Global Film Emperor

Chapter 254 is temporarily suspended.
When Lee Sun-kyun revealed his true intentions, Lu Ze instantly understood everything he hadn't grasped. He realized that this was what Lee Sun-kyun meant. But even though Lu Ze understood, he had to pretend not to. Fortunately, he was an actor and could control his expressions and tone, putting on the persona he needed to project.

"Become a boss? What does that mean?"

"Are you still pretending not to understand me? This is really pointless. What I mean is, have you ever thought about one day no longer being an employee of Qian Shijia, but becoming your own boss?"

Lu Ze's disguise was flawless. If someone didn't know Lu Ze well, they would definitely be fooled by him. But how could Li Shanjun not know that Lu Ze's mind was just as deep? He would never believe that Lu Ze really didn't understand.

He didn't want to waste time with Lu Ze anymore, so he got straight to the point and didn't want Lu Ze to dilute the topic. Now they were talking about the real stuff.

"So, Mr. Li wants me to set up my own independent studio? The kind where I can sign my own artists?"

"Right~ See, we're having a great chat like this. There's no need for pretense. This is what I mean. Which employee doesn't dream of going out and becoming their own boss? You don't need to deny that. I don't want to discuss employee mentality with you. I just wanted to know your opinion."

As Li Shanjun spoke, he looked down, opened a drawer, took out a box of cigars, put one in his mouth, and then, ignoring Lu Ze's refusal, forcibly stuffed a cigar into Lu Ze's hand.

Lu Ze took the cigar cutter without saying a word, cut open the cigar, lit it, and took a puff. He didn't really like this stuff; he always felt the taste was a bit strange. He wasn't used to smoking raw tobacco, and people who only smoked roasted tobacco really couldn't get used to it. After taking one puff, he put the cigar in the ashtray and didn't touch it again.

Actually, Lee Sun-kyun was wrong, or rather, he didn't say it quite right. Not all employees want to be bosses. It should be that all ambitious employees want to be bosses. There are still many employees who feel that being a boss is tiring, stressful, and that they can't do it. Lu Ze is one of them.

Call him unambitious or complacent, but Lu Ze never really considered starting his own independent studio. He just wanted to be an easy top star at Qian Shi Jia.

He now owns a house and a car, has a decent income, and seven-figure savings. With his material needs met, he doesn't want to take on too much responsibility. When there are roles available, he goes to film; when there aren't, he stays home playing with his cat and tending to his flowers. This is true freedom for him.

Moreover, the most important point hasn't been mentioned yet by Lee Sun-kyun: is Lu Ze the boss? Is the boss on the surface really the boss?
“Mr. Li, I’m actually not very interested in opening an independent studio. I may disappoint you, but I really don’t want to take on too much responsibility.”

Only now was Lee Sun-kyun truly surprised for the first time. From the moment Lu Ze entered the door, all of Lu Ze's emotions and even his words were within Lee Sun-kyun's expectations. Only this refusal was something he had not anticipated.

Firstly, considering the 15-year timeframe, psychologically speaking, if you give the other party a request that is difficult to accept, and then make a request that they can accept after they refuse, then the simple request will be more likely to be agreed to.

It's like when you ask a friend for money. You only want to borrow 200 yuan, but you ask for 10,000 yuan. If the friend refuses, and you ask for 200 yuan, from various psychological perspectives, the friend will most likely agree.

This kind of psychological tactic is also frequently used in business negotiations and is a common trick. Now he is using it against Lu Ze. It can be said that he is setting a trap for Lu Ze, but he has put a lot of thought into it.

But he really overestimated Lu Ze, or rather, he didn't expect Lu Ze to be such a pure person. It's not absolute that employees all want to be bosses, but it is what most employees think.

Having grown up in a business-oriented family, Lee Sun-kyun was taught from a young age to be an entrepreneur, to be a boss, and not to wait for others to help him get rich, but to help others get rich. Throughout his long business career, he encountered people with the same mindset, so he regarded Lu Ze as such a person.

In his view, using psychological tactics to make Lu Ze refuse first, and then offering an acceptable condition, which is also an opportunity to become a boss, this combination of moves was a sure thing. But he never expected that Lu Ze would not play by the rules at all!

"Aren't you going to listen to the conditions I'm offering?"

"Mr. Li, you can't let me take a majority stake, can you? I think I'm only suited to be an actor. Being a boss isn't for me. Even if I had a majority stake, I wouldn't want to do it. I just want to live an easy life."

"Lu Ze, you're only twenty-nine years old, why are you living like an old cadre? How about I give you some time to think it over?"

Lu Ze didn't speak, but just smiled and shook his head. He knew why Li Shanjun was so eager for him to start his own studio—it was all about profit. Lu Ze had long ago noticed the biggest difference between Li Shanjun and Hu Zhiguang: Li Shanjun was a businessman through and through, and all his decisions were driven by money.

Many well-known artists have now set up their own studios. To outsiders, it seems like, wow, so-and-so has finally made it big and is now signing artists. But is that really the case?

First, it's important to understand why studios that sign their own artists aren't called companies, but rather studios. This is because they are branches of talent agencies, affiliated with the agency. Only when they become subsidiaries of a group, or are founded by individuals without a parent company, can they be called companies.

Artist studios simply don't have the resources to do that. After all, apart from Qian Shi Jia Shi, which belongs to Rong Chuang Group, all the other entertainment companies are independent and don't belong to any group.

If Lu Ze wanted to create a company, he could indeed register the company under the group's name. However, this would mean that the functions of the company Lu Ze created would overlap with those of Qian Shijia, and he would have to accept resource integration.

Therefore, artists' studios are actually controlled by their management companies, which usually invest money and hold more than 51% of the shares.

To put it bluntly, artists who appear to be bosses to outsiders are actually still making money for the company, only they no longer rely on their own skills to generate profits. Instead, the management company acts as a venture capital firm.

Why was Lee Sun-kyun so eager for Lu Ze to open a studio? It was because he valued Lu Ze's current fame. If Lu Ze opened a studio now, many young people would definitely come to him. Moreover, given Lu Ze's skill level, would young people with inferior skills dare to come? The studio would definitely attract top talents.

By then, Lu Ze's studio will be full of talented people and will have embarked on a high-quality path. Even if they can't replicate a second Lu Ze and are just a bunch of low-end "little Lu Zes," Qian Shijia will still make a fortune.

As for Lu Ze himself? Qian Shijia really couldn't make a single penny off Lu Ze. The only thing he could gain from Lu Ze was fame. For example, when a talent scout encountered a promising talent, he could brag, "We're not a small company. Go check it out, Lu Ze! You know Lu Ze, right? He's from our company!"

Therefore, the reason why Lee Sun-kyun asked Lu Ze to set up a studio was:

First, it can attract more promising talents, all of whom are capable and can maintain popularity in the long term, providing the company with substantial and long-term revenue.

Second, by forging a bond of mutual benefit between Lu Ze and Qian Shijia, there will be no possibility of Lu Ze switching jobs in the future, allowing Lu Ze to focus on making money for Qian Shijia without worry.

Third, Lu Ze's fame can continue to be used to support Qian Shijia. Talent scouts can still use Lu Ze to brag and attract more young people with high popularity to join Qian Shijia's headquarters. Through screening, those who don't become popular will be abandoned, and those who are popular will be abandoned after they lose their popularity, which will generate another huge income.

This is a win-win-win situation for Qian Shijia. If this strategic plan is implemented smoothly, Qian Shijia can go public in a few years. Starting from the 15-year contract, this series of interconnected schemes are all aimed at this. Li Shanjun is very satisfied with this. Can you believe how cunning this bastard is?
But now a problem has arisen: Lu Ze disagrees. He finds it tiring and doesn't like doing it, which puts Li Shanjun in a very difficult position. Using laziness as an excuse is the most frustrating excuse. Besides advising Lu Ze, "You're still so young, you can't be so lazy," can Li Shanjun force Lu Ze to set up a studio? He needs Lu Ze right now, and he can't afford to fall out with Lu Ze.

"Lu Ze, I suggest you think this over carefully. If you're only thirty and you're doing things that you can still do at sixty, how will you get through the next thirty years? Of course, this is just my suggestion, hoping to achieve a win-win situation for you and the company. Whether you go through with it or not is up to you. There's no rush about the contract. Anyway, we still have three years left on the contract, so we can consider renewing it later. You've been filming for several months, you must be tired enough, go home and rest early."

"Alright, then I'll head back now, Mr. Li. Please don't see me off; I can get down by myself. Really, it's not necessary."

No matter how much Lu Ze tried to persuade him, Li Shanjun refused. He got up and saw Lu Ze to the door. After Lu Ze left, Li Shanjun returned to his office, plopped down in his executive chair, stared blankly at the chandelier on the ceiling, and sighed deeply.

"Lu Ze, Lu Ze, what am I supposed to do?"

"."

Regarding the following plot, as the author, I certainly won't spoil it. I can only say that it will be more complicated than what everyone has written in the comments. You all guessed wrong! Lu Ze is Lu Ze, not Long Aotian.

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(End of this chapter)