"China's first competition work, Return of the Swallow, is a huge disappointment. It is full of strong Chinese political overtones and didactic undertones, and I can't understand the characters' behavioral motivations... The original exotic oriental style is worth a look."
"China claims to be open, but judging from the movie, they are still immersed in the past."
"The director of "The Return of the Swallows" made people laugh. He seemed like an old man stuck in time and knew nothing about the outside world."
"A very socialist film, mediocre and without any surprises. It seems that the Chinese film's debut in Berlin will go away empty-handed."
Early the next morning.
Fang Yurong was sitting in the restaurant, flipping through event catalogs and newspapers frantically, with his face turning red and white. The media ridiculed their performance mercilessly, and the most euphemistic one was "Chinese films still need to work hard."
"The Return of the Swallow" was her choice. Although she would not receive any criticism if she returned empty-handed, she would be embarrassed.
She couldn't tell Fu Jingong that he was an honest man and couldn't stand this.
"Huh?"
Fang Yurong flipped through the newspaper again, and was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had read it wrong. This was a newspaper dedicated to introducing commercial films at the exhibition. There was a big picture on the front page. The huge "Tai Chi" could be seen by a blind person, and the title was even more eye-catching:
“The best commercial film in Berlin this year!”
The article was full of praise. Fang Yurong felt his heart beat faster and quickly searched for relevant reports, and there were quite a few.
"Chinese films have made few contributions to the world, and Kung fu is one!"
"The audience applauded a record-breaking nine times, and the crazy audience ran out of the field and shouted at passers-by!"
"The publicity was not good, and fans were dissatisfied with only showing one show. After the screening of "Tai Chi" yesterday, word of mouth quickly spread at the venue, and the audience who did not see it strongly requested more screenings!"
""The Return of the Swallow" and "Tai Chi" come from the same country and appeared in Berlin at the same time. This is the most wonderful comparison this year."
Hiss!
For some reason, Fang Yurong was not completely surprised. On the contrary, there was an inexplicable feeling running up his back.
“Is Tai Chi so popular?”
"How much is its box office in Hong Kong? Chen Qi doesn't seem to have told me yet!"
"If foreigners really like it so much, China Film will use it for export..."
Fang Yurong was refreshed. China Film was responsible for all distribution matters of domestic films, both internally and externally, and all had to go through the hands of China Film - except Hong Kong. "Return of the Swallow" is about to hit the street. If "Tai Chi" can work, then
It is also a great achievement.
Thinking of this, she stopped eating and got up to go find Chen Qi and Li Wenhua.
As soon as he stood up, Hader hurried in and asked, "Where are the creators of "Tai Chi"? I want to meet them!"
"What's the matter, Mr. Chairman?"
"The reputation of "Tai Chi" is very good! Some fans are negotiating with us, hoping to increase the number of screenings. Where are they?"
"It should be upstairs, I'll take you there!"
The two hurriedly went upstairs, but they couldn't find anyone, only Gong Xue was there.
"Xiao Gong, where are they?"
"Li Lianjie went shopping, so Xiao Chen took him and Li Lianjie out."
"Do you know where you went?"
"I don't know, I'm not familiar with Berlin." Sister Gong Xue is also an honest person.
"Oh, doesn't this delay things?!"
Fang Yurong was running around anxiously, but also vaguely had a bad premonition.
…………
"5,000 US dollars! Mr. Chen, there really can't be any more!"
In a hidden private room where Fu Qi stayed, the film producer from Myanmar almost begged.
Even though Myanmar is small, poor and chaotic, it has always had a film industry, with an average of about 70 films being produced every year. There are 400 theaters across the country, and there are also imported films. My favorites are family ethics, gods, ghosts, martial arts and so on.
"Okay, sign the contract!"
Chen Qi sighed, this kind of country cannot squeeze out oil and water, and it is not the northern Burma of later generations.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"Next one!"
Li Wenhua sat aside like a fool again. On the other side was the translator from the Great Wall. Li Lianjie stood at the door, keeping watch, greeting guests and watching Chen Qi discuss business with his own eyes.
South Korean film producers came in.
By now Park Chung-hee has died, Chun Doo-hwan has become president, and Korean films have entered a period of gradual opening up in the 1980s and have begun to communicate with foreign countries. For example, in Berlin this year, director Lim Kwon-taek came to the competition with "Mandala" to compete for the gold medal.
Bear Award.
"$300,000!"
Chen Qi knew how much Koreans liked Li Lianjie. Although "Tai Chi" was a headache, he didn't want to sell it cheaply and asked for a relatively high price in this era.
"It's too much! We can't accept it!"
"You have seen how popular "Tai Chi" is in Berlin. We have no shortage of buyers at all. The price is 300,000 yuan, and you only have one day to consider it."
"Next one!"
Japanese film producers came in.
The Japanese are rich now, but they can't be like South Korea. Chen Qi asked for 1 million US dollars. The little devil was startled and said: "Absolutely impossible. We have never spent such a high price to introduce movies. We can't afford it."
Start losing money.”
"If you can afford it, 1 million is not much."
"Are you kidding me? I don't see your sincerity. Now that China and Japan are friendly, we really hope to build a bridge over movies, but your asking price may hurt this friendship."
Chen Qi rolled his eyes.
"Don't pretend to be confused, the times are changing, and the film distribution model is also changing, for example..."
After he talked like this, the other person's face was uncertain, and he looked at him with great surprise. He felt embarrassed as if he had been exposed, so he had to say: "We need to think about it!"
"One day!"
"Next one!"
Weinstein came in slovenly, wearing a suit and a beard. He looked at the environment and said with a smile, "Chen, we meet again! Why are you talking about things in a place like this? Why don't we go have a drink?"
"I'm not interested at the moment. Are you here to talk about the overseas copyright of "Tai Chi"? Let's get straight to the point."
"Oh, okay, okay!"
Weinstein put his hands on the table and his whole body was very relaxed. He was only a small company, but he looked like the boss of a large company. He said: "Although my distribution channels in the United States are not as good as those of traditional Hollywood studios, in independent films
It is also well-known in the film industry, and is familiar with theaters in the UK, France, and Australia... If you hand over all overseas copyrights to me, I will definitely give you a satisfactory price."
"Sorry, all you can talk about is North American rights."
"That's a shame. "Tai Chi" is really a good film. I think it has the potential to surpass "Enter the Dragon." Since you are only willing to talk about North American rights..."
Weinstein showed off his acting skills, lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his head and said, "How about $2 million?"
$2 million?!
Li Wenhua and Li Lianlian, including the translator, all trembled. They all looked at Chen Qi with fire in their eyes, wishing they could agree for him.
"..."
Chen Qipi looked at this fat man with a smile, and was a little shocked: "Are you sure it's 2 million?"
"certainly!"
"We can sign the contract now!"
"Haha, Chen! You are too impatient. Two million is not a small amount, and we have to prepare it carefully... Well, just give me two days and I will contact you as soon as the contract is ready."
"Well, that's fine, but you have to hurry up. We may have to return to China in a few days."
"Don't worry!"
When Weinstein heard that he was going back to China, he smiled even more enthusiastically. Before leaving, he hugged Chen Qi tightly, and those who didn't know it thought he was being sworn in.
Got out of the hotel.
The assistant was puzzled and asked: "Boss, do we really want to give him $2 million? Then our risk will be very high."
"Look at those Chinese people, they barely have braids on the back of their heads. What have they seen?"
Weinstein made no secret of his disdain and said: "I offered him a price he couldn't refuse, so that he could repel those competitors. Tomorrow I will pay him a small deposit to show our sincerity, and then I will not sign the contract."
Contract, wait until the film festival is almost over.
Almost all the other film producers have left, and we are the only one left. If I keep lowering the price, it will be very difficult for the Chinese to come out, and they won’t be able to sell it even if they don’t want to!"
After finishing speaking, he couldn't help but show a proud expression, feeling proud of his excellent creativity without any moral threshold.
Well, yes, he is Jewish.
(No more...
It rains very frequently in the Northeast recently)
Chapter completed!