1980 My Literary Era.

Chapter 625 Luxurious lineup
Before the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television issued "Several Opinions on the Current Deepening of the Reform of the Film Industry Mechanism" in 1993, there was no room for private companies in the domestic film market.

First of all, is it okay for an individual to open a film and television company to make movies?

is allowed.

But the problem is, if you want to make a movie, you have to find a studio to be affiliated with.

After the filming is finished, the distribution channel is in the hands of China Film Corporation, and the purchase and sales are unified. A movie will give you so much money, and it has nothing to do with you whether the box office is high or low.

After 93, the opinions were released, and the domestic film industry ushered in great changes.

Cancel the unified purchase and marketing, liberalize movie ticket prices, and cancel the distribution model of China Film Group as a single company.

It seems to have loosened the ties of Chinese movies, but in fact, it has led Chinese movies into the barbaric era.

With the abolition of unified purchase and marketing, the cost pressure of studios has become smaller, but at the same time there is no guarantee. The inertia developed in the planned economy era has made these studios at a loss, and some studios have never recovered.

Letting go of movie ticket prices seems to be moving towards a market economy, but the problem is that there are no rules to follow, and movie theaters everywhere ask for prices, and some movies cost as much as 30 yuan. The price is 50 yuan/ticket, and the scalper has speculated to 400 yuan/ticket.

What's more, there are movie theaters from all over the world forming an alliance, taking advantage of the advantages of monopolizing film scheduling to raise movie ticket prices, and retaliating against movie theaters, production companies, and distribution companies in various places that do not cooperate.

We must know that in the early 90s, the monthly salary of ordinary wage earners was only 200 yuan, and at the end of the 90s, it was only worth a thousand yuan.

It takes one or two days, or even four or five days' wages to watch a movie.

The abnormally soaring ticket prices have killed countless audiences' eager desire to watch movies. This kind of short-sighted fishing has brought Chinese movies to a stage of stagnation or even regression in the 90s.

Of course, the biggest reason for the rapid collapse of the domestic film market is the distribution of VCDs and DVDs, rampant piracy, and the fact that movie theaters around the world concealed and underreported the box office.

The policy is liberalized, movie ticket prices have risen, and the cost of watching movies has soared for ordinary people, so they choose not to watch movies.

Then VCDs and DVDs appeared, and pirated discs were rampant. Renting a disc and watching movies at home is not as cost-effective as going to a movie theater?
The common people do not go to the movie theater, the revenue of the movie theater is reduced, and the ticket price must be raised, and even the box office of the movie is concealed and underreported.

This cycle goes on and on, causing Chinese films to fall into an infinite vicious circle.

In the past, the control was too strict, but after letting go, the control is too loose.

In the few years after 93, Chinese films experienced the pains of reform.

In the entire industrial chain, the most miserable is the private company, no matter how great the contribution is, they do not have any right to speak or dominate.

For example, Chen Xiaoer has been a hot comedy star in the domestic film industry for the past few years.

Last year, Hainan Comedy Film and Television Co., Ltd. was established in Hainan, which is the first private film and television company in China.

According to the historical trajectory, his film and television company will be affiliated with a number of studios to invest and shoot many movies such as "The Extraordinary Husband" and "Auspicious Queen Mother". , but it was reflected in the box office, but it couldn't even get back the money.

Chen Xiaoer became poorer and poorer as he made movies. In 1997, he finally couldn't support himself and closed down his own film company.

Lin Weimin's later generations like to watch movies, and he knows very well about the film reform in the past few years.

It is of course a good thing for his works to be filmed, but he must find a way that is most beneficial to him.

Setting up a film and television company by yourself to invest in production, at least at this time point, will definitely not work. The distribution of the film can only be handed over to China Film. Regardless of how much money is invested in a film, it will only give 90, unless he is crazy.

But it’s different with Xu Feng and Michael Phillips. They are foreign investors, and the treatment they enjoy when they come to China to make movies is top-notch. Co-productions can be distributed by a special zone distribution company. There is no China Film Group’s monopoly, even if the distribution area is small. A little income is more than 90.

Many people know that in the 90s Xiangjiang and the mainland co-produced many movies, but in fact, the so-called co-productions were often the work of a certain studio in cooperation with the Xiangjiang crew.

Both of them are capable producers who can invest out of their own pockets. They provide funds, contacts, channels, and a layer of foreign capital status. While contributing money and effort, they also bear risks.

What Lin Weimin contributed was the influential original work.

Mutual benefit and win-win.

Michael Phillips arrived one day later than expected, with a one-night jet lag, and he couldn't wait to meet Lin Weimin and Xu Feng.

The general matters of the cooperation were discussed over the phone, and after meeting and discussing with several people, the cooperation was confirmed.

Although Michael Phillips walks among the major Hollywood companies, he also has an independent production company, but the investments are all little-known small-budget films or independent films.

This time, it was a lot of pressure for him to come up with 400 million all at once.

The same is true for Xu Feng.

"Farewell My Concubine" invested 800 million dollars, compared with later generations, the investment amount has doubled.

After signing the investment agreement, the first thing they have to do is to set up the crew. The director is the brain of a movie, so he must be the first candidate to be finalized.

The production of "Farewell My Concubine" is dominated by Xu Feng, and Michael Phillips is responsible for the announcement.

"Director, I want to find Cheng Kaige!" Xu Feng said.

Cheng Kaige?
Lin Weimin was not surprised by this, while Michael Phillips was at a loss as he was unfamiliar with this name.

"Why didn't you find Zhang Yimou?" Michael Phillips asked sincerely.

Cheng Kaige became famous earlier than Zhang Yimou, and people in China often compare the two together, but abroad, Zhang Yimou's reputation is far greater than Cheng Kaige.

Once a Golden Bear and once a Silver Lion Zhang Yimou is striding towards the direction of a master, while Cheng Kaige can only be said to be well-known internationally.

Of course Xu Feng knew Zhang Yimou's name, but it was Cheng Kaige who she ran to this time.

In 1987, Xu Feng took a dozen films from Tomson Pictures to the Cannes Film Festival to rent booths and sell film copyrights. It happened that year Cheng Kaige broke the contract with the Berlin Film Festival and took "King of the King" to the Cannes Film Festival.

Xu Feng attended the premiere of "The King of Children" and got to know Cheng Kaige. After watching the movie, she fell in love with Cheng Kaige's talent and always wanted to cooperate with him.

This time he got the right to adapt "Farewell My Concubine", Xu Feng's No. 1 director choice is Cheng Kaige.

"I don't know Zhang Yimou, and I appreciate Cheng Kaige's talent, I think he is very suitable to be the director of "Farewell My Concubine"." Xu Feng said bluntly.

Michael Phillips looked at Lin Weimin, "Lin, what do you think?"

"I have no opinion."

"Farewell My Concubine" is Kaizi's pinnacle work, and with Xu Feng controlling the whole process, Lin Weimin is not worried.

It's true that Kaizi is talented, but he likes to pretend, has a bit of feudal thinking, and is young, but he is not a bad person.

The biggest shortcoming of him is that he doesn't listen to persuasion. If there is no one around him, it's easy to go to heaven. With Xu Feng and himself, he can't make it to heaven, and the quality of the movie is guaranteed.

Michael didn't know Cheng Kaige well, but he knew Lin Weimin.

So far, among the works that Lin Weimin has handled, Oscar, Berlin, Venice, Cannes, and the world's major film festivals or awards have more or less won awards, so Michael believes in Lin Weimin's vision. Seeing that Lin Weimin agrees, he recognizes this director candidate.

Xu Feng was also very happy that the director he proposed was approved by the two partners.

After confirming the director, the behind-the-scenes production team must listen to the director's opinion. The three did not discuss it, and Michael mentioned the issue of the leading role.

For a movie, an actor is just a job, but for the audience, an actor is the face of a movie.

Before the popularity of movie special effects, the box office appeal of stars was very important.

"Let Gong Li play the heroine, Juxian," Lin Weimin said.

Xu Feng and Michael nodded without hesitation.

"Red Sorghum", "The Last Emperor" and "Raise the Red Lantern", the three films have become popular all over the world, making Gong Li an internationally renowned female star in just a few years.

This kind of international fame is not the same as the group of "international superstars" who only exist in the drafts of later generations. They are all awarded by real film awards, and there is no room for falsehood.

It is perfect for Gong Li to play the role of Juxian.

The three reached an agreement on the choice of actress, and chatted with the two leading actors, Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou.

Lin Weimin felt that Han Zhuangzhuang was very suitable to play Duan Xiaolou, but he wanted to respect the two partners, so he just mentioned it, introduced Han Zhuangzhuang's resume, and specifically explained his relationship with Han Zhuangzhuang.

Michael's eyes lit up after hearing Lin Weimin's introduction, "Of course it's no problem. "Red Sorghum", I know, he is that Yu Zhanao."

Xu Feng has not only watched "Red Sorghum", but also "Ben Ming Nian", "Han Zhuangzhuang is a good candidate, has a certain international reputation, and is also very suitable for the role of Duan Xiaolou, I agree."

The three reached an agreement again, and the atmosphere gradually became more pleasant.

It is the turn of the last main character, who is also the soul of "Farewell My Concubine"-Cheng Dieyi.

"Cheng Dieyi let Zunlong play the role. There is no star more suitable for this role than him, and the audience in the United States is also familiar with him, which will be very helpful for our later publicity in the United States."

"Zun Long is more than handsome, but the corners and lines of his face are too obvious, not soft enough, and it doesn't fit Cheng Dieyi's image." Xu Feng retorted.

"Then do you have a suitable candidate?" Michael asked.

"Zhang Guorong."

It was another name that Michael had never heard of, and he couldn't help frowning, "Ms. Xu, you should consider the international influence of actors. Zun Long has a masterpiece like "The Last Emperor" and has a lot of popularity in Western countries. high profile."

"Leslie Cheung also has works such as "The True Colors of a Hero" and "A Chinese Ghost Story", which are very popular in East Asian countries." Xu Feng argued hard.

The two each had their favorite candidates, and they couldn't stop arguing, and looked at Lin Weimin again.

"Lin, what's your opinion?"

Lin Weimin scratched his head, speaking from the bottom of his heart, he had the impression of the original "Farewell My Concubine", and he recognized Zhang Guorong's acting skills very much.

But he has also seen Zun Long's performance in "Mr. Butterfly", his acting skills are worthy of a film king crown, and he also fits the role of Cheng Dieyi very well.

Now that Xu Feng and Michael were in a stalemate because of these two candidates, he was also a little embarrassed.

"How about, let's have an audition after chatting with the director, and send an invitation to the two of you." Lin Weimin suggested.

His opinions were mature, prudent, and impartial. Xu Feng and Michael agreed after thinking about it.

After discussing the starring role, Xu Feng sighed.

She was right to agree to cooperate. Han Zhuangzhuang didn't know, but Gong Li, Leslie Cheung, and Zunlong are well-known internationally, and their salaries are high. With only her investment of 400 million yuan, it is a question of whether they can invite actors.

Now that the investment amount has doubled, and with sufficient funds, there is no need to worry about actors' remuneration at all.

Her mood suddenly lifted.

(End of this chapter)