The last issue of "Xiangjiang Style Story" tells the business story of the legendary businessman Ye Zhiming in the 1980s.
received many comments from readers, hoping to talk in detail about the colorful film company. At the party, there were Liang Yanling, Lin Fan, Huang Baoxin, Xu Qiuyi, Wang Shuqi, and Li Jianda; time flies, and the stories of the past are vivid, but the waves in the heart are already calm. The tolerance and open-mindedness given by the years are the old people in the photos. On the face, I saw a few moments.
remember the ups and downs of the colorful film company
film circle is a nest of rumors. Rumor is a derogatory term, and it also has the meaning of misunderstanding and beyond reality. But the same [nothing in the ground, not necessarily without cause], for outsiders who want to know the truth. Rumors can be regarded as one of the ways to scrutinize the truth. During the years when Binbin showed its strengths, rumors can be said to be rampant. As long as you are in the shadow circle, you will be more or less troubled by various rumors about Binbin. .
Today, when Binbin has gradually lost its influence in the film industry, many rumors have become official. Binbin's success or failure combined these rumors. Since Binbin's public statements have also been inaccurate, the authenticity of the rumors must be taken seriously, especially for outsiders. These behind-the-scenes news may not be the first-hand information, and may be distorted through oral transmission by multiple people. But to a certain extent they also reflect some aspects of the facts.
This article reports the rise and fall of Binbin in the film industry from this perspective. Some of the author's information is first-hand, and some are from legends.
, as a screenwriter for the movie "Jumping Ash", and participated in the production and behind-the-scenes work of music. The realistic description of the police in this film is different from the previous Hong Kong movies. It is regarded as the first Hong Kong police and criminal film. It set a record of breaking through the 1 million Hong Kong dollar box office within three days. It was called "Hong Kong New Wave" in that era. The movie] is a pioneer. In 1976, at the invitation of the owner of the film, Ye Zhiming, and with the encouragement of Xu Guanwen, Chen resigned from the police force and worked full-time in acting career development.
Binbin, at the peak of the film industry, should be 1997 The second half of the nine years is also the most beautiful period of Binbin in the Lisheng Cinema.
Hong Kong’s Chinese-language theaters, apart from the Shaw Theaters only filming films produced by their own companies, Golden Harvest Theaters and Lisheng Theaters are other independent production companies and film distribution companies arranging film release matters. Binbin has made a little money since he invested in filming [Jumping Ash], which made Ye Zhiming, who has always been only devoted to the clothing industry, have unlimited ambitions for movies, so he invested heavily in the international film [Fox].
was a very clever idea to start making international films on this subject. Because the biggest dilemma in Hong Kong film production is that it must be able to sell to the port in order to make a balance. Take "Jumping Ash" as an example. Because of the pure Hong Kong taste, Taiwan and Southeast Asia are not interested in movies of this type. The region attaches great importance to the cast, although it is a hit in Hong Kong. However, after deducting the huge advertising expenditures and more than 60% of the movie theaters’ accounts, there is very little left over from seven to eight deductions. At this time, you have to rely on copyright income from other cities.
He Jiaju’s film path should have started with Ye Zhiming’s Binbin Film Co., Ltd. During this period, he was completely behind-the-scenes work. In 1976, he was the assistant director of "Jumping Ash" directed by Liang Puzhi and Xiao Fangfang. The second deputy director filmed "Flying Fox" directed by Liang Puzhi. In 1978, he filmed "Emperor Brown" directed by Yan Hao as the producer and deputy director. In 1979, he filmed the film directed by Yu Rentai and Chen Xinjian as a screenwriter and producer. Inside the Wall and Outside the Wall" and planned "Pointing to the Soldiers" directed by Zhang Guoming. The evening scene was bleak and died in Hong Kong a few years ago.
So Binbin invited foreign stars to perform [Fox Frame]. This is an opportunity to break the difficulties of selling ports. There are foreign celebrities, the international selling price can be increased, and locally, it also constitutes a good box office effect. However, the concept may not be in harmony with the facts. The Hong Kong film industry, which has always been considered a wicked one, seems to be very picky about the films co-operated with China and foreign countries. So far, no film company with Chinese and Western actors has achieved an ideal box office record in Hong Kong.
[Fox Frame] The income is good, but it can’t keep up with the huge production fee. During this time, the film industryIt was said that Bin Binwei is not going to drop. The capital flow is not working well, and HSBC has acquired 82% of the shares. The rumor of this acquisition has been an interesting mystery for three years from the time when the film was released by [Fox] to Binbin's abandonment of Lianhua Cinema. News keeps coming out, and it is more like the truth every time, but it is disintegrated by Bin Bin's silence time and time again.
But this rumor has led to another fact that the acquired Binbin is only Binbin Fashion Company, the owner behind the investment in filmmaking at that time. Ye Zhiming, who was troubled by the rumors of the acquisition, in order to protect Binbin's film development interests, another Binbin film company was formed to enter the film industry as a sole proprietorship. This is when the Binbin Fashion Company and the film company officially separated. But Mr. Ye has always been in charge of the fashion company and fully supported the new movie released by the film company. (The legend of HSBC's acquisition was proved to be inaccurate.)
At this time, Binbin was determined to develop film distribution and advertising.
Insider about the seizure of distribution rights and advertising interests
For some unknown reason, Binbin and the gentlemen of the Golden Harvest Cinemas are not too bitter, so there is a saying that the Golden Harvest Cinemas will never be featured in Binbin movies. Obviously, the Lisheng theater line has become Binbin's goal of developing film distribution.
Lisheng Cinema is undoubtedly a weaker line than Shaw Cinemas or Jiahe Cinemas. The main reason is that the location and number of theaters are insufficient. On the other hand, the principals of the theaters are pure businessmen, and spend most of their time in real estate, gold speculation, stocks and other businesses, and have little interest in theater operations. Over time, power gradually fell into the hands of some subordinates. Bin Bin saw the weaknesses of Lisheng Cinemas and began to build a base for his film distribution in Lisheng Cinemas by crowdfunding.
started in mid-1979. Bin Bin successively created box office miracles in Lai Sheng Cinemas, and it became very popular for a while; even some Western film theaters began to make frequent contacts due to Bin Bin’s repeated victories in Lai Sheng Cinemas, which expanded Bin Bin’s Distribution network.
Liang Yanling and Ye Zhiming co-founded the "Fittu" company, which was one of the largest karaoke disc production companies in the country at that time. It was his last battle in Hong Kong. He started his career in the early 1990s by producing karaoke laser discs and later assisted Ye Zhiming's son who took care of Feitu died in a traffic accident. He sold the company to businessman Yang Shoucheng in the late 1990s.
For outsiders, every movie has seen the six words [Bin Bin honorary release], and they think that Bin Bin really has a way, so they come to their door and ask the agency to distribute the film they shot, which is produced in Taiwan. Most of the movies. It turns out that the Hong Kong theaters are about to show a movie. The chance of success in selection is very subtle.
First of all, if it is a film produced by the production department of the theater itself, it is not a problem to schedule the movie; some independent distribution companies that have a close interest in the theater can also get some good schedules; and have the right. The person who decides the schedule is often the release manager of the theater. In other words, if you can get through the release manager level, your chances of film release will be particularly improved.
Binbin's ability to show films on the Lisheng Cinema line naturally means that Binbin has a method. As for the method to use to open up the Lisheng Cinema line, it is not the trade secret that this article is willing to elaborate on.
However, Binbin’s [publishing] sign is actually a misnomer.
Because Binbin did not carry out the distribution work on behalf of some films at all, it is often a film that has already been scheduled, and Binbin sponsors TV advertising fees in exchange for the addition of a sentence [published by Binbin Company]. Said that suddenly a company was willing to pay a TV advertising fee of 30,000 yuan, and of course it was willing to accept it. As for who issued it, it doesn't matter to them.
But for Binbin, it is just right. Because of the conditions for Binbin to broadcast TV commercials for free, one of them is to request that Binbin be responsible for the advertising of the film. Whether it is profitable to engage in propaganda work for the film, you must ask experts.
You may wonder whether it is worthwhile for Binbin to trade expensive TV advertising time for such rights. I just want to make one point here: don’t forget that the contract between Binbin and the TV station is an annual contract, which not only has discounts, but also has better advertising time; plus the clothing company’s business is not as good as before, and advertising fees must be reduced. Extremely, the reserved advertising space is just reimbursed by some videos. This approach can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
because. TV broadcast provided by BinbinAfter reporting time and excessive publicity fees, the film went to Binbin, and the box office was higher than budgeted. As a result, outside film owners began to believe that Binbin is a methodical film distribution agency. In addition to film distribution in theaters, it also has excellent publicity techniques, and every film must be released.
Ye Zhiming, the former "Feitu" boss, faced bankruptcy due to debts, and was taken to court by the debtor, Emperor Group. Ye Yuqing and Ye Zhiming are brothers and sisters. "When I was very young, I have heard from my elder brother that he has a dream and hopes to have a Disney in China. He has not given up and tried his last bit to do a good job in Photool Studios. I admire him very much and believe him always One day you can get up again." This is Ye Yuqing's sincere support for her brother.
But the film owners who have traded with Binbin, all complained. For example, a Taiwanese action movie with a revenue of more than 1.2 million yuan, the film owner has to pay for it. It turns out that Binbin stated in the advertising contract that they have the right to decide to increase or decrease the advertising costs due to the trend of the film.
Therefore, regardless of whether the film is trending well or badly, you can have an excuse to increase the promotion cost. The result is the promotion cost, sometimes as high as one-third or one-fourth of the film box office. After the film owner deducts theater discounts and copies, You have to pay extra advertising fees, and the gains outweigh the losses, just as the Cantonese saying goes "Good looking, not good food".
But for Binbin, it can get a good box office record, a good reputation and the convenience of continuing to operate in this way. In exchange for the propaganda value of the word [publishing] in this form of sponsorship, Taiwan filmmakers have a different view of Binbin. During this period of time, Bin Bin used this method to lobby a certain western film theater and Shaw theaters, and eventually obtained the [distribution rights] for several movies. Those who don't know the insider also think that Binbin's magical powers are so great that it can call the wind and rain on a certain western movie theater line and the Shaw theater line.
In fact, it has emerged in the movie circle, and means are necessary. The problem is not to overdo it, otherwise it will create a crisis. This is the failure of Binbin.
A recent photo of Ye Zhiming after entering the empty door
