Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 624: At least we should organize a roadshow, right?
Historically, "A Chinese Odyssey" suffered a disastrous box office failure in mainland China, and this lesson must certainly be learned.

Although it is now 1993 and the country has not yet introduced ten foreign blockbusters, there are also several good films in the mainland and joint ventures.

The first is the movie "Farewell My Concubine" directed by Chen Kaige.

In fact, this is also a joint venture film. The film was released in Hong Kong on January 93, 1 and won a lot of praise. But it has not been released in mainland China yet. Will it collide with "A Chinese Odyssey"?
Fang Minghua doesn't know.

As a time traveler from the 21st century, he is not very clear about the ways of film distribution, but he still has some understanding of road shows, advance screenings and the like.

I'll tell my wife about it when she comes back.

In the evening, Song Tangtang came back, and it was obvious that she was in a very good mood today.

As soon as she entered the living room, she threw away her bag, kicked off her high heels, and then danced barefoot to a section of "Praise of Red Plum" in the living room.

红岩 上 红梅开
Thousands of miles of ice under the feet

What is there to fear in the severe cold of March Nine

A heart of loyalty opens to the sun, opens to the sun
Fang Minghua, who was sitting on the sofa, applauded.

It's not perfunctory, it's sincere.

My wife looks so beautiful when she dances this song!
Of course, it would look even better if you wear the Type 65 military uniform and tie a military belt around your waist.

"Tangtang, why are you so happy today? I've never seen you so excited after being interviewed by reporters in the past." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

"That's different! Because I feel like I have done something very meaningful today!" Song Tangtang stopped dancing, leaned against Fang Minghua and said:

"I heard from Director Zhang that the research and development project that Jianjun is in charge of has very high application value in the field of aviation and military. The 5000 million is worth it! Thank you, husband."

"What is there to thank me for? Liu Jianjun is my brother-in-law. If not him, who should I spend the money on?" Fang Minghua said with a smile.

"Yeah. Director Zhang said Jianjun has a bright future and will definitely become an expert in the field of aviation microelectronics in the future!"

"Really?! That's amazing." Fang Minghua said, but he was thinking in his heart, if he is really amazing, will he become an academician of the Academy of Engineering in the future?
However, the National Academy of Engineering seems to have not been established yet.

The two laughed and joked for a while, then went to the living room to eat.

Steamed buns, millet porridge, cold cucumber salad and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, it's very simple.

The two of them chatted while eating.

"Minghua, Stephen Chow called me from Hong Kong yesterday to talk about the promotion of A Chinese Odyssey."

"What did he say?"

"He said that he is planning to hold a grand premiere at the Tsim Sha Tsui Cinema in Hong Kong. Several main creative staff including Stephen Chow, Stephen Chow, and Athena Chu will attend. He also invited you to go," said Song Tangtang.

"I said I couldn't go there." Fang Minghua refused. "What about the mainland?"

"We'll also hold one in Yanjing, but the exact location hasn't been decided yet!"

"Is it that simple?" Fang Minghua was stunned and stopped eating the steamed bun that was near his mouth.

"How complicated would that be? Which movie in mainland China would hold a premiere? This is a pioneering effort by Stephen Chow and his team!" Song Tangtang explained.

Yes, it is a groundbreaking initiative.

Nowadays, there is no concept of premiere in the mainland. But isn't this too simple?
Fang Minghua put down the steamed bun and looked at his wife: "Tangtang, you also heard Lili talk about how the movie "Ghost" was promoted in the United States, right?"

"Yes, Lili said that, from the director to the main actors, after the premiere at Rockefeller Center in New York, the team went to Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and other major cities for a tour screening, which they called a "Roadshow."

This movie is adapted from the novel of the same name written by Fang Minghua. It has achieved a revenue of 5 million yuan and holds the highest box office record since the s.

Song Tangtang was proud of it.

Now she suddenly heard her husband mention this movie, and immediately thought of something: "Minghua, do you mean that "A Chinese Odyssey" will also have a road show like "Ghost"? "

"Yes! This is a must." Fang Minghua's expression became serious: "Before shooting this movie, you are also worried about the box office, so you must do enough work on promotion and publicity! You must spend the money!"

"And whether it's a premiere or a preview, I have an idea that it shouldn't be held in theaters, but it'd be better to bring it to college campuses."

"Walk into the campus?!" Song Tangtang was stunned.

It was the first time she heard that a movie that had not been publicly released would first run on a university campus.

"I think the target audience of this film - that is, movie fans - should be young people, especially college students with higher education. Only they can understand this stream-of-consciousness film," Fang Minghua explained.

"Yes, who among the common people would like to watch such a confusing movie? Moreover, it subverts the original novel of Journey to the West!" Moreover, college students also like to watch movies starring Stephen Chow and are his fans. It is really killing two birds with one stone!"

Song Tangtang's thoughts were immediately opened up: "Which cities and universities should we go to? Yenching is definitely the first stop, Tsinghua, Peking University? And Shanghai, Fudan? Tongji? Of course, we have to come to Xijing. I have to plan it carefully, so that I can save money and achieve the expected results!"

"Don't be in a hurry, eat first. The porridge is getting cold." Fang Minghua reminded.

"No. If I don't think about it carefully, I can't eat." Song Tangtang simply put the bowl and chopsticks aside, took out a pen and paper and started writing on the notebook.

Fang Minghua shook his head and started eating alone.

Forget it, my wife is like this, a workaholic.

When she wants to eat it, heat it up for her.

Song Tangtang was immersed in the production plan for the whole night.

This is not only about which cities and universities to go to, but also about considering the personnel, time, funds, etc. participating in the roadshow.

Fang Minghua had no objection to this.

To be honest, he is not a film practitioner and only understands the basic concepts of roadshows.

After Song Tangtang formulated the roadshow plan, she sent it to Stephen Chow in Hong Kong by fax. He was not only the leading actor of the movie, but more importantly, he was the actual controller of the main investor of the movie - Star Wei Co., Ltd.

It was mid-March.

"A Chinese Odyssey" has been approved by relevant mainland authorities and obtained the Dragon Mark. The next step is to arrange a time for its public release.

On January 1993, 1, the state promulgated Document No. 1 of Radio, Film and Television: "Several Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Film Industry Mechanism", which stipulated that China Film Corporation would no longer be in charge of the distribution of 3mm domestic films, and that the production studios would trade directly with provincial or municipal distribution companies. At the same time, ticket prices were liberalized.

This means that the producers have to negotiate with the film distribution companies in each province one by one!
But the good thing is that the ticket price can be negotiated by both parties.

During this period, Shengshi Film and Television, including Song Tangtang, was extremely busy. They split into several groups and rushed to several major provinces and cities across the country and local film distribution companies to negotiate screening matters and specific ticket prices.

Of course, roadshows are more important.

(End of this chapter)