Chapter 92 Additional Investment

However, Li Zetian felt happy when he thought about the box office and influence of "Star Wars".

"So... you hope that Apple can make additional investment!" Li Zetian said with a calm expression on his face.

George Lucas nodded repeatedly, "Yes, that's exactly it!"

Li Zetian deliberately frowned and said: "According to your current shooting progress, the entire movie will cost at least tens of millions of dollars, and Apple will have to invest at least 5 million dollars in it. This is a huge risk for Apple." great!"

After speaking, Li Zetian pretended to be thoughtful.

George Lucas looked at Li Zetian nervously, hoping to get a satisfactory answer from his mouth.

After a while, Li Zetian said: "George Lucas, please contact 20th Century Fox immediately and let's discuss together whether to invest more."

"All right……"

George Lucas asked, "Oh, by the way, Chronos·li, what did you call me for?"

"We're not busy. We'll talk about it later. You should contact Twentieth Century Fox first!"

With that said, Li Zetian motioned to George Lucas to make a call from his landline.

George Lucas nodded and picked up the phone... Two minutes later, he said to Li Zetian: "Producer Steven Marlowe of Twentieth Century Fox will be here in the afternoon."

"Before Steve Marlowe comes, I will introduce you to someone. Please come with me." After finishing speaking, Li Zetian stood up and walked in front.

George Lucas responded and followed.

After a while, Li Zetian took him to an office in the Walkman Laboratory, "You wait here for a moment, I'll call that person over."

"OK."

George Lucas nodded and looked around curiously. Apple is full of incredible things, full of science fiction, and being in it seems to have brought him endless inspiration...

Two minutes later, Li Zetian led Dr. Dolby in, and then introduced: "This is Dr. Dolby from Dolby Laboratories, and this is director George Lucas."

"Hello!!!"

The two shook hands and greeted each other politely.

Li Zetian smiled and said, "Everyone, please sit down. I have invited you two together this time because I think the Dolby Surround sound system being developed by Dolby Laboratories can be applied to movies, so I plan to make "Star Wars" "Be the first to try it!"

"What is Dolby Surround?" George Lucas wondered.

"I think it's better to let Dr. Dolby explain this to you personally," Li Zetian looked at Dr. Dolby with a smile.

"Dolby surround sound system is a cinema sound system successfully developed by Dolby Laboratories to improve stereo sound quality. It can record the information of the left, center, right and surround channels into two channels in a certain way after reducing noise. The sound channels are restored to four channels in the opposite way during playback, thereby achieving compatible transmission of multi-channel and two-channel. To put it simply, the synchronization of the sound direction and the movement of the picture is achieved, such as a When a person walks towards us, the audience can clearly identify the direction and loudness of his footsteps, giving people a more realistic feeling!"

"Great! This is exactly what I need!!!" George Lucas exclaimed in surprise.

"Don't get excited, Lucas! You have to know, this thing is definitely not cheap!" Li Zetian immediately poured cold water on him.

George Lucas couldn't help but sigh, oh, damn, the budget is seriously insufficient!

But Li Zetian added: "However, you need to ask Dr. Dolby first. If Twentieth Century Fox is willing to invest more, this movie can naturally continue to be filmed! Okay, you two have a good chat, I have something to do." go out for a while."

George Lucas nodded, and then eagerly asked Dr. Dolby more questions about the "Dolby Surround System."

This chat lasted for an hour or two, and Dr. Dolby provided George Lucas with many solutions and suggestions for film sound.

At this time, there was a knock on the door, and a young female secretary pushed the door open and said to George Lucas: "Mr. Lucas, Mr. Steve Marlowe from Twentieth Century Fox has arrived. Chronos·li asked me to invite you to his office!"

"Okay, I understand, I'll go right away," George Lucas nodded, and then said goodbye to Dr. Dolby, "Dr. Dolby, as long as they are willing to invest more this time, I will definitely use Dolby Laboratories. technology!"

"Haha, then it's a deal!"

Dr. Dolby was delighted when he heard this, and then sent George Lucas to the door of the Walkman Laboratory.

Later, George Lucas followed the female secretary to Li Zetian's office again.

Sitting on the sofa in the office was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, with short hair, medium build, and wearing a black suit.

"Hello, Mr. Marlowe!" George Lucas hurried forward to say hello. This was a big financial backer, and then nodded to Li Zetian as a greeting.

After Li Zetian waited for the two of them to greet each other, he said: "Mr. Marlowe, I believe you know the filming situation of "Star Wars". So far, one-third of the movie has not been shot, but the money has been spent. Two-thirds. Lucasfilm invested US$1 million, Apple invested US$2 million, and 20th Century Fox invested US$3 million, a total of only US$6 million. Director Lucas, do you think the entire movie has been completely shot? How much funding is needed?”

Naturally, George Lucas had already dismissed this question, so he answered directly: "It will cost about 13 million U.S. dollars, because some special effects processing will be continued in the later stage..."

Li Zetian nodded and said, "That is to say, we are still short of US$7 million!" At this time, Li Zetian turned his eyes to Steve Marlowe and asked, "Mr. Marlowe, are 20th Century Fox willing to make additional investment?" ?”

Steve Marlowe shook his head and refused: "Star Wars has far exceeded the budget of 20th Century Fox, and judging from the current American film market, science fiction movies have almost no signs of being a hit. If additional investment continues, It will face huge risks, so 20th Century Fox has no plans to make additional investment!"

When George Lucas heard this, he immediately became anxious. If he did not invest additional money, all the money he had spent before would be lost.

"Mr. Marlowe, if we give up the investment, we will lose more than four million U.S. dollars! If we shoot the entire movie and release it, we may be able to recover some losses. If the movie becomes popular, we may still make money!"

Science fiction movies are currently in a slump, and even Lucas himself does not think that his low-cost film of more than 10 million US dollars will sweep the world and achieve incredible success. Yes, at this time, no one can imagine it, except Li Zetian!

Seeing that Steve Marlowe was still unmoved, George Lucas couldn't help gritting his teeth and said resolutely: "If 20th Century Fox can continue to invest more, I am willing to cut the director's fee and script by $500,000." However, I will retain the right to sell products related to the film and the ownership of the sequel!"

If "Star Wars" doesn't sell, the rights to sell merchandise related to the movie and the rights to its sequels will be worthless. In fact, in a previous life, George Lucas made such a proposal before 20th Century Fox agreed to invest.

Li Zetian's mouth twitched, "Damn it, how can this be done!"

PS: It’s the third update. Please vote. Updates will not stop.