1980 My literary era

"mail?"

Lin Weimin saw the postman when he went out. Because it was an international mail, Lin Weimin happened to be here today, so he needed to sign for it in person.

He took a look at the address and name on the package. It was pretty much what he thought. It was from Comrade Lao Mi.

He returned to the office with the package, where Wang Shuo and Tong Zhonggui stood there with curious faces.

"You are busy with your business!" Wang Shuo said shamelessly, almost making Lin Weimin think that he had gone to the wrong office.

He shook his head helplessly and opened the package. Wang Shuo and Tong Zhonggui immediately turned their heads.

The things were almost the same as last time, letters, photos, and information. Lin Weimin read the letters first.

Arthur Miller said in the letter that not long after he wrote to Lin Weimin last year, "The Intouchables" was scheduled to be performed on Broadway, but due to venue issues it was delayed until January this year.

Last month, Arthur Miller's copyright operating company had just settled the last season's performance surplus, and Arthur Miller was going to wire the royalties to Lin Weimin, but the amount was relatively large, so he wrote a letter to inform him in advance. .

Lin Weimin looked at the number written in Arthur Miller's heart with a satisfied smile on his face.

Not only is Lao Mi the boss awesome, but Lao Mi is also awesome!

In three months, "The Intouchables" was performed eight times a week, for a total of 99 performances, bringing Lin Weimin a cumulative income of 340,000 US dollars. This money has been used by Arthur Miller's copyright management company for Lin Weimin. The amount after taxes have been processed.

Lin Weimin made a rough calculation and calculated that this year would be more than 1.4 million yuan.

In addition, this time there is also a share settlement for Off-Broadway performances before entering Inner-Broadway, which is about 30,000 US dollars.

As long as "The Intouchables" continues to be performed on Broadway and continues to generate box office revenue, his share of the revenue will not be cut off. Lin Weimin will have an extremely generous income for at least a few years.

In addition to the share, Arthur Miller also told Lin Weimin in the letter that he had signed up for "The Intouchables" for this year's Tony Awards.

The Tony Award is not the Tony with a haircut, the full name is the Antonette Perry Award. It was established in 1947 by the American Theater Association in memory of Ms. Antonette Perry, one of the founders of the association.

After decades of development, the Tony Awards have been recognized as the highest awards for American dramas and musicals, and the awards ceremony is held every June.

Counting the time, it’s less than a month before the Tony Awards ceremony, so I just don’t know if this play will win the award.

Lin Weimin didn't take the awards to heart. It was an unexpected surprise that "The Intouchables" could give him a share of millions of dollars every year. It would be best to have something of an honorary nature like an award. Without it, It doesn’t hurt either.

After putting down the letter, Lin Weimin picked up the photos and information.

There are stills from the performance, group photos of the actors, and reports from various English media.

Lin Weimin saw Wang Shuo and Tong Zhonggui looking curious, wanting to see but not daring to see it, so he handed the thing to them, "You can see it if you want!"

Wang Shuo's eyebrows flashed with joy, he took the things and looked at them for a few times, but sadly found that he couldn't understand anything else except those photos.

Tong Zhonggui glanced at it twice, but asked in surprise: "Teacher Lin, is this your report on "The Intouchables"?"

Lin Weimin nodded and said, "Yes. It was performed on Broadway last year, and it's on Broadway this year. Its influence has expanded a lot, and more media have reported on it."

Tong Zhonggui looked at the newspapers with wonder on his face.

Last year, everyone heard that Mr. Lin's work was on the Broadway stage in the United States. Tong Zhonggui went back and read a few books of "Foreign Drama" at that time. There were only a few words about Broadway in it, but he could still feel Broadway. status in the Western theater world.

"Teacher Lin, what is Inner Broadway?" Tong Zhonggui asked.

He only knew that Broadway was the highest palace of American dramas and musicals, but that was all.

“There are hundreds of large and small theaters scattered along Broadway, but only the 41 theaters recognized by the Broadway Alliance can truly be called Broadway theaters, which is what we call Inner Broadway.

These theaters are basically concentrated in the area south of 54th Street, north of 41st Street, east of 8th Street, and west of 6th Street. This is one of the most prosperous areas in New York, where the famous New York Times Square is located.

Most of these 41 theaters belong to several theater groups. For example, the Schubert Group owns 17, the Nederlander Group owns 9, the Zhu Zhanxin Theater Group owns 5, and the remaining 10 belong to the Island Group and the Ambassador Theater Group. wait.

In addition to these Broadway theaters located in the core area of ​​Broadway, there are many small and medium-sized theaters on the periphery of these theaters, and these theaters are collectively referred to as Off-Broadway theaters. "

Listening to Lin Weimin's explanation, Tong Zhonggui nodded like a peck of rice. He followed Teacher Lin and gained a little more knowledge.

"For the people, how much royalties can I get for your play if it is performed in the United States?" Wang Shuo asked.

"This is calculated based on the number of performances and attendance. The drama market in the United States is completely market-oriented. If it doesn't work, it won't work, and there won't be any performances.

If it works, then perform one performance a day, or even two performances a day, hundreds of performances a year, and then divide the profits according to the box office profits. "

Lin Weimin's tepid introduction could not satisfy Wang Shuo's strong curiosity, "So how much can I give?"

Lin Weimin glanced at him, "You asked this proactively, don't blame me."

"A three- to four-thousand-meter knife fight!"

"Three or four thousand meters?"

Wang Shuo suspected that he heard wrongly, "How much did you say?"

"Three or four thousand."

"A game?"

"Um."

Wang Shuo's mind couldn't move anymore, "How many performances of your play can you perform in a year?"

"Based on the current situation, there will be more than 300 games a year."

His brain was indeed a bit exhausted, and Wang Shuo subconsciously wanted to use his fingers.

At this time, Tong Zhonggui answered Wang Shuo's doubts, his voice was dry.

"That's 1.3 million meters a year?"

Lin Weimin nodded, "Almost!"

There was a brief silence in the office. Tong Zhonggui and Wang Shuo were both shocked and speechless by this number.

After a while, Wang Shuo suddenly thought of a possibility and asked, "How many years have you been performing this play?"

"I don't know. Anyway, as long as the attendance is good, it shouldn't be a problem for the show to last three to five years."

Then this number needs to be multiplied three to five times!

Wang Shuo looked at Lin Weimin, with an inexplicable anger rising in his heart.

Damn it, this pretty boy, it doesn’t matter how handsome he is, he’s also so talented!

The key is also writing, how can you make so much money?

This is not fair!

"What's that look in your eyes?" Lin Weimin asked.

The jealousy from peers is too naked and undisguised.

Wang Shuo felt guilty for a while, "Can't I just take a look?"

"What a bullshit! I asked you to write well but you don't write well. You are jealous of people making money. He~tui!"

Wang Shuo was not angry at being spurned by Lin Weimin. He was indeed jealous.

"Hey, what do you think if I write a script?" Wang Shuo suddenly had an idea.

Lin Weimin glanced at him in surprise, "Don't go wherever you can to make money. Being eager for quick success will only make your writing worse. If you have this time, you might as well work on two decent works and come up with someone to catch up. Please adapt it.”

Wang Shuo thought for a while, "That's true."

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, after all, he couldn't compare with an animal like Lin Weimin.

It’s better to write more novels. As long as the novels get a response, someone will definitely want to adapt them.

A few days later, Lin Weimin received a notification from Bank of China that an international wire transfer had arrived.

He went to the bank and transferred all the royalties from the wire transfer to his foreign exchange account.

Seeing that the balance in his account had exceeded the 1.5 million mark, Lin Weimin became a little worried.

How to spend such money!

It's not like he's being pretentious.

Anyone with some financial knowledge knows that if you put money in a bank, you are working for the bank.

In addition to buying a house and hoarding antiques, shouldn't you also do some financial management?

Lin Weimin made a circle in his mind. At this time in 1985, the only thing he remembered was the appreciation of the yen.

Teacher Lin didn't understand any financial methods, so he chose the most unpretentious method and directly exchanged the rice knives in his account for Japanese yen.

In the strange and puzzled eyes of the bank staff, Teacher Lin's one million-meter knife was converted into Japanese yen.

The next step is to wait for the yen to appreciate and then exchange it for rice knives.

He thought that since he was a layman in finance and did not have a strong desire for money, this method was the safest.

As for the remaining money...

"teacher LIN!"

"teacher LIN!"

In Dong Laishun, Ma Dudu and Li Guangfu came by appointment and greeted Lin Weimin politely.

On the dining table, the copper hot pot is already boiling and filled with steam.

"Sit down!" Lin Weimin said to the two of them, and then shouted to the waiter: "Serve the meat!"

When the mutton is served, pour it directly into the copper hot pot. After ten seconds, use chopsticks to quickly fish it out.

It is a basic respect for Dong Laishun that one person eats three plates of its meat first.

After eating half full, several people slowed down and had time to talk.

After chatting for a while, Lin Weimin revealed the true purpose of today.

Just two words - spend money.

Li Guangfu and Ma Dudu looked at each other, and Teacher Lin started again.

"This is what I think. Guangfu, you can help me find a house. I won't pick a house this time. I will choose one with a similar location.

Dudu, when you have time, help me collect some antiques. "

Lin Weimin's division of labor is very clear. One of them buys a house and the other buys antiques.

When asking others to help, Lin Weimin naturally had to give him some benefits. One hundred yuan in foreign exchange coupons per month was higher than the salary of two people working at work.

Ma Dudu likes collecting antiques very much. It is not only his hobby, but also a good exercise for his eyesight. It can also bring him a lot of income, so why not do it?

On the contrary, Li Guangfu felt a little miserable. If he continued like this, he would really become a contractor.

Teacher Lin, I am an actor!