Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 342 You Have to Be Responsible

In Li Hanxiang's opinion, Lin Chaoyang was asking for too much, but Lin Chaoyang didn't think so.

In the past two years, the royalties from his novels have skyrocketed. In comparison, the cost-effectiveness of writing scripts has become increasingly lower.

There is money to be made from publishing, distributing and reprinting novels, but scripts are a one-time deal. No matter how high the box office is, it has nothing to do with him. If he doesn't want a higher fee, he will have no motivation to write.

The Hong Kong dollar has depreciated sharply this year, and the name of "Hong Kong paper" has become more and more popular. The exchange rate with the RMB has almost reached 4:1, and Hong Kong dollars is only RMB.

"Don't just shout about the movie selling well. This is disrupting the market. Do you know how much a screenwriter in Hong Kong gets for writing a script?"

Considering Hong Kong's economic level, the royalties in Hong Kong's cultural circles have never been high, especially in the film and television industry.

"I don't care how much a Hong Kong screenwriter charges for writing a script. My script is worth this price!"

As expected, the talks broke down.

Li Hanxiang said angrily, "I originally suggested to the boss that I should give you a red envelope! Is this how you repay me?"

"Red envelopes are red envelopes, and royalties are royalties. They cannot be confused with each other."

Li Hanxiang was helpless with his attitude, "Then don't blame me for not including you in my new film!"

"It doesn't matter if the deal fails, as long as we are friendly and righteous." Lin Chaoyang said easily.

"It's alright then, I'm hanging up."

"Think of giving me the red envelope."

"Flop!" Li Hanxiang cursed, and then said, "You're the one who can't be spared!"

"By the way, there is one more thing." Lin Chaoyang said.

"what's up?"

"Can you ask Huizai if he's interested in returning to the mainland to make another movie?"

Li Hanxiang laughed when he heard this, "Are you kidding me? He made my movie and is now a hotshot in the Hong Kong film industry. He's going back to the mainland to make a movie? You must be kidding!"

Lin Chaoyang said quietly, "Old Li, stop flattering yourself. Huizai originally had a bright future, but now that he's in your movie, will Taiwan let him go? That's a big source of revenue for your Hong Kong movies. Which film company would dare to use him in the future?"

Lin Chaoyang's two words made Li Hanxiang speechless, and then he said murderously: "I asked Huizi to return to the mainland to make a movie, but in the end, I still have to clean up your ass! What a hen!"

In the end, he learned a sentence in Cantonese with a weird accent, using his taunting skills to the fullest, in response to Li Hanxiang's "failure theory".

Li Hanxiang on the other end of the phone was silent for a long time, but couldn't think of any words to fight back against him, so he hung up the phone in frustration.

A busy tone sounded and Lin Chaoyang showed a victorious smile on his face.

I am a writer after all, how can I be better at scolding you? Do you really think I am a person of high character and won't scold you?
He was not worried that Li Hanxiang would not take his words seriously. Playing around was fine, but Old Li was still quite particular when it came to doing things.

Lin Chaoyang asked Li Hanxiang to help ask Tony Leung Ka Fai if he was willing to act in a movie, not on his own initiative.

Ever since he mentioned Tony Leung to Chen Huaikai, Chen Huaikai thought of the protagonist Jiang Nansheng and Tony Leung together. The more he thought about it, the more suitable he felt. When he looked at other actors, they did not meet his expectations at all.

For the male lead, Chen Huaikai almost checked all the major theater troupes in Yanjing, but couldn't find anyone more suitable than Tony Leung. He began to blame Lin Chaoyang for mentioning Tony Leung to him.

How could Lin Chaoyang not understand that the old fox couldn't find a suitable male lead and was coming to blackmail him.

But after all, he was indeed the candidate he recommended at that time, and Li Hanxiang happened to call, so Lin Chaoyang decided to ask, what if it works out?
A day later, Lin Chaoyang received another call from Li Hanxiang, who asked Lin Chaoyang bluntly, "What kind of drug did you give Huizai?"

Lin Chaoyang was delighted when he heard this, but he said, "Old Li, you are so old and you have no sense of responsibility. A young man's future is ruined because of filming your movie. I found him a job, and you said I drugged him?"

Facing Lin Chaoyang's accusation of standing on the moral high ground, Li Hanxiang's rebuttal was weak, "What do you mean by ruined future? Wandao hasn't said it will ban him now, and even if it does, how many years can it ban him?"

"How many years? I'll let you not work for a few years, is that okay?

I tell you, you have to take responsibility for this matter!"

Li Hanxiang yelled, "What responsibility do I have? I let him be the leading actor, I made him famous, and now it's my fault?"

"What's the point of becoming famous? You still won't have any movies to shoot? If you dare to say that you'll use him as the leading actor in your next movie, I'll apologize to you now!"

Li Hanxiang was once again speechless after being rebuked by Lin Chaoyang. "Don't make a fuss here, kid. You know very well that my next movie is about Empress Dowager Cixi, so how can he have a role in it?"

"Okay, I won't waste my words with you. Anyway, Huizai probably won't have a job in the next one or two years, so he came to the mainland to make a movie to hone his acting skills!

If you have a conscience, find a boss and invest some money in him."

Lin Chaoyang finally showed his true colors, and Li Hanxiang finally understood that he had been talking for so long just because he was waiting for him here.

"You want to make the movie a co-production? Is this something you as a screenwriter should worry about?"

"For cross-strait friendship, Hui Zai plays the leading role and it will be good for everyone if it becomes a co-production. What do you mean I am a screenwriter and I am not here to clean up your mess..."

Lin Chaoyang brought out the same excuse again, and Li Hanxiang felt annoyed.

"You've been talking nonsense for so long, as if you have the final say. In the end, doesn't the studio have the final say?"

"If you, New Kunlun, invest a few hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars and tell the comrades at Tongzhankou, will Yanying Studio dare to disagree?"

Li Hanxiang sneered, "Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars? You're making it sound so light. Do you think my money came from the wind?"

New Kunlun Pictures is a film and television company established by Li Hanxiang in order to go to the mainland to shoot "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" and "The Last Emperor". The money of Mr. Ho in Macao is of a financing nature, and the company is still controlled by Li Hanxiang.

"The box office of 'The Burning of the Old Summer Palace' is heading for 1000 million, right? The box office of the two films is at least 2500 million. Putting aside the investment, it's easy to make or million.

Mr. He makes the big share and you make the small share, so it should be at least one-tenth, right?
Don’t you want to earn the box office in our mainland and the buyout money from Southeast Asian countries and regions? Lao Li, be a kind person! "

Lin Chaoyang counted on his fingers to calculate the money for Li Hanxiang. Li Hanxiang said helplessly: "I earned all my hard-earned money. It's not as much as you think. A few hundred thousand sounds easy to you. It's almost enough to make a movie."

"I didn't tell you to invest all of it. Just find a boss!"

Li Hanxiang immediately understood what he meant and asked curiously, "Where did you hear all this? You are more skilled than me!"

"No matter where you heard it from, it's all for your own good!"

Again!
Li Hanxiang asked impatiently, "Is this the end?"

"Okay, I won't say any more. Anyway, this is what I think. Your company has cooperated with the mainland production studio so successfully before, so there is no harm in cooperating again.

"The Chess Master" is an adaptation of my novel, and has a strong readership in China. It may not make money, but it is impossible to lose money."

Li Hanxiang hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Three hundred thousand is the maximum I will invest."

Three hundred thousand? That's only 75,000 RMB. Lin Chaoyang complained in his heart about Li Hanxiang's stinginess.

However, the amount of investment is not important. What is important is the brand of "co-production".

"Old Li, I have to thank you on behalf of Huizai. You saved a young man's future."

Li Hanxiang felt extremely annoyed as he listened to Lin Chaoyang talking nonsense on the phone.

"Alright, alright, I'll hang up if nothing else."

"Think about sending Huizi over here quickly." Lin Chaoyang reminded her before hanging up the phone.

After finishing his phone call with Li Hanxiang, Lin Chaoyang came to Yanying Studio.

"The Chess Master" is under intensive preparation. Although the male lead has not been determined, the crew is not idle. Lin Chaoyang found Chen Huaikai in the prop workshop.

"Old Chen, you have to thank me!"

Lin Chaoyang's words left Chen Huaikai confused, "Thank you? Thank you for what?"

"You thank them first, and then I'll tell you." Lin Chaoyang kept the secret.

As smart as Chen Huaikai was, he knew that this must be a good thing, but he was afraid that Lin Chaoyang was making fun of him, so he waved to Chen Kaige who was in the workshop not far away and called him over.

"Come, say thank you to your uncle Lin."

Chen Kaige was confused for a moment, thinking that something good was going to happen to him, and bowed happily and shouted loudly: "Thank you, Uncle Lin!"

Chen Kaige, a tall man of about 1.80 meters, bowed and said thank you to Lin Chaoyang in a muffled voice, which inexplicably reminded him of the words "Welcome" he would hear every time he entered a bathhouse in the future.

He pointed at Chen Huaikai and said, "Old Chen, you are really boring."

Chen Huaikai looked pleased, "Can you tell me now?"

Lin Chaoyang was too lazy to argue with this old fox and simply recounted how he had persuaded Li Hanxiang.

Chen Huaikai's eyes lit up as he listened, and he looked extremely surprised. "You mean, not only did you get Tony Leung Ka Fai to be the male lead, but you also got investment from Li Hanxiang, and you want to make "The Chess Master" into a co-production?"

"Let's not talk about the summary. Are there any problems with the procedures?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

Chen Huaikai pondered and said, "The factory has approved the project, and the Film Bureau has also filed it. We have to go through the formalities again. But this is not a problem. This is a good thing. I will go talk to Lao Wang. He is very happy that "The Chess Master" will become a co-production."

At this point, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face, "Chaoyang, you did a great job. I'll tell Lao Wang to let you be listed as the producer."

Lin Chaoyang curled his lips, "Rare!"

Chen Huaikai asked with a smile: "How about I increase your royalties?"

"Give me some share of the box office!"

Chen Huaikai couldn't laugh this time, "You really know how to joke. Our studio can't even get a share of the box office."

Lin Chaoyang waved his hand and said, "Alright, go and study this with Lao Wang."

Chen Huaikai also wanted to tell Wang Yang the good news quickly. He grabbed Lin Chaoyang and said, "You have to go with me!"

Chen Kaige watched the two people leaving. He heard everything Lin Chaoyang said and he had only one feeling in his heart.

Uncle Lin is really talented. With just a few words, he turned "The Chess Master" into a co-production.

Arriving at the factory director's office on the second floor of the main building, Chen Huaikai excitedly shared the good news brought by Lin Chaoyang with Wang Yang. Wang Yang was also surprised and delighted. He held Lin Chaoyang's hand and said a lot of words of thanks to Lin Chaoyang.

He now had only one feeling in his heart: the ten thousand dollars was truly worth it!
Neither Wang Yang's thanks nor Chen Huaikai's flattery had any effect on Lin Chaoyang.

The reason why he made this happen was because he had his own considerations.

"The Chess Master" was adapted from his novel. As the author, he also hoped to have a male protagonist who matched the image of the original novel, and it was indeed he who first suggested Tony Leung to Chen Huaikai as the candidate.

As for the co-production, it can be considered a win-win for both him and Yanying Studio.

Firstly, there is more funding for film production and the team is bigger; secondly, films have the opportunity to be released in Hong Kong and even go abroad.

Yanying Studio may not gain any advantage in box office revenue, but it will certainly gain fame and honor.

For him, the higher the quality of the movie, the greater the chance of it being popular in the future, the greater the influence of the original work, and the easier it will be to sell books in the future.

(End of this chapter)