Chapter 819: Nothing to Say to Friends
"Hero" is the pioneering work of Chinese blockbusters.
Regardless of the praise or criticism from later generations, it is undeniable that it was a huge commercial success.
Blockbuster is a popular term. In fact, it is the most standard commercial film with huge investment and excellent production.
In later generations of the Chinese film industry, there have always been some so-called critics who like to look for connotations in commercial films, and they would often criticize this blockbuster for being of low quality, that blockbuster for being lacking in style, and would often criticize the films as being "empty" and "soulless".
It's like going to a hotpot restaurant and ordering barbecue. You know damn well they don't sell barbecue, but you insist on ordering it? What's wrong with that?
I won’t comment on other domestic blockbusters, but as for "Hero", it is indeed a high-quality commercial blockbuster.
Without mentioning the empty talk of leaving a name in film history, it did open up the tide of commercialization of Chinese films and has become an unavoidable name in Chinese film history.
To take a step back, who in China at that time could do better than Zhang Yimou and "Hero"?
So when Tian Congming proposed that Guowen Publishing House could take the lead in the production of a domestic blockbuster, the first thing that came to Lin Weimin's mind was "Hero".
Tian Congming's request was agreed to and the conditions he offered were obtained. Tian Congming wanted the movie to be released on July 1 next year, which is exactly one year from now.
The time is quite tight for preparing and producing a blockbuster movie.
Lin Weimin found Zhang Yimou first and looked at him with burning eyes.
"Yimou, you've been in the film industry for many years and have made so many movies. Do you want to challenge yourself?"
Zhang Yimou said calmly, "You have a task for me?"
Lin Weimin then repeated Tian Congming's words, frowning as he finished speaking, his eyes revealing worry.
"The domestic film market is in a state of panic now. Everyone has been frightened by foreign blockbusters. When I heard the word 'blockbuster', it was like Empress Dowager Cixi hearing the sound of foreign guns and cannons.
Over the years, you have won many awards abroad, and it is no exaggeration to say that you are the leader of the domestic film industry.
Especially at times like this, the more you need to stand up."
Lin Weimin spoke with conviction, his words full of concern for the country and the people. Zhang Yimou was silent for a moment, then said, "You tell me what to do? I'll listen to you!"
"Making blockbusters is not the exclusive domain of foreigners. If they can do it, so can we. This time, we are going to make a Chinese-style blockbuster. This is not only to restore some face for domestic films, but also to open up a new path for domestic films. I want to entrust this task to you!"
After saying this, Lin Weimin stared at Zhang Yimou. His expression was still dull and expressionless, but his eyes revealed a bit of determination.
"I'll take this mission!"
Without any hesitation, Zhang Yimou spoke in his usual calm voice.
Lin Weimin patted Zhang Yimou on the shoulder and said, "Okay! I was right about you."
"Yimou, this mission is not easy, you have to be mentally prepared."
Zhang Yimou nodded slightly heavily. From Lin Weimin's description, he could hear the difficulty of this film, not only in terms of production, but also in the psychological expectations of the industry, the government and even the masses.
"Teacher Lin, can you tell me more about the movie?" Zhang Yimou asked.
"Don't be in a hurry, wait a moment." Lin Weimin said with a smile.
Less than ten minutes later, Yu Dong brought Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan to Lin Weimin's office.
"President!"
Yu Dong walked in and greeted Lin Weimin. Lin Weimin nodded and said, "Sit down first."
After the tea came and he took two sips, Lin Weimin repeated what he had just said to Zhang Yimou.
Yu Dong listened, with a look of surprise on his face.
Wenhua Films wants to make blockbusters and compete head-on with Hollywood blockbusters?
He is the general manager of Wenhua Film and Television. After listening to Lin Weimin, his first reaction was: Where does the money come from?
Wenhua Film and Television has invested in several movies in the past six months. This month, he just decided to invest in Huang Jianxin's new movie "Tell Your Secret". After deducting the investment funds to be paid, there will only be three or four million left in Wenhua Film and Television's account.
To invest in a blockbuster movie, it would cost at least tens of millions, right?
Yu Dong asked his own question, and Lin Weimin said, "The issue of funds is not a big deal. The cooperative can borrow some of it. In addition, I plan to attract a few more investors, firstly to spread the risk, and secondly to leverage their power for better publicity and distribution."
Yu Dong asked curiously, "Which other companies can we recruit?"
"China Film Group, Yan Film Studio, and Columbia Pictures!" said Lin Weimin.
Hearing the name "Columbia Pictures", Yu Dong looked surprised, "President, are you planning to sell the movie overseas?"
Lin Weimin nodded slightly, "That's right. Can it be called a blockbuster if it doesn't go abroad?"
Yu Dong said nothing, quietly digesting the news.
For domestic films, it is actually not easy to sell the copyright abroad.
Although the copyrights of the films of Zhang Yimou, Cheng Kaige and others have been sold to many countries before, that is because they have participated in the world's top film festivals in recent years, and being nominated is an honor in itself.
In addition, with the continuous awards won, the film producers who go to the film festivals are attracted by the entries, so they naturally have no worries about selling the copyrights.
But in fact, copyrights are not easy to sell. Take Cheng Kaige for example. He was so famous in the past. "Farewell My Concubine" had such a high box office and won so many awards. But his new movie "Feng Yue" received a lot of bad reviews at the Cannes Film Festival. It should be impossible to sell the copyright, right?
This is the case with Cheng Kaige, who is quite famous internationally, not to mention the films produced by domestic production companies.
Wenhua Films wants to make a blockbuster film, and the director is Zhang Yimou. It is not impossible to sell it abroad, but the prerequisite is that the quality of the film must be recognized by foreigners.
But from what the president meant, he wanted to make a historical blockbuster with the Qin Dynasty as the background.
Will this thing be popular among foreigners?
Blockbuster movies are different from the art films Zhang Yimou has made before. They require an investment of tens of millions of dollars. If the overseas copyright can only be sold for hundreds of thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars, it would be difficult to make a profit relying solely on the domestic box office.
There was a big question mark in Yu Dong's mind, but he didn't say it out loud, not because he was afraid of making Lin Weimin angry.
But he understood that if even he could think of the problem, how could Lin Weimin not think of it?
Besides, the president just said that we should attract more investors to spread the risk.
While Yu Dong was thinking about it, Lin Weimin continued to put forward more specific ideas for this blockbuster.
The tentative title of the film is: "Hero".
Story summary: At the end of the Warring States Period, seven powers coexisted, and Qin was the most powerful, eager to annex the six kingdoms and unify the world. The knights of various countries, led by the assassin Wuming and others, planned to assassinate the King of Qin Ying Zheng to stop Qin's invasion of the six kingdoms, but after learning of the King of Qin's ambition to unify the world, they finally gave up for the sake of the peace of the people.
The tentative investment scale is RMB 60 million.
"Yimou, Xiaotong and Moyan, I have told you the outline of the script. Please brainstorm, or you can invite other screenwriters to come in. Come up with the script as soon as possible." Lin Weimin said.
Several people felt a sense of pressure when they heard this. To put it bluntly, a blockbuster is a commercial film and a commercial film with a huge investment. For several people, this is a field that they have never touched before, let alone learning from experience.
Seeing Zhang Yimou's trepidation, Lin Weimin said, "Don't be nervous. Blockbusters are also made by people. We are still shooting Chinese stories. You must remember that only national stories can be global. Only when our own people understand and recognize them first, will foreigners recognize us. You should first consider the quality of the film, not the box office."
Lin Weimin's words calmed Zhang Yimou's uneasy heart. He thought for a moment and said, "Teacher Lin, a commercial film needs big stars. If we want to invite a star, 60 million is probably not enough, right?"
As soon as he said this, Yu Dong, Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan all looked at him with shock in their eyes.
Good job!
You are such a daredevil, 60 million is not enough?
Faced with Zhang Yimou's huge demands, Lin Weimin was not at all displeased, but instead showed a bit of relief.
The fact that he still thought that the investment amount was not enough at this time proves that Zhang Yimou was not scared by the word "blockbuster" and the investment amount of "60 million". He has a clear mind and a big heart. We can trust such a big project to such a talent.
"Then how much money do you need?"
Zhang Yimou pondered for a moment and did not answer how much money he wanted. Instead, he started to talk a lot.
"To make the best domestic blockbuster, you must use the best stars. I plan to invite stars of the level of Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-fat, and Brigitte Lin. Each of them will be paid at least one million dollars.
There is also Gong Li, who is more famous in the West and her current salary is nearly 2 million US dollars.
Just to invite the stars, we need to prepare at least 5 million dollars..."
Yu Dong and the other two swallowed hard as they listened to Zhang Yimou's chatter. The current exchange rate between rice and RMB is 1:8.3. 5 million rice is more than 41 million RMB!
More than 41 million RMB. When they thought of this number, the three of them began to tremble.
It costs so much money just to invite the stars, so how much does it cost to shoot the entire movie?
This question lingered in the minds of the three people for a while, and then Zhang Yimou gave his answer.
"80 million! At least 80 million!"
The office fell into a brief silence. No one including Yu Dong dared to speak. They were so shocked by the number that they dared not speak.
The production cost is 80 million yuan. According to the current domestic box office sharing ratio, from the perspective of the producer, the box office must reach at least 210 million yuan to break even.
A box office of 210 million yuan is something no other film in Chinese film history has ever achieved.
"Haha!" Lin Weimin looked at Zhang Yimou with admiration in his eyes and said proudly, "Okay! 80 million is 80 million. You don't need to worry about the funds. Just go ahead and prepare."
Then, he said to Yu Dong: "Yu Dong, Wenhua will fully cooperate."
Yu Dong had already been shocked by the number "80 million" and lost his mind. When he came to his senses, he said without hesitation: "Yes!"
After talking about the movie, Lin Weimin asked the few people to leave first.
He picked up the phone again. The investment amount of 80 million, even if it was paid by Guowen Publishing House, would be like an old man's pee - forcing it out.
Lin Weimin could indeed come up with the money, but it was not in his character to confuse public and private matters.
Besides, wouldn't it be easier to make money by investing in something else than by making a movie?
He is a man who loves his friends very much. How could he forget his friends when such a good thing happened to him?
"Hey, old man, let me tell you..."
(End of this chapter)
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