1980 My literary era

Time has entered March, and there is something related to Lin Weimin abroad. "The Intouchables" directed by Spielberg was officially released in the United States.

There is a saying about the release schedule of later generations of movies. At this time, China does not have this emphasis, but Lao Mi does.

There is a spring season from January to April every year, a summer season from May to September, an autumn and winter season from September to November, and the awards season is in December.

The time in March is obviously a very deserted time in the spring schedule. After all, Valentine's Day has just passed, but it is just right for a drama like "The Intouchables".

As a major director who is currently in Hollywood, Spielberg naturally has a good reputation. In conjunction with Columbia Hollywood's top promotion and distribution capabilities, "The Intouchables" was released in 1,069 venues and won 10,000 hits in the first three days of the weekend. 11.7 million US dollars, ranking second on the box office list that week.

This box office result would not be competitive if compared to some big-budget science fiction films in Hollywood, but "The Intouchables" is a feature film, and such a first-week box office result is already very good.

With the good results in the first week, Columbia immediately expanded the number of screenings to 2,385 in the second week.

The new week's box office performance did not disappoint the expectations of investors, producers and distributors. "The Intouchables" topped the box office rankings that week with a revenue of 29.59 million US dollars.

Michael Phillips and Lin Weimin called to describe the box office performance of "The Untouchables", and you can feel his high spirits just by listening to his tone.

"Judging from the current box office trend, it is not a problem for "The Untouchables" to exceed 100 million at the box office. The box office in the United States alone is enough to recover the cost and make a lot of money. Starting this week, "The Untouchables" will also be sold in many countries around the world. It will be released in various countries one after another..."

Lin Weimin joked: "Michael, you also have to consider my mood."

Michael Phillips laughed and said: "Come on, Lin, you, a copyright tycoon, don't pretend in front of me. Do you think I don't know? How much money did you make from just one "Phantom of the Opera"?"

"No one would mind having too much money, right?" Lin Weimin joked.

The success of "The Intouchables" has little to do with Lin Weimin. His film adaptation rights have been sold and he received a one-time payment.

He is not even the screenwriter of the movie version of "The Intouchables". Although the play is also a script, the movie has been re-processed. Lin Weimin's only demand when signing the contract was that the adaptation of the script must get his approval. At this point, the production The film crew also met his demands.

But it is not accurate to say that the success of the movie is not good for Lin Weimin. Before "The Intouchables", Lin Weimin's novels and plays had already gained considerable popularity in the United States, but in terms of movies, he only had one "The Last Emperor". Qualifications don't seem substantial enough.

Well now, "The Intouchables" is a hit at the box office. According to Colombia's speculation, it will not be a problem for this movie to have a global box office of over 200 million US dollars. For a movie that is known for its plot, this is already an extremely good result. , enough to rank among the top box office rankings of feature films.

If it can win awards and box office, Lin Weimin's works will definitely become popular in Hollywood in the foreseeable future.

"Lin, don't forget me as an old friend when the time comes!" Michael Phillips joked.

"Mike, you have priority." Lin Weimin said easily.

The two chatted for a while. According to Michael Phillips, Spielberg planned to take "The Intouchables" to the Cannes Film Festival in May. It would be best if he could win an award. If he couldn't win, It’s time to focus on the awards season at the end of the year.

The film quality of "The Intouchables" is outstanding. It is not difficult to win the award. What is uncertain is whether it can win the grand prize.

Michael Phillips also invited Lin Weimin to the Cannes Film Festival in May. Lin Weimin said: "Come on, I'm not used to that kind of vanity fair."

A few days later, just as Michael Phillips guessed, people from major Hollywood studios began to contact Lin Weimin.

Lin Weimin opened his mouth wide and immediately shouted out the astronomical price of five million dollars for the adaptation rights, which immediately frightened everyone. The five million script adaptation fee would require at least fifteen million in box office to make back the money.

In other words, an unwritten script alone is worth 15 million US dollars.

crazy!

This was the first reaction of everyone at the Hollywood studio after contacting Lin Weimin. Lin Weimin was calm about this. It had only been half a month since "The Intouchables" was released, and most of the people who were eager to contact him were speculative. It was because of his psychology that he would naturally not be polite.

Besides, the asking price is sky-high, and we have to pay back the money after landing. Since our script can win awards and high box office, isn't it normal to ask for a high price?

Hollywood is a naked jungle society, everything is false, only box office and awards are real, and only these two are the magic weapons to run rampant in Hollywood.

Lin Weimin is not interested in wasting time with a group of people with speculative mentality. People who are truly sincere will naturally come to him for detailed discussions. Even if they cannot offer a high price, they will find ways to persuade him. In this way, he can also occupy an important part in the cooperation. Upside.

Why not do it?

After answering several calls in a row, no sincere collaborator showed up. Lin Weimin was not in a hurry. He didn't make money from movie adaptations, so he was worried!

In mid-March, the sample booklets of the Chinese versions of "Revolutionary Road" and "Eleven Kinds of Loneliness" were released, and Lin Weimin sent two copies to Richard Yates as a souvenir.

Two days later, Ma Dudu and several people came to Lin Weimin's house.

"Teacher Lin, I have found someone for you."

Several young people Ma Dudu brought today are veterans and former scouts.

"These are all introduced by my father's friends. They know the basics and have good character." Ma Dudu and Lin Weimin whispered.

If you can serve as a soldier, needless to say about your family background, you must have a good foundation and a clean net worth, so you can use it with confidence.

Lin Weimin took a brief look. The six young men were tall and straight, with sharp eyes. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "Okay, let them all stay."

Ma Dudu was a little surprised and asked in a low voice: "Teacher Lin, don't you want to look again?"

"Do you think I am Sun Wukong's dazzling eyes? When I come here, I will work first. If I do well, my salary will increase. If I do not do well, I will see off guests. It's as simple as that."

Ma Dudu gave a thumbs up, "You are so angry!"

"Stop talking nonsense! I'll leave the moving matter to you." Lin Weimin said.

What Lin Weimin meant by "moving" was to move his antiques, calligraphy and paintings scattered in several houses. Now that Baylor Mansion has been renovated, these things finally have a place to put them.

The veterans brought by Ma Dudu were the defense forces Lin Weimin found for Baylor Mansion.

Such a big mansion, with so many antiques, calligraphy and paintings, if no one is watching, no one will know if it is emptied out in the middle of the night.

With these protective forces, Lin Weimin can feel at ease.

Ma Dudu asked: "Teacher Lin, are you really not going to build a museum?"

This matter was brought up by Ma Dudu after he visited Baylor Mansion a few days ago. He has collected at least four to five thousand antiques, calligraphy and paintings for Lin Weimin over the years, many of which are exquisite works from various dynasties.

Now that there is such a high-end and grand place like Baylor House, in his opinion, it would be unique and unique to open a museum.

Ma Dudu advised: "A mansion as big as yours and with so many cultural relics are just idle. It would be a waste just to appreciate them by yourself."

Lin Weimin shook his head, "It was a good idea at first, but now it seems that it takes too much energy. How can I have that time?"

When he originally asked Guo Daiheng to renovate Baylor Mansion, Lin Weimin wanted to transform it into a private museum that has both historical flavor and modern life concepts.

Unfortunately, after the Baylor Mansion was renovated, he realized that he had thought too much. Just taking over the Baylor Mansion would keep him busy for a while. When he thought about how opening a museum would be a lot of chores, he thought about it and decided not to do it. You're looking for trouble yourself.

"If you really find it troublesome, you can leave this matter to me!" Ma Dudu recommended himself.

"You?" Lin Weimin looked at Ma Dudu, "You just think about making money now, do you have time to do this?"

Since he stopped being an editor, Ma Dudu has completely plunged into the wave of reform and opening up and become a trend-setter.

Whatever he does to make money, he has been struggling for almost two years, and he has really made a lot of money.

Facing Lin Weimin's doubts, Ma Dudu hesitated for a moment.

"This is not a public museum. I don't want a salary, so you can't still care about my commute, right?" Ma Dudu said.

"Don't want salary? What do you want?" Lin Weimin asked.

Ma Dudu narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "I just want to have fun!"

Lin Weimin joked: "We have been separated for three days, and we are so impressed! What's the matter, are you planning to get rid of vulgar taste now?"

"That's not possible. I'm not at your level as Master Heshuo. I'm just happy to see you. It makes me feel bad to see so many of your things idle!"

Lin Weimin asked again: "Tell me, what should we do with this museum? Although my Baylor Mansion has been renovated, the architectural layout is different from those of museums outside."

Ma Dudu smiled and said: "Since we want to be a private museum, it must not be the same as those public museums. The architectural framework and bays of your mansion are not the way of a museum, so we will make it smaller and more sophisticated, focusing on customers. Experience it.

If anyone wants to come in and visit, you have to make a reservation in advance. The ticket price is not expensive, 200 yuan per person. Don’t be too expensive. Our museum is open once a week. Each opening is limited to 20 people. We have 10 tour guides who are flight attendants, and each one is responsible for explaining to two people, highlighting the quality of service. "

Lin Weimin was happy listening to Ma Dudu's words, and asked with interest: "Tell me, why is there a limit on the number of people?"

"Didn't I just say it? Pay attention to customer experience. Besides, haven't you heard that sentence? A wife is worse than a concubine, and a concubine is worse than a thief!"

Lin Weimin's admiring eyes turned to contempt. After all, he was an editor before, so couldn't he use another metaphor?

vulgar!