Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

How could Zheng Bingyuan not be happy? After all, Yang Che asked for $150 million right off the bat. Are you kidding me? What Chinese film copyright is worth $150 million?

Of course, Yang Che didn't want the copyright fee from South Korea at all. 150 million was a ridiculously high price within a reasonable range, which was precisely to make Zheng Bingyuan refuse.

He clearly remembered that the original film grossed $2600 million at the South Korean box office! Because of the special status of this film in South Korea, it was reported in detail by various newspapers.

Although it's a Chinese version now, given the subject matter, even half of it would still net $460 million. Besides, these days, while Koreans may look down on Chinese people, the fact that they respect Chinese films... that's ridiculous.

Jung Byung-won said he would complete the Korean dubbing within half a month.

Yang Che said, "If you add Korean lyrics to the song 'I Beleive,' I'll write you an authorization letter."

So Jung Byung-won got excited again. Koreans are always getting excited, and when they get excited they spit like alpacas.

At 11:30, Kazuo Fukasawa, whose eyes were bloodshot but who looked quite energetic, bowed and apologized as soon as they met, saying that he was late.

Yang Che naturally treated him with great enthusiasm.

The final round of negotiations.

Both sides were extremely satisfied because Yang Che chose to sell the rights for $265 million. Kazuo Fukasawa said that $65 was to thank Yang Che for the distribution strategies he provided for the two films...that's ridiculous.

12月25日在日本上映，12月29日和30日，两位主演要在东京和大阪进行路演。

Kazuo Fukasawa also asked, "I wonder if the songstress Wang Fei could make an appearance in Tokyo and perform a song?"

Yang Che asked him to pay another $200 million.

Kazuo Fukasawa was speechless. Well, that guy held a concert in Japan this year, didn't sing a single Japanese song, had the most expensive tickets in Japan, and tickets were still hard to come by.

As mentioned earlier, South Korea has the highest revenue share for foreign films, while Japan has the lowest, because Japanese cinemas take the highest cut in the world, around 60%. So foreign film companies should be happy if they can get 25%.

By the way, don't compare films like "Postmen in the Mountains" and "The Story of Qiu Ju," as those are art films. Jackie Chan's films are still expensive in Japan.

Yang Che wasn't exactly thrilled; $265 million would have been fine, but he was still a little dissatisfied. After all, he remembered that the Japanese rights to this film were worth over four million dollars...

To be fair, although Japan has experienced a lost decade, the yen is still quite strong, and Japan has been the world's second-largest movie market for over thirty years, and it will remain in second place for another fifteen years.

Generally speaking, the payment for a one-time buyout is 50% cash on the day the contract is signed, another 45% upon delivery of the master tape and copyright certificate, and the final 5% a week before the release.

After the formal signing, Yang Che's first call was to Dong Qing. He didn't flirt; he simply told her to come to the media room at the International Convention Center before 3:30 p.m. so that director Cheng Er could discuss the plot with her.

Then Yang Che called Yu Dong again, saying that a contract had been agreed upon and signed, and asked him to confirm that the media must be present at 4 o'clock. He also said that the travel expenses would be substantial, but he never mentioned what the terms of the agreement were. Yu Dong was scratching his head, but Yang Che didn't talk to him much.

The last call was to Cheng Er, instructing him to take the trailer to the convention center to find Dong Qing, and to help Liu Chang and Yu Wenhao, who had arrived, set up the venue.

After sorting things out, Yang Che went to entertain the two publishers for dinner.

Midway through the meal, Han Sanping suddenly called, somewhat excitedly saying, "You...you sold $133 million in Japan?"

Yang Che scooped up a spoonful of Four Happiness Meatballs and said casually (pretentiously), "It's 265 million. Today is half of that, and tomorrow there will be another 119 million US dollars."

"Haha, well done! When are you coming back to Beijing? I'll celebrate with you!"

"I'll be back the day after tomorrow. There's a press conference this afternoon, and I expect there will be an interview tomorrow. Mr. Han, let's skip the celebration, but could you please not take the 3% cut from China Film Group's revenue?"

"Dream on~"

Yang Che then mentioned the release date, and Han Sanping naturally understood what he meant, but he only said that he would arrange it immediately and contact Yu Dong to finalize the production of the copy.

Yang Che didn't want to repeat himself, so he hung up the phone.

Han Sanping knew about the $133 million because the money was transferred to China Film Group, since only China Film Group was qualified and had the channels to receive this foreign exchange in all of China.

Hmm? You mean other people? They don't follow the proper procedures, so Yang Che still has to pay a 3% handling fee.

The same applies to future revenue sharing in South Korea.

"Mr. Fukasawa, you are very efficient. I'd like to toast you."

Kazuo Fukasawa smiled nonchalantly: "Please understand, the copyright fee for 'My Sassy Girl' is quite high, so it cannot be transferred all at once."

Yang Che suddenly realized why Han Sanping thought it had sold for 133 million. It turned out that the film copyright fees in mainland China were too low, so they were all transferred in one lump sum.

As Jung Byung-won watched the two clink glasses, he had a strange feeling that he should have agreed to the one-time buyout that morning, even if there was a risk that the financial chain would break down... However, he immediately shook his head. Although he was optimistic, he estimated that the film would only gross a maximum of 40 billion won in South Korea, which is about 350 million US dollars.

In short, everyone was happy.

After lunch, we agreed to attend a media conference at the exhibition hall at 4 p.m., and then we said goodbye, as we were both quite busy.

The reason for setting it at 4 o'clock was because there was no other way; Fan Bingbing and Huang Haibo didn't arrive in Shanghai until 1:30.

Not only those two are coming, but also Liu Chang, Yu Wenhao, and Wang Jinhua.

Before we knew it, it was 1:35.

The plane carrying the group landed at Pudong Airport, which had just opened to traffic last month. As the plane was taxiing, Liu Chang's phone rang.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Mr. Liu, I am the driver of the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel. I was asked by Mr. Yang Che to pick you and the other guests up from the airport. I will be waiting at the arrival gate. You will see me when you come over."

"Okay, thank you."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Chang said to Huang Haibo beside him, "Look at him, when has our Brother Che ever been so considerate?"

Huang Haibo wholeheartedly agreed: "He's the eldest brother, but Brother Chang, you've always taken good care of us."

........

"hey-hey."

Fan Bingbing, who was in the front row, burst into laughter upon hearing this, then realized what he meant and scoffed, "Pah, he's quite thorough."

Wang Jinhua first gave a warm, aunt-like smile, then whispered, "Bingbing, remember..."

Fan Bingbing grinned and said, "I'm not in a relationship, I'm single. If reporters ask, just say you like Niu Geng... I'll remember that."

"I'm glad you understand. Now that you have this movie that's about to be a huge hit, you're an Asian idol."

"He's really amazing."

After whispering something, Fan Bingbing grinned even harder.

P.S.: Thank you to the two great authors, "You're an Actor and I'm a Dad," for their verification. Adding two more chapters is already my limit. As everyone knows, I don't have many drafts saved up, really none...