"True Lies" is in the preliminary post-production stage. In order to meet the deadline for release this year, Wu Long did not return to the imperial capital.

Not only is his own plan to produce "True Lies" as soon as possible, but the sun never sets on the country also hopes that the movie will be released soon so that the world can see the majesty of the Harrier fighter jet.

In the past, the military of the country where the sun never sets had never thought about Harrier fighter jets flying and firing in the city.

Now that "True Lies" has been filmed, they are greatly shocked. It feels that from the publicity effect, it is indeed much more shocking than on the battlefield.

The performance on the battlefield is just to fly over, bomb or attack the ground, and that's it. Hovering on the battlefield? It's really easy to die quickly.

Compared to air combat, the Harrier fighter has no special advantages.

On the other hand, Wu Long's approach of dealing with criminals in the city perfectly avoided the shortcomings of the Harrier fighter.

And fighter jets flying in the city and firing can greatly stimulate the audience's nerves. The shocking scene is definitely much better than that of a helicopter.

After all, literally speaking, fighter jets are more advanced than helicopters.

Not only was the Sun Never Sets Kingdom satisfied and hoped to see the screening effect. Even the military of Merricken Country was surprised by Wu Long's idea.

Maybe, this is another way to use the Harrier fighter?

Anyway, retired Harrier fighter jets should be cheaper than armed helicopters worth tens of millions.

People from Lion Pictures and Weiner Pictures came together. They were not here for "Fast and Furious 3". They wanted to ask Wu Long if he was willing to make "The Hobbit". If so, then the two of them

Jia United cooperated with Wu Long and did not bring the other six major film companies to play.

The last "Lord of the Rings" series was so good at the box office, but it required so many family members, which they were unwilling to do.

"You want to make The Hobbit?"

Lion Pictures and Weiner Pictures executives nodded in unison.

Wu Long inquired through the system.

The production cost of the original trilogy of "The Hobbit" series in the previous life was as high as US$745 million, but the total global box office, excluding the extended version, was only more than US$2.92 billion.

Why use Yecai?

Because the production cost of the original "Lord of the Rings" trilogy series in the previous life was only US$281 million, and the total global box office was more than US$2.917 billion.

For the same trilogy, in terms of return on investment, "The Hobbit" only has 4, which is far behind the "Lord of the Rings" series.

"It's possible that "The Hobbit" won't make any money when it's filmed." Wu Long also hesitated. It could be filmed, but his salary would be too high. Calculated in this way, the production cost of each film would be over 300 million.

He doesn't want domestic computer special effects companies to make less money.

"Why?"

"Shouldn't it?"

The executives of Lion Pictures and Weiner Pictures obviously don't believe it.

“Sold very well.”

"Fans also want to see it."

Wu Long slowly analyzed it for them.

"You can't believe what the fans say. The sequel is not as good as the first one. This is a rule in the film industry. Whether it is "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit", they are actually the same. No matter how the war is fought, there will be no more outstanding things. And

Just looking at the war will not attract more people."

"Although the story of "The Hobbit" precedes "The Lord of the Rings," in terms of film form, "The Lord of the Rings" precedes "The Hobbit," and "The Hobbit" is no longer new."

"As for stories, how many people watch movies for stories? It is better to watch literary films for stories."

"So, if you want to keep "The Hobbit" fresh, in addition to finding ways to deal with war scenes, you also need to find ways to shoot and watch, such as 3D shooting."

"If it is 3D shooting, not only will the difficulty increase, but the cost will naturally increase. Coupled with my salary, the production cost of "The Hobbit" will be much higher than that of "The Lord of the Rings."

"If 3D shooting is not used, the production cost is equally high, and the box office is lower than that of "Lord of the Rings", the revenue will not be high."

"Or I won't appear..."

The executives of Lion Pictures and Weiner Pictures quickly shook their heads.

"What if you don't act?"

Without Wu Long starring, if the audience doesn't buy it, it may fail at the box office.

"There is another way." Wu Long thought of a possibility.

"any solution?"

"I play a supporting role, and the salary is only 100 million U.S. dollars. It is directed by Scott, and the copyright sharing will not take away too much of your income. As for the cost, Scott has the final say."

This method was discussed by Lion Pictures and Weiner Pictures, but neither of them adopted it. They did not dare to take a gamble.

Although Wu Long said that Scott had filmed "The Lord of the Rings" with him, every director has a different style. If he can't make a film with the same style as "The Lord of the Rings", movie fans will definitely not buy it.

Moreover, the success of "The Lord of the Rings" was not only directed by Wu Long, but also another important reason was that Wu Long played the role of the elf prince.

But the salary for Wu Long's starring role is too expensive, which is really troublesome.

"If you were to play the role of the Elf Prince, and you were to direct it, and it would be shot in 3D as you said in "Lord of the Rings," how much would your budget be?"

Wu Long pondered and began to calculate the production costs. In fact, with the production costs of "The Lord of the Rings", he could produce "The Hobbit". However, he had to make money.

In that case, it would be equivalent to cutting off his salary or cutting down on computer special effects money.

The budget reduction of computer special effects does not affect the final effect. Because in the "Lord of the Rings" series, the money paid to computer special effects is actually higher than the normal level. In other words, Shi Lei and their computer special effects company made more money

a lot of.

But this is what he and Shi Lei knew.

If the production cost of "The Hobbit" does not increase accordingly, others will guess that there is something fishy about it.

Wu Lung cannot increase the production cost of "The Hobbit" too high, otherwise it will be a box office flop and have an impact on his reputation.

"Each one costs at least US$350 million, but the effect may not be ideal. If it can reach US$400 million, it should be about the same."

Upon hearing Wu Long's offer, the executives of Lion Pictures and Weiner Pictures couldn't help but gasped.

"It's actually $100 million more than the "Lord of the Rings" series!"

"What if we don't shoot 3D?"

Wu Long thought for a while and said: "That would also exceed the production cost of 300 million U.S. dollars. The various expenses certainly cannot be compared with "Lord of the Rings" and will increase to some extent."

"However, if I don't shoot 3D, I don't really want to shoot it. Because for me, it's a repetitive path and there is no motivation."

"The production cost is US$400 million, and three movies are worth US$2 billion. To achieve a return on investment of 4, we need a total global box office of US$4.8 billion..."

"The "Lord of the Rings" series only has a total global box office of 4.6 billion, and "The Hobbit" should not be able to reach it."

People from Lion Pictures and Weiner Pictures hesitated.

"Actually, even if you agree to spend 1.2 billion US dollars on the film, I may not have time to film it. The "Fast and Furious" series has done well at the box office, and several car companies are already interested in making a third film. I also have one on hand.

There is a drama to be filmed.”

"If you insist on filming, the director will let Scott do it."

This negotiation has no results. Lion Pictures and Weiner Pictures obviously have to hesitate about such a high production cost. Even if other film companies are brought in, they will still hesitate. They don't make much money, so there is no need.

"True Lies" finally produced a sample during Wu Long's rush production.

At the preview meeting, not only the military from the country where the sun never sets came to watch, but also the military from the country of Merricken.

After the preview, the audience applauded.

The military representative of Merricken Nation applauded and said:

"I thought it was about fighting crime, but it turned out to be a science fiction film!"

"Criminals are too simple. We must deal with aliens in the future. The Harrier fighter jet is a fighter jet that can deal with aliens. Isn't that cool? Even aliens are not opponents, so what are criminals?

?" Wu Long explained jokingly.

He can't say that the original version was boycotted by some regions and countries because of its problematic setting of criminals.

There are no criminals, there must always be a target to attack. There is no other way but to let aliens be the villains.

The test film will be a success and Wu Lung will return to China to make his own movie.

In the evening, Scott came to attend Wu Long's party.

"Lion Pictures and Weiner Pictures came to me and asked me how much it would cost to make "The Hobbit."

Wu Long clinked wine bottles with him.

"I asked them to find you. They wanted to make "The Hobbit", and I said that if I participated, the salary would be 100 million U.S. dollars. In addition to shooting 3D, the production cost would rise to 400 million U.S. dollars.

Not much money.”

Wu Long tells Scott about talks with Lion Pictures and Weiner Films.

"Haha, I didn't say I wanted to shoot 3D, but even if it was 2D, if you wanted to participate, the production cost would be more than $300 million. After hearing my estimate, they asked me if I had spoken to you.

I said no, but they didn't believe me."

"Do you think the production cost is this high?"
To be continued...