Golden Age 1990

Chapter 63 Use 300 to buy 3 minutes
"No, the Xu family girl is my daughter. If word spreads, it will make me look so old."

"Wenzi, with your appearance, are you still afraid of looking old?"

"Haha...Mr. Jiang, this is a mature face."

"Teacher Jiang Wen, I will work hard when I get back and make myself look younger."

"Xu's sister, there's no need to do this, let's focus on nature."

"That's not how old you are."

"What do you say!"

The role of Wang Qiming's daughter was decided amidst laughter.

Xu Qing herself was a little surprised, she never expected to play such a role.

But the previous audition for "Sunny Day" was unsuccessful, and now she has the opportunity to act with Teacher Jiang Wen, and she thinks it's pretty good.

Of course, playing a daughter does have some obstacles, but I have nothing to do with it.

As an actor, you should be able to play any role.

And this 'sincerity'... yes, Xu Qing naturally understands that this is Bai Feng's 'sincerity', she will not pretend to be stupid.

So, on this table, I was joking with Director Zheng Xiaolong, Feng Xiaogang, Teacher Jiang Wen, etc., but under this table.

Xu Qing used her delicate little hands to gently squeeze the back of Bai Feng's hand.

There's really something to this action.

Are you happy or angry?

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied?
It seems that the key lies in this pinch.

Naturally, Bai Feng kept his face calm, but in his heart he was inexplicably proud.

It's just that he didn't know that such a scene was seen by Sister Liu.

By the way, regarding the role issue just now, Sister Liu was indeed very grateful to Bai Feng in her heart.

This brother is really reliable.

But Xu Qing next to him... Could something be wrong between the two of them?
I just heard that this Xu Qing has a very good background, but because of a character and Bai Feng...

I don't want to think about it too much, Sister Liu's inner state is a little hard to describe for a while.

Bai Feng's attention is not on this aspect at all, as for Xu Qing's pinch, he is just fooling around like a girl.

Although Xu Qing is older than him, this girl is very cute and naive, but she seems not as mature as Yu Feihong.

So, he really didn't take it seriously.

And what really made him take it seriously was what came next.

Originally Bai Feng wanted to mention it, but someone was more anxious than him.

"Director Zheng, the current funding of our drama..." Liu Xiaoqing poured a glass of wine for Zheng Xiaolong, and said something by the way.

The words are not finished, but they don’t need to be finished.

Zheng Xiaolong frowned. He actually knew in his heart that he had already talked with Zhao Baogang before.

The model of "Story of the Editorial Department" is still good. After all, no one wants to do a good job in the project, but in the end they will not get the benefits they deserve.

This time CCTV gave him a heavy responsibility, and he took care of it and did a lot of work overseas.

In terms of remuneration, it can't be said that CCTV is so bad, but compared with the results of my work...the salary plus bonus is still small.

So, when we make "Beijing People in New York" this time, should we follow "The Story of the Editorial Department"?

Probably difficult.

Zheng Xiaolong is not a fool, he knows the difference very well, because this project is different, and this is an important step for CCTV to develop overseas.

How can outsiders intervene too much?
But there is a very real problem here...

"Sister Liu, to be honest, the situation this time is more complicated. It is also the first time for us to go international. Especially this TV series must be filmed in the United States. The funding is really a problem."

Yes, it's about money.

Ordinarily, if it is filmed in China, according to the current production cost of TV dramas, "Longing" is 100 million, 10 months.

From the perspective of time, it is 10 yuan a month.

Based on the number of episodes, it costs 2 yuan per episode.

But this has to be taken into consideration.

Didn't "Journey to the West" take 6 years to shoot? The earliest budget approved by CCTV was 300 million, but it was exceeded within a few years.

These were all shot in our country, so a lot of cost is okay.

"Beijing People in New York" should not be a big production like "Journey to the West", which requires a lot of costumes and special effects... Don't underestimate these special effects, although they are crude, they are also very expensive.

Fashion dramas can be cheaper, but the production costs in the United States are high.

It was also the first time for Zheng Xiaolong to go to the United States for filming. He had never done it before. He couldn't refer to the cost of filming in Hollywood. In that case, he would not be able to push forward any plans.

But it cannot be calculated according to our domestic cost.

So, just this money, I haven’t figured it out yet.

Liu Xiaoqing is naturally aware of this, she smiled and said: "Director Zheng, you are a little uncertain about the money, right?"

The question was accurate, Zheng Xiaolong nodded.

The original author, Mr. Cao, also chose to shut up at this time. After all, he didn’t know much about this kind of thing.

Our filming this time focused on an exploration.

Never really done that before.

However, the previous one, the one who helped Wang Ji speak, stood up again.

"Actually, we can exploit some legal loopholes right now."

Good guy, this time I will come to Ye Luzi.

"Tell me and listen." Liu Xiaoqing was particularly interested.

Her reaction surprised both Liu Xiaoli and Xu Qing, but Bai Feng knew that this was the normal reaction of a person who had been to the United States and knew something about the United States.

That person started talking.

"When making a film in the United States, don't worry about it. Some organizations cannot be bypassed, such as the actor's union. Don't underestimate them. This union has great influence and is very difficult to deal with.

To put it bluntly, we have to hire actors from the Screen Actors Union, and if we don't invite them, we won't be allowed to start the machine.

But if we invite their actors to play important roles, the cost will be high. For us to shoot a movie, the cost is at most a few million, which is not US dollars. They calculate by US dollars. Ate up our entire cost.

Therefore, if you are looking for people from the Screen Actors Union, you have to look for them, but we try to only look for those who are particularly unimportant, that is, extras.

This saves a lot of money…”

Not to mention, what he said really made sense.

But in our play, an important role must be played by a foreigner.

"Look for it in our country!"

This idea is really good, it is a loophole.

After that, they talked about a bunch of rules, and the man finally estimated the cost.

"Our movie, at least 500 million, is already the lowest budget. No matter how low it is, it's really hard to keep going."

According to the current exchange rate, 500 million RMB is more than 60 US dollars.

It is almost an impossible task to shoot a TV series with more than 20 episodes in the United States with this kind of money.

It can be said that it is definitely considered to the extreme.

That is to say, we Chinese can film it, and it is estimated that many people’s remuneration will have to be delayed.

Zheng Xiaolong frowned, he actually had a good idea in his heart, he knew that at least he would have to get this much money, but the problem was...

Bai Feng had noticed it a long time ago, and asked Zheng Xiaolong with a smile, "Director Zheng, how much can CCTV give?"

This question is so critical!

When Liu Xiaoqing heard this, a smile appeared on her face. She said in her heart: This younger brother Bai Feng is so smart.

Jiang Wen also tasted some things, but didn't speak.

As for Liu Xiaoli and Xu Qing, although the two of them didn't expect to understand it so well, they probably guessed it, probably...

Zheng Xiaolong said with a grim expression, "The budget given to me by the higher authorities is only about 200 million."

This is quite true, and this number can actually be roughly estimated.

CCTV has always been very stingy, and despite the huge success of "Desire" before, this drama only cost 100 million.

Giving you 200 million is pretty good, how much more do you want?
Is the cost of filming abroad too high?
You figure it out yourself!

Of course there are difficulties that must be overcome...

Everyone has a picture of this set of leadership's rhetoric.

Zheng Xiaolong's embarrassment is here, not enough money.

Bai Feng glanced at Liu Xiaoqing, and then turned back.

Then he looked at Zheng Xiaolong.

"Director Zheng, now that you have given the details, you will probably have to visit a lot of companies next..." What Bai Feng meant was that Zheng Xiaolong would probably have to go to a lot of companies to solicit sponsorships.

500 million is just the basis, how could he not know that almost any film and television drama will exceed the budget.

Zheng Xiaolong nodded naturally.

But Bai Feng then said: "I can get out of the 300 million that is missing."

As soon as he said this, Zheng Xiaolong's eyes widened.

Director Zheng really didn't expect that the young man in front of him would have such strength.

Well, actually 300 million is Bai Feng's limit at this time. He still has to raise part of it, but he had no intention of raising it himself.

Just listen to what Liu Xiaoqing said over there, "Three million is not a small amount of money. I can't let my brother take risks alone! Okay, Fengzi and I will pool together 300 million, each of us will get 300 million."

In this case...it means directly participating in investment!
Zheng Xiaolong was overjoyed when he heard this, the funds just came!

He expressed his gratitude immediately, and Mr. Cao was also very happy.

He is now doing business in the United States and does have some money, but he still has to do business with this money. He can't invest in this drama by himself.

Bai Feng and Liu Xiaoqing are so generous, which is a good thing.

As for Liu Xiaoli and Xu Qing, their eyes also changed a bit.

So, 300 million investment, that's it.

But... there is one more crucial question?
"Then this time, it will be broadcast on CCTV first, and then..." Zheng Xiaolong had a very good chat with Zhao Baogang before, and what he now proposes is to follow the "Story of the Editorial Department" model.

But, how can you still go the old way?
Bai Feng first exchanged glances with Liu Xiaoqing, then smiled and said to Zheng Xiaolong:

"It's natural to broadcast on CCTV, but this time we paid more money than CCTV, so we have to give us some convenience."

Zheng Xiaolong nodded, he also understood that there must be something different from before, "Then what convenience does Mr. Bai want?"

Bai Feng smiled, "I don't intend to make things difficult for Director Zheng, nor do I plan to make things difficult for CCTV. We only want 3 minutes of each episode of this TV series."

3 minutes?
In the middle 3 minutes?
Is this... do you want to use these 3 minutes to advertise?

Such a proposal...is too fresh!

That's right, absolutely no one has made such a request and such an idea before.

From Bai Feng's point of view, he and Liu Xiaoqing spent 300 million yuan as an agent for the TV show "Beijingers in New York"!
　Thank you for the reward of dried chili fried meat, thank you for your monthly ticket recommendation ticket support, thank you for your favorites and comments, thank you!

　　I watched the play "Beijing in New York" when I was a child, and I was deeply impressed. I felt that many of the lines in it were quite harsh, and it made me grow up a lot when I was a child.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)