Literary Master 1978

After eating, Tao Yushu left by himself, while Tao Yumo hung out with Maggie Cheung.

She asked Maggie Cheung, "Why do you always look at my sister so vulgarly?"

Maggie Cheung said dissatisfied: "Where am I insignificant?"

"It's obviously very vulgar, as if a salty guy is reading a salty magazine."

Tao Yumo's vicious metaphor angered Maggie Cheung. After the two sisters fought for a while, Maggie Cheung said with stars in her eyes:

"You don't understand. Sister Yu Shu has a very unique temperament. How can I say that temperament? It makes people feel particularly safe and want to be close to her."

Tao Yumo thought about it for a long time and was sure that she and Maggie Cheung knew the same person. However, she never expected that her elder sister made people feel safe and friendly. Instead, she felt oppressive.

Like a ruthless machine, no matter what it does, it is always meticulous and never slacks off. It feels terrible just thinking about it.

Seeing Tao Yumo's expression of disapproval, Maggie Cheung felt that she couldn't agree more with her.

He said thoughtfully: "I have to call Director Zhao and Director Wang tonight and ask them if they have any ideas about changing jobs. Lin's Pictures has just been established, and Sister Yu needs help."

Tao Yumo looked at her as if he were looking at a licking dog.

Two days later, we were still in the coffee shop downstairs of the New World Apartment.

As soon as Wang Jing entered the coffee room, he noticed Maggie Cheung and Tao Yushu. Maggie Cheung was wearing a pair of sunglasses, which made it difficult to identify them. On the contrary, he recognized Tao Yushu, who had a bright appearance and outstanding temperament.

"Mrs. Lin! Maggie!" Wang Jing ran over with a smile and said hello to the two of them.

The three of them exchanged pleasantries, and Maggie Cheung said to Tao Yushu: "Sister Yushu, you guys can talk first, I'll go back upstairs."

After saying that, she left the coffee room, leaving Tao Yushu and Wang Jing behind.

"Thank you, Director Wang, for the face." Tao Yushu said politely.

"You're so polite, Mrs. Lin. I still can't believe Maggie called me.

I even went to see Lin Sheng's "The Truman Show" when it was released. I will never make such a good film in my life. Lin's Pictures will definitely make great achievements in the future. "

Maggie Cheung has contacted Zhao Zhenqiang and Wang Jing in the past two days, but Zhao Zhenqiang is now thriving in TVB with popular dramas such as "Shanghai Bund" and "Xin Zha Senior Brother", and his position is stable, and he has no plans to change jobs. .

The situation of Wang Jing and Zhao Zhenqiang is somewhat similar. When he was in college, he went to work at TVB to make money, writing scripts for "Happy Tonight" and quickly made a name for himself at TVB.

From TVB to Shaw Brothers, everyone has become famous.

But the difference between him and Zhao Zhenqiang is that Wang Jing's desire to make money is much higher than Zhao Zhenqiang.

Working under the stingy Boss Shao is far from satisfying his appetite for money, which is why Wang Jing agreed to meet and chat with Tao Yushu.

The film "The Truman Show" made the originally unknown Lam Pictures famous in Hong Kong in one fell swoop.

Regardless of whether cooperation can be negotiated or not, this face will always be given.

The little fat man is greedy for money and lustful, but he has a good sense of worldliness and is even flattering.

Tao Yushu had been observing Wang Jing while talking. Because she needed to recruit people, she had been chatting with Lin Chaoyang about potential talents in the Hong Kong film industry.

In Lin Chaoyang's evaluation, Wang Jing is an interesting person. He has most of the shortcomings common to people who hang out in the vanity market, but he can also do both.

If he was serious about it, the films he made would be above average and even excellent, but most of the time he chose to waste money.

In his mind, movies have always been a means of making a living. It is difficult for people like him to talk about dreams and pursue these things.

Their utilitarianism can be seen in many well-known directors and screenwriters of this period in Hong Kong, but there are very few who are as pure as Wong Jing.

"Humans, after reaching a certain height, they will always have some metaphysical pursuits. But Wang Jing is different. You can regard him as a pure businessman."

Lin Chaoyang's evaluation of Wang Jing echoed in Tao Yushu's mind, but it did not affect the chat.

After chatting for a few minutes, she changed the topic to the main topic.

"Director Wang, you also know my purpose. I wonder if Director Wang is interested in cooperating with our Lin family?"

Wang Jing's face was full of smiles, "Mrs. Lin, I make money by making movies. I can't help but hope to cooperate with Mrs. Lin."

Wong Jing was a director of Shaw Brothers before, but now Shaw Brothers have basically withdrawn from the three-hero competition for hegemony of Hong Kong Film. Even the Clear Water Bay studio has been transferred to TVB. He is not signed by a company now and relies entirely on his skills to earn a living.

Life after leaving Shaw Brothers has been difficult. For most of this year so far, I have only produced one film, "The Wife Killer Duo" directed by my friend Zhong Zhentao. Recently, I am filming "Emerald" for Yong Sheng.

Yongsheng means Yongsheng, which is also the later Chinese star.

It is a film company opened by brothers Xiang Huaqiang and Xiang Huasheng from Xin'anyi. Yongsheng opened very early. As early as 1978, Xiang Huaqiang felt that the Hong Kong film market was profitable, so he opened this film company.

It's a pity that H Se is so separated from filmmaking. After several years of hard work, the company is still half-dead. It's just speculation in the first place. If it doesn't make money, it naturally doesn't care much about it.

This situation lasted until 1987, when the Xiang brothers saw the development of the Hong Kong film industry becoming more and more prosperous, and then they turned their attention to movies and changed the name of "Yongsheng Pictures" to "Yongsheng Pictures", truly paying attention to stand up.

It was after that that Wang Jing was completely tied to Yongsheng's chariot and became a general under the command of the Xiang brothers, making great contributions to Yongsheng's expansion in the Hong Kong film market.

At this time, the Xiang brothers had not yet fully taken movies seriously, and Wang Jing was just working part-time for Yongsheng.

He thought Tao Yushu wanted to make a movie with him just like Yongsheng.

Tao Yushu knew that Wang Jing had misunderstood her meaning and explained: "Director Wang, I mean that you can sign a contract with Lin and become our contracted director, just like with Shaw Brothers."

Hearing her words, Wang Jing's smile faded and he showed a serious look.

"Mrs. Lin, you know I don't get much salary at Shaw Brothers!"

Tao Yushu looked calm and said, "Shaw Brothers is full of talents. Mr. Shaw has no shortage of people to work for, so the salary is naturally lower. We at Lin are new to the Hong Kong film industry and are eager to recruit talents. We will definitely not treat Director Wang unfairly."

Wong Jing did not speak, but made a gesture of listening attentively. Tao Yushu then said:

"If Director Wang is willing to come to our Lin Films, we will invest 2 million Hong Kong dollars to set up a studio for you, and you will hold 30% and I will hold 70% of the shares.

All new films you make in the future will be produced by the studio and Lin's Film Co., Ltd. will invest together, and the profits will be distributed according to the investment and shareholding ratio.

At the same time, as a director, you are also eligible for dividends. After the movie is released, as long as the profit exceeds 10%, you will receive a 5% net profit dividend.

If the movie you make can guarantee continuous profitability, your dividend ratio will increase by 2% on the basis of the previous one, and you can get a maximum of 15% dividend.

On the contrary, if the movie loses money, the dividend ratio of the next movie will return to 5%. "

After Tao Yushu finished talking about Lin's conditions, Wang Jing did not rush to express his opinion, but was digesting the information she just said.

When Wang Jing first went to TVB for internship, his salary was only 500 Hong Kong dollars. When he arrived at Shaw Brothers, his salary became 10,000 Hong Kong dollars. In the past few years, he has made many profitable films for Shaw Brothers, but his income has not increased much.

Lin's Film Co., Ltd. will invest 2 million Hong Kong dollars to set up a studio for him, with a shareholding ratio of 3:7, which means that Wang Jing has shares worth 600,000 Hong Kong dollars without doing anything.

600,000 Hong Kong dollars can buy a 400-500 square foot apartment in Hong Kong today. Mrs. Lin's generosity made Wang Jing a little flattered.

If the studio develops well, this 600,000 may become 1 million or 2 million...

However, these are figures on paper. With Wang Jing's shrewdness, he naturally can't just bow down to this point. He is more concerned about the "dividend rights" as a director.

Many Hong Kong movies are big sellers, and the bosses of film companies usually give red envelopes to the main figures such as directors and leading actors.

Assuming that a movie earns 10 million Hong Kong dollars for the boss, it is already very good for the director to get a red envelope of 100,000 to 200,000 Hong Kong dollars.

The net profit of 10 million is roughly equivalent to the box office revenue of the top 20 Hong Kong movies in the year, plus some revenue from foreign markets.

5% of the net profit dividend is 500,000. If you make a movie that can break into the top 20 of the annual box office, you can earn a suite. Which director in Hong Kong has such a generous treatment?

Moreover, Tao Yushu did not set a rigid rule on how much profit a movie must make. Instead, he proposed a condition that "for every profitable movie, the dividend ratio will increase by 2%".

In recent years, Wang Jing has directed seven or eight movies at Shaw Brothers, and only two of them made big profits, but even fewer lost money.

According to the conditions given by Tao Yushu, even if the profits of his movies are not that high, as long as they perform stably and make money for the company, they can still make a lot of money.

The most important thing is that Tao Yushu is talking about net profit dividends.

Unlike some film companies, the dividends given to directors, screenwriters or actors are limited to the box office revenue in Hong Kong. The two are completely incomparable.

You have to know that the revenue from foreign markets is the biggest part of Hong Kong movies these days.

Wang Jing did some calculations himself.

Now the general investment in a movie is between 3 million and 8 million Hong Kong dollars. If he made a movie that just met the box office profit standard, including the net profit dividend of the movie and the equity dividend of the studio, it would be about 300,000 or 400,000 Hong Kong dollars.

If he can make a movie that breaks into the top five of the local box office, then it is possible to earn three or four million Hong Kong dollars or even more, and he himself does not need to take any risks.

Wang Jing comes from a film family and has been working in the film industry for nearly ten years. Naturally, he knows how generous the conditions offered by Tao Yushu are.

After thinking for a long time, he was very tempted, but still a little worried.

Because he couldn't figure out why Tao Yushu would give him such a good treatment.

Other directors are already smiling when they make 100,000 or 200,000 Hong Kong dollars from making a movie, but he has to make 300,000 or 400,000 Hong Kong dollars for making a movie. Why?

"What if two consecutive movies lose money?" Wang Jing asked.

"The right to dividends is cancelled, and you can only figure out how to invest in the studio's subsequent movies." Tao Yushu answered directly.

Wang Jing nodded, still very reasonable.

John Woo failed twice and even lost the opportunity to be a director. He could only be sent to Taiwan Island by Xinyicheng to be a producer.

Wang Jing no longer had the relaxed smile he had before. Instead, he was seriously thinking about the pros and cons of this matter for him, with a shrewd look on his face. This was his true self.

But after thinking about it for a long time, he still couldn't figure out what was so valuable about him that he could win over Mrs. Lin, who had such a talent in front of him.

In Hong Kong, there are many stars who earn one or two million Hong Kong dollars per play, but there are almost no directors who earn one or two million Hong Kong dollars per play, unless they set up their own company to make movies and are willing to take risks.

"Mrs. Lin, with all due respect, the treatment given by you, Lin's Pictures, is indeed very generous. But I don't quite understand why you are willing to give me such a high dividend as a director."

Listening to Wang Jing's doubts, Tao Yushu smiled calmly.

"Is this salary considered high?"

Tao Yushu asked Wang Jing in return, without waiting for his answer.

Then he said to himself: "I have always believed that in any art-related industry, human creativity always comes first. Film is the director's art, and a good director can often turn decay into magic. "

“The treatment offered by our Lin family is indeed generous in today’s Xiangjiang market, but the premise is that we can also make money.

While movies are art, they are also a business.

As long as we can make reasonable profits, we don't mind sharing the success with our partners. "

The person in front of him was obviously a weak woman, but for some reason, Wang Jing felt a sense of pride from her that looked down upon the heroes of the world.

He especially liked the four words "partner" in Tao Yushu's mouth, because he felt a kind of respect from these four words that he had never felt from other film company bosses.

"Mrs. Lin has great courage in doing things, and she is not inferior to women!" Wang Jing couldn't help but admire her and said it sincerely.

Tao Yushu smiled modestly and said, "Director Wang, you're welcome. I just have some ideas. To realize these ideas, we cannot do without the help of partners like you."

Tao Yushu referred to herself as a "partner" and seemed to be sure that Wang Jing would not refuse her solicitation.

Originally, Wong Jing was currently filming "Emerald" and wanted to hang out with Yongsheng Pictures.

But when he compared Yongsheng's and Lin's attitudes towards him, it was clear that Lin valued him more.

Wang Jing has already made a decision in his heart. Lin's Pictures has given such good conditions, so he has no reason not to agree.

"Okay. Thanks to Mrs. Lin for your consideration, I am willing to join Lin's Pictures."

After receiving Wang Jing's reply, Tao Yushu felt happy, but the smile on his face remained indifferent, with the demeanor of a general who was unfazed by flattery.

Lam Pictures is just starting out in the Hong Kong film market. "The Truman Show" has already made a name for itself. The next thing to do is to develop rapidly.

In Lin Chaoyang's words, directors like Wang Jing are a panacea.

Live a good life, have few things to do, and be efficient. As long as you have enough money, you can easily make three or four movies a year.

Tao Yushu had specifically checked the films that Wang Jing had made in the past, and found that they rarely failed at the box office. Such a director definitely has two skills and is worthy of Lin's efforts to recruit.

As for the treatment that the Lin family provided far beyond the average level in the Hong Kong film industry, Tao Yushu and Lin Chaoyang had discussed it.

Why was it that New Art City was able to rise to become the third largest force in the Hong Kong film industry in just three years when Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers were competing for hegemony?

In addition to the support of Golden Princess Cinemas, isn't the most important thing that they have attracted a group of truly talented filmmakers?

New Art City treats its heroes very carefully, forcing Eric Tsang and Tsui Hark to leave one after another, and there are constant internal fights. If they are able to break out of such a situation, there is no reason why Lin's Pictures can't offer such high treatment.

Man dies for wealth, and bird dies for food.

Tao Yushu doesn't bet that people in Xiangjiang's film industry have artistic pursuits, but she bets that these people love money. If she can make money by following the Lin family, she doesn't believe that she won't be able to attract talented filmmakers.

As for the generous treatment given out, Tao Yushu firmly believes that sooner or later she will earn back double the amount.

The two chatted for a while, and Wang Jing said: "Mrs. Lin, I'm currently filming a film for Yong Sheng. I'm afraid I'll have to wait a while to join the Lin family."

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if you wait. You and Yongsheng..."

Wang Jing knew what she was worried about. He said: "I just made a movie for them without any restrictions. The Xin'an Yi family has a big business and doesn't pay attention to the film company at all."

Tao Yushu nodded, "Okay. If you have any problems, you can tell me and I will help you coordinate."

"Thank you Mrs. Lin!"

Wang Jing didn't pay too much attention to Tao Yushu's words. He understood the background of Lin's Pictures and didn't think that if there was really trouble, Tao Yushu would be able to solve it.

But it doesn't matter. He joined Lin's just to make money, as long as he can make money.

If we are really in trouble, the worst we can do is switch to another company to film.

Two days later, Lin Chaoyang also returned to Xiangjiang.

He came back because "A Better Tomorrow" was about to be released, and New Art City wanted him to come back to support the show.

Starting last year, New Art City began to show disadvantages in the competition with Jiahe, contrary to its strength in previous years.

They originally didn't attach much importance to the movie "A Better Tomorrow," but unexpectedly, in May this year, "The Truman Show" won an award and then became a hit.

Although it caught them off guard, it also allowed New Art City to see the level of Lin Chaoyang, a master screenwriter.

This August, the Xiangjiang Film Market is still a battle between Jiahe and New Art City.

Last month, Cinema City released "Happy Ghost" and earned 15 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office, which beat Golden Harvest's "Goodbye Mommy" to find its way, and only achieved 2.2 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office.

This month, Cinema City focused its publicity on "A Better Tomorrow", hoping that this film, which was written by the best screenwriter of the Cannes Film Festival, can once again overturn Golden Harvest.

On August 18, "A Better Tomorrow" was released in major theaters under the Golden Princess.

On the facades of major theaters such as President in Causeway Bay, Kowloon's Mong Kok Lai Sheng, and North Point's Jin Hongji, huge hand-painted posters are extremely conspicuous.

The profiles of Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, and Chow Yun-fat are stacked one after another, looking into the distance with hope.

The five words "Screenwriter Lin Chaoyang" on the poster are larger than the names of the three leading actors and director John Woo, and are specially written in red font, which is very eye-catching.

Nowadays, the film market in Hong Kong is booming. Whenever a new film is released, there are always crowds in front of major theaters.

Maggie Cheung worked all night to shoot a movie last night. After finishing work, she did not sleep. She dragged Tao Yumo to the Lisheng Theater to buy two movie tickets.

"Wow, there are so many people!"

Maggie Cheung looked around in the crowd wearing a pair of sunglasses. Since she became a star, she has not been to the cinema to watch movies for a long time. When she came in suddenly, everything was new.

"Don't be so sneaky. Go in quickly and don't let anyone find you!" Tao Yumo urged her to enter the theater.

Nowadays, the cinemas in Hong Kong are still mainly old-style theaters, and the seats are usually divided into balcony seats and hall seats.

Lisheng is the leading theater of Princess Jin in Kowloon District, with the most audiences. Not long after the two entered, the audience in the theater had already sat down.

"The attendance rate is so high!" Maggie Cheung took off her sunglasses and looked around again, feeling the joy of a blind person finally seeing the light of day.

"My sister said that Cinema City attaches great importance to A Better Tomorrow this time and spent a lot of money on publicity. If they can beat Golden Harvest again in August, they can vent their anger in the first half of the year."

"Brother-in-law's script is so well written, there will definitely be no problem."

As the two talked, because they talked about "Cinema City" and "Golden Harvest", they attracted the attention of several people around them, but the light in the theater was dim and people could not be seen clearly.

Tao Yumo reminded Maggie Cheung, "Don't talk, watch the movie."

At this time, the logos of Cinema City and the film studio appeared on the big screen, and then the handsome face of Ti Lung, who once swept thousands of girls, lay on his side, his eyes closed, his face full of sweat, as if he was having a nightmare.

The camera switched, the darkness was filled with mist, and the character played by Leslie Cheung was running wildly on the street with a gun. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and Leslie Cheung fell to the ground with a painful expression.

"Ah Jie!"

The camera turned again, and Ti Lung woke up from a nightmare with sweat all over his body. The sweat soaked his white shirt, revealing the hideous tattoo on his back, showing Ti Lung's unique identity.

At this time, the title of the movie finally appeared on the screen - A Better Tomorrow.

Then Chow Yun-fat, wearing a black windbreaker and holding a cigarette, appeared on the street, with a chic posture and a wanderer's breath all over his body.

"Chow Yun-fat is so handsome!" Tao Yumo whispered to her sister.

"Handsome? It feels rustic."

"Are you blind?"

The two had an argument and didn't pay attention to the volume, which affected the viewing experience of the people next to them. A big man's voice sounded in the dark.

"Hey, little sister, watch the movie quietly!"

The two knew they were in the wrong and fell silent.

No longer discussing the appearance of the male actors, their attention was gradually attracted by the plot of the movie.

There is only one female character with a name in "A Better Tomorrow", Zhu Baoyi.

The remaining main actors, Ti Lung, Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung, and Yue Hua, are all men, and they are either out of fashion, debuted as singers, or are box office poisons.

Even the director John Woo is a frustrated man who was exiled to the frontier. When these people come together, just looking at the sales of the movie gives people a feeling that it is difficult not to flop.

But it is precisely these few flops that no one is optimistic about that created an unprecedented classic in the history of Hong Kong movies.

"I didn't expect the night view of Hong Kong to be so beautiful. I can't accept that such a beautiful thing is gone in an instant."

"I swear, I will never let anyone point a gun at my head again!"

"Sir, I haven't been the boss for a long time."

"I have waited for three years, just to wait for an opportunity. I want to fight for it. I don't want to prove that I am great, but to prove that what I lost, I must take it back!"

...

The theater echoed with sonorous and powerful lines, and the originally relaxed plot gradually turned serious and tragic.

When the unrestrained Xiao Ma was shot and fell to the ground, thousands of audiences on the scene shed tears on the spot.

"The gentle laughter is sending warmth to me, and you inject a strong electricity of happiness into me..."

Hao Ge finally killed the traitor Tan Cheng, but failed to save Xiao Ma's life. The hero finally ushered in the ending moment in the singing of Leslie Cheung.

After a moment of silence in the theater, applause and cheers rang out, and the noise was deafening. The audience's reaction was enough to show the success of this movie.

Maggie Cheung put on sunglasses when she walked out of the theater, not only because she was afraid of being recognized by others, but also to cover up the red circles under her eyes.

"Xiao Ma died so tragically, Tan Chengzhen is a bastard!" Tao Yumo's nose was red from crying, and she said hatefully.

"Okay, you are still in the show. It's not like you didn't see it during the filming, you were so fake." Maggie Cheung comforted.

After digesting the sadness caused by the movie for a while, Tao Yumo regained his smile and asked Maggie Cheung: "What are you going to do later?"

"I haven't slept all night. I have to go back and catch up on my beauty sleep. You can sleep with me!" Maggie Cheung yawned, hugged Tao Yumo, and started moving.

"Get out of here!"

Regardless of sisterly love, Tao Yumo ditched Maggie Cheung and went to Lin's Pictures to stay for a while before returning home in the evening.

"Hey, brother-in-law, you came back so early!"

"Well, I came back after the interview and everything was fine."

Lin Chaoyang was cooking in the kitchen, and Tao Yumo took a few bites with a satisfied look on his face.

After Tao Yushu came back and had dinner together, Lin Chaoyang asked Tao Yumo: "Didn't you just say you went to see a movie? How did it feel? What was the audience's response?"

Tao Yumo perked up when he heard this question, and vividly told Lin Chaoyang about the audience's reaction when they watched the movie today.

"...Brother-in-law, "A Better Tomorrow" will definitely be a hit! I've watched so many movies in Hong Kong, and I've hardly seen any movie that has a better response from the audience."

Tao Yushu asked: "Can't "The Truman Show" compare to it?"

Tao Yumo waved his hand, "That's different. "The Truman Show" is a literary film, which brings spiritual shock and reflection to the audience. "A Better Tomorrow" is a commercial film, which brings stronger and purer emotions to the audience. , will definitely attract more viewers to the cinema.”

Lin Chaoyang smiled and joked: "Yu Mo is okay, his analysis is good."

Listening to his compliment, Tao Yumo raised his eyebrows, showing a bit of satisfaction, "That's right, I didn't watch so many movies for nothing!"

"Okay. If you are told that you are fat, you will gasp. I asked you to be responsible for recruiting actors. How many have you recruited?"

"Sister, it's just a part-time job. I've already received nearly 200 actor recruitment forms."

Tao Yushu saw her frivolous attitude and couldn't help but scolded: "What happened to the actor? The actor is no longer an actor? How many stars have come from the role of actor?"

Seeing her sister showing off her feminine power, Tao Yumo held her breath and did not dare to speak out.

I endured the calm for a while, but took a step back and became more and more angry the more I thought about it.

But she still had to endure it. Who asked her to live under someone else's roof?

"Yu Mo, after receiving so many forms, are there any actors who you think have good conditions?"

Lin Chaoyang's intervention relieved Tao Yumo, and she cast a grateful look at her brother-in-law.