Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 464 I Bet You All Love Money

After dinner, Tao Yushu left on his own, while Tao Yumo hung out with Maggie Cheung.

She asked Maggie Cheung, "Why do you always look at my sister in such a vulgar way?"

Maggie Cheung said dissatisfiedly: "How am I vulgar?"

"It's obviously very obscene, like a pervert reading a pornographic magazine."

Tao Yumo's vicious metaphor angered Zhang Maggie Cheung. After the two sisters had been fighting for a while, Zhang Maggie Cheung said with stars in her eyes:
"You don't understand. Sister Yushu has a very unique aura. How can I describe that aura? It makes people feel particularly safe and want to be close to her."

Tao Yumo thought for a long time and was sure that she and Maggie Cheung knew the same person, but she never expected that the place in her elder sister that made people feel safe and friendly was actually full of oppression.

Just like a ruthless machine, no matter what it does, it is always meticulous and never slacks off. It's scary to think about it.

Seeing Tao Yumo's expression of disagreement, Maggie Cheung felt that there was no point in talking to her.

Xin Xinnian said, "I have to call Director Zhao and Director Wang tonight to ask them if they have any thoughts of changing jobs. Lin's Pictures has just been established, and Sister Yushu needs help."

Tao Yumo looked at her as if he was looking at a dog.

Two days later, still in the coffee shop downstairs of New World Apartments.

As soon as Wang Jing entered the coffee shop, he noticed Maggie Cheung and Tao Yushu. Maggie Cheung was wearing a pair of sunglasses and was difficult to recognize. On the contrary, Tao Yushu, who had a bright appearance and outstanding temperament, was recognized by him at first sight.

"Mrs. Lin! Maggie!" Wang Jing ran over with a smile and greeted the two of them.

The three of them exchanged a few pleasantries, and Maggie Cheung said to Tao Yushu, "Sister Yushu, you guys go ahead and chat first. I'm going back upstairs."

After she finished speaking, she left the coffee shop, leaving Tao Yushu and Wang Jing alone.

"Thank you, Director Wang, for giving me face." Tao Yushu said politely.

"Mrs. Lin, you are too polite. I couldn't believe that Maggie called me.

I went to see Lin Sheng's "The Truman Show" when it was released. I will never be able to make such a good movie in my lifetime. Lin's Pictures will surely achieve great success in the future."

Maggie Cheung contacted Zhao Zhenqiang and Wang Jing these two days, but Zhao Zhenqiang is now doing well in TVB with popular dramas such as "The Bund" and "Young Policeman", and his position is stable. He has no plans to change jobs.

Wang Jing's situation is a bit similar to Zhao Zhenqiang. When he was in college, he went to work at TVB to make money, wrote scripts for "Happy Tonight", and quickly made a name for himself in TVB.

From TVB to Shaw Brothers, he has made a name for himself.

But the difference between him and Zhao Zhenqiang is that Wang Jing's desire to make money is much higher than Zhao Zhenqiang's.

Working under the stingy boss Shao is far from satisfying his appetite for money, which is why Wang Jing agreed to meet with Tao Yushu to talk.

The movie "The Truman Show" made the previously unknown Lam Film Company famous in Hong Kong.

No matter whether the cooperation can be reached, we have to give this face.

The fat boy is greedy for money and lustful, but he knows how to deal with the ways of the world very well and even flatters people loudly.

Tao Yushu was observing Wang Jing while talking. Because she needed to recruit new talents, she had been chatting with Lin Chaoyang about potential talents in the Hong Kong film industry.

In Lin Chaoyang's evaluation, Wang Jing is a very interesting person. He has most of the shortcomings common to people who are involved in the world of fame and fortune, but he is also able to get along with everyone.

If he were serious, the films he made would be above average, or even excellent, but most of the time he chose to make money.

In his opinion, movies have always been a means of making a living. It is difficult to talk about dreams and pursuits with someone like him.

One can see the utilitarianism of many well-known directors and screenwriters in Hong Kong during this period, but there are very few who are as pure as Wong Jing.

"People always have some metaphysical pursuits after reaching a certain level. But Wang Jing is different. You can regard him as a pure businessman."

Lin Chaoyang's evaluation of Wang Jing echoed in Tao Yushu's mind, but it did not affect the conversation.

After chatting for a few minutes, she changed the subject.

"Director Wang, you also know my purpose. I wonder if Director Wang is interested in cooperating with our Lin Group?"

Wang Jing smiled and said, "Mrs. Lin, I make money by making movies. I would love to work with Lin."

Wang Jing was previously a director of Shaw Brothers, but now Shaw Brothers has basically withdrawn from the competition among the top three Hong Kong films. Even the Clearwater Bay Studios have been transferred to TVB. He is not signed to any company now and makes a living entirely by his skills.

Life has not been easy since he left Shaw Brothers. So far this year, he has only produced one film, "The Wife Killers", directed by his good friend Kenny Bee. Recently, he is filming "The Magic Jade" for Yongsheng.

Yongsheng is Yongsheng, which later became China Star.

Yongsheng is a film company opened by the brothers Xiang Huaqiang and Xiang Huasheng from Xin'anyi. It opened very early. As early as 1978, Xiang Huaqiang felt that the Hong Kong film market was profitable, so he opened this film company.

Unfortunately, H-series and film-making are two completely different industries. The company has been struggling for several years but is still half-dead. It was originally a speculation, so naturally they didn't care much about it if it didn't make money.

This situation continued until 87, when the Xiang brothers, seeing the increasingly prosperous development of the Hong Kong film industry, shifted their attention to movies again, changing the name of "Yongsheng Pictures" to "Yongsheng Pictures" and really taking it seriously.

It was after that that Wang Jing was completely tied to the chariot of Yongsheng and became a powerful general under the command of the Xiang brothers, making great contributions to Yongsheng's expansion in the Hong Kong film market.

At this time, the Xiang brothers have not yet taken the film industry seriously, and Wang Jing is only working part-time for Yongsheng.

He thought Tao Yushu was just like Yongsheng and wanted to ask him to make a movie.

Tao Yushu knew that Wang Jing had misunderstood her meaning, and explained: "Director Wang, what I meant is that you can sign a contract with Lin and become our contracted director, just like with Shaw Brothers."

Hearing her words, the smile on Wang Jing's face faded, revealing a serious look.

"Mrs. Lin, you know I don't get much salary at Shaw Brothers!"

Tao Yushu looked calm and said, "Shaw Brothers is full of talented people. Mr. Shaw has no shortage of people to hire, so naturally the salary will be a little lower. We at Lin are new to the Hong Kong film industry and are eager to recruit talented people. We will definitely not treat Director Wang unfairly."

Wang Jing did not speak, but pretended to listen attentively. Tao Yushu then continued:

"If Director Wang is willing to come to our Lin's Film Company, we will invest 200 million Hong Kong dollars to set up a studio for you, and you will hold % and I will hold % of the shares.

From now on, all new films you produce will be jointly invested by the studio and Lin’s Pictures, and the profits will be distributed according to the investment and shareholding ratio.

At the same time, as a director, you are also eligible for dividends. As long as the profit of the movie exceeds 10% after its release, you will receive a 5% dividend on the net profit.

If the movies you make can guarantee continued profitability, your dividend ratio will increase by 2% for each film based on the previous one, up to a maximum of 15%.

On the other hand, if the film loses money, the dividend rate for the next film will return to 5%. "

After Tao Yushu finished talking about Lin's conditions, Wang Jing did not rush to express his opinion, but was digesting the information she had just said.

When Wang Jing first went to TVB for internship, his salary was only 500 Hong Kong dollars. When he arrived at Shaw Brothers, his salary became 1 Hong Kong dollars. In the past few years, he has made many profitable films for Shaw Brothers, but his income has not increased much.

Lam Films will invest HK$200 million to help him set up a studio, with a shareholding ratio of 3:7, which means that Wang Jing owns shares worth HK$60 without doing anything.

60 Hong Kong dollars can buy a - square foot apartment in Hong Kong today. Mrs. Lin's generosity made Wang Jing a little flattered.

If the studio develops well, this 60 yuan may become 100 million or 200 million...

However, these are just numbers on paper. With Wang Jing's shrewdness, it is impossible for him to bow down to this point alone. He is more concerned about his "dividend rights" as a director.

Many Hong Kong movies are big sellers, and the bosses of the film companies usually give red envelopes to key figures such as directors and leading actors.

Assuming a film earns the boss HK$1000 million, it would be great for the director to get a red envelope of HK$10 to HK$20.

The net profit of 1000 million is roughly equivalent to the annual box office revenue of the top Hong Kong films, plus some revenue from foreign markets.

A 5% dividend of the net profit is 50. If you make a movie that ranks among the top in the annual box office, you can earn an apartment. Which director in Hong Kong has such generous treatment?

Moreover, Tao Yushu did not set a hard and fast rule on how much profit a movie must make. Instead, he proposed a condition that "for every profitable movie, the dividend ratio will increase by 2%."

Over the years, Wong Jing has directed seven or eight films at Shaw Brothers, only two of which made big profits, but even fewer lost money.

According to the conditions given by Tao Yushu, even if the profits from the movies he made were not that high, as long as they performed stably and could make money for the company, he could still make a lot of money.

The most important thing is that Tao Yushu was talking about net profit dividends.

Unlike some film companies, the dividends paid to directors, screenwriters or actors are limited to the box office revenue in Hong Kong. The two are completely incomparable.

You have to know that for Hong Kong movies these days, the bulk of the revenue comes from overseas.

Wang Jing did some calculations himself.

The general investment in a movie now is between 300 million and 800 million Hong Kong dollars. If he makes a movie that just meets the box office profit target, taking into account the net profit dividends from the movie and the equity dividends from the studio, it would be about to Hong Kong dollars.

If he could make a film that made it into the top five local box office of the year, it would be possible for him to earn three to four million Hong Kong dollars or even more, and he himself would hardly have to take any risks.

Wang Jing comes from a film family and has been working in the film industry for nearly ten years. He naturally knows how generous the conditions offered by Tao Yushu are.

After thinking about it for a long time, he was very tempted, but still a little worried.

Because he couldn't understand why Tao Yushu treated him so well.

Other directors are already very happy if they make 100,000 or 200,000 Hong Kong dollars from a movie, but he has to make 300,000 or 400,000 Hong Kong dollars whether he makes any money or not. Why?
"What if two movies in a row lose money?" asked Wang Jing.

"The dividend rights have been cancelled. You have to figure out how to invest in the studio's subsequent productions on your own." Tao Yushu answered directly.

Wang Jing nodded, it was still very reasonable.

John Woo failed twice and lost even the chance to be a director. He was only sent to Taiwan by Cinema City to be a producer.

Wang Jing no longer had the relaxed smile he had before. Instead, he was seriously thinking about the pros and cons of this matter for him, with a shrewd look on his face. This was his true self.

But after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't figure out what was so valuable about him that could make Mrs. Lin in front of him risk her life to win him over.

In Hong Kong, there are many stars who earn one or two million Hong Kong dollars for a movie, but there are almost no directors who can earn one or two million Hong Kong dollars for a movie, unless they set up their own company to make movies and are willing to take risks.

"Mrs. Lin, forgive me for being blunt, the treatment you offer at Lin's Pictures is indeed very generous. But I don't quite understand why you are willing to give me such a high dividend as a director."

Listening to Wang Jing's doubts, Tao Yushu smiled indifferently.

“Is this salary considered high?”

Tao Yushu asked Wang Jing a question in return without waiting for his answer.

He then continued, "I have always believed that in any industry related to art, human creativity always comes first. Film is the art of the director, and a good director can often turn decay into magic."

“The treatment we receive from Lin’s is indeed generous in today’s Hong Kong market, but the prerequisite is that we can also make money.

Film is an art as well as a business.

As long as we can make a reasonable profit, we don’t mind sharing the success with our partners.”

The person in front of him was obviously a weak woman, but for some reason, Wang Jing felt a heroic spirit from her that looked down on the heroes of the world.

He particularly liked the word "partner" from Tao Yushu's mouth, because he felt a kind of respect from these four words that he had never felt from other film company bosses.

"Mrs. Lin is bold and courageous in her work. She is just as capable as any man!" Wang Jing couldn't help but admire her and said this sincerely.

Tao Yushu smiled modestly, "Director Wang, you are too polite. I just have some ideas. To truly realize these ideas, I still need the help of partners like you."

Tao Yushu kept calling Wang Jing "partner", as if she was certain that Wang Jing would not refuse her recruitment.

Originally, Wang Jing was currently filming "The Devil's Jade" and was also thinking about getting involved with Yongsheng Pictures.

But when he compared the attitudes of Yongsheng and Lin's towards him, it was obvious that Lin's valued him more. Wang Jing had already made up his mind. With such good conditions offered by Lin's Films, he had no reason not to agree.

"Okay. Thank you Mrs. Lin for your appreciation. I am willing to join Lin's Pictures."

Tao Yushu was delighted to get Wang Jing's reply, but the smile on his face remained calm, showing the demeanor of a general who is not easily surprised by fame or disgrace.

Lam Pictures is a newcomer in the Hong Kong film market. "The Truman Show" has already made a name for itself, and the next thing to do is to develop rapidly.

In Lin Chaoyang's words, directors like Wang Jing are jack of all trades.

The work is good, with little work and high efficiency. As long as the money is in place, it is easy to make three or four films a year.

Tao Yushu had previously specifically checked out the films that Wang Jing had made in the past, and indeed very few of them had failed at the box office. Such a director was definitely a talented person and was worth Lin's efforts to recruit.

As for the treatment offered by the Lin Group, which far exceeds the average level of the Hong Kong film industry, Tao Yushu and Lin Chaoyang had discussed it before.

Why was it possible for Cinema City to rise and become the third force in the Hong Kong film industry in just three years amidst the fierce competition between Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers?

In addition to the support of the Golden Princess Cinemas, isn’t the most important thing that they have attracted a group of truly talented filmmakers?

Cinema City was so stingy with its powerful employees, forcing Eric Tsang and Tsui Hark to leave, and was plagued by constant internal strife, but it was able to survive in such a situation. There is no reason why Lam Films couldn't offer such high treatment.

The wages of avarice is death.

Tao Yushu did not bet that all Hong Kong filmmakers had artistic pursuits, but she bet that they all loved money. If there was money to be made by following Lin, she did not believe that she could not attract talented filmmakers.

As for the generous treatment she had received, Tao Yushu firmly believed that sooner or later she would earn it back double.

The two chatted for a while, and Wang Jing said, "Mrs. Lin, I'm currently filming a movie for Yongsheng, so I'm afraid I'll have to wait before I can join the Lam Company."

"It's okay. You can wait a little longer. You and Yongsheng..."

Wang Jing knew what she was worried about, and he said: "I am just making a movie for them, there is no restriction. Xin Anyi has a big family and a big business, and he doesn't care about the film company at all."

Tao Yushu nodded, "Okay. If you have any questions, you can tell me and I will help you coordinate."

"Thank you, Mrs. Lin!"

Wang Jing didn't take Tao Yushu's words too seriously. He knew the background of Lin's Pictures and didn't think that Tao Yushu would be able to solve any real trouble.

But it doesn’t matter. He joined Lin’s company just to make money, as long as he can make money.

If there is really trouble, the worst that can happen is that I can just change to another company to shoot the film.

Two days later, Lin Chaoyang also returned to Hong Kong.

He came back because "A Better Tomorrow" was about to be released, and Cinema City wanted him to come back to support the show.

Since last year, Cinema City has begun to show disadvantages in its competition with Golden Harvest, contrary to its strong performance in previous years.

They didn't think much of the movie "A Better Tomorrow" at first, but unexpectedly, in May this year, "The Truman Show" first won an award and then became a hit, becoming the talk of the town.

Although it caught them off guard, it also allowed Cinema City to see the level of Lin Chaoyang, the master screenwriter.

This August, the Hong Kong film market is still dominated by Golden Harvest and Cinema City.

Last month, Cinema City released "Happy Ghost" and raked in 1500 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office, which made Golden Harvest's "Goodbye Mommy" lose its way and only earned 220 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office.

This month, Cinema City has placed its promotional focus on "A Better Tomorrow", hoping that this film, which was written by the best screenwriter at the Cannes Film Festival, can once again defeat Golden Harvest.

On August 8, "A Better Tomorrow" was released in major theaters under Golden Princess.

On the facades of major theaters such as President in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island, The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Theatre in Mong Kok, Kowloon, and Golden Theatre in North Point, huge hand-painted posters are extremely eye-catching.

The profiles of Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun-fat are superimposed on each other, their eyes looking into the distance, full of hope.

The five words "Screenwriter Lin Chaoyang" on the poster are larger than the names of the three leading actors and director John Woo, and are specially written in red font, which is very eye-catching.

Today, Hong Kong's film market is booming. Whenever a new film is released, the major cinemas are always crowded with people.

Maggie Cheung stayed up all night filming last night. She didn't go to sleep after work and dragged Tao Yumo to the Lisheng Cinema to buy two movie tickets.

“Wow, there are so many people!”

Maggie Cheung was wearing a pair of sunglasses and looking around in the crowd. Since she became a star, she hadn't been to the cinema to watch a movie for a long time. When she came in suddenly, everything was new to her.

"Don't be so sneaky, go in quickly and don't let anyone find you!" Tao Yumo urged her into the theater.

Today, most cinemas in Hong Kong are still of the old-style, with seats usually divided into balconies and halls.

Lisheng is the flagship theatre of Golden Princess in Kowloon, with the largest audience. Soon after the two entered, most of the audience in the theatre were already seated.

"The attendance rate is so high!" At this moment, Maggie Cheung took off her sunglasses and looked around again, feeling the joy of a blind person finally seeing the light of day.

"My sister said that Cinema City took 'A Better Tomorrow' very seriously this time and spent a lot of money on promotion. If they can outdo Golden Harvest again in August, they can vent their anger for the first half of the year."

"Brother-in-law's script is so well written, there will definitely be no problem."

As the two were talking, they mentioned "Cinema City" and "Golden Harvest", which attracted the attention of several people around them. However, the light in the theater was dim and they could not see the people clearly.

Tao Yumo reminded Maggie Cheung, "Stop talking and watch a movie."

At this time, the logos of Cinema City and the film studio appeared on the big screen, and then the handsome face of Ti Lung, who had once fascinated thousands of girls, lay on his side with his eyes closed and sweat all over his face, as if he was having a nightmare.

The camera switches, the darkness is shrouded in fog, and the character played by Leslie Cheung is running wildly on the street with a gun. Suddenly, gunshots are heard, and Leslie Cheung falls to the ground with a painful expression.

"Ajie!"

The camera turns again, and Ti Lung wakes up from a nightmare covered in sweat. The sweat soaks his white shirt, revealing the hideous tattoo on his back, highlighting Ti Lung's unique identity.

At this time, the title of the film finally appeared on the screen - A Better Tomorrow.

Then Chow Yun-fat, wearing a black windbreaker and holding a cigarette, appeared on the street, with a casual posture and a playboy aura all over his body.

"Chow Yun-fat is so handsome!" Tao Yumo whispered to her sisters.

"Is it handsome? It feels rustic."

"Are you blind?"

The two of them started arguing and didn't pay attention to the volume, which affected the viewing experience of the people next to them. A big man's voice sounded in the darkness.

"Hey, little sister, watch the movie quietly!"

The two knew they were in the wrong and fell silent.

No longer discussing the actor's appearance, the two of them gradually became attracted by the plot of the movie.

There is only one female character with a name in "A Better Tomorrow", and that's Zhu Baoyi.

The remaining main actors Ti Lung, Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung and Yue Hua are all men, and are either out of fashion, debuted as singers, or are box office poison.

Even the director John Woo was a frustrated man exiled to the frontier. When these people come together, just looking at the appearance of the movie gives people the feeling that it is hard not to flop.

But it was precisely these few flops that no one was optimistic about that created an unprecedented classic in the history of Hong Kong films.

"I never thought the night view of Hong Kong would be so beautiful. It's really hard to accept that something so beautiful is gone in an instant."

"I swear, I will never let anyone put a gun to my head again!"

"Sir, I haven't been the eldest brother for a long time."

"I've been waiting for three years just for an opportunity. I want to fight for it. I don't want to prove that I'm great, but I just want to prove that what I lost, I must take it back!"

……

The theater was filled with sonorous and resounding lines, and the originally light-hearted plot gradually turned into a serious and tragic one.

When the unruly pony was shot and fell to the ground, thousands of spectators at the scene shed tears.

"Your gentle laughter brings me warmth, and you inject a strong electricity of happiness into me..."

Brother Hao finally killed the traitor Tan Cheng, but failed to save Xiao Ma's life. The hero finally came to an end with the singing of Leslie Cheung.

After a moment's silence, the theater was filled with applause and cheers, the noise was deafening, and the audience's reaction was enough to show the success of the film.

Maggie Cheung wore sunglasses when she walked out of the theater, not only because she was afraid of being recognized by others, but also to cover up her red eyes.

"Xiao Ma died so tragically, Tan Cheng is really a bastard!" Tao Yumo's nose turned red from crying, and she said hatefully.

"Okay, you're still into the role. It's not like you didn't see it when we were filming. It's so fake." Maggie Cheung comforted.

After digesting the sadness brought by the movie for a while, Tao Yumo regained her smile and asked Maggie Cheung: "What are you going to do later?"

"I haven't slept all night. I have to go back and get some beauty sleep. Please sleep with me!" Maggie Cheung yawned, hugged Tao Yumo, and made some moves.

"Get out of here!"

Tao Yumo ignored the sisterhood, dumped Maggie Cheung, ran to Lam's Film Studio and stayed there for a while, and returned home in the evening.

"Hey, brother-in-law, you're back so early!"

"Well, I came back after the interview."

Lin Chaoyang was cooking in the kitchen. Tao Yumo secretly tasted two bites and looked very satisfied.

After Tao Yushu came back and had dinner together, Lin Chaoyang asked Tao Yumo: "Didn't you just say you went to see a movie? How was it? What was the audience's reaction?"

Tao Yumo became excited when he heard this question, and told Lin Chaoyang in vivid detail the audience's reactions to the movie today.

"...Brother-in-law, A Better Tomorrow will definitely be a big hit! I've watched so many movies in Hong Kong, and I've hardly seen one that received a better response from the audience than this one."

Tao Yushu asked: "Isn't The Truman Show even comparable?"

Tao Yumo waved her hand, "That's different. 'The Truman Show' is an art film, which brings spiritual shock and reflection to the audience, while 'A Better Tomorrow' is a commercial film, which brings stronger and purer emotions to the audience, and will definitely attract more audiences to the cinema."

Lin Chaoyang smiled and teased: "Yumo is good, the analysis is good."

Hearing his praise, Tao Yumo raised his eyebrows and showed a bit of satisfaction, "That's right, I didn't watch so many movies in vain!"

"That's enough. I told you you were fat, so you gasped. I asked you to recruit actors, how many did you recruit?"

"Sister, we're just looking for extras. I've already received nearly 200 actor recruitment forms."

Seeing her frivolous attitude, Tao Yushu couldn't help but scold her: "What's wrong with being an extra? Does an extra mean he's not an actor? How many stars started out as extras?"

Seeing her sister showing off her feminine power, Tao Yumo held her breath and dared not utter a word.

I endured the calm for a while, but took a step back and became more and more angry the more I thought about it.

But she has to endure it, because she has to live under someone else's roof!
"Yumo, you've received so many applications. Are there any actors you think have good qualifications?"

Lin Chaoyang's interruption saved Tao Yumo from the dilemma, and she looked at her brother-in-law with gratitude.

(End of this chapter)