This actor has something

Chapter 447 Unnoticed Changes

I don't know what plague has struck the entertainment industry this year. At the beginning of the year, there was the photographer Chen, then in the middle of the year, He Daqi and Zhou Huimin turned the entertainment industry upside down, and now that the end of the year is approaching, Zhou Huimin has picked up the butcher's knife again.

Stop messing around, big shots. It's not easy for us to earn this hard-earned money.

Now that things have come to this, even if Vivian Chow is a cursed loner, people will still try their best to contact her through connections.

Not to mention that Vivian Chow is not a cursed lone star, but rather has a background.

"Wow, Blackface, I didn't expect you to call me."

"Stop it, little Jew. Do you know that Hong Kong is conducting a major review of low-quality artists? The rankings are almost out. Everyone's having a tough time. We're all old friends, so give it a rest."

Actually, this face should be given. Vivian Chow and Ching Wan have known each other for over twenty years, especially since their breakout role in "The Greed of Man" was the foundation upon which they both soared to fame. To put it bluntly, the fact that this TV series can still allow them to live off their past achievements speaks volumes about their friendship.

“You think I’ll just stop because you tell me to? Those scoundrels in Hong Kong have been caught red-handed and used as rags. You can’t blame me for that, can you? You’re careless and then you complain that others are too capable. That’s not how the world works.” Zhou Huimin was clearly willing to chat a bit more with her old friend on the phone.

"Do you have to be so unreasonable, little Jew? I can't understand how Qizai can stand you. Just one word: whether I give him face or not, others are waiting for my response."

“My Daqi is having a great time, okay! What do you, you dark-faced devil, know? Did I make a mistake when I was trying to set you up with Sister Ming? Alright, I got it. You tell Sister Ming that I'll go to Hong Kong to have tea with her next time I have time.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Huimin continued to organize her clothes. She realized that she had bought too many clothes over the years, and it would be too difficult to organize them in a day or two.

He Daqi didn't have many clothes. At first, he was willing to go shopping with Zhou Huimin. While Zhou Huimin bought clothes for herself, she would always help He Daqi to get a few new outfits as well. Later, He Daqi made various excuses not to go, and he bought fewer clothes.

Zhou Huimin started tidying up in the morning, and it's already afternoon. She's getting lazy, so she wants to find an excuse to take a break.

Looking to the side, Zhou Huimin saw He Daqi curled up on the sofa like a Kapibal, playing on his phone without even looking up, and she immediately became unhappy.

Why is it that I've been busy all day, while you can just relax and slack off on the sidelines?

"Stop playing around and come help me pack my clothes!"

He Daqi looked up at the mountain of clothes and said lazily, "How long is this going to take to sort out? You buy clothes but never wear them for more than a few days, yet you're willing to buy them every day. Are you feeling bad now? If you ask me, just stuff them in a box and sort them out slowly when we get to the new house."

"How dare you make sarcastic remarks! Come over here and help me!"

He Daqi was much lazier than Zhou Huimin, so it would be strange if he could help. He pretended to get up and took two steps toward Zhou Huimin, then jumped past her like a big monkey, jogged around the coffee table, and disappeared out of the villa in a flash.

By the time Zhou Huimin rushed out to catch him, He Daqi had already disappeared.

As the weather gets colder, the trees in the neighborhood let a few leaves flutter in the wind every time the wind blows.

He has lived in this community for six years now. Except for the first year when He Daqi would occasionally take a walk around the community, he has hardly ever taken a proper stroll in the following years.

With the hosting of the Olympics, wealthy people have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, and the houses here have been sold out, changing hands several times.

When I first moved in, the occupancy rate of this community was very low. The old man who guarded the gate was just a paid employee and let anyone in.

Now they've replaced them with younger security guards. They have to register and salute when entering and leaving the premises. Whether they're professional or not, they certainly look the part.

He Daqi was somewhat sentimental. He was moving tomorrow, and this might be the last time he would stroll around the neighborhood, so he walked very slowly.

It's only a five or six-minute walk from He Daqi's villa to He Bing's mansion, but it took He Daqi almost half an hour. He kept stopping and starting, feeling that there was scenery everywhere.

How come I never noticed before that this neighborhood has such beautiful scenery and nice greenery?
Before even entering the villa, he could hear the children's laughter. He Daqi smiled and pushed open the door to go inside.

The TV is showing "Where Are We Going, Dad?", a DVD specially sent by He Daqi. Now, Grandpa and Grandma He have no other hobbies but to watch this with their child every day, watching it over and over again.

The little ones were already tired of seeing him, but as long as they wandered around in front of Grandpa and Grandma He, the two old people wouldn't discipline them too much, so it didn't stop them from leading little Charlie around the mansion.

They were running around happily, the three of them circling the sofa, when suddenly they saw He Daqi enter and immediately rushed towards him.

"Dad!" X2
"elder brother!"

The three mischievous monkeys ran around until they were covered in sweat, then looked up with bright smiles.

He Daqi patted each of their little heads, without saying anything unnecessary or giving any instructions, and simply gestured for the three children to continue playing.

He walked over to the sofa, sat down next to the old lady, and began to listen to her rambling.

After waiting quite a while before he could interject, He Daqi immediately asked, "Grandma, where are my uncle and aunt? Isn't today Saturday? They should both be off, right?"

"It's all because of you. You made Bingzi a lot of money, and he's so smug that he insisted on taking his wife out to eat. Now, your grandfather and I are left at home to take care of the kids while the two of them go out to enjoy some alone time."

The old lady's tone was full of disdain. "Your eldest son has a wife and has forgotten his mother. He doesn't even know to be polite when he goes out. He should ask if you want to take the children out for a big meal or if you need to bring some food back."

He Daqi remained noncommittal. It was already afternoon, and he figured He Bing and his wife should be back soon, so he didn't say much and quietly stayed with his grandparents on the sofa watching variety shows.

He wasn't a quiet person, and after sitting for a short while, he couldn't concentrate anymore. He wanted to take out his phone to check the comments section, but then several children ran over and gathered around him with playful smiles. So He Daqi simply stopped playing on his phone and started playing with the three children.

When He Bing and his wife returned, they saw He Daqi arm wrestling with the three children as soon as they entered the door. The three little guys were using all their strength, but He Daqi was looking like a war god, with an invincible posture as if he could punch a nursing home and kick a kindergarten.

"Why are you here today?"

He Bing knew his nephew all too well; he rarely visited unless there was a reason. The fact that he was waiting here today clearly meant he had something to say to him.

"Uncle, I'm moving tomorrow to the area near the North Third Ring Road. These kids have all been on TV, so it's getting a bit inconvenient for them to stay here any longer. It's fine for a short time, but it'll cause trouble in the long run. I came here today to ask if you want to move there with me. Didn't I tell you and Auntie to buy a villa next door to me? I renovated it for you, so you can move in right away."

When He Daqi brought up this matter, Li Haiyang became quite talkative. Before He Bing could respond, she spoke up first: "Daqi, I heard that the villas over there have gone up in price again? Is that true?"

He Daqi nodded: "Yes, it's gone up again. The price per square meter has increased by half since the Olympics. Wasn't I right? You'll make money if you buy it, you'll never lose out."

"Wow! Good heavens! You told us to buy them, and the price went up just a few days later. Now it's gone up again. If you calculate it this way, the price has almost doubled. I really don't know who's buying these houses. It feels like there are suddenly a lot more rich people." He Bing clicked his tongue and said.

“Who says otherwise? Everything’s gone up in price now. Even a bowl of braised pork offal costs over ten yuan, and the quality isn’t as good as it used to be,” Grandpa He couldn’t help but chime in.

……

……

When you're motivated, you work efficiently.

Lu Yang and his team finished all the post-production and special effects for "Where Are We Going, Dad?" at the very end of November.

Previously, it was produced and broadcast simultaneously, with sixteen episodes. It started airing in early November, with two episodes per week, and aired until the end of the year.

He Daqi knew why Lu Yang had rushed him to the company; it certainly wasn't because of the completion of "Where Are We Going, Dad?".

Although Lu Yang is now known in an unusual way as the director of the first outdoor variety show in China, his original intention has not changed, and he still wants to continue to work hard in the film industry.

Therefore, it's time to put what He Daqi promised on the agenda.

For Ya Yue, even if "After My Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Kill 2" is a sequel, it is still a big project, and it is not something that He Daqi can simply approve with a word.

Not to mention that now that Asia Pacific is a listed company, any project needs to be carefully planned, unlike before when a few people in charge could just meet up and have a chat and immediately launch a project.

With more money comes more problems.

In particular, China Film Group is facing more troubles. Now, China Film Group can no longer monopolize the profits. They have to negotiate with other investors and reach an agreement before they can determine how much each of them will invest in the Asia-Pacific project.

Although the division between Asia and Vietnam remains unchanged, no one wants their mother-in-law's influence to increase year by year.

The two projects, Painted Skin 2 and My Flowers After Bloom 2, are doing relatively well this time. After all, the box office power of Painted Skin, which is supported by the China Film Association, can keep the momentum going for the time being. Although they are not monopolizing the profits, they can still dominate most of the investment. However, it will be difficult next year. This situation cannot last long.

"Sister Hua, what did the TV station say? When will the remaining payment be settled?"

"Everyone will be ready by next Monday. They're still counting on us to film the second season of their variety show. They won't hold us back, no matter who else they're owed money to."

He nodded slightly upon hearing this, not in a hurry to continue the discussion, and began to ponder in his mind.

He Daqi only needed the rights to the first season of the variety show "Where Are We Going, Dad?" because it was specifically designed to allow his two children to appear in public. He could do without the rights to the later seasons, making it feel somewhat unnecessary.

When filming the first season, both the guests and the production crew were basically paid at cost price. To put it bluntly, apart from the uncle, everyone else was paid a pittance. Anyway, there's no accurate pricing for variety shows these days. A hundred thousand yuan per person plus a hundred thousand yuan per child already made the guests feel that it was outrageous.

but! The main thing is but!

This approach worked in the first season, but it won't work in the second season.

You have to give them something to eat. The guests don't have much of a connection, so you can negotiate however you want. Based on the popularity of the first season, there might even be people willing to pay to be on the second season. The main problem is that the production team is hard to manage. As far as He Daqi knows, quite a few TV stations have already been secretly poaching people from the production team.

The reason why they haven't been able to poach anyone yet is because those TV stations don't know that Asia-Pacific operates on a revenue-sharing system, and the prices they offer aren't good enough, so no one is leaving.

This kind of thing can't be kept secret for long, so if a second season is to be filmed, the production crew's salaries will be the biggest issue, along with the selection of a new director and the cost of post-production special effects.

The post-production effects for the first season were done by the graphics and color team at their own expense, mainly charging individual labor fees. They can't possibly continue to subsidize the second season and only charge labor fees, can they?

After careful consideration, the cost of the second season suddenly increased significantly, and there were many more problems. Therefore, He Daqi is now considering whether to sell the copyright of the variety show directly or to adopt a licensing model.

Let those four TV stations film it themselves. They can then provide the images and color for post-production, and we can get a second fee. It's simple, convenient, and doesn't cost much. Thinking about it this way, it's perfect.

This isn't urgent; we need to think about it some more. I'll have a detailed discussion with Wang Jinghua and the others when I have some free time. Today, let's focus on Lu Yang's matter first.

"Sister Hua, Sister Liu, have you read Lu Yang's script for the second part of 'After the Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Wither'? What do you think of it?"

"It's similar to the first one. Both the plot and the production style are very well continued. Lu Yang has also learned from Ning Hao and Zhang Yimou. He also directed a movie himself before. I think we can let him give it a try this time." Liu Ying agreed without much consideration.

The company has a lot of money in its accounts, and there are few situations where I can lose money on the sequel to "The Hundred Flowers Kill". Ya Yue is only responsible for filming, and the main investment is still made by companies like China Film Group. In addition, He Daqi is clearly going to support Lu Yang, so Wang Jinghua also nodded in agreement and said: "Lu Yang's level is quite good. It just so happens that Ning Hao is going to film 'No Man's Land'. I think Lu Yang can fill in the gap without any problem."

“Okay, let’s start the project. Deng Chao will be the lead actor this time, and I will make a cameo appearance. Some of Cheng Long’s scenes from the first movie can still be used. I’ve already talked to him about this.”

He Daqi then turned to look at the overjoyed Lu Yang and said, "Junior brother, quickly calculate the costs roughly. Once we get the project approved, China Film Group will probably know and will definitely ask about it. I've talked to Chairman Han privately about how he'll allocate the investment for this movie. You need to give him a rough estimate first."

Lu Yang nodded without hesitation, his mouth almost stretched to the back of his ears. With the listing of Asia-Pacific, the establishment of projects is becoming more and more formal, and the possibility of new directors taking on big projects is decreasing. Lu Yang may even be the last one.

Fortunately, He Daqi had promised him beforehand, otherwise he would definitely have found an experienced director in the industry to collaborate with him. He wanted to directly take charge of such a big production. In fact, Lu Yang's experience was not enough.

I caught this last luxury car convoy. As long as it doesn't malfunction, I can continue to ride in luxury cars in the future.

(End of this chapter)