1978 Synthetic Writers - Chapter 495 "Taking Advantage of the Fire"

Of course, the "black and red" here is not like Zhang Dada in later generations, who really follows the "black and red" route.

Instead, let the novel continue to enhance its own popularity amid the controversy between admirers and critics.

"Jiang, I must arrange a role for you." Bertolucci pulled Jiang Xian and said this in an almost pleading tone.

Director Bertolucci particularly likes to use his talents and wants to incorporate the awesome Chinese people he knows into his movies.

The Deputy Minister of Culture and veteran actor Ying Ruocheng of the National People's Art Theatre went to visit the Forbidden City and was caught by him and played the role of the prison warden.

Even Chen Ai Ge can be assigned a role.

Because Chen Ai Ge had been bragging to Bertolucci all night, Bertolucci thought he was a well-known figure in China, so he arranged a role for him in the movie.

Even Chen Ai Ge can play it, let alone Jiang Xian.

I bring this up whenever I have time.

Seeing that such a big name as Jiang Xian is right next to him, it would be a shame if he couldn't use him.

Faced with Bertolucci's relentless pursuit, Jiang Xian had no choice but to agree to make a cameo appearance.

After briefly chatting with Bertolucci about his guest role, Jiang Xian asked:"Director Bei, I have something to ask you. I heard that the crew has had some funding issues recently?"

"."

Jiang Xian rolled his eyes and said, "Director Bei, I noticed that the insurance company supervisors have been running into your room a lot recently."

"."

Bertolucci remained silent.

"Director Bei, I'm not asking you this just to satisfy my curiosity. As a screenwriter, I feel I have the right to know the financial situation of the crew, and I have some money in the United States."

"Some money?"

Bertolucci reacted immediately.

God!

——Jiang Xian is a writer whose works are best-selling in the United States!God knows how much money he made?!

As a filmmaker, Bertolucci inevitably pays attention to the literary world, especially those writers whose works are best-selling.

The name Jiang Xian often ranks among the top best-selling lists.

Bertolucci knew that these best-selling authors were richer than each other and that the royalties made them a fortune.

There is a saying in the United States:

“Every American home owns two books—one is the Bible, and the other is probably a Stephen King novel.”

Bertolucci not only knew him, he knew him.

Stephen King's novels always top the American bestseller lists over the years and remain there for a long time.

Stephen King has become the world's leading billionaire writer.

Billionaire!

That’s right, the work has been a best-seller for five years, bringing Stephen King assets worth over 100 million.

It is said that the royalties for each of his works exceed tens of millions of US dollars.

How many years have Jiang Xian’s works been selling well?

Bertolucci pondered the question for a few seconds, then realized that he seemed unable to treat Jiang Xian as any other Chinese.

So I stopped hiding it and simply admitted:"Yes, there is a problem with the funds."

As mentioned before, the total investment budget for "The Last Emperor" was approximately 2300 million US dollars, and the investment was entirely negotiated by Thomas alone.

The start-up capital of $30 was provided by the famous British producer Thomas alone. Later, he single-handedly found five banks in Britain, Italy and France and loaned $5 million each to the film. Not a penny of the film's funds came from Hollywood.

Of course, European banks are not stupid.

I lent you so much money, what if you don’t pay it back?Therefore, we must take out insurance to guarantee that our funds can at least be recovered.

That person's insurance company is not stupid either.

not on.

Will insurance be provided? It depends on the film's distribution results.

In desperation, relying on Bertolucci's fame, Thomas sold the pre-authorization of "The Last Emperor" to dozens of countries and regions around the world.

With the pre-sale results of these films as a basis, the insurance company agreed to provide insurance.

It has been nearly four months since the filming started.

Bertolucci is definitely a workaholic. Under the pressure of loans, he shot at a very fast pace and made rapid progress day by day.

In addition, in order to advance the filming progress, Bertolucci first sent a team back to Rome to shoot some interior scenes.

As a result, progress in Rome was slow.

Bertolucci planned to go back to the northeast to shoot exterior scenes.

As a result, before I even went to the Northeast, I had almost spent all the money I borrowed from the bank.

This isn’t even post-production yet!In order to ensure that everything goes smoothly, the insurance company placed supervisors in the filming crew to prevent overspending and unfinished projects.

The supervisors did a very qualified job, they kept a close eye on the situation and checked the accounts frequently. They had long been aware of Bertolucci's dire financial situation and had threatened him many times during this period, intending to shut down his film crew.

The movie hasn't been finished yet and they're out of money!

Moreover, it is difficult for them to guarantee that the production of this film will instantly reverse the current situation.

After all, many colleagues in the film industry have said that producers and directors must be crazy to spend so much money to recreate a time and space that is unfamiliar to European and American audiences.

The current situation is that Thomas has no money left, so Bertolucci simply sold his house and raised $200 million to continue spending on "The Last Emperor", and then reluctantly cut some of the filming content.

Of course, this is the last resort.

Before that, Bertolucci still wanted to struggle for a while.

"My current plan is to use my connections in the film industry to send some samples to Cannes, at least to regain the trust of some investors. In this way, we may be able to get some additional funds." "Yeah"

Jiang Xian took a puff of the cigarette he had just lit, leaned back slightly, and said slowly:"I admire you, Director Bertolucci, I really do."

Bertolucci was a little confused by this.

He found that Jiang Xian's image seemed a little bit strange.

It was as if in a second he transformed from a writer and screenwriter into someone with an indescribable identity.

In short, he could see a very "mercenary" look on Jiang Xian's face.

I have been abroad and I know how unfamiliar China is to other countries, so what you are doing is really a courageous thing. This is also the reason why I am willing to join your crew.

We Chinese have a saying, "A drop of water should be repaid with a spring of water."

I think that since our superiors can open the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City to a film crew for the first time in history, then as a Chinese, it is my responsibility to make some contribution to this film."

Bertolucci listened to Jiang Xian's words.

What's the purpose of telling me this at this time?"How about we talk about the copyright price of "The Last Emperor"? " Jiang Xian suddenly said.

"Ok?"

"Is such that."

Jiang Xian put his hands on the table, and his whole body was very relaxed. "We have known each other for a short time. You may not know that I have set up a film and television company in the United States. Because this film and television company has just been established, its independent film production level and distribution channels cannot be compared with those traditional Hollywood studios, so it can't produce any films for the time being."

Bertolucci understood.

"You want your film and television company to invest in The Last Emperor?"

"Aren't you short of money too?"

Jiang Xian smiled and said, "You hope that all your funds will be in Hollywood, but you don't want Hollywood to interfere with the filming of the movie.

"."

Bertolucci lowered his head and thought.

It is indeed as Jiang Xian said. If he goes to Hollywood now, he will face two situations.

One is that Hollywood took advantage of his financial shortage and bought "The Last Emperor" at a very low price.

Bertolucci was too familiar with Hollywood's shooting model. The reason why he refused Hollywood's involvement from the beginning was because he understood that once Hollywood intervened, "The Last Emperor" would not be the "The Last Emperor" he wanted to shoot, but the "The Last Emperor" that Hollywood wanted to shoot.

On the other hand, Jiang Xian.

Although this guy was annoying and often interfered with his filming.

butBertolucci didn't know whether he was tamed or what.

But later on, people became more tolerant of him.

For example, in one scene, Bertolucci wanted Wanrong, played by Zhu Lin, to wear a gorgeous dress, lie seductively on the sofa, and smoke opium in a daze. At this time, Kawashima Yoshiko slowly held up her jade feet, lovingly took off her shoes, and kissed her toes.Bertolucci felt that this way of shooting would be eye-catching, could interpret the unspeakable ambiguous relationship between Wanrong and Yoshiko Kawashima, and could also present a beautiful, blushing and heart-pounding picture.

As a result, Jiang Xian decisively stopped it.

As a screenwriter, he scolded Bertolucci harshly, and his arguments were full of words like "historical blockbuster" and "lowering of character".

In short, Bertolucci could tolerate Jiang Xian's interference, and he would not feel that it was ruining the movie.

As for the issue that Jiang Xian’s film company is just a small companywho cares?Whose money is not money?

All I want is money!

"How much money can you give me?" Bertolucci asked the question straight to the point.

Jiang Xian lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "How about this, for $500 million, I want 30% of the film rights to The Last Emperor, as well as the entire North American rights after the film is released."

"how is this possible?"

Bertolucci was a little angry.

Just think about Hollywood taking advantage of the situation.

Nearly $2500 million has been invested in the film so far.

Jiang Xian only wanted to contribute 500 million US dollars, which was only one-fifth of the investment and one-sixth of the entire film investment.

You want to get one third of the copyright for such a small amount of money?Even he was not satisfied.

We also want the entire North American copyright.

Bertolucci said: "For $500 million, I can only give you 10% of the film rights at most. You think too little of this film."

"hehe."

Jiang Xian smiled.

Of course, he also knew that it was impossible to get such a huge profit with only 500 million US dollars.

This business is really not easy to negotiate.

Because Bertolucci is not the kind of director who no one would invest in if he was missed.

Although in the eyes of Americans, asking teachers to borrow such a large sum of money to make a movie about ancient Chinese emperors and show it to European and American audiences, and also hoping to make a fortune from it, this is simply crazy and mentally ill.

But not all the film companies in Hollywood are fools. There are always guys who have a keen eye for gold. Someone will definitely take a fancy to such a good movie as "The Last Emperor".

How much money did "The Last Emperor" make after its release?The film was first released in Italy.

Initially, Western audiences found it slow-paced and murky.

But after just the first wave of screenings, Bertolucci and Thomas had recouped all their costs.

After that, he won many awards.

Let's just put it that way.

The profits from "The Last Emperor" actually supported one of the partners, the Beijing Film Studio, for six whole years!

(End of this chapter)