Huayu: Starting from Fahrenheit

Chapter 425 A Sky-High Signing Fee of 6000 Million US Dollars

In fact, Wu Zhuo was not wrong to think that Yu Dong had ulterior motives towards him.

After the charity auction concluded, the organizers prepared a banquet.

Wu Zhuo also appeared at the scene.

Then, Yu Dong, Tsui Hark, and Jet Li approached him together.

"Zhaozai, you don't have any movie projects planned for this year, right?"

Tsui Hark was the first to speak.

His target was Wu Zhuo's schedule.

It's worth mentioning that although the casting for "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" has been making headlines recently, many people know that Stephen Chow is casting for his new film.

However, the news that Wu Zhuo would play the lead role has been kept very well hidden.

The marketing and promotion team at Legendary Films devised a strategy to postpone the announcement of Wu Zhuo's casting as long as possible.

Ideally, the production team should be assembled and a press conference held before announcing the news to the public, thus creating a sensation.

"It's probably going to be difficult to secure a release date this year."

Seeing the three of them approaching together, Wu Zhuo roughly understood what they wanted to do.

It's probably because they want to work on some project.

"Zhaozai, let's get straight to the point. Actually, we have a project we'd like to collaborate on with you."

Jet Li got straight to the point, saying:

"Enlight Media, director Tsui Hark, and I are preparing to remake New Dragon Gate Inn, and we would like to invite you to play one of the roles."

Don't worry, it's not a supporting role, it's an opportunity for one person to play two roles.

I think if the two of us work together, this project will definitely be profitable.

Furthermore, with our combined influence, it's not impossible for this film to reach an international audience.

If Wu Zhuo wasn't sure about the project before, he is now.

It should be the movie "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" starring Jet Li.

All things considered, the quality of this film is actually quite good.

The box office was also impressive, grossing over 500 million yuan.

According to Jet Li, they probably wanted Wu Zhuo to play the role of Yu Huatian, the eunuch originally played by Chen Kun, as well as the stunt double.

These two roles are quite good and very challenging.

If Wu Zhuo hadn't taken on "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," he definitely would have.

Unfortunately, the schedule conflicted.

Therefore, he could only refuse with a wry smile.

"I'm really sorry, but I already discussed a project with Mr. Stephen Chow last year, and the filming schedule was set. So, I'm afraid I can't take on this role, Brother Jie."

After a pause, Wu Zhuo suddenly suggested:
"Although I can't act in it, I can recommend an actor to you."

Upon hearing this, Jet Li frowned, but still asked, "Who?"

Originally, Jet Li and his team came full of confidence.

After all, the IP of "New Dragon Gate Inn" is very famous in the country.

With Jet Li in the cast, Jet Li felt that Wu Zhuo wouldn't refuse unless there were special circumstances.

After all, with Jet Li's many years of experience, it seems there are no actors in China who don't want to work with him.

Unfortunately, Wu Zhuo has a special case; he actually has a new drama.

Although Wu Zhuo didn't say it explicitly, just mentioning Stephen Chow immediately made everyone realize that it must be "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".

So Jet Li was worried about who to cast when Wu Zhuo said he had a suitable actor to recommend.

Jet Li, Tsui Hark, and Yu Dong exchanged glances.

Each of them felt that if the person Wu Zhuo recommended was suitable, then they could give him face.

There's a saying in the industry: "If you don't cooperate today, you might cooperate tomorrow."

Therefore, the three of them did not develop any bad habits towards Wu Zhuo just because he was not in the show.

Turning down film offers is perfectly normal in the industry.

Even Jet Li himself has turned down numerous invitations, including many from friends.

Therefore, their rejection of Wu Zhuo is not surprising.

From their perspective, giving Wu Zhuo face is absolutely worthwhile.

So they really wanted to hear Wu Zhuo's thoughts.

"I think you could try asking Chen Kun."

Yes, Wu Zhuo recommended Chen Kun.

There was nothing he could do; Wu Zhuo was too soft-hearted.

If we were to say who was most affected by Wu Zhuo's time travel, it would be Yan Yalun.

Even if Chen Kun is the second person to be affected.

Because of Wu Zhuo, Yan Yalun missed the opportunity to join Fahrenheit. Although he later starred in several Comic TV dramas in Taiwan, he ultimately became a flop.

As for Chen Kun, after Wu Zhuo snatched "Painted Skin" from him, the direct and indirect impact was that Chen Kun's career in the past two years has not been as successful as Deng Chao's.

Deng Chao is known for his roles in high-grossing films such as Assembly and Wu Zhuo's Fleet of Time.

Last year, he even snatched the role of Mulan from the film that was originally intended for him.

After missing out on several film roles due to Wu Zhuo, Chen Kun's career is now only so-so.

Its influence is now limited to the realm of art films.

Wu Zhuo is a soft-hearted person.

In his previous life, Chen Kun was one of his favorite actors.

Seeing that he was almost out of acting opportunities in this life because of his influence, Wu Zhuo couldn't bear to watch any longer.

So, after Jet Li and the others mentioned "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate," he casually recommended Chen Kun.

Whether Jet Li and his team use Chen Kun or not is none of his concern.

He can casually mention it, but if you really ask him to expend resources to help him, he simply can't do it.

Although the two sides had interacted before.

Previously, when Zhou Xun was filming Painted Skin, the other party visited her on set, and the two had a good chat.

But ultimately, they're not employees of their own company.

Even his own company's employees don't have anyone to flatter them!

Of course, this is also related to the fact that no one in their company is suitable for the role.

If someone is suitable, he will definitely prioritize recommending actors from his own company.

"Chen Kun? The one who starred in 'The Knot'?"

Jet Li and Tsui Hark were somewhat unfamiliar with Chen Kun, but they had a certain impression of Yu Dong.

"Yes, that's him."

Wu Zhuo nodded, "He's also in 'Let the Bullets Fly'."

After receiving confirmation, Yu Dong looked at Jet Li and Tsui Hark and said, "I know this Chen Kun. He has a very good image. You should have heard of the TV series 'The Story of a Noble Family' that he starred in. He is a very spirited young man."

In addition, his acting skills are also very good; he won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor for "The Knot," making him one of the best actors among the younger generation.

"Send him an audition invitation tomorrow and let him come and give it a try!"

……

Wu Zhuo didn't bother to find out whether Chen Kun had passed the audition or not.

Over the next few days, he was busy with the post-production work on his new album.

Then, on February 16th, he suddenly received a call from Chen Kun. It turned out to be a call to thank him.

The other party has already passed the auditions for Tsui Hark and Jet Li, and has won the roles of Yu Huatian and Feng Lidao.

After learning that Wu Zhuo had recommended him, he specifically asked Zhou Xun for his phone number and called to thank him.

"Forget about treating me to dinner! I recommended you solely because you're a great actor and quite suitable for the role."

Chen Kun wanted to invite Wu Zhuo to dinner, but Wu Zhuo declined.

He didn't actually do anything special; he just casually recommended Tsui Hark and Jet Li. In fact, he got the role mainly because of his own efforts.

However, to be fair, there are many talented people in this world, but opportunity is actually the most precious thing.

At the same time, once you reach a certain level, even a casual remark can change the fate of many people.

If it weren't for Wu Zhuo's immense influence, having a huge impact in both the film and music circles...

Moreover, the company he founded is already one of the leading film and television companies in China.

I'm afraid even if Tsui Hark and Jet Li were to give Chen Kun a try, they wouldn't consider him.

After Chen Kun called Wu Zhuo, he immediately went to Ningxia to film "Dragon Inn," saying that he would definitely treat Wu Zhuo to a meal when he returned.

Meanwhile, Wu Zhuo has finally finished working on his new album after a period of continuous busy work.

His album had barely been completed when international record companies like Sony, Warner, and Universal came knocking on his door like hunting dogs that had caught a whiff of something.

The reason, of course, was to obtain the distribution rights to Wu Zhuo's album.

After Wu Zhuo's contract with HIM International Music ended.

Naturally, the contract with Sony also officially ended.

Therefore, to a certain extent, Wu Zhuo was completely free at this time.

In fact, after Wu Zhuo's contract with HIM International Music ended, these international companies had been frequently harassing him.

However, Wu Zhuo did not agree, but instead asked them to listen to the new album before deciding what to offer him.

Of course, Sony is still Wu Zhuo's top choice at present.

Although Sony has a bad reputation in China, it must be said that they are indeed very strong and are willing to spend money.

Without any conflict of interest, Wu Zhuo had always had a pleasant working relationship with them.

In reality, it was unlikely that Wu Zhuo would have any major conflicts with them.

The only conflict might be over the song's copyright.

But in this respect, Wu Zhuo is different from Michael Jackson.

The copyright dispute between Michael Jackson and Sony back then was mainly because Michael Jackson was directly signed with a subsidiary of Sony at the time.

His records were entirely funded and produced by Sony.

Sony itself owns a portion of the copyrights to Michael Jackson's songs.

Wu Zhuo, on the other hand, has always been a subcontractor in his collaboration with Sony.

When Wu Zhuo was still with HIM International Music, Sony snatched Wu Zhuo's overseas distribution rights from Universal Music, which had the best cooperation with HIM International Music, on the condition that the copyrights of songs in various overseas countries owned by them were under a licensing model.

Simply put, the song copyright belongs to Wu Zhuo himself, but because Wu Zhuo is overseas, he doesn't have much energy to deal with copyright issues.

Therefore, he licensed his copyright to Sony as an agent.

This agency agreement has a term limit; the original contract was for five years.

Over the past five years, the copyright revenue from Wu Zhuo's songs in various overseas countries has been split 5/5 between the two parties.

It's important to clarify here that copyright revenue and record sales revenue are two different things; they are distinct concepts.

Record revenue generally refers to the revenue generated from the release of a record.

Copyright revenue mainly refers to various licenses. For example, if a European or American film wants to use Wu Zhuo's songs, then they need to pay copyright fees.

Of course, the biggest revenue from copyright fees actually comes from music platform playback.

The formalization of digital music in Europe and America started earlier than in China.

Starting a few years ago, music platforms in Europe and America adopted a membership system for users to download and play songs, and Taiwan followed suit from Europe, America, and Japan.

The profits from this part are now so large that they are comparable to Wu Zhuo's profits from selling legitimate albums.

Last year, he earned more than $6000 million in copyright revenue from global music platforms. After splitting the revenue with Sony, they each received $3000 million.

And this doesn't even include the money from digital album sales.

Because if users want to listen to it for free as a member, they need to wait until the album's sales period has passed.

In Europe and America, the current sales period for digital albums is somewhat similar to that of movie releases. For the first three or four months after an artist's album is released, users either need to buy the album and listen to it permanently, or they have to wait for the songs to be free.

But let's get back to the main topic.

It is precisely because Wu Zhuo's record sales are so huge that several international record companies want to become his collaborators now that he has regained his freedom.

Each of them began to display their great power in this regard.

After Wu Zhuo's album was completed and the news was released to several major record companies.

Several major companies immediately took action.

The first company to approach them was Universal Music, with whom they had previously collaborated.

Sir Lucien Grange, their global group chairman and CEO, personally flew to China.

“Abel, we at Universal are absolutely sincere. We will meet all of Sony Music’s previous conditions, and we can make concessions on revenue sharing. We only want 40%, whether it’s the revenue sharing from records or the revenue sharing from copyrights.”

Furthermore, once you sign this contract, this check for thirty million US dollars is yours.

It's just a gift from us to you.

Upon meeting Wu Zhuo, Lucien immediately began to utilize Global's consistent practice of leveraging its financial power.

Of the major record companies, Universal Music is currently the most influential.

While all other record companies were reducing production, they not only did not reduce production, but also acquired PolyGram, EMI and other record companies, forming a behemoth company spanning several continents.

They are most famous in the industry for their deep pockets and immense wealth.

"Mr. Lucien, do you know what terms Sony offered me when they called me yesterday?"

Wu Zhuo was not attracted by Lucien's banknotes.

To be honest, tens of millions of US dollars is indeed a lot.

But it's not just Universal that can produce such a thing.

Other companies are willing to pay higher prices.

"What conditions?"

Lucien instinctively asked a question in return.

“Mr. Kazuo Hirai only wants 30% of the profits, and they are willing to give me a signing bonus of 60 million US dollars as long as I sign a contract with them.”

Wu Zhuo held up his fingers.

"Fuck, is this guy crazy?"

Upon hearing Sony's terms, Lucien immediately swore.

6000 million US dollars, that's not Japanese yen, nor Chinese yuan, but US dollars.

Converted to RMB, that's nearly 4.2 million.

And this is just the signing fee.

What Lucien found even more unbelievable was the condition that he only wanted 30% of the profits.

This seemed completely impossible to Lucien.

After signing Wu Zhuo, the record company is responsible for his global promotional work, which is a huge expense in itself.

Not to mention the responsibility of burning records.

All factors are taken into account. If Wu Zhuo's record fails, even with a 30% profit margin, Sony will suffer direct or indirect losses of tens of millions of US dollars.

If this continues for several years in a row, even the wealthiest company like Sony will go bankrupt.

(End of this chapter)