Huayu: Enjoy Yourself

Chapter 10 suggests abolishing the directing department.

Although the Golden Lion Awards have no connection to China, the Golden Lion Awards for Short Films do.

It's a Golden Lion award, after all, and the director is a student, only nineteen years old.

They're from the Beijing Film Academy's photography department, so there's plenty of juicy gossip to be had. These reporters are practically bursting with their inner whims for breaking the news and stirring things up!

They were all being sent back to China!

domestic.

Many people who get up early to go to work buy a copy of the morning newspaper, just like usual.

I saw some current affairs reports, and in a fairly large corner of the newspaper, I saw:

A 19-year-old cinematography prodigy from the Beijing Film Academy won the Golden Lion for Best Short Film at the 52nd Venice International Film Festival!

The Venice International Film Festival is one of the world's three major film festivals, with the Golden Lion as its highest award. Winning the Golden Lion for Best Short Film this time is another breakthrough for my country at international film festivals. It is understood that this was the director's first film, submitted to the Venice International Film Festival by the Beijing Film Studio.

There is also a picture of Chen An holding up the trophy.

At that time, China was different from later generations; people still cared a lot about winning awards abroad.

Many people remember this 19-year-old director.

As for entertainment and fashion newspapers, they are much more outrageous.

Is Zhang Yimou the next? A 19-year-old genius director wins the Golden Lion for Best Short Film at the Venice International Film Festival!

"A 19-year-old cinematography prodigy director from Beijing Film Academy wins the Golden Lion Award; it is suggested that Beijing Film Academy abolish its directing department and focus entirely on cultivating cinematography talent!"

Nineteen-year-old director who won the Golden Lion at the 52nd Venice Short Film Awards challenges Jiang Wen: "I won an award, what about you?"

《.》

The titles are all utter nonsense.

After filming wrapped up and Jiang Wen returned to Beijing with Uncle Ge, he saw Uncle Ge carrying breakfast and several newspapers early in the morning.

Jiang Wen was a little confused as to why Grandpa Ge barged into his house early in the morning.

He asked, "What's wrong? Why are you here so early in the morning instead of sleeping?"

Grandpa Ge turned his head, smiled, put down his breakfast, and tossed the newspaper in front of him: "Take a look for yourself."

Jiang Wen randomly picked up a newspaper and saw a news article with a bolded headline:

Nineteen-year-old director who won the Golden Lion at the 52nd Venice Short Film Awards sends a message to Jiang Wen: "I won an award, what about you?"

Looking down, Jiang Wen finally understood what was going on.

"What was I saying? Oh, so that's the kid who won the award, and he even mentioned my name. Not bad, that's quite something!"

"This news writing is terrible; it's just nonsense."

Jiang Wen chatted with Grandpa Ge about the news headline while eating breakfast.

"You're lucky this is any better. Look at this, it's practically insulting the Beijing Film Academy!"

As he spoke, Uncle Ge took another news article demanding that the Beijing Film Academy cancel its directing department.

"Hahaha, that's incredibly daring! What a fucking genius!"

I didn't even read the content, just the title made Jiang Wen laugh!

Chen An, who was in Venice, was unaware of what was happening back home.

He woke up feeling refreshed and incredibly comfortable.

I'm getting ready to go find Lin Dajiang about his next feature film.

In this era, there were very few film investors; the only production companies that could distribute films were the major film studios.

You can forget about getting your film released without them.

Moreover, the mainland film industry is currently in a slump, box office revenue is not rising, and it is impossible to stop people from stealing box office revenue.

Other markets are making progress, but in China, box office revenue has been declining in recent years.

It wasn't until the opening up of private enterprises and the emergence of outstanding individuals that the domestic market began to prosper again, growing ever higher!

Now that there's a ready-made investor who has money and doesn't interfere, Chen An thinks he's the best investor ever.

Having just won an award, things are going well, and communication is easy, since Lin Dajiang is the one who made all the money.

As I went downstairs, I ran into Lin Dajiang, who had just finished talking with someone in the lobby, accompanied by his entourage.

"Brother Jiang."

Chen An greeted him first, then sat down next to him.

Lin Dajiang casually handed Chen An a cigarette.

Chen An took it and started smoking together.

"What is it, Brother Chen?"

Sitting on the sofa, Lin Dajiang asked Chen An.

"Well, it's about that thing I told you about last time. We're making a feature film together, which will help promote your brand."

"Oh, I've been thinking about this for the past few days, and it seems fine. How much investment do you plan to make?"

It seems that Lin Dajiang, who has tasted success and made a lot of money, is very generous.

After all, they earn US dollars. Selling the global copyrights alone would cost two or three hundred thousand dollars, which translates to over a million dollars domestically.

This is still a conservative estimate.

Moreover, it's in US dollars, an international hard currency and foreign exchange, which makes doing business abroad much more convenient.

Chen An didn't hide anything: "If we want to shoot a feature film, it will definitely cost more, probably around a million. We can also find Beijing Film Studio to distribute it, and also take it to foreign competitions."

"As long as you can get nominated, you're guaranteed to make money. And it's a feature film, a formal movie, that gets screened. The price is not the same as a short film."

Lin Dajiang nodded: "That's true. I inquired and found out that the Golden Lion Award sold for a lot of money, almost ten million US dollars."

"Hey~ let's make this clear first, Brother Jiang, I can't guarantee that a feature film will win a Golden Lion. Let's agree on this first: the goal is to make money as long as it gets nominated."

Chen An explained to him that he had no intention of directly awarding him one of the three highest honors; that was basically impossible.

"That's right, that's right. I didn't have that idea either. I just happen to have a lot of film left from the last shoot, so I'm not in a hurry to deal with it."

"That's even better, it'll save some money, but there's still one more thing."

Chen An changed the subject and said:

"Brother Jiang, as you know, I only received two thousand yuan as a photography salary last time we filmed."

"Let's get straight to the point this time. I want to make it clear that I am the director, screenwriter, and producer, so I will receive 15% of the investment."

Chen An didn't say anything more after that, waiting for Lin Dajiang to make a decision. He also made an excuse to go to the restroom, letting Lin Dajiang discuss it with his own people.

Chen An went inside, smoked a cigarette, and then wandered around the hotel for a while, waiting for them to finish their discussion.

After all, Chen An couldn't work for them for free. His scripts were all carefully selected and tested in his previous life, and each one he used was one less he could ever write.

It's impossible for me to give it away for free; this is all my own hard-earned money.

After wandering around for about ten minutes, Chen An finally went back.

Lin Dajiang was also waiting there, and when he saw Chen An sit down, he said:

"Brother Chen, you've really helped me this time. Consider it a thank you. I can agree to your request up to 1.5 million."

"But I need to take a look at the script, and as you know from last time, I need to send someone with you so I can feel at ease."

Hearing the answer, Chen An was pleased and nodded in reply:

"I didn't ask you. I understand, Brother Jiang. I was just planning to go to Hong Kong Island to film, but the security there isn't as good as in mainland China. I feel more at ease with your people accompanying me."

"As for the script, I haven't written it yet. It depends on whether you believe me, Brother Jiang. This film is an avant-garde film, and you may not be able to understand it. I specifically aimed for it to win awards abroad."

"Domestic box office revenue is not much now. I believe you have seen some of these award-winning films, and they are not suitable for the average viewer."

Upon hearing Chen An's reply, Lin Dajiang stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and responded:

"I have watched a few of them, but I didn't really understand them. How come they can sell for so much money?"

"Okay, I'll do as you say. I was just planning to use the money to promote my brand, and this time your short film actually made me some money."

"Then I'll keep bringing them out. I trust your skills, Brother Chen."

Seeing that the discussion had covered most of the issues, Chen An smiled and said:

"Okay, I'll go back and write the script, submit it for approval, and then I'll contact you. Let's get it done as soon as possible."

"No problem, just contact me when the time comes, and I'll send someone to sign the contract for you."

As soon as Lin Dajiang finished speaking, Chen An stood up, shook his hand, and said happily, "Then I wish us a pleasant collaboration this time, Brother Jiang!"

Actually, Chen An could tell from his appearance that the film was selling well and that he had tasted a lot of success in the international market.

So at the beginning, we were quite confident.

Just as he had hoped, it worked out.

Lin Dajiang didn't mince words: "I hope our collaboration will be as fruitful as our short film!"

Seeking everything

(End of this chapter)