Chapter 623 A Sure-Win Business
Lin Weimin saw the surprise in Xu Feng's eyes. Seeing her sitting there with a confused look on her face, Lin Weimin could roughly guess what she was thinking.
When Ms. Yang invested in the production of "The Lover", it won awards in Cannes and Hong Kong and had good box office performance. Logically, there should be a good basis for cooperation. She also has a strong desire to invest in the production of "Farewell My Concubine". In fact, it is not a bad idea to cooperate again.
But the key issue is that Ms. Yang’s financial strength is too weak.
"Farewell My Concubine" is in the first tier in terms of fame and sales among Lin Weimin's works. If it is to be adapted into a movie, it must be aimed at both awards and box office success. Excellent production is the foundation. Even if the investment in art films is not high, it is not something that Ms. Yang can handle.
Compared with Ms. Yang, Xu Feng is much stronger.
In fact, from a purely financial perspective, Hollywood is the best choice for cooperation.
In 1989, when "The Last Emperor" won the Oscars, Lin Weimin's novels and scripts were once sought after by Hollywood. However, faced with many cooperation invitations from companies, Lin Weimin was not tempted and only gave the adaptation rights of "The Intouchables" and "Life is Beautiful" to Spielberg.
These two works themselves have foreign backgrounds, and Spielberg is a well-known player with stable output, so Lin Weimin felt very confident in handing these two works to him.
As for other works, Lin Weimin had some concerns.
The tragedy of Laurentiis's production of "Taipan" is still vivid in Lin Weimin's mind. Even Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor" had some parts that made Lin Weimin dissatisfied.
It is difficult for Westerners to capture the essence of Eastern things, and Lin Weimin doesn't want his work to end up looking weird.
The appearance of Xu Feng made him see an opportunity. When "Farewell My Concubine" was filmed later, it was she who single-handedly brought in big names such as Cheng Kaige, Zhang Guorong, and Gong Li. She worked hard during the filming of the movie and also did her best to do public relations when participating in various film festivals and award selections.
Whether from the perspective of investors or producers, the results are perfect.
So now that Xu Feng has come to him to ask for the adaptation rights, Lin Weimin also has some willingness to cooperate.
The only problem is the price.
It has been nearly ten years since the publication of "Farewell My Concubine". The total domestic sales have exceeded 5 million copies, and it is also a best-seller in more than 20 countries overseas. The total sales have already exceeded 10 million copies and are moving towards the record of 20 million copies.
It is actually difficult to estimate the value of such a world-class influential work if it were to be adapted into a movie.
Lin Weimin is not short of money now. The funds in his foreign exchange account at the Bank of China have exceeded 100 million US dollars.
If he was only paid for the script, he would not be interested.
"Haha, it seems that Ms. Xu is in a bit of a dilemma." Lin Weimin looked at Xu Feng with a smile.
Xu Feng looked a little embarrassed. She was full of confidence before she came here, and thought that the price she offered was sincere enough. She didn't expect that it was only half of the amount that others paid for their cooperation with Hollywood.
"Mr. Lin, I have to admit that Americans are indeed wealthy. But I think you should also understand that Americans cannot make good Chinese films. Farewell My Concubine is a classic of Chinese literature and has a wide influence around the world.
If this work cannot be filmed by us Chinese, I think it will be a pity for all readers and Chinese people.
If you are not satisfied with the price of the script, we can discuss it again, but..."
Xu Feng looked embarrassed when she said this. She complained, "You should understand. Farewell My Concubine must be shot in the style of an art film, so the investment will not be too high. Before coming here, I had set the investment amount for this film at 4 million US dollars, which is already my limit..."
With an investment of 4 million dollars, the script fee he offered himself was one tenth of the film's investment, which showed great sincerity.
Lin Weimin looked at the pleading expression on Xu Feng's face, and something moved his mind. He said, "Ms. Xu, I think it would be better if I did this. I won't charge for the script. How about a pure profit share instead?"
Xu Feng looked stunned. She had never expected Lin Weimin to make such a suggestion. She stood there for a moment, not knowing how to respond.
Lin Weimin was not in a hurry and gave her plenty of time to think about it.
After a long while, Xu Feng said, "Mr. Lin is very confident in his work!"
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "Rather than saying I have confidence in my own work, it's better to say I have confidence in Ms. Xu. You are the investor and producer of the film. If the film loses money, not only you, but I won't get a penny either."
Xu Feng naturally understood what Lin Weimin meant.
The net profit sharing means that Lin Weimin, the original author, and she, the investor, share the risk. In this way, the investment pressure brought by the high script costs can be avoided, which would squeeze the production costs.
From a filmmaking perspective, this is certainly a very good suggestion.
But Xu Feng is not only the producer, she is also the investor of this film.
"Farewell My Concubine" has been published overseas for many years and has a huge influence. Although it is an art film, making a profit is not a problem at all, and the possibility of making a fortune is not small.
Therefore, Xu Feng dared to set the investment scale at 4 million US dollars at the beginning.
You should know that nowadays the investment in films in the mainland rarely exceeds one million RMB. The Hong Kong film market is booming, and for a big cast and a big production, 20 million Hong Kong dollars is already a very large production.
The 4 million US dollars she set for "Farewell My Concubine" is equivalent to 31 million Hong Kong dollars when converted into Hong Kong dollars. It is a top-notch production in the Hong Kong film industry and a commercial film starring all big stars.
Xu Feng couldn't help but feel a little regretful when she thought of this. If she had known earlier, she should have given Lin Weimin a satisfactory price. At most, she could go back and ask her husband for help and then invest some money in her.
Now, Lin Weimin proposed the idea of sharing the pure profits. If I don’t agree, I will be at a disadvantage.
Xu Feng's mind was working rapidly, weighing the pros and cons.
She knew that since Lin Weimin had proposed a pure profit-sharing method, he would definitely be determined to win. The worst that could happen was that he would refuse to cooperate, and the other party would not suffer any loss, but she would miss out on "Farewell My Concubine", a classic work with unlimited adaptation potential.
After much deliberation, Xu Feng finally made up his mind.
"Since Mr. Lin has such confidence in me, I would be more than happy to receive your help. I just don't know the proportion of the net profit..."
Lin Weimin smiled calmly, "30%!"
Xu Feng couldn't help but lean back when she heard that. For a moment, she really wanted to stand up, slam the door and leave.
30%!
This number is simply too exaggerated. Lin Weimin dares to ask for 30% of the net profit just for publishing an original work.
"Mr. Lin, excuse me, but your request is too outrageous." Xu Feng said in a serious tone.
"Outrageous?" Lin Weimin smiled and shook his head. "Ms. Xu, do you know what the four words 'Farewell My Concubine' mean?"
Xu Feng's face froze. She understood what Lin Weimin meant.
Given the influence that "Farewell My Concubine" has created overseas over the years, as soon as the filming of the movie is announced, it will inevitably attract the attention of countless readers.
You should know that even according to conservative estimates, there are tens of millions of readers of "Farewell My Concubine" worldwide. These readers are very likely to be converted into the film's most solid audience, which is the basic box office base of the film.
"Ms. Xu, let me be frank. If I agree to your film adaptation rights for Farewell My Concubine today, and you finish the crew tomorrow and hold a press conference to announce the start of filming, you don't even need to release a trailer. Selling the distribution rights will be enough to make back your investment!"
When Lin Weimin said this, his eyes were arrogant and full of confidence.
Xu Feng couldn't help but say, "Since Mr. Lin thinks that Farewell My Concubine is a sure-win business, why not prepare this movie yourself?"
Facing her slightly sarcastic words, Lin Weimin was not angry at all and said, "It takes too much energy to invest and produce a movie. I have a job and I have to write on the side, so I am too busy."
After answering Xu Feng's question, Lin Weimin said, "Ms. Xu, you may think that the commission I want to give you is very high. But I can tell you responsibly that even if you invite ten big stars, they can't compare to the influence of the work "Farewell My Concubine" itself."
"Mr. Lin, your number is too insincere. I invested real money in making the movie, but you are just sitting back and reaping the benefits." Xu Feng said with some frustration.
"Ms. Xu, business is a matter of mutual consent. If you think my conditions are too much, just pretend I never said anything." Lin Weimin said with a smile.
Xu Feng stared at Lin Weimin steadily, trying to find a flaw in his eyes, but Lin Weimin's eyes were calm and his expression was composed, with no intention of backing down at all.
She couldn't help but feel a little angry, and said sarcastically, "Are all writers so fussy?"
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "It's still a little bit worse than you businessmen."
After saying this, Lin Weimin didn't wait for Xu Feng to speak again, and said: "How about this, to express my sincerity, how about I raise some more investment for Ms. Xu?"
"Attract investment?" Xu Feng looked puzzled.
"Attracting some investment from Hollywood will be beneficial for participating in film festivals and distributing films in the future. What do you think of my proposal, Ms. Xu?"
Xu Feng was silent, and an expression of careful consideration appeared on his face again.
"Mr. Lin, since you can attract investment from Hollywood, why don't you give Farewell My Concubine to them?"
"You just said that Americans can't make Chinese movies well. Wouldn't it be a waste of talent to give my novel to them? Although I said I would attract investment from Hollywood for you, the production of the movie is still mainly up to you."
Xu Feng nodded when he heard this. Now everything made sense.
No wonder Farewell My Concubine is so famous, but has not been adapted into a film. No wonder Lin Weimin has the ability to invest and produce on his own, but has not taken any action.
She knew that Lin Weimin also needed a reliable and dedicated partner.
After figuring this out, Xu Feng felt more confident.
"10%!" Xu Feng spoke suddenly and almost broke Lin Weimin's bone.
"Ms. Xu, you must be joking. 10% is impossible."
"12%, Mr. Lin, I am very sincere."
"Ms. Xu, you need to be sincere when doing business. Farewell My Concubine is different from a commercial film. It does not require a large investment. Its film adaptation is completely supported by the fame of the work."
"15%, no more, you are just producing a script."
(End of this chapter)
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