Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 214 Testing each other
Lu Kuan drank a little too much in the evening and was just about to close his eyes and rest for a while before going downstairs.

Unfortunately, the phone rang again.

He didn't bother to check the caller ID and answered directly: "Hello? Who is this?"

"The road is wide! I'm going to be on the Spring Festival Gala!"

Liu Yifei's joyful expression seemed to be right before his eyes. Boss Lu wondered, "It's already December. Shouldn't the first round of rehearsals for the Spring Festival Gala have already been completed?"

"Why are we looking for you now?"

Yang Siwei, who was standing nearby, answered the phone, "We're also very surprised. But Sister Hua and I asked around, and it turns out that a professor at the Central Academy of Drama is suspected of having a strong constitution, and an actor has been affected and may have to miss the performance."

Boss Lu was stunned and thought of the other person involved in the Heizi beating incident, Huang Dingyu from the Central Academy of Drama.

It's another fucking old case, so melodramatic.

"Well, okay, let's talk later. I have something to do."

When Liu Yifei heard the beeping sound coming from the phone, she flew into a rage: "Why did he hang up?"

Yang Siwei was confused: "Boss Lu said he had something to do."

Something happened! What could happen so late at night?
dirty stuff!
Concubine Liu Yi was extremely angry and fell backward onto the bed. She slapped the soft quilt hard and buried her head in it.

Yang Siwei looked at her like she was crazy, and the little girl suddenly poked her head out of the quilt again: "Siwei, are you familiar with Fan Bingbing?"

"Yes, I'm interning with Sister Hua, and she's one of her artists."

Liu Yifei narrowed her eyes and said, "Call her now and see what she is doing."

"what?"

Yang Siwei was confused, and suddenly remembered the "something happened" on the road just now.

"This...this isn't very good."

The female agent was a little panicked. Can you please not include me in this kind of play?
I am innocent!

If Boss Lu gets angry with me, I will die miserably!
I still have the dream of becoming the number one female agent in the country that has not been realized!

Concubine Liu Yi clamped her shoulders with both hands.

Although Yang Siwei is a size bigger than her, Xiao Liu has been practicing all kinds of Bajiquan and black market boxing recently, so his hands are much stronger!
"Thinking, are we of one mind?"

"...yes!"

"Then make this call for me and ask her where she is. You can tell me you haven't seen her in a while and invite her out for a midnight snack."

Liu Yifei only felt that her thoughts had never been so clear, and she was much more focused than when filming!
The woman's IQ at this time is comparable to Einstein's. Although she is still a virgin, her virginity doubles her power!
Yang Siwei's face was ashen, but he had to bow his head as he was under someone's roof, so he dialed the number.

The phone was connected quickly after a few rings.

"Hello? Thought?"

"Ah...haha, Sister Bingbing, where are you?"

"I'm in the car. I just landed in Ningxia and have to get back to work."

Yang Siwei turned on the hands-free mode, and Liu Yifei held her breath and moved closer. There seemed to be the sound of a vehicle beeping.

"Ningxia? Oh, so they're filming 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes', right?"

Fan Bingbing didn't suspect anything, but she was just wondering why Yang Siwei hadn't contacted her for a long time. What was he planning?

"Yes, what's wrong?"

Yang Siwei laughed and said, "It's okay. It depends on whether you're leaving or not. If you're not leaving, let's have a midnight snack together. It's been a long time since we last met."

Bingbing has always had high emotional intelligence, and Yang Siwei did not look down on her because of her status when she was interning under Wang Jinhua.

"Thank you, Siwei, for still thinking of me."

The actress suddenly had an idea and asked, "Siwei, is there anyone next to you?"

Concubine Liu Yi frowned and looked at Yang Siwei fiercely.

The agent felt like he was in a movie: "No. No one, what's wrong?"

Bingbing asked casually, "Oh, nothing, how are you following Concubine Liu Yi?"

"Very good, very good, we get along quite well."

"Then she..."

Fan Bingbing wanted to ask about the relationship between Liu Yifei and Lu Kuan, but he felt it was inappropriate to ask these questions over the phone.

Besides, Yang Siwei is Liu Yifei's agent. Can he tell me the truth?
I'd better wait until next time and give her some small gifts, then test her carefully.

"Siwei, I'm here now. Let's talk next time."

"Okay, bye Sister Bingbing."

Yang Siwei made phone calls for a few minutes and felt more tired than if he had run a thousand meters.

I put my phone down and my palms were sweaty.

Concubine Liu Yi stared at her for a while and then stood up happily.

"Siwei, I'm going to take a shower."

She took out her bath towel from the suitcase, and suddenly turned around before entering the bathroom, which scared Yang Siwei.

"Thinking, we are the best in the world, okay?"

"Huh? Yes!"

"Well, that's fine."

The sweat on Yang Siwei's palms became more intense. He wondered if it was because he didn't eat enough at night and had low blood sugar.

Just now, I looked at Concubine Liu Yi who was looking back at me, and it seemed like...

It seemed like I saw the shadow of my former boss.

The former boss didn't even know that he had been investigated by Liu Yifei.

Otherwise, heavy snow will soon fall in the Magic City in December, ten times heavier than the day when Dou E fell.

He was looking at the revelations about the black fan incident on the blog on his computer. The whole thing was actually very simple.

Heizi is in love with Tong Yao and suspects that Tong Yao got the role in "Lin Hai Xue Yuan" because of Huang Dingyu, who is a well-known sex maniac in the industry.

As a result, the incident caused an uproar on the Internet.

This incident has a very bad impact.

Why has the entertainment industry been criticized as so dirty by future generations and its reputation has been damaged? It’s all because of these termites!

Don’t look at the washing machine, you have contributed to this too!

Whether students can take on acting roles in their freshman or sophomore year was originally a rule of the school based on student development.

In terms of financial compensation, the salaries of teachers in art colleges are lower than those in general universities, especially Beijing Film Academy.

As the name suggests, Peking Film Academy is a municipal university and does not receive any financial funding from the central government.

The Central Academy of Drama is slightly better, but also limited.

In 2003, the average lecturer at the Central Academy of Drama had a monthly salary of only 1000 yuan, and professors had additional position and title allowances, so it was common for teachers to take private jobs.

According to the regulations of the Central Academy of Drama, freshmen and sophomores who want to take on a role must first pass the review of their homeroom teacher and acting teacher.

Then the department head will stamp and approve it, and the department will sign a contract with the crew and deduct a certain percentage of the labor fee.

Huang Dingyu is the current director of the Performance Department of the Central Academy of Drama.

It is said that the entertainment industry is dirty and messy, but how many people can keep themselves clean?

Lu Kuan met Zhang Guoli at the business center on the 8th floor of the Peace Hotel. He was shocked by the latter's dusty face and stubbled face.

Don't be fooled by his politeness and modesty in front of Han Shanping and Ren Zhonglun. In terms of strength, he is at least a big shot in the TV drama circle.

But this matter really happened to Lu Kuan. Heizi was born to him and his ex-wife. He had raised him since he was a child and they had a very close relationship.

"Director Lu, nice to meet you. You see, I came at an unfortunate time and missed the dinner tonight. Otherwise, I would have toasted you a few glasses, hehe."

Lu Kuan smiled and asked them to sit down, then asked them what they wanted in a pretentious manner.

After finding the real culprit, Zhang Guoli knew that it was not good to hide the truth when asking someone to do something for him, so he told the whole story.

"My child is a young and naive person. It's his first time in love and he doesn't know the seriousness of it. He feels embarrassed and so..."

"Oh, it's so hard to say. We're about the same age, Director Lu, but our levels of being human are so different!"

As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes and he almost choked up and couldn't speak.

What a veteran actor!

Ren Zhonglun chimed in at the right moment: "Director Lu, I heard you're a bit familiar with some of the leaders at Blog.com. If it's convenient..."

With Lu Kuan's character, he always knows that a thief never leaves empty-handed. To help you, Lao Zhang, I must get something in return, right?

There was actually a loophole for him to exploit. At the end of 2003, that is, the end of this year, Feng Xiaogang's contract with Huayi would expire.

In later generations, Pants and Lao Zhang jointly established a company, with Pants specializing in making movies and Lao Zhang specializing in making TV series.

The two of them had beautiful ideas and were aiming to go public.

The reality turned out to be very bleak. They were unwilling to spend their own money to enter the entertainment industry and were counting on investors to invest.

Later, the investors backed out, so Xiao Gangpao returned to Huayi and renewed his long-term contract, which lasted until 09 when he cashed out and made a profit of more than 2 million yuan.

Hearing Ren Zhonglun's questioning tone, Lu Kuan frowned and said, "I really don't know about this. Wait a moment, I'll make a call."

As he said this, he walked out of the VIP room, and when he came back, his brows seemed to be frowning even deeper.

"Director Lu, what are you doing?"

Boss Lu was initially downbeat, then smiled and said, "Teacher Zhang, President Ren, you have lived up to my trust."

"Let's see tomorrow morning. Your son's story won't be trending on the blogs anymore, at least."

Zhang Guoli walked over and shook Lu Kuan's hand dramatically: "Director Lu! Thank you so much!"

Then he excitedly said, "Director Lu, should I go and thank Mr. Wang? If you can introduce me, I will have a lot to prepare. What do you think?"

Boss Lu sneered in his heart, thinking that this was an attempt to test the true relationship between him and Wang Xing.

"No need. I'm from the same hometown as Wang Xing, and we're both Huaqing alumni. I'm asking him for a favor. We're all family, so it's not worth it."

Ren Zhonglun also spoke politely: "Or maybe it's because Director Lu has built up all this business at such a young age, and he's a man of few talents!"

"Yes, yes, yes. Oh, Director Lu, you see I came here in such a hurry and empty-handed. I'm really sorry."

"Well, I, Old Zhang, will not mention anything else, but I'm well-known in the industry for my spit and my nails. From now on, if you need any help, Director Lu, please let me know, okay?"

Boss Lu saw that he was performing enthusiastically, so he listened patiently. However, he was a little drunk at the moment and wanted to get rid of him quickly.

"Teacher Zhang, you're welcome. We're all in the same business, so please bear with me in the future."

Zhang Guoli had always been very humble, and when he saw that Lu Kuan, who always acted in an eccentric way, was even more humble than him, he felt really uneasy.

The three of them exchanged greetings and said goodbye, and Boss Lu went upstairs on his own.

He actually thought about inserting a wedge between Huayi, Xiao Gangpao and Zhang Guoli and investing in their newly established company.

But if you think about it carefully, it doesn't have much practical significance.

The entanglement between these two people and Huayi is deep-rooted, and ordinary small favors cannot separate them.

Whether it is the top management behind Huayi or the capital's literary and art circles, that is the class foundation on which Xiao Gangpao and Lao Zhang became famous.

No one would betray his class.

Lao Zhang is a smart man, and this time he will establish contact first.

When Wenjie and Huayi become truly hostile and he wants to kill Huayi, this person might be able to serve as a trump card.

Because the power comparison between the strong and the weak was obvious at that time, it could give him enough bargaining chips to betray.

Just like how Lao Zhang abandoned his first wife and headed north from Chengdu with Deng Jie.

After walking out of the Peace Hotel, Zhang Guoli quickly restrained his humble attitude and expressed his true feelings to his old friend Ren Zhonglun with emotion.

"I've always heard that this road guide is young and full of energy, and I thought he was arrogant because of his talent. Today I know that's far from the case."

Ren Zhonglun asked doubtfully, "Can you be bribed by just one favor?"

Zhang Guoli smiled bitterly: "It's not a matter of bribery or not."

"He knew full well about my relationship with Huayi, and that my film 'Cell Phone' was going to compete with a film from Wenjie during the Spring Festival, but he didn't mention it or ask a single question."

"If he just wants to take something from me, or exchange it for something, that's all that matters."

"He helped me without saying anything for just three or five minutes. I was panicking! This is clearly more than just a small favor."

Ren Zhonglun laughed and said, "You people have too many thoughts in your mind and your life is really tiring. Maybe this person is just innocent and likes you, Old Zhang, so he's willing to help me."

Zhang Guoli curled his lips and shook his head.

"I would believe anyone else, but him? Impossible."

The next day, accompanied by the host Shanghai Film Group, Lu Kuan took the foreign friends from the "Foreign Land" crew to visit Jing'an Temple, Yu Garden, City God Temple and other attractions that are a gathering place of oriental culture.

Then we flew to Beijing to carry out publicity warm-up for the next stop.

In order to prevent several Hollywood stars from being surrounded by fans, the crew chartered a plane. Lu Kuan, Yang Siwei and Liu Yifei chatted in the first class cabin.

"Should I ask you to sing solo or in chorus?"

"Solo! I'm going to sing 'Nuan Nuan'. What do you think?"

"The solo performance is fine, but the chorus performance is boring. He has to clear out more than a month's schedule just to show up."

Boss Lu immediately asked, "Are you really not going to release any more records?"

Liu Yifei's face was firm: "No more posting, I just want to be an actor, especially now, I am more certain than ever!"

"Okay, whatever you want, but this time when you go back, go to Wenjie and record your ringtone."

Yang Siwei probed: "Mr. Lu, the revenue from this ringtone..."

Lu Kuan glared at him. "How much profit can ringtones bring? Eighteen thousand, and you have the nerve to ask for it?"

"I just wanted to ask Xiao Liu to record some cute ringtones because she's only 28 and has a sweet voice. I'd be happy if I didn't charge you any publicity fees."

Boss Lu rattled off a barrage of words: "Besides, if you don't pay me back after collecting the money, it's a waste of time!"

Liu Yifei raised her eyebrows at Yang Siwei with an expression that said, "Just wait and see."

Anyone who can take advantage of him will be really impressed.

"By the way, Sister Mei and Jie Lun will be arriving in Peking the day after tomorrow. They'll be rehearsing for the Spring Festival Gala just like you. You and Aunt Liu should come over for dinner."

The little girl jumped for joy: "Great! I haven't seen them for a long time!"

On the afternoon of the 3rd, Boss Lu took charge of the government and dealt with the backlog of official business in Wenjie.

The first thing to do is to check the accounts with Sun Wenwen and Li Shanshan from the Finance Department.

Wenjie (the United States) has $300 million in revenue from the second DVD of "Ghost" in its account, and the theater chain's share is $2000 million.

This part has not been moved for the time being and has been retained as a deposit for the early filming of "Alien Land" to stabilize the completion guarantee company.

The main expenditure of the domestic company recently is the 3000 million yuan investment in the joint venture between it and Xiying Studio, Wenjie Xiying;
Together with China Film Group and Dong Shuangqiang's Yanda Huayi, they established a company called New Vision, with an investment of 3500 million yuan;
The acquisition of 51% of Focus Media's equity cost 7000 million yuan;
These three funds alone have exhausted the total profits of the previous two seasons of "Hard Candy", "Blind Well", "Stone" and "Chinese Paladin" combined.

The $1000 million for the "Alien Land" project has been recovered in advance from pre-sales from China Film and Eagle King, so it is equivalent to a break-even point.

Currently, what remains in the domestic accounts is the total profit of "Thief", which is about 7200 million.

They also have to continue paying the remaining production costs of "Love Is Not Blind", "Insidious" and "Crazy Racing", which is about 4000 million, and there is basically nothing left.

The foreseeable future benefits include the Spring Festival release of "Crazy Racing" and the Valentine's Day release of "Love Is Not Blind".

As well as the global release of the blockbuster "Fahrenheit 5/911" in May next year and "Alien" in mid-to-late June.

2003 was the second year in a row that Wenjie made big moves, acquiring shares in the industry and greatly enriching and expanding the industrial chain.

2004 will be a year of great harvest, but the funds have also been planned in advance. For example, the acquisition by Golden Harvest will at least wipe out all the profits from "Fahrenheit 911/".

The best news is that Blog.com can temporarily become self-sufficient by relying on the ringback tone business.

Just like later Internet companies such as Penguin and Netease, they all came back to life in this wave of SP and started a virtuous cycle.

It’s just a pity for all the venture capitalists who have been waiting silently and envious for a long time. They just can’t get the money in!

Outside the chairman's office, departments lined up waiting to report.

First, Xiao Jin from Cash Cow Ringtone Studio came to say hello with a few singers he had poached. Phoenix Legend, Daolang and others went back very proudly, and their confidence increased.

The boss told them that he would soon acquire shares in the studio of Wang Fei's exclusive producer Zhang Yadong, and would tailor-make records in different styles for each of them.

Lu Kuan has been deeply engaged in film and television production and derivative businesses, and has no plans to enter the music and record industries. This operation is just to reap the profits of these major ringtone companies.

It doesn't cost much to invest in Zhang Yadong's studio.

Then comes the most important work at present, the distribution of two films by Ning Hao and Xue Xiaolu of Beijing Film Academy.

As the sequel to "Stone", "Crazy Racing" has a natural advantage in audience reputation. Sequels to hit movies generally have relatively stable performance.

"Cell Phone" of the same period was either dead or in ruins, and only "Infernal Affairs 3" was relatively popular and was its biggest rival.

But with the powerful tool Focus Media in hand, it naturally has an advantage in exposure over its competitors in the same period, and I believe the gap will not be too big.

The release date of "Love Is Not Blind" is quite special, on Valentine's Day. With Zhang Baizhi's box office appeal, it will not be a problem to win the first prize. The subsequent box office trend will depend on the reputation of the film.

Both films still have the benefits of deep distribution, targeted media and topic marketing.

In the domestic film market in 2003, you really couldn't make any money without using all kinds of means.

(End of this chapter)