Chapter 36

Hu Wenhui declined the Irish coffee that Scott offered and ordered a cappuccino instead.

At this moment, he, along with film director Scott and producer Badala, were already sitting in the café of a hotel in Manhattan, New York.

"Mr. Hu, could you talk about the specific details of your F-14 model?" Scott asked, somewhat curiously.

"Of course, no problem." Hu Wenhui took out a stack of photos from his backpack and placed them in front of the two men, saying, "My model aircraft uses a small turbojet engine as its power source. As you can see, this F-14 model is a highly realistic replica, with every detail meticulously crafted to match the original. One particularly important point is that because of its ample internal space, we can even place a camera in its cockpit."

"Oh, that's very important!" Scott's eyes lit up, clearly surprised. Shooting aerial combat scenes had always been a challenge for him. In the original history, because cameras couldn't maintain stability on fighter jets, handheld cameras had to be used. If the camera could be installed in the model aircraft's cockpit, that would be great!

"Besides, this model aircraft can transmit video signals in real-time to a nearby receiver..."

Hu Wenhui thoroughly introduced all the features and characteristics of the F-14 model aircraft he had in his hands. Now, Scott and Badala were not just interested; they were practically determined to have it.

"Alright, Mr. Hu." It was Badala, the producer of TOPGUN, who spoke. He took off his glasses and said, "Your little gadget is truly amazing. The only question now is, how much does it cost?"

"Oh, here's our price list. You can take a look."

Hu Wenhui placed an English-printed list in front of Scott, detailing the charges for various accessories and processing requirements.

Seeing such a document, Scott was slightly taken aback and asked, "Oh, let me see. This is quite professional. Ha ha, if I didn't know we were talking about model aircraft, I would have thought we were negotiating with a Grumman salesperson."

"As a model aircraft enthusiast, I must say, Hu, you have a real talent for business!" Badala gave a thumbs up after glancing at the list.

"Oh, I think there's a misunderstanding." Hu Wenhui then took out two business cards and placed them in front of the two men, smiling. "Let me introduce myself again. This F-14 model aircraft is not my personal work. Technically, I have full rights to it, but the manufacturer is the Bohai Huaguang Precision Machinery Factory in China. We can customize jet model aircraft of all current aircraft according to customer needs."

"Oh, I've never heard of such a product. You're a Chinese company? So, Hu, you're Chinese!" Scott looked at Hu Wenhui with great surprise, as if he had never seen him before.

This was not surprising. In those days, few people came from China to the United States, and they were even less noticeable in such a vast country. Moreover, doing business in the United States was even more novel to Americans.

At least from Scott's understanding, it seemed that the Chinese had nothing worth buying. Of course, perhaps he just didn't pay much attention to the origin of the products he usually bought. In that era, there was no "Made in China" or "China Threat," and the United States even claimed to offer NATO-like treatment to China.

Regardless, Hu Wenhui's Chinese identity and his fluent American English still left Scott and Badala marveling for a long time.

But for Americans, business was business, and it didn't matter who they did business with, as long as it was profitable. Although TOPGUN received strong support from the U.S. government, the budget was still quite large.

According to Badala's expectations, the total budget for the film was around $15 million. This was $15 million in 1985, enough to buy an F-18. In terms of exchange rates, the U.S. dollar was at its strongest at that time. The difference in purchasing power compared to future dollars was even greater than the difference between 1985 RMB and 2015 RMB.

However, no one knew that after TOPGUN was released, it would create a box office miracle of $170 million and bring the highest enlistment rate in the United States since the 1950s. The power of the U.S. military's recruitment advertisements was evident in this film.

But like all Pentagon projects, TOPGUN was still in the early stages of promotion. Without concrete results, it was not easy to convince the top brass to lend aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft for filming.

If the new shooting plan could use model aircraft to shoot some dangerous scenes, it would undoubtedly increase the likelihood of the project being approved by the Pentagon.

"Alright, let's see what you can offer..."

Scott and Badala leaned in, holding pencils and marking items on the list. Sometimes they agreed, and sometimes they had to argue a bit. However, Hollywood operated under a producer-led system, and in the end, Badala usually won. But Scott was not an easy opponent and always managed to get some concessions.

When the list, now covered in scribbles, was returned to Hu Wenhui, Scott and Badala's faces practically read, "Come and take advantage of us."

"Hmm, five F-14s, three F-5Es, and one A-4 attack aircraft. Oh, I see, you also requested a camera, which is not on the list."

Hu Wenhui took out his ballpoint pen and wrote down his quotes for each item. When the final tally was made, it was a very impressive number.

"Alright, this is the price we can offer." Hu Wenhui handed the list back to the other side, speaking casually.

"Oh, what! Five hundred thousand dollars!" Badala couldn't help but shout when he saw the final number. "Good heavens, these are just model aircraft!"

"Calm down, Mr. Badala." Hu Wenhui remained calm, smiling. "I've already given you a 20% discount and rounded down the figures. This is the most reasonable price you can get."

Badala complained, "But it's still too expensive. That's almost $100,000 per aircraft. Who would have thought model aircraft could be so expensive?"

"Oh, Mr. Badala, but it can save you $500,000, $5 million, or even $50 million!" Hu Wenhui wagged his finger and said, "Think about it. If you use real aircraft for some shots and crash an F-14, how much would you have to pay? An F-14 costs $30 million. Who can afford the responsibility? Our F-14 is a true high-fidelity replica, absolutely capable of passing for the real thing!"

"Even so, the price is still too high. We can't accept it..."

"Hmm, well, if that's the case, I can offer a win-win solution. How about product placement?"

"Product placement?"

"Yes, if TOPGUN is willing to feature my model aircraft in the film, I'll reduce the price by $200,000."

"This..."

Badala and Scott conferred for a moment, and then, with faces like they were constipated, they nodded! Hu Wenhui was overjoyed. Good heavens, if TOPGUN featured his model aircraft, would he have to worry about making money?

Just thinking about the U.S. military's recruitment ads featuring Chinese aircraft, Hu Wenhui felt a sense of irony.

"Alright, it's settled! $300,000 for 10 model aircraft. We need two weeks to produce them. Plus the time to ship them from China, I can guarantee they will arrive next month."

"Oh, no need for that." Badala waved his hands, saying, "Our film won't start shooting until next year. Delivering the goods this year is fine."

"Alright, Aiverson, Aiverson!" Hu Wenhui waved to the café entrance, and the tall, muscular white man who had helped him at the airshow came over.

"Please have Elkan's people find a lawyer for me. We need to draft an agreement."

"Sure, sir. Can we arrange it within this week?"

Hu Wenhui was taken aback and nodded, "Oh, alright. I guess my previous estimate of a month was a bit off."

Aiverson was an assistant Hu Wenhui borrowed from Elkan. The tall, muscular white man was not doing well at Elkan's New York branch, but he was a hardworking and diligent guy.

If he said it would take a week to arrange a lawyer, it would indeed take a week. Hu Wenhui had subconsciously used the efficiency of future China to gauge the current situation in the United States, forgetting that lawyers in this country of lawyers never lacked for business. For a foreigner without a dedicated lawyer, the only option was to wait in the law firm's appointment queue if he didn't want to waste money.

"Ha, no problem. I think we have plenty of time." Badala was clearly pleased to see Hu Wenhui in a bind and comforted the young man with a smile.

"You can use this time to explore New York. It's the most bustling city in America. Do you have cities with a population of eight million in China?"

Hu Wenhui inwardly rolled his eyes. Thinking about the future megacities with populations of 20 million and 25 million, he really wanted to tell him that a large population wasn't always a good thing...

"Oh, right!" Hu Wenhui suddenly remembered something and took out more than ten handwritten manuscripts from his backpack, placing them on the table and looking at Badala and Scott.

"I have a few novels, movie scripts, and TV scripts. I wonder if you're interested?"

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