signingbooks Chapter 521 Disney's Invitation
Chapter 521 Disney's Invitation
May 20th, 10:00 AM
Zhang Xinyu approached Fu Yibai with a dark blue folder in her hand.
"Mr. Fu, Disney has sent an email."
After Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney, the reboot of the Star Wars series finally moved from rumors to reality.
They plan to launch a seventh mainline film as the opening chapter of a sequel trilogy.
It's worth mentioning Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm.
In the previous life, Disney acquired Lucasfilm in October 2012. In this life, however, due to the appearance of Fu Yibai, Marvel Studios failed to rise successfully and did not attract Disney's attention, causing Disney to focus its acquisition efforts on Lucasfilm ahead of time.
Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney at the end of 2010.
As for Marvel Studios, which is barely surviving, although it has recovered somewhat thanks to "The Avengers," it is still in a state of near collapse.
At the beginning of the year, Margaret sent an email indicating her intention to attempt to acquire Marvel Studios.
Fu Yibai expressed his support for her bold idea.
Although most of Marvel Studios' valuable IPs are currently in the hands of Fu Yibai, they still hold the Avengers IP.
If Margaret's team successfully acquires Marvel, the "Avengers" brand will have the opportunity to collaborate with other IPs held by Fu Yibai, further expanding its market influence.
Let's return to the email from Disney.
The email was politely worded, and the gist of it was that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy greatly admired director Fu Yibai's achievements in science fiction.
Both Pacific Rim and Interstellar have demonstrated his ability to handle grand science fiction narratives, and there are hopes to invite him to direct the seventh Star Wars film.
The terms were clearly stated: a director's fee of twenty million US dollars, plus 5% of the global box office revenue.
A $20 million bonus plus 5% of the global box office revenue—that's the treatment of a top Hollywood director.
This is enough to demonstrate Disney's sincerity.
Fu Yibai looked at the email and fell into thought.
He knew how much power Star Wars: Episode VII had in his past life.
As the opening film of the sequel trilogy, this movie grossed over two billion US dollars worldwide.
It grossed over $200 million in its opening weekend in North America, and eventually surpassed $900 million in North America, with a global box office of over $2 billion.
This is one of the highest-grossing films in Hollywood history.
But he wasn't that concerned about the box office figure itself.
He cared about something else.
The female lead in this movie.
Rey, the female protagonist of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is the central character of the entire sequel trilogy.
This character carries the weight of leading roles in three feature films. If he could get this role for his woman, she could step into the center stage of mainstream Hollywood commercial films.
Moreover, he had already chosen this person: Yang Mi.
In the past two years, Yang Mi has gained fame in East Asia through the "Witch" series.
Once "The Wandering Earth" is released globally, her fame will increase further, and her international influence will begin to take shape.
However, to truly join the ranks of the world's top actresses, a role with global cultural significance is crucial.
Rey, the "Skywalker" who carries new hope for the Force, is precisely such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
At that time, Yang Mi will become the second international A-list actress he has promoted, after Fan Binbin.
"Reply to Disney."
Fu Yibai closed the folder and pushed it in front of Zhang Xinyu.
"I can direct, but the conditions need to be changed."
Zhang Xinyu immediately grabbed a pen and notebook, ready to take notes.
"I don't want the 5% box office share. I want to use that share to exchange for the right to decide the female lead in the movie."
Zhang Xinyu paused, clearly somewhat surprised.
Giving up tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue sharing in exchange for a casting right is a move and boldness that is extremely rare in Hollywood.
But when she thought that it was Fu Yibai, Zhang Xinyu felt relieved.
She quickly jotted it down, waiting for what would follow.
"I told them clearly that I recommended Yang Mi to play Rey."
When replying to Disney, please include information on her recent works, especially the Asian box office data for the "Witch" series.
He paused, then added a more substantial bargaining chip.
"At the same time, we can promise that in the film's promotion and distribution in Asia, especially in the Chinese market, we will provide Disney with in-depth resources and channel support that are difficult to match, to ensure the maximization of box office potential."
Zhang Xinyu quickly took notes, already understanding the boss's deeper meaning.
After the email was sent, Disney remained silent for several days.
A $20 million director's fee plus 5% of the box office revenue would be a deal any Hollywood director would sign immediately.
But Fu Yibai insisted on not sharing the profits and wanted a Chinese actress to play the lead role.
This is something Disney definitely needs to process.