Chapter 50 Rejection and Help

The movie "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" is adapted from Peng Jianming's novel of the same name, and is also Liu Ye's debut work.

This is the first domestic film that reflects postal themes, but its core story is still about the relationship between father and son.

This is a very beautiful film, but also a film with a tragic fate.

The film has been in the works for two years, but has yet to raise enough funding.

You have to know that this is a movie led by Xiaoxiang Studio. Even a large state-owned studio is like this, so you can imagine how sluggish the current film market is.

Liu Zhou didn't expect that state-owned film studios would come to him for investment.

He had a hunch that the news of his investment in movies was only spread in a small circle, and after "Suzhou River" won awards overseas, more people would definitely come to him.

On the weekend, Liu Ye brought a middle-aged man to Liu Zhou's courtyard.

Liu Zhou had already made tea and asked them to sit down at the stone table in the pavilion in the front yard.

"Old Liu, this is Director Huo Jianqi, the director of That Mountain, That Man, That Dog." Liu Ye turned around and introduced Huo Jianqi, "Director Huo, this is my friend Liu Zhou, who is also the most popular young writer in China."

Huo Jianqi immediately smiled and said:
"Mr. Liu Zhou's name has become very well-known to me recently. Some time ago, the media reported that your novel was published overseas. This is a cultural export, which has earned us a lot of face."

Huo Jianqi really admired Liu Zhou. It wasn't because he dared to invest in movies at such a young age, but he admired his identity as a writer.

In the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, writers had a very high status, especially in the literary and art circles, where they were at the top of the circle.

For the fifth generation of directors headed by Zhang Yimou and Chen Shishi, almost all of their early films were adapted from novels by writers.

Therefore, the identity of a writer is highly respected in the director circle.

Although Liu Zhou writes youth literature, which may not suit the tastes of the older generation, his works have high sales and are now published overseas, which is indeed admirable.

"Director Huo, you're overpraising me. I was just lucky. But the movie you shot before, 'Winner', was very good, and your creative techniques were very mature. You won all the awards at all the film festivals in the mainland film industry that year."

The movie "Winner" is the directorial debut of Huo Jianqi. It is adapted from Liang Xiaosheng's novel and is a film that reflects the current situation of people with disabilities.

This movie was released in 96, and won awards at almost all domestic film festivals, making Huo Jianqi famous in the director industry.

When it comes to Huo Jianqi, it is difficult to say which generation of director he belongs to.

He is the same age as Zhang Yimou and they are from the same class, but in fact he is an out-and-out "young director" who only made his first movie in 96.

According to the time, he belongs to the sixth generation, but the reality is that the fifth generation is not qualified and the sixth generation is too old, so much so that he later jokingly called himself a fifth-and-a-half-generation director.

"I was just lucky, thanks to the subject matter."

Although Huo Jianqi said this, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face. It was obvious that Liu Zhou's words had touched his sore spot.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Huo Jianqi sighed and said:
"Liu Zhou, you should understand that I am here to seek your investment. I have brought the script with me, you can take a look at it first."

To be honest, Huo Jianqi was almost fifty years old, but he still felt a little embarrassed to be humble in front of a young man.

But there is no way. It is too difficult to make a movie in China now.

Apart from Zhang Yimou and Chen Shishi, who have won major awards overseas and have no shortage of money to make movies, is there any other director in China who doesn't lack money to make movies?

Of course, the sixth generation of directors has not yet fully figured out the path of winning awards overseas, selling copyrights to make money, and finally attracting overseas capital investment, so Huo Jianqi doesn’t know for the time being.

But even if he knew it, it would be of no use to him. Everyone’s creative ideas are different, and winning awards is something that can only be encountered by chance.

Liu Zhou took the script and read it quietly, but his mind was thinking about other things.

"That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" is a good movie, but it is a pitfall for investors, and a big one at that.

After this movie was made, only one copy was sold in China, and this was just a rumor. In fact, not a single copy was sold, and no distribution company was interested in it at all.

In the end, it had no choice but to sell it to a movie channel, but the price was pitifully low, less than half a million.

This film won awards at the Golden Rooster Film Festival, the Montreal International Film Festival, and the Indian International Film Festival, but the overseas distribution rights were sold for only US$80,000.

But the money from the sale of these overseas copyrights may not be enough for the crew to travel overseas.

Although the film was later well received in one country and its box office was more than twice that of "My Father and Mother", that was two or three years later.

Moreover, the reason why this film has such good results in the first edition is entirely because the film distributor’s promotional methods after obtaining the distribution rights were very creative and attentive. If someone else were to do the job, it might not be so effective.

Knowing it was a trap, Liu Zhou definitely wouldn't jump down.

The reason why Liu Zhou was unwilling to invest and invited Huo Jianqi to come was to give Liu Ye face and also to show them a way. Liu Zhou also knew that the film could be successfully shot in the end, but the process was much more difficult. The crew even took a train down the Xiangjiang River due to funding issues, and then took a long-distance bus from the Xiangjiang River to the filming location. Liu Ye also encountered carjacking on the way.

Closing the last page of the script, Liu Zhou asked:

"How much is the total investment for this film? How much is still needed?"

"This film is led by Xiaoxiang Film Studio, with a total investment of two million. They have already raised one million, and there is still a gap of one million."

"There's still so much left? Isn't Xiaoxiang Factory a big factory?"

There were initially sixteen film studios in the country, but as time went on, the development of each studio varied.

Among them, seven film studios stood out and developed relatively well. They were later called the seven major studios, and Xiaoxiang Studio was one of them.

Hearing Liu Zhou's words, Huo Jianqi sighed:
"Alas, you don't know. The situation in the big studios is not good now. Except for the Beijing Film Studio, everyone is celebrating the New Year like Wang Xiaoer. Every year is getting worse than the last."

In 98, this was the situation for almost all major studios.

Now the funds for film studios' own film production also come from outside. Of course, this refers to art films excluding mainstream films. Main theme films are a mission and they will not be short of money.

The most famous film produced by Xiaoxiang Film Studio should be "New Dragon Inn" co-produced with Hong Kong in 92, and then all the subsequent films were mainstream movies.

Although "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" is a good movie, for investors, they don't care whether the movie is good or not, they only care whether they can make money.

Obviously, in their eyes, this art film disguised as a postal film and telling a clichéd story of father-son love is totally uninteresting and the money invested in it is a waste of money.

An investor who had previously agreed to invest suddenly withdrew his investment. The reason for his withdrawal was also ridiculous. He liked a villa in Yangcheng, so he used the funds to buy the house, and the agreed investment was gone.

In fact, everyone knows it in their hearts, and they just don’t want to invest anymore.

"Director Huo, you don't expect me to solve the one million shortfall, do you? I don't have that much strength."

“Of course not. In fact, not only did I come to Beijing this time, but Director Kang Jianming of Xiaoxiang Film Studio also came. He should have gone to Beijing Film Studio now, trying to persuade them to co-produce with Xiaoxiang Film Studio.

By the way, Director Kang also graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, and you are an alumnus."

"Of course I know Brother Kang Jianming. He is an outstanding alumnus of our Central Academy of Drama."

Kang Jianming is Liu Zhou's direct senior. He was admitted to the Department of Drama and Literature of the Central Academy of Drama in 78 and was considered one of the first batch of students after the resumption of the college entrance examination during a special period.

After graduation, he went to work in Hunan Province. He served as the director of the Propaganda Department of Xiangnan TV Station, the director of the Provincial Propaganda Department, and now he is the director of Xiaoxiang Film Studio.

Even though Xiaoxiang Factory is not as prosperous as before, its foundation is still there, and its weight in the film industry is definitely not small.

What’s even more amazing is that he was one of the founders of the Shonan Broadcasting and Television Group, which was famous in the entertainment industry in later generations, and held an important position in it.

The reason why the Central Academy of Drama and the Beijing Film Academy are so powerful is not only that they have cultivated actors and directors active in front of the stage as well as some behind-the-scenes talents, but their tentacles have penetrated into every aspect of the entertainment industry.

A large proportion of the judges for domestic film festivals, big and small, come from these two schools.

"In fact, I am not optimistic about Director Kang's visit to the Beijing Film Studio. Although the Beijing Film Studio is doing better, the directors in the studio are also starving. It is impossible for them to invest their money."

"Then even if I agree to invest, I can't invest all the remaining one million. So what are you going to do with the remaining funds?"

Huo Jianqi smiled bitterly and said:

"What else can we do? We can only continue to look for investment. If you agree to invest, even if it's just a partial investment, it will be a great help to us. This is how we put together the one million we have now."

"Director Huo, I'm telling you the truth. I probably can't invest in this movie."

Huo Jianqi's expression became obviously disappointed, but he quickly adjusted himself and said with a smile:

"I understand that the risk of investing in movies is indeed very high now, and I am sorry for disturbing you today."

"Director Huo, although I cannot invest, I can introduce you to a way. I just don't know if you can accept overseas capital."

"Of course we accept it! Although this movie is a state-owned project, it is not a sensitive movie, so overseas capital is certainly no problem."

Now that we can get the money, why do we care where the money comes from?

Zhang Yimou's "My Father and Mother" was invested by Columbia. If someone had not had bad intentions and wanted to get an actor to play Cao Cao, the previous TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" would have also accepted their investment.

"Okay, I'll ask and contact you then. But let me make it clear in advance that I can't be sure they will invest. You'll need to negotiate on your own. I'll just act as a matchmaker."

"I understand. Thank you very much for your help."

(End of this chapter)