Literary Master 1978

According to the custom of previous years, they would pay New Year's greetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year and return to their parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year. This year was different. Tao's father and Tao's mother spent the New Year in Xiaoliubukou, so naturally they didn't go back to their parents' home.

The Lin family doesn't have many relatives in Yanjing. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the family members said a few auspicious words to each other. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, they spent the whole day leisurely.

On the third day of the junior high school, Tao's father and Tao's mother led a team to Shijingshan to have a gathering with their cousin Du Ruolin's family.

When meeting Du Ruolin, it is inevitable to mention "Wreaths Under the Mountains".

This movie has been released for two months. It has become a sensation in the domestic film industry and movie fans. It has swept hundreds of millions of viewers. It can be said that it has swept the movie market since December 1983.

Whether it is in the official or private evaluation system, it is well received and praised.

"The response of "Garland" in the army was very enthusiastic, very enthusiastic. This film captured the hearts of the soldiers. You and Director Xie Jin have set a monument for our Chinese military films!"

Listening to Du Ruolin's praise, Lin Chaoyang said a few words of humility.

Du Feng asked curiously: "Brother-in-law, do you think the box office of "Wreaths Under the Mountain" can be higher than that of "Shaolin Temple"?"

Lin Chaoyang shook his head, "How could I know this?"

"I heard from a friend in my distribution company that their company earned almost one million in monthly distribution revenue. He also said that if we follow China Film's new box office calculation method, the box office of "Garland Under the Mountain" will be completely broken. 100 million.”

The concept of box office statistics was only introduced in China last year. China Film is the leader of the film distribution system, so it is natural for it to do this job.

However, with the data collection and sorting capabilities of this era, box office statistics are seriously distorted and are often estimated based on experience.

"It's hard to explain this kind of thing. China Film's distribution revenue is definitely more accurate than box office revenue, and compared to the actual situation, it must be a lot more.

One hundred million, I should have it. "

It has been two months since the release of "Wreaths Under the Mountain", and the viewing frenzy lasted for a month. It was not until the second month that the sold-out scenes abated.

Now that the first wave of screenings in big city cinemas has been basically completed, screenings in military units, small towns and rural areas have now begun.

I don't know if such a huge momentum is comparable to "Shaolin Temple", but it is definitely much more popular than "Wrangler" when it was released.

Even "The Wrangler" can get 130 million box office, and the box office of "Garland Under the Mountain" will probably be more but not less. Unfortunately, no matter how much the box office is, it has nothing to do with him.

Therefore, Lin Chaoyang had no interest in guessing how much the box office of "Garland Under the Mountain" would be, so he casually gave a conservative figure.

But Du Feng was very interested in this topic, "Brother-in-law, do you think making movies is a good business?"

Lin Chaoyang looked at him funny, "What? You want to invest in a movie now?"

"No, I just want to chat casually."

Du Feng said this, but his eyes were rolling around, and he didn't tell the truth at first glance.

Lin Chaoyang also understood his thinking. If a movie has a box office of over 100 million, if the distribution revenue is half, it will be tens of millions of dollars in revenue. What kind of business can make money as quickly as this business?

But these days, the domestic film market is tightly controlled by China Film and major film production companies due to institutional problems, and there is no chance for private capital to intervene.

Of course, the rules in this world are made by people. Since there are rules, there are loopholes.

Since the mid-1980s, when the policy only allowed 16 state-owned studios to shoot feature films, private capital has invested in film production. However, at this time, these private capitals usually did not even have "production authorship rights." of.

If nothing else, it's not impossible to go to Xiangjiang to get an identity, contact Z-pai Film Company, and make a co-production with a domestic film studio.

It all depends on people!

However, with Du Feng's current small body, neither path may be feasible.

“The film industry is a winner-takes-all market for movies. Out of ten movies released on the market, seven will lose money, two will break even on investment, and one will make a profit. This is the norm.

A film with a high box office like "Wreaths Under the Mountain" is unlikely to be produced in several years. We cannot treat exceptions as the norm.

What's more, our country's film industry and film market are still in the era of planned economy and cannot be interfered with by outsiders. "

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's analysis, Du Feng smiled and said, "I'm just asking."

Then he asked Lin Chaoyang, "Brother-in-law, do you think the film industry can be reformed in the future?"

Lin Chaoyang pondered and said: "As long as the government adheres to the line of reform and opening up, then film reform will be a matter of time, but it may not be possible in recent years."

"Why?" Du Feng asked puzzledly.

Lin Chaoyang smiled, "Because life is so comfortable."

Du Feng was stunned for a moment, and then understood what he meant.

The current Chinese film market can be said to be in a state of turmoil. Even though the number of moviegoers has been declining for several years, it cannot sustain its original popularity!

At its peak, in 1979, the total number of moviegoers in the Chinese film market reached a record high of 27.9 billion. What is this concept?

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's total population was 975 million in 1979. In other words, the average number of movie viewings per capita in the country reached 28.6 times that year, which is equivalent to one person watching 2.5 movies a month.

Leaving aside the elderly, the weak and special groups, this number will further increase.

With such a prosperous market, how can people in the film industry have the motivation to work hard!

Besides, it doesn’t matter if the studio makes a movie, it only costs 900,000 yuan, and China Film Group reaps the profits.

The market and system are advising domestic filmmakers: You'd better not work hard!

Du Feng said with a smile: "That's why a market like this is even more coveted!"

Lin Chaoyang shook his head, "Not necessarily. The decline of the Chinese film market has already begun. Whether it can be stopped in the future is hard to say."

With such a huge market for Chinese films, under normal circumstances, let alone three or four years, the industry will still be prosperous in ten or eight years.

But unfortunately, this was the 1980s when the world was changing rapidly.

The prosperity of Chinese films is more a result of the times, and so is its decline.

Television, video recorders, piracy, overseas films, inflation... Many huge unfavorable factors have hit one after another in the past ten years, causing the once flourishing Chinese film market to fall into a state of exhaustion and decline in the 1990s.

Du Feng had always been convinced of Lin Chaoyang's vision. Seeing that he was so unfavorable about Chinese movies, Du Feng couldn't help but ask:

"Brother-in-law, according to you, Chinese movies are completely hopeless?"

Lin Chaoyang chuckled and said: "How could that be possible? To put it bluntly, movies are a relatively closed industry. There will always be people making money, but the ones who make money must be the small group of people at the poker table."

Du Feng nodded, Lin Chaoyang's words touched his heart.

Lin Chaoyang asked him, "Why are you thinking about making movies?"

Seeing that his little thoughts were exposed by Lin Chaoyang, Du Feng stopped being secretive and said with a somewhat embarrassed smile: "Hey! If you are doing some cultural business, wouldn't it be decent to talk about it?"

Lin Chaoyang said with a smile on his face, "It seems that Mr. Du has made enough money and is looking for higher-level needs."

Du Feng looked embarrassed, "Brother-in-law, please don't belittle me. I only make a few dollars, I just don't want the old man to talk about me anymore."

As Du Feng spoke, he glanced in the direction of his father.

Lin Chaoyang nodded slightly, everyone said that the second generation is good, but to have a generation like Du Ruolin who has strict requirements for their children, the pressure is actually greater than that of a noble son from a poor family.

"It's not easy to make money in the cultural industry in China," Lin Chaoyang warned.

Du Feng didn't understand where Lin Chaoyang's words came from, but he believed in Lin Chaoyang's vision, "Brother-in-law, it's 'not easy to make money', but it's not 'can't make money', right?"

Lin Chaoyang laughed, "He's quite good at picking out words."

“There is an issue of intellectual property rights here. Given China’s national conditions, the development of cultural industries and the protection of intellectual property must have a very low priority.

The input and output of peers may make more and easier in other industries. "

Du Feng understood in one click, "I understand. Brother-in-law, tell me, besides movies, what other cultural industries are there to make money?"

"If you make a lot of money, it has to be suitable for you."

"Brother-in-law, please give me some advice." Du Feng took the initiative to light a cigarette for Lin Chaoyang, nodded and bowed.

"How much money can you put out in your hand?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"Twenty thousand yuan." Du Feng answered truthfully.

Lin Chaoyang glanced at him, you are quite a big-hearted kid, you still want to make a movie with so little money.

Du Feng understood the look in his eyes and explained shyly: "My friend said that you can invest in shares and put the name of the studio on it. A movie costs 3.55 million, and China Film will buy it out for 900,000, making a net profit of hundreds of thousands. ”

"A net profit of hundreds of thousands? Can't other studios do it themselves?"

Lin Chaoyang's words made Du Feng speechless. He said calmly: "I have also taken the exam... and considered this issue..."

There are big scams in all eras. Based on Lin Chaoyang's understanding of the current film industry, the matter of making movies may be true, but the matter of making money is open to question.

If you really invest this money, you will most likely lose money, and it will be very difficult to earn interest.

"Your career has just started, don't think about becoming fat in one bite."

Du Feng nodded awkwardly.

Lin Chaoyang looked at his expression, sighed inwardly, and said, "Let me give you an idea."

When Du Feng heard this, his eyes suddenly became focused and he stared at Lin Chaoyang closely.

"You can open a video room."

"Video room?"

The completely unfamiliar vocabulary made Du Feng a little confused, "What is a video hall?"

"Do you know about dance halls? As the name suggests, a video hall is a place where videos are played. Next time you go to Guangdong, ask around. They have a home-use cassette recorder that can be connected to a TV and then play various movies through movie tapes."

After listening to Lin Chaoyang's explanation, Du Feng immediately remembered it.

"I seem to have heard people mention this kind of machine before. But brother-in-law, if people want to watch movies, they can just go to the cinema. If I build a video hall, I can't build it bigger than the cinema. Is it okay?"

“If you want to watch domestic movies, you have to have a video tape!

Cinemas show all domestic movies. You show Hong Kong movies and foreign movies!

You've got the machines, why can't you get some video tapes? "

Du Feng suddenly understood. Nowadays, Xiangjiang movies are sweeping across Southeast Asia. He has not seen much, but he has heard of the famous names.

The home video cassette recorder was invented in the United States, but it was little Japan that really brought this thing to the world, entered thousands of households, and formed a huge user market.

In the 1970s, Japan vigorously developed the home video recorder industry, first considering the environmental needs of Japanese families. Due to the small residential area, color TV sets became the main entertainment tool for families. Cassette home video recorders are very suitable for family needs.

At this point in time, Betamax and VHS format machines have decided who is the market leader. VHS format machines have won a great victory and have continuously driven down the price of video recorders with the improvement of technology.

In developed countries such as the United States and Japan, home video cassette recorders have gradually entered the homes of ordinary people. The videotape market spawned by it has also affected the film market to a certain extent.

In Lin Chaoyang's memory, the earliest domestic video hall appeared in the summer of 1984, which was also a good business.

The most important thing is that Du Feng wants to do cultural business. This thing may not look good in the early stage, but the income is actually very considerable.

If it can really be expanded, after a few years when cinemas in various places can't survive, Du Feng can surround the city with the countryside and contract cinemas in various places. When the theater chain reform comes, it can become a private theater chain.

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's continuous opinions, Du Feng's eyes became brighter and brighter.

He knew that he would definitely learn something real from his brother-in-law!