Yan Xianghao stood nervously on the streets of Seoul wearing his only decent suit, a sandwich in his left hand and a cup of coffee in his right hand.
He is in his 30s. He started out as a cartoonist and later became an animation director. He is not as good as those big directors and stars. He can only be said to be well-known in the animation circle.
Unexpectedly, Hugelive fell in love with one of his creative ideas, "Seoul Station". This is a film that has been produced since 2006 and is based on the theme of the virus outbreak.
Hugelive took it and turned it into a live-action movie called "Train to Busan", which is almost finished.
The initial budget was US$6 million, but it went over budget during filming. Yeon Sang-ho asked anxiously if he could give me more, and then he was given another US$4 million, and he didn't care about anything in terms of creation. He wanted to have as much fun as he wanted.
Yeon Sang-ho knew how lucky he was, and the only condition proposed by the other party was that Hugelive had the exclusive copyright of "Train to Busan".
"elder brother!"
Yan Xianghao was interrupted by a greeting. A car had already parked in front of him, and a man who looked like a high-end version of Huang Bo stuck his head out. He was famous for his popularity in "The Furnace" and was also the star of "Train to Busan".
Liu.
"You are very punctual!"
"Today is a big event, how can we be late?"
Yan Xianghao got in the car, and Gong Liu drove towards the location of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Koreans attach great importance to the relationship between superiors, subordinates, and juniors. If you accidentally use the wrong words, honorifics, half-speech, and plain speech, you will get into trouble.
They are one year apart and get along well, speaking plainly.
Kong Yoo asked: "Brother, can "Train to Busan" be released this year?"
"I think it's very difficult!"
"How to say?"
"Hugelive is coming in a big way. Of course they have to develop their own platform and won't be released in theaters."
Um?
Kong Liu grabbed the steering wheel and almost bumped into it, and said: "A US$10 million movie won't go to theaters, but will it be broadcast online?"
"That's what I mean!"
"Axiba!"
Kong Liu was shocked.
As mentioned earlier, South Korea’s annual box office is about 1 trillion won, equivalent to more than 700 million U.S. dollars. It produces 200 movies every year, and the cost of large-scale production is only more than 10 million U.S. dollars.
If it's any higher, you'll lose money.
Why are South Korea and Hong Kong so similar?
The film and television industry is mature, with excellent star-making capabilities, a small market size, and serious involution. If it cannot open overseas markets, it is destined to have no major development.
Therefore, "Train to Busan" is a major production through and through, but it is not even released in theaters. This really challenges their perception.
The feeling a poor guy feels when he sees a rich guy...
While we were talking, we had already arrived at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Department. It was an eight-story building, but the overall area was small. It looked a lot like a shopping mall in a third-tier city in China.
The two of them entered and were guided to the lounge.
Not long after, people came in one after another, including all the leading actors of "Train to Busan", Jung Yu-mi, Kim Soo-an, Kim Eui-sung, Ma Dong-seok, etc.
Ma Dong-seok is a Korean-American who studied sports. He used to be a wrestling coach. Now he is somewhat famous. He established his own style only after "Crime City" and "Bad Guy" came out.
No matter who the opponent is, he will kill them all with one slap, known as "One Punch Man".
After a while, a woman wearing glasses and not striking in appearance came in, but the audience stood up and shouted: "Teacher Kim Eun-hee!"
This is a famous Korean screenwriter.
In terms of the status of screenwriters, South Korea ranks first in the world.
Then came Bae Doo Na and Joo Ji Hoon. The former is a rare Korean actress who has been able to develop in the United States. Her representative works are "Monster on the Han River" and "Psychic Hunt", while the latter's representative work is "Palace".
Yan Xianghao was already dazzled, but at the end, the whole audience stood up again.
Because Bong Joon-ho came in.
Needless to say, those who are not familiar with Korean Wave may have heard of this director of "Memories of Murder", "Monster on the Han River" and "Snowpiercer". He even won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, and Screenplay for "Parasite"
Waiting for four awards.
After a while, Jin Minyong came in.
As Hugelive's Korean regional director, he explained to everyone the reason for gathering here.
"Train to Busan" by Yeon Sang-ho, Gong Yoo and others will be the first original masterpiece after landing in South Korea, and is expected to be launched in the second half of the year.
The drama "Kingdom", written by Kim Eun-hee and starring Bae Doo-na and Joo Ji-hoon, is about killing zombies in ancient Korea. Filming will start within the year.
This script was written by Kim Eun-hee in 2011. Due to the bloody theme, no TV station took it over. It doesn’t matter if Hugelive is online, it doesn’t matter whether it’s bloody or not.
Bong Joon-ho has no specific works, but Yu Jiajia made it clear that I will give you money and you will make a movie for me, and you can make whatever you want.
Even great directors have to follow their hearts.
"Now the two ministers are discussing with the person in charge of Hugelive. After the discussion, we will all go out to do some exchange activities. Several directors from China have also come."
"Who are they?"
"Ning Hao, Guo Fan, Chen Kexin, Tsui Hark!"
"I know Tsui Hark, who is Peter Chan?"
"The director of "Sweet Honey"..."
"Oh mo!"
"Did he film "Sweet Honey"?"
"Wow, I remember the scenes with Leon Lai and Maggie Cheung!"
In the 1980s and 1990s, South Korea was an important market for Hong Kong films, and Leslie Cheung was the most popular. When "Family Affair" was exported, Korean film producers strongly requested that a shootout scene with Leslie Cheung be added because the audience liked to see it.
…………
In the lounge, gossip from the past was discussed, but in the conference room outside, business talks were conducted seriously.
Two South Korean ministers came forward, Yao Yuan, Yu Jiajia and several American shareholders. It seemed that the negotiation posture of the three countries was in compliance with diplomatic standards.
There is a saying that as Yao Yuan, if he really wanted to officially visit a small country, it would be no problem for the president to personally receive him. Later, when the CEO of Netflix visited South Korea, President Yoon personally received him, but that was after the colonization of the Netflix industry.
Yao Yuan believes that Hugelive can also succeed, but then he may not be able to go abroad easily.
It would be terrible if I went out and was detached and had to wear electronic shackles all day long.
"We welcome all companies that are open, innovative and willing to abide by Korean laws and Internet systems to come in. Hugelive has achieved great success in North America, Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong. We also hope to bring in the Korean film and television industry with your unique operating model.
Come with a new look and vitality..."
"Thank you both for your sincerity and love. The purpose of Hugelive is not expansion, but integration. We are very willing to cooperate with outstanding Korean practitioners to produce better works!"
When I landed in South Korea, the policies were actually OK.
We will hold a press conference today and go through the process to express our views.
Yao Yuan put on his glasses again and sat there, 186 tall, calm and pleasing to the eye, and said a few polite words:
"Our first self-made film "Train to Busan" is planned to be released within the year, and our first self-made drama "Kingdom" will also be launched. We will also cooperate with your internationally renowned director Bong Joon-ho and fully support his new work."