On Friday, the sci-fi film "Star Agent: City of a Thousand Stars", directed by Luc Besson and produced by Europa, was released Chinese mainland. It won 180 million yuan in three days, ranking first in the weekend box office list.
Star Agent poster
Although the performance of "Interstellar Agent" is not amazing in the context of "Wolf Warrior 2" just breaking the Chinese box office record, it has been greatly improved compared to the film's opening score of $17.02 million in North America. As of press time, its cumulative box office in China has exceeded 300 million yuan, surpassing nearly $40 million (about 260 million yuan) in North America and nearly $190 million (about 1.254 billion yuan) in global box office.
In addition, "Interstellar Agents" has suffered a serious polarization of reviews in the United States, and the freshness and decay on Rotten Tomatoes are exactly half to half. In contrast, the score of 7.1 on Douban is also very face-saving.
Stills from "Interstellar Agent"
If you look at the history of cinema, "Interstellar Agent" is a landmark work: it cost as much as $210 million to produce, but it did not go to any of Hollywood's "Big Six", so it is called "the most expensive independent film". In addition to Luc Besson's Europa, there is actually a Chinese company, Shanghai-based Jimei Pictures.
From the "Hurricane Rescue" series that helped promote before, to the production of "Superbody" and "Nine Lives", to the "Interstellar Agent" as the main producer, most of the films involved in Kemet Pictures are in cooperation with The France-based Europa, while Chinese film companies usually choose Hollywood companies in the United States to expand overseas cooperation.
Gao Jingdong, the chairman of Jimei Pictures, is relatively low-key, and unlike most of the big guys in the film industry who like to attend various events, he rarely appears in public and has a very limited number of dealings with the media. Regarding his background, it is rumored that he founded Kemet after digging the first pot of gold in the pharmaceutical industry in his early years, and he was a very iron buddy with director Luc Besson.
Taking the opportunity of the release of "Interstellar Agent", the surging news reporter interviewed Gao Jingdong, chairman of Keeme, and asked him to answer questions on why he decided to invest in "Interstellar Agent", how to intervene in the production of this film, how to view the repercussions of the US market, and cooperation with Europa.
Gao Jingdong (left) with Luc Besson
"Don't look at Lao Lu as a person who is almost sixty, usually like a child, very innocent." In addition to movies, he loves to eat, but he is not exquisite and likes to go to unknown small shops. Gao Jingdong said that this is what he and Luc Besson have in common, "We all love movies, we both love food, and if we meet, we will go together to find something delicious." For example, every time he comes to Beijing, I will take him to a roast duck restaurant that we both like very much, which has become a hope for him to come to China, and every day when he sees me, he has to ask, 'Are we going to eat today?' ’”
Gao Jingdong said that eight years ago, he met Luc Besson at a party, and he was able to become friends based on two points, for him, because Luc Besson's works are widely spread in China, and he is familiar with them; for Luc Besson, he likes China very much, likes the people, stories, food, and has come many times. "So why does Agents have a lot of Chinese elements in it?" It is not deliberately added because the Chinese company is a partner, this is a natural deferral of his creative process. ”
From the initial acquaintance to the slow becoming a friend of Mo Rebellion, in the eyes of Gao Jingdong, Luc Besson's life is not as simple as a Frenchman. "He doesn't smoke or drink — he doesn't even drink red wine, he only drinks Coke; the means of transportation in Paris is a motorcycle; he gets up at 4:30 every morning, puts on headphones and writes scripts, and there are only movies in his life."
In addition to the similar smell, Gao Jingdong was also impressed by Luc Besson's creativity. Lao Lu only took a total of 15 days to write the script of "This Killer Is Not Too Cold". Do you know why it's 15 days? Because after he submitted the script of "The Fifth Element" to the blockbuster studio, the reply was: 'You go back and wait for 15 days, and then we will decide whether we can shoot it or not.' In order not to worry about this matter for 15 days, he decided to write a script to distract himself, which led to "This Killer Is Not Too Cold". ”
However, Gao Jingdong said that Kemet chose to cooperate with Europa not because he and Luc Besson had a personal relationship, he valued all kinds of films created by Europa, especially action films, which were both self-styled and could compete with Hollywood movies in the international market; more importantly, Europa had a complete production system, covering all stages of a film from script release, to studio shooting, to post-production. In his view, this system can be grafted onto China, so cooperation with Europa is a learning process for Kemet.
Looking back at the road that Keeme and Europa have traveled hand in hand, Gao Jingdong believes that the most important thing for The development of Keime is not the films that have been successful at the box office in China, such as "Hurricane Rescue" and "Superbody", but this time to participate in the production of "Interstellar Agent". He repeatedly emphasized: "For a film company, the most valuable thing is copyright, so you must participate in the production of content." ”
Having said that, the risks associated with investing in film production are incomparable to those that come with investing in film production alone as a party to assist in promotion. For example, Jimei's 2016 annual report showed that the company suffered a large loss, mainly because the co-production film "Warrior's Gate" and the domestic films "Magic Wheel" and "Super Express" were not satisfactory at the box office. In the past few fiscal years, Kemet's net profit has been growing well.
Gao Jingdong, who rarely deals with the media, is a little puzzled by the various interpretations of the outside world after the release of the annual report, because when the company's net profit maintained high growth in previous years, it did not receive similar attention from the outside world. "In my opinion, the gains in previous fiscal years and the declines in the previous fiscal years are within the normal range. The reason why I was willing to accept an interview was just to tell everyone that Ji Mei was very healthy and did not hurt her bones. ”
He believes that this is a normal encounter in the development of a company, because "I want to build a long-term company, not make quick money in the capital markets." He sees Keime as his "last venture" after completing the primitive accumulation of his wealth.
Now that "Interstellar Agent" is being released in China, Gao Jingdong is cautious that he is reluctant to make specific predictions about the upper and lower limits of the Chinese box office, but believes that because of the poor performance of the US box office, it is premature to conclude that it failed, because the quality that attracted him to invest in the film in the first place, a vast cosmology that can be developed into a series of films, is still valid. Therefore, he is confident that "There will be a sequel to "Interstellar Agent"! ”
As for Keime's collaboration with Europa, participating in the production of "Interstellar Agent" is an important node, but it does not seem to be the highest point. Gao Jingdong said that in the future, not only will it participate in the production of films such as "Superbody 2", but the cooperation between the two companies will also expand to a deeper level, such as the education field that can reserve more talents for film creation. Throughout the interview, Gao Jingdong repeatedly mentioned the "film city" where Europa's headquarters is located, integrating nine sound studios and complete post-production studios. Building such a film base in China that can be included from the generation of ideas to the stereotypes of finished films should be his greater ambition.
【Dialogue】
The Paper: It is rumored that Keime invested $50 million in "Interstellar Agent", is this amount accurate? To what extent did you get involved in the production of this film?
Gao Jingdong: The specific amount is less than 50 million. It can be said that every step of this project involves Kemet's personnel. For example, in order to get more new ideas, Lao Lu held a costume design competition, and found five art designers in different parts of the world, as well as the choice of actors, as well as some difficulties in special effects production - the production of pearl people is the longest time... He would communicate and discuss with us before doing this.
The Paper: Frankly, "Interstellar Agent" is not ideal at the box office in North America, as one of the investors, what do you think is the reason?
Gao Jingdong: In fact, the situation of "Interstellar Agent" is exactly the same as when "The Fifth Element" was released, and the market is relatively slow to accept it. When "The Fifth Element" first premiered in Cannes, it accounted for 70% of the negative reviews. This time, the positive evaluation of "Interstellar Agent" in France is 85%-90%.
It's normal for someone not to like a movie. Although every filmmaker tries his best to do his best, a movie has its own destiny, and the box office is not good, involving schedules, publicity and other aspects.
In fact, for the box office, filmmakers will have a best prejudgment and a worst prejudgment in advance, and if the latter is affordable, then they will implement the project. Independent film companies will adopt the pre-sale model, in fact, this is also the process of the project being tested: the reason why it can be favored by distributors in various markets is the comprehensive result of the reputation and popularity accumulated by the director's previous works, as well as the superposition of the script and concept of this work.
The Paper: The production cost of "Interstellar Agent" is close to 210 million US dollars, why did Europa not choose to cooperate with Hollywood's "Big Six", but chose Kemet as the most important partner?
Gao Jingdong: The "Big Six" generally want to win the distribution rights of a movie, usually the global market. For film production companies, on the one hand, the risk is reduced, but on the other hand, the profits obtained will be much less, which is equivalent to becoming a "big six" processing plant. This has a big impact on the long-term value of the company, or the control of copyright. For example, Superbody was a collaboration between Europa and Universal, and any decision you have to make about this movie now requires consultation with Universal.
Therefore, Luc Besson chose to pre-sell this time to shoot "Interstellar Agent". Europa has a full production capacity, has many long-term partners in many markets around the world, and has also won tax subsidies; the remaining difference is shared by Europa and its global partners, including Kemet.
The production cost of this film is indeed not small, but its value as a series of films will also be great. I can pack tickets, and regardless of how it turns out in the U.S. market, there will definitely be a sequel to Agents, it's only a matter of time. In a mature market, the true value of a controversial film takes a time period to be realized, and once it becomes a classic film, the value will be very different from when it was first released, just as the copyright value of "The Fifth Element" to today is very high.
This is, after all, the only large-scale sci-fi film by an independent production company in the world. Just like Lucas set up his own film company for the Star Wars series, he recruited a lot of talent and formed a production system. Similarly, Europa has also formed a system in the process of making "Interstellar Agent", and we can take this system back and apply it to the production of domestic films. With such an existing model, we can take a lot of detours. So, this is a great opportunity to gain a learning experience through business collaboration. Moreover, we are also involved in the production this time, which is equivalent to learning and doing, and our role in this project is far greater than that of a financial investor.
The Paper: I'm a little curious about your personal experience, you have been successful in the field of medicine earlier, why did you turn to the film industry?
Gao Jingdong: In fact, there is no so-called "conversion", it should be said that Jimei is the last venture in my life. Kemet was created in 2008, but I did research on the industry in 2006. The biggest difference between film and other industries is that you have to be passionate, otherwise you will feel really hard. To outsiders, all the results are integrated in about two hours of the film, which seems simple, but there are too many uncertainties in between from the inspiration to the film.
When I did research in 2006, I found that the national film market is actually very small, in fact, today, it is still very small, and it is completely incomparable with other industries such as real estate, but movies can have a great influence, which is the charm of this industry. Of course, the most important thing that supported me to go down was because I liked movies.
The Paper: Although overseas cooperation between domestic film companies is now very common, most of them will still choose Hollywood companies in the United States, why would Kemet choose a French company like Europa?
Gao Jingdong: In fact, as far as the film industry is concerned, the degree of globalization is already very deep. Europa is the largest film company in Europe for the international market, and in France it is only its entire production system.
In my opinion, Europa's work not only takes the international route, but also has its own style. From Luc Besson's earliest "Nikita", to the later "This Killer Is Not Too Cold", to the "Taxi Express" series he wrote the script and was a producer, the "Desperate Express" series, the "Hurricane Rescue" series, and the last "Superbody", all of which are French action films that are different from Hollywood movies, but they are integrated into the Hollywood distribution system. For example, "Hurricane Rescue", it was produced by Europa, but the global distribution was handled by Twentieth Century Fox, and the distribution of "Superbody" was replaced by Universal Pictures.
In addition, Europa is not only a production company, it also has its own set of systems, including the largest set in continental Europe, as well as a complete production system of special effects, post-production, etc., and even includes five specialized film schools that cultivate reserve talents, covering directing, acting, makeup and other aspects. In the process of working with Europa, I found it completely feasible to bring his systematic shooting method to China.
As for Hollywood, it seems to me that there is a very practical side of it, which is that the idea of trying to get things done, which may involve money or other things. But in terms of deep cooperation in the production system, Hollywood companies have a natural exclusivity. But Lao Lu is very open in cooperation, and is very flexible in everything except that the filming of the film must be placed in the paris shed.
The Paper: You have always stressed that Kemet should learn from Europa's experience and system and apply it to the films it produces, but what created huge profits for Kemet before was the business of assisting in promotion, and several movies produced last year, such as "Warrior's Gate" and "Super Express", were not ideal at the box office, resulting in a loss of net profit.
Gao Jingdong: Since founding Kemei, my policy has been to focus on production. As for assisting in promotion, the turnover in the first two years may be relatively large, but it is only one of our business components. We've been involved in filmmaking since 2010 and along the way, production has always been seen as the core of our company, such as Superbody and Nine Lives, we were involved in the behind-the-scenes investment production. But we don't see ourselves as creators, but as content managers.
In my opinion, the valuation of a studio is not about how much profit you made last year, but how many rights you own and how much value you can create in the future. Profit is an important indicator, but not the only one.
To date, Keime has been involved in forty films. The preparation for the establishment of several domestic films launched last year was actually three or four years ago, and our experience at that time was still very limited. Of course, losses are a reality, and although they don't hurt us, they can't be avoided. In the future, we will be more cautious, we will seek more cooperation to reduce risks, and we will also introduce Europa's pre-sale model to China.
The Paper: You said that the purpose of a film company is to make good movies, so in your opinion, how to define "good movies"?
Gao Jingdong: If you watch a movie and you want to tell others and share it with others, it is a good movie.
The Paper: What is Kemet's vision for near- and long-term development?
Gao Jingdong: Mainly in content production, especially the experience of participating in the production of "Interstellar Agent" for my use.
In addition, we will also expand our cooperation with Europa to the field of film education. Luc Besson's film school in Paris is very instructive, it is a two-year education, students initially need to go through a process similar to the audition; after completing the basic education, they will continue to be assigned to various crews to participate in the production of the film. Since we want to bring the Europa system to China, the talent pool is also an indispensable part. Even in the future, it is entirely possible to transplant Europa's "film city", which covers studios and various production studios, to China.