vstars Chapter 81 Arrival and Negotiation
Chapter 81 Arrival and Negotiation
In mid-September, a Boeing 747 passenger plane flying from Yanjing to Vancouver and then to Toronto flew smoothly through the stratosphere at an altitude of 10,000 meters.
When Lin Ruiyang arrived with the Chinese film delegation, the maple leaves were just beginning to turn red, and the streets were filled with film festival flags.
Outside the airport exit, the blue and white "TIFF" signs are almost everywhere on the block.
As one of the most important film festivals in North America, Toronto's biggest difference from the three major European film festivals is that it lacks the strong academic atmosphere and ethereal artistic sentiment.
It's more like a giant film market, with the air thick with the smell of banknote ink and the aroma of Grand Lafite champagne.
Production companies, distributors, film critics, media, stars, investors, film buyers... film professionals from all over the world will gather here like migratory birds in the next ten days or so.
This year marks the centenary of the birth of Chinese cinema, and the official delegation led by Zhao Shi and Director Zhang of the Film Bureau is of unprecedented size.
The Toronto organizing committee also solemnly launched a special screening section entitled "Focus on China".
As I walked down the passageway, the blond, blue-eyed organizing committee staff and a barrage of media flashes immediately swarmed around me.
Lin Ruiyang, wearing a dark black trench coat, walked upright at the rear of the delegation. Among these titans of the Chinese film industry, his overly youthful Eastern face stood out conspicuously.
Toronto this year is even more vibrant than ever. With Venice just concluded, the first shot of the entire North American awards season has already been fired.
On the airport expressway, huge movie posters kept flashing past the car window.
There are cowboy silhouettes from "Brokeback Mountain," as well as award season films like "Walk the Line," "Gangster," and "Capote," which are clearly aiming for the Oscars.
The car was quiet, and most of the delegation members were looking out the windows at the unfamiliar city.
Only the staff of the Canadian Chinese Association, who were sitting in the front row and responsible for reception, were still constantly introducing the services:
"This year, the organizers attached great importance to the screening of Chinese films. In addition to the official screening room, they also arranged two exchange sessions, and the Canadian National Television also made an appointment for an interview."
The convoy quickly entered the city center, where the crowds were noticeably denser than during the usual tourist season, and film industry professionals wearing badges could be seen everywhere.
The hotel entrance was packed with business vehicles, and there was even a queue in the media area.
"Kobayashi, we old guys will take care of the delegation's arrangements and official foreign affairs."
Upon arriving at the designated Shangri-La Hotel, Director Zhang patted Lin Ruiyang on the shoulder, giving him a gentle and encouraging look:
"You don't need to accompany the organizing committee tonight for the entire reception; go and do your own thing."
"Thank you, Director Zhang. I'll go see some old friends now." Lin Ruiyang nodded politely.
Outside the hotel, Lin Ruiyang pushed open the hotel's revolving door and strode straight into the streets of Toronto.
Instead of taking a car, he walked through two blocks covered with "TIFF" screening posters and arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel not far away.
During the Toronto International Film Festival, this is the true power center for top Hollywood investors, executives from the six major studios, and big-name agents.
In the executive lounge on the top floor, melodious and deep jazz music drifted through the air, while the smoke from expensive cigars mingled with the rich aroma of black coffee, creating a unique, murky atmosphere characteristic of the world of fame and fortune.
In the most secluded booth by the window, several pairs of eyes locked onto Lin Ruiyang the instant he appeared.
"Lin! You've finally arrived! Welcome to Toronto!"
Roger Sutherland was the first to stand up, laughing as he stepped forward and gave Lin Ruiyang a solid American hug.
He was clearly in a great mood today, radiating excitement.
"This is Mike Simpson, a senior partner and head of the film division at CAA, and Brian's boss. He heard we were going to talk about 'Dallas Buyers Club' tonight and offered to sit in."
Roger turned to the side and introduced Lin Ruiyang to a silver-haired man who looked to be about fifty years old and was sitting inside the booth.
Mike raised his whiskey glass to Lin Ruiyang, his gaze filled with the scrutiny and curiosity of an old-school broker.
"Ryan Lam, your name has been mentioned more frequently within CAA lately than any newly signed director. Matthew McConaughey is a long-time client of mine; I've known him for over a decade, and I've never seen him transform himself for any role like this."
"He had already started before he came to me." Lin Ruiyang sat down on the outside of the booth and accepted the champagne handed to him by Roger.
"I spoke to him on the phone before I came to Toronto, and he said he had lost another three pounds. Most of the films he made before were about lives that others chose for him, but this time, it was a life he wanted to act out himself."
Mike's eyes flickered slightly; those words clearly surprised him.
"I told you, Lin is different from those academic directors who only talk about art. He knows exactly what the actors want."
Outside the lounge window, the neon lights of downtown Toronto gradually illuminated.
The TIFF main venue in the distance was still brightly lit, and screams and camera shutter sounds could be faintly heard from the streets.
"Pete will be there in fifteen minutes." Roger glanced down at his watch.
"Before that, we can talk about the project."
Mike put down his glass and finally got to the point: "Lin, I've read the script. To be honest, it's more dangerous than I thought, it hits almost every landmine that middle-class conservative viewers are most sensitive to."
"Mike, you've been with CAA for so many years, you should know better than me who the shortest-lived actors in Hollywood are."
"People who don't change, especially celebrities whose image is fixed."
Mike paused for a moment before continuing, "Lin, let's not talk about this now."
"The initial bottom line from Searchlight was a budget of six million dollars. Lin, to be honest, that's more than enough in Hollywood to make an independent film on a fringe subject."
But through the conditions offered by Rogge, you not only want full control and the final cut, but also demand a 7% tiered share of the box office revenue as a starting point.
Even with awards from the three major European film festivals, this is an unprecedented exception in Searchlight's industry process. As his chief agent, I have to be responsible for the project's feasibility.
Lin Ruiyang took a sip of champagne: "Mike, six million dollars can only produce a mediocre art film. I want eight million. The extra two million is to recreate the raw industrial feel of 1980s Texas and achieve better practical effects."
As they were talking, the heavy wooden door of the executive lounge was pushed open.
Surrounded by several bodyguards and assistants, Pete Rice, president of Searchlight Pictures, a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox, entered with two senior legal counsel and a veteran producer.
After sitting down, Pete didn't even exchange pleasantries for long before pulling a document out of his briefcase.
"The board just approved a preliminary agreement this afternoon that Searchlight is willing to participate in the financing and North American distribution of The Dallas Buyers Club."
Roger's lips curled up instantly. Although he had already guessed the outcome, he still felt a surge of heat in his chest when he actually heard those words.
But Lin Ruiyang did not immediately reach out to take the document.
"Preliminary intentions do not represent final terms."
The veteran producer next to him, who was using a searchlight, finally couldn't help but interject:
"Lin, I have to admit that your judgment on market trends is indeed accurate. But the problem is that 'Brokeback Mountain' just won an award, and now the entire industry is chasing after so-called marginalized group themes, but no one knows how long this trend will last."
"Dallas Buyers Club is not Brokeback Mountain," he said, spreading his hands. "It's dirtier, sharper, and more aggressive."
"That's why it had a chance, because audiences were tired of those neatly packaged Oscar films. Since the 1990s, Hollywood has increasingly liked to portray marginalized characters as moral saints, but that's not how it is."
"So you insist on having Matthew play the role."
"right."
Even if everyone at Universal Music was skeptical at the time?
"Because no one is more suitable than him, the audience will naturally project the content of the reports about Matthew during this period into the story. They will doubt him, laugh at him, sympathize with him, and finally get to know him in a new light."
"And this is the most fatal emotional path during awards season."
Even the legal counsel next to Pitt couldn't help but look up at Lin Ruiyang; this was a public relations narrative typical of the Oscars.
"No wonder you've been preventing Matthew from clarifying those drug rumors; you've been waiting for this moment from the very beginning."
Lin Ruiyang did not deny it.
Outside the window, night had completely fallen in Toronto. Searchlights from the direction of the TIFF main venue swept across the night sky, like a giant financial show.
But in the lounge, the real game has only just begun.
Pete finally pushed the document in front of Lin Ruiyang: "The searchlight budget is eight million."