Chapter 906: People of culture should not praise others in a vulgar way
May is almost over.
The huge nationwide hype generated by the first part of "Li Jianguo" is now slowly fading, but the sales of the novel are very strong.
It sold over one million copies in a week, and reached 2.9 million copies one month after its release, breaking a series of domestic book publishing and sales records.
In the latest issue of the National Literature Daily's book sales ranking, the sales of this novel are more than the combined sales of the second to twentieth places. All readers who saw this number were dumbfounded and shocked at the strong appeal and influence of this novel among the readership.
That morning, Lin Weimin received a call from Roger Strauss.
As soon as he came on board, Roger Strauss started complaining.
"Lin, you are so mean. You didn't even tell me that your new work was published."
"I have only finished writing the first part. Besides, this novel is about a story in China, which may not be of interest to American readers."
Roger Strauss said, "No, no, no! You still don't understand the appeal you have in the hearts of American readers. Your influence has transcended nationality. Do you understand? Stop belittling yourself. If you do this, you will not only fail the American readers' love for you, but also fail the trust I have placed in you over the years."
Lao Deng put pressure on people right from the start, and his intention was self-evident.
Lin Weimin asked curiously, "How did you know this?"
After writing "Li Jianguo", Lin Weimin did not contact Roger Strauss, nor did he contact any booksellers or media in the United States.
Roger Strauss smiled somewhat complacently, "Lin, I've said it before, you underestimate your influence overseas. After your novel was published, a sinologist from Harvard University published a book review in a magazine, and Mark Meng from the University of Kansas, who is your friend, also published a book review.
They have given this novel a very high evaluation. And I also know that after your novel was published, it was highly praised by the government, and many media in the United States paid attention to this situation. "
I see.
Lin Weimin asked, "Why? Do you want to bring this novel to the United States?"
"Of course!" Roger Strauss said without hesitation.
"This is a novel that is highly praised by the Chinese government," Lin Weimin said with a hint of meaning.
For foreign works, it is not a problem if there is content that insults the United States, but if it involves ideological issues, their nerves are more sensitive than any other regime.
As for the content of the first part of "Li Jianguo", there is actually nothing that touches the red line of Lao Mi, but who can blame this novel for being a novel promoted by the Chinese government?
In the political arena, any little thing can be used to make a fuss.
China and the United States have different systems and are highly wary of each other.
If "Li Jianguo" is introduced to the United States, it is possible that someone will make a fuss about the treatment of this novel in China.
Roger Strauss immediately understood the profound meaning of Lin Weimin's words. This was indeed something he had overlooked before.
He pondered for a moment on the phone and then made a decision.
"Then I will bring it to the United States. If there is any short-sighted politician who uses this book to make a fuss, wouldn't that be free advertising for it?"
Lin Weimin said sarcastically: "You Jews are so eager to make money that you don't care about your lives!"
"Haha, thank you for the compliment!"
After joking a few words, Lin Weimin said, "Well, in that case, I'll leave this novel to you."
"Thank you, Lin." Roger Strauss said seriously.
Two days later, Yu Dong arrived at the Guowen Society.
A few months ago, Mandarin Films acquired Xu Feng's Hong Kong Tomson Pictures. In the past few months after the New Year, Yu Dong has been traveling between Hong Kong and the mainland, busy sorting out matters between the two companies.
After a period of hard work, Mandarin Films has basically digested the fat piece of meat of Tang Chen Films and has established an outpost in Hong Kong.
“…The only movie that Tomson Pictures is currently producing has already been completed. This year we plan to produce two more movies for them. The main force will still be the Hong Kong team, but we will also mix in some of our people.
In addition, I also plan to mobilize some people from Hong Kong to come here in the second half of the year.
This time I stayed in Hong Kong for a relatively long time, and I have a more detailed understanding of their production level.
The production level there is much higher than that in the mainland, and the degree of commercialization is also much higher. The Hong Kong film industry is in a downturn now, and many people are out of work. It is the right time for us to intervene.
My idea is to speed up the integration of the production teams in the two places as soon as possible, so as to improve the film and television production level of our Wenhua and to develop the Hong Kong market to a certain extent..."
After four or five years of training, Yu Dong has fully grown into a general who can stand on his own.
After he finished talking, Lin Weimin nodded with satisfaction.
"The idea is right, but the results still have to speak for themselves. Tomson Pictures is still an independent operation. You should go to Director Liu more often to discuss the policy of co-productions. Our Wenhua has set a benchmark for cross-strait cooperation this time, so the higher-ups should at least give us some encouragement."
Yu Dong responded: "Okay."
He then asked, "Have you heard about the Shanghai-America Factory?"
"What happened to Humei Factory?"
"'The Lotus Lantern' lost money!" said Yu Hua.
Lin Weimin said in surprise: "Didn't I see in the news that the box office exceeded 25 million?"
"The production cost alone was 12 million yuan, not including the publicity costs. I heard from Lao Yan that the box office share that Shanghai Mei Film Studio received was less than 40%. If taxes were deducted, they should have to pay about 5 to 6 million yuan."
Yu Dong knows all about the production and distribution of "The Lotus Lantern" and is obviously very concerned about it, but his concern is obviously harbouring ulterior motives.
Last year, "Shuke and Beta: The Power of the Tigers", co-invested and produced by Wenhua Film and Shanghai Film Studio, was a huge success and became one of the few animated feature films in China that has been a box office hit in recent years.
Seeing this situation, Jin Guoping was inspired. This year, while continuing to cooperate with Wenhua Film and Television, he also engaged in independent production. "The Lotus Lantern" is the product of this situation.
Shanghai Animation Studio spent all its money on this animated film, with 12 million yuan spent on production alone. The studio brought in all its elites, using production methods such as early creation of the overall music and dialogue recording, computer special effects to draw the animation, and in the later stages six-channel full digital stereo recording, with more than 300 staff members mobilized.
Not only that, Jin Guoping also used his connections to invite big stars such as Jiang Wen, Ning Jing, Chen Peisi, and Zhu Shimao to dub the movie, which added a lot of hype to the film's promotion.
The movie was released in April and received great success, earning 25 million yuan at the box office in just over a month.
As an animated film, this result is already very excellent.
After all, at this time, even if a feature film earns 25 million at the box office, it can rank among the top ten box office movies of the year.
Unfortunately, the investment in "The Lotus Lantern" was too large, and the Shanghai-America Film Studio had no competitiveness in terms of box office sharing. This increase and decrease led to the film suffering a huge loss in the end.
The investment was 12 million, and the loss was nearly half. It is estimated that even if all the money earned from the cooperation with Lin Weimin in the past two years was lost, it would not be enough.
After this incident, the Shanghai-Mei factory was probably seriously damaged.
Yu Dong talked about the bad situation of Shanghai Art Film Studio and "The Lotus Lantern" with excitement in his eyes.
"It would be great if we could acquire the Humei Factory!" he said seemingly unintentionally.
Lin Weimin knew what was going on in his mind and said, "Don't even think about it. Humei Factory is one of the signature brands in Shanghai's cultural circles. Even if it's in decline, it's not our turn to buy it."
Yu Dong smacked his lips, his expression full of regret.
"Then you say..." He hesitated, "If I go talk to Lao Jin now and buy a few of their IPs, can he do it?"
Yu Dong learned the word "IP" from Lin Weimin. He looked at Lin Weimin with burning eyes.
Lin Weimin chuckled and said, "It's a good idea. The animations produced by Shanghai Animation Studio have influenced several generations. Its appeal in China is unique. As long as it is managed properly, there will be great potential in the future. But there is a problem in this matter. I guess Shanghai Animation Studio itself has never taken it seriously."
"What's the problem?"
"All works of Humei Factory are created by its employees. When I was chatting with Dai Tielang earlier, he said that the definition of Humei Factory in this regard is still very vague today."
Yu Dong understood what Lin Weimin meant, "If we really want to acquire these animation IPs, the first thing we need to do is to clarify the intellectual property relationship."
"You guys decide these matters yourselves," Lin Weimin said.
Guowen Group is now growing in size, and it is no longer possible for Lin Weimin to do everything himself.
The two of them had almost finished chatting, and Yu Dong took out a stack of magazines from his bag.
"I've been traveling to Hong Kong so often recently that I didn't dare bring you a gift."
He spread several publications on Lin Weimin's desk and said, "After the publication of your book Li Jianguo, it has attracted considerable attention in the Hong Kong literary world. I saw several articles when I was reading books and newspapers, and I collected them here specially. If you have time, you can take a look at them to understand the Hong Kong readers' thoughts."
Yu Dong's flattery was refreshing and refined, so Lin Weimin couldn't refuse it and nodded, "Thank you for your kindness."
After Deng Dadong left, Lin Weimin flipped through the publications on the table.
Yu Dong brought back four publications in total, two magazines and two newspapers. It must have taken a lot of effort for him to get them through customs.
"The Reader" is a digest magazine in Hong Kong. It is considered a relatively well-known literary magazine in Hong Kong and is published monthly.
In addition to providing information on new books and literary trends from the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong in each issue, the most common content is various book reviews.
In the "Book Appreciation Garden" column of the April issue that Yu Dong sent to Lin Weimin, there was a review article written by Feng Weicai, the editor-in-chief of "The Reader".
"A masterpiece of the century about China since the 1950s".
"…The most prominent impression of "Li Jianguo" is: solemnity. Currently, only the first part of the novel can be appreciated, but it is not difficult to glimpse the grand narrative of this work through the novel world constructed by the author with more than 400,000 words. The content of the first part is profound and concise, hearty and rigorous. In terms of the heavy degree of life content and ideological strength in the work, it can be said to be a masterpiece. The fineness of its art is like brocade.
In the creation of Li Jianguo, we can see that the author Lin Weimin's creative ability has reached a peak. He has always been the leader and flag bearer of Chinese literature, which is recognized by the world. The birth of Li Jianguo further highlights his important position in the current Chinese literary world. His creative style is ever-changing, but he is always unique and superior. It can be said that he is a whole body ahead of his contemporaries.
If we talk about Chinese literature works in the past thirty years, perhaps only Cheng Zhongshi’s “White Deer Plain” can be compared with it…”
Seeing this, Lin Weimin put down the magazine.
This gentleman's praise was a little too blatant, even a thick-skinned man would feel embarrassed.
He picked up another newspaper and began to read it.
Well, look at this guy, his comments seem much fairer and more objective.
When cultured people praise others, they should not be so explicit and vulgar.
(End of this chapter)
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