Chapter 693: Lao Mai, it’s me who harmed you!
Jiang Wen's words made everyone present burst into laughter, and the scene turned into a sea of joy, but his face was serious.
"Leslie Cheung's performance was good, and my Cheng Dieyi was also good, and was very popular on all the campuses of Yenching University."
The more seriously he spoke, the more everyone laughed.
Jiang Wen didn't care. After everyone had finished laughing, he continued, "I've said so much. Actually, everyone should have guessed who I want to thank."
When he said this, many domestic filmmakers at the scene turned their eyes to Lin Weimin, who was sitting in the front row of the screening room.
"Teacher Lin Weimin!" Jiang Wen solemnly waved his hand in the direction where Lin Weimin was sitting. "When 'Sunny Days' was just an idea in my mind, it was he who introduced me to investor Mike, who used 2 million dollars to help me realize my dream. It was because of his help that the movie 'Sunny Days' was made!"
After Jiang Wen’s introduction, it would be a bit impolite for Lin Weimin not to stand up.
He stood up, walked calmly to the stage, and hugged Jiang Wen.
Lin Weimin took the microphone from Jiang Wen and said, "When Jiang Wen was tinkering with the play Farewell My Concubine, I was sitting in the audience. He begged me to go on stage to cheer him on. After so many years, I have improved and he can call on me to go on stage."
There was a sudden uproar in the audience, and everyone burst into laughter.
Lin Weimin went on to say, "To be frank, I recommended this movie to the jury. We Chinese have a saying that goes, 'select the best regardless of their relationship.' I think everyone has seen 'Sunny Days', and I hope I didn't disappoint you."
When he said this, there was immediate applause from the audience.
This applause was for both him and "Sunny Days". Jiang Wen has conquered most of the filmmakers present with his outstanding talent.
After a pause and the applause stopped, Lin Weimin spoke again: "The opening film has been played. Starting tomorrow, all the participating films will meet all filmmakers and audiences. Here I sincerely hope that the selected works of the film festival will be loved by everyone. At the same time, I also hope that the Shanghai International Film Festival can get better and better and become a benchmark film festival in China and even Asia."
After the brief speech, applause broke out again.
Lin Weimin is a very sensible person. Jiang Wen is the protagonist tonight and he will not steal his limelight.
After the crew's communication lasted for more than half an hour, the solemn and warm opening ceremony finally ended.
The screening room was crowded, but orderly, and everyone left in an orderly manner.
Lin Weimin and other judges left first and met Tian Congming from the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television and Teng Jinxian from the Film Bureau in the small conference room on the fourth floor of Shanghai Cinema.
The two of them also attended the opening ceremony that just ended, but there was not much communication between them. Now, the two of them expressed their gratitude to several judges on behalf of the national film department.
Lin Weimin greeted the two of them familiarly. Everyone was laughing and no one mentioned what had happened before.
After chatting for a while, Tian Congming and Teng Jinxian went to the fifth floor, where film and television production companies from various countries gathered.
In any film festival, the transaction of film copyrights is an activity that is as important as awards.
No matter how well a film festival is organized, it is all in vain if the copyrights of the films participating in the festival cannot be sold.
A total of 22 domestic and foreign production organizations participated in the first Shanghai International Film Festival, which was not easy for a new film festival. Except for domestic production studios, the rest were all guests of honor of the film festival and naturally had to be treated well.
When Lin Weimin and others came out of the Shanghai Cinema, it was almost 12 o'clock in the evening.
Many excited movie fans can be seen around the Shanghai Cinema. This is the first time for Shanghai, and even for the country, to host such an international film festival, so Lin Weimin can fully understand the feelings of this group of moviegoers.
As the night deepened, everyone's excitement gradually subsided, replaced by physical fatigue.
The next few days will be hard.
The film festival is a hard and glorious journey for all the staff, but for ordinary movie fans, these eight days are a feast that is rare in a lifetime.
In addition to the 24 participating films, the remaining 143 films that were not shortlisted for the main competition unit were also qualified for screening.
The film festival also plans to screen domestic masterpieces such as "Big Scatter", "A Tale of Two Cities", "Sanmao Joins the Army", "Swordsman 2", "Old Dreams at Sea" and "The Last Airbender".
In addition, many special film screenings are also prepared. For example, the Shanghai film special includes "Goddess", "Thousands of Lights", "Spring in a Small Town", "Lin Zexu" and other films, and the Oliver Stone film special includes "Born on the Fourth of July", "JFK", "Salvador", "South Center" and other films.
The Shanghai International Film Festival held six special sessions like this, namely, the Shanghai Film Special, the Alain Resnais Film Special, the Xie Jin Film Special, a Glimpse of Zhang Yimou's Films, the Oliver Stone Film Special, and the Oshima Nagisa Film Special.
According to the organizing committee, the first Shanghai International Film Festival will screen 574 films.
In the few days after the opening, Lin Weimin followed the footsteps of the jury, watching movies or attending activities every day. He had to get up at six in the morning and go to bed at twelve at night, thanks to the fact that the film festival lasted only eight days.
On the other hand, the other members of the jury, except Xu Ke, a middle-aged man who was a few years older than Lin Weimin, were all old comrades. As we all know, old comrades sleep less, and they were all full of energy, which made the young Lin Weimin feel ashamed.
The film festival entered its fourth day. During the busy film-watching tour, Lin Weimin and other judges attended a cocktail party.
Cocktail parties are very common events at film festivals, and they are social occasions for all parties attending the film festival.
Some are held by film festival organizers, some are held by production companies, and some are held by investment companies...
This was the first time the Shanghai International Film Festival was held, and we were very restrained in hosting the cocktail party. We would have had to be restrained, as the budget was tight.
Today's cocktail party is hosted by the organizing committee, mainly to connect the participating films with the major production companies that come to conduct copyright transactions.
At the cocktail party, Zhang Yimou and Jiang Wen became the focus of attention and pursuit of many production companies.
There is no need to mention Zhang Yimou. In six years, he has won a Golden Bear Award, a Golden Lion Award, and a Silver Lion Award. It can be said that he has swept the three major European film festivals. Looking around the world, such an award-winning director is rare.
Jiang Wen started out as an actor, and his first work after switching to directing, "Sunny Days," won the Silver Lion Award. You should know that his opponent this year was "Blue of the Blue, White and Red Trilogy."
Many industry insiders who have seen the movie are convinced that if there was no "Blue in the Blue Trilogy" this year, Jiang Wen's winning of the Golden Lion Award would be almost certain. It's not that "Sunny Days" is weak, but that "Blue in the Blue Trilogy" is too strong.
The Shanghai International Film Festival has been open for several days. There are 167 films registered, and 24 have been selected for the main competition unit. Everyone has watched a lot of them, but only a few of them are truly outstanding, not to mention that the quality of the works of Zhang Yimou and Jiang Wen can be compared.
Lin Weimin stood in the corner, calmly looking at Zhang Yimou and Jiang Wen, who were surrounded by the producers and could no longer be seen.
Michael Phillips on the side joked: "How is it? Are you very proud now?"
"Where does that come from?" he asked.
"Come on, stop pretending in front of me. After all, I am a senior producer, and you promoted Zhang and Jiang. Do you dare to say that you don't have that indescribable sense of accomplishment?" Michael Phillips' eyes were firm, as if he had guessed Lin Weimin's thoughts.
Lin Weimin smiled and asked, "Do you mean 'cultivate'?"
Michael Phillips savored the word and said, "It's very accurate. It's the sense of accomplishment that comes from cultivation."
Cultivate these two?
The fat guy was silent.
Well, this can probably be considered an alternative form of training.
"I just saw that the young man has potential, and I happen to have the ability to help." Lin Weimin said lightly, with the aura of the King of Force blowing towards him.
Michael Phillips suddenly didn't want to talk to Lin Weimin anymore, but then he heard Lin Weimin say, "Aren't you afraid that Jiang Wen will run away?"
Jiang Wen said that Lin Weimin was his mentor, but the success of "Sunny Days" was also inseparable from the funds found by Michael Phillips. Michael Phillips had finally found such a famous director, and Lin Weimin didn't believe that he would let Jiang Wen be pursued by those production companies.
When Michael Phillips heard his words, a somewhat contemptuous smile appeared on his face.
"Jiang's next movie will cost 10 million dollars!"
屮!
It’s great to be rich!
However, Lin Weimin also understood Michael Phillips' confidence. "Sunny Days" made more than 2 million US dollars from copyright transactions at the Venice Film Festival alone.
If we take into account the box office revenue in several major countries and the subsequent copyright and video revenue, Columbia Pictures has made a lot of money on this investment, and there is no reason for them to give up Jiang Wen. Not only will they not give up, they will continue to bet heavily on Jiang Wen.
"10 million dollars? Fully owned by Columbia? Or did you invest as well?" Lin Weimin asked.
Michael Phillips folded his arms and said with great momentum, "I'll give you a quarter."
Michael Phillips has his own small company. He previously invested in "Farewell My Concubine", which grossed 185 million yuan at the box office in mainland China alone, or more than 32 million US dollars. According to the 6:4 split between the producer and the distributor, the producer of "Farewell My Concubine" received more than 19 million US dollars in box office revenue.
Michael Phillips accounted for 35% of the box office revenue of "Farewell My Concubine", and the box office in mainland China alone allowed him to recoup his investment and make a fortune.
In addition to the mainland, the box office of "Farewell My Concubine" in Hong Kong was also impressive, reaching more than 24 million Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to 4.8 million US dollars. After deducting the publicity and promotion expenses, Mike, Xu Feng and Lin Weimin received more than 2 million US dollars.
This amount of money may not seem like much, but it indicates a bright future for "Farewell My Concubine".
On the premise of recovering costs, "Farewell My Concubine" will make a net profit in every country or region where it is released, after deducting the publicity and promotion expenses.
Of course, not every country can make money like this.
Most countries sell copyrights directly. For example, at the Cannes Film Festival, "Farewell My Concubine" sold copyrights to nearly 50 countries and earned 12 million US dollars.
All in all, "Farewell My Concubine" has generated more than 33 million in revenue for Lin Weimin, Michael Phillips and Xu Feng.
Michael Phillips and Xu Feng still had to deduct the investment amount, but Lin Weimin actually made a net profit of 11 million US dollars with tears.
Right now, "Farewell My Concubine" has not been released in many developed countries in Europe and the United States. These are important ticket bases for the future of the film. If "Farewell My Concubine" can win a Golden Globe or an Oscar, it will not be a problem to double the revenue.
So, Michael Phillips has reason to fold his arms.
Investing in "Farewell My Concubine" made him a fortune, and investing 2.5 million dollars in Jiang Wen's new movie, isn't that like playing?
Lin Weimin looked at Michael Phillips's confident expression, said nothing, and just mourned in his heart.
Boss, I have harmed you!
(End of this chapter)
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