Chapter 399 It’s time to test the cadres
Lin Weimin used the original English book to test the cadres, and it was obvious that Comrade Lao Cheng did not stand the test and was hit in his soft spot.
After coming out of Cheng Zaochun’s office, Lin Weimin went back to the office and fished for a long time. He ran away early in the afternoon and came to the Bank of China.
He has been waiting for half a month for the big red envelope that Yang Meng wired to him but has not yet received it. The amount of the red envelope is not much for Lin Weimin, only 100,000 Hong Kong dollars.
But from the perspective of the boss Yang Meng, it is generous enough. After all, the main creators of the crew are not just Lin Weimin.
Including the previous script fee of 200,000, the movie script of "The Lover" brought Lin Weimin an income of 300,000 Hong Kong dollars.
This income is certainly not comparable to the income from overseas publication of novels or Broadway performances of plays, but in terms of the royalties from film scripts alone, it is already very generous.
After all, Lin Weimin wrote a 60-episode series "The Legend of Female Doctor" for TVB and CCTV. The two companies negotiated for a long time before giving him a fee of 300,000 Hong Kong dollars.
In comparison, writing scripts for Broadway is actually quite blissful.
It is a real loss, but if you make money, it will be a huge profit.
After converting 100,000 Hong Kong dollars into Japanese yen and depositing it into the account, Lin Weimin now has a foreign exchange balance of 625 million Japanese yen in his account, which is about 4.28 million US dollars when converted into rice.
Since September last year, the Japanese yen has appreciated sharply, and the appreciation rate has reached 60% so far.
Teacher Lin made a net profit of nearly 3 million US dollars with tears in his eyes, just like picking up money.
The previous investment in "The Phantom of the Opera" was a huge loss for Lin Weimin, but from an investment perspective it was also a good thing. After all, so much money would be dead if it was kept in the bank, and money would only create value if it were to flow.
In the foreseeable future, the appreciation of the Japanese yen is still inevitable. It is estimated that soon, Mr. Lin will earn back the 1.92 million that he invested in "The Phantom of the Opera" in this way.
After coming out of the bank, Lin Weimin drove to the high-rise building in Muxidi.
Mr. Wan and his wife were very surprised to see Lin Weimin. "When did you return to China?"
"I just came back yesterday." Lin Weimin replied, and saw Wan Fang in the living room, "Oh, Senior Sister is here too!"
"What? I can't come yet?"
"Look at what you said, that's not what I meant." Lin Weimin walked into the house and put the gift box he was carrying on the coffee table in the living room, "Thank goodness I brought more, otherwise there wouldn't be enough to share."
Wan Fang glared at him when she heard this, and then her eyes were attracted by the gifts on the coffee table. "What are these?"
"Why don't you just open it and take a look?"
Lin Weimin started to unpack the gifts he brought. The gifts were nothing special. They were a few vinyl records given to Mr. Wan, which Lin Weimin bought from a second-hand bookstore. Mr. Wan had a record player at home.
"You are caring about the people!" Mr. Wan said with a smile.
This gift is not expensive, but it is thoughtful.
As for the gifts for Li Yuru and Wan Fang, they were all bought by Lin Weimin at high prices from department stores, spending several hundred dollars, and the two of them liked them very much.
Wan Fang had a smile on her face, "You're really thoughtful!"
During dinner, Mr. Wan asked Lin Weimin about his experiences and observations in the United States, and Lin Weimin told him some of the important ones.
Hearing Lin Weimin talk about the grand spectacle on Broadway every night, Wan Fang couldn't help but be fascinated.
“It’s such a blessing to be doing drama there!”
Lin Weimin shook his head, "Senior sister, you only saw the thief eating the meat, but you didn't see the thief being beaten."
"On Broadway, whether it's a musical or a play, the investment is often hundreds of thousands or millions, and not even one out of five productions will make a profit. Even if the response is good, there are still fixed expenses after the performance. It's not easy to cover the initial investment!
On Broadway, a work is considered long-lived if it can be performed for more than half a year, and only a few works can really make money.
The US is different from us, all investments are made by individuals or private companies, so if you lose money, you will lose everything!"
Wan Fang was a little shocked by Lin Weimin's words. They sounded scary. She had not expected that the glamorous Broadway was so cruel.
Domestic cultural institutions are all funded by the government, and everyone has never worried about money. Suddenly hearing about the United States' completely market economy seems like a fantasy.
But she hadn't heard anything even more cruel yet. Lin Weimin told Wan Fang about the status of the low-level actors in Broadway. These people might not even get a minor role in a year. Many of them lived in the cheapest apartments and couldn't even guarantee three meals a day.
The worst off are the lower-level screenwriters, some of whom can even afford to pick up scraps.
Wan Fang felt a little uncomfortable listening to this, "What are they doing this for?"
"Some people come for their ideals, some for fame and fortune. But in a place like Broadway, where success comes at the expense of thousands of others, it's not easy to make a name for yourself."
Mr. Wan and his daughter sighed for a few words, and Wan Fang said, "So you are quite lucky."
"Can't it be just strength?" Lin Weimin said proudly.
Wan Fang looked at him and said, "Okay, you have some strength."
Lin Weimin didn't argue with her and said, "It's a combination of luck and strength, but the main reason is Comrade Lao Mi's strength and connections."
Mr. Wan nodded and said, "It's best if you think so. Don't think that this kind of success is completely based on your own strength and be complacent."
"How could that be? This time Arthur Miller asked me to invest in The Kite Runner and I didn't even do it."
"Why?" Wan Fang asked.
“Although this play is my original work, it is entirely due to Arthur Miller that it was introduced to the United States. He not only participated in the scriptwriting, but also served as the producer and investor, and also contributed his own connections and influence.
I have received enough share now, and our current cooperation model is also very good. I don't want to create a rift between us because of that little profit. He invited me to invest, maybe he was sincere, or he might just be pretending. Since I can't figure out his purpose, I simply don't get involved in this matter. "
After Lin Weimin finished speaking, Mr. Wan nodded repeatedly, "It is indeed mature. Given Arthur Miller's influence in the American drama world, he has made an indelible contribution to the success of the work. You are far-sighted to think this way!"
Lin Weimin was beaming with joy at Mr. Wan's praise, but Wan Fang teased him, "Oh my, it seems that those tens of millions of dollars are just a drop in the ocean in your eyes. Dad, you still said he wasn't arrogant..."
The atmosphere at the table was harmonious.
After dinner, Lin Weimin was about to leave, but Wan Fang held him back.
"You haven't read the drama 'Legend of a Female Doctor' that you wrote yet, have you? It's being broadcast on CCTV right now!"
After hearing what she said, Lin Weimin stayed.
The TV series "The Female Doctor" broadcast by CCTV and TVB share the same editing version, but the dubbing is different, one is in Cantonese and the other is in Mandarin, corresponding to their respective audiences.
The broadcasting efficiency of CCTV is a little slower than that of TVB. It has only aired 15 episodes so far, but the sensational effect it has produced has gradually become apparent.
Lin Weimin chatted with Mr. Wan's family and learned that after the recent broadcast of "The Female Doctor" on CCTV, fewer neighbors went out for walks and entertainment, and every household waited in front of the TV every night to watch "The Female Doctor".
According to Wan Fang, "Television News" published content related to "The Legend of Female Doctor" for three consecutive days.
After watching two episodes of the TV series, the quality of "Legend of Female Doctor" was praised by Mr. Wan. Lin Weimin happily left the Muxidi executives.
The next day, Guowen Society.
Lin Weimin was at work when Wang Shuo came in with a depressed look on his face.
"The Troublemakers" was published in "Contemporary" at the beginning of this month. At first, Wang Shuo was quite happy, after all, it was published in "Contemporary"!
Unfortunately, his happiness only lasted a few days before the reaction from newspapers and readers came and he was scolded harshly.
Of course, there are some who praise him. Some readers also wrote to praise him, but compared with the criticism, it is not as good as others.
Wang Shuo came to the editorial office a few days ago and had a conversation with the editors. He said that this situation is just the beginning, and the highlight will come after a month or two when various literary review magazines come out.
If you ask those critics to say a few good words about a work, they won't be interested, but if you ask them to say something bad about it, hey, then they won't be interested anymore.
Today's Wang Shuo has not yet evolved into the "literary scoundrel" he later became. His previous works did not have a particularly great influence and were mostly well received. He had never experienced this kind of thing, so he was a little confused for a while.
Lin Weimin couldn't help with this matter, so he could only say, "What are you worrying about? Our magazine has been criticized, what did I say?"
After chatting for a while, Wang Shuo also came to his senses. "Anyway, if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. This is what you, Contemporary Magazine, are going to publish."
"You are such a bastard!" Lin Weimin said contemptuously.
Wang Shuo smiled shamelessly and left the editorial office without caring about his relatives.
In the afternoon, Qin Chaoyang found Lin Weimin and said that the Writers Association planned to lend people to the publishing house, and the publishing house planned to publish from "Contemporary".
"What does the Cultural Association want to do with these people?" Lin Weimin asked.
"They said that China was going to revise its edition, so they borrowed someone to deal with the emergency."
"China" is a literary magazine founded last year. It is the first "privately-run, government-aided" magazine in China. It is obviously a response to the government's decision at the end of 1985 that publications should be responsible for their own profits and losses.
Lin Weimin couldn't help but complain: "If you can't afford to run a magazine, then don't run it! They borrowed people from us, and we have to pay their salaries. It's a nice thought to work for them!"
"Be careful with your words!" Qin Chaoyang reminded.
Lin Weimin glared, "What are you afraid of? Can the Literary Association control our Chinese Literature Society?"
"Comrade Lao Tan, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but can't you resist the leader's orders?"
Qin Chaoyang had a look of disgrace on his face, "I'm already retired..."
Lin Weimin was helpless. Even though Lao Tan was the director, Lin Weimin could say very responsibly that he was the "rotten apple", "stinky fish" and "a very small individual" in the editorial department of Contemporary Magazine.
It’s okay for a soldier to lie down, but what about you, a leader, lying down?
Especially this time after coming back from the United States, I don’t know if it’s because Lao Meng retired, but Lao Qin has been lying down even more.
Apart from reviewing manuscripts every day, I don't do anything else.
Lin Weimin was very depressed.
I also want to be such a director!
"You are the director, if you don't tell others, who will?"
Lao Tan continued to play badly, "Oh, no, my heart is not feeling well recently, I can't get angry."
"You are really great!" Lin Weimin sighed helplessly and stood up from his chair.
"Where are you going?" Qin Chaoyang asked knowingly.
"What else can we do? Go ask Old Cheng for an explanation!" Lin Weimin said unhappily.
After saying this, he left the office.
Comrade Lao Tan looked at Lin Weimin's back, humming a little tune, and returned to the office leisurely.
Young people are full of complaints when they do some work. Isn't this a great training opportunity?
It's time to test you!
(End of this chapter)
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