Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2751 Cooperation (First Update, Please Subscribe)
In January, the Spring City is still quite chilly, and the scenery is typical of northern China.

Chen Mo followed the receptionist out of the airport terminal. A gust of cold wind made him instinctively pull his woolen coat tighter around him. Accustomed to tropical life, he immediately felt the biting cold of the north as soon as he stepped out of the airport.

"I really should have worn something thicker."

As I was thinking this to myself, the receptionist quickly said:
"Mr. Chen, it's much colder here than where you are. It's good that the car is here. It's a Volkswagen made in China, the kind with heating."

Chen Mo is representing DreamWorks Pictures in Kunming to discuss a co-production of "Journey to the West." After liaising with film companies in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong side has been very proactive.

Thus, Chen Mo's trip to Kunming came about.

This was Chen Mo's first time in Kunming. Although the city was planned in a modern way, there were no towering buildings outside the airport, only neat and wide asphalt roads. Most of the cars on the streets were either Soviet cars or green military vehicles.

Most pedestrians were wearing blue, gray, or black cotton-padded coats, while many more wore military overcoats. Although there were still piles of snow on the roadside and the wind was biting cold, people still used bicycles as their mode of transportation.

Just as Chen Mo was curiously looking at the city outside the car, the receptionist sitting in the passenger seat asked a question.

"Mr. Chen, is this your first time visiting the mainland?"

"More or less..."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Mo explained further.

"I was born in mainland China."

"Ah, Mr. Chen, have you ever thought about going home to visit your family?"

"Family?"

"It's just going back to my hometown to visit relatives."

"Oh, you mean that place? There are no relatives left there."

"This is still your hometown, after all. You should go back and take a look, don't you think?"

Just as Chen Mo was about to speak after hearing what the receptionist said, his assistant Zhang Xu asked:

"Mr. Cheng must come from a family of government officials, right?"

When asked this question, the receptionist couldn't hide his smugness.

"Oh dear, my dad was just an ordinary cadre. He came to the city with the army back then, and later he went to the ministry. He was just an ordinary cadre, an ordinary cadre..."

Although he said it was ordinary, the smugness on his face was hard to hide.

Hearing his answer, Zhang Xu asked again:

"Then you must go back to your hometown often."

“My dad went back a few years ago, why would I go back? There’s no one else here…”

The words were on the tip of his tongue when the person suddenly stopped talking, his expression changed slightly, and then he gave an awkward laugh, and stopped talking about visiting relatives.

Chen Mo glanced at Zhang Xu, this kid...

Seeing the look the vice president gave him, Zhang Xu simply smiled and said:

"Actually, when you visit relatives, you're visiting your family. If your family is still around, you'll feel close even if you don't visit. But if you don't have any family... well, family ties don't last beyond three generations, don't you think?"

His question elicited a muffled response from the other person.

The rest of the journey was silent.

Soon, the car entered Renmin Avenue. Most of the plane tree leaves on both sides had fallen. Under the gray-blue sky, bicycles flowed like a tide through the streets, and the buildings standing on both sides of the avenue exuded a solemn and dignified atmosphere.

It wasn't until he checked into the hotel that he realized he had arrived in this country he had heard about countless times in books and from his parents.

Out of curiosity, Chen Mo even opened the window and looked out. At this time, dusk had fallen, and although the streetlights were on, the dazzling neon lights of the city could not be seen.

Streetlights, sycamore trees, pedestrians, and few cars—everything here seems different from other places. What exactly is different about it?
However, Chen Mo just stood by the window, curiously looking around at this unfamiliar city.

Arranged by the relevant foreign affairs department of the Ministry of Culture, Chen Mo entered the office building on time the following morning. Soon, he and his assistant were led into the conference room, where several long solid wood tables were neatly arranged, and several landscape paintings hung on the wall, looking quite simple.

Several leaders from the ministry were already waiting there, their expressions serious yet warm.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries and taking their seats, Chen Mo didn't waste any time and went straight to the point, mentioning DreamWorks Pictures' desire to co-produce "Journey to the West".

"I think everyone should know DreamWorks' international influence."

At the start of the meeting, Chen Mo didn't talk about movies or anything like that. Although he had never dealt with this side before, he was very clear about his own advantages.

He had asked some people who had done business here about how to deal with them, and they said, "They only need to know that DreamWorks is one of the top five film companies in the world, and that's enough for them. They will value it more than you do."

“Our choice to partner with you will allow you to present yourself to the world in a more perfect way, which is exactly what you need.” As soon as he finished speaking, the leaders present exchanged glances, their expressions showing a hint of consideration.

After receiving the report from the Hong Kong Island company, the leaders discussed the matter. Although there was no precedent for a mainland-foreign co-production of a large-scale TV series, the leaders were still happy to see it happen, considering DreamWorks' status and influence. They believed that this would promote relations between the two sides and bring them closer.

However, since policies, procedures, and cooperation models were all lacking, caution was inevitable. But now Chen Mo told them directly—it was you who needed this TV series.

“Mr. Chen is absolutely right. We need to let the world know more about us now. However, I would like to know what kind of cooperation Mr. Chen is referring to.”

After the leader finished speaking, he took a drag of his cigarette, looked at the young man in front of him who looked to be under forty, and thought about his information.

Chen Mo, 39 years old, is originally from Anqing, Anhui Province. Before the liberation, he went to Southeast Asia with his parents on an immigrant ship. His father was a small merchant and his mother was a music teacher.

"The cooperation method is very simple: we provide the funding and core creative team, while the mainland provides the location, actors, and crew. We also provide the salaries of the crew members."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a leader asked:
"Since it's a collaboration, who's in charge of the production team?"

"Of course, it's DreamWorks. As the investor, DreamWorks will send a director, screenwriter, production crew, and other personnel to coordinate the filming process. Your team will assist in this and resolve issues related to filming locations. Additionally, considering market acceptance, DreamWorks will send some actors."

"So you mean we have to work for you? This isn't a collaboration, it's clearly us being bossed around. We have directors and actors too."

Seeing this, Chen Mo, who was already prepared, slowly leaned forward and said:
“Films are different from other things. When we make a film, we have to consider market acceptance. Your directors don’t know what foreign audiences want to see. Besides, we are the investors, so we naturally have the control over the production.”

Then, he threw out his two most crucial chips:
"We plan to use real locations for the TV series, capturing all the magnificent and beautiful scenery of your region. Once the series airs, it will be broadcast in SEA, Southeast Asia, and overseas."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and continued:

"At that time, scenic spots and historical sites will become famous because of this, attracting a large number of foreign tourists to visit. This is a free and influential national tourism promotion. You can promote your scenery to the world without spending a penny."

This is free advertising, and the benefits to you are immeasurable.

Upon hearing this, the leaders' eyes visibly brightened. In recent years, tourism, primarily driven by family visits, has become an extremely important industry, earning astronomical amounts of foreign exchange annually, which is why the top leaders attach great importance to it.

The leaders of the ministry naturally took note of this. If a TV series could attract attention both at home and abroad and boost tourism potential in various regions, it would greatly promote the economy.

Seeing that they were clearly already interested, Chen Mo pressed his advantage and gave them a second reason that they couldn't refuse:
"In addition, this series is led and invested in by our side. We plan to shoot five seasons with a total investment of around 2000 million yuan. During the filming period, we will purchase materials, rent venues, pay staff salaries, and build sets in mainland China. Every expenditure will bring real foreign exchange earnings to your country."

Furthermore, during the filming collaboration, your filmmakers and artists can learn modern filmmaking and acting techniques, which will undoubtedly contribute to the development of your film industry.

At this moment, a middle-aged man in his forties spoke up from the corner of the conference table:
"Mr. Chen, what about the copyright for this co-produced film?"

It's surprising that someone mentioned copyright. Do they have copyright law here?

"Of course it belongs to us. After all, we came here to film a movie. Although we used your personnel, we have already paid them accordingly. So, there is no dispute about the copyright."

One of the leaders frowned and said:

"So, if we want to broadcast this domestically, we have to pay you? What kind of cooperation is that then?"

The reason for mentioning broadcasting in China is that there are currently very few films and television programs available for broadcast on Chinese television stations.

This directly led to a large number of viewers using antennas to watch foreign television.

“You can also participate in the investment. In that case, this TV series will be a true co-production, jointly invested and co-produced by both of us…”

Chen Mo gradually led the other party into the trap he had already set. In fact, what he needed was not investment, but to get the other party involved, because only in this way could he reduce a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Of course, Chen Mo also had some ideas besides that—to promote DreamWorks. Although DreamWorks' movies are unlikely to enter the mainland through official channels in the short term, or even in the next ten years, people can learn about DreamWorks through this TV series.

"...As a co-producer, you own the domestic copyright, which means your television stations can broadcast this TV series indefinitely and distribute it domestically on videotape."

"As you know, we are still facing very difficult financial circumstances."

"We can cooperate through labor services."

"service?"

"Yes, that means you will pay the salaries of your actors."

After Chen Mo made his suggestion, the meeting room fell silent for a moment. Several leaders exchanged a few words in hushed tones, and their originally solemn and cautious expressions slowly disappeared.

In the current context, earning foreign exchange, developing tourism, and promoting culture are precisely what the country strongly encourages. With foreign investment and domestic labor, this collaboration avoids burdening the state while yielding multiple benefits; there's almost no reason to refuse it.

Of course, most importantly—this is a movie about gods and demons, and has nothing to do with politics, and that's precisely why.

As a classic masterpiece, "Journey to the West" already has a very high mass appeal. If it were to be broadcast in China, it would definitely be very popular. This would be a win-win situation!
The leader in the center stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and then spoke:
“Mr. Chen, what you said is very practical and visionary. Journey to the West is a cultural treasure of ours, and we fully support its dissemination to the world in this way. Rest assured, as long as you are willing to come, we will give you our full support.”

One leader spoke up, and another leader chimed in:
"If you are willing to film in the mainland and make good use of our resources to drive local development, we will definitely cooperate fully. Relevant departments will give you the green light in terms of location shooting, production coordination, and actor coordination. We will provide whatever you need."

(End of this chapter)