Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

Whether it's your parents or someone else, the confidence and competence you demonstrate before collaborating are extremely important, often even more so than the collaboration itself.

After all, many people understand the principle of not cooperating with the poor.

After dinner, the family of three discussed the matter in detail. The elderly couple did not take Yang Che's suggestion of seeking sponsorship seriously, but they strongly agreed with the idea of ​​buying some MP3 players and learning machines.

After his parents decided to go it alone, Yang Che offered very little input. Even if things didn't go well at first, they wouldn't lose money; the appliances wouldn't break down even if they didn't sell quickly, and besides, there was the lower-tier market. The most important thing was for his parents to experience everything from start to finish.

..........

In the afternoon, the family of three went out together on two bicycles.

Yang Che's parents went to Dananmen for an inspection, while Yang Che went to the film studio alone.

They still gave the doorman a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes.

"Director Li is back, but he definitely won't have time to see you right now. Huang Hong is here too."

The doorman said this with great pride, it seemed that Huang Hong's arrival had truly brought honor to the Shanxi Provincial Film Studio.

"I'm looking for Factory Director Peng."

Yang Che responded with a smile, but felt inexplicable because his mother had scolded Huang Hong a few times during the lunch talk about opening a shop. After all, Huang Hong's line on the Spring Festival Gala, "We workers should think about the country. If I don't get laid off, who will?" made countless people have a terrible New Year, and his mother was no exception.

Then I went into the gray office building. Well, there was no sound of cards being played today, so it was relatively quiet.

Yang Che did not go to the third floor, but went to Peng Zheng's office instead.

Deputy Factory Director Peng was very excited and kept saying that Yang Che was a trustworthy person.

Then, in less than half an hour, the relevant agreement was signed. Yang Che even took a special look to make sure that it was stamped with the official seal of the film studio.

Prior to 2003, private enterprises or social investors were required to collaborate with film studios and use their logos when producing films.

So why are the films by the sixth generation of directors called underground films? Because they were all filmed secretly without obtaining a filming permit.

To be fair, it's already quite generous of us to turn a blind eye to their behavior. After all, with such a big commotion from a film crew, how could we not know?

Of course, Yang Che's agreement stipulated that the film's copyright belonged entirely to Fan Zeping. This matter had to be clarified, otherwise there would be no way to explain it to the investor later.

Peng Zheng's attention was entirely focused on the three stacks of new bills in the drawer, so he believed whatever Yang Che said.

During this time, Yang Che's pager rang, displaying five words: "Come to the film studio immediately."

This was clearly summoned by Ulan Tana.

However, Yang Che insisted on waiting until he received his internship certificate before leaving Peng Zheng's office.

Before leaving, Peng Zheng repeatedly stated that the project approval process would begin today.

Yang Che naturally expressed his gratitude, saying that the 10 yuan from the factory would definitely arrive in his account the next day.

Afterwards, Yang Che went to the third floor and knocked on the brown lacquered wooden door with the factory director's office sign hanging on it.

"Come in."

The voice was very gentle.

Yang Che pushed open the door and entered. He saw an elderly man in his fifties sitting behind the desk. He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, had a straight back, thick black hair that was swept back, a fair square face, deep forehead wrinkles, bright and slender eyes, and thin lips.

Anyone would see him as a cultured man, the old-fashioned kind.

Ulan Tana sat across from him at the desk, smiling broadly and looking quite pleased with herself. It seemed that the deal for "Warm Spring" had already been finalized.

"Hello, Factory Director Li! Hello, Sister Tana!"

Li Shuihe's expression was gentle: "Yang..."

Ulan Tana quickly added, "Yang Che."

"Hello Yang Che, please have a seat."

"Thanks."

Yang Che sat down respectfully to express his gratitude. He noticed a script beside Li Shuihe titled "Twenty-Five Children and One Father," written by Huang Hong. Clearly, Huang Hong had come to discuss a collaboration and had probably already left.

Yang Che learned some things about Director Li from Ulan Tana yesterday. When he worked in the propaganda department, he had discussed films with princes from North Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia in person.

At this moment, Li Shuihe got up, walked around the desk, opened the cabinet against the wall, took out a teacup, poured some tea, and picked up the thermos on the balcony to brew a cup.

During this time, his voice was as gentle as his expression: "I've read your script synopsis, it's quite interesting. Has the logo been finalized? Should I put in a good word with them?"

"It's been finalized just now. Deputy Factory Director Peng said he was very pleased to see that young people from his hometown are enthusiastic about art, haha."

"That's good. Have you found the filming equipment? If possible, try to use the equipment from the factory. The Shanxi Provincial Film Studio is really tough!"

Yang Che sighed. This was a high-ranking official appointed by the provincial radio and television bureau, on par with them.

It's disheartening to think that someone like that would ask a young person to rent equipment from the factory.

What Yang Che didn't know was that Li Shuihe had worked at the Shanxi Film Studio for six years, during which he led the production of 90% of the films made since the studio's establishment. The studio only made money during his tenure; the rest of the time it was a government-subsidized unit, and it would continue to be so in the future.

"I'm going to Beijing next week. I'll bring the directing team with me to Longcheng. They'll have to take a look at the equipment."

What are your plans for the film's future release?

"Not yet. I'm thinking of taking it to a few film festivals abroad after it's finished filming."

Yang Che didn't want the Shanxi Film Studio to get involved in the distribution. They didn't have the capability, you know? Although Li Shuihe was very capable, "My Sassy Girl" wasn't his own creation.

Nowadays, film distribution, like production, must be handled by qualified companies (such as China Film Group Corporation or provincial distribution companies).

For example, Zhang Yang's film "Spicy Love Soup" used the Xi'an Film Studio's logo purchased by Emma Films, and was also distributed by Xi'an Film Studio. Yes, and Huayi Brothers too; most of their films go through Xi'an Film Studio's distribution channels. Today, Xi'an Film Studio is truly the leading studio in China.

Yang Che did say he was going to the film festival, but he didn't intend to rely on it entirely. It was just a "re-importing from export to domestic sales" strategy. He had no choice but to rely on the reputation given to him by the "foreign bigwigs" to avoid being completely taken advantage of.

Ulan Tana looked at Yang Che with envy. "What a beast! He's so rich!"

Li Shuihe opened his mouth: "That's indeed a very good method. Um... there's a young man named Yu Donggang who opened a film distribution company in Beijing and got the first private distribution license. This young man worked in distribution at the Beijing Film Studio. He's very capable and has a particularly good capacity for alcohol. You can talk to him."

Yang Che was taken aback, feeling like a petty person, then grinned and said, "Alright, if the factory manager thinks someone is capable, then they must be capable."