1979: Literary Master, Starting from the Return of Educated Youth

Chapter 236

The policy on private company registration had not been relaxed at that time, and there were no private film and television companies.

Therefore, Xu Yuexin has never thought about investing in filming movies in recent years.

Unexpectedly, Hengguang Studio would take the initiative to invite him.

"Hey, Comrade Xu, the 50-50 split I just mentioned was just an example."

"If you are under financial pressure, you can pay less."

On the phone, Chen Lin saw that he didn't express his opinion and immediately added.

On the side, Chen Qiaoqiao and Chen Yixiu also turned their eyes to Xu Yuexin.

Investing in a movie?
Chen Qiaoqiao and Chen Yixiu had never thought about such a thing.

At the same time, they are also very interested in it.

By making a good movie, you can not only gain huge fame, but also make a lot of money.

Like the previous "Lush Mountain Love", the box office exceeded 100 million yuan in just one week after its release.

The two sisters were shocked for a long time when they heard this number.

Now that they heard that someone had invited Xu Yuexin to make a movie, Chen Qiaoqiao and Chen Yixiu both felt very fresh and were concerned about how Xu Yuexin would express his opinion next.

"No, I don't have any financial pressure."

Next to the bedside table, Xu Yuexin held the microphone and said to Chen Lin, "It's almost the New Year, I wish you a happy new year in advance."

"After the New Year, we can discuss filming the drama in person."

The total investment for the 87 version of "Dream of Red Mansions" was 680 million yuan, but the current price level is much lower than later.

Xu Yuexin currently has 100 million in his hands, and he can also remit money from Hong Kong, which is enough for filming the TV series.

"Okay, Happy New Year."

“I hope our negotiations will go smoothly after the new year.”

Seeing Xu Yuexin agreed, Chen Lin felt relieved and spoke in a cheerful voice.

"Well, I hope it goes well."

Xu Yuexin put down the phone and looked at the sisters Chen Qiaoqiao and Chen Yixiu in the bedroom.

"There's a flower on my face."

Xu Yuexin smiled.

As early as when they were talking on the phone just now, Xu Yuexin felt that his wife and sister-in-law were staring at him.

But I didn't have time to respond to them at that time.

"You're about to start filming a movie, and you won't let us watch you for a second?"

Chen Qiaoqiao stepped forward and took Xu Yuexin's arm, and asked excitedly, "Which production studio contacted you just now?"

"Hengguang Film Studio in Shanghai."

Xu Yuexin said, "Have you heard of it?"

"I've heard of this name. I've seen the movies they made."

Chen Qiaoqiao pulled Xu Yuexin to sit next to her and her sister and asked, "Did they contact you first?"

"Yes, the letter was signed by Xuexue."

"I plan to do as I said on the phone and talk to them after the New Year."

"Well, remember to tell me as soon as the deal is concluded."

Chen Qiaoqiao shook Xu Yuexin's arm and said.

"Don't worry, I'll be the first to tell you that there's still Xuexue."

Xu Yuexin looked at his sister-in-law and said.

My sister-in-law smiled and said nothing.

She felt quite conflicted when Xu Yuexin called her Xuexue in front of her sister.

However, this did not make the sister-in-law feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, it made her feel warm in her heart, as if she was being cared for and protected.

……

The New Year comes slowly and goes quickly.

Soon, it was the sixth day of the New Year.

Xu Yuexin took the train to Shanghai.

Nowadays, ordinary people can buy hard sleeper tickets without any connections, but soft sleeper tickets are still not available and one still has to be of a certain status to buy one.

As for the specific time of relaxation, we had to wait until the early 90s.

After arriving in Shanghai, Xu Yuexin booked a hotel room, put his luggage away and went straight to Hengguang Film Studio.

Hengguang Film Studio is located in Xuhui District. When Xu Yuexin arrived, he saw that the place was full of markets and shops, and it looked very prosperous.

Of all the buildings, the tallest is the office building of Hengguang Studio.

Xu Yuexin walked to the door of the studio and explained his purpose to the guard, who immediately led him upstairs.

Chen Lin's office was on the third floor. After Xu Yuexin went upstairs, he saw a sign with the words "Director's Office" hanging in front of a room and knew that this was the place.

"Director Chen, I'm Xu Yuexin."

Xu Yuexin walked forward and knocked on the office door.

"Comrade Xu, here we are."

A warm voice came from inside the door, and after a sound of footsteps, the office door opened, and a tall, thin, middle-aged man with brown-rimmed glasses appeared in front of Xu Yuexin.

"Hello Comrade Xu, welcome to our studio after coming all the way here."

"I'm waiting here for you to talk."

"Hello Director Chen, shall we talk here?"

Xu Yuexin walked in and asked Chen Lin.

"Well, let's talk here."

Chen Lin poured Xu Yuexin a cup of tea and sat down face to face with him.

Xu Yuexin took the teacup, took a sip, and then put it down.

"Director Chen, before we start the negotiation, I would like to ask you a question."

"Does your factory leader know about the joint venture with the affiliated unit to make a movie?"

"Yes, I proposed it to them, and they have already held a meeting to study and approve it."

"The study has been approved, right? Then may I ask if it has been formally documented?"

"That's not the case."

Chen Lin spread his hands frankly and said, "But there are many units that accept self-employed individuals to register."

"Before you, our factory has also accepted several self-employed people to affiliation."

"So we think there is no need to have a document specifically for this."

"No, no, it's safer to have a written document."

Xu Yuexin corrected him, “After all, other self-employed individuals are simply affiliated with your factory and are doing business outside that has nothing to do with your factory.”

"But I'm different. I want to make a movie with you guys."

"Without the approval of your factory's leadership, I wouldn't dare invest money in it."

Chen Lin is a straightforward person, and Xu Yuexin has no intention of being ambiguous with him.

Only by determining the name at the beginning of the cooperation can we reduce disputes in the future, especially when sharing profits.

Faced with Xu Yuexin's request, Chen Lin thought about it for a while and felt that it made some sense.

"The opinions you raised are very important. I will report them to the factory leaders later."

"Of course, the factory leaders can't hold a meeting for your matter right away. If you want results, you'll have to wait for a while."

"Well, I'm not in a hurry. We can talk about it before the results come out."

Xu Yuexin said, "If there is a satisfactory result, we will sign the contract."

"That's okay too."

"First, let me tell you about our plan for the entire TV series."

"As for the film production team, we plan to use our own production team because we have already produced two historical TV series that received good audience response."

"Although our scale is not as large as that of Beijing Film Academy and Shanghai Film Academy, we have full confidence in the field of historical dramas."

"We estimate the investment scale to start at 180 million and cap at 240 million."

Chen Lin glanced at Xu Yuexin when he said this, hinting at the amount of funds he needed to prepare, "Do you have any objection to this?"

“I think we can consider adding some more budget.”

Under Chen Lin's gaze, Xu Yuexin smiled and said, "My work is my child. Since I have adapted it, I naturally hope to strive for perfection."

"With more money, the quality of the corresponding TV series and movies can also be improved." "Hmm? How much do you think is appropriate to add?"

"500."

Xu Yuexin stretched out his palm, opened his fingers and shook them, saying, "If you want to shoot quality, you have to spend at least this much."

"No, it's too much."

Chen Lin subconsciously refused, "It's impossible for our studio to allocate so much budget for a TV series."

"It doesn't matter. Didn't we agree that each of us would pay a portion of the money?"

"At most, you can take a smaller share and I can take a larger share."

Xu Yuexin was well prepared.

"The limit of our factory is 150 million. If you raise the budget to 500 million as you said, we can only take %."

Chen Lin said very unwillingly.

Xu Yuexin owns 70% and they own 30%, which means that the studio will lose control of the entire film.

Chen Lin had not thought of this situation. In his opinion, the control of the entire TV series should be in Hengguang's hands.

"Why, you can't accept this plan?"

“It’s a little hard to accept.”

Chen Lin said bluntly, "Lower it, 500 million is too much."

Chen Lin's plan was to reduce the budget of "The Ming Dynasty 1566". Then he would go to the factory leaders and try to add some money to ensure Hengguang's dominance over the film and television series.

“It can only be more, not less.”

"Put yourself in my shoes. If your work is facing its first adaptation and you happen to have money, you would definitely want to make the film better and make it a hit."

Xu Yuexin stared at Chen Lindao.

“That has to be done in moderation.”

"It's too vague. I only know that there is no limit to the amount of money I can spend on movies and TV series."

"Some of the big international productions nowadays easily invest tens of millions of dollars."

"Director Chen, as a professional filmmaker, I think you must also hope that you can create a batch of unprecedented works, right?"

Xu Yuexin raised the corner of his mouth slightly and encouraged Chen Lindao.

hiss……

Chen Lin closed his eyes for a moment and was actually moved by what Xu Yuexin said.

Xu Yuexin is right. Anyone who works in the film and television industry certainly hopes that their budget will not be restricted when shooting, and that they can produce a work that is perfect in all aspects.

If there is no need to consider other things, Chen Lin also wants to increase the budget.

But he happened to be the director of the production department, and he had to consider the unit's control over the TV series.

This is too difficult.

"Thirty percent is still too little."

Chen Lin was touched by Xu Yuexin's words, so he simply opened up to him and said, "I think the factory must ensure at least a 40% investment share."

A 1566% investment share certainly cannot guarantee their control over "The Ming Dynasty ".

But at least it can ensure that their say in the filming process will not be too weak, and they will not be completely led by Xu Yuexin.

"Well, 200% is million, and you don't have enough money."

“Then reduce the budget.”

Chen Lin gritted his teeth and said firmly.

"Hey, Director Chen, why are you so obsessed with reducing the budget? Isn't there another possibility?"

"What's possible."

"Go to the bank to get a loan."

Xu Yuexin smiled and said, "I think it will be difficult to ask your leaders to add another 50 yuan to the budget, so why not just take the funds out from the bank?"

“Use this money to finance the filming.”

Xu Yuexin realized that 40% of the investment accounted for Chen Lin, which was also the bottom line of Hengguang Film Studio.

Since he could not accept lowering his budget, a loan naturally became the only option.

"Loan to make a movie?"

Chen Lin was slightly surprised and said, "I'm afraid there is no precedent for this!"

"Hey, precedents and the like are not as important as you think."

“When people walk a lot, it naturally becomes a road.”

Xu Yuexin encouraged, "In the past few years, private individuals were not allowed to do business, but now factories and shops are flourishing one after another?"

"For example, haven't the historical dramas we are currently shooting also only developed in recent years?"

As he spoke, Chen Lin listened in confusion, his brain working constantly.

In his opinion, Xu Yuexin has a very active mind and can even think of taking out a loan to shoot a TV series.

But the question is, will the leader agree to a loan for filming the drama?

Even if the leader agrees, can the bank approve the loan?
Chen Lin thought about it over and over again, and slowly became moved.

"This... I'll ask my leader for instructions."

Finally, Chen Lin said to Xu Yuexin.

He is not only a film and television person, but also a section-level cadre in a state-owned film studio.

Some things, no matter how willing he is, still need to be approved by his superiors.

"Okay, go ahead and ask for instructions, but you'd better not keep me waiting too long."

Xu Yuexin stood up and said, "I originally wanted to talk to you about a lot today, but now it seems that we should just stop here."

"Well, let's talk about this. Let's solve the problem of funding sources first."

After Chen Lin finished speaking, he stood up and saw the guest off. As soon as Xu Yuexin left, he found the factory director and reported the problem of the shooting budget.

"What? The budget is raised to 500 million?"

When the factory manager heard the number he said, he was shocked at first.

If we really want to shoot according to this number, even if we sell Hengguang Film Studio it wouldn't be enough.

"Yes, but Xu Yuexin is willing to contribute 60% of the capital, and we only need to contribute 40%."

"It means you only need to pay 200 million."

Chen Lin said earnestly to the factory leader, "I think it's not impossible to consider this."

"The most important thing about a historical film is the texture. Once the budget is raised to 500 million, I believe the texture of Ming Dynasty 1566 will be unparalleled."

"Two million is not an option. The factory has collectively researched it and can only invest 200 million."

The factory manager shook his head repeatedly.

“We can get a loan.”

"Loan? Are you kidding me?"

"Go ask around and see where in the country there is anyone who can get a loan to film a TV series."

“Then we can start with it.”

“Opening a factory is a production and business activity, and making a movie is essentially a production and business activity.

“Since you can get a loan to open a factory, why can’t you get a loan to make a movie?”

Chen Lin asked reasonably.

The factory manager frowned when he heard this.

"Xiao Chen, I know you want to make a good film, but some things are not as simple as you think."

"If I borrowed 50 yuan to make a TV series, it would be fine if I made money. But if I lose money, who will be held responsible?"

"If you want to take out a loan, go ahead and get one yourself."

The factory manager waved his hand and shifted his gaze to the side.

"I'll take out the loan if I want."

Chen Lin was so excited that he said loudly, "If I fail, I will lose everything I have, but I will not bring any trouble to the factory."

The factory manager looked at him in surprise.

"What a joke! You dare to borrow 50 yuan? Will the bank approve it?"

"I will borrow as much as I can. If it's not enough, I will mobilize the crew members to borrow together."

Chen Lin stood up and said with great ambition.

(End of this chapter)