Rebirth of the courtyard, the start is 80s

Let's say that Cao Zhiqiang said goodbye to Wu Qinghong, came to the Chinese restaurant, and soon found Xu Qingdong.

Xu Qingdong was not polite. He had already ordered breakfast and was waiting to eat it with Cao Zhiqiang.

After eating something, Xu Qingdong asked the question again.

"Director Cao, what disease does Zhu Lin have? I remember he was fine before?"

Cao Zhiqiang put down the spoon and sighed: "Well, Lao Xu, you blame me for forgetting to mention this.

That's right, in fact, Zhu Lin... is indeed sick, very serious, so I let her stay in Xiangjiang to recuperate. "

"Ah? Are you really sick? Is it serious?" Xu Qingdong frowned, "What kind of disease is it?"

Cao Zhiqiang said: "This, I can't tell you the specifics, it seems to be some kind of women's disease. Anyway, it's some kind of imbalance of yin and yang. If it's not treated early, you may not be able to conceive a child in your life."

"Can't conceive a child? Is it a woman's disease?" Xu Qingdong continued to frown, and then suddenly made a sudden realization.

"Oh, let me tell you, she was married to that so-and-so for how long, and she never got pregnant. So there is really something wrong with her? I thought it was that so-and-so."

"Who says it's not right?" Cao Zhiqiang nodded quickly.

"But how did you know?" Xu Qingdong asked Cao Zhiqiang again, "She has this disease, why didn't she tell me or you?"

"Well..." Cao Zhiqiang blinked, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Xu Qingdong suddenly lowered his voice: "You two are really having an affair, right?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Cao Zhiqiang quickly denied, "Sister Zhu and I are so different, how could it be possible?"

"Yes." Xu Qingdong touched his chin and nodded, "Zhu Lin is already in his thirties, but you are not even twenty. Hey, you seem to be celebrating your twentieth birthday soon, right?"

"Yes, soon." Cao Zhiqiang nodded.

Xu Qingdong said: "So, I also think it is unlikely for you two, but why would Zhu Lin tell you if there is anything wrong with him? Instead of telling me, an old friend?"

Cao Zhiqiang said: "Of course she didn't mention it to me on her own initiative. It was a friend from Hong Kong who came to see me and happened to see her. She knew how to order Chinese medicine. After seeing Zhu Lin, she felt that something was not right about her condition, so she checked her pulse. , and then see the problem.

Although he saw a problem, he was not sure, so he took Zhu Lin to see a famous doctor in Xiangjiang.

Sure enough, after seeing a famous doctor, the diagnosis was confirmed, and Zhu Lin was allowed to recuperate there. "

At this point, Cao Zhiqiang's train of thought became smoother and he continued: "People said that Zhu Lin's disease is caused by cold, so during the period of recuperation, it is best not to go back to the north and live in a warm place.

Xiangjiang is in the south, the medical conditions are good, and the doctor can be consulted at any time, so I suggested that Zhu Lin stay.

In fact, Zhu Lin didn't want to do it because he thought it would be too expensive.

But I don't think so.

I'm afraid you don't know that actually, the reason why I didn't let Zhu Lin come back early was why I kept her.

I hope that Zhu Lin can stay in Xiangjiang and become familiar with it, so that he can help us open up the Xiangjiang market. "

"Wait a minute!" Xu Qingdong waved his hand, "Why are you opening up the Xiangjiang market again and returning it to us? You don't mean to ask us, Hongguang Film Factory, to open up some kind of Xiangjiang market, right?"

"Obviously!" Cao Zhiqiang said, "This is also the main content I want to talk to you about."

Having said this, Cao Zhiqiang picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, took another sip of water, and then continued to explain to Xu Qingdong:

"Lao Xu, tell me the truth. What do you think about your previous trip to Japan and Hong Kong? Is there any better than this one?"

Xu Qingdong clicked his lips, and then sighed: "If you want to compare with us, I think we are far behind them.

Not only is there a gap in technology and capital, there is also a gap in thinking.

In the film and television industry in Japan and Hong Kong, especially in the film industry, their screenwriters are unscrupulous and dare to think and act.

As for us, we are restricted everywhere due to various reasons.

Moreover, their account sharing method is more reasonable, and they adopt the box office account sharing model.

Under this model, film companies can gain more benefits and naturally have more motivation.

Unlike us, no matter how good the movie you make is, it will all be sold to China Film and Television, and the price is also decided by others, so we have no pricing power.

In the end, even if the movie you make is a hit at the box office, the money you make is from China Film and it has nothing to do with our film studio.

With a model like yours, who of us would think carefully about the market or the preferences of the audience?

In addition, our seniority ranking is too serious.

For some senior directors, no matter how backward their shooting techniques are or if there are problems, they are never short of funds.

Just like Director Yang, I'm not saying bad things about her behind her back.

I just feel that her shooting techniques are indeed a bit too much and are a waste of money.

However, people can easily get projects and money.

Try someone else.

If you dare to say that you need three million in filming funding, and you have to shoot real scenes all day long, your boss will scold you.

Same thing.

The film studios where we make movies, especially those old and powerful ones.

Their funds and shooting plans were mainly taken up by those veteran directors.

The new director wanted to make a movie, but there was simply no way to do it, so he had to raise his own funds.

Why did I switch to TV dramas before?

It’s not that Beijing Film Academy, where I originally worked, really didn’t give me a chance.

If Beiying allows me to film, how could I switch jobs and come to you, don't you think so? "

Cao Zhiqiang nodded: "Yes, that's right, so we must dare to be the first to make changes!"

Speaking of this, Cao Zhiqiang thought for a while and said: "To be honest, I am currently looking for someone to work on. I plan to apply for a job by leveraging the success of our "Love in the Rain" in Japan and earning a lot of foreign exchange for the country. Carry out film credit reform.

In other words, I want to break the original model of China Film Corporation’s monopoly on purchasing and marketing, and adopt the outside model of splitting box office accounts.

In this way, if the box office is good, film studios like ours can obtain more funds and have more say. "

"Really?" Xu Qingdong was shocked.

"Of course it's true." Cao Zhiqiang nodded, "Why are you lying to me?"

"Can such a big thing be accomplished?" Xu Qingdong frowned.

"It all depends on human effort." Cao Zhiqiang said, "You have to give it a try, maybe it will work? After all, reform and innovation are happening everywhere now. If you don't give it a try, how will you know it won't work?

Just like my publishing house and the Hongguang Film Studio I built.

Before I do it, do you believe that I can do this on my own? "

"That's true." Xu Qingdong nodded, "Why don't people outside now say that you are Mr. Cao, and that you are a powerful person.

Looking back now, the things you did were really something that others wouldn’t even dare to think about.

Even if I dare to think about it, I dare not do it.

Even if you dare to do it, you can't do it.

Well done to you, you dared to think and do, and you actually succeeded. This is what I admire most about you, and it was also the reason why I was able to give up my iron job at Beiying and come to Hongguang Factory with you. It's just because I admire you and think you won't cheat me, that's why I came here.

Otherwise, when you came to see me before, given the situation at your Hongguang Film Studio, who would come? "

Cao Zhiqiang chuckled: "You're right, thank you for taking me seriously."

Xu Qingdong shook his head and suddenly frowned: "Hey, wait a minute, why are you keeping Zhu Lin in Xiangjiang? Can you handle it?"

"Of course." Cao Zhiqiang said, "So you have to continue to listen to me."

After clearing his throat, Cao Zhiqiang continued to explain: "That's right, my previous success in Japan encouraged and inspired me.

I discovered that our people are actually not bad.

Whether it is our screenwriters, our directors, or our actors, they are not much worse than those in Hong Kong and Japan.

The only difference between us is that our environment and policies are different. "

"That's right!" Xu Qingdong slapped his thigh.

Soon, Xu Qingdong said sheepishly: "No, keep going, keep talking."

Cao Zhiqiang shook his head and continued to explain: "Then, I thought, you have to be prepared for everything.

If we cannot use the momentum of "Love in the Rain"'s huge success in Japan to reform the domestic film and television industry and change the past unified purchase and sales model to a split-account model, then there is no need for us to continue to focus on the domestic market.

In fact, foreign markets also have great potential.

What's more, if you do it abroad, you can not only make a lot of money, but also gain foreign exchange.

If we can earn foreign exchange by making movies abroad and then bring the foreign exchange back to China, we can be considered as serving the motherland, right? "

"Yes, that's right." Xu Qingdong nodded.

Cao Zhiqiang said: "It just so happens that I have friends in Xiangjiang, so I thought of opening a branch in Xiangjiang under the name of our Hongguang Film Studio.

Even if it can't be fully funded, it's okay to cooperate with my friend from Xiangjiang and open a joint venture film company there, with our Hongguang Film Company as shareholders.

In this way, we can legitimately send directors and actors to Xiangjiang to shoot movies there, and sell them to theaters there to earn box office.

In this case, we have many labor cost advantages over local film companies in Hong Kong.

You see, even for big stars like Zhu Lin, our salary is very low. After all, it is based on domestic calculations.

But if you are a big-name star in Hong Kong, then the performance fee is obviously not at the same level.

Of course we can't afford to hire big-name celebrities in Hong Kong.

But we can use the big stars we have developed ourselves.

Just like Zhu Lin.

She is now famous in Japan, which means that if we let Zhu Lin star in another movie and then release it in Japan, it will definitely have a certain box office appeal, right?

In the same way, if we find a way to release "Love in the Rain" in Hong Kong, and if it achieves certain results, let alone the box office revenue, Zhu Lin's popularity in Hong Kong will also increase accordingly.

At that time, we will let Zhu Lin make movies in Hong Kong in the name of being sent on a business trip. We can take advantage of Hong Kong's technical, financial and policy advantages to make more profitable movies and earn more foreign exchange.

But Zhu Lin is still from the mainland, and based on the salary standards of the mainland, we can get a much better deal.

Once this pattern is used well.

We can not only use Zhu Lin.

We can also introduce Ma Suqin.

Anyway, we have one billion people here, there are too many good talents to tap, and the salary requirements are not high. These are our advantages.

If this model of opening a branch in Xiangjiang succeeds, then we don’t have to worry about the inland market. We can definitely go out and compete with your counterparts in Xiangjiang and even Japan.

I believe that with our creativity and the cost advantage of our crew, we will achieve great results.

That’s why I asked Zhu Lin, our strongest opponent at present, to stay in Xiangjiang for the time being. Then, with the help of my friend in Xiangjiang, I could learn from the advanced experience there, and then discuss the next step of opening a branch.

But he never expected that her hidden illness would be found out, which was really a feat. "

Upon hearing Cao Zhiqiang's explanation, Xu Qingdong suddenly understood.

"Ah, let me ask you, why did you have to go back to the inland via Xiangjiang? So you had this idea at that time?"

"That's right." Cao Zhiqiang smiled.

"The plan is good." Xu Qingdong frowned, "But is it possible to open a film company in Xiangjiang, and then use our people to compete with others in Xiangjiang? Don't end up in vain.

You know, although the movies in Xiangjiang are very prosperous, the competition is also fierce.

Especially local film companies, they definitely don’t want foreign film companies to come and compete with them.

If we go to open a company there, we will encounter resistance from relevant local people.

For example, if someone is cheating on you and doesn't let you film properly, what will you do? "

Cao Zhiqiang smiled and said: "That's easy, we can shoot not in Xiangjiang but in Guangdong next door.

As long as you don't shoot any local urban dramas in Xiangjiang, but shoot the martial arts dramas that are very popular there recently, what difference does it make if you shoot them in Xiangjiang?

When making martial arts dramas or ancient dramas, as long as the service is good enough, the script is good enough, the actors are good enough, the music is good enough, and the audience enjoys watching it, then it will be fine.

By then, we will be able to replicate Japan’s miracle.

You can shoot a good movie in the mainland first, then take the copy to Xiangjiang, negotiate with the theaters there, and release it directly in Xiangjiang.

After it is released, if it gets good box office, it will naturally make money.

So the branch in Xiangjiang is just a formality.

The purpose is to allow us to take the opportunity to show the film in Hong Kong theaters as a local film in Hong Kong without any policy obstacles. "

"Ah, I seem to understand a little bit." Xu Qingdong frowned, "That is to say, as our Hongguang Film Studio, you will cooperate with local businessmen in Xiangjiang, and then register a local film company in Xiangjiang through a joint venture.

In this way, no matter what the shareholder composition of this film company is and what the share composition is, because it is a company registered and established in Xiangjiang, it is a local company in Xiangjiang and enjoys the rights of a local company in Xiangjiang.

Then, as a Hong Kong-based film company, we used our identity as Hongguang Film Studio to start shooting movies inland at a low cost.

After the film is made, a copy will be taken to Xiangjiang, where it will be released in Xiangjiang cinemas as a local film in Xiangjiang.

Is this the model you want to say? "

"That's right!" Cao Zhiqiang chuckled, "That's what I think. This is called a real backdoor listing!"

"I think it's a dove occupying a magpie's nest, right?" Xu Qingdong chuckled.

"It's all the same." Cao Zhiqiang also smiled and nodded.

"Is it possible?" Xu Qingdong said suddenly, "It feels very risky."

Cao Zhiqiang smiled faintly: "It's still the same sentence, if you don't give it a try, how will you know it doesn't work?" (End of Chapter)