Chapter 715: Combining Work and Rest
"Does Time magazine know?" Michael Phillips asked with a hint of bewitchment in his tone.
"nonsense!"
"I've arranged an exclusive interview for you. One that'll be on their cover."
Michael Phillips said this with a hint of pride in his tone.
"Did you contact them for me?" Lin Weimin asked.
"Well... I ran into their editor-in-chief, and he asked me if I was willing to be interviewed."
"You call this 'help me make contact'?" Lin Weimin asked.
"Why not? Although he was the one who proposed the interview, I fought hard for it to be on the cover!" Michael Phillips said firmly.
Lin Weimin was too lazy to expose him and said lazily: "How are they going to interview me?"
"Let you come to the United States..."
Michael Phillips heard Lin Weimin's dissatisfaction before he finished speaking. He immediately changed his words and said, "Of course that's impossible. Of course, Time Magazine sent someone to interview you in China."
Lin Weimin nodded and said, "I'm currently attending a seminar in Guangdong. Please confirm the specific interview time with Time Magazine and let me know."
"No problem." Michael Phillips responded, but couldn't help but complain: "Lin, I think you should find an agent. Even if you don't find an agent, you can find an assistant!"
"We'll talk about it later."
He hung up the phone, walked out of the bedroom and came to the living room.
This was a hotel arranged by the Guangzhou Municipal Government. Lin Weimin stayed in an executive suite. Sitting opposite him were Zhang Guorong and his agent Cheng Shufen.
"It was Mike. He arranged an interview for me." Lin Weimin explained.
Zhang Guorong nodded. Michael Phillips was the investor and producer of "Farewell My Concubine". Naturally, he knew him and had just met him.
"Farewell My Concubine" was competing in the Hollywood awards season. Leslie Cheung stayed in the United States for almost two months. He did not win any Golden Globe or Oscar awards for his acting, but he did win the Best Actor Award in two major films, which greatly expanded his popularity in North America.
Especially after the movie was released, he followed the team to promote it for a week. Wherever he went, countless fans flocked to him, shouting "Cheng Dieyi"'s name frantically, and many fanatical audiences even shed tears.
At the roadshow, Zhang Guorong has become an international superstar with strong appeal in the United States. Even Gong Li pales in comparison to him.
But Zhang Guorong was clearly aware that all this was brought to him by the role.
Apart from the role of "Cheng Dieyi", many moviegoers may not even be able to pronounce his name.
"Farewell My Concubine" has been released in North America for a week. Relying on Columbia Pictures' powerful distribution channels, the film will soon be released in Europe, Japan, South Korea and other countries.
Xu Feng contacted Zhang Guorong and hoped that he could go to Japan and South Korea to promote the film, while Europe and other countries were left to Gong Li and Han Zhuangzhuang.
At this time, Leslie Cheung was extremely popular in the United States, and his daily exposure was terrifying. If this exposure could continue for a period of time, he might be able to become the protagonist of a Hollywood movie like John Lone.
Zhang Guorong's agent Cheng Shufen was a very capable woman. She knew that Zhang Guorong could not refuse Xu Feng, so she directly rejected Xu Feng's proposal on Zhang Guorong's behalf.
But what she didn't expect was that Zhang Guorong actually rejected her decision, agreed to Xu Feng's proposal, and went straight back to Hong Kong. After resting for two days, he planned to fly to South Korea to promote the movie.
After returning to Hong Kong, Zhang Guorong heard that Lin Weimin was attending a work seminar in Guangdong, so he took Cheng Shufen to Guangzhou to visit him.
Lin Weimin continued the previous topic and said with a smile: "Your idea is right. Liangyuan is nice, but it is not a place to stay for a long time. The United States may seem open, but the ceiling for yellow people in Hollywood is obvious."
Cheng Shufen said cautiously: "The yellow race also has Anna May Wong and John Lung..."
"Do you think they can play what you call A-list actors?" Lin Weimin said calmly.
Cheng Shufen pondered. It was not that she was unaware of the hidden ceiling of Hollywood, but the temptation of Hollywood was too great.
With Leslie Cheung's current fame in the United States, he can go to Hollywood to gild his reputation and play the leading role in two Hollywood movies, even if they are small or medium-sized productions. Then he can return to Hong Kong and beat "Three Chows and One Cheng".
Zhang Guorong was very open-minded. When Cheng Shufen was still pondering, he said: "What Farewell My Concubine gave me is more important than any role in Hollywood movies. It would be a pipe dream to play marginal roles in Hollywood again."
Lin Weimin nodded with satisfaction.
Zhang Guorong smiled and said, "After listening to your words, I suddenly understood."
"It's just a layer of window paper. It will break if you poke it. The fact that you agreed to Xu Feng's request shows that you are very clear-headed. You don't need me to remind you at all."
After discussing his doubts, Zhang Guorong chatted with Lin Weimin for a few more words. Cheng Shufen kept winking at him, but he pretended not to see it.
Finally, Cheng Shufen couldn't help herself and said with a smile, "Mr. Lin, Leslie really liked your latest novel after reading it. This novel is similar to Farewell My Concubine. If it can be made into a movie, it will definitely be a work that can win awards and have a high box office."
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "'The Thirteenth Son of the South China Sea' is different from 'Farewell My Concubine'. It is possible that it can win awards, but it is unlikely to sell at the same level as 'Farewell My Concubine'. The success of 'Farewell My Concubine' is the result of the right time, the right place, and the right people. None of them can be missing."
"Your work is sure to win an award, and the box office will certainly be good too!" Cheng Shufen complimented.
Lin Weimin looked at her with a smile on his face, but said nothing.
Cheng Shufen wanted to speak again, but Zhang Guorong pulled her back. He stood up and said, "Mr. Lin, I won't disturb your rest. I'll visit you again when I have time."
"Okay." Lin Weimin sent Zhang Guorong and Cheng Shufen to the door of the room and reminded them: "Movie promotion is a tiring job, take good care of yourself."
"Of course, thank you for your concern."
After leaving the hotel, Cheng Shufen said to Zhang Guorong in dissatisfaction: "What a good opportunity just now, why didn't you let me speak?"
"I've told you many times that we are not allowed to participate in Mr. Lin's work." Zhang Guorong said helplessly.
"I just want a share of the investment, even if it's just a share of the box office in Hong Kong or Taiwan, as long as I can ensure that you get the leading actor."
Zhang Guorong shook his head and said, "Mr. Lin's works are about whoever he chooses to be the male lead. That small investment share can't make a difference. Neither Ms. Xu nor Mike can influence his thinking. Don't let your imagination run wild."
Zhang Guorong was promoted by Cheng Shufen. Knowing that Cheng Shufen was doing this for his own good, he continued in a slow voice, "When I worked with Mr. Lin on "The Female Doctor", he only said that I might play the role of Cheng Dieyi. Now I have played the role, right? Mr. Lin is a man who cherishes the past. With the two works "The Female Doctor" and "Farewell My Concubine", if the role is really suitable, he will definitely use me. Otherwise, no matter how hard you try, it will be useless."
After he said this, Cheng Shufen was silent for a long time and finally sighed.
"Well, that's all we can do."
Seeing her disappointed face, Zhang Guorong smiled and held her shoulders, "Okay, okay, the movie "Farewell My Concubine" is enough for me to live on for the rest of my life, don't think too much."
Cheng Shufen also laughed when she heard this.
The global box office of "Farewell My Concubine" is expected to break 300 million US dollars in the near future, and even 400 million US dollars is possible. It won the Cannes Palme d'Or, the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Being able to star in a movie that has achieved both box office success and awards and is worthy of being recorded in the annals of film history, what else is there to be dissatisfied about?
The symposium on the work of "The Thirteenth Son of the South China Sea" was large in scale and of high level. The heads of the propaganda departments of GD Province and City, leaders of the Literary Association and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles were all present. Several famous Cantonese opera masters in the province and writers, critics and scholars from all over the country were also invited to attend. The symposium lasted for two full days.
Many TV stations and newspapers in the province followed up with the report, and CCTV was specially invited to make a brief report, which was very exciting.
While satisfying its own publicity needs, it also gave Lin Weimin enough face.
For this work seminar, Guangdong gave 30 places to the Guowen Publishing House, but only five people actually attended the seminar. Except for Lin Weimin, all the other people were critics and scholars who have been working with the Guowen Publishing House for many years.
After the seminar, it’s time to go sightseeing.
Pengcheng is separated from Hong Kong by a river, so Guangdong specially arranged a customs clearance trip for the participants so that they could go to Hong Kong for some shopping.
When this group of people arrived, they had already made inquiries and even exchanged foreign currency, which finally came in handy.
After staying in Guangdong for a week, the members of the National Literature Society finally returned to Yanjing by plane.
After going out to relax their bodies and minds, the editors of the Buhuhu series were in a good mood. They returned to Yanjing full of confidence and ready to work hard.
After work, when they opened the office door, everyone was almost shocked.
"Why is it so full?"
After being away for a week, the manuscripts in the office were piled up so high that the desk could no longer hold them. They had to be placed on the floor with wooden boards as pads, forming a pile.
There was wailing in the office.
"What's going on? Didn't you just come back from traveling? Why are you howling again?"
The old editor of the Foreign Language Department couldn't help asking after hearing the noise outside.
"They went out to have fun, but the work of collecting manuscripts never stopped. Cloth Tiger already had a lot of manuscripts backlog, and now there's a young cloth tiger. When I passed by that day, I took a look and saw manuscripts piled everywhere. There was almost no place to step." A colleague said with gloating.
They were of course envious of the fact that the editorial department of the Buhuhu series went on a public-funded tour. But when they heard the wailing of these people, their colleagues suddenly felt balanced.
The old editor took off his reading glasses and had a kind smile on his face.
"Combining work and rest!"
(End of this chapter)
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