National Tide 1980

Film and TV circles, film and TV circles, it must be said that there is some truth in the fact that ordinary people like to mix up movies and TV.

Because the relationship between movies and TV is really subtle, and it can indeed be said to be highly related.

From scripts to casts, and even directors and production teams, they often cross boundaries with each other.

Even the degree and speed of information exchange are enough to surprise people.

Like Ning Weimin, he did not expect that in this era when it is still very difficult to spread any information.

He had just negotiated a series of cooperation plans with the Film Bureau and China Film Corporation, and he did not even have time to say hello to Song Huagui and politely ask for the opinion of his immediate superior.

As a result, the National Television Drama Production Center had mastered the relevant situation first.

At the beginning, the person in charge who decided to sell the overseas copyright of the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions" to him actually called him specifically for this.

On the phone, he half-jokingly said that he could not favor one over the other, and could not only support film creation and forget his old friends.

With this intelligence skill and efficiency, it is simply better than professional agents.

At the same time, the person in charge also mentioned their meeting at the wedding a few days ago. At that time, they were only busy drinking and congratulating each other, and they had not had time to discuss some important matters with Ning Weimin. Now they are very "sincerely" inviting him to take some time to come to the production center to sit and drink tea.

Needless to say, as a smart person, Ning Weimin naturally understood the meaning of this statement.

Obviously, the TV series production center is a little worried that all the funds in his hands have been invested in the film industry. This is to try to get in on the action and take away some food and grass.

For this reason, he just felt a little funny about the rich and powerful, but he didn't refuse.

After all, he knows how much funds are currently lacking in domestic cultural undertakings, and he has just experienced the current system's ills. As far as the film and television industry is concerned, all production units are poor farmers, and there are no landlords at all.

Sure enough, the next day when they met again at the TV series production center, the person in charge was polite to Ning Weimin in person, and then began to strongly recommend Curry TV series to him, hoping that he could buy more and continue to broadcast overseas.

The TV drama production center can also use this money as funds to produce more dramas.

Unfortunately, although Ning Weimin also wanted to help, he did not want to disappoint the person in charge.

But the problem is that in recent years, the TV drama production center's creative method of filming famous works has just started to take off.

Most of the TV dramas they filmed before were TV dramas that reflected reform and opening up and reflected on the "movement" theme.

For example, "Wasted Years" and "Walking Through the Storm".

There are also anti-Japanese war dramas and spy dramas that reflect the wartime years, such as "Harbin Under the Night" and "Triumph at Midnight".

Even TV dramas like "Snowy Field" that focus on the emotional lives of ordinary people are rare.

Even TV dramas with compact plots and rich emotions such as "Plain Clothes Police" and "Looking for the Lost World" are stories based on the historical environment of a special era.

If you don't understand that special history, it is difficult to fully understand the logic of the drama.

So these TV dramas are too far away from the lives of the Japanese and can hardly arouse the interest of the Japanese.

In Ning Weimin's opinion, due to the great differences in the current social environment and economic development between China and Japan, these TV series are really not suitable for broadcasting in Japan, and they are difficult to sell.

Let alone the good time slot, it is estimated that it is difficult to ask TBS TV to broadcast in the night time when the audience is the least.

Therefore, Ning Weimin picked and chose in the library, but he didn't pick anything he liked.

In the end, he could only pick a general from a short man, and reluctantly bought the eight episodes of "Ji Gong" that just finished broadcasting this year, as well as the eight episodes of "Wusong" and ten episodes of "Qin Wang Li Shimin" that were previously stored.

I believe that the Japanese are more accepting of these things related to history and mythology.

However, although he bought few dramas, he gave a very generous price. He directly offered 100,000 US dollars for three TV series.

On average, it is 4,000 US dollars per episode, which is definitely not stingy.

You know, in this era, domestic film and television drama creation only needs to arrange transportation and accommodation for shooting outdoor scenes, and other aspects do not cost much.

In order to receive the crew, units in various places were very happy. They felt that they were promoting them and that movies and TV were sacred. There was no concept of charging.

In fact, the production cost of each drama was only 50,000 or 60,000 yuan at most.

It can be said that except for TV dramas such as "Dream of Red Mansions" and "Journey to the West" that require a large number of special props and costumes, the others are absolutely low-cost productions.

And the 100,000 US dollars given by Ning Weimin is equivalent to nearly 800,000 at the actual exchange rate among the people.

Only the money for two episodes is enough to cover the cost of each drama, and the rest is pure profit. How can the person in charge not be satisfied?

Don't say anything, just say that the price he gave is absolutely generous even compared with ATV in Hong Kong.

You know, ATV was willing to spend 2,500 US dollars per episode to buy "Dream of Red Mansions", and the whole drama only cost 90,000 US dollars.

And this is because Ning Weimin was willing to buy the overseas copyright of "Dream of Red Mansions" at a sky-high price of 400,000 US dollars, so the price was raised.

Otherwise, ATV would only be willing to pay 1,800 USD per episode at most.

These Hong Kong cowards are not much better than those Japanese profiteers who offer 1,000 USD per episode.

So whether Ning Weimin is a real person or not, whether he is generous or not, this is something that the person in charge has no doubt about.

That’s not all. Ning Weimin is indeed a good friend. In order to share the worries of the person in charge, he even took the initiative to propose a prepayment method, which moved the person in charge from the bottom of his heart and made him feel more favorable towards him.

According to Ning Weimin’s meaning, the TV drama production center is short of money to shoot a new drama.

It doesn’t matter. He is willing to take out 200,000 US dollars first to solve the urgent needs of the production center.

Anyway, the cooperation between the two parties is a long-term thing, not a one-time deal, so this is a prepayment.

When a new TV series is released, they will go back and convert it according to the transaction price.

In this way, the quality of TV drama creation can be better guaranteed.

Needless to say, when this suggestion came out, the person in charge’s eyes were full of little stars. At this time, looking at Ning Weimin, he was closer than his own brother.

Although he was a little disappointed with his purchase volume at the beginning, the person in charge never dreamed that Ning Weimin would pay first and take the goods later.

The person in charge was quite satisfied and contented that he could finally get 300,000 US dollars in foreign exchange from Ning Weimin, which was equivalent to more than 2.2 million in financial support.

At this time, let alone no negative emotions at all, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was overjoyed.

Therefore, when Ning Weimin proposed to the person in charge that he hoped to invite the crew of "Dream of Red Mansions" to visit Japan next month to enhance cultural exchanges and expand the influence of "Dream of Red Mansions" on Japan.

The person in charge naturally had no reason not to cooperate.

He immediately said that the crew of "Dream of Red Mansions" had just visited Japan not long ago, and most of the people had not dispersed after returning to Beijing. They were temporarily staying in Beijing waiting for the crew's subsequent arrangements. It was not difficult to gather them, and it was just a matter of one order.

Now they will be happy to hear the news of going to Japan again.

As for Ning Weimin's proposal to invite the crew to do commercial promotion for the new stores of Tan Gong Restaurant in Kyoto and Osaka in Japan, the person in charge also agreed and said that there was no problem.

He said that as a cultural institution, it is their duty to support the overseas business operations of domestic enterprises.

Especially for people like Ning Weimin who have devoted their efforts to supporting the development of domestic film and television and have made great contributions to the overseas promotion of "Dream of Red Mansions", they should cooperate and support him.

Not to mention attending several commercial events for him, even letting the crew pat GG for him is also reasonable.

To be honest, the person in charge just said these last few sentences casually to show his generosity.

But for Ning Weimin, whose mind was full of abacus beads, he was overjoyed when he heard it and really took it seriously.

On the spot, he rolled his eyes and came up with a new idea.

He said in his heart, yes, "Dream of Red Mansions" is an eternal classic, and it is so popular now, and he has this convenience, why not take advantage of it?

If we don't make full use of the current popularity of "Dream of Red Mansions" to show more commercial value, wouldn't it be a waste of such a good resource? Wouldn't that be stupid?

It can be said that except for the sentimental sales of "The Empress Dowager" and "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace", the Altar Palace Restaurant has not reaped the benefits of IP.

With such a good IP, he actually only thought about selling peripheral products such as handicrafts, and why didn't he think about developing snacks of the Twelve Golden Hairpins, Twelve Golden Hairpins wine, and the Red Mansion Banquet.

He laughed at the Grand View Garden at the beginning, but it was just the pot calling the kettle black.

It seems that stock speculation and real estate speculation are really ruining people. Financial games have reduced the intelligence of such a smart person.

In this way, inspired by the person in charge, Ning Weimin, who was originally anxious to leave, was not in a hurry to leave at this time.

Instead, he and the person in charge began to study the comprehensive cooperation between the "Dream of Red Mansions" crew and the Altar Palace Restaurant.

This chat lasted from morning to afternoon. At noon, they sat together for a drink and a meal.

The final results were remarkable. Ning Weimin signed a comprehensive GG cooperation agreement with the National Television Drama Production Center at a cost of 300,000 yuan.

The TV drama production center not only agreed to authoritatively endorse the catering activities and service content themed on "Dream of Red Mansions" for the Tan Palace Restaurant in the name of the crew.

And it also promised to arrange the main actors in the crew to take their positions as soon as possible to shoot GG for the Tan Palace Restaurant and the Dream of Red Mansions peripheral crafts ordered by Ning Weimin.

To put it bluntly, this is equivalent to Ning Weimin signing the entire crew to endorse his products.

That's not all. Ning Weimin turned around and went to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau. She collected many well-known terms closely related to the Dream of Red Mansions, including "Dream of Red Mansions", "Red Mansion Banquet", "Grand View Garden", "Twelve Golden Hairpins", "The Story of the Stone", "The Illusion of Taixu", "Spiritual Jade", "Jiangzhu Fairy", "Shenying Waiter", "Fengyue Baojian", etc., and registered them as commercial trademarks one by one.

And the business scope covers clothing, jewelry, catering, wine, beverages, snacks, toys, and crafts.

This time, he is considered to be a man without poison, blocking the way for others.

Without making a fuss, they quietly monopolized most of the commercial applications of "Dream of Red Mansions", one of China's four major IPs.

Although he himself didn't know it, in the original history, a few months later, a village-run winery in Yibin, Sichuan, which was supposed to become prosperous with the trademark "Dream of Red Mansions" and "Twelve Golden Hairpins Wine", and get rid of poverty and become rich in one fell swoop, and prosper for five or six years, was completely ruined by him.

The good days that could have been in his hands were all gone because of him.

I really don't know whether to say that he is smart or that he is too ruthless.

In short, this deal is too cost-effective for him.

Although he spent a lot of money, the things and favors he bought are priceless.

However, what surprised Ning Weimin greatly was that the chain reaction of the news leak did not end there.

A few days later, Liu Xiaoqin actually relied on her own connections and got the news about Ning Weimin's recent activities in the film and television industry from some unknown source.

So she also called Ning Weimin.

But the difference is that she blamed Ning Weimin on the phone and repeatedly complained that Ning Weimin was not good enough.

It is said that among the five export films that Ning Weimin had agreed with the Film Bureau and China Film, none of them starred her.

Ask Ning Weimin whether he really considered her a friend? Did he look down on her?

Ning Weimin, because he knew her temper well, valued her straightforwardness and frankness.

He had expected that this overly arrogant and overconfident "Queen Dowager" would have such a hypocritical reaction.

Therefore, instead of minding it, he told her frankly that the reason why Liu Xiaoqin was not chosen as the star of the film was that the "Queen Dowager" series suitable for distribution in Japan all went through the Hong Kong distribution channel, and he had no way to intervene.

And the other films she starred in were not suitable for release in Japan, such as "Furong Town", which involved the historical background of a special era and was not easy for foreigners to understand.

Then there was no other way, and he had to wait until she had a work with a suitable theme before cooperating.

Unexpectedly, Liu Xiaoqin immediately said that she was currently filming a movie about "two men falling in love with the same woman, and the three of them even slept on the same kang."

The story is set in the capital of the Republic of China. The story is simple and should fit Ning Weimin's description. It is almost finished.

I just don't know if Ning Weimin is interested or not, and whether she is willing to meet with her.

In this way, Ning Weimin has no room to refuse, and he has to agree to the appointment for the sake of face.

And he did have a strong curiosity. After thinking about it, he couldn't figure out what kind of movie this is.

In the 1980s, was our film creation so large-scale? The content is so exciting?

I haven't heard of it. It can't be banned after it was filmed, and there is no chance to be put on the big screen.

Unexpectedly, when Ning Weimin arrived at the Beijing Factory the next day and saw Ming and Qing Street, where countless well-known movies were filmed, he couldn't help but laugh. He had to admire Liu Xiaoqin's intelligence and cunning.

It turns out that this movie is "Chun Tao" directed by Ling Zifeng and starring Liu Xiaoqin and Jiang Wen.

The effect of this joke is no less than that of someone misrepresenting the domestic comedy "Look at This Family" as the American movie "George's Family".