What Levi said about traveling far was not a lie... For a long time ago, he has been planning to go to Asia - He planned to go to three countries - China, Japan, and South Korea in East Asia.
During this period of time, Levi has been resting in Miami for a long time, and in his spare time, he also has to do something to develop his own company.
Compared to shooting a movie now, Levi has other things to do now. Anyway, this period is a rest time, and he also intends to take some time to do something he has been thinking about before.
And these events are visiting three countries in Asia - this matter is very good for his company.
The three East Asian countries have always been an important part of world cinema, and these three countries also have different roles and statuses in Levi's eyes.
China will be the second largest ticket warehouse in the world in the future, Japan is now the second largest ticket warehouse, and there are still a lot of resources to be developed, and although South Korea does not have these things, it has human resources for use... These things are all that Levi needs.
Therefore, Levi naturally wanted to go there after taking a break. Many things in the world need to seize the opportunity, and it is essential to be able to seize the opportunity one step ahead.
***
For example, in 1999, the Korean film industry had just undergone a major reform: South Korean films have developed very rapidly in the past few years. Since 1996, their continuous reform measures have developed the movie industry. After the new century, it can be said that they have ushered in rapid growth - these Things that Americans can't see now, but Levi can see. He is well aware that South Korea has a lot to offer his business in the future.
Of course, Levi doesn't want to buy the copyright of Korean movies or want to change which Korean movie he remembers into an American version.
Most Korean movies have a common feature; at first glance, it seems very deep. But in fact, the story is full of very big loopholes that can't be filled at all.
No matter what the story is, at its root, it's all about ethics. They always have to mess around relationships between either siblings or father and daughter. It seems that the confusion of ethics is already the number one issue related to Korea's national economy and people's livelihood.
It's not enough to express Korean directors without mentioning the depth of thought.
Making special effects movies is too expensive to do in the US.
Korean movies do not have a big enough box office. It can even be said that they are inherently deficient. Therefore, they are more willing to work hard than China and Japan on 'The Day After Tomorrow.'
In terms of special effects and production, they are also willing to spend a lot of thought in the next few years. It is best to hand over the logistics department of the movie to them.
Of course, this is not a job that can be completed in a short period, and it will take a long time to do it, but Levi is not in a hurry; these things can be done slowly. Technical matters; you can't eat fat in one bite.
***
However, technology cannot improve overnight, but movie scripts can be: if you can buy one or two good scripts, you can save a lot of money than writing your own scripts.
As for acquiring the script, Levi plans to do it in Japan - there are many things that can be adapted into movies in Japan.
This time shooting the X-Men let Levi see a lot of things in commercial blockbusters: stars, stories, special effects, and scenes; these things can be said to be important factors that determine the box office of a movie.
When the time entered the 21st century, the cost of movie stars became higher and higher, and there were fewer and fewer fresh ideas for movies.
More and more movies no longer rely on creativity, stars, and good stories to win, but more and more people rely on good special effects and adaptations of existing stories that have a relatively large influence among the crowd. This way saves a lot of effort.
Compared with writing scripts by oneself, using famous stars, and shooting blockbuster movies in a gambling-like way, this model is more stable and easier to make money. Americans haven't realized this yet, but after the new century comes, they will learn to behave after losing money a few times.
And when it comes to stories that people have had a deep impact on that can be adapted into movies, the most common fantasy stories are those cartoons and games that people were impressed with in their childhood. Whether it is cartoons or games, Japan is one of the few regions that can be compared with the United States.
If it is games, there is Resident Evil, the world's most influential post-apocalyptic game. There is the well-known Steampunk Final Fantasy, the vampire classic game Castlevania, and other fantasy games that have not yet been born but will appear in the future. There is no shortage of diehard works such as Devil May Cry, Onimusha, and God of War.
As long as the copyrights of these games are bought, they can make a lot of money if they want to adapt them into movies in the future. Of course, Levi can see this benefit.
Moreover, Japan has not only games but also manga.
Of course, Levi knows very well that it is assessed that it is difficult to adapt a movie like Dragon Ball into a film - the scenes of flying and fighting in the whole process are enough to make the technical department daunting.
However, Japanese comics are quite developed, and some are more suitable for movie adaptation: for example, Cameron loves Gunnm, otherwise known as 'Battle Angel Alita,' very much and wants to make it into a film. There are others, such as the sci-fi works of Gundam. For example, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or some other works such as Kim Min's animation that has been 'borrowed' many times by major American directors, or the animation created by Naoki Urasawa. Levi is very interested in the right to adapt "Monster" to a TV series.
Moreover, in addition to these things, Japan also has notable films such as Godzilla and Ultraman... Although Levi is not particularly interested in these things, he also knows the influence of these things.
For these things, a trip to Japan is a must. These works may not be better than those in the United States, but the Japanese share in the game and manga markets gives him enough confidence.
No one in the U.S. is aware of this yet. They were the first to develop Marvel movies in the last few years. After Marvel, Hasbro still has Transformers... These things can probably support the U.S. market for around ten to fifteen years, but later, when people get tired of seeing them, their eyes will always turn to Japan one day.
Levi knew winning these for himself was the most significant gain. It would be difficult for him to win against Spielberg for works such as Transformers. King Kong has a 4% market share in the US cartoon market, and there are not a few people staring at it.
Compared with those, he still looks at Japanese things first, and it is better to plunder Japan's wealth.
Of course, when he came to Japan, he definitely couldn't blatantly say he was here to plan these things. When he came here, he played another banner: he claimed to be here to participate in the Tokyo Film Festival in Japan.
Although Levi didn't have any films to participate in this time: 'The Truman Show' had already been screened in East Asia and did not meet the requirements for participation. Still, the Japanese were very happy since he was willing to come.
The Tokyo Film Festival claims to be the largest in Japan, and theoretically, it is also one of the nine A-level film festivals in the world. However, there are differences between these A-levels, and the three major film festivals in Europe are A-level film festivals.
Although Levi may not care, he admits these film festivals have some weight. However, although the Tokyo Film Festival is known as the largest film festival in East Asia, its weight is really not heavy.
For such a film festival, Levi came to Japan in advance to prepare, which also excited the Japanese film industry: Over the years, fewer and fewer people have been willing to participate in the Tokyo Film Festival in Japan. Johnny Depp came to Japan last year. It excited them for a while, and Levi's arrival made them extremely happy this year.
Of course, they are also very clear about what Levi is here for, and they are also quite interested in Levi's purpose.
The Japanese have a lot of copyrights and themes for games and comics, but they themselves have gradually fallen behind. The system can't support a platform that turns the two-dimensional world into three dimensions.
The live-action comics and movies they adapted by themselves can only be described as horrible.
The film company responsibility system has stifled the creativity of the film staff, the social system with distinct classes makes it difficult for directors to rise to the top, and the low income makes it better for actors to act in TV dramas.
The Japanese film industry has gradually declined. Without the film industry, it is too difficult for the comics and game industries to surpass the United States.
Their good ideas will sooner or later be sold to Hollywood. And now, Levi came here to explore the way, and he is naturally quite welcome.
This business can be a win-win situation.
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
Cherif Doghri
Scott DePaepe
MMMCMXCIX, or 3,999
Britanna
Mandy G
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