Chapter 10 Schedule
He didn’t know whether Yu Dong suffered from insomnia, but Jiang Heng slept soundly.

His original purpose was just to complete domestic review and distribution.

The moment I saw Yu Dong, I came up with the idea of ​​setting up a distribution company because he was the most suitable person.

Firstly, he had the idea of ​​starting a business. Secondly, he had strong business capabilities and channel network. Thirdly, he treated his partners generally well.

As for the Wang brothers, thinking about the 80 million business dispute between Stephen Chow and Huayi, they lost the idea of ​​cooperating.

Wang Changtian, who founded Guangxian Media, is also a talent, but he is still a journalist at this moment, which is almost unrelated to the film industry.

It can be said that apart from Yu Dong, Jiang Heng has no suitable partner.

The problem was that Yu Dong didn't know. After returning home, he thought about it for half the night and finally called his brother-in-law and told him what had happened today.

The latter also knew that this person had long wanted to go into business, but he had never expected to have such an opportunity.

"Based on your perspective over the years, what are the box office prospects of that film?"

"Except for the unknown lead actor, the rest of the movie is top-notch, especially the special effects. You haven't seen them, they are so shocking!"

"Compared to last year's 'Tornado'?"

"They can't be compared at all. It's just a disaster movie with passable graphics... I understand what you mean. The main creators of "Twister" are all unknown in China, but they managed to get over 50 million at the box office just by using the shocking disaster scenes...!" Yu Dong said loudly.

The movie "Tornado" is a disaster film produced by Warner Bros. in the United States. In Yu Dong's opinion, the plot and characters are quite ordinary, but the pictures are quite shocking. It still earned more than 96 million at the box office, ranking second in the annual box office in mainland China in .

The "Matrix" brought by Jiang Heng obviously surpasses "Twister" in all aspects. As long as the distribution goes well and the publicity is effective, the minimum box office will be more than 60 million!

The shareable income for producers and distributors is approximately more than 20 million. If calculated based on a 10% distribution commission, the operating income is more than 2 million!

If the share ratio is higher, even if it is only 20%, the income will be more than !
Four hundred thousand, how much alcohol would he have to drink and how many years would it take him to save up?
At worst, I can split the money after completing this deal and then set up a company that belongs entirely to me.

As for Beijing Film Academy, you can apply for unpaid leave, so there won’t be much loss.

After being enlightened by his brother-in-law, Yu Dong finally figured out the seriousness of the relationship and decided to cooperate with Jiang Heng.

Originally in history, he had raised money with his sister, brother-in-law, and brother to start a business, but this time he has to rely on himself!

The next day, Yu Dong came to see Jiang Heng again and said directly: "Mr. Jiang, I have thought about it carefully. Who else can be your partner but me?"

Jiang Heng smiled, knowing that this person was not easy to fool, "Oh, then tell me, why?"

“If Hong Kong films want to be released in the mainland, there are several key issues that must be resolved, otherwise they will not achieve very good results.

The first is to pass the review. It would be ideal to not cut anything. If this is not possible, the film must be edited so as not to affect the main plot and the audience's understanding of the film, so your partner must be able to solve this problem.

The second is the distribution channel network. There is currently no specialized film distribution company in China. The distribution departments of major studios are responsible for their own film distribution. The Beijing Film Studio has a strong background and its distribution network is the largest in the country. The current director of the distribution center is none other than me!
Of course, Mr. Jiang can also find someone else, but I believe there won’t be anyone more suitable!

For example, the Wang brothers who came yesterday, they have some connections and background, and maybe they can solve the problem of approval. But they used to work in advertising and have never been involved in film distribution. Do you think they can do it well? "

After hearing this, Jiang Heng couldn't help but applaud.

"I have to admit that what you said is absolutely right. But finding someone to partner with to set up a distribution company to distribute my own films was an idea that came to me on the spur of the moment. According to the conventional routine, a Hong Kong filmmaker coming to the mainland would definitely look for a large film studio to cooperate with, just to save trouble and effort.

After all, this movie is going to be released worldwide, and I don’t have much time to waste here.

So, for me, this matter is nothing more than the difference between earning more and earning less.

I can choose to give up this adventurous idea and follow the conventional routine, or you can choose to take a gamble! "

Jiang Heng finished speaking and glanced at the Rolex on his wrist. "Well, my time is limited. Please state your offer for the last time!"

Yu Dong seemed a little frustrated after hearing this. His guess was correct, but the gap between the two sides was too big, and it was impossible for them to cooperate on an equal footing.

Because this matter doesn't make much difference to Jiang Heng, but it is very important to me.

Yu Dong took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and finally said: "The proportion of agency issuance must reach 10%, and my shares in the company cannot be less than 18%!"

He eventually increased the price, but it was lower than his psychological bottom line because he was really afraid that Jiang Heng would cancel the cooperation in anger.

But if it’s too little, I really won’t accept it!

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became solemn. Jiang Heng was silent for a moment and said, "Okay, 18%. I'll pay yuan, and you'll take yuan. Let's jointly establish a distribution company!"

"it is good!"

Yu Dong stretched out his hand excitedly, thinking only of the gains after success. At least at this moment he no longer cared about the number of shares.

Jiang Heng was a Hong Kong businessman, Yu Dong had extensive connections, and the new company was not short of money, so both the office space and the business license were arranged very quickly, and by mid-October, everything was completed.

During this period, Jiang Heng also had to solve the review problem, and in the end, some cuts were made to the film, but fortunately it did not affect the understanding and development of the plot.

Then there is the issue of release dates. The annual box office champion "Jurassic Park 2" has been released in the summer, and the second-ranked "Opium War", the third-ranked "A Good Man", the fourth-ranked "Skyfall", and the fifth-ranked "If You Are the One" have all been released.

The most competitive film should be "Party A and Party B" directed by Feng Xiaogang. According to the original history, this film was released on December 97, 12. It was reported that it achieved a box office of 14 million, becoming the box office champion of Chinese films in 3000 and establishing the concept of "Lunar New Year box office".

This statement is biased and will lead many people to mistakenly believe that the box office champion of films released in mainland China in 98 only took a mere million yuan.

But in fact, the box office champion of films released in mainland China in 98 was the famous "Titanic", which achieved a box office of 3.6 million yuan that year.

Even in previous years, a box office of 30 million would not have won the annual championship.

For example, the box office champion in 95 was "True Lies" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, with a box office of 1.03 million.

In 96, it was Jackie Chan's "Simple Mission", which grossed million.

The Chinese film market was indeed somewhat sluggish in the 1990s, but it was not the state in which almost no one watched the film as some media reports had exaggerated.

As long as the quality of the film is good, the box office revenue will not be bad.

"The film 'Party A and Party B' is produced by Beijing Film Academy, with Director Han as the producer and Ge You as the lead actor. To be honest, we have thought of many plans for the production and distribution of this film!"

In the office of the newly established "Bona" film distribution company, Jiang Heng and Yu Dong were discussing the release schedule.

In Yu Dong's opinion, it is natural to avoid the release date of "Party A and Party B".

Firstly, it is inappropriate for me to compete with my old company for release dates as an agent for distributing a new film right after completing my unpaid leave.

Secondly, he thought that Ge You was quite popular and the film was also quite funny, so he was worried that they would affect the box office. His suggestion was to postpone the release of the film to 98.

But Jiang Heng doesn't think so. There is no such thing as a "National Day period" nowadays, and November is historically a low season.

If the Lunar New Year period in December is given up, it can only be postponed to after February 98.

But the period after the Chinese New Year is also the off-season. "Titanic" is released in April, and the summer vacation is too long. After much thought, the Lunar New Year period is the most suitable.

Jiang Heng expressed his thoughts, including his prediction on the release date of "Titanic", and Yu Dong felt very conflicted.

It wants to avoid the Lunar New Year period and find another release date, but it also wants to compete with "Party A and Party B" and make those mocking and questioning voices disappear.

The reason was simple. His application for unpaid leave caused a huge sensation in the Beijing Film Studio, and many people said that he was cheated by a Hong Kong man.

Some people even revealed that Jiang Heng was a liar who made a nonsensical science fiction movie and somehow fooled Yu Dong.

Instead of being the director of the distribution department of the Beijing Film Studio, he set up a joint venture company and is also going to distribute science fiction films in Hong Kong. Does that place produce science fiction films?
For a while, Yu Dong became the hottest topic in the Beijing Film Studio, and people who knew him or not all talked about Yu Dong.

As he was busy setting up and opening a new company, he naturally couldn't hear these words, but someone still briefly relayed them, which made him very angry!

But he is from Beijing Film Academy, and it is really unreasonable for him to distribute other films to compete with his old employer.

"I still think that it's not appropriate to choose the Lunar New Year period!" Yu Dong said unconfidently.

Jiang Heng took a quick glance and made a rough guess in his mind.

"If I were to make a dictate decision, I would choose that time period to release it!"

Yu Dong smiled, "You are the major shareholder. If you insist on releasing the film at that time, then I will have to do as you say!"

"Okay, let's choose this date. As for the time, let's choose December 12th!"

The 19th is a Friday, and the first day of release plus Saturday and Sunday will generally result in good box office results in the first weekend.

Generally speaking, the release cycle of mainland movies is about one month, and there are still ten days until the Chinese New Year on January 1. It can be said that it will not be greatly affected by the Spring Festival travel rush and the Spring Festival holiday.

The only film that had some influence was Director Feng's "Party A and Party B", but the two films have different styles and genres, so the influence on each other is not that great.

After all, few people watch two comedy movies in a row at the same time, usually they choose one of the two.

There's nothing wrong with watching a sci-fi movie and then a comedy.

After the release date of the film in mainland China was confirmed, Jiang Heng flew back to Hong Kong Island.

His goal is global distribution. Even if it cannot cover remote countries and regions, he still has to find a way to distribute the film in major box office powerhouses such as the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan.

For these places, it is difficult and inefficient to proactively approach them for distribution, and it is even more impossible to use the method of jointly developing a distribution company with Yu Dong.

As long as the film is released in Hong Kong and performs well, film producers from all over the world will naturally come to discuss cooperation. This was basically the model for Hong Kong films before this.

In order to distribute the film, they would have to negotiate cooperation with several major cinema chains. Unfortunately, Jiang Heng had no dealings with those cinema chains before, which was a bit troublesome!
After much thought, I decided to ask someone with particularly strong connections to help me.

After a little thought, Jiang Heng thought of Sammo Hung, and invited Sammo Hung, Yuen Wah, Yuen Biao, Yuen Kwai and others to his company to watch the movie in advance through Yuan De.

Except for Sammo Hung, the others were all quite interested in Jiang Heng's new film.

Because we knew about this since we were first selecting the female lead. We were both on the Shaw Brothers Clearwater Bay studio and had interactions with each other.

Yuen Kwai, Yuen Biao and others were extremely depressed after the box office failure of "Ma Yongzhen".

I just want to know how the film I shot with them turned out. If everyone flopped together, would you feel better?
In the meeting room of Youteng Pictures, Hong Jinbao, who was fat but very flexible, looked at the large swivel chair of the boss and twisted it with his hand.

"Not bad, you knew to choose a bigger chair for me!"

Yuan De chuckled and said, "It won't fit if it's too small!"

Hong Jinbao asked, "You really haven't seen it before?"

Yuan De said: "I'm so busy, how can I have time! Besides, I'm just a martial arts director and a villain, why would I care about these things!"

Hong Jinbao nodded slightly and said in a low voice: "Then I will also be frank. If the film is not good, I will not be able to ask Mr. Zou (Zou Wenhuai) for help, and the rest of the people should forget about it!"

Yuan De said: "I know, I know! Just think of it as coming here for a stroll. If it doesn't work, you definitely can't force it!"

Yuan Kui suddenly asked, "I heard that he went to the mainland a while ago?"

He also found that the Hong Kong film and television industry was becoming increasingly difficult, and he was planning to leave, but he had not decided whether to go to Hollywood or the mainland.

Yuan De said: "I did go there, and I have already contacted the distribution company and set a date!"

"When? They said it's the Lunar New Year holiday, December!"

Hong Jinbao looked solemn, "December? Andy Lau's movie "Black Gold" seems to be released in December too!"

"Black Gold? China Star, produced by the Xiang family?"

"Yes, starring Andy Lau and Leung Kai Fai!"

"That's going to be difficult!"

The fellow disciples were discussing the matter, but none of them were willing to get involved, as there was no interest involved!
It would be a huge loss if you offend people for no reason because of a bad movie!
As they were talking, a clerk brought in tea and snacks, and Jiang Heng followed in. After a few pleasantries, he connected the projector and started playing "The Matrix".

The people in the conference room can be said to be among the best in the Hong Kong film industry. Some of them can be directors and write scripts. They are also very good at martial arts and their appreciation ability is absolutely impeccable.

The more I think about this, the more I am shocked by what this film shows.

Because laymen don’t understand what’s so impressive when they see it, they often exclaim “Awesome, awesome!”, “Wow, Wow!”

People like Sammo Hung and Yuen Kwai know how difficult it is to capture such scenes when filming on the set.

Especially the scene where the male protagonist Neo dodged the bullet for the first time, Sammo Hung had no idea how to shoot it.

“I never thought that the shots made with special effects could be so realistic!”

(End of this chapter)