In February 1988, Chen Naixu, Ouyang Fenqiang, Yuan Mei and others took the art exam to prepare for the university entrance examination.

According to them, their test scores were pretty good and their rankings were quite high.

…

In April 1988, after half a year of preparations, the filming of "Red Sorghum" finally began.

Before filming started, Zhang Yimou specially invited dozens of farmers to plant more than 200 acres of sorghum on the Loess Plateau.

However, because farmers could not afford fertilizer and there was insufficient water, the sorghum seedlings were short and thin. Zhang Yimou asked Xiang Nan to bring two trucks of nitrogen fertilizer and put them into the sorghum fields.

Fire trucks were specially invited and flooded with water, so that the sorghum could grow thicker and stronger, meeting the requirements of filming.

In addition, before the filming started, Shi Ke was arranged by Zhang Yimou to experience life in the countryside of northern Shaanxi so that she could become more like a villager. This made Shi Ke suffer a lot and she wrote many times to Gong Li, Jin Lili, and Wu Yujuan.

complain.

He said that he might as well not be selected. In that case, he wouldn't have to suffer such foreign crimes.

But in Gong Li's view, she was clearly showing off.

"If she really doesn't want to do it, she can just run back to Beijing. Does Zhang Yimou still dare to kidnap someone?" she said to Xiang Nan.

"Okay, don't be jealous of her. You have me here, and I won't let you suffer." Xiang Nan comforted her with a smile.

Gong Li nodded after hearing this.

The national hit of "Desire" has made Xiang Nan almost the most popular screenwriter in the film and television industry. He said that if he can be popular, he will be popular, and she firmly believes this.

…

However, Xiang Nan said so, but it is not that easy to fulfill his promise.

The reason is that in the 1980s, the film industry was still firmly controlled by state-owned film studios. Private individuals were not allowed to make films at all, and even if they were made, they would not be released.

Because movies are now purchased and sold under a unified system, and the state is responsible for purchase and distribution. Therefore, there is no channel for the release of privately produced movies.

If Xiang Nan wants to support Gong Li, he can only arrange for her to play the heroine through connections. Naturally, it is not as satisfying as investing in the movie himself.

Besides, among current directors, there are very few who are as capable as Zhang Yimou. Xiang Nan doesn’t want to throw away good scripts and actors casually.

In this way, not only was his script was wasted, but Gong Li was also delayed. So Xiang Nan was also worried about how to make her famous.

Fortunately, Gong Li still has one year to graduate from college. Moreover, she is very confident in herself and does not ask questions every now and then. So overall, Xiang Nan's life is relatively carefree.

…

In the same month, the filming of "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo" officially started, starring Li Baotian, Zhang Guoli, Wang Gang and Deng Jie.

Li Baotian debuted in the 1980s and won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actor; Zhang Guoli was originally an actor at the Tianfu Repertory Theater, but came to Beijing in 1987 to develop, and starred with Ge You and Liang Tian in the movie "The Stubborn Master" adapted from Wang Tie's novel;

Wang Gang was originally an announcer and host, and his "Harbin at Night" became a smash hit. In the mid-1980s, he began to host the Spring Festival Gala again...

These leading actors were also recommended by Xiang Nan. Unlike Zhang Yimou's rejection, the Television Art Center attached great importance to Xiang Nan's opinions. After research, they decided to adopt his opinions, and the starring lineup was officially finalized.

In addition, Deng Jie recommended by Xiang Nan will play the heroine Xia Gege, Guo Xiaozhen will play Deng Jie's maid Yancui, Hou Changrong will play Liu Yong's friend Li Jing, and Gao Hongliang will play Hu Sheng, the eunuch beside Qianlong. As for another important female

The supporting role of Yin Hong is played by Shen Lin.

It can be considered that everyone has their own duties, which is a good thing for them.

…

In July 1988, the college entrance examination officially began.

Xiang Nan didn't pay too much attention and just wished Yuan Mei, Chen Naixu and Ouyang Fenqiang good grades in their exams.

Because he is also busy with his own affairs.

In July, Xiang Nan released "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", which became a hit again.

Today, the "Harry Potter" series has become a well-known IP in the field of European and American fantasy novels. In terms of popularity, it is even better than "The Lord of the Rings", "Tales of Earthsea", and "The Chronicles of Narnia".

After all, these three books were all written decades ago, so they are difficult for young readers to read. In comparison, the "Harry Potter" series is much easier to understand, so it is more popular.

Seeing that it is so popular, other companies are trying to find ways to capitalize on the popularity.

For example, some game companies hope to adapt it into a video game, some card companies hope to produce tabletop games, some comic companies hope to turn it into comics, and some animation companies hope to turn it into animation...

What makes Xiang Nan most excited is that the six major Hollywood film companies have also extended an olive branch to Xiang Nan, hoping to turn "Harry Potter" into a movie.

However, the price they offered was not very good, because in the 1980s, the major Hollywood film companies were not doing very well.

For example, Columbia was on the verge of bankruptcy and was acquired by Sony; Universal Pictures was also acquired by Panasonic in 1990; Fox Pictures was acquired by News Corporation in 1985; Paramount was acquired in 1993

Acquired by Viacom in year...

Therefore, despite the fact that the six major Hollywood brands are famous, in fact, most of them are now embroidered pillows. The cash they can withdraw is not even as good as Xiang Nando.

For this reason, Xiang Nan was not in a hurry to give them the film and television adaptation rights of the novel. Without decent special effects, the fantastic and magnificent magical world of "Harry Potter" cannot be filmed. A shoddy movie will have a negative impact on "Harry Potter".

》IP value will be damaged even more.

Therefore, after Xiang Nan considered it, he was still prepared to wait a few more years.

However, he agreed to all the requests from game companies, comic companies, and animation companies. Not only did he receive millions of huge licensing fees, but he also received a certain share of the profits in the future. It can be said to be very good.

And this is also thanks to Guan Xiaoguan.

It was because she returned to the United States, helped Xiang Nan find a brokerage company, and negotiated for him that she achieved such a good result. Otherwise, if she relied solely on Xiang Nan, even if she could get the money, a lot of energy would be wasted.

It is worth mentioning that Xiang Nan’s brokerage company is the famous CAA.

CAA was founded in 1975 by five unlucky guys who were fired from the William Morris Brokerage Company. At the beginning, the start-up capital was less than 10,000 yuan, and the only valuable thing was a second-hand car.

They started by acting as agents for the novel copyrights of writers. At that time, there were a lot of depressed and frustrated writers on the West Coast of the United States. No one read their novels, and their scripts could not be sold. Naturally, no economic companies were willing to deal with them.

So CAA saw the business opportunity and signed all these writers, taking the opportunity to control the film and television adaptation rights of their works.

Then they use their professional vision to select suitable works and recommend them to major film and television companies. They also take the opportunity to recommend their own artists to participate.

As a result, CAA's business slowly expanded and eventually became the most influential agency in Hollywood.
Chapter completed!