Chapter 771: Even stealing money is not that fast
1995 should be considered the darkest moment for Chinese cinema.
The number of domestic television sets is constantly increasing, video halls can be seen everywhere, VCD is developing rapidly, and piracy is rampant...
The convergence of multiple negative factors has resulted in a cliff-like decline in the domestic film market in recent years, with the annual number of moviegoers halved again and again, and the same is true for box office revenue.
The film reform in 1993 was a helpless move for industrial transformation, while the introduction of imported blockbusters in 1994 was intended to activate the competitiveness of Chinese films.
Revolution requires bloodshed and sacrifice, and the price of reform is equally heavy. Without going through some pain, how can Chinese films be reborn?
Since 1994, China's film industry has been experiencing this kind of pain.
Lin Weimin wanted to come up with ten or eight good scripts and film them all at once to inspire people, but things are not that simple.
The biggest problem facing Chinese films now is that they are not industrialized enough and the concept is still stuck in the era when art films are king.
But the success of Hollywood and the continuous decline of European films have proved that if the art form of film wants to develop over the long term and with quality, art films must not dominate the market for a long time.
Now, even if you give a bunch of scripts that are good at storytelling to domestic directors to shoot, they will still distort the scripts and still follow the same old path.
If the concept does not change and the level of industrialization is not improved, the future of Chinese films will be bleak.
The fact that Zhang Yimou was able to make "Hero" in later years is enough to prove that his awareness and vision surpassed the vast majority of domestic film directors.
What Lin Weimin is doing now is to provide appropriate guidance.
Not only Zhang Yimou, but also many potential film directors have expanded their horizons beyond just art films.
Of course, after putting so much effort into it, it is only natural to make some money along the way.
Zhang Yimou is now considered a famous director internationally. When Michael Phillips heard that Lin Weimin wanted to help Zhang Yimou raise investment, he agreed without thinking.
The movie "Farewell My Concubine" has earned him more than 40 million US dollars so far. Lao Mai is now one of the richest independent producers in Hollywood. He is ruthless when investing in movies, not to mention that Zhang Yimou has already made a name for himself internationally.
The wealthy old comrade was planning to monopolize all the funds for Zhang Yimou's film, but Lin Weimin quickly stopped him.
Can you, a kid, keep such a good thing all by yourself?
Lin Weimin turned around and called Xu Feng again. As soon as he told her about Zhang Yimou's new movie, Xu Feng immediately smiled happily.
Lin Weimin banned Qiu Fusheng, and then she had the opportunity to invest in Zhang Yimou's movie. Could anything be better than this?
Xu Feng was excited. After the success of "Farewell My Concubine", she chose to continue to bet on Cheng Kaige and invested in the movie "Feng Yue".
Since the filming started last year, Feng Yue has gone through the changes of the leading actress and the director's sex scandal. Until now, Cheng Kaige has decided to recreate a Jinling Road in the suburbs of Shanghai and restore the bustling and prosperous old Shanghai of the 1920s.
It has been a year now, and the investment in the film has been getting bigger and bigger, but there is still no sign of the day when the film will be completed. If "Farewell My Concubine" had not given Xu Feng the confidence to make tens of millions of dollars, she would probably have backed off long ago.
After "Farewell My Concubine", Cheng Kaige has gradually become closed in his film creation, which makes Xu Feng unbearable.
Compared to Cheng Kaige's expansion, Xu Feng heard that Zhang Yimou had very few staff members, never overspent, and would never make things difficult for investors. He even agreed to Qiu Fusheng's request to submit his film to participate in the competition in violation of regulations, which fully demonstrated the temper of this director.
This kind of director is the favorite of investors. Xu Feng agreed to Lin Weimin's request without hesitation. After hearing that Guowen Society has now established a film and television company specializing in investing and producing movies, she asked directly: "Mr. Lin, does your film and television company still accept investment?"
Lin Weimin was quite surprised when he heard this. "Ms. Xu, your film company is doing well, right? Why did you think of investing in our small company?"
"The size of the company is not important, the key is who is at the helm. With you here, I believe the development of this film and television company will be a success."
Xu Feng's compliment made him feel comfortable, and Lin Weimin was thinking.
After so many years of operation, Xu Feng has extensive connections in the film industry across Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong. If she can really be brought over, it will be beneficial to the development of Wenhua Film and Television.
"If Ms. Xu has time, you may come to Beijing to discuss in detail." Lin Weimin made an invitation.
Xu Feng happily said: "Okay, I'll be there in two days."
A week later, in the banquet hall of Yanjing Hotel, Guowen Society held a press conference in the name of Wenhua Film and Television.
At the press conference, Lin Weimin, Han Shanping, Michael Phillips, Xu Feng and Zhang Yimou all appeared at the press conference.
At the press conference, Lin Weimin first announced that Wenhua Film and Television had introduced a new investor, Xu Feng, and then announced that Zhang Yimou would officially sign a contract with Wenhua Film and Television and become a contracted director of Wenhua Film and Television. In the future, all his films would be invested by Wenhua Film and Television or financed through Wenhua Film and Television.
Immediately afterwards, Lin Weimin announced Zhang Yimou's latest film "If You Are the One", which will be jointly invested by Wenhua Film and Television, Yan Film Studio, and the film companies of Xu Feng and Michael Phillips, with a total investment of up to 26 million yuan.
The series of messages immediately caused a commotion among the reporters below the stage.
Lin Weimin's series of news was too much and too shocking to be digested at once.
It’s nothing for Wenhua Film and Television to introduce new investors, as it is originally a little-known film and television company.
The key point is that this company was able to sign Zhang Yimou under its name. According to Lin Weimin, in the future, only they are qualified to invest in Zhang Yimou's films. If others want to invest, they have to go through them.
This kind of director signing model seems to be the first time in the country.
In addition to this news, there is another piece of news that makes everyone even more excited.
"If You Are the One" is Lin Weimin's novel, and Zhang Yimou is a director promoted by Lin Weimin. Are the two finally going to officially collaborate now?
The reporters were all a little excited. The last time Lin Weimin worked with a fifth-generation domestic director was Cheng Kaige. The movie adapted from "Farewell My Concubine" won the Cannes Palme d'Or, the US Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award, and created a box office miracle for art films, with a global box office of 400 million US dollars.
How could such a brilliant achievement not excite the reporters? They all wanted to poke the microphone into the mouths of Lin Weimin and Zhang Yimou.
This time, for "If You Are the One", even the investors are exactly the same as those for "Farewell My Concubine". It is aiming to replicate the success of "Farewell My Concubine"!
The reporters' overwhelming questions almost overwhelmed Lin Weimin and Zhang Yimou. The questioning lasted for nearly half an hour. Lin Weimin officially announced the end of the press conference, but the reporters were still reluctant to leave.
After the press conference, Lin Weimin and Zhang Yimou accepted exclusive interviews from several media outlets.
The next day, Mandarin Films’ press conference was featured in more than 20 media outlets.
"Zhang Yimou signs contract with Wenhua Films, new film invests 26 million yuan" "Lin Weimin joins hands with fifth-generation directors again, "If You Are the One" welcomes adaptation" "Guowen Publishing House makes big move to operate all copyrights, Zhang Yimou becomes its contracted director"...
Reports from more than 20 media outlets quickly caused a huge response in the domestic film industry.
Zhang Yimou is the Chinese director who has won the most international awards in the past decade. He is also the first Chinese director in decades to win great international reputation. His every move is the focus of the domestic film industry.
Lin Weimin is Zhang Yimou's mentor, which is no longer news in the domestic film industry. The two of them worked together, and Zhang Yimou signed a contract with Wenhua Film and Television under Guowenshe, which attracted countless people's attention.
It has been two years since "Farewell My Concubine" won the Cannes Palme d'Or. The awards and box office created by this film have long become a peak in the history of Chinese-language films.
It is also Lin Weimin's novel, and it is also a collaboration with a fifth-generation director. At a time when imported blockbusters are ravaging the domestic film industry, this news has given many domestic filmmakers a shot in the arm and made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
The film "If You Are the One" brought together four investors. Wenhua Film and Television did not invest much, only 5 million, but it was the main controller of the film. This practice is not uncommon in the film and television circles in later generations.
When Wenhua Film and Television was established, there was only Li Guangfu's 5 million yuan in the account. Before that, it had invested in Feng Xiaogang's "Party A and Party B", Yanying Studio's Huo Jianqi's "Winner" and Li Shaohong's "Red Suit". Logically speaking, it did not have the money to invest 5 million yuan.
But Xu Feng has just become a shareholder of Wenhua Film and Television. She invested 15 million yuan in Wenhua Film and Television and acquired 15% of the company's shares.
After dilution, Guowenshe's shareholding ratio dropped to 51%, Li Guangfu's shareholding ratio dropped to 34%, and Xu Feng was the shareholder with the smallest shareholding ratio, only 15%.
15% shares, RMB 15 million, and an estimated value of 100 million.
This is a sky-high valuation for Wenhua Pictures, which has not yet completed a single film.
The boasts that Mr. Wang made to General Managers Feng and Peng have now been realized by Chief Editor Lin.
When Li Guangfu learned that Wenhua Film and Television had obtained new financing and was valued at 100 million yuan, he was extremely happy.
He had invested 5 million yuan at the beginning, and now, after only half a year, the shares he held were worth 34 million yuan. Even if it was just the valuation, it was enough to surprise him.
He has worked very hard in business over the years, but his net worth is only 200 million.
Following Teacher Lin, you can really get rich!
Li Guangfu was pleasantly surprised by the skyrocketing valuation of Wenhua Films, and was even more impressed by Xu Feng's courage to make such a large investment. After meeting her, he found out that she was a female boss, and he admired her even more.
The reason why Xu Feng was willing to invest in Wenhua Film and Television, a new film and television company, at such a high valuation was naturally because she was attracted by Lin Weimin behind it.
The movie "Farewell My Concubine" earned tens of millions of dollars, which is more than what she earned from investing in dozens of movies. It made Xu Feng realize the influence of Lin Weimin's works. Wenhua Films is operated by Lin Weimin behind the scenes. Even if it does not adapt his works and only relies on his vision and ability, its future development will surely be immeasurable.
Although Xu Feng only got 15% of the shares by spending 15 million, he thought it was a worthwhile deal.
Of course, the one who thinks it's more worthwhile is Cheng Zaochun.
Comrade Lao Cheng never imagined that a film and television company could only scam 5 million yuan when it was first established.
They haven't even made a decent movie yet, but they have received an investment of 15 million RMB.
Guowenshe holds a 51% stake in Wenhua Film and Television, with an estimated value of 51 million.
Even robbing money isn’t that fast!
(End of this chapter)
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