Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 263 "Qiu Jin" has to stop for a moment

Wang Yang's face froze when he heard this. Four thousand yuan is not enough?
Jiang Huaiyan said, "Chaoyang, four thousand yuan is already very high. It means that our Yanying Studio is ambitious. Now many production studios lose money on every film they make, and they try to cut costs as much as possible."

Lin Chaoyang shook his head. "How to control expenses is your business. The adaptation rights of my work cannot be sold at a low price."

He stood up and said, "How about this, you guys think about it again later, and I'll think about it again."

After saying that, Lin Chaoyang left.

Jiang Huaiyan looked at his back and stretched out his hand in vain.

"Ugh!"

Wang Yang sighed, and Jiang Huaiyan looked at him, "Leader..."

Wang Yang waved his hand, "I see. We do it on the first day of the month, and they do it on the fifteenth day. We can't blame anyone for this."

During the conflict over the film "An Unfinished Game of Chess", Yanying Studio, relying on its status as a production company, ruthlessly kicked Lin Chaoyang out. Even a clay man would get angry.

This time, Yanying Studio saw the popularity of "The Shepherd" and wanted the adaptation rights of "The Garland under the Mountain". The initiative was in Lin Chaoyang's hands, so how could they easily agree?
Wang Yang did not doubt the truthfulness of Lin Chaoyang's words that he would give the adaptation rights to their factory as long as the royalties were in place, but he guessed that the prerequisite was probably that the royalties they offered were much higher than those of others.

The extra royalties can be regarded as a lesson learned by Yanying Studio.

Jiang Huaiyan said: "How about giving him some more?"

"How much is the extra point? Five thousand, six thousand, or ten thousand?"

Wang Yang's question made Jiang Huaiyan fall into silence. If they could really increase the amount to 10,000, they wouldn't have to argue with Lin Chaoyang.

"Actually... if it can't be increased to ten thousand, adding two or three thousand is not a bad idea." Jiang Huaiyan hesitated to speak.

Wang Yang looked at him, and Jiang Huaiyan said, "If 'High Mountain' is really adapted into a movie, it will definitely win a few awards at the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards. Let's just think of it as giving him a little more bonus."

Wang Yang was silent for a while, then said, "It's not the lack of wealth that is worrying, but the inequality of wealth."

Four thousand yuan for the adaptation rights of a movie is already a huge sum for Yanying Studio. After all, how much can the screenwriters in the studio get for writing a script?
The payment was too much and I couldn’t explain it to the screenwriters in the studio.

This won't work, and that won't work either.

Jiang Huaiyan felt annoyed. "Such a popular novel will definitely be no worse than The Shepherd if it is made into a film. We can't just think about the difficulties!"

Wang Yang's face was full of bitterness. "Yesterday's cause, today's result. If there hadn't been the previous conflict, maybe..."

He waved his hands dejectedly when he said this, "Forget it, forget it. I won't say any more. You can ask him again later. If he is willing to give us, then add another thousand yuan. This is the limit. If he is not willing to give us, forget it."

Jiang Huaiyan nodded with a heavy expression.

On the other side, Lin Chaoyang came out from another place, and his thoughts became much clearer.

Feng Shui turns around, and this year it's my turn. I said I don't bear grudges, but I didn't say you can get the same treatment as others here.

The next morning, he made a phone call to Shanghai Film Studio.

"Hey, Old Xie, don't blame me for not telling you in advance. Yanying Film Studio and Bayi Film Studio are now vying for the adaptation rights of my "High Mountain"..."

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's words, Xie Jin on the other end of the phone was confused at first, and then became anxious.

"Just give it to them if they want it. Didn't we agree on this before? Why are you going back on your word?"

"What do you mean I went back on my word? When did we agree on this? Didn't you want to film Qiu Jin? Didn't you say so yourself? I didn't promise you anything.

Besides, what do you mean I will give it to them if they want it? They pay much more for their works than you do. They sell the adaptation rights. I will definitely sell it to whoever pays more!"

Xie Jin said anxiously, "That's not the case. We had such a good cooperation on The Shepherd. It would be right to leave The Mountain to me. How can there be a reliable director in either of these two companies?"

"If I tell them what you said, I think my royalties will increase a bit," Lin Chaoyang said jokingly.

"I'm not kidding you. You must give me the adaptation rights for "High Mountain". At worst, I can give up filming "Qiu Jin" and film your "High Mountain" first. Is that okay?"

Lin Chaoyang reminded him calmly, "Old Xie, their royalties are higher than yours."

Xie Jin scolded: "You are obsessed with money!"

"Brother, let's be clear about the accounts. You have seen how popular The Shepherd is now. Next year, your Shanghai Film Studio will be able to secure a place at the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards. You have both the bonus and the honor. I just took some royalties..."

"Is my royalty fee not enough?"

“They give more!”

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Xie Jin was so angry that he couldn't speak.

"Wait for me. Don't rush to agree to them. I will go to Yanjing tomorrow... tonight, and we will meet to discuss in detail."

Xie Jin hung up the phone after he finished speaking.

He was in a very good mood during the recent New Year. In the past year, "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" won the Hundred Flowers Award and the Golden Rooster Award. "The Shepherd" was a huge success after its completion and release. At the end of the year, he was named a model worker of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Three good things happening at once, what a joyful thing!

He had been working hard on preparing "Qiu Jin" these days, but he didn't expect that a phone call from Lin Chaoyang completely disrupted his plans.

After standing there and pondering for a moment, Xie Jin frowned and pushed open the door of the office of Xu Sangchu, director of Shanghai Film Studio.

"We have to stop playing "Qiu Jin" for a while!" His sudden words left Xu Sangchu stunned.

"Why? Didn't you always want to film Qiu Jin?"

Qiu Jin was Xie Jin's idol since childhood. To trace his admiration for Qiu Jin, we have to start with his grandfather Xie Zuoqing.

Xie Jin's grandfather Xie Zuoqing once taught with Qiu Jin at Datong School in Shaoxing in his early years, and had close contacts with the revolutionary Xu Xilin. Qiu Jin was Xu Xilin's comrade and close friend, and they often mentioned Qiu Jin in their letters.

When Xu Xilin was in trouble, he also came to Xie Zuoqing's residence in Xietang to take shelter temporarily.

Later, Xu Xilin died in the failed uprising in Anqing. Qiu Jin fought bravely against the Qing soldiers who came to arrest her. Finally, her mount was injured, she fell off the horse and was captured. She was heroically executed at Xuantingkou in Shaoxing in the early morning of July 1907, 7.

Xie Jin had heard these tragic stories from his grandfather many times since he was a child, and they were deeply engraved in his young mind.

Xie Jin had the idea of ​​filming "Qiu Jin" when he first started his film career, but over the years he always felt that the time was not right and he couldn't film it.

Originally, "The Horse Herder" was very popular after its release, and he thought that he had finally waited for the right opportunity. Unexpectedly, Lin Chaoyang suddenly caused trouble.

Xie Jin repeated the content of Lin Chaoyang's phone call to Xu Sangchu, who pondered after listening.

"He said that the royalties paid by Bayi Film Studio and Yanying Film Studio are high? Then we should pay even higher, right? Isn't this just price gouging?"

"It's high, it is. "High Mountains" is worth the price!" Xie Jin said in a firm tone.

Xie Jin is a leading figure in the domestic film industry, and his weight in the Shanghai Film Studio is no less than that of the director Xu Sangchu. Seeing his tough attitude, Xu Sangchu could not object.

Moreover, Xu Sangchu also knew that Xie Jin had also been planning the novel "High Mountains" for a long time.

At the Shanghai Film Studio, everyone knew that Xie Jin had two hobbies: one was drinking, and the other was collecting literary publications. He subscribed to dozens of newspapers and magazines at his own expense.

The reason why Xie Jin subscribed to so many publications was naturally to find good stories that could be used for him. The original "The Shepherd" was what Xie Jin saw in "Yenching Literature".

When "High Mountain" was published, Xie Jin was busy filming "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" and had no time to read it. He later bought the single volume to read. After reading the novel, his heart was shocked by the characters and fate in the novel.

He has told people more than once about his feelings after reading the novel:
I read The Garland Under the Mountain with an irrepressible excitement. Many passages made my heart surge and my eyes well up with tears. When I read it for the second and third time, it made me cry again and again. Experience tells me that if this novel is adapted into a movie, I can make it well.

When he was drinking with Lin Chaoyang, he once said: "The first time I read the novel, I cried for the fate and spirit in it. I cried again when I read it for the second time, and I was still in tears when I read it for the third time. This novel can move me so strongly, I believe that it can also move everyone if it is made into a movie."

During the preparation and filming of "The Shepherd", Xie Jin mentioned "High Mountains" to Xu Sangchu many times, but at that time it was rumored that a production studio had included "High Mountains" in its annual shooting plan, but it was stuck at the Film Bureau.

It was said that the higher-ups believed that the war was still dragging on and it was not appropriate to make the novel into a movie at this time.

So Xie Jin was not in a hurry, but just mentioned it to Lin Chaoyang from time to time.

After all, Xie Jin was not the factory director. After he said this, he realized that his attitude was a bit tough, and explained to Xu Sangchu:
“‘High Mountain’ is a literary work on the theme of war. It is not only difficult to film, but most importantly, the investment must be much greater than that of ordinary movies.

Such a film is doomed to fail to create economic benefits for the factory, but it can bring honor and influence to the factory.

We're losing money anyway, so what's the harm in giving him more royalties?"

Listening to Xie Jin's words, Xu Sangchu nodded slowly. This statement did make sense.

"I'm afraid the screenwriters in the studio will have some opinions," said Xu Sangchu.

"If they can write a work as influential as 'High Mountain', what's wrong with the studio paying them the same standard of royalties?"

Xie Jin's words shut Xu Sangchu up. Yes, if the screenwriters in the studio can write works like "High Mountain", what's the harm in paying more royalties? Where can't they find this little royalties?
"Okay. You can negotiate with him about the royalties. You are the director, so you can handle this yourself. In the end, it will all be converted into investment anyway.

Regarding Qiu Jin..."

Xie Jin hesitated and said, "Let's shoot 'High Mountain' first. No one will compete with us for 'Qiu Jin', so let's shoot 'High Mountain' first."

"Okay, then it's settled."

Xie Jin added: "The factory should book a plane ticket for me, the sooner the better."

"So urgent?" Xu Sangchu asked in surprise.

"My factory director, those two hungry wolves from Yanying Film Studio and Bayi Film Studio are guarding our fat meat.

If I don't hurry up, Lin Chaoyang will be taken away by their high royalties, then all my efforts will be in vain, right?"

Xu Sangchu thought about it and it made sense. Speed ​​is of the essence. "Okay, I'll have someone book a plane ticket for you right away."

(End of this chapter)