novellhall Chapter 53
Chapter 53
Chapter 53: Recovering the initial investment of 900 million (Seeking first subscriptions)
Time quickly passed to June 11th, in the morning.
Lin Dong had just entered his office when his phone rang. Wang Jing's voice boomed from the receiver, full of energy, with a hoarseness and excitement typical of someone who had stayed up all night.
"Mr. Lin! The final cut is out! 110 minutes long. I watched the last cut last night, and it's much tighter than the rough cut. Are you free now? I'll bring it over right away!"
"Send it over here."
Lin Dong hung up the phone, pressed the intercom to ask Chen Xinjian to notify Jiang Zhiqiang from Sony to come to the company to watch the film in the afternoon, and also greeted Xiang Yeqiang.
He put down the receiver, leaned back in his chair, and tapped his fingers twice on the armrest.
The rough cut took 160 minutes, and nearly a third of the footage was cut off. Wang Jing, the fat man, kept saying, "I can't bear to cut any more."
But when it comes to wielding the knife, they are quite ruthless.
Wang Jing arrived very quickly.
From Yong Sheng's post-production server room to the East Asia Bank Building, it's only a 15-minute drive without traffic, but he arrived in less than 10 minutes.
When he pushed open the door, he was carrying a packaged master tape in his arms, his forehead was covered in sweat, his belly made his polo shirt look round, and his expression was like that of a student handing in homework—nervous, but more than that, he couldn't hide his pride.
Lin Dong told him to hand the master tape over to the projection room and go eat first.
Wang Jing waved his hand and said that he couldn't eat until he had shown the film to the investor.
2 PM, Tengda Screening Room.
Chen Xinjian arrived the earliest, his notebook already spread out on his lap.
Xiang Yeqiang and Xiang Tai sat side by side in the middle of the second row. Xiang Tai was wearing a dark green cheongsam today. She leaned back in her chair, her gaze sweeping over the curtain at the front of the screen, which had not yet been raised.
Xiang Ye leaned back in his chair, looking a little thinner than when they last met, but in good spirits.
Wang Jing sat on the far side, rubbing his chubby hands on his knees, glancing at the door every now and then.
Jiang Zhiqiang was the last to arrive. He was of medium build and wore a dark gray suit. As he entered, he nodded to everyone. The gesture was small, but perfectly measured.
Lin Dong sat down in the main seat, and Li Jiaxin took his arm and sat down as well.
Zhang Baizhi brought in a tray of coffee, placed a cup on everyone's table, and then quietly withdrew.
This is her last day as a secretary—tomorrow she will be joining the cast of "The Hunky Tsim Sha Tsui".
A new secretary has been hired and will start work tomorrow.
The lights dimmed. The curtain lit up.
After the Yong Sheng logo flashes by, the first shot is of the morning light on the Bund in Shanghai.
The thin mist over the Huangpu River had not yet dissipated when Bo Bing, played by Li Jiaxin, walked out of the revolving door of the Peace Hotel, wearing a black satin cheongsam and pearl earrings, followed by two secretaries.
The entire Bund looked like a red carpet pressed flat and tucked under her high heels.
Lin Dong leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced and resting on his abdomen. This shot was the same as the rough cut, but the pacing changed noticeably afterward.
Nearly twenty minutes of the Shanghai scenes were cut, and several subplots about family feuds were removed, leaving only the main storyline of Bo Bing's mother's will.
The car chase scene in Temple Street, Hong Kong, was shortened from seven minutes to three minutes, but it became more compact—Wang Jing cross-cut the car chase with scenes of Bo Bing negotiating with her opponent at the Peninsula Hotel, one rolling in the mud and the other laughing at a party, creating a sharp contrast.
Several night scenes in Tokyo's Ginza district were retained, but a large portion of Andy Lau's solo performance was cut from the climax of the Macau casino scene, focusing entirely on the moment Bo Bing entered the VIP room.
She tossed the hem of her evening gown aside, sat down, shoved all her money onto the gambling table, looked up, and a faint smile played on her lips.
Li Jiaxin filmed that scene all night long.
Wang Jing had her sit in the banker's seat at the gambling table, with the light shining down from directly above, making her mixed-race face almost transparent.
Now that this scene is on the big screen, the entire screening room has fallen silent.
The final scene is Victoria Harbour at dusk.
Hua Di stood on the overpass, and Bo Bing's convoy drove past below. She sat in the back seat, the window half open, not looking at him, but looking ahead, a slight smile on her lips.
The camera zooms out, showing the traffic merging into the lights of Central. The subtitles rise slowly to the sound of piano music.
The lights came on.
Xiang Yeqiang was the first to stand up and applaud, his clapping deep and forceful. Xiang Tai also clapped, a smile playing on her lips.
Then came Jiang Zhiqiang—he patted three times slowly, clearly still lost in thought.
Zhang Baizhi pushed open the door and came in, refilled everyone's coffee, and then left.
As the door closed, Chen Xinjian turned to a new page in his notebook.
"Mr. Lin, Mr. Xiang, President Jiang." His voice wasn't loud, but it could be heard clearly throughout the screening room. "Let me give you my initial assessment of the market."
First, the urban romance genre isn't facing too much competition this summer. Among the Hong Kong films released at the same time, there are two comedies and three action films, but this is currently the only urban commercial film with a female-centric perspective.
Secondly, Andy Lau's acting skills provided a solid foundation, and Ms. Li's screen presence improved even further compared to the rough cut—Director Wong's fine editing added a lot to the score.
Third, the visual freshness of filming in four cities is something that many romance films in the Southeast Asian market currently lack.
The target audience profile is relatively clear: office workers, young women, and traditional audience members drawn in by Andy Lau's name.
He closed his notebook. "This is roughly the assessment based on the data. What do you two think, Mr. Xiang and Mr. Jiang?"
Xiang Yeqiang didn't beat around the bush. "Mr. Lin, I'll be frank. Southeast Asia and South Korea, you'll handle the distribution to me. Profit sharing—thirty-five percent."
When this number was announced, even Chen Xinjian raised his eyebrows slightly.
Thirty-five. He had previously confided in Lin Dong that, under normal circumstances, negotiating a revenue share of thirty percent in the Southeast Asian and South Korean markets would already be considered a very good deal.
Xiang Yeqiang has shown extra sincerity.
Lin Dong knew the significance of those five percentage points and that Xiang Yeqiang was trying to curry favor with him. He didn't point it out, but simply picked up his coffee and raised his cup to Xiang Yeqiang.
Mrs. Xiang put down her coffee cup, her voice steady as she followed Xiang Yeqiang's words. "We can also operate in the Japanese market, but we really can't compete with Jiang Shengshu in this area."
So we won't compete—but if Jiang Sheng encounters any inconvenience, Yong Sheng is always ready to step in.
That was a very tactful remark, but the degree of its impact was just right.
Everyone present understood the implication: if Jiang Zhiqiang doesn't want it, or if his offer isn't suitable, then we are there.
This is not a threat, it's a safety net.
Mrs. Xiang's words set an implicit bottom line for Jiang Zhiqiang's offer: if he offers too low, he will lose more than just this business deal.
Lin Dong nodded to Mrs. Xiang. Mrs. Xiang smiled back at him, picked up her coffee cup, and continued drinking.
All eyes turned to Jiang Zhiqiang.
Jiang Zhiqiang leaned back in his chair, slowly picked up his coffee cup, and took a sip.
He then looked up at the still-lingering end credits on the screen, as if savoring something, before turning his gaze back to Wang Jing.
"Director Wang's cinematography in this film is more mature than his previous one. I especially love the night scenes in Ginza."
He took another sip of coffee and turned to Li Jiaxin, "Ms. Li's screen presence will hold up even on Tokyo screens. Japanese audiences will appreciate that."
He finished praising her. He spoke slowly and deliberately, as if they were having a casual chat.
Lin Dong didn't urge him. He leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, and waited.
Wang Jing's chubby face twitched, and he seemed about to say something but held back. Li Jiaxin had already sat up straight, her hands unconsciously gripping Lin Dong's sleeve.
"It opened in 45 theaters in its first week, comparable to a Stephen Chow film." Jiang Zhiqiang's tone remained unhurried. "Video rights plus television broadcasting rights package—four million."
He paused after stating the number.
Li Jiaxin held her breath for a moment.
The film opened in 45 cinemas, a privilege usually reserved for top stars like Chow Yun-fat, Stephen Chow, and Chen Long in Hong Kong.
A package price of 400 million is already the highest possible price for a newcomer leading lady who has not yet proven herself in the Japanese market.
But everyone could tell that he wasn't finished. Because the most crucial number hadn't been announced yet.
Jiang Zhiqiang fell silent. It wasn't a deliberate, suspenseful silence; he was genuinely calculating.
My left hand rested on the table, and my fingers tapped three times unconsciously, then tapped three more times.
three minutes.
The screening room was silent for a full three minutes. No one spoke, no one coughed, and even Wang Jing kept his coffee cup sitting there.
"Divided into—" Jiang Zhiqiang finally spoke, his voice flat, "Thirty-five."
Chen Xinjian's eyebrows twitched slightly.
As a revenue share, this number isn't low. But to match the momentum of 45 opening releases and a package deal of four million, 35 alone falls short.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but Lin Dong glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and he shut up.
Lin Dong knew this wasn't over yet.
"A minimum guarantee of 5 million. 70% will be paid upfront. The remaining 30% will be paid after the film's release."
Xiang Yeqiang's hand, holding the coffee cup, paused for a moment. Xiang Tai, who had been leaning back in her chair, leaned forward slightly upon hearing this.
Wang Jing's chubby face finally couldn't hold back his joy any longer, and the smile on his face was revealed without any attempt to hide it. The fact that his film was doing well not only made him look good, but also allowed him to increase his director's fee.
With a minimum guarantee of five million Hong Kong dollars and a 35% revenue share, the Japanese distributors expect the film to gross at least 1500 million Hong Kong dollars.
At the same time, this condition is only one level lower than the distribution treatment that Chen Long and Li Lianjie can get for big-budget film projects.
Jiang Zhiqiang picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and then looked at Lin Dong. "Mr. Lin, to be honest, I'm not sure if this film will be a hit, but I'm sure it won't lose money."
In the past year or two, young female viewers in Japan have been looking for this type of film—a female protagonist who doesn't rely on men, is intelligent, resourceful, stylish, and lives a fulfilling life. Your film has hit the right spot.
Lin Dong stood up and extended his hand to him. "Jiang Sheng, it's been a pleasure doing business with you."
Jiang Zhiqiang grasped his hand, his grip neither too tight nor too loose. "Mr. Lin, I'd like to continue working with you on Director Xu's 'The Legend of Zu'."
"We'll talk to you first."
The two men smiled at each other, and after letting go of each other's hands, Jiang Zhiqiang turned to Chen Xinjian and asked for the basic information and cast list of the film, saying that he would arrange for the Japanese version of the poster and promotional materials as soon as he got back.
Lin Dong leaned back in his chair, picked up his coffee, and took a sip.
We talked about the release date again.
Hong Kong's date remains unchanged at July 1st. Southeast Asia and Japan and South Korea unify on July 15th, allowing time for Wang Jing to continue dubbing and subtitling, and also giving Win's Entertainment and Sony enough time to prepare localized promotional materials.
Lin Dong handed over the responsibility for the subsequent details of the agreement to Chen Xinjian, and then stood up.
"I'm going to Beijing in the next couple of days. I've made several appointments with Han Sanping, and I can't delay any longer."
Xiang Yeqiang looked up at him, his eyes flickering. Xiang Tai, holding her coffee, remained silent, but her lips pursed slightly.
Jiang Zhiqiang also looked up. Although this huge market of over a billion people has not been fully developed, the fact that "Titanic" grossed 300 million yuan in three months in mainland China has made its existence impossible for anyone in the industry to ignore.
However, no one present said much.
Everyone is waiting, waiting for a more suitable opportunity.