'"
"He probably won't say that now," Lin Ruiyang smiled.
Elizabeth flipped to the marked scene in the middle of the script and tapped her fingers lightly on the paper twice: "If I gave you the director's chair, how would you approach making this film?"
"I won't side with any character; I'll let each character have their own rhythm. Similarly, I'll make Miranda a symbol."
"What symbolism?"
"All the top professional women. They are powerful, demanding, and extremely controlling, but they weren't born that way."
They simply had no other way out.
The room suddenly fell silent, and Roger coughed softly.
"Elizabeth, I think we should move on to the next phase of the evaluation."
About ten seconds later, she said something that made Roger breathe a sigh of relief: "I will stay in Beijing for two more days. The 20th Century Fox division will conduct a new internal evaluation."
"You can continue to prepare the storyboard and casting memo. If things move forward, I can arrange a creative meeting in Los Angeles, and then we can officially enter the preparation stage."
Lin Ruiyang clenched his fist: "I will prepare well."
Elizabeth stood up, nodded to Roger, and then extended her hand to Lin Ruiyang: "Mr. Lin, don't disappoint me. I'm also very curious whether you accidentally created a successful work, or if you truly understand the audience."