On the seventh day of the Cannes Film Festival, Chinese director Zhang Yimou and the main creative team of house of flying daggers appeared at the Cannes Film Festival to promote the film.
Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi, and Takeshi Kaneshiro, the three lead actors, walked the red carpet with Zhang Yimou.
Standing behind the red carpet, Charles was accompanied by Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, two executives from Sony Pictures Classics.
"Charles, long time no see. It seems Capet Pictures is really going to distribute films itself," Michael Barker said with a smile.
Charles touched his clean-shaven chin and replied with a smile, "Capet Pictures distributing its own films is also a way to open up more paths!"
He then looked at Tom Bernard and continued, "It seems Sony Pictures Classics has a lot of ideas for this Chinese kung fu film, right?"
"Charles, everyone says you have good taste, and now even you've come in person. It seems we have another competitor this time!" Tom Bernard also spoke.
"Are there many competitors? Miramax showed no sincerity last time. Do they still have a chance this time?"
Charles asked intentionally.
Tom Bernard shook his head, "Miramax's position in the independent film industry is too high. Many foreigners regard it as a god-like existence!"
He even deliberately spread his hands, indicating that the biggest competitor was still Miramax.
"I saw him yesterday at a film promotion banquet, but I'm not familiar with him," Charles said, shaking his head. Harvey Weinstein was truly in his element in Europe.
The European independent film industry allowed him to roam freely, and various actresses were basically at his beck and call.
The prices of films traded at the film festival were generally not too high, because films with higher costs usually already had funding from distributors.
Just like Hero, the European and American distribution rights had already been sold before it was even finished filming, and the Japanese market rights for house of flying daggers had also been sold.
Now that house of flying daggers came to Cannes, with the director having the endorsement of Hero, he had some negotiation power on the price.
"However, we at Sony are confident. We were the first to enter the Chinese film market and participated in the investment of many Chinese films. We have always attached great importance to the Chinese market," Michael Barker said.
Charles glanced at him and smiled, "Isn't that just Sony trying to sell electronics in China?"
"Alright, they're coming over!" Charles said, reminding them that they had finished walking the red carpet.
"Hi, Zhang!" Tom Bernard warmly shook hands with the director.
"Hello!"
Charles also walked over and smiled, "Long time no see, Director Zhang!"
His fluent Chinese surprised everyone present except Zhang Yimou.
Especially Tom Bernard and Michael Barker, whose mouths were wide open. How could this be?
After Zhang Yimou shook hands with Charles, he introduced him to the lead actors Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi, and Takeshi Kaneshiro, saying, "This is Mr. Charles Capet, whom I met when Hero participated in the Golden Globe Awards. He is also the owner of Capet Pictures in Hollywood, and he speaks very fluent Chinese!"
Charles then met the lead actors. Seeing Andy Lau in a traditional Chinese long gown, he was indeed strikingly handsome.
"Mr. Lau, I've seen many of your films, and that script for infernal affairs is the one I bought and plan to remake!" Charles said with a smile.
Andy Lau was also surprised, and Zhang Yimou added, "Mr. Capet's Chinese is very good, but you need to speak Mandarin, as he learned Putonghua."
"So Mr. Capet is so young. At the time, I heard that it was Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro who wanted to buy the script for a remake, and I only found out when Media Asia released the announcement," Andy Lau replied with a smile. A foreigner who speaks Chinese is always more approachable than one who speaks a foreign language, isn't he?
"Brad Pitt did compete with me, but I got the script. Now he's helping me film a movie," Charles said humorously!
"Charles, the movie is about to start. We can chat slowly at the party tonight!" Tom Bernard, seeing Charles chatting so animatedly in Chinese, began to remind him.
"Charles, let's go in!" Zhang Yimou also said with a smile.
Charles nodded and followed everyone into the theater to watch the movie.
In the theater, Zhang Ziyi, sitting next to Zhang Yimou, asked, "Director Zhang, is that Mr. Capet the one who helped with ideas for Hero before?"
At this question, even Andy Lau on the other side listened intently. Zhang Yimou smiled, "That's right. At that time, he specifically sought out Mr. Bill Kong and came to our crew, saying he wanted to meet Chinese filmmakers."
"You can tell that although he is young, he has a great fondness for Chinese culture and knows quite a bit. That fluent Chinese alone can say a lot."
Andy Lau asked, "Director Zhang, that young man, Mr. Charles Capet, seems very interested in our film too? Can he handle American distribution?"
Zhang Yimou shook his head and smiled, "I'm not sure about the specifics, but I heard that Capet Pictures wants to do its own distribution. He invested in the passion of the christ, which was recently released in Europe."
"Capet Pictures has a very good eye for the commercialization of films!"
The distribution rights for house of flying daggers were handled by a specialist from New Picture Film, and Zhang Yimou only needed to cooperate with the promotion of his film.
Zhang Ziyi said with some envy, "That Mr. Capet is so young, I can't believe he's already the owner of a film company!"
The visual aesthetics of house of flying daggers were beautiful, but the storyline was indeed quite inferior. The exquisite selection of outdoor locations, the beautiful set designs, and the masterful use of color were all advantages.
However, the plot was weak, a tragic love story between one woman and two men; the actors' performances also seemed to be subpar, and more importantly, the fight scenes were far inferior to those in Hero.
The success of Hero, followed by the production of house of flying daggers, was not a good choice. Foreigners, seeing this type of film for the first time, entered the cinema with a sense of novelty.
house of flying daggers also could not compare to its predecessor, Hero, in terms of storyline. The significant difference in box office seems understandable.
In another row, Tom Bernard and Michael Barker of Sony Pictures Classics were also discussing acquiring the North American rights for house of flying daggers.
"We paid 9 million US dollars for the Japanese distribution rights. For the North American market, I don't think it should exceed 15 million US dollars!" Michael Barker said.
"We'll go talk tonight. They will definitely sell the distribution rights within these three days. Let's see how much the interested companies bid," Tom Bernard replied.
After speaking, he glanced at Charles Capet, who was sitting not far away, watching the movie intently.