lovenovelstory Chapter 20 Transactions and Zhang Guo
Chapter 20 Transactions and Zhang Guo
That evening in Venice, domestic media outlets almost simultaneously launched breaking news reports.
"Chinese short films triumph at Venice, with students from Beijing Film Academy winning the Silver Lion."
"New Chinese-language director Lin Ruiyang wins the top prize in the Venice Short Film Competition!"
Xinhua News Agency's Rome branch published a press release titled "Chinese film 'Condolences' wins Silver Lion for Best Short Film at Venice International Film Festival."
The Beijing Film Academy's official website also displayed a red announcement: "Lin Ruiyang, a student from the Department of Literature at our school, won the Silver Lion Award for Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival."
Forums, online communities, and film review sections quickly became lively.
"Really?"
"This resume is a bit outrageous..."
However, most of the reports revolved around Jia Zhangke's "The World," with a few about Hou Hsiao-hsien.
"The Venice Film Festival has come to a close, and Jia Zhangke returned empty-handed with 'The World,' admitting that he was a little disappointed to miss out on the Golden Lion Award."
"The Venice Film Festival has come to an end, and a master director is left dejected in the water city at night. 'The World' has failed to conquer the world."
"Jia Zhangke's 'The World' failed at Venice, while South Korean cinema is at its peak."
"Did Chinese-language films lose because of public relations? Hou Hsiao-hsien: Success and failure both come from publicity."
Lin Ruiyang had just hung up the phone with Liu Yibing when he entered the hotel.
While congratulating him, Liu Yibing also offered a warning: "There's a feature film waiting for you in China. Winning the short film award is just a stepping stone. Don't sign any random contracts just because someone praises you."
Lin Ruiyang has a deep understanding of the harsh realities of the film and television industry. At most, people at companies like Huayi Brothers can only have an impression of him now, and the specific judgment of his directing ability will have to wait for his feature film results.
As he approached the front desk, the fat man suddenly grabbed him: "Old Lin, do you want to see the reports online right now?"
Without much hesitation, two more people appeared in front of the computer at the front desk in the blink of an eye.
"Damn, these media outlets change their tune faster than flipping through a book." The fat man pointed to the negative report about "The World" above.
"You should take a look at this report, which was reprinted by Qianlong.com. It's titled 'Major Mistakes Draw Heavi Criticism, Venice Cancels Red Carpet and Ends Coldly,' which lists all of Venice's mistakes."
"Yes, it would be strange if a shoddy production team that even forgot to present the Best Director award didn't get criticized by the media from all over the world."
After taking a quick look around, the two went upstairs to their room.
The fat man took out all the business cards he had collected after the premiere and closing ceremony; they were all contact information for distributors from various countries.
Lin Ruiyang calculated the approximate price while replying to the congratulatory text messages.
Even with the best efforts to promote and distribute short films like "Condolences," the price won't be too high.
Just then, Wang Hai suddenly called.
"Congratulations, Director Lin!"
"President Han asked me to convey his congratulations. He said that your Silver Lion is the first one of the three major awards since China Film Group started supporting young directors. Although it is not in the main competition, it already carries enough weight."
"The additional investment that Mr. Han mentioned before will be fulfilled once you return. China Film Group will add another 500,000, making it a total of two million."
"Thank you, Brother Wang, and please thank President Han for me as well."
"Don't mention it. When are you planning to come back? I'll make arrangements in advance and hold a launch event."
"Three days from now, I still have some overseas issuance transactions to handle in the next two days."
"Okay, I'll confirm and then send you all the arrangements for your confirmation."
Just as I hung up the phone, it rang again; it was Jia Zhangke.
"Junior brother, congratulations on taking the first step successfully."
"You're too kind, senior brother. It's a pity that 'The World' was a bit unlucky."
"Oh well, I can come again next time. Anyway, I've already recouped my costs."
Oh, by the way, there's something else I needed to talk to you about. A friend of mine who works in distribution just called and said that several European television stations are interested in "Condolences."
"Thank you so much, senior brother! I'll remember this favor!"
"I'll have Han Jie come over to help you tomorrow during the day. He's learned quite a bit by following me around. I won't take up any more of your time. Bye."
After the phone call ended, the room fell silent again.
The fat man was still flipping through the stack of business cards, categorizing them by region: "France, Germany, Japan... It's a pity there's no America."
This is quite normal; the American market doesn't really buy into this approach, unless you're promoting it through film festivals.
Short films have very limited theatrical space. Unless they are collections of works by the authors or pieced together with other people's works, television arts and culture channels are a better choice, since they can broadcast them on a long-term loop.
The next morning, Han Jie knocked on the door right on time.
They had already exchanged address information long before.
"These are a few letters of intent. If you haven't officially contacted them yet, take a look at the ones I brought."
"This is troublesome."
Han Jie sat down and began to look through the documents one by one, marking the important clauses.
After about ten minutes, he singled out two of them: "These two are worth discussing in detail."
"What's the reason?"
"This French company has stable television resources and can get into systems like Arte and Canal+."
This German company has a film festival distribution network that can help you continue to enhance your resume.
"The remaining options are either low-priced or have limited distribution channels."
He spoke very directly, and his assessment was consistent with Lin Ruiyang's earlier general judgment.
In the afternoon, the three met separately with the distribution representatives from Germany and France.
The German representatives were more straightforward; their main goal was to maintain exposure, extend the short film's lifespan, and achieve a cyclical development process.
Lin Ruiyang and his team did not raise the price too much and quickly signed the contract.
However, some negotiation with the French representatives was required, and there is still room for the price to be increased.
Ultimately, both parties decided to package the remaining European release with the North American release together for a total of 8 euros.
The remaining regions in Asia, excluding China, were packaged and sold to a Japanese publisher on the third day.
At this point, the total amount across all regions is 10.1 euros, which, at an exchange rate of 1:10.29, is equivalent to 103 million yuan.
Upon seeing the final figures, Lin Ruiyang secretly exclaimed to himself: No wonder so many directors in my previous life had such high investment even with poor box office returns; it turns out the profit margin is here.
Before he could finish his exclamation, the fat man had already started pressing the calculator buttons rapidly.
"100,000 euros, or 1.03 million RMB. Our film only cost 5,000."
The fat man looked up, his expression as if he had just discovered a new continent. "Old Lin, you can make money making short films?"
"Yes, but not every short film can win a Silver Lion."
Lin Ruiyang organized the copies of the contract and put them into a file bag. "For films that don't win awards, the distribution price will be cut in half. Films that don't even get nominated won't even get to the negotiating table."
Awards are a one-time bonus; if the next film doesn't live up to it, those numbers will quickly drop to zero.
There was a knock on the door. The fat man went to open it, and Jia Zhangke and Han Jie were standing there.
After learning from Han Jie that Lin Ruiyang had finished dealing with things and was preparing to leave, Jia Zhangke brought some wine and food to celebrate.
"Han Jie said you've finished dealing with things here and are getting ready to leave?" Jia Zhangke placed the wine on the table.
"The flight is tomorrow at noon."
"Then let's consider tonight a farewell dinner."
The four men exchanged their views on movies and the industry over clinking glasses, without any denial or criticism, just a free and unrestrained discussion limited to the four of them.
After eating and drinking their fill, Jia Zhangke and Han Jie left, while the fat man, his face flushed from drinking, lay down on the bed.
After tidying up briefly, Lin Ruiyang turned off the lights and rested.
His trip to Venice was nearing its end, but for him, the real journey was just beginning.