Rebirth 1979: Hunting wild boars and saving educated youth

Jennifer made an appointment with Chen Feng to discuss film investment.

Ever since the last Dodgers derby celebration in Los Angeles, Jennifer has been looking for an opportunity to contact Chen Feng, and this time she finally got an appointment with him.

As soon as Jennifer entered the room, a warm smile appeared on her face, and she greeted Chen Feng cheerfully: "Dear Chen, I finally see you again!"

Then she turned to Ning Yao and gave her a warm hug.

The moment these two beauties hugged each other, the whole cafe seemed to be lit up.

I have to say that this is the peak period of Jennifer's beauty. Her exquisite face and charming temperament are eye-catching.

There is a classic scene in "Once Upon a Time in America" ​​when Deborah, played by Jennifer Connelly, is dancing and "Noodles" peeks at her through a small hole.

Deborah's beauty and elegant posture in this scene are unforgettable to many people!

Jennifer introduced the old man who came with her to Chen Feng. He was the famous director Sergio Leone. She said, "Chen Feng, this is director Sergio Leone."

This director is no ordinary person. He is a famous Italian film director, screenwriter, and producer. Although his works are few in number, they are of extremely high quality and have had a profound impact on the film industry. For example, the famous "A Fistful of Dollars" is from this director!

Chen Feng did not dare to neglect and greeted him politely: "Director Leone, I have long heard of your name. Your works are considered classics in the film industry." Sergio took off his hat and placed it in front of his chest in a calm manner.

Jennifer cleverly pulled Ning Yao to sit with her.

Then they talked about the script.

The film "Once Upon a Time in America" ​​revolves around the growth of "Noodles" and his friends. The story begins in the Jewish community of New York in the 1920s. "Noodles" and several of his friends wandered the streets, experiencing love, betrayal, crime and revenge.

They amassed wealth through bootlegging during the Prohibition era, but this also led to endless conflict. Deborah was Noodles's true love, but due to a twist of fate, they were never together. Through the interweaving of memory and reality, the film reveals the social landscape and the complexity of human nature during that era.

Chen Feng knew that this movie was definitely a good movie and would leave its name in film history. Many Hong Kong gangster films that followed actually carried traces of the American past. In addition, its filming techniques also influenced many later movies.

Not to mention Hollywood, in China, "Sunny Days" directed by Jiang Wen was inspired by America's past.

In addition, Edward Yang's "A Brighter Summer Day" also borrowed the narrative style and themes of "Once Upon a Time in America".

But Chen Feng was still hesitant, because this good movie was actually a money-losing movie. It was said that it only recovered one-sixth of the investment, and it lost so much money that even his mother didn't recognize him!

Chen Feng was thinking about how to refuse. Even though he didn't have his own investment, the film could still be made in the end, and he wouldn't have any regrets. So there was no need for him to throw money into it. His money didn't come from the wind.

Just as he was about to refuse, Ning Yao suddenly spoke up, "I really like this script!"

Chen Feng was stunned. "Do you like this script?"

Ning Yao was very excited: "Yes! The interweaving of friendship and betrayal, sin and redemption in this script reminds me of many famous foreign literary works, like The Count of Monte Cristo, which also seeks the redemption of the soul through revenge and forgiveness; and The Great Gatsby, where behind the prosperity lies endless loneliness and betrayal."

She flipped through the script and continued, "The characters in this script are very emotionally delicate and profound, depicting the complex and multifaceted nature of human nature. If we film it in a realistic style, truly presenting the vicissitudes of time and the characters' inner struggles and helplessness, it will surely resonate deeply with the audience."

Ning Yao's words stunned everyone present.

The great director Sergio Leone's eyes suddenly lit up and he looked at Ning Yao with great interest. He had found many investors for this movie, but this was the first time he had seen someone so knowledgeable and able to talk about the essence of the movie. He immediately became interested in Ning Yao.

Chen Feng was also a little shocked. He had seen the movie, but if he hadn't, it would be impossible for him to have such a feeling based on the script alone in such a short time.

Awesome! It shows that Ning Yao is very talented in this area!

Chen Feng swallowed the words of refusal that were about to come out of his mouth, and began to rethink the possibility of investing in this movie.

"Director, what is the total budget of this movie?" Chen Feng asked.

Sergio answered without hesitation: "Forty-five million is best, but the minimum cannot be less than thirty million!"

Hearing this number, Chen Feng couldn't help but jump in shock, thinking to himself: "This is not Hua Yuan, this is US dollars!"

He picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and tried to calm himself down before asking, "Isn't that I'm the only investor? How big is the gap?"

Sergio crossed his arms and said confidently, "No, of course not. There are many investors interested in my film, and the current investment amount is 20 million US dollars..." "Well, the actual investment amount has already been paid in 8 million."

"If the 20 million is fully in place, we can start filming without waiting for follow-up funding and look for investment as we go. I hope to solve the funding problem in the United States. Otherwise, I can easily raise tens of millions of dollars with just a trip to Europe."

Chen Feng secretly complained in his heart: "That's quite a bold statement, worthy of being a great director. I wonder who the original investor of this movie is? European or American? It's unlucky for them."

As I thought about it, I calculated silently in my mind, and the more I calculated, the more I felt that this investment was a huge loss.

The current exchange rate of the US dollar to the Chinese yuan is not around 1:7 or 1:8 as it will be in the future. Now one US dollar can be exchanged for about two to three Chinese yuan.

If he wants to fill the gap, it will probably cost him 30 million yuan, which is not a small amount.

He could earn several times or even dozens of times the profit from sponsoring the Olympics through advertising, but investing in this movie would be a pure loss!

If it were any other director, he could still do some product placement in the movie, but with a conservative Italian old man like Sergio, it would be absolutely impossible!

While he was racking his brains, Sergio and Ning Yao were chatting animatedly and were getting along very well.

Sergio asked curiously, "Ning, you used to study literature in China. Why did you come to the United States to study some bullshit economics? If you're willing, I can recommend that you switch to the film major."

Ning Yao was stunned. "Am I going to study film? Where?"

“You have a School of Theater, Film, and Television at UCLA, TFT. I can recommend you go there!”

Hearing this, Ning Yao's eyes lit up instantly.