In mid-April 1985, director Yang Jie returned from Japan.
This well-traveled female director only made one trip back to her home in Beijing.
There was no time to meet with the crew and arrange follow-up filming work.
She was so impatient the next day that she took the deputy director and some information to the Temple of Heaven Park to meet with Ning Weimin.
After all, we have to discuss co-organizing an exhibition, and since the venue is going to be located here, it is the most convenient place to discuss it.
The director and deputy director of the Temple of Heaven personally came forward to warmly receive Ning Weimin.
They are all happy people, and everyone is quite busy. Besides, except Ning Weimin, no one else has any business acumen.
So in the presence of gongs and drums, Ning Weimin gave his general idea of how to organize the exhibition, and then took Yang Jiehe to Nan Shen Kitchen, which was under renovation, to have a look at the venue.
The matter was almost settled on the spot.
It can't be said that it was rash, but Ning Weimin's idea was really too thoughtful, and it was too cost-effective for either party.
First of all, Ning Weimin grasped the core issue of the "Journey to the West" crew's urgent need for funds.
He and the Temple of Heaven Garden had a tacit understanding and jointly made a promise that the "Journey to the West" crew would not bear any cost risks.
As long as tickets are sold for this exhibition, one-third of the money goes to the crew.
This means that once a cooperation is reached, no matter whether Pierre Cardin and the Temple of Heaven Park lose money or not, the crew will definitely not lose money and will get money.
And the income is very transparent. Based on the current average daily attendance of the Temple of Heaven, which is 35,000, the trial price of tickets is 1.5 yuan.
As long as one-tenth of the tourists are willing to visit every day, the crew can earn more than 50,000 yuan in income every month.
That's 700,000 yuan a year, and the money will continue to flow from now on.
To catch up with other cultural activities in the Temple of Heaven, I am afraid the number will surge, perhaps double, and it is possible to reach millions a year.
In addition, Ning Weimin also promised to give Yang Jie an advance payment of 200,000 yuan, and previously promised the deputy director 180,000 yuan.
The 380,000 yuan received in advance is enough for the "Journey to the West" crew to meet their urgent needs and shoot two and a half more episodes.
How could Yang Jie not be tempted?
Secondly, the venue provided by the Temple of Heaven Garden is also really good.
Nan Shen Chu and Bei Shen Chu are about the same size, with rooms and courtyards covering several hundred square meters, so the space is definitely enough.
And since October 1984, Nanshen Kitchen has been under construction.
The repairs so far are just interior decoration work, which can be completed in a month.
Especially when Ning Weimin and the Temple of Heaven Gardeners jointly planned to set up Nan Shen Chu as a book club and a teahouse.
The decoration is naturally old-fashioned and elegant.
As long as professional lighting is installed, it will be a top-notch exhibition hall.
In addition, in order to place Gu Si'er here and let him raise fish, fish ponds were built in the house and courtyard.
It adds more vitality to the place, which is a bit like a dragon palace.
Finally, Ning Weimin and the Temple of Heaven Park have unique resources and rich experience in operating cultural activities.
Don’t forget, Ning Weimin and Temple of Heaven Park have successfully held sculpture art exhibitions, Chinese New Year garden parties and summer book fairs.
These three cultural activities are well-known in Beijing.
In particular, Ning Weimin has a close and profound relationship in the industrial art industry and the two art schools in Beijing.
He described it to Director Yang, saying that as for the costumes, he didn't want to display them rigidly. He just hung the costumes on the wall and that was it.
He wanted to discuss it with the Sculpture Department and the Puppet Theater Troupe of the Academy of Fine Arts to see if they could come up with some dynamic display methods.
Even manual operation is better than dead objects.
Even if it really doesn't work, at the very least, you have to make a wooden or wax figure according to the actor's appearance, and then put on the clothes.
Listen, how big of a deal this is.
It remains to be seen whether this idea can be successfully realized.
At least when I first heard about it, I realized that this was not just a random thing. They had some ideas and had to spend a lot of money. They really wanted to make the exhibition a success.
In addition, Zhai Palace and Beishen Chu Banquet Hall are the most vivid business operation models.
In front of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the costume rental business for the two plays "Burning the Old Summer Palace" and "The Government Behind the Curtain" is also booming.
The big bundles were stuffed into the cash box one after another, which made Yang Jie very happy.
Then can she still disbelieve Ning Weimin? Does she still think that Ning Weimin is bragging?
To put it bluntly, Pierre Cardin and Tiantan Park, one the most famous foreign businessman and the other a local park in the capital, have fully guaranteed reputations.
Moreover, it is powerful, well-known, experienced and full of sincerity.
Yang Jie, who had to worry about funds every day, did not trust them and did not regard them as life-saving straw.
So when we finally had a reception at Tan Palace, the matter became settled.
Even the responsibilities of both parties have been divided, and supplementary conditions have been negotiated regarding meals.
It's roughly like this. All commercial operations and capital investment, as well as exhibition construction work, are the responsibility of Pierre Cardin and the Temple of Heaven.
The crew of "Journey to the West" only provides exhibition materials and provides necessary consultation and technical guidance for the exhibition content.
In terms of time schedule, it is expected to start at the end of May, but after May Day, the crew can deliver the props and costumes by car.
After that, they will be delivered as needed, and Tiantan Park will be responsible for receiving and placing them.
This even includes animals that have appeared in TV series.
For example, the white dragon horse that was painted with brown horses at the beginning, the rabbit in Chang'e's arms, and the monsters and monsters that later showed their true colors.
As long as they are not ferocious beasts or poisonous insects, but are docile and cute, you can send them to the Temple of Heaven Park. There is a zoo here.
What Yang Jie and the crew need to do most is actually sorting out text and photos.
It would be best to provide some behind-the-scenes stories and evidence of hard life and difficult filming.
Ning Weimin planned to get it to a photo agency for enlargement processing, as this is the easiest material to impress the audience.
In addition, in order to create realistic sculptures and wax figures to display the costumes, the crew also needs the main actors to put on their costumes.
By the way, we took photos of the front, back, and sides of these actors' faces and whole bodies for use by the Sculpture Department of the Academy of Fine Arts.
Furthermore, I just hope that the crew can provide some latest clips.
Ning Weimin plans to set up TVs and video recorders in Nanshen Kitchen to play them in a loop, so that the content can be updated in time and be more attractive to tourists.
As for director Yang Jie, director Yang Jie was asked to use the pine forest in the Temple of Heaven to shoot a scene during the journey of the four masters and apprentices.
After the exhibition was set up, the main cast members of the crew were invited to visit the Temple of Heaven, eat at the Temple of Heaven, and see the Nan Shen Chef live.
Then we took photos at several places as a souvenir.
They are all trivial matters that should be taken for granted.
In fact, it's not even a request. Yang Jie also understands that as long as it helps sell tickets for the exhibition, it is equivalent to helping herself.
What's rare is that someone has thought of everything for him, planned it out, and handled everything so flawlessly. All he has to do is follow the instructions and cooperate, and he can almost sit back and enjoy the results.
So at this time, if someone said that they could introduce a better partner to Yang Jie, even if they were willing to give Yang Jie one million, Yang Jie would not change his mind.
Because in Yang Jie's heart, it is no longer a matter of more money and less money. The key is to find reliable people to handle the matter.
What she valued more was that Ning Weimin was reliable in his work and had both ability and political integrity. Only with such a partner could she rest assured.
So at the end of the dinner, when Yang Jie took the initiative to toast Ning Weimin and thanked him, she jokingly said to him.
"Manager Xiao Ning, our crew is in short supply of talents like you. If I hadn't known that I couldn't afford to pay you, I would have hired you to be the production director. This would have saved me another headache. What a pity, we
The salary of the six-year-old boy who plays the monkey in the crew is only 70 yuan a month, and the total of the four masters and apprentices is less than 300 yuan. I really can't afford to hire you. Oh, what a pity."
The deputy director also took advantage of Ning Weimin's army.
"That's right, if Manager Ning is willing to come, I will definitely be convinced and let you be my leader. I will be relaxed. What about, Manager Ning, can you give up your high salary?"
However, Ning Weimin was not allowed to be humble. At this time, the principal smiled and said again.
"Hey, Director Yang, I'm a little unhappy. This is poaching. It's too damaging to unity. There's nothing we can do about Manager Xiao Ning returning to their head office now. All our employees in the park are looking forward to him.
He can still come back. If you want to recruit people, you have to ask us if we agree. Not to mention your production director, if he is willing to come to our park, I will report to my superiors and ask him to take over my shift.
I'm going to retire. Can you still compete with an old man like me?"
This time, it was like putting Ning Weimin on the fire.
No matter how crazy he was, he didn't dare to respond to these words, so he could only take turns toasting, feeling ashamed.
Originally, he wanted to tell Yang Jie that once the exhibition was launched, he could consider raising the wages of the crew and adding another camera, but he thought it over.
After thinking about it, it was really a shame that I didn't say anything. Not only did I look frivolous, it would also be like ruining my own business.
It would be better if we didn’t add a camera, so what’s the point of finishing the filming quickly?
Serialization is the only way to maintain popularity.
If we shoot slowly, I think the crew will be able to shoot thirty episodes if they have the money, and it won't be until 1990.
Once he has enough props and costumes and becomes familiar with the exhibition operations, he will also organize a nationwide tour.
Now that such a big IP is in his hands, he has the right time, right place, right people and everyone.
If he didn't earn 10 million, it would be a disgrace to the time-travelers.