Chapter 1652 - 817: Reversal

Chapter 1652: Chapter 817: Reversal

Zhou Yun understood Ning Yao’s feelings.

She was definitely also very fond of this new director’s talent and didn’t want to see him dragged down by this film.

She thought it over carefully and said, "Sister Xiao Yao, since you came to me for help, of course I’ll help. But to be honest, I’ve never properly done overseas distribution before. I basically just know some distributors, that’s all. I can’t guarantee how well I can do this. But you can rest assured, if you’re willing, I’ll do my utmost to make it happen."

Ning Yao: "That’s great, no problem. I actually don’t have high hopes myself, I just want the film to lose a little less money."

As soon as Zhou Yun got the materials and information for the film, she contacted Zhou Lan.

"Wow."

Zhou Lan let out a surprised exclamation.

"I actually went to see this film with Lin Zhiping. To be honest, it’s shot pretty well, but it’s really not the kind of thing most audiences like to watch. The threshold’s a bit high and the narrative pace is slow."

Zhou Yun hummed in acknowledgment. "Do you think if we handle the overseas distribution, we can help push this film out there?"

"Aren’t we going to the Berlin Film Festival? Perfect, we can hold a private screening over there and invite those buyers to watch it." Zhou Lan said, "This time at the Berlin Film Festival, you and Song Chi will both be there. We can ask Ning Yao to come over and lend her presence too. I think that should attract some buyers. It’s just that the price the sellers can get probably won’t be very high."

Zhou Yun nodded and said, "Anything we can sell is better than nothing. Ning Yao just wants to offset a bit of the loss as much as possible."

"Alright, I’ll go and finalize the overseas agency deal with them, and then we’ll start drafting a sales plan." Zhou Lan said. "You know, this is actually the first time we’re properly doing this kind of work. Before, it was just doing Song Chi a favor and helping push a few of his films."

Zhou Yun: "That’s good. We’ve still got our own production, Child of Prophecy, down the line. When the time comes we can also sell that one overseas ourselves."

"Mm." Zhou Lan nodded.

...

The shooting of Killing Song was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

Zhou Yun had already been getting ready for the trip to the Berlin Film Festival, but then the organizers suddenly announced it would be postponed to February.

So a lot of the schedule had to be adjusted accordingly.

Well-connected domestic media outlets released a piece of news: Zhou Yun’s company had acquired the overseas distribution rights for Treasure, Ning Yao’s new starring film, officially entering the overseas market.

Not many people paid attention to this news. It only had some buzz because it involved two top actresses.

But quite a few people in the industry noticed it and wondered when Zhou Yun had started doing overseas representation.

Some reporters, curious, went to ask Ning Yao about it.

Ning Yao spoke very frankly to the reporters: "Actually, Xiao Yun did me a favor. This film didn’t sell very well in the domestic market and the loss is pretty big. So I called Xiao Yun and asked if she’d be willing to help me pitch it to overseas distributors. She knows a lot of people. She agreed right away—very readily. I was really moved. I’d approached a lot of people for help, but only Xiao Yun agreed so quickly and straightforwardly."

Just to acquire the overseas distribution rights, Zhou Lan paid five million in one go.

That’s also why many companies weren’t willing to take this on; just that five million alone made a lot of people feel they wouldn’t be able to earn it back.

Zhou Lan, however, didn’t think it was impossible to earn back.

It really came down to channels. Zhou Yun and Zhou Lan knew those distributors; they could invite them to watch the film and evaluate it. Some domestic companies simply didn’t have those channels or the ability to reach out to them.

Buyers have way too many films to watch every year and way too many to evaluate. Who you are sometimes decides their attitude toward you.

Meanwhile, Mortal Realm, the new film by director Kim Bingde starring Ning Yao, had also been selected for the main competition at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival.

Riding on the heat of that film, with Ning Yao again as the female lead, Zhou Lan felt there was still something to be done.

Especially in the Asian market, films starring Ning Yao might not fetch high prices, but there would definitely be buyers willing to take them.

Zhou Lan produced a promotional booklet for Treasure and mailed a copy to each of the overseas buyers they were familiar with, then called them warmly to say hello and invite them, if interested, to meet up in Berlin later.

Zhou Lan also asked Zhou Yun to find time to watch the film and write a short piece on her viewing experience.