Chapter 217 Movie Theater Reform
Liu Hongmin's courtyards are all decorated like gardens, and even people who don't understand art will feel comfortable looking at them. The interior decoration is comparable to that of buildings in Hong Kong, and the styles are varied, with both modern decoration and ancient decoration.
The Li family considered themselves to be well-informed, but after entering the courtyard, they still felt like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
"Son-in-law, your yard is really big."
"It's OK, Dad and Mom, you guys take a rest first, I'll go see Zhen later. If she's not resting, I'll bring her over to see you."
"Okay! Son-in-law, you go first!"
Liu Hongmin asked the nanny to help settle the Li family, and then he returned to his own yard.
Father Liu saw him and asked, "Your father-in-law and his family are here?"
"Well, Aunt Zhang is arranging rooms for them."
"I'll go and take a look!" Father Liu went through the corner gate to the yard next to it.
Liu Hongmin found Li Lizhen and said, "Ah Zhen, your parents are here. I'll take you there."
"Okay!" Li Lizhen was very happy. She followed Liu Hongmin to meet his parents with her big belly.
The arrival of the Li family did make Li Lizhen much happier. Although Liu's father and mother treated her well, and Liu Hongying treated her like a real sister, she was still inferior to the family she had lived with for more than 20 years.
After Liu Hongmin sent Li Lizhen home, they chatted for a few words and then left.
He called Ma Weidu over and asked, "Is The Donkey Deshui off the screen?"
"It's almost done." Ma Weidu said with a smile, "These cinema chains are really good. They waited until April to carry out the reform. When the reform was underway, they were still dragging their feet. The reform was not completed until the end of May."
Liu Hongmin asked curiously: "How far has the reform progressed?"
Ma Weidu said: "As discussed before, the cinema chain wanted to give a discount. But their behavior angered China Film Group, which strictly required them to implement various terms. They couldn't drag it out any longer, so they had to give in."
Liu Hongmin smiled and said, "They really won't give up until they reach the Yellow River!"
"There's nothing we can do about it." Ma Weidu said with a smile, "Every unit has its own territory, so it's normal for them to be strict."
"But they are not the masters of this piece of land. The people are."
Ma Weidu nodded, "You are highly conscious."
Liu Hongmin rolled his eyes at him and said, "Don't let your mind slip!"
"I promise I won't let it slide." Ma Weidu quickly changed the subject. "The box office of 'Dragon' has already exceeded 60 million. According to the proportion we agreed on before, we can get about 10 million."
"Money is not important. What is important is the effect of this reform. If a new cinema chain can be built, that would be even better."
"It's probably going to be difficult." Ma Weidu shook his head. "Building a new cinema chain will affect the interests of too many people. The relationships involved are complicated and it will be much more difficult than the current cinema chain reform."
Liu Hongmin shook his head, "It's just a piece of paper order." Ma Weidu raised his thumb, "You are thinking like a superior. As the saying goes, a small move affects the whole body. A cinema has about ten people, and a cinema chain has hundreds or thousands of people. Do you know how many cinema chains there are in the country? There are at least hundreds of them, big and small, with hundreds of thousands or even millions of employees. If it is not handled properly, I don't know how many people will be laid off."
Liu Hongmin said: "The purpose of building a new cinema chain is to set a benchmark for cinema chains across the country. We will inevitably implement a box office revenue sharing system in the future, and the reform of cinema chains should be done sooner rather than later. We should take advantage of the current film market, which still has great potential. Otherwise, when the film market becomes stagnant, the losses will be huge if we want to reform it later."
"At least keep people's jobs!"
Liu Hongmin said: "The new cinema chain will add a lot of jobs. If all cinema chains across the country are remodeled according to the new cinema chain, at least hundreds of thousands of additional jobs will be created."
"So many?" Ma Weidu was surprised, then he thought of something, "Do you want to do it the same way as the theaters in Hong Kong?"
"You don't have to go that far, but it's still possible to sell peanuts and drinks in the cinema. If there's a lot of traffic, it's not impossible to set up a counter for Transformers and other toys. There are no movie peripherals in China right now, so we need to start from scratch and develop slowly."
Ma Weidu shook his head. "It's a bit difficult to develop now. The economic environment is still not good enough."
"Take it easy, it will be fine soon!"
Liu Hongmin is not in a hurry. It will take at least until the new century for movie peripherals to get better. At that time, all kinds of stickers and posters are everywhere in shopping malls and campuses. Many people don’t really watch movies, but they still buy some posters and put them on their walls. Especially the posters with handsome men and beautiful women may become the dream lovers of boys and girls.
After the release of "Mr. Donkey", the two projects "The Devotion of Suspect X" and "White Night Walk" were launched. This time is different from "Mr. Donkey". "Mr. Donkey" has fewer roles and needs to speak dialects, so it mainly uses mainland actors. "Mr. Suspect" and "White Night Walk" have actors from both places, and they are all famous and talented actors.
The main actors of "Suspect" are He Jiajin, Tang Guoqiang and Gong Li. He Jiajin plays Tang Chuan, and Fan Shaohuang plays the young Tang Chuan. Tang Guoqiang plays Shi Hong, and Wu Jing plays the young Shi Hong.
The starring actors of "White Night Walk" are Liang Jiahui, Gong Li and He Jiajin.
These two films were shot in Hong Kong, so most of the actors selected were from Hong Kong or actors who developed their careers in Hong Kong. Tang Guoqiang was inserted from the Beijing Film Studio. In order to adapt to the performance methods in Hong Kong, Liu Hongmin specially brought him to Hong Kong and let him play a supporting role.
Because the director is Xu Xiaoming, and the location selection is similar, the two crews filmed together. This took a long time, and it has not been completed yet.
"What's the progress of the filming of "Suspect" and "White Night Walk"?"
"It is expected to be completed by the end of August." Ma Weidu flipped through the book in his hand, "However, judging by the current progress, it should be completed a few days earlier."
Liu Hongmin: "What about Let the Bullets Fly? Has it entered the preparation stage?"
"Preparations have already begun, but the Beijing Film Studio is worried about the lead actor Zhang Muzhi!"
Liu Hongmin smiled and said, "What's so difficult about this? Can't we just ask Jiang Wen?"
"Jiang Wen?" Ma Weidu's eyes lit up. "This is a good candidate. I will recommend him to Beijing Film Studio right away. But Jiang Wen is a bit difficult to deal with. I don't know if Beijing Film Studio will use him."
"He is a man with ideas. Although he is a bit stubborn, his attitude towards movies is fine."
"That's true. I'll recommend it first. As for whether to use it or not, it's up to the Beijing Film Studio to decide."
(End of this chapter)
