Chapter 802 Conditions Negotiation
Although the movie was a success, the actual revenue was disappointing.
As the domestic film and television industry has not yet been restructured, the box office sharing system and other systems are not perfect. In addition, the traditional film industry across the country means that except for a small number of films, the films shot by various film studios are basically unprofitable.
Luo Yang had worked in the cultural sector and was now involved in this business himself, so he was very familiar with the twists and turns involved. So when he heard Chen Xiaoer talking about this, he understood that the filming of major film studios was still funded by the higher authorities, and the film studios reported the number of films they shot each year, and then the funds were allocated.
This approach is basically still the old planned economy approach. The film studio is only responsible for filming, and does not pay much attention to the recovery of funds. In addition, due to the current policy restrictions, making movies is basically a loss-making business. Not to mention Chen Xiaoer, even the films of several famous domestic directors cannot guarantee that all funds can be recovered.
This was the case in the previous collaboration between Luo Yang and Mr. Xie from Shanghai Film Studio. Mr. Xie was troubled by funding issues for a long time in order to make that film, and was ultimately completed with the help of Luo Yang and the Hong Kong company.
Even Mr. Xie was like this, not to mention Chen Xiaoer, who had just become a little famous. Although the movies he made received good responses in the market, he lost a lot of money in the end. In addition, he was able to make these two movies because he found most of the funds himself, and the film studio also helped him out of Mr. Chen's face. But this kind of help can't always go on, right? There are so many people waiting for the rice to cook in the entire film studio, it is impossible to take care of Chen Xiaoer alone.
So last year, after Chen Xiaoer completed the second part of "I Was Born to Be Useful", he ran into a problem of lack of funds. Since the investment did not receive a return, the original investor has clearly stated that he will not continue to invest in the next film.
As soon as the funding was cut off, Chen Xiaoer became worried. He had already prepared his next movie, but now he had no money. How could he shoot it without money?
No matter how capable Mr. Chen is, he can only help solve some problems within the film studio. The key money issue cannot be solved by Mr. Chen, not even the director of the film studio!
Chen Xiaoer has been worried about this matter these days, thinking about where to get investment. It was at this time that Dabing, who he usually gets along well with, suddenly found him and told him about Luo Yang's company. He also told him that as long as Luo Yang nodded, the funds for making the movie would not be a problem at all. However, Luo Yang's money was not unconditional. He needed to have a good talk with Chen Xiaoer about the intention of cooperation. If possible, this matter might be resolved.
How could Chen Xiaoer give up when he heard such a good thing? Just like that, the day after Luo Yang returned to Yanjing, Chen Xiaoer received a call from Da Bing and ran to keep the appointment excitedly. But even if he kept the appointment, Chen Xiaoer still had his own insistence. Although everyone was a friend, it was better to say some ugly things in advance.
After Chen Xiaoer finished speaking, Luo Yang asked directly: "Tell me your conditions."
"I don't have many conditions, only three!" Chen Xiaoer said seriously, "First: I have the final say on the movie script. I won't shoot an unsuitable script."
Luo Yang frowned slightly and asked back: "When you say you have the final say on the script, do you mean the creation of the script or the content? What if I think the script you provided is not suitable? What if I provide a script that you think is suitable?"
Chen Xiaoer seemed to have thought about it a long time ago, and immediately replied: "No matter what the source of the script is, the key is the content of the script. If the content is good, I will shoot it. If the content is not so good, we can negotiate and adjust it. If it is satisfactory, we can shoot it. If the content of the script is not suitable at all, of course I will refuse it."
Luo Yang thought for a moment and asked again: "There must be a limit. If the script you provide is of course completely fine for you, but what if you find a reason to say that the script I provide is unsuitable?"
"That's easy!" Chen Xiaoer said with a smile, "In other words, it's the three elements of a movie - story, meaning, and elements, plus the compatibility of the script and characters. We can set a limit in this regard, and then use this bottom line to judge whether the script is suitable. It's not me or you who says it, everything starts from the script."
"That's something you can consider. If that's the case, I have no problem with it." Luo Yang nodded and replied.
Chen Xiaoer raised his second finger: "Second: During the filming process, the investors should not interfere too much in the casting and how the filming is done."
"Waiter, this is inappropriate, right? After all, we paid the money, and we can't have no rights at all, right? Especially in the casting process, we also have our own co-actors. Since it is a movie we invested in, it is normal to give priority to our own actors." Xiao Qiao interjected.
Chen Xiaoer thought for a moment and said, "How about this? I'll modify it so that the investors have the right to recommend actors and make suggestions during the filming process, but I also have the right to make the final decision on whether to select them. How do you think?"
"This..." Xiao Qiao was about to refute, because what Chen Xiaoer said was too vague, and it completely gave him the initiative. He had the final say on whether it was good or not. What if he insisted on saying no, wouldn't that mean there was nothing we could do to him?
"Sure!" Luo Yang answered before Xiao Qiao could. He smiled at Chen Xiaoer and said, "I believe in your professionalism and character. Since you said these things in advance, you didn't intend to hide them. Otherwise, you wouldn't have said it so clearly. So I agree to this condition."
"Great!" Chen Xiaoer slapped his thigh, feeling as if he had found a soulmate. There are really not many investors like Luo Yang!
"What about the third condition?" Luo Yang asked with a smile.
Chen Xiaoer chuckled and put forward his third condition, which was copyright.
Chen Xiaoer told Luo Yang that no matter what the source of the script was or what the release channel was, as the main creator and leading actor he needed to own a part of the copyright. The proportion of copyright could be negotiated based on the actual situation. He also knew that Luo Yang had a film company and distribution channels in Hong Kong. If the movie was released in Hong Kong, he would also have a certain proportion of the profits.
Listening to what Chen Xiaoer said, Luo Yang completely understood why Luo Lin told him that Chen Xiaoer was a man of ideas, and sometimes some of his ideas were beyond those of many ordinary people. In addition, he was straightforward and had a stubborn temper, so if he said a few words to someone he was not familiar with, he might start a quarrel.
Originally, Luo Yang thought that what Row Lin said was a bit too much, but when Chen Xiaoer put forward these three conditions, Luo Yang realized that Row Lin was right and her evaluation of Chen Xiaoer was completely correct.
If it wasn't Luo Yang who was sitting here today, if it was someone else, he might have slammed the table and cursed before Chen Xiaoer finished stating all three conditions. This wasn't about attracting investment, it was just about looking for a sucker. After paying the money, he still wanted to do this and that. Isn't this asking for trouble?
But Luo Yang was not angry, on the contrary, he became more interested in Chen Xiaoer. Because Luo Yang had been in Hong Kong for a long time, his exposure and experience were much stronger than that of ordinary people. Moreover, compared with the mainland, the film and television industry in Hong Kong was much more mature, and many practices were closer to the West, so similar situations were not uncommon.
In addition, the cooperation proposed by Chen Xiaoer is not only a personal cooperation, that is, it is not a cooperation as an actor. On the contrary, it is similar to the cooperation between two equal companies, or a group cooperation between a director, actor and producer and Luo Yang.
This shows Chen Xiaoer's confidence in himself and his belief in future success, otherwise he would not have put forward such conditions, let alone asked for them.
After some consideration, Luo Yang frankly told Chen Xiaoer that the first two conditions were easy to meet, but the third condition was a bit difficult.
After all, the mainland is not open to private film and television nowadays, and Chen Xiaoer is cooperating in his personal capacity. In addition, the filming of the film involves the issue of film studios, and it is necessary to occupy the resources of the film studios. If copyright issues are taken into consideration at this time, it will be difficult to sort out the issues.
In addition, there are many definitions of copyright, such as script copyright, regional copyright, and copyright of other derivative products in the film, etc., which are very complicated and professional. According to the current mainland policy, there is no such regulation, and Luo Yang cannot do it even if he agrees. Apart from the script copyright, Luo Yang can agree to the film creation, including the share of the leading actor, but he can't do anything about the rest.
Luo Yang did not hide anything and explained it to Chen Xiaoer very frankly. After listening, Chen Xiaoer touched his chin and thought about it. After thinking for a while, he asked Luo Yang a few questions. Luo Yang answered them one by one and also promised that if the mainland method could not be implemented, he could let Chen Xiaoer sign a contract with his Hong Kong company, which would be more convenient.
Chen Xiaoer finally agreed to Luo Yang's suggestion. He told Luo Yang that he had to go back and understand the situation. If what Luo Yang said was true, he would do as Luo Yang suggested. As for signing a contract, he had no intention of signing a contract. He hoped that both parties would cooperate in an equal manner, which would benefit both parties.
Finally, Chen Xiaoer smiled and said that although the mainland has not yet liberalized the private film and television industry, he believes that liberalization is a matter of time. Perhaps in a few years, such restrictions will no longer exist, and by then, cooperation between the two sides will have a better foundation.
Luo Yang laughed and nodded in agreement with Chen Xiaoer's statement, and also hoped that this day would come sooner.
In this way, the two sides reached a preliminary agreement, which also made the soldier on the side feel relieved. He immediately suggested that everyone toast to the successful cooperation. Xiao Qiao helped everyone fill up the wine. Luo Yang raised his glass and clinked it with Chen Xiaoer, saying "Happy cooperation."
Chen Xiaoer also smiled and said that it was a pleasure to work with him. They raised their hands and drank the glass of wine together.
