Zhang Yimou came here for a big show this time and brought several actors with him. Naturally, Gong Li was also there. In addition to her, there were also Li Xuejian and Liu Peiqi.
Last time Liu Heng recommended Li Xuejian to play Yu Xi, at that time Yu Dong thought it was unlikely. Unexpectedly, things went smoothly afterwards, and Li Xuejian agreed quickly after receiving the script.
Another actress, Peggy Liu, plays the local principal and doesn't have many roles.
Compared to Li Xuejian, Liu Peiqi is not very famous now. She just participated in Zhang Yimou's "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit" last year. Although she played Qiu Ju's husband, she didn't have many roles.
There are only seven scenes in total, and Zhang Yimou added them because he thought he was good. It is said that there was only one scene in the beginning.
Yu Hua came to Shanghai first, and then went to the hotel with Yu Dong to meet Zhang Yimou and others.
Zhang Yimou had met Yu Hua, so he took the initiative to introduce them.
The main purpose is to introduce Li Xuejian and Liu Peiqi to Yu Dong and others, because Gong Li and Yu Dong have known each other before.
After the introduction, Li Xuejian said: "It is an honor for me to meet these two gentlemen. Director Zhang told me to meet someone in Shanghai. I asked who to meet, and he said to meet you two. I agreed on the spot.
"
Li Xuejian still has no problem with his throat. Although he speaks with a slight accent, his enunciation is very clear.
Although he looked very simple and honest, he spoke very beautifully in the scene. Yu Dong and others responded with a few words, and everyone took their seats.
After sitting down, Yu Dong, as the landlord, took the initiative to start the conversation: "Director Zhang, is the movie going well?"
"It's going well for the time being." Zhang Yimou said with a smile: "There is no problem. I have recently started preparing for the next movie."
"Next movie?" Yu Dong said in surprise: "Already have an idea?"
"No." Zhang Yimou shook his head, "I just have this preparation. I haven't decided what to shoot yet. I have a few scripts in hand, but I'm not very satisfied with them."
Yu Dong smiled and said: "Has Director Zhang paid attention to these issues of "Harvest"?"
Zhang Yimou just picked up the cup and was about to drink water. When he heard Yu Dong's words, he put down the cup with a smile: "I've been very busy recently, so I really haven't paid attention to it. I have no other thoughts when I'm filming a movie. Teacher Yu has released a new work.
What?"
He thought Yu Dong was going to talk about his own work, but he hadn't paid attention to it recently, so he felt a little embarrassed.
"I have published a new work, but I am telling you this for another novel. I think you might be interested in it."
"Oh?" Zhang Yimou was really interested, "I wonder which author it is from?"
Yu Dong pointed to Yu Hua next to him: "It's his, and the work is called "Alive". You can pay attention to it later when you have time."
Yu Hua was eating melon seeds and listening to their conversation. Unexpectedly, Yu Dong suddenly mentioned him and became a little embarrassed, "I'm afraid "To Live" won't make a movie."
Hearing Yu Hua's words, Zhang Yimou's interest became even more intense, "Hearing what you said, I really have to look for you later. Maybe there is an opportunity for cooperation."
Regarding "Alive", Yu Dong just clicked on it and did not continue to talk in depth. As for whether Zhang Yimou has such a fate with this novel, it really depends on God's will.
Although Yu Hua felt a little embarrassed to have his book promoted by Yu Dong in person, he was still very grateful to Dong. If "Alive" was really adapted into a movie, among other things, at least a licensing fee would give him a break.
slow.
The food was served relatively quickly, and they didn't play cards, so they just chatted while eating. After finishing the meal, Zhang Yimou and others left.
Of course, they came here not only to meet Yu Dong, but also to promote the movie. Although the current promotion is different from that of later generations, Zhang Yimou will still take the actors around, also to build relationships.
After Zhang Yimou left, Yu Hua talked about the adaptation of "To Live" into a movie. He was a little less hopeful: "No ordinary magazine would dare to publish this novel, and it would be even harder to make a movie. While eating, I listened to Zhang Yimou
Say, you also made a lot of changes to "Death of a Widow"."
"Some changes have been made. The way the movie is expressed is definitely different from the novel. Even if there are no sensitive parts, it must be changed. That's what I mentioned tonight. As for whether to film it and how to film it, it still depends on Zhang Yimou
By the way, if Zhang Yimou is really interested in your novel and wants to authorize it, you don’t have to talk to him yourself. Let Jimmy or ask Jimmy to send someone to talk to him. I heard that he has a lot of money in licensing fees now, maybe
We can negotiate a high price," Yu Dong said.
"How high can it be?"
"There should be ten or twenty thousand, and maybe we can talk about thirty or forty thousand."
"So many?" Yu Hua couldn't believe it, "Your "Death of a Widow" seems to be only a few thousand, right?"
"Today is different from the past. I estimate that manuscript fees will rise very slowly, but licensing fees should rise faster and faster. Zhang Yimou mentioned this when he discussed licensing fees with me before. Think about it, eight hundred yuan
It’s only been a few years since the 1990s, and licensing fees have already increased several times.”
Yu Hua nodded, thinking that what Yu Dong said did make sense. In other words, a few years ago, the licensing fee was a flat eight hundred yuan, and then when "Honey and Concubines" was adapted into a movie, it suddenly increased to thousands.
However, it really won’t work if this market situation doesn’t change.
It doesn't matter if writers within the system receive subsidies, but writers outside the system, or writers with small subsidies, cannot write a few short stories a year, and it becomes increasingly difficult for writers in the middle and lower reaches to make a living.
In addition, prices have risen rapidly in the past two years. Chen Hong takes care of Yu Hua's daily life. Occasionally, he goes to buy something by himself, only to find that the prices have become incomprehensible to him.
"Okay, if Zhang Yimou really comes to see me later, I will ask Jimmy to find someone to talk to him. In fact, if you don't tell me, I want to do the same. When it comes to money, I get scared. It's not that I don't love money, but I just don't have the talent.
I usually feel embarrassed to bargain when I go out to buy something."
"Since you signed an agent, just use it." Yu Dong said with a smile.
…
Zhang Yimou went to the bookstore three days later and bought two copies of "Harvest", which happened to be two issues of the serial "Alive".
After reading the novel, Zhang Yimou quickly contacted Yu Dong and asked him if Yu Hua was still in Shanghai.
After learning that Yu Hua was still in Shanghai, Zhang Yimou hurried to the hotel where Yu Hua was staying and asked him about the authorization of the novel, but Yu Hua blocked him back with his agent.
When Zhang Yimou heard the word agent, he was confused. Most domestic actors and singers don't have agents yet, so why do writers have agents?
But since Yu Hua said so, Zhang Yimou also respected him and said he could talk to his agent.
Chapter completed!