Chapter 820: Not high quality
If Wenhua Films wants to make a domestic blockbuster, it certainly does not have that much money. Guowen Publishing House can borrow part of the funds, but it is impossible for it to provide all the funds, which is also a huge pressure on Guowen Publishing House.
Making movies is a high-risk investment. For any production company, investing entirely with its own funds is a very risky decision.
Finding business partners to share risks is a mature business behavior.
Especially in recent years, the domestic film market has continued to be sluggish, and even Hollywood blockbusters rarely achieve box office revenue of over 100 million yuan in the domestic market. It is not a small risk for Wenhua Film and Television to invest 80 million yuan in a domestic blockbuster.
As for why Lin Weimin agreed to Tian Congming's request, in addition to Tian Congming's "not in vain" treatment, it was also due to the plan that Lin Weimin had set for Wenhua Films.
The 1990s was the darkest moment for domestic films. The entire industry continued to shrink and struggled to move forward amid piracy and constant suppression by foreign counterparts.
Since Lin Weimin has opened up a path for film and television adaptation for Guowen Publishing House, he hopes that it can have a certain positive impact on Chinese films.
This has nothing to do with ideals or ambitions, let alone the feelings of a time traveler. The biggest reason is that if you want to develop, become bigger and stronger and become a leader in the industry, then you must assume such a responsibility and mission.
Faced with the invasion of Hollywood blockbusters on the domestic film market, the domestic film and television industry has no way to avoid it.
Just like Tian Congming said, where can we hide?
It's impossible to give up the film market, right?
Originally, Lin Weimin thought that he should give Wenhua Films at least two years to grow and accumulate some foundation, and then discuss the issue of blockbusters when domestic economic conditions develop better.
But now that Tian Congming has this urgent need, it doesn't matter if he does it earlier.
In this place in China, nothing is more effective than the word "official".
If Tian Congming wants Wenhua Films to boost the morale of Chinese films, then he has to come up with some encouraging measures!
Tian Congming has two incentive measures, namely the so-called “no wasted bidding”.
Firstly, the government will book all the screenings of "Hero". Tian Congming even thought of a name for the film, which is "A Tribute to Hong Kong's Return to China". With the film booked by the government, the box office is guaranteed to be at least 30 million.
Secondly, and this is what Lin Weimin values most, as long as "Hero" can be successfully produced and released, Wenhua Films will obtain the first film distribution license for a domestic private enterprise.
A film distribution license is something only a distribution company can have. In the past, it was the exclusive domain of domestic film distribution companies and studios at all levels.
Movie distribution requires sharing of profits with distribution companies and production studios based on box office revenue. Currently, the general share of profits for domestic distribution is 17% of the total box office revenue.
This is a considerable expense. If Wenhua Film and Television can hold this piece of cake in its own hands, the company will be invincible in its future development.
Not only can they produce their own films, but they can also distribute films from other film and television companies.
At the same time, the films produced by their own company also saved a lot of distribution costs.
With these two conditions, Lin Weimin had no reason not to agree to Tian Congming's request.
Even if the investment in "Hero" is a little higher and the risk is a little greater, it can share the pressure and it's not a big problem.
Lin Weimin has already been found to share the pressure.
Columbia Pictures, Michael Phillips's Film Company, Yanying Studio and China Film.
But Lin Weimin didn't know how Xu Feng knew that Wenhua was going to make a domestic blockbuster, so he went to Yanjing to find him, hoping to participate in the film.
"You already have shares in Wenhua, so why invest more?" Lin Weimin said.
"That's different. I'm just a small shareholder in Wenhua. How many people in Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong know that I have shares in Wenhua? But it's different with Tomson. This is a company I've run for more than a decade.
The name Tomson appears in the production unit column, which is a reflection of its strength. "
As Xu Feng spoke, he couldn't help but talk about how badly he was tricked by Cheng Kaige this time.
"There are times when people make money for you." Lin Weimin joked, "Your husband bought a piece of land in Lujiazui last year. That place has great potential in the future. Are you still short of money?"
"The movie made money because of you! Look, now without you, isn't it back to square one?
The land acquisition is even more uncertain. Lujiazui has only been developed for a few years. It is not that easy to make money. Besides, I never get involved in his business. "
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "All the money was earned by your family. The movie business is a matter of time, place and people. No one person has any inevitable relationship with it."
Xu Feng begged for a while, and Lin Weimin said helplessly: "Then you should invest 5 million, no more."
Hearing this, Xu Feng was overjoyed and thanked Lin Weimin repeatedly.
"Don't be too happy too soon. This movie has a huge investment. It's still unclear whether it will make money or not. It might even lose money."
Lin Weimin made it clear in advance.
Xu Feng smiled and said, "With you in charge, I accept the loss. Besides, Director Zhang is so famous abroad. If we gather a group of influential stars, it will be no problem to break even. I can't say anything else, but you can leave the Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asian markets to me."
Lin Weimin nodded. If it weren't for Xu Feng's ability to distribute products in these regions, he would not have given him 5 million investment shares.
A few days ago, Lin Weimin contacted Michael Phillips, and then contacted Columbia Pictures through Michael Phillips.
Both Michael Phillips and Columbia Pictures have shown great interest in the project "Hero".
"Gong Li, yes, Gong Li is there. Leslie Cheung, Leslie Cheung from Farewell My Concubine, will also be in the role, including Han Zhuangzhuang. The three main actors of Farewell My Concubine are all here, you know how valuable this is.
There are also several top Hong Kong stars who will appear in this movie, it is definitely an all-star cast..."
The other stars mentioned by Lin Weimin may not have much appeal in the United States, but the American people are impressed by several leading actors in "Farewell My Concubine".
After his persuasion, Michael Phillips and Columbia Pictures were extremely excited and kept repeating "Eastern epic" and "Eastern epic".
After Lin Weimin's "introduction", the two parties decided to jointly invest 6 million US dollars in "Hero" in exchange for all the profits of the film in the northern United States.
"Hero" plans to invest 80 million RMB. Michael Phillips's film company and Columbia Pictures jointly invested 6 million US dollars, which is equivalent to more than 48 million RMB, covering most of the investment of the film.
The film didn't even have a script, but they were willing to invest 6 million US dollars. It can be said that the sincerity of Cyborg Pictures and Columbia Pictures is not lacking.
But this proposal was flatly rejected by Lin Weimin. He clearly remembered that the box office of "Hero" in North America exceeded 53 million US dollars. If the costs of videotapes, television copyrights, etc. were included, the revenue would be even greater.
Offering 6 million to buy out the North American copyright of "Hero" seemed very sincere in the eyes of Film Studios and Columbia Pictures, but Lin Weimin could not accept it.
He approached Columbia and Michael Phillips on the one hand to share the financial pressure, and on the other hand because of their distribution capabilities in North America and English-speaking countries.
"Farewell My Concubine" achieved a box office of nearly 300 million US dollars in the United States. Zhang Guorong, Gong Li and others left a deep impression on the American audience at the time and had a certain appeal among them.
In the future, as long as the promotion and marketing are done properly, the box office may not be comparable to that of later generations, but it will definitely not be too bad.
He is willing to share profits with his partners, but that does not mean he is willing to give up the profits. The North American market is the largest film market in the world.
After some negotiations, Filmography and Columbia Pictures still insisted on investing 3 million US dollars, but the profits were not divided according to the share, and they could only account for 30% of the North American box office revenue.
To recoup the $3 million investment, the North American box office of "Hero" must be at least $20 million.
This condition was a bit harsh for Film and Columbia Pictures, especially for a giant like Columbia Pictures, but they still agreed.
The reason is very simple. First, because of the excellent performance of "Farewell My Concubine", they have a deep superstition about Lin Weimin. Second, the North American distribution rights of "Hero" will be handed over to Columbia Pictures in the future, which is also a considerable profit. If "Hero" performs well at the box office, it may make more money than their investment.
With the 3 million US dollars invested by Cyborg Pictures and Columbia Pictures, the funding gap of "Hero" is still about 55 million RMB.
Among them, Wenhua Film and Television will have a sole investment share of 45 million yuan, while Yanying Studio and China Film will each invest 5 million yuan.
Now that Xu Feng is eager to invest, everyone has to squeeze together and give her a share. After all, she still has some connections in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and other places who can help with copyright distribution.
In less than half a month, the huge investment of 80 million RMB was resolved.
Zhang Yimou was ecstatic when he heard the news. He thought that funding should not be a problem, but he did not expect that it would be so easy to raise.
This is a full 80 million RMB!
After receiving the news, Zhang Yimou trembled for a while, and then turned the pressure to Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan.
"The film investment has been secured, please hurry up!"
Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan looked at Zhang Yimou with eyes full of resentment, just like the farmhands in the old society looking at the landlords.
You know, the two of them have always been responsible for review at Wenhua Film and Television. Unfortunately, this time, Teacher Lin attached too much importance to "Hero" and directly threw the task to them. This made the two of them who were used to a leisurely life very uncomfortable.
The workload is too intense!
"Hold on for two more days, the first version of the script will be out soon. When the script is out, I'll treat you to a meal."
Feeling the resentment of the two, Zhang Yimou had to comfort them with soft words.
Even the donkey pulling the mill in the production team had to be given a carrot, not to mention that these two were his old partners?
I need a meal from you?
The expressions in Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan's eyes were not difficult to understand. Before Zhang Yimou could say anything, the door of the room was pushed open.
"Teacher Lin!"
"Teacher Lin!"
When they saw the person coming, they all stood up.
"Sit, sit."
Lin Weimin sat down and asked, "How is the script going?"
Zhang Yimou was about to speak when Mo Yan silently handed the unfinished script to Lin Weimin, "I've written 60 scenes."
Lin Weimin raised his eyebrows and praised: "Not bad, very efficient."
Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan looked at each other and smiled.
After flipping through the script, Lin Weimin pointed out a few scenes and started communicating with Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan.
"Don't write this scene like this. Be more straightforward. You have to consider the audience's feelings."
"The scene with Ying Zheng should be handled more openly. He is the first emperor, so we need to write about his kingly demeanor and his domineering attitude."
…
Zhang Yimou watched Lin Weimin instructing Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan to revise the script. The two men, who usually grinned at him, were so well-behaved in front of Teacher Lin that Zhang Yimou couldn't help but secretly curse them as bastards.
However, Zhang Yimou also felt a little doubtful. Seeing how Teacher Lin was instructing the two to revise the script, it seemed that he already had a clear concept of the script in his mind. So why should he let Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan write it?
Before writing the script, Zhang Yimou specifically mentioned to Lin Weimin that he hoped he could be named as the chief screenwriter, but Lin Weimin politely declined.
After Lin Weimin finished directing the script, Zhang Yimou asked the questions in his mind.
“Hero is a commercial film. It’s not that difficult to write seriously. I told them this mainly because I was afraid they couldn’t wrap their heads around it.
They are the backbone of Wenhua, and the company will still rely on them in the future. I can’t do everything myself.”
Zhang Yimou nodded thoughtfully.
Lin Weimin smiled, but he didn't tell the truth. Why didn't he write the script for "Hero"? Or why didn't he put his name on it?
This thing is really not of high quality!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
