1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 649: Brother Beats Brother

Jiang Xian has nothing right now and is talking to Xinbao about scheduling, which seems like a fantasy, but in fact, Hong Kong films are very familiar with this approach because it's all about "selling trailers".

Veteran Hong Kong film fans should have heard of this term: "selling trailers" is a financing method where film production companies attract distributors or theater owners by selling the film's title and cast before filming begins, in exchange for the copyright or screening rights of the completed film.

This format is generally more popular during periods of film market prosperity. There have been two waves of "selling trailers" in the Hong Kong film industry. The first was after World War II, when many overseas Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia were homesick and therefore had a great demand for Cantonese opera films full of traditional Chinese flavor.

As a result, many Hong Kong film companies had their overseas distribution rights bought by overseas Chinese before they even started filming. This naturally led to a surge of hot money in Hong Kong, and many independent production companies emerged. However, in the late 60s, the Southeast Asian market shrank due to political changes, and the "selling trailers" craze also subsided.

Small Cantonese film producers suddenly lost their financial pillars, and the Cantonese film industry fell into a slump. At the same time, the two major film studios, Cathay and Shaw Brothers, were able to survive because they produced, distributed, and screened their own films, which were much stronger than those small companies. Their Mandarin films began to surpass Cantonese films and became the mainstream of Hong Kong cinema.

In the 1980s and 90s, Hong Kong cinema flourished again, and the "selling trailers" system made a comeback.

This brings us to Jeffrey Lau. As a well-known director, he was unwilling to be dependent on others or work for their benefit. So, he teamed up with his good friend Wong Kar-wai and founded a film company called "Jet Tone" in 92.

In order to sell the trailer, the two signed a cast of superstars including Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Jacky Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Joey Wong, and Carina Lau to make a movie, making for an undeniably strong lineup.

In addition, they presented a story structure of "wuxia + Jin Yong novels", which was the most popular theme among film producers at the time. As a result, many people opened their wallets. Cai Songlin, a film producer from the province, paid a deposit of up to 10 million yuan without hesitation.

This highly sensational film became very famous in later generations; it is known as "Ashes of Time".

Although Cai Songlin paid the money readily, he did have a condition: the film had to be delivered before the 1993 Spring Festival season. It was already September 1992, leaving only three or four months. Although it seems short now, as everyone knows, filmmaking was fast back then, so there was plenty of time.

However, the word "abundant" is for the average director.

Is Wong Kar-wai, the director of "Ashes of Time," an ordinary person? His filmmaking style is stream-of-consciousness. When he has inspiration, he can shoot very quickly, but when he doesn't, it can be incredibly tedious. Filming started in September, and more than a month later, he still hadn't finished shooting the first scene.

Liu Zhenwei watched from the sidelines, his eyes wide with disbelief. If things continued like this, the film would definitely not be able to be delivered for the Spring Festival season. How could he face the investors?
Before he could even speak, Wong Kar-wai suggested, "Why don't you make one to save the day?" Jeffrey Lau replied, "That's exactly what I was thinking," and that's how the classic "The Eagle Shooting Heroes" came about.

However, that's a euphemism. The more exaggerated version is that the investors, seeing how slowly Wong Kar-wai was filming, threatened to kill him if he didn't deliver the film for the Spring Festival.

To prevent Old Wang from dying young, Jeffrey Lau had no choice but to step in and save the day, which led to the creation of "The Eagle Shooting Heroes".

At the time, Jeffrey Lau could only film and write at the same time. He later said that he had exhausted all his talent in that month in order to film "The Eagle Shooting Heroes", because he not only filmed "The Eagle Shooting Heroes", but also wrote the script for "Fong Sai-yuk" in his spare time.

The actors were almost driven to the brink of collapse. They filmed "The Eagle Shooting Heroes" in the morning and "Ashes of Time" in the afternoon. The two films, which were very different in style, were driving them to the brink of mental breakdown.

The most tragic one is Joey Wong. Regardless of whether it's Tony Leung Ka-fai, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, or Leslie Cheung, they all at least portrayed classic characters.

Wang Zuxian suffered a lot while filming "Ashes of Time", but when the final cut came out, she found that Wong Kar-wai had cut her out!

You have to watch frame by frame to see her profile, which lasts only a second or two.

"Judging from Mr. Jiang's filmography of 'Fearless,' 'Shaolin Temple,' and 'The Last Emperor,' if Mr. Jiang were willing to produce this film, it would certainly be worthy of the Lunar New Year release window," Chen Rongmei said.

Xinbao's biggest shortage right now is film sources. The three major cinema chains are unlikely to give him any films. So, if we're talking about the highest quality films that are most suitable for the Lunar New Year season, then it must be the films written by Jiang Xian, the gold-medal screenwriter.

"Don't worry, as this is our company's first production, I will definitely put more effort into it than the two of you," Jiang Xian promised.

At this point, Zhu Lin felt something was strange, because Jiang Xian did not explicitly say that he would take action, but instead vaguely skipped over this condition.

In the eyes of Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong, Jiang Xian, such an excellent screenwriter, must have personally produced the films made by his company; there was no need to ask.

Just like if Jin Yong started a film and television company, whose movies would they make instead of his?
So they quickly and happily settled the matter with Jiang Xian, and arranged for Jiang Xian to be the star of Xinbao's Lunar New Year film slot.

Fearing further changes, both parties quickly signed an agreement.

In Hong Kong, this is basically how box office revenue is split.

Large companies like Golden Harvest sign contracts with cinemas for four major release periods each year: Chinese New Year, Easter, summer vacation, and Christmas. 60% of the box office revenue in the first week goes to the film company, and 40% goes to the cinemas.

The film will be shown 5 times a day, and the production company will bear the costs of copying, promotion, subtitles, and submission for review.

As for the 4:00 PM show and the midnight show, the revenue will be split 50/50.

If the film continues to be shown, the revenue will be split 50/50 in the second week, and 40% for the film company and 60% for the theaters in the third week.

Of course, Golden Harvest films are basically released on their own, and they don't give any to others.

In Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong's eyes, Jiang Xian's company certainly wasn't a large company, so their proposed solution was:

Jiang Xian, as the film producer, receives 40%, and the theaters receive 60%. There are 5 screenings per day. The film producer is responsible for the publicity and advertising costs, which must be paid in advance. If the film continues to be screened, the ratio will remain the same.

"Boss Chen."

Jiang Xian shook his head. "If it's this plan, then I'll have to cancel the cooperation. I absolutely cannot accept this plan. You're treating our film as below mid-range."

Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong were not afraid that Jiang Xian would not accept them.

In their view, they had Jiang Xian completely under their thumb. There was no way they could give him the Lunar New Year slots from the three major cinema chains. If Jiang Xian wanted Lunar New Year slots, who else but Xinbao would get them?

“Mr. Jiang, the terms of our proposal are actually quite good. You haven’t even established a company yet, let alone a movie. Xinbao is already taking a huge risk by negotiating with you. We are already very sincere in offering this proposal,” Chen Rongmei said.

"Yes."

Fung Ping-chung chimed in, “That’s just how it is in Hong Kong. There are always two principles for cinemas. The first principle is that the bigger the company’s film, the more the production company gets. The second principle is that as time goes by, the production company’s share gets smaller and smaller, while the cinema’s share gets larger and larger. Since Mr. Jiang has come to Hong Kong, he should get used to the way Hong Kong people do things.”

“The cost of theaters is already high,” Chen Rongmei said. “Mr. Jiang, you can ask around how many films are considered substandard and not even allowed to be screened by theaters. In order to find opportunities to sell the film rights later, they have to pay theaters a daily fee. It costs 20,000 yuan per theater per day. We haven’t even seen your film, and we are still willing to talk to you like this, which is already a great respect for you.”

Zhu Lin felt uncomfortable listening to this. These Hong Kong people and mainlanders were really different. They were very respectful to you one minute, but as soon as business was mentioned, they immediately changed their tune. She reminded them, "Mr. Chen, Mr. Feng, we don't only have Xinbao Cinemas to choose from. In terms of scale, Xinbao Cinemas isn't much larger than Shuangnan Cinemas."

"Miss Zhu."

Chen Rongmei smiled and said, "Yes, our cinemas are not much more numerous than those of the Shuangnan Cinema Circuit. But you have to consider this: most of the revenue of Hong Kong films comes from overseas. Overseas box office revenue accounts for at least half of the production cost, and in some cases, it can even account for more than 80%."

Whether a Hong Kong film makes money or not depends mainly on whether it is successful in the Hong Kong domestic film market. Success in the domestic market can then influence overseas markets.

You can choose either the Xinbao Cinema Line or the Shuangnan Cinema Line. However, if you choose the Shuangnan Cinema Line, your revenue in the overseas market will likely be reduced. I won't go into details about that; I'm sure you two understand.

Zhu Lin remained calm and said, "But if Shuangnan Cinema offers a better revenue share, we might not necessarily earn less than if we launched on Xinbao."

"."

Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised. They had thought Zhu Lin was just a pretty face, but they hadn't expected her to be so quick-witted and not an easy role to land.

"Let me propose a solution."

Jiang Xian then spoke up, saying, "The ratio is that we will split the profits 50/50 in the first and second weeks, and from the third week onwards, we, the film distributors, will take 40% and you, the theaters, will take 60%."

Jiang Xian's plan seems to be just a way to get a 50/50 split of the profits for two weeks, compared to Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong's plan.

However, it's important to know that the majority of a film's box office revenue is concentrated in the first two weeks after its release.

Not to mention that this is the Lunar New Year film season, and the box office revenue in the first two weeks accounts for the vast majority of the total box office revenue.

Therefore, the one percent he is trying to achieve is by no means a small number. This one percent in the first two weeks could very well be more than the combined box office revenue of the next two weeks.

Upon hearing this, Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong immediately rejected it.

"No, no, we can't possibly agree to this arrangement," Chen Rongmei quickly shook her head.

"Mr. Chen, don't be in a hurry."

Jiang Xian said directly, "I am naturally very grateful for the trust of the two bosses in giving me the Lunar New Year film slot. The proposal I'm suggesting is one in which I'm willing to take a loss."

“Mr. Jiang, how can a 50/50 split be considered a loss on your part?” Chen Rongmei disagreed. “Our cinema chain has made significant contributions.”

“Mr. Chen, let me give you a sneak peek. I’m not kidding when I say that my movie is comparable to ‘Aces Go Places.’ I heard that ‘Aces Go Places’ starred Sam Hui, and our movie’s cast is certainly no less impressive,” Jiang Xian said.

Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong were both stunned.

Jiang Xian had previously mentioned comparing it to "Aces Go Places," but they just listened to it casually. After all, "Aces Go Places" was always a big production by Golden Princess, and since they were both from Golden Princess, they naturally understood the charm of the film and the investment involved. Therefore, they didn't take Jiang Xian's comparison seriously at all, and just thought he was making empty promises.

But now he's saying he wants to get a cast comparable to "Aces Go Places"?

The cast of "The New Best Partner" is Sam Hui, Karl Maka, Leslie Cheung, and Nina Li.

This new Cinema City was announced a long time ago.

How do you benchmark your new company?
Both of them looked at Jiang Xian.

Jiang Xian stopped being mysterious and revealed the answer directly:

"I will invite Raymond Wong, Joey Wong, Man-Nga Cheng, and Michael Hui."

"."

Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong took a deep breath and began to re-examine Jiang Xian, and also began to re-evaluate the film.

There's no need to talk about Raymond Wong.

Joey Wong was not very famous before, but last year she starred in a remake of the 60s Shaw Brothers film "A Chinese Ghost Story" with Leslie Cheung, and suddenly she came into the spotlight throughout Hong Kong.

Cheng Man-ya needs no introduction. At the young age of nineteen, she participated in the Miss Hong Kong pageant and won the title of "Miss Hong Kong". She was also elected as the "Miss Photogenic" at the same time, and quickly became a hit in the Hong Kong film industry.

Later, the Hong Kong Film Awards thought that Cheng Man-ya's bathing scene was very beautiful and perfectly matched the "Hong Kong Film Awards Goddess". After obtaining her consent, they directly designed her bathing posture into the fifth version of the Hong Kong Film Awards statuette.

The only blemish was a few years ago when Zheng Wenya had a scene in a movie where she went to the toilet. The publicity staff unethically turned this into a selling point, using the toilet scene as a promotional poster and promoting it extensively. As a result, Zheng Wenya has gradually faded out of the film industry in recent years. However, in terms of cast, she is definitely not a big name.

Finally, there's Michael Hui.

Chen Rongmei and Feng Bingzhong never expected that Jiang Xian would bring this person over.

Michael Hui is the older brother of Sam Hui.

You've all seen that movie with the line, "You say your name is Ji Bochang, but I think you won't live long," right?

Michael Hui is the one who said those words; he's the one who played the warlord.

In the eyes of the older generation of Hong Kong people, he is undoubtedly the king of comedy.

Jiang Xian brought him here, undoubtedly to be compared to Sam Hui in "Aces Go Places".

Using the older brother to beat the younger brother?
You know what, it actually has a lot of potential!

(End of this chapter)