Who says Beijing Film Academy has no great directors? (2002)

Chen Yan did not place all his bets on the investors Qiao Liang found for him, but instead thought of weaving GG into GG.

When it comes to product placement in movies, Feng Xiaogang can be considered an expert. In 04, his film "A World Without Thieves" had a production cost of 5700 million yuan, and the revenue from product placement alone reached 4000 million yuan, which means that most of the cost was recovered before the film was even released.

With "If You Are the One," the phenomenon spread even further, and the show even had to apologize multiple times for including too many male characters in the film.

Soft advertising is more easily accepted by the audience than hard advertising.

So after thinking it over, Chen Yan decided on a few product categories. For example, the high-end wedding planning job that Huang Xiaoxian joined in the show could be directly advertised, and all the alcoholic beverages in the show could be used as soft advertisements without affecting the plot.

So on this day, Chen Yan met with BJ Jinyuan Wedding Company. The person who came was a middle-aged man wearing a suit and glasses.

"Hello Director Chen, I am Xiang Ming, the general manager of Jinyuan."

Chen Yan naturally reached out and shook hands with Xiang Ming, saying politely, "Hello, Manager Xiang. This meeting was rather rushed, I hope you don't mind."

When Xiang Ming heard on the phone that it was a movie with a budget of 700 million, he was quite interested. However, when he saw Director Chen himself, he was still a little worried. Could Chen Yan, who was so young, make a good movie?

But after a few words, Xiang Ming calmed down. The director was very methodical in his speech and actions, and was not at all rigid or stage-frightened.

"Director Chen, this script is quite interesting. I wonder how you plan to introduce our company in the script?"

The script Chen Yan handed him was only a part of the script; most of it consisted of scenes featuring the female lead at the company.

"My idea is to fully integrate your company into the movie, essentially giving the female lead's company its name. Of course, only if the movie becomes a hit will the product placement be seen by more people, so I won't do this at the expense of the movie's smoothness."

Chen Yan went around in circles, but the only idea he wanted to express was that the inserted GG wouldn't take up a lot of space.

Xiang Ming pursed his lips and pondered for a moment, then turned to ask about something else.

"Director Chen seems quite young, right? Is this your first film?"

Chen Yan stated very frankly, "Yes, I am currently studying at the Beijing Film Academy, and this film will be created under the guidance of my instructors at the academy."

If we don't use the Beijing Film Academy's reputation now, when will we?

Sure enough, upon hearing the last sentence, the conflicted look on Xiang Ming's face lessened somewhat.

At that time, the era of blockbuster movies in China had just begun, and inserting GG into movies was still a very fashionable thing.

Xiang Ming was decisive and said directly, "In that case, I think this project is fine and we can invest."

Chen Yan's lips curled up slightly.

The two chatted for a while, and Chen Yan assured that there would be several full shots in the final cut showing the full name of the female lead's company.

In the end, Xiang Ming invested 20 yuan and wedding dresses and other props, and the two signed a contract on the spot.

The next day, Chen Yan spent all his time meeting with liquor merchants. Yanjing Beer and Budweiser rejected him outright as soon as they heard that the director was an unknown figure.

In the end, Chen Yan arranged to meet Bacardi Breezer, one of the earliest premixed rums to enter the Chinese market, even earlier than the later wildly popular RIO. Moreover, RIO had once imitated Breezer's packaging and positioning.

However, RIO in 02 was still in its infancy, so it was directly rejected by Chen Yan.

During the conversation, Chen Yan talked at length about marketing, directly copying the advice: "We can release a 'slightly tipsy' series to complement the movie marketing. The main characters in the movie are all urban white-collar workers, and this product has a low alcohol content, which should bring a touch of novelty to the urban white-collar workers in Beijing."

"Of course, the price can't be too low, otherwise it won't reflect the high-end feel of premixed cocktails."

These words left the person in charge of Bingrui stunned.

The head of Bingrui shook Chen Yan's hand in return: "Director Chen, you are truly a marketing genius. The 'Slightly Tipsy' series is so well-described, it perfectly aligns with our production philosophy."

Chen Yan said with a smile, "I hope that the movie and Bingrui will ignite the entire city of Beijing, and that we can make a great comeback together."

These words brought tears to the eyes of the person in charge of Bingrui. Currently, their products are still mainly sold in places like nightclubs and bars.

It's fair to say that he hasn't even opened up the domestic market, but now he feels that an opportunity might be coming.

Thus, the person in charge of Bingrui enthusiastically finalized the million-dollar GG fee, and repeatedly emphasized that Bingrui had already recouped its investment based on Chen Yan's brief guidance.

Even Chen Yan, a seasoned veteran, started to feel embarrassed. Just how long had Bingrui been silent?

This leaves only 220 million yuan for script investment.

Just then, Qiao Liang called him.

"Is Chen Yan at school?"

Chen Yan replied, "Teacher, I'm at school."

Qiao Liang then asked, "Is the script finished?"

"I've finished writing, teacher."

Chen Yan received the copyright certificate yesterday, so he can now confidently release the complete script.

Qiao Liang was relieved. "Okay, then come to the coffee shop near the school gate in an hour. I'll introduce you to someone."

Chen Yan agreed, got out of bed and stretched. Whether the investment could be completed immediately depended on this one shrug.

Chen Yan walked into the coffee shop, mentioned Qiao Liang's name, and someone led him to the innermost private room.

There were only two people inside: one was Qiao Liang, and the other was probably the investor Qiao Liang had found for himself.

"Chen Yan, come here. This is my good friend, Bi Shulin, who is now the deputy general manager of Changchun Film Group and in charge of film and television production."

Chen Yan was stunned when he heard the name: Changying?

Chen Yan immediately realized what was happening and reached out his hand, saying, "Hello, Uncle Bi!"

Bi Shulin was clearly taken aback for a moment, but he immediately shook hands with him back. "You're a promising young man, Old Qiao. Your student is quite something."

Qiao Liang chuckled. "This is a monkey. See, as soon as it heard you were my friend, it immediately jumped on the bandwagon."

Chen Yan chuckled twice.

Qiao Liang glanced at Chen Yan and said, "Let's sit down and talk."

Chen Yan immediately took a seat and then handed his script to Bi Shulin with both hands.

"Please correct me, Uncle Bi."

Bi Shulin took the script and nodded: "Hmm, let me take a look."

Although his friend praised the script highly, he was still not entirely reassured, since the other person was still a student.

Bi Shulin is very serious when reading scripts, which is somewhat similar to how Teacher Qiao Liang reads scripts. They are both very engrossed in their work. When they see a funny scene, they only slightly smile, and their smile is not obvious.

Therefore, Chen Yan was not entirely confident. He had heard of Changchun Film Studio, one of the six major state-owned film groups in China and the predecessor of a long-established film studio. Most importantly, Changchun Film Studio's previous films were all red-themed.

He really couldn't be sure if his lighthearted, youthful chick flick would win over Bi Shulin.

Qiao Liang pointed to the snacks on the table: "Have something to eat, and Lao Bi won't be distracted when he's reading the script."

In Qiao Liang's view, there is an 80% chance that this collaboration will succeed. First, the script is excellent enough, and his student is steady enough. Second, Changchun Film Studio is currently undergoing a difficult transformation.

It even suggests that if they can't go any further, everything will fall apart.

Chen Yan had no choice but to pick up the snacks on the table and eat them a few times, and before he knew it, his mood had calmed down.

More than half an hour later, Bi Shulin slowly put down the script.

"OK!"

With those words, Chen Yan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

Bi Shulin looked at Qiao Liang: "Old Qiao, your student is quite something. At such a young age, his writing is mature, and the plot is full of twists and turns. I think this is something we can do."

Qiao Liang readily accepted the praise: "See? I wasn't exaggerating. Don't let my status as a sophomore fool you; I'm incredibly talented. I don't see this type of film on the market yet. If it's well-made, it might really shake up the market."

Bi Shulin made a decisive and straightforward decision, displaying a touch of the straightforwardness typical of Northeasterners:

Changchun Film Studio has invested in this project!