Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

The two knocked and entered, and the discussion inside stopped abruptly. Yang Che sneezed violently; the smoke in the room was just as strong as in the studio.

After some introductions, I learned that the older, short-haired middle-aged woman was named Zhou Xinxia. In addition to Yang Hongyu, there were three other female editors, one of whom was named Zhu Lin. Yes, they shared the same name. Of course, as for their appearance... well, let's not go into that.

The main character arrived, and especially since he was a handsome guy, the female editors were incredibly excited. It's well known that women are incredibly bold when they're in a group. If they weren't among the more cultured members of the entertainment industry, Yang Che felt like his pants would have been pulled down.

When asked about the reason for the limited screen time, Yang Che said, "We were well prepared. Seven or eight people worked on it for a month, writing and drawing."

Cheng Er said, "He himself said that he had already acted it out once when he wrote the script."

Amidst the laughter and chatter, the onlookers dispersed, leaving only Yang Hongyu and Zhu Lin.

As usual, the four discussed editing requirements, the scenes that needed to be cut, and the footage that had just arrived that day.

Not long after, Yang Che met Yu Dong outside the editing room.

His honest smile made him seem even more honest than Baoqiang.

After exchanging greetings, the two sat down on a stone bench outside the editing room. In that short time, two employees of the Beijing Film Studio, one old and one young, who were passing by, greeted Yu Dong, and Yu Dong returned their greetings with a smile each time.

"Mr. Yu, I really meant it and I'm not making excuses. The fact that you can get most of the distribution companies in the country to coordinate their release schedules so that the films can be released at the same time is enough to make independent producers all over China want to work with you."

Yu Dong smiled憨厚ly: "The State Administration is using me as a pilot project, after all, it's easier to break the ice with private enterprises."

He thought to himself: Independent filmmakers? How many are there? Will their films even get a theatrical release?

And other producers? Where are they? Either Huayi Brothers or state-owned film studios; they all have their own distribution channels...

Yes, the idea of ​​movies being released at the same time is no longer valid.

Do you think people don't know that releasing films at the same time is the most effective way to delay piracy? Of course they do, but there's nothing they can do. Films in mainland China are released in stages: a week in Beijing and Shanghai, then in other cities, a month or two later in county towns, and six months later in rural areas...

Actually, this isn't really a rule; it's just an "industry practice" that gradually formed over time as transportation and communication remained unchanged.

Over time, this has created a chain of vested interests. Even though people know that the changes are good, will those who have already benefited allow them to be changed?

Yu Dong was still worried that Yang Che was too young to understand, so he specifically pointed out that Berna was supported by the General Administration and was a reform testing ground with special authority delegated by the higher authorities.

Yang Che was quite helpless. They were not on the same wavelength. He wasn't afraid of offending the nearly extinct state-owned film studios and distribution companies. So he clapped his hands and said, "That's true. Mr. Yu, tell me about your distribution strategy."

Yu Dong paused for a moment, still somewhat unaccustomed to such directness, but then resumed his usual sales pitch:

"The main method was to go to local distribution companies to negotiate the sale of film copies. When we went there, the actors in the crew would also go with us to several places. The bosses of the distribution companies were very accommodating to the actors. Another method was to find reporters to publish articles. We contacted all the second and third-tier newspapers across the country to spread the word."

Yang Che gasped, "A national newspaper? How much would that cost?"

Yu Dong smiled and said, "Major newspapers cost money, but tabloids don't. We can handle that."

Yang Che's mouth opened slightly, and he slowly raised his thumb: "Awesome."

Yu Dongte smiled modestly: "I heard from Director Li that Producer Yang has a lot of ideas, so I came here today not only to discuss cooperation, but also to ask for your advice."

Yang Che paused for a moment, then said, "President Yu, how about we make a gentleman's agreement?"

"What?"

"You should first apply these methods to 'My Sassy Girl'."

Yu Dong nodded repeatedly in agreement, and then, just as he usually did when communicating with his superiors, smoothly pulled out a pen and notebook...

Yang Che's lips twitched again. Damn, no wonder he's the youngest section chief at Beijing Film Studio, no wonder he got the first private distribution license in China, no wonder he retained his position at Beijing Film Studio even after becoming a big boss... This is definitely not something you can achieve just by drinking three jin of liquor.

"Well, you just had the actors follow you to the distribution companies, which is difficult, but going to the theaters is no problem. Imagine, during the film's run, the actors suddenly appear in the theater and interact with the audience..."

"You mean the meet-and-greet?"

"A meet-and-greet is too small-scale. Why not call it a Roadshow? It's a roadshow, and the crew should go to all the cities with the highest box office numbers that they can."

Yu Dong swallowed hard. How much the hell is this going to cost?

However, audiences will flock to the event, media will flock to the event, and the distribution company will be extremely cooperative!

Of course! The reason Yu Dong published the press release for free wasn't because he had any influence, but because these second- and third-tier media outlets didn't have any eye-catching content. Celebrities are undoubtedly extremely eye-catching.

Yang Che continued, "Prepare some small gifts in advance and organize some interactive activities. We can give these to couples in the audience so that they can become our promoters. I had a good chat with Mr. Duan from BBK, and I asked him to sponsor a hundred or so Walkmans. We can also customize some movie-related badges, stills, etc. In short, the main point is to make them affordable and inexpensive."

"Uh-huh."

Yu Dong swallowed again and quickly began to write.

"The background music for this movie is sung by Wang Fei, and the theme song is sung by Sun Nan. When they are released separately, the media can provide some guidance."

Yu Dong didn't swallow this time. He looked at Yang Che with a puzzled expression, and the meaning in his eyes was very clear: Who exactly are you?

Yang Che wanted to continue talking about the internet, but after thinking about it, he decided to hold back a bit, like a cat teaching a tiger.

"That's about it. Oh, right, the film will participate in the Asian Youth Film Festival in Hong Kong next March. If we can sell the rights, we can save a lot on media fees. If not, that's okay too."

Yu Dong opened his mouth: "You're still planning to sell the copyright?"

Yang Che pointed to the editing room: "The main storyline is basically finished now, and some exciting scenes have also been cut out. There are small screens available, so Mr. Yu can go and take a look. It's a romantic comedy, and this genre doesn't have any viewing barriers in East Asia or Southeast Asia."