Chapter 305 - Wayne Dreams of Using Superheroes to Conquer Movie Fans Around the World!

When "Batman Begins" relegated to second place in the North American theater market, the film officially entered a large-scale release in overseas markets.

In addition to opening early in English-speaking countries, the film has also been screened in many remote markets in recent weeks, and has been screened in more than 70 countries.

This kind of film that is first popular in North America and then screened on a large scale around the world will generally achieve good results. North America, the world's largest ticket warehouse, is the best market to test the quality of the film in this era.

With the current speed of network transmission, the overseas box office figures of "Batman Begins" have always been statistically lagging behind. This is something that big companies like Warner Bros. cannot solve.

According to the data sent back by overseas branches, the latest box office has reached more than 350 million US dollars. This is only a relatively conservative statistic. The real box office figure will only be higher.

Facing the film that has once again caused a craze overseas, the entertainment media in various countries have mixed reviews and criticisms, especially the European film media. They almost followed France in unifying their voices and collectively rejected this Hollywood masterpiece.

In order to protect the last piece of European cinema, both film critics and film colleagues are accusing Wayne of insulting the great film art with a superhero that is full of copper odor.

As we all know, since the release of "Joker" and "Jurassic Park" a few years ago, the Hollywood film industry has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Europe, the birthplace of film art, has hit rock bottom in the hearts of movie fans.

The only fig leaf left is the so-called art film, so these European filmmakers must blame every Hollywood blockbuster that is released on a large scale to preserve the last trace of decency in European films.

"Wayne Greenberg, a young director, wants to use American superhero movies to impress movie fans around the world!"

This is the entertainment headline of the well-known French media "Le Monde". The entire report details the logical flaws of the film and accuses the film of being too repressive of the dark core of the story.

"...A good movie can always bring happiness or enlightenment to moviegoers, but Wayne Greenberg's movies are too dark. If you count his works over the years, it is not difficult to find that almost all of them are The core of the topic is all about negative emotions, which is not normal.

Not only is he exporting negative emotions to movie lovers around the world, he also always uses provocative plots to promote so-called Americanism and uses superheroes to save the world to express this weird film spirit..."

However, no matter how these media and film critics criticize it, it has not stopped the enthusiasm of domestic movie fans. In recent times, "Batman Begins" has been the first choice for movie fans.

At the same time, Warner Bros. is also using its well-established offline channels to frantically sell movie peripherals overseas. Batman's armor, mask, cape, darts and other items have all achieved outstanding sales.

Not only the movie peripherals produced by oneself, but also the authorization of the film image is also a very scary income. It can be as small as a pen, a pencil case and a school bag, as large as various co-branded clothes and household appliances, all of which are marked with the film when it is released. Batman icon.

As time gradually comes to mid-July, the crew and creators, who have been flying around the world, have finished their promotional activities in Australia and are about to rush back to Los Angeles to enjoy the rewards of the film's success.

Wayne also ended his full-time vacation. After bidding farewell to his parents, he returned to Greenberg Manor early to prepare for a grand celebration party prepared by Warner Brothers.

The movie has not yet been released from theaters. The peripherals and licensing not only allowed Warner Brothers to recoup their investment early, but also made more profits easily. So this time Warner Brothers was very generous and directly rented a beach villa in Malibu. The party company starts decorating the beach days in advance.

"How is it? Do you feel angry when faced with the accusations from the European media?"

On the afternoon of Wayne's return to Los Angeles, John Gray, who had been promoted to a senior executive in the production department, immediately ran to the manor and brought various news about the film's overseas.

Wayne sat on the lawn under the awning, gently stroking the golden retriever's head while reading the European newspapers the other party had brought.

Hearing John's teasing words, he curled his lips slightly and said in the same sarcastic tone: "None of us know exactly what art these European filmmakers are talking about? The so-called art of these people is probably Photographing naked women?"

Faced with the accusations from his European film colleagues, Wayne really didn't take it to heart. The decline of European films was almost entirely their own fault. In the eyes of these people, the film art has gradually lost its market even in its own country.

In his eyes, those so-called youthful shots, naked women, and all kinds of perverted men and women having sex have basically nothing to do with art.

These old-school European directors seem to be unable to make movies without long shots and large-scale scenes.

John Gray shrugged, ignoring his jibe at European cinema. "Okay, let's talk about business. You asked Jimmy to send the new project "The Matrix" to the company. Are you sure you won't direct it yourself?"

The investment budget for this project is as high as 70 million U.S. dollars. In the minds of Warner Bros. executives, it would be more appropriate for Wayne to direct it himself. Nowadays, it seems that blockbusters with investments of hundreds of millions are being made frequently. In fact, an investment of 70 million U.S. dollars is already considered a first-tier Hollywood investment. Made.

"No, I won't do any specific work on this film." Wayne shook his head and gave an affirmative answer. “If you have any questions after seeing the project, you can ask them directly.”

"Okay, then I'll just say it." John Gray observed his face and said with some uncertainty: "The main problem is not the investment, nor the conditions put forward by Jimmy, but that we simply don't I didn’t understand the script. The story you wrote is too, well, too philosophical!” Originally, for projects initiated by Wayne himself, Warner Bros. basically didn’t get stuck in the review process, but the script of this film was read by all executives. Everything is in the clouds, the matrix, and the future are so messed up that no one knows what he wants to talk about.

"But this does not affect the review of the project." John continued before Wayne could explain the script. "Now someone has come up with the idea that it's okay to have Zack Snyder shoot it, but you'd better be one of the directors and join the production of the film in post."

John's meaning was very clear. The script was already a mess, and Warner Bros. couldn't rest assured if a novice director was allowed to take charge of the film's production.

This is a big-budget science fiction film with an investment of tens of millions of dollars, not thousands.

Wayne thought for a moment and shook his head firmly. "No, I can't be involved in the specific work, even in the later stages of the film. This film is produced by Greenberg Studio and Warner Bros. each contributed $35 million. I will also serve as the film's producer. People, take control and make direction."

"Okay, I'll convey your message when I get back."

John nodded. He had already thought of such a result, but he still had to try to communicate.

That's right, this first film of "The Matrix" will be jointly invested by Greenberg Studio and Warner Bros., and will be distributed by Warner Bros.. The copyright of the film will be owned by Warner Bros., and Greenberg Studio will enjoy normal investment income.

Warner Bros. is willing to accept this model because Wayne gave up a large amount of upfront funds such as producer remuneration and project launch incentives. This also helps the film invest all its investment in production and ensure the quality of the film.

Wayne also has his own considerations. Greenberg Studio still has 50 million US dollars in funds. Whether this money is invested in the stock market or repaying bank loans, it is too stupid. Moreover, through such cooperation, it can also be used to make money. He was involved in other projects that followed.

Even though he is a shareholder of Warner Brothers, he is very clear about this kind of business.

Another very important point is that Warner Bros. wants him to take over the film production in the later stage, which will indeed save him a lot of working time, and it can also attract more movie fans to watch the film in the name of Wayne Greenberg's film.

But he must consider Zack Snyder's feelings. Of course, there are many benefits to doing so, but it is harmful to the director who presided over the filming of the film.

This kind of thing was very common in Hollywood before, but in order to protect the rights and interests of film directors, the emergence of the "Eastwood" rule has made this kind of thing much less common.

It seems that this matter was caused by the old cowboy Clint Eastwood. When he was filming "The Lawman of the West", he was jealous of the heroine Sandra Locke and the film director Kaufman.

So when the filming of the film was about to end, while Kaufman was not on the crew, he shot the film by himself, and even worked with the producer to change the director's name to his own.

Afterwards, Kaufman said bitterly that in the end, the Directors Guild had no patience and stood up and issued the Eastwood Rules, which stipulated that after the film director was fired for any reason, the crew, producers, leading actors, etc. were not allowed to serve as directors. Position.

This kind of nonsense has gradually decreased a bit, and at the same time, the method of adding the name of a well-known director after filming has gradually become a bit taboo.

John Gray went back with Wayne's opinions. The next day, the "Matrix" project officially entered the review stage, and Warner Bros. began a preliminary market survey.

On July 15, just one day before the crew returned to Los Angeles, the animated feature film "Pocahontas" produced by Walt Disney Animation Studio officially launched in the North American theater market.

As soon as it was released, it successfully stole all the limelight from "Ghostbusters" and "Batman Begins." It grossed $25.7 million at the box office on its first day, officially igniting the flames of war in July.