Both Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou arrived in Yanjing yesterday. The difference is that Chen Kaige came back from Xi'an, Shaanxi.
Zhang Yimou came back from Puzhong, Shanxi.
Of course they are happy if someone rushes to give them money. Nowadays, when making movies, there is no shortage of money.
In 1983, when the two were filming "Yellow Earth" together, one day Zhang Yimou suddenly shouted, angrily sat on the ground and slapped himself.
After Chen Kaige stepped forward to check it, he was confused. It turned out that the films taken in the past few days were not kept well and all were exposed.
When they make a movie, they have very little money, and the film is even more expensive.
Sometimes in order to save film, actors are even asked to spend time rehearsing several times in advance to ensure that everything is perfect before starting filming.
The loss of several days' worth of film at once, coupled with the expenses required for reshoots, was undoubtedly a major blow to them. Fortunately, Wu Tianming came forward to solve the problem for them at that time.
There are no other advantages to co-producing a film. The funds are definitely much more generous than making a film for a studio, so Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou are very happy.
The two of them stayed at Lin Chaoyang's house for a day, and Tao Yushu spent most of the time chatting with them about ideas.
Until evening, Lin Chaoyang entertained them another dinner.
While we were eating, another guest came to the house.
"Da Feng? Why are you here?" Lin Chaoyang was very surprised to see Feng Jicai.
"I had a manuscript for "October" that I needed to revise, and I wanted to find a place to revise it, so I thought of your home.
Is there anyone in your west courtyard lately?"
Feng Jicai explained the purpose of his visit, and Lin Chaoyang said: "There is no one here. Just give it a try, there are a lot of idle people in Yanjing."
Feng Jicai came to Lin Chaoyang not to escape and relax, but to meet people of the same mind and find inspiration.
The two chatted for a while, and then Lin Chaoyang took Feng Jicai to dinner and introduced Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou to him.
After finishing the meal, Tao Yushu said to Zhang Yimou: "Tomorrow I will contact Mo Yan and ask him to come to Yanjing to discuss the adaptation. You can stay in Yanjing during this period. Do you have a place to live?"
Just when Zhang Yimou was about to speak, Chen Kaige suddenly touched him and said first, "No."
"If you don't have any room, then you can live in the west courtyard of our house. It happens to be vacant there."
Zhang Yimou nodded in agreement.
Chen Kaige then lied that Zhang Yimou's luggage was left at their home, and went back to pick up the luggage first before asking Zhang Yimou to come back, and then took him out the door.
After leaving the door, Zhang Yimou asked: "Kege, haven't the dormitories been arranged at Yanyingchang Guest House?"
"What are the conditions at Yanying Factory and what are the conditions at Uncle Lin's house? It can be the same. You have to thank me, you know?"
Besides, didn't you see Feng Jicai coming? Let me tell you, their west courtyard will definitely be lively these days.
Get to know a few more writers and build relationships. If you make a movie in the future, are you still worried about not having a script?’
Now Chen Kaige has a sense of superiority when getting along with Zhang Yimou, and he has the feeling that he regards Zhang Yimou as his younger brother. Zhang Yimou is going to change his career to become a director, and he doesn't mind lending a helping hand with a bit of overlooking.
Listening to Chen Kaige's words, Zhang Yimou nodded lightly, "That makes sense. Thank you, Kaige."
Chen Kaige smiled proudly, "No matter how polite you are, we are all classmates."
The two returned to Yanying Factory and went to the guest house to pick up their luggage. Zhang Yimou left alone.
It was almost eight o'clock in the evening when he returned to Xiaoliubukou Alley, and Lin Chaoyang arranged for him to stay in a separate room in the west wing of the west courtyard.
After Lin Chaoyang left, Zhang Yimou took a look around the room and found that the conditions were indeed much better than those at the Yanying Factory Guest House.
He saw the light in the wing next door was on and knew that Feng Jicai lived there. Thinking that the two of them would be neighbors these days, he decided to go over and have a chat.
It happened that Feng Jicai had just turned off the lights in his room and came out. They said hello, and Feng Jicai said: "I want to watch TV for a while, let's go together!"
"good."
Feng Jicai led him into the main room with ease. Zhang Yimou thought he was going to the east courtyard, but he didn't expect that there was a TV in the main room in the west courtyard, and it was a 16 o'clock color TV.
"! I'm usually so busy at home that I don't even have time to watch TV." Feng Jicai sat on the sofa and sighed.
When Zhang Yimou reached middle age, he deeply felt the same way as Feng Jicai's words.
The two of them were watching TV and chatting. In a blink of an eye, the TV screen turned into snowflakes, but the conversation about sex continued.
Feng Jicai went outside to tinker for a while, and when he came back he brought some food and wine. Zhang Yimou asked, "Where did you get this?"
"There is a kitchen. There are parties every now and then in the Chaoyang courtyard. Anyone can come and live there, especially foreign writers who come to Beijing. It provides a lot of convenience for everyone.
At first, some people thought it was embarrassing to live in other people's houses for free, so they left some things behind, and later it became a tradition.
Anyone who stays in the West Hospital must leave something behind when leaving. Rice, flour, grains, oils, tobacco, wine, sugar and tea are almost like a canteen.
You see, this salted duck egg must have been brought over by Wang Zengqi. From his hometown in Gaoyou, he loves to pickle this stuff."
Zhang Yimou stared at the salted duck eggs in Feng Jicai's hand. For some reason, the image of a group of literati changing cups and reciting poems appeared in his mind, and he couldn't help but be fascinated.
"Come on, have a drink!" Feng Jicai greeted.
Zhang Yimou happily sat down, chatting and drinking, and unknowingly became a little drunk.
When Zhang Yimou woke up again, it was already past nine o'clock the next morning. He hurriedly got up and then remembered that he was no longer on the set.
When he left the room, he realized that he didn't seem to be staying in the same room as yesterday.
"Yimou, wake up!"
Feng Jicai was doing some activities in the courtyard. When he saw Zhang Yimou getting up, he greeted him and said, "There is food in the kitchen.
You can eat it hot."
"good.'
By the time Zhang Yimou finished eating, Feng Jicai had already gone back to his room to write. He had nothing to do and didn't know what to do. He planned to buy a copy of "People's Literature" and study "Red Sorghum" carefully.
"Red Sorghum" was published in the third issue of "People's Literature" this year. The bookstore had long since sold out the magazine. He wandered around Xidan all morning without buying the magazine, so he had no choice but to return.
Returning to Xiaoliubukou Alley, as soon as I walked to the gate of the west courtyard, I saw a little boy looking at the threshold of the courtyard gate, his big dark eyes full of curiosity.
Zhang Yimou had seen this child in the east courtyard yesterday and knew that he was Lin Chaoyang's son. He glanced into the alley and saw Lin Chaoyang standing there leisurely.
"Teacher Chaoyang!"
The two greeted each other, and Lin Chaoyang asked: "Going out?"
"I originally wanted to buy a copy of "People's Literature", but I didn't."
Lin Chaoyang smiled and said: "No need to buy it, I have it at home."
As he said this, he led Zhang Yimou into the west courtyard, and by the way, he picked up Xiao Dongdong who was playing at the door and held him in his arms.
"Come down, I want to come down!"
After entering the inner courtyard, Lin Chaoyang put him down and warned: "Just play in the courtyard, don't run around, do you hear me?"
"I heard you!"
Xiao Dongdong stared at the sycamore tree in the yard and ran to pick leaves. Lin Chaoyang ignored him and led Zhang Yimou through the verandah and ear room and into the back room in the backyard.
What comes into view are several rows of bookshelves, filled with books, at least four to five thousand.
Zhang Yimou couldn't help but be speechless. Apart from the library, this was the first time he saw so many books in his own home.
"The newspapers and periodicals are in the first row on the left. Look for them. This year's "People's Literature" should be there."
Zhang Yimou followed Lin Chaoyang's instructions and searched on the bookshelf for a while, and soon found the third issue of "People's Literature" he wanted.
"Found it."
After finishing looking for the magazine, Zhang Yimou exited the room, and Lin Chaoyang told him to come here if he wanted to read.
The two returned to the inner courtyard and saw Xiao Dongdong climbing up the trunk of the French plane tree. It was already more than one meter high.
"Come down!"
Lin Chaoyang shouted, Xiao Dongdong turned his head and glanced at his old father, hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey
But he had no intention of getting off the tree.
Lin Chaoyang was not in a hurry and continued: "I'll tell your mother!"
As soon as these words came out, Xiao Dongdong immediately slipped down from the tree, ran over and hugged Lin Chaoyang's thigh, acting coquettishly and cutely.
Zhang Yimou couldn't help but feel happy when he saw the father and son getting along.
Lin Chaoyang chatted with Zhang Yimou for a few words, then heard someone calling him outside the hospital, so he carried Xiao Dongdong out and it turned out that there was an international registered letter sent from Japan.
Lin Chaoyang opened it and saw that it was from Miyu Kitamura. The form was similar to the previous one.
First, I reported to Lin Chaoyang the sales volume of "Enter Guandong" in the past few months, and then translated the reviews of many professional critics and enthusiastic readers.
But the difference this time is that Miyu Kitamura mentioned the royalty settlement in the letter.
"Enter Guandong" was released in Japan in January this year, and 9,000 copies were sold in the first month of release. Since then, word-of-mouth has continued to grow, and sales have steadily increased.
As of last month, June, the monthly sales had reached 14,500 copies, and the cumulative sales in the past six months had reached 71,800 copies.
The domestic price of "Into the Kanto" in Japan is 3,600 yen. According to the royalty contract signed by Lin Chaoyang and Kawade Shobo, his royalties this time exceeded 20.6 million yen.
Since the signing of the Plaza Accord last year, the Japanese yen has appreciated wildly, and now the U.S.-Japanese currency exchange rate has soared from around 1:210 last year to 1:170.
International events have little to do with Lin Chaoyang, but the appreciation of the yen did bring him some benefits.
Originally, these royalties were only about 100,000 US dollars, but now they have become more than 120,000 US dollars, which is equivalent to an invisible increase in royalties.
Perhaps it was because "Into the Kanto" entered the Japanese book market for the first time and its sales were good. At the end of the letter, Miyu Kitamura mentioned that Kawade Shobo hopes to strengthen cooperation with Lin Chaoyang and continue to introduce and publish Lin Chaoyang's works.
After reading the letter, Lin Chaoyang wrote back to Miyu Kitamura. In principle, he agreed with Kawade's study room idea, but he also put forward his own requirements.
The reason why "Into the Guandong" was published without any conditions was because it was published in Japan for the first time. Now that the novel has performed well since it was put on the shelves, it is natural that the treatment should be improved.
A few days later, Mo Yan returned to Yanjing from his hometown in Shandong with his luggage, and found Xiaoliubukou Hutong according to the address Tao Yushu gave him.
Two days ago, he received a call from Tao Yushu in his hometown in Shandong from Yanjing, saying that he wanted to adapt his "Red Sorghum" into a movie, so that he could have time to return to Yanjing as soon as possible.
After receiving the news, although he couldn't believe it, Mo Yan said goodbye to his family and hurriedly boarded the train back to Beijing.
The reason why he said "returning to Beijing" is because he just left Yanjing half a month ago.
Ever since he was separated from many amateur creators by Tao Yushu that year, Mo Yan's creative career has opened up a new world.
He has successively published many novels in many magazines such as "Lotus Pond", "Huashan", "Novel Monthly", and "People's Literature".
In 1984, he learned that the Literature Department of Military Arts had just been established and was enrolling students. After many setbacks, he successfully became a student of the Chinese Department of Military Arts.
Now he has been studying military arts for two years. He returned to his hometown in Shandong during the summer vacation in July.
After meeting Tao Yushu, Mo Yan felt particularly cordial and told her about his situation in the past few years.
"It was late when I went to the military art program and registration had closed.
Thanks to Teacher Xu who was impressed by my name and asked me if I was the Mo Yan who wrote "Folk Music".
I said yes, and he said that he had read Mr. Chaoyang's review of "Folk Music" and was impressed by me, so he allowed me to sign up."
When talking about the experience of enrolling in military arts, Mo Yan's face was full of gratitude. Tao Yushu did not expect that Lin Chaoyang's small actions would affect Mo Yan's life, but he still said:
"This is all the result of your own efforts. The response to "Red Sorghum" has been so good after it was published, which fully shows that you have been making progress in the past few years."
After the two reminisced about old times, Tao Yushu took Mo Yan to the West Courtyard and wanted him to meet Zhang Yimou.
After Feng Jicai came to Yanjing, the West Courtyard, which had been silent for a few days, became lively again. Today there were several guests in the courtyard.
Tao Yushu introduced Mo Yan and Zhang Yimou to each other, and then introduced the movie to Mo Yan.
Finally, the issue of royalties was mentioned.
"Yimou is the director of "Red Sorghum", and the director's salary is 5,000 yuan.
Moyan, your copyright fee is 2,000 yuan, and the script adaptation fee is 4,000 yuan. Can you write the script?"
Zhang Yimou and Mo Yan were very surprised when they heard Tao Yushu's words. They had never discussed the issue of remuneration with Tao Yushu before, and they did not expect that she would be so generous.
Zhang Yimou is paid a salary at the Guangxi Film Studio, and is given a daily subsidy when he goes out to film, which is just over 100 yuan a month.
Mo Yan is better than Zhang Yimou. He is now paid to go to school, the army pays him a salary, and he can earn several hundred yuan in royalties every year.
Mo Yan really wanted to pocket the script adaptation fees, but he had no experience in writing scripts at all, so he had no confidence in getting the money.
"Teacher Tao, I'm afraid I'm not good at writing scripts." Mo Yan said hesitantly.
"You are the original author and the creator of this novel. You must have confidence in yourself." Tao Yushu advised.
While the two were talking, Zheng Wanlong on the other side smiled and asked, "Why don't you let Chaoyang write the Jade Book?"
"Chaoyang is writing a new novel." Tao Yushu explained.
"That's easy!" Li Tuo pushed Chen Jianyu out beside him, "Jianyu's script is well written. Let him cooperate with Mo Yan, and there will be no mistakes."
Mo Yan has ideas and writing skills, but what he lacks is the experience of writing scripts. Chen Jianyu can just make up for his shortcomings. Tao Yushu thinks this is a way.
She consulted Mo Yan and Chen Jianyu for their opinions. They were also very happy. With Chen Jianyu's help, Mo Yan gained confidence.
As for Chen Jianyu, he can also take advantage of this opportunity to make some extra money.
The 4,000 yuan divided equally is 2,000 yuan per person, which is higher than his annual salary.
The two happily accepted the errand. When they heard that they were going to write a script, Li Tuo and his gang also gave them suggestions, and the conversation was lively.
Tao Yushu looked at this scene and exited the west courtyard happily.
A few days later, Chen Kaige came to Lin Chaoyang's house with the script of "Kid King".
The script of "The King of Children" was written by him with Chen Maiping, his teacher at China National Theater. The two of them jointly signed the script. Chen Kaige was full of confidence in the script.
After Lin Chaoyang finished reading the script, he said to him: "Kege, as a director, it's okay to communicate your ideas with the screenwriter, but it's not necessary to write the script yourself. At this point, you have to follow the artistic approach.
To study."
Chen Kaige didn't understand Lin Chaoyang's words at first, but he soon understood.
Uncle Lin was dissatisfied with his poor script writing.
"No, Uncle Lin, listen to me, my script - -" - Look at this scene, I planned to shoot it this way - the image of this shot and this line have three meanings -
Chen Kaige tried to persuade Lin Chaoyang with his sharp tongue, but unfortunately he met Lin Chaoyang who knew his bad nature.
He talked for a long time, and Lin Chaoyang finally said only one sentence, "When you make a movie, you have to show it to the audience in the end. Even if it is an author's movie, it still needs an audience."
After realizing that his efforts were in vain, Chen Kaige became angry.
Uncle Lin just compared him with Zhang Yimou. Is this comparable?
Do you think Zhang Yimou doesn’t want to write a script? He doesn’t have the talent.
"What are you thinking about?" Lin Chaoyang asked.
After coming back to his senses, Chen Kaige said: "It's nothing."
Lin Chaoyang pointed out: "A Cheng's original work has a good story. Since you are interested in this work, this should be retained. The rhythm of the script should be faster, with less meaningless lines and empty scenes -·
The script is not a novel, but it is certainly not an essay. You wrote the script in such a loose manner. Do you intend to be alone and enjoy yourself when you film it?"
Chen Kaige felt very aggrieved and wanted to refute Lin Chaoyang, but everything Lin Chaoyang said made sense.
The most important thing is that he holds the best screenwriter at the Cannes Film Festival. Chen Kaige always wants to refute a few words, but he always feels that he has no confidence in his heart.
Uncle Lin has won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival. His attainments in drama creation are definitely much higher than mine. If he doesn't understand something, it must be because he is not good enough.
"Then I'll take it back and change it."
After being criticized by Lin Chaoyang, Chen Kaige said angrily.
"Well, change it as soon as possible." Lin Chaoyang said, and felt that after the slap, he should be given a sweet date.
"We will try to start shooting the film in September or October, and finish the post-production as soon as possible so that we can be in time for next year's Berlin Film Festival.
After hearing this, Chen Kaige, who was originally in a low mood, suddenly became excited.
"Uncle Lin, can my film go to the Cannes Film Festival?"
"Whether you can go depends on the quality of your photos."
The reason why Chen Kaige is so excited is that when he first filmed "Yellow Earth", he wanted to hit the three major international film festivals in Europe, namely Cannes, Berlin and Venice.
It's a pity that my luck was a bit bad, and I only visited some relatively less influential film festivals in Europe.
If the new film has Uncle Lin leading the way and the quality is guaranteed, it will definitely not be difficult to be shortlisted and win an award when the time comes...
Chen Kaige didn't dare to think about it anymore, for fear that he wouldn't be able to help but laugh out loud.
In addition to being happy and excited, he also felt motivated to change the script.
"I understand, I understand. I will make sure to change the script as soon as possible when I get back and try to start filming as soon as possible."
"Okay, let's go."
Chen Kaige happily walked out of the east courtyard with the script. When passing by the west courtyard, he heard the noise inside and knew that there must be another gathering of writers inside.
He is usually very willing to participate in occasions like this, but now when he thinks about his film being able to participate in the Berlin Film Festival, he feels like a fire is burning in his heart.
It doesn't matter whether it's a party or not, just come up with the script first.
With this thought in his mind, he took long strides and left gracefully.
Time flashed to mid-August, and Tao Yushu returned to Xiangjiang a few days ago. The main purpose was to settle the dividends of "The Truman Show."
After the Shana Film Festival ended, the overseas copyrights of the film were sold one after another. As of early August, a total of overseas copyrights from 29 countries including Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea had been sold, and the cumulative copyright transaction volume had reached
$11.45 million.
In addition, there is a symbolic copyright buyout fee of US$20,000 in mainland China.
Overseas copyright income alone is equivalent to HK$91.76 million in Hong Kong dollars.
In addition to overseas copyright transactions, "The Truman Show" has also been released in Hong Kong in the past two months.
Screened in the Gulf Islands and Southeast Asian countries.
Xiangjiang is released on May 24th, Bay Island is released on May 29th, Thailand is released on June 4th, and Malaysia is released on June 5th.
Japan·The screening period varies from 25 to 35 days in various regions and countries.
By mid-July, the screenings were basically over. The box office of "The Truman Show" was 33.46 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong, NT$42.73 million in Bay Island, and 6.29 million ringgit in Malaysia.
Screenings in Taiwan and Southeast Asia have achieved impressive results, with the final total box office equivalent to HK$71.55 million in Hong Kong dollars.
The box office revenue attributed to producers such as Golden Harvest, Xu's, Lam's, and New Kunlun was HK$28.95 million.
In total, the total after-tax income of "The Truman Show" reached an astonishing HK$100 million.
"The Truman Show" has four producers, but Golden Harvest monopolizes most of the revenue because they are not only the producer, but also distribute the film.
Lin Chaoyang originally invested in the script and received 10% of the income. In the end, Lin's Pictures' after-tax income exceeded HK$10 million.
This figure does not appear to be much compared to Golden Harvest's income, but movies are a business, and it is impossible for you to get all the benefits just by getting a good script.
Whether it's "The Truman Show" or "A Better Tomorrow," the most important role is to help Lam Pictures gain a foothold in the Hong Kong film industry.
Looking at it now, just one "The Truman Show" has exceeded the task.
After Tao Yushu returned to Xiangjiang, Jiahe happily settled the profits of Lin's Pictures. Zou Wenhuai also chatted with Tao Yushu about the next cooperation.
In fact, not only Jiahe, but also Xu Guanwen and Li Hanxiang are looking forward to a second cooperation with Lam Pictures.
However, the premise must be that Lin Chaoyang personally writes the script, but obviously this condition cannot be met at present.
Tao Yushu did not reject Jiahe directly. After all, they are now the dominant player in the Hong Kong film market, handling both production and distribution. Since they have a good start in cooperation, they must try their best to maintain the relationship.
She just said that Lin Chaoyang was writing new works for the time being and had no time to worry about movies.
After Jiahe's income arrived, Tao Yushu looked at the eight-digit working capital in the company's account and was filled with joy.
With this considerable amount of funds, Lin's Pictures can finally recruit more and more people.
After a busy day's work, Tao Yushu called Tao Yumo. As expected, she was at the New World Apartment in Tsim Sha Tsui at this time.
The New World Apartment in Tsim Sha Tsui is now a gathering place for many female celebrities in Hong Kong. Maggie Cheung has already bought an apartment here after making money.
The area is not large, more than 500 square meters, less than 60 square meters, which is very suitable for single nobles.
Since the couple left Xiangjiang, Tao Yumo spent most of his time with Maggie Cheung in addition to hanging around the company and the crew.
You can use "the train runs on the tracks" to describe the state of the two of them when they are together - shopping and eating.
"Have you gained weight again?"
As soon as they met, Tao Yushu asked Tao Yumo.
"Not fat." Tao Yumo said with firm eyes.
Tao Yushu looked at Maggie Cheung again, and she immediately wanted to get close to her, "Sister Yushu, when did you come back?"
"I just came back two days ago."
Tao Yushu's eyes took another look at the environment in the apartment. There was essentially no difference between a single female star and a bachelor. They were both singles. The environment in the apartment could not be called tidy.
Maggie Cheung felt very embarrassed when she saw her, and said with a guilty conscience: "I have been too busy filming recently."
Tao Yushu did not dwell on these matters and said, "Let's go and have dinner together tonight."
The three of them went to the coffee shop downstairs. In addition to selling coffee, they also sell wonton noodles and other food, which is very Xiangjiang special.
While eating, Maggie Cheung and Tao Yumo glanced at each other secretly. They didn't know why Tao Yushu came to the apartment today, making the two feel guilty as if they were elementary school students talking together in class and getting caught by the teacher.
"Maggie, did you know any good screenwriters, directors or producers at Jade Channel before?"
Maggie Cheung didn't know why Tao Yushu suddenly asked this. She thought for a while and said, "I don't know many people. Zhao Zhenqiang and Wang Jing are the most familiar. Sister Yushu, why are you asking this?"
"We are opening a film company and we need to recruit some people!"
"Do you need me to ask them for you?"
"Then ask them for me. If you want to change jobs, make an appointment to talk."
Maggie Cheung gave an OK gesture to Tao Yushu, who smiled gently and said, "Thank you, Maggie!"
Seeing Tao Yushu's smile, Maggie Cheung looked a little shy for some reason, and her voice became lower and lower as she spoke.
Chapter completed!