Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 358: Develop Cultural Industry
According to the practice in previous years, Tao's parents would pay New Year's greetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year and return to her parents' home on the second day. However, this year was different. Tao's father and mother spent the New Year in Xiaoliubukou, so there was naturally no talk of returning to her parents' home.

The Lin family didn’t have many relatives in Yanjing, so on the first day of the New Year, the family members would just say a few auspicious words to each other, and on the second day, they would spend a leisurely day.

On the third day of the Chinese New Year, Tao's father and mother led a team to Shijingshan to reunite with their cousin Du Ruolin's family.

When I meet Du Ruolin, I can't help but mention "The Garland under the Mountain".

This movie has been released for two months. It has caused a sensation in the domestic film industry and among movie fans, and has been popular among hundreds of millions of viewers. It can be said that it has swept the film market since December 83.

Whether in the official or private evaluation system, it has received rave reviews and praises.

"The response to The Wreath in the army was very enthusiastic, very enthusiastic. This film touched the hearts of the soldiers. You and Director Xie Jin have set a monument for our Chinese military films!"

Listening to Du Ruolin's praise, Lin Chaoyang said a few words modestly.

Du Feng asked curiously: "Brother-in-law, do you think the box office of "The Garland Under the Mountain" can be higher than that of "Shaolin Temple"? "

Lin Chaoyang shook his head. "How would I know that?"

"I heard from a friend at a distribution company that their company made nearly a million dollars in distribution revenue in the past two months. He also said that if the new box office calculation method of China Film was used, the box office of "Garland Under the Mountain" would definitely exceed 100 million yuan."

The concept of box office statistics was only introduced in China last year. China Film Group is the leader in the film distribution system, so it is natural for it to do this job.

However, with the data collection and compilation capabilities of this era, box office statistics are seriously distorted, and are often estimated based on experience.

"It's hard to say. China Film's distribution revenue is definitely more accurate than the box office, and it must be more or less than the actual amount.

One hundred million, I think it should be there."

It has been two months since the release of "The Garland under the Mountain". The movie-watching craze lasted for a month, and the situation of tickets being hard to get only subsided in the second month.

The first wave of screenings in cinemas in large cities has now been basically completed, and screenings have now begun in military units, small towns and rural areas.

I don’t know if this huge momentum can be compared to “Shaolin Temple”, but it is definitely much more popular than when “The Horse Herder” was released.

Even "The Horse Shepherd" could earn 1.3 million at the box office, so "The Garland" will probably earn more, not less. Unfortunately, no matter how much the box office earns, it has nothing to do with him.

Therefore, Lin Chaoyang had no interest in guessing how much the box office of "The Garland under the Mountain" would be, and just casually gave a conservative number.

But Du Feng was very interested in this topic. "Brother-in-law, do you think making movies is a good business?"

Lin Chaoyang looked at him with amusement, "Why? You want to invest in a movie now?"

"No, I'm just chatting."

Du Feng said this, but his eyes were rolling around and it was obvious that he was not telling the truth.

Lin Chaoyang also understood his idea. A movie has a box office of over 100 million yuan, and if the distribution income is split in half, it will still be tens of millions of yuan. What business can make money as quickly as this one?
However, these days the domestic film market is firmly controlled by China Film Group and other major film production studios due to institutional issues, leaving no opportunity for private capital to intervene.

Of course, the rules in this world are made by humans, and since there are rules, there are loopholes.

Starting from the mid-16s, when policy only allowed state-owned film studios to shoot feature films, private capital had already invested in film production. However, at that time, this private capital usually did not even have the "production signature rights."

At worst, you can go to Hong Kong to get an identity, contact Z-style film company, and co-produce a film with domestic film studios.

It all depends on people!
However, given Du Feng's current small size, none of these options would work.

"The film industry is a winner-takes-all market. For every ten films released on the market, seven will lose money, two will break even, and one will make a profit. This is the norm.

It takes several years for a film like "The Garland" to be released with such high box office success. We cannot take the exception as the norm.

Moreover, our country’s film industry and film market are still in the planned economy era, and outsiders cannot interfere with them.”

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's analysis, Du Feng smiled and said, "I'm just asking casually."

Then he asked Lin Chaoyang, "Brother-in-law, do you think the film industry can be reformed in the future?"

Lin Chaoyang pondered and said, "As long as the government adheres to the policy of reform and opening up, then film reform is a matter of time. However, it may not be possible in the next few years."

"Why?" Du Feng asked puzzledly.

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "Because life is so comfortable."

Du Feng was stunned for a moment, then he understood what he meant.

The current Chinese film market can be said to be flourishing and booming. Even though the number of moviegoers has been declining for several years in a row, it is still as strong as before!

In 1979, at its peak, the total number of moviegoers in the Chinese film market reached a record high of 279 billion. What does this mean?
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's total population in 1979 was 9.75 million, which means that the average number of moviegoers per person reached 28.6 times that year, equivalent to 2.5 movies per person per month.

Leaving aside the elderly, the weak and special groups, this number will increase further.

With such a prosperous market, how can people in the film industry have the motivation to work hard?

Besides, the studio gets 90 yuan for making a film, no matter if it’s good or bad, and China Film just reaps the profits.

The market and the system are advising domestic filmmakers: You’d better not try too hard!

Du Feng smiled and said: "That's why such a market is even more attractive!"

Lin Chaoyang shook his head. "Not entirely. The Chinese film market has already started to decline. It's hard to say whether it can be stopped in the future."

The Chinese film market is so huge that, under normal circumstances, the industry would probably still be doing well even in ten or eight years, let alone a decline of three or four years.

But unfortunately, this was the 1980s when the world was changing rapidly.

The prosperity of Chinese films is more a result of the times, and so is its decline.

Television, VCRs, piracy, overseas films, inflation... In the past ten years, many huge unfavorable factors have hit the Chinese film market, which was once flourishing, and fell into a state of exhaustion and decline in the 1990s. Du Feng has always believed in Lin Chaoyang's vision. Seeing that he was so pessimistic about Chinese films, Du Feng couldn't help asking:
"Brother-in-law, according to you, Chinese films are completely hopeless?"

Lin Chaoyang chuckled and said, "How could that be? To put it bluntly, the film industry is a relatively closed industry. There will always be people making money, but the ones who make money are definitely the small group of people at the poker table."

Du Feng nodded. Lin Chaoyang's words touched his heart.

Lin Chaoyang asked him, "Why did you want to make a movie?"

Seeing that his little thoughts were exposed by Lin Chaoyang, Du Feng no longer tried to hide them. He smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "Hey! It's decent to do some cultural business and tell others about it!"

Lin Chaoyang said jokingly, "It seems that Mr. Du has made enough money and is looking for higher-level needs."

Du Feng looked embarrassed, "Brother-in-law, please don't look down on me. I only make a few bucks, and I just don't want the old man to nag me anymore."

As Du Feng spoke, he glanced in the direction of his father.

Lin Chaoyang nodded slightly. Everyone says that the second generation is good, but if you have a generation like Du Ruolin who is strict with their children, the pressure may be even greater than that of a child from a poor family.

"It's not easy to make money in the cultural industry in China," Lin Chaoyang warned.

Du Feng didn't understand where Lin Chaoyang got this from, but he believed in Lin Chaoyang's vision, "Brother-in-law, it's 'difficult to make money', but it's not 'can't make money', right?"

Lin Chaoyang laughed, "You are quite picky about words."

"There is an intellectual property issue here. Given China's national conditions, the development of the cultural industry and the protection of intellectual property rights must be given very low priority.

The input and output of peers may earn more and more easily in other industries.”

Du Feng understood immediately. "I see. Brother-in-law, then tell me, besides movies, what other cultural industries can make money?"

"If you make more money, it has to suit you."

"Brother-in-law, please give me some advice." Du Feng took the initiative to light a cigarette for Lin Chaoyang and nodded.

"How much money can you take out?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"One hundred and twenty thousand yuan." Du Feng answered truthfully.

Lin Chaoyang glanced at him and said, “You are quite bold, you want to make a movie with such little money.”

Du Feng understood his look and explained shyly, "My friend said that I can invest in the company and use the name of the production studio. A movie costs three or five hundred thousand, and China Film buys out the movie for nine hundred thousand, making a net profit of several hundred thousand."

"A net profit of several hundred thousand? Can't the studio do it themselves?"

Lin Chaoyang's words left Du Feng speechless. He stammered, "I've also thought about this issue..."

There are always big liars in every era. Based on Lin Chaoyang's understanding of the current film industry, making movies may be true, but making money is questionable.

If you really invest this money, there is a high probability that you will lose money, and it will be difficult to earn interest.

"You've just started your career, don't expect to get everything done in one go."

Du Feng nodded awkwardly.

Lin Chaoyang looked at his expression, sighed inwardly, and said, "Let me give you an idea."

Upon hearing this, Du Feng's eyes immediately became focused and he stared at Lin Chaoyang closely.

“You can open a video parlor.”

"Video studio?"

Du Feng was confused by the completely unfamiliar words. "What is a video room?"

"You know what a dance hall is, right? As the name suggests, a video hall is a place where videos are played. Next time you go to Guangdong, ask around. They have a kind of home videocassette recorder that can be connected to a TV and play all kinds of movies through movie tapes."

After listening to Lin Chaoyang's explanation, Du Feng immediately remembered.

"I seem to have heard of this kind of machine before. But brother-in-law, if people want to watch movies, they can just go to the cinema. I can't build a video hall bigger than a cinema, right?"

“If you want to watch domestic films, you also need videotapes!

The cinemas only show domestic films, why don’t you show Hong Kong films and foreign films?
You've got the machine, can't you get some videotapes?"

Du Feng understood it all at once. Hong Kong films are now sweeping Southeast Asia. He hasn't seen many of them, but he has heard of their reputations.

The home videocassette recorder was invented in the United States, but it was Japan that really made this thing go global, enter thousands of households and form a huge user market.

In the 70s, Japan vigorously developed the home video recorder industry, first considering the environmental needs of Japanese families. Due to the small residential area, color TV sets became the main entertainment tool for families. Cassette home video recorders were very suitable for family needs.

At this point in time, Betamax and VHS have already decided who is the dominant product in the market. VHS has won a great victory and is constantly driving down the price of VCRs with the improvement of technology.

In developed countries such as the United States and Japan, home videocassette recorders have gradually entered the homes of ordinary people. The videotape market spawned by them has also affected the film market to a certain extent.

In Lin Chaoyang's memory, the first video hall in China appeared in the summer of 84, and it was considered a good business.

The most important thing is that Du Feng wants to do cultural business. This thing may not seem impressive in the early stage, but the profits are actually very considerable.

If it can really be expanded, after a few years when cinemas in various places can no longer survive, Du Feng can surround the cities from the countryside and contract cinemas in various places. When the cinema chain reform comes, it can openly become a private cinema chain.

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's continuous opinions, Du Feng's eyes became brighter and brighter.

He knew that he would definitely learn something real from his brother-in-law!

(End of this chapter)