Started as an independent producer in 1988

Chapter 127: Those who do it for free are the most delicious

The weather in November is very cold and the temperature drops quickly. In early October there is still autumn weather, so in November people have to put on a coat.

In front of the desk with the lamp on, Chen Shiping is writing a paper. He has written more than 30,000 words on the paper on the development prospects of mainland films, and is not far away from being completed.

Tao Huimin came over to pour Chen Shiping a cup of tea without disturbing him. He turned around and went to the kitchen to prepare noodles for Chen Shiping as a midnight snack.

Chen Shiping picked up the cup and took a sip of tea, and found that there was a ginseng seed soaked in it. It was not like he was going to sleep tonight.

The paper at this time has already written about the sluggishness of the movie market. The popularity of televisions has led to a large loss of movie audiences. With the development of technology, video theaters will become more and more common and will even enter thousands of households in the future. At that time, the way out for movies will be where?

Cinema lines are poorly managed, viewing conditions are backward, film studios are unable to make ends meet, there is no creative passion, and the development of genre films is slow.

The examples cited are not limited to these, and they also compare the Bayan and Xiangjiang markets. The film markets in Bayan and Xiangjiang have exceeded one billion, and the United States on the other side of the ocean is even more exaggerated.

Culture and entertainment are also an important core of economic development!

Chen Shiping cited a large number of cases and data, analyzed them from all aspects, and tried his best to ensure that every point has a source and every point can withstand scrutiny.

Only by making the paper practical and detailed can it be possible for the superiors to take it seriously.

Film reform is imminent. It's not that the higher-ups don't know it, but they haven't made up their minds yet.

At this time, Tao Huimin had already made the noodles and shouted softly: "I've made the noodles, come and eat some before continuing to write."

Chen Shiping hummed and put down the pen and breathed a sigh of relief. Now that he has almost finished writing, he will go to the reference room to check the information and check it in detail.

After sitting on the table and looking at the hot noodles, Chen Shiping couldn't help but rub his nose and asked: "Did you use chicken soup?"

"Hmm, is it delicious?" Tao Huimin said with a smile.

Chen Shiping picked up the whiskers in the noodle soup and asked, "Is there ginseng in the chicken soup?"

"Yes, you have been working so hard recently to catch up."

"Okay, okay! You'll know later how much trouble you're getting yourself into."

After Chen Shiping finished speaking, he lowered his head and slurped down the noodles. He finished the bowl of noodles in a short time, wiped his mouth, picked up Tao Huimin and walked to the bedroom.

Although it was not the first time this happened, Tao Huimin still blushed and said shyly: "What are you doing? The dishes haven't been washed yet. I'm not writing a paper!"

"Who asked you to patch it up for me? I'm very angry now!" Chen Shiping hugged Tao Huimin and threw her on the bed. He threw her clothes and rushed over.

How can you eat ginseng casually? Although it is a bit small, it is wild.

It is estimated that Lin Qingxia did not expect that the gift she gave to Chen Shiping would end up like this, and it would become a part of PALY invisibly.

Early the next morning, when Chen Shiping was checking information in the factory's data room with his thesis, he received a call from Xu Feng.

"Are you busy now? There are some things I want to talk to you about."

"Are you in the hotel? I'll find you later."

Chen Shiping hung up the phone, put his thesis in his bag, and went to the Capital Hotel.

After meeting Xu Feng, the two started talking about Farewell My Concubine Jianjing.

"I looked at these drawings again yesterday. The design is very good. I wonder what the specific cost is?"

Chen Shiping really hadn't thought about this problem carefully. He looked at Xu Feng and said, "Wait a moment, I'll call the designer."

The designs of these scenes were all designed by Yang Zhanjia, a senior master in the art workshop of the factory. This old man has participated in the design of many movie scenes, and he also designed the Red Mansion.

After Chen Shiping called the factory and inquired carefully, he hung up the phone and said to Xu Feng: "Probably between 1.5 million and 2 million."

Xu Feng silently calculated and found that the price was still within the acceptable range. However, it was an investment of more than 30 million. After deducting this money, we also need to include the actors' remuneration, long-term shooting expenses, costumes, actor training and other messy things. cost of.

Seeing Xu Feng like this, Chen Shiping didn't say anything. Xu Feng was the producer and producer this time. He would not participate in the production, mainly because he didn't have the time to be distracted by these things.

Xu Feng looked at Chen Shiping and asked, "Are you sure you choose Leslie Cheung as the actor?"

"Yes, his salary is almost five million, right?"

Chen Shiping had previously inquired about Leslie Cheung's salary, which was actually less than five million, but more than four million.

"Yes, but if you don't want him to come to learn opera, do you still need to learn the Beijing dialect?" Xu Feng silently calculated and said: "In this case, at least six million will be needed."

Chen Shiping nodded and said nothing. The price was similar to what he thought. Not counting anything else, just building the theater and hiring an actor would cost eight million.

Xu Feng thought about it and said: "Then we need to invest more. Cheng Long's salary is more than 20 million."

Chen Shiping couldn't help but twitch his lips and said, "I don't want Cheng Long!"

Xu Feng looked at Chen Shiping blankly and said, "Why?"

"He is too short and has bow legs. The most important thing is that his acting is not good and his screen image is not serious." Chen Shiping said seriously.

Xu Feng frowned and said, "But he has great box office appeal, and he is the hottest action movie actor."

"I'm not filming action scenes." Chen Shiping looked at Xu Feng and said seriously: "I don't want Cheng Long!"

Seeing Chen Shiping like this, Xu Feng couldn't help but frown. Thinking of investing so much money without a guaranteed box office, she felt really unsure.

"The most important thing is, have you ever thought about whether Cheng Long would take on this drama?" Chen Shiping asked seriously.

"Yes." Xu Feng said not sure.

Chen Shiping felt that if he asked not to use Cheng Long, it would be better to let Xu Feng hit the wall on his own, so he said: "He won't accept gay themes. If you don't believe it, just ask."

Xu Feng nodded hesitantly and planned to go back with the script and ask why Cheng Long wouldn't accept such a good script.

Chen Shiping smiled and asked, "Why don't you ask me who my favorite candidate is?"

Only then did Xu Feng react and asked curiously: "Who did you choose? Cheng Long, you are not even satisfied."

Chen Shiping did not say it directly, but asked with a smile: "What do you think of Jiang Wen?"

"Jiang Wen. It's okay."

However, Xu Feng always felt that Chen Shiping's real choice was not Jiang Wen. He looked at him and said, "Tell me, who did he choose?"

Chen Shiping laughed and said, "Zhang Fengyi, have you seen the old stories in the south of the city?"

Xu Feng nodded after recalling it and said, "That thief? He's not suitable."

In Xu Feng's heart, even if he didn't choose Cheng Long, he couldn't choose Zhang Fengyi. Jiang Wendu was much more suitable than him.

Chen Shiping didn't explain that much. Now Xu Feng was still thinking about Cheng Long, so he asked her to hit a wall first.

"What about the other characters? Who do you plan to find to play? I'll help you find them." Xu Feng asked again.

Chen Shiping said with a smile: "I'll do the audition later, but I want to cast Gong Li for Juxian, and we'll see about the rest when the time comes."

"Are you planning to use those from the mainland?" Xu Feng couldn't help but said, "Let's find some from Xiangjiang. Juxian can also find Lin Qingxia."

Chen Shiping said directly: "No, she can't act well."

"What about Mei Yanzhi?" Xu Feng asked again.     "Not possible either."

Xu Feng: "." Who is the producer? I will pay for the co-writing, right?

The two had different opinions, so they could only skip the topic of actors for the time being and settle the two leading actors first before talking about anything else.

After the two talked about other matters for a while, after discussing all the expenses except the actors' remuneration, they estimated the cost to be nearly 20 million.

Chen Shiping had too many demands. He also wanted Xu Feng to provide the best camera, the best film, the latest monitor, the latest crane, and the best radio equipment.

After the chat, Xu Feng couldn't help but said: "Why do I feel like you are taking the opportunity to kill me?"

"Haha, I didn't." Chen Shiping looked at her and asked very seriously: "Do you want to make a passable movie, or do you want to make a classic among classics?"

Xu Feng said helplessly: "Okay, I understand, I will prepare."

"If you think you have more money, I can also invest part of it, maybe five million." Chen Shiping looked at her and said.

Xu Feng thought about it and said, "Cash?"

Chen Shiping laughed dumbly, nodded and said, "Of course, I'm not taking advantage of the opportunity to get a share."

"Do you have so much money?" Xu Feng asked with some disbelief.

Chen Shiping smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about this."

Seeing that Chen Shiping really wanted to invest, Xu Feng was a little hesitant. After thinking about it for a while, he said, "Let me think about it. If I don't find Cheng Long, I will have enough money."

Chen Shiping said nonchalantly: "Okay, it's up to you."

So much money invested in Farewell My Concubine won't actually make much money back. There may be a lot of box office in overseas markets, but overseas film producers will only buy out the copyright.

The investment ratio is not very good. Five million is enough for Chen Shiping to make a normal commercial movie, and the money he makes is not small.

In order to rush for time, Xu Feng went to Xiangjiang that day, firstly to talk about actors, and secondly to prepare funds and buy equipment for Chen Shiping.

Some equipment is not available in the mainland or Hong Kong and can only be purchased from abroad. For example, the Zhanmei rocker must be purchased from the United States.

There are also the latest monitors, cameras, and the best film, all of which can only be purchased abroad.

Domestic cameras are actually not bad. They are almost the same as Hollywood cameras, but they are not the best, and the lenses are much worse.

The lens is what Chen Shiping wants most, and of course the camera is equally important.

Why not use a 70mm camera that can be used? After filming Farewell My Concubine, let Xu Feng give these machines to him!

Free whoring is the most delicious!

Moreover, after the film is shot, Chen Shiping does not plan to develop it in the factory, but plans to send it to Hollywood. Domestic development technology is a bit behind.

It is these messy things that make the overall production cost so high, but Xu Feng has money, so he is no longer afraid.

An investment of 30 million is not much money when converted into US dollars. Compared with Hollywood, this can only be regarded as a B-level investment.

When Chen Shiping drove back to the factory, Li Laoyuan saw Xu Qing at the intersection around the corner of the film factory gate.

Xu Qing also saw Chen Shiping and waved to him from the side of the road.

"Are you waiting for me?" Chen Shiping rolled down the window and asked.

Xu Qing nodded and said, "Yes, I waited for you at this intersection specially."

You can't see the factory gate from this location, and you can't see it from the other side of the factory. It's a good location, but Xu Qing chose this location, so it makes sense to say this.

"What's the matter?" Chen Shiping didn't turn off the engine, wanting to see what Xu Qing wanted to do.

After Xu Qing pulled the car door but it didn't open, she bent down to the car window and looked at Chen Shiping and said, "I'll treat you to tea. Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome, but let's just drink tea. I have something to do today." Chen Shiping is not in the mood for tea now. He is so busy that he has no time to drink tea.

Xu Qing lay on the car window, clasped her hands and begged: "Give me a chance. My attitude was so bad that day. I'll invite you to tea to apologize."

Looking at Xu Qing's round face and energetic look, Chen Shiping also felt a sense of youthful vitality, but he was really busy today and had no time to drink tea.

"In a few days, I'm really busy today."

Seeing Chen Shiping's serious and helpless expression, Xu Qing could only say, "Okay, then when are you free?"

"The day after tomorrow, I'll call you the day after tomorrow."

After the two made an appointment, Chen Shiping drove back to the factory, but as soon as he parked the car, he noticed that the truck transporting equipment in the factory was moving down.

Chen Shiping walked over and asked curiously: "Which movie has been completed?"

"Director Chen!" The person in charge of moving the equipment immediately said with a smile: "It's Director Cheng who sings while walking. He just came back today."

Chen Shiping said oh, he didn't pay much attention to Director Xiao Cheng during this period. Now that the movie is finally finished, he doesn't know how it went.

I'll go back and wait for the film to be developed and ask for a copy.

When he went to the main building to check information, he passed by the Creative Arts Center on the second floor and heard Cheng Kaige's voice.

As if he was bragging to someone, Chen Shiping curled his lips and was about to go to the third floor when he saw Gong Li coming out of the Creative Arts Center.

"Gong Li!" Chen Shiping stopped and called her.

When Gong Li saw that it was Chen Shiping calling her, she walked over quickly and said hello with a smile: "Director Chen, what a coincidence."

"What a coincidence. We bumped into each other just after we came back." Chen Shiping said with a smile: "I just happened to have something to do with you. Do you have time to chat?"

Gong Li, who originally planned to go home, did not hesitate and said with a smile: "Okay, I don't know what you want from me."

"We're filming a movie." Chen Shiping said with a smile, "Let's go upstairs and chat."

The two came to the information room on the third floor. Chen Shiping said to Gong Li while looking for information: "I told you before that I have a new movie next year, remember?"

Gong Li watched Chen Shiping take out a book of information about film distribution and screening from the bookshelf, and subconsciously nodded and said: "Remember."

"There is a role that suits you. Do you have time?" Chen Shiping asked with a smile.

Gong Li came back to her senses and said immediately: "Yes, Director Chen has already spoken, there must be time."

Chen Shiping turned to look at her and asked with a smile: "You don't have to be the protagonist to have time?"

"Yes! I wanted to work with you when I was in Qixian last time. I feel like you are good at training actors!"

"I do have some experience in training actors, so I wish us a happy cooperation."

"Happy cooperation!"

(End of this chapter)