Chapter 548: Take a Ride in Your Mercedes-Benz Again
Lin Weimin has had many interactions with the domestic film and television circles in recent years. The spy war trilogy was all made into TV series. The royalties were not much, mainly because he was not so famous at the time and wanted to expand his popularity.
But he never really paid attention to this aspect, and the reason is very simple: it is really not profitable to work in the film and television industry these days!
To make a TV series of the level of "Dream of Red Mansions", the investment is only a few million. The key is that it is not a market economy, so even the investment cannot be recovered, and it is purely for publicity.
It's like this with television, and movies aren't much better.
The film studios have monopolized most of the resources and make money entirely by selling copies. How can they make any money?
Not to mention that in the next two years there will be many negative factors such as piracy, box office theft, and a sharp drop in audience traffic.
How can he be as happy as he is doing writing work? He just writes whatever he wants in his own small piece of land. Others only ask him for favors, but he never asks others for favors.
After writing a novel, you can easily earn a million dollars in royalties. You can make money without doing anything. Isn’t that great?
Of course everyone knows that it is good to make money this way, but unfortunately no one has the ability like Lin Weimin.
Even someone as popular as Wang Shuo, with sales of his works climbing steadily and one novel after another being adapted, cannot match the achievements of Lin Weimin.
Without various overseas publications, awards and adaptations, the works can only be confined to the domestic market. It is difficult to make big money before the domestic market is cultivated.
Of course, this huge sum of money is compared with Lin Weimin’s income.
Many people actually don’t have such high ambitions. Take Wang Shuo for example. He is so happy that he doesn’t know what to do if he can make tens of thousands of dollars from the publication and adaptation of his works.
For example, do Zhang Yimou or Jiang Wen want to make a lot of money by making movies? Maybe they will think so after they find out that they can really make a lot of money, but at least in the initial stage, their hearts are more focused on their love for movies.
Jiang Wen's talent in movies is obvious to all. As an actor, he took away the director's work and even made him cry. Do you think he has a high talent?
Right, Sixth Director?
However, his style is a bit similar to Kaizi's. He likes to be imaginative and especially likes to smuggle personal ideas. He also likes to burn film. Like the King of Sunglasses, he is very good at squandering money and is a master at defrauding investors.
If Lin Weimin were asked to invest, he would never do it, unless the movie he was shooting was "Let the Bullets Fly".
But if it comes to helping him get investment, Lin Weimin would be happy to help. After all, people in Hollywood are stupid and have a lot of money. They invest all over the world and attract talented filmmakers from all over the world.
A phone call came to Michael Phillips, and the first sentence he said was: "Mike, I want to introduce you to a genius!"
Don't worry about whether it's true or not, this is what Lao Mi likes. If you sing in a higher tone, he will think you are joking with him.
Teacher Lin still has some weight in Michael Phillips's eyes. After hearing what he said, Michael Phillips immediately became interested.
After listening to Lin Weimin's introduction of Jiang Wen's situation, he hesitated, "Lin, do you really think he can switch from being an actor to being a director?"
"Mike, you will know after you talk to him. He may not be the most talented director, but he is definitely the director with the most personal characteristics."
Lin Weimin's words completely aroused Michael Phillips' interest in Jiang Wen. Hollywood has never lacked talented directors, but directors with personal characteristics have always been scarce.
"Since you said so, I must meet him."
"How about I ask him to fly to the United States to meet you?"
"Okay, it's settled then."
After talking about investment, Michael Phillips chatted with Lin Weimin for a while.
"Lin, have you heard? The Godfather 3 has started filming. I heard from Ivy that you once suggested to Frank that he make a sequel."
Michael Phillips' tone was somewhat gloating, and the Ivy he was referring to was Woody Allen.
When Lin Weimin was in New York last year, he went to visit Woody Allen's film set with Arthur Miller and happened to meet Francis Ford Coppola, the director of "The Godfather". He went to discuss filming issues with Woody Allen.
When several people were chatting on the set, Lin Weimin and Francis Ford Coppola mentioned "The Godfather 3". Francis Ford Coppola was very stubborn and said that the story of "The Godfather" had ended and he would not make a sequel.
This wave of slaps in the face really came too quickly. It has only been a year since Lin Weimin said this, and Francis Ford Coppola has already made his move.
Michael Phillips talked to Lin Weimin about what he knew about the details of "The Godfather 3".
Francis Ford Coppola had been in financial difficulties since the second half of last year. At this time, Paramount reached out to him and offered him a generous reward if he could continue filming "The Godfather".
As the director and producer of the film, Francis Ford Coppola can earn up to $2 million, and Paramount is willing to invest $56 million to shoot a new "Godfather" movie.
Faced with such favorable conditions, Francis Ford Coppola, who was in the midst of an economic vortex, found it difficult to refuse. He consulted with Mario, the original author of "The Godfather", and made a "The Death of Michael Corleone", in which the character played by Al Pacino in the previous film, the second generation Godfather.
After the two took the script to Paramount, Paramount simply gave the script a crude name "The Godfather 3" and officially launched the project.
Francis Ford Coppola had to accept Paramount's operation and was now working diligently on the Hollywood set to shoot a movie.
After chatting about some gossip, Lin Weimin hung up the phone.
After Lin Weimin finished his phone call with Michael Phillips, he immediately called Jiang Wen and introduced Michael Phillips' situation to him. Jiang Wen was ecstatic.
He didn't know Michael Phillips, but he had seen the movies he produced. He was a big producer in Hollywood.
"The Sting", "Taxi Driver" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" are all movies that Jiang Wen has watched when he was watching internal reference films.
Michael Phillips is a very prestigious producer in Hollywood and has connections in several major production companies. As long as he is interested in Jiang Wenla, it will not be a problem to get him to invest in a movie.
When he heard that Michael Phillips wanted to meet him, Jiang Wen was happy to do so, even though it would require a lot of trouble to go to the United States.
Since the other party has agreed to meet, it proves that he is definitely willing to give you a chance. The question is whether you can seize it.
Jiang Wen couldn't help but sigh, Teacher Lin is really the most prestigious!
Just yesterday he and Wang Shuo went to Teacher Lin's house to ask for help, and today Teacher Lin found a big Hollywood producer for him.
With Mr. Lin’s connections, it would be a shame if he didn’t work in Hollywood!
Thinking of this, Jiang Wen laughed again. Teacher Lin is not involved in Hollywood, but there are also legends about Teacher Lin in Hollywood!
Jiang Wen answered Lin Weimin's call and appeared at Lin Weimin's house again within half an hour, with Wang Shuo by his side.
"Teacher Lin, thank you so much!"
"For the people, thank you!"
After the two men thanked Lin Weimin, Lin Weimin briefly explained to Jiang Wen about Michael Phillips' character, and Jiang Wen arranged to treat Lin Weimin to a meal.
Lin Weimin declined politely, "I won't go to the dinner. You should thank him if you want to thank him."
Jiang Wen immediately understood what Lin Weimin meant, and he had to remember this favor to Wang Shuo.
"You two are both my benefactors!" Jiang Wen said.
Wang Shuo said, "Come on, stop flattering me. Weimin didn't help you just for this meal. Think about how to impress Mike later."
Lin Weimin also said: "Yes, I just created an opportunity for you. If you want to successfully obtain the investment, it depends on whether you can impress Mike."
Jiang Wen's expression became serious, "Teacher Lin, I understand."
A few days later, Lin Weimin went to the hospital in the evening after get off work.
At the end of last year, Rong Shihui was diagnosed with lung cancer. His family did not dare tell him the test results and kept it secret from him.
In the past six months, his health condition has been deteriorating and he could no longer hide it. He had just had surgery some time ago. Lin Weimin got the news from Meng Weizai.
After these days, Rong Shihui's health has recovered and he is very happy to see Lin Weimin.
"You're still thinking of me and knowing to come and see me!"
In half a year, Rong Shihui lost at least 30 kilograms and looked emaciated. Lin Weimin felt uncomfortable seeing this.
When Rong Shihui's eldest son brought him some chicken soup, Rong Shihui frowned and complained, "The smell of this makes me want to vomit."
"It's to strengthen your physique. You are fighting the disease now. Even if you don't want to eat, you have to force it into your mouth. Only when your body is strong can you defeat this disease." Lin Weimin comforted.
Everyone can talk about big principles, but only when illness strikes can one feel the real pain.
Lin Weimin watched Rong Shihui take two bites and spit out one, and after struggling to eat for a long time, he put down the chicken soup before he even finished one fifth of it.
After eating, Rong Shihui chatted with Lin Weimin for a while.
His physical condition is not very good, but his spirit is still optimistic.
But as I was talking, I couldn't help but feel a little depressed.
"Oh, I really don't know how long I can hold on."
Lin Weimin said: "As long as I can survive chemotherapy, I will definitely live a few more years."
Rong Shihui laughed, "The doctor told me the same thing. They say chemotherapy is effective, and I think it does work a little, except that it causes hair loss."
As he spoke, he grabbed a handful of hair on his head. There was a pile of hair in his palm. Then he looked at the top of his head and found that his hair had already become sparse and was not as thick as before.
"You're so old now, so don't be so conceited. Just save your life." Lin Weimin joked.
Rong Shihui laughed and said, "You're right, just save your life."
After laughing, he sighed again, "I used to think that I was old and retired, and I could let go of everything, but when it came to the moment of life and death, I was still afraid of death!"
"There is great terror between life and death. If everyone could see through life and death after they turn sixty, there wouldn't be so much pain of separation in this world."
Rong Shihui looked at him with a smile, "Okay, now your awareness is getting higher and higher."
"I'm just a beginner, I still have a lot to learn from you!"
The two chatted and laughed for a while, and Rong Shihui felt much better.
After chatting for a while, seeing that he looked a little tired, Lin Weimin said goodbye.
Before leaving, Rong Shihui held Lin Weimin's hand.
Lin Weimin said: "I will come to see you again in two days."
"You're so busy at work, so don't come. Come pick me up on the day I'm discharged from the hospital. I'll ride in your Mercedes-Benz again."
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "Okay."
(End of this chapter)
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