1980 My Literary Era.

Chapter 623 A business that makes no money

Lin Weimin could see the surprise in Xu Feng's eyes. Seeing her sitting there with a troubled face, Lin Weimin could roughly guess what was going on in her heart.

Back then, Ms. Yang invested in the production of "The Lover", which won awards in Cannes and Xiangjiang, and the box office was good. It stands to reason that she has a good foundation for cooperation. She also has a strong willingness to invest in the production of "Farewell My Concubine". Not bad.

But the key problem is that Ms. Yang's financial strength is too weak.

"Farewell My Concubine" is the first echelon of Lin Weimin's works, both in terms of fame and sales. To adapt a film, it must be for awards and a double harvest at the box office. Excellent production is the foundation, even if the investment in a literary film is not enough. It's not high, but it's not something that Ms. Yang's strength can handle.

Compared with Ms. Yang, Xu Feng is much stronger.

In fact, if we only start from the perspective of funds, Hollywood is the best choice for cooperation.

In the 88 years when "The Last Emperor" slammed the Oscars, Lin Weimin's novels and scripts were once sought after by Hollywood. However, in the face of cooperation invitations from many companies, Lin Weimin was not tempted. The right to adapt "Life is Beautiful" was handed over to Spielberg.

These two works have a foreign background, and Spielberg is also known as a player with a stable output, so Lin Weimin feels relieved to entrust these two works to him.

As for other works, Lin Weimin has some scruples in his heart.

The tragedy of Laurentiis' production of "The Taipan" is vivid in my mind, even if it is Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor", Lin Weimin is not very satisfied with some parts.

It is difficult for westerners to capture the essence of oriental things. Lin Weimin does not want his own things to end up being nondescript.

The appearance of Xu Feng made him see an opportunity. When the later generations "Farewell My Concubine" were filmed, she was the one who came together with Cheng Kaige, Zhang Guorong, Gong Li and other big names. Various film festivals and award selections are also doing their best to promote public relations.

Whether it is from an investor's point of view or a producer's point of view, the results are perfect.

So now that Xu Feng came to him to get the right to adapt, Lin Weimin also had a little willingness to cooperate.

The only problem is the price.

It has been nearly ten years since "Farewell My Concubine" was published. The total domestic sales volume has exceeded 500 million copies, and it has been sold in more than 20 countries overseas.

If such a world-class influential work is to be adapted into a movie, it is actually difficult to estimate its value.

Lin Weimin is not short of money now, and the funds in the Bank of China's foreign exchange account have exceeded the 1 million meter mark.

If he only got some script fees, he really lacked interest.

"Hehe, it seems that Ms. Xu is in a bit of trouble." Lin Weimin looked at Xu Feng with a smile.

Xu Feng's face was a little embarrassed. Before she came, she was full of confidence, thinking that the price she gave was sincere enough, but she didn't expect it to be half of the price she paid for cooperation with Hollywood.

"Mr. Lin, I have to admit that Americans are really rich and powerful. But I think you should also understand that Americans can't shoot Chinese things well. "Farewell My Concubine" is a classic of our Chinese literature, and it is popular all over the world. have wide-ranging influence.

If this work cannot be made by us Chinese, I think this is also a pity for all readers and Chinese people.

If you are not satisfied with the price of the script, we can discuss it again, it's just..."

Xu Feng looked embarrassed when she said this, and she complained: "You should also understand. "Farewell My Concubine" must be filmed according to the way of a literary film, so the investment will not be too high. Before coming, I gave it to you in my heart. The fixed investment for this movie is 400 million meters, which is already my limit..."

With an investment of 400 million yuan, the cost of the script for myself is one-tenth of the investment in the film, and the sincerity is indeed great.

Seeing the begging on Xu Feng's face, Lin Weimin moved in his heart, and said, "Ms. Xu, I don't think so. I won't charge the script fee. How about changing it to pure profit sharing?"

Xu Feng's expression was astonished. She never expected that Lin Weimin would make such a suggestion. She was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

Lin Weimin was not in a hurry and gave her plenty of time to think about it.

After a while, Xu Feng said: "Mr. Lin is very confident in his works!"

Lin Weimin smiled, "It's not so much confidence in my own work as it is confidence in Ms. Xu. You are the investor and producer of the film. If the film loses money, not only you, but also me. Can't get it."

Xu Feng naturally understood Lin Weimin's implication.

The pure profit sharing is tantamount to sharing the risk between Lin Weimin, the author of the original work, and her, the investor. In this way, the investment pressure brought about by the high cost of the script can be avoided, and the production cost will be squeezed out.

From a filmmaking point of view, this is certainly a very good proposal.

But Xu Feng is not only the producer, she is also the investor of this film.

"Farewell My Concubine" has been published overseas for many years and has a huge influence. Although it is a literary film, it is not a problem to pay back the cost at all, and the possibility of making a fortune is not small.

That's why Xu Feng dared to set the investment scale at 400 million meters from the very beginning.

You must know that the investment in films in the Mainland rarely exceeds one million RMB. The Xiangjiang film market is booming. Generally, for a big cast and a big production, 2000 million Hong Kong dollars is already a very large production.

And the 400 million yuan she set for "Farewell My Concubine", if converted into Hong Kong dollars, is 3100 million Hong Kong dollars. It is a first-class big production in the Hong Kong film circle, and it is the kind of commercial film full of big stars.

Thinking of this, Xu Feng couldn't help feeling a little regretful. If he had known earlier, it would be better to give Lin Weimin a satisfactory price just now. At worst, he would go back and ask her husband for help, and then invest some funds in her.

It's good now, Lin Weimin proposed the idea of ​​pure profit sharing, if he doesn't agree, he will fall behind.

Xu Feng's mind was running fast, weighing the pros and cons.

She knew that since Lin Weimin had proposed the method of sharing the pure profits, it was inevitable. The big deal was that he would not cooperate, and the other party would have nothing to lose. However, she missed "Farewell My Concubine", a classic work with unlimited adaptability.

After much deliberation, Xu Feng finally made up his mind.

"Since Mr. Lin has so much confidence in me, I naturally wish for it. I just don't know the ratio of the pure profit share..."

Lin Weimin smiled lightly, "30%!"

Hearing this, Xu Feng couldn't help but leaned back. For a moment, she really wanted to stand up and slam the door away.

30%!

This figure is simply too exaggerated. Lin Weimin dares to ask for 30% of the net profit as long as he publishes an original book.

"Mr. Lin, with all due respect, your request is outrageous." Xu Feng said in a serious tone.

"Outrageous?" Lin Weimin smiled and shook his head, "Ms. Xu, do you know what the words "Farewell My Concubine" mean?"

Xu Feng's face was stiff, she understood what Lin Weimin meant.

With the influence of "Farewell My Concubine" established overseas for many years, as long as the film is announced to start shooting, it will inevitably attract the attention of countless readers.

You must know that even if it is a conservative estimate, there are tens of millions of readers of "Farewell My Concubine" all over the world. These readers are likely to be transformed into the most solid audience of the movie, which is the basic box office of the movie.

"Ms. Xu, let me say something blunt. If I agreed to your "Farewell My Concubine" film adaptation rights today, tomorrow you will complete the crew code and hold a press conference to announce the start of the filming of "Farewell My Concubine". It doesn’t even need to be sold, selling the distribution rights is enough to get back the money!”

When Lin Weimin said this, his eyes were squinting, full of confidence.

Xu Feng couldn't help but said: "Since Mr. Lin believes that "Farewell My Concubine" is a business that can make money without losing money, why don't you prepare this movie yourself?"

Faced with her slightly ironic words, Lin Weimin was not angry at all, and said: "It takes too much energy to invest and produce a movie. I have a job and I have to take care of writing, so I can't keep busy."

After answering Xu Feng's words, Lin Weimin said again: "Ms. Xu, you may think that I want to share a high proportion. But I can tell you responsibly, even if you invite ten big stars, it is still not as good as "Farewell to the King". "Ji" is the influence of the work itself."

"Mr. Lin, your number is really dishonest. I invested real money in making a movie, but you are reaping the benefits." Xu Feng said with a bit of annoyance.

"Ms. Xu, it's business. If you like me, if you think my conditions are too much, just pretend I didn't say so." Lin Weimin said with a smile.

Xu Feng stared at Lin Weimin steadfastly, trying to find flaws in his eyes, but Lin Weimin's eyes were calm, his expression was calm, and he didn't intend to back down at all.

She couldn't help feeling a little annoyed, and said sarcastically, "Are all writers so penny-pinching?"

Lin Weimin smiled and said, "It's still a bit worse than your businessmen."

After saying this, Lin Weimin didn't wait for Xu Feng to speak again, and said again: "Well, to express my sincerity, how about I get some investment for Ms. Xu?"

"Investment?" Xu Feng was puzzled.

"Getting some Hollywood investment, whether it is participating in film festivals or film distribution in the future, it will be beneficial. What does Ms. Xu think of my proposal?"

Xu Feng fell silent, with a thoughtful expression on his face again.

"Mr. Lin, since you can attract investment from Hollywood, why don't you hand over "Farewell My Concubine" to them?"

"You also said just now that American people can't shoot Chinese things well. Isn't it a waste of money to give them my novels? Although I said that I will attract Hollywood investment for you, you are still the main producer of the film."

Xu Feng nodded when he heard the words, everything made sense now.

No wonder "Farewell My Concubine" has such a great reputation, but it has not been filmed for a long time.No wonder Lin Weimin obviously has the ability to invest and produce on his own, but he has been slow to act.

She knew that Lin Weimin also needed a reliable and caring partner.

After thinking about this, Xu Feng regained some confidence.

"10%!" Xu Feng said abruptly, almost breaking Lin Weimin's bones.

"Ms. Xu was joking, 10% is impossible."

"12%, Mr. Lin, I am already very sincere."

"Ms. Xu, you need to show some sincerity when doing business. "Farewell My Concubine" is different from a commercial film and does not require a large investment. The film and television production is completely supported by the fame of the work."

"15%, no more, you're just writing a script."

(End of this chapter)