Chapter 36 A Trip to India
Sitting with George in a coffee shop in Mumbai, India, Lehmann stirred the blue mountain in front of him and took a sip. The rich coffee aroma mixed with a sweet aftertaste lingered between the tongue and teeth, making people unable to help Relax.
The passage of time was also slowed down by this lazy atmosphere. Half an hour passed, and the person to meet was long overdue.
I'm sorry, you two, I've been delayed for something. A middle-aged man approached and sincerely expressed his apology, polite and graceful.
Lyman looked up when he heard the words, and George said from the side, It's okay, we just arrived for a while.
The middle-aged man is wearing a traditional Indian collarless long-sleeved shirt with snorkels, light skin tone, not as dark as the average Indian, not tall, with a long face and a thin body, light brown curly hair, lips Slightly thicker, speaks fluent English with Indian regional characteristics.
Although there is a curry taste, communication is still no problem.
The middle-aged man immediately sat opposite Laiman, then turned to the waiter who followed him and said, A cup of Mandheling coffee, add a spoon of milk, no sugar, thank you.
This special appointment is naturally for the production of the film project Three Silly Troubles in Bollywood. The most difficult and most difficult thing for Lehmann to start this film is the survey of the location.
The entire film needs to be filmed in India, how to find a suitable venue, without the help of these local snakes, it is really difficult to carry out.
Moreover, there are still many unknown factors in the Indian region. What matters to pay attention to, whether it will touch the taboos of local people, or the matching of sets and costumes during shooting, are full of various uncertainties. Therefore, this must require the crew to have a middleman who is familiar with all aspects of affairs, a middleman who can communicate with the actors and build a bridge with the local government—that is, a middleman who obtains a permit for filming on the site; A successful middleman released in India.
In this way, it is undoubtedly the quickest and safest way to cooperate with local production and distribution veteran companies. In addition to their own strength, their connections and channels are also unmatched by those small companies.
The middle-aged man in front of him is the leader of the Indian film industry, a senior executive of Eros International Pictures.
The number of films produced by their company and the market results obtained each year are the first in India, and their control over the local area and even outside the Middle East and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia have important distribution channels, and through these to achieve Indian characteristics Cultural dissemination work.
Mumbai, India, is the headquarters of their company and home to Bollywood, India.
Let me introduce myself first, my name is Dijang Kumar, and I'm here to discuss this collaboration with the two of them. The middle-aged man who called himself Dijang Kumar took a sip of coffee and said immediately.
George.
Lyman.
After the two of them introduced each other, the three of them made a few more polite words, and the topic gradually entered the main topic.
Europa Pictures wants to work with us on this film, doesn't it? Dijan Kumar confirmed again.
Yes, we need to survey the scene in India and spend about a month of shooting life, but we are not familiar with this place. I hope your company can assist us in this filming. George saw Lehmann Without making a sound, he answered.
Dijan Kumar thought for a moment and said, What are the needs of the venue?
Most of the scenes took place on a university campus, and several B\u0026Bs were needed. This is the scene scouting requirement, you can take a look. George took out the scene scouting document from the film project information he brought, and handed it over to him. To Dijan Kumar.
Dijan Kumar took it and read it carefully.
Then he said: We can provide similar suitable places in these places, but what can our company gain from it?
Yes, what can Eros International Pictures get from this cooperation? Or what kind of benefit is worth their trouble, that's a real question.
But long before the connection, Lyman and George had come to an agreement, and even Europa Pictures knew what to pay.
In the commercial society, what can move people's hearts is of course the real benefits, and only in this way can people be persuaded to contribute.
The Indian distribution of this film will be taken over by your company, and our Europa Films only needs 40% of the revenue in all aspects. George said a good condition, of course, this is not their bottom line. Negotiation, of course, both parties must express their demands. How can they throw their trump cards at the beginning.
Calculated after deducting theater revenue and publicity costs?
No, no, the cost of publicity and distribution is borne by your company, and only the algorithm after deducting the theater share is calculated. George immediately denied it. This person is more greedy than he imagined, and also wants to deduct the cost of advertising. If this is not monitored, most of the profits in India will not go into your company's pockets. If you want to play this trick, of course it is impossible.
Okay, but your share must be reduced to 35% before our company can agree to cooperate. Dijan Kumar said in a business-like manner, with a calm expression on his face.
After George heard it, he pretended to be hesitant and struggled, lowered his head for a moment and pondered for a moment, and then forced a wink with Layman before he hesitantly said, No problem.
The bottom line given by them Europa Pictures is 30% of the share, as long as this line is not broken, the rest is easier to say.
Seeing the two agree, Dijan Kumar was obviously happy. He smiled and said, So, do you have a detailed shooting plan? Our company can appropriately help arrange the framing and production work.
Of course, we were prepared. George took out another document from the briefcase behind him and handed it to Dijan Kumar.
After getting an affirmative answer, Dijan Kumar didn't hesitate. After taking the document, he read it roughly.
After reading it, he didn't speak or move, but supported his chin with his right hand, as if he was lost in thought.
Lyman and George did not interrupt, and for a while, the three fell into a harmonious silence.
The curling aroma of coffee drifted away little by little, and the weight in the cup was also reduced little by little.
Finally, Dijan Kumar raised his eyes and asked with some doubts: Who is the director of this movie?
It's me. Lyman, who had been silent for a while, said.
After Dijang Kumar identified his target, although he doubted whether he could successfully direct the filming at his youth, it was not within his jurisdiction.
Their company is just a collaborator, not a real producer.
To be able to reasonably strive for benefits is what he cares most about.
He just saw the opportunity after he saw the filming plan and found that the casting work for the film was not complete.
Excuse me, do you have a target for the cast of this movie? Maybe our company can provide consultation.
Dijan Kumar looks like he is working on filming, but he actually wants to push the contracted actors of his company into this project.
In this way, it can not only provide performance opportunities for its artists, but also take the opportunity to expand the income of the actors. If the film is really good, and the actors who play the roles are from their company, there must be a lot of follow-up value development.
Lehman laughed and did not reject Dijan Kumar's kindness. Except for the choice of the protagonist Rancher, he had a fixed choice, and he didn't care much about the rest of the roles. And since Eros International Pictures is willing to provide suitable actor targets, it can be regarded as speeding up the filming of the film, which is what he cares about.
I want to start Aamir Khan as the protagonist, and there are no good choices for the rest of the roles.
As soon as Lehman opened his mouth, he surprised Dijon Kumar. With so many roles, he only had a fixed choice for the leading role, so there was a lot of room for manipulation.
Dijan Kumar looked at Lehman seriously and said, Our company knows many outstanding Indian actors in the industry, and we can also invite famous Bollywood movie stars, and we will definitely be able to select them for this film. The right person to play, what do you think?
Our shooting budget is limited, and we won't invite stars who are too expensive. This needs to be explained in advance.
The meaning of this sentence means that you can choose actors, but you can't waste shooting funds to hire big names, it is not affordable.
Dijan Kumar clearly understood the meaning, and he said, Don't worry, we can guarantee that we can select a very suitable candidate in all aspects.
Oh, yes, although I would like Aamir Khan to play the leading role, but I don't have his contact information. Can your company arrange it for you, or send a job application.
Dijon Kumar has already obtained permission from the actor, so naturally he doesn't think that Lehman's little trouble will get in the way, and he also said boldly: This actor has also worked with our company before, and I will invite him. The news of the performance will be notified to him, and you can leave a specific contact information.
Hearing this, George told Dijan Kumar the hotel number, and said: The audition location should be at your company headquarters. We have been living in a hotel in Mumbai for the past few days, and we have no preparations for this.
No problem at all.
Afterwards, the three of them had a series of goodbye conversations, politely saying goodbye to Dijan Kumar.
Layman sat back in his seat lazily and breathed a sigh of relief. He finally found a local production company to assist in the filming of the film. With their strength, it would be much better.