Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

"Golden Lock..."

"Hello everyone!"

Fan Bingbing smiled and nodded in acknowledgment: I'll endure it!!!

"Fan Bingbing".

"Wang Jinhua has also arrived."

"Who is this?"

"He is Yang Che."

Who is Yang Che?

"The one who wrote 'Fleeting Years' for me, Wang Fei."

"Oh, the songwriters are here?"

"Who knows?"

"Sun Nan and Wang Fei can't come, so the songwriters have to come..."

"That's about right, it's 500 yuan."

"......."

Listening to the cacophony of voices from the media reporters on the chair, Yang Che was already numb. He glanced at Yu Wenhao next to the Wenhui Daily reporter, thinking to himself, "To succeed in the entertainment industry, you need to make many friends; you still have a lot of practice to do."

The group entered the preparation room through the side door and saw Cheng Er and the exhibition hall staff adjusting the playback equipment.

Meanwhile, Dong Qing was sitting on a folding chair with her eyes closed, resting. She was wearing a purple suit skirt and her legs were bare. Even with Fan Bingbing next to her, this woman still managed to attract attention.

Upon noticing the newcomer, Dong Qing opened her eyes and stood up: "Yang... Yang Che."

Fan Bingbing's tense body suddenly relaxed, which didn't look good.

Yang Che glanced at Fan Bingbing, who had somehow linked arms with him, and smiled: "Let me introduce you all. This is Dong Qing, a host from Dragon TV. I went to great lengths to invite her."

Dong Qing's eyebrows twitched, but she smiled gently and greeted everyone, starting with "Hello, Fan Bingbing."

After exchanging a few lines, they heard a commotion outside and faintly heard the name of Director Wu.

Seeing Yang Che's puzzled expression, Dong Qing whispered: "Wu Yigong, Director of the Shanghai Film Bureau, Municipal Party Committee..."

Yang Che glanced at her: "Get ready, it's almost time."

Then he called Cheng Er out of the preparation room. There, they saw not only Wu Yigong, but also Director Zhu from Shanghai Film Studio, as well as directors Feng Xiaoning, Huo Jianqi, Fukasawa Kazuo, Zheng Bingyuan, and others.

Under a barrage of flashing lights, Yang Che, Cheng Er, and the visitors shook hands one by one, expressing their gratitude and saying how flattered they were. After hearing a few words of encouragement, Yang Che, whether out of momentary urgency or oversight, did not shake hands with Feng Xiaoning.

Then we sat together in the first row, watching Dong Qing perform on the podium.

"Distinguished leaders, friends from the media, thank you all for coming to witness this event... I am the host of this press conference, Dong Qing."

This press conference will consist of four parts: a signing ceremony, a trailer, presentations by the main cast and crew, and media interaction. Please wait a moment, thank you. Now, let's begin the first part.

"Slap slap slap"

"Please welcome Mr. Kazuo Fukasawa from Japan to the stage. Mr. Fukasawa is a renowned manga artist and film distributor. He was one of the earliest Japanese film distributors to distribute Chinese films and television dramas, and he spearheaded and participated in the distribution of films such as 'Journey to the West,' 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' and 'Farewell My Concubine.'"

The reporters stared wide-eyed at the white-haired old man bowing on the stage.

"Wow."

"That amazing?"

"......"

Dong Qing continued, "Please welcome Mr. Jung Byung-won, President of Pine Tree Films from South Korea, to the stage. Pine Tree Films is the largest distributor of Chinese films in South Korea, having distributed films such as *Ju Dou*, *To Live*, and *Yellow Earth*..."

The reporters were stunned for a moment, and then took photos.

Feng Xiaoning felt very uncomfortable. He was also a director from the fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers, yet neither of these two had ever released his films. His anti-Japanese war films weren't released in Japan, nor in South Korea...

"Please invite Mr. Yang Che, the screenwriter and producer of the movie 'My Sassy Girl,' to the stage to sign the licensing agreement with Mr. Kazuo Fukasawa and Mr. Jung Byung-won."

The reporters perked up, and the photographers instinctively straightened their backs.

Thus, under the gaze of the crowd and the filming of more than thirty cameras and video recorders, Yang Che stepped onto the stage.

"Wow."

"Is this the screenwriter?"

"....."

The three people on stage sat down in a pretentious manner, then signed documents under Dong Qing's "presiding" guidance, exchanged documents, signed again, and finally stood up, allowing reporters to take photos.

"Please come up for a group photo, the male and female leads of the movie. Fan Bingbing, Huang Haibo, please."

So Fan Bingbing and Huang Haibo stood to the side, took a few photos together, and then went down.

Dong Qing said, "Before showing the trailer, I'd like to ask our two international friends a few questions. Kazuo Fukasawa, could you please tell us about the contents and amount of your agreement?"

Kazuo Fukasawa: "Of course. I personally bought the Japanese distribution rights for 'My Sassy Girl' for eight years, including theatrical releases, television, DVDs, and online distribution. The price was $265 million, which is... nearly 22 million RMB."

"Buzz"

The scene was like a boiling pot, or like a phone that was only on vibrate when it received a call.

Dong Qing's eyes widened; naturally, she had no idea.

To put it simply, apart from the three people on stage and a few others like Wu Yigong and Director Zhu in the audience, no one else knew.

A reporter in the audience shouted, "Is the transaction amount real?"

"Yes, is it true?"

Seeing this, Yang Che quickly took the microphone from Dong Qing: "It's true. The first payment of US$133 million has already arrived in China Film's special account. Reporters can verify this with China Film after the meeting. Now, please keep quiet, quiet..."

Helpless, Yang Che gritted his teeth and said, "Brothers, have some backbone. Don't let our foreign friends laugh at us."

The room fell silent immediately.

Yang Che then quickly handed the microphone back to Dong Qing.

Dong Qing gave Yang Che a deep look before resuming her professional smile: "And what about Mr. Zheng Bingyuan?"

Zheng Bingyuan's face was very unpleasant. Damn it, why didn't you ask me about such a high-profile issue first?

"Well, the revenue-sharing agreement we signed with Mr. Yang Che is for both theatrical release and DVD distribution. The revenue-sharing ratio is 36%, which is higher than the revenue-sharing ratio for Chinese films released in China."

"Buzz"

The reporters turned on the vibrator again.

They couldn't help but whisper among themselves, "Just how amazing is 'My Sassy Girl'?"

"This is a record for Chinese films, isn't it?"

"No, Hong Kong..."

"Hi..."

"....."

Fortunately, the reporters were whispering this time and stopped quickly.

After all, when it comes to attracting attention, a 36% revenue share is nowhere near as newsworthy as $265 million.

Dong Qing then asked, "Mr. Yang Che, are you satisfied with this result?"

Yang Che glanced at the two of them, looking constipated. "At first I was quite satisfied, but seeing how happy they were, I'm not satisfied anymore."

Kazuo Fukasawa and Jung Byung-won burst into laughter.

The leaders and reporters in the audience applauded and cheered, showing that people felt the same way.