Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 320 Liu Yifei's Career Planning
"Since Rush Hour 2 opened in 2001 with a $6740 million opening weekend, no Chinese or Asian lead actor has ever surpassed that figure."

Even Jackie Chan's own film sequels failed to maintain his success.
Eight years later
Starring Liu Yifei, adapted from Gu Bei's original work and directed by him, The Mistake in Our Stars

It successfully broke this record with an opening weekend gross of $7200 million.

Quite coincidentally, Liu Yifei co-starred with Jackie Chan in the film *The Forbidden Kingdom*, released last April. It's as if a generational shift is occurring, with Liu Yifei poised to succeed Jackie Chan as the next generation of prominent Chinese-American faces in Hollywood.

The editor of this news article clearly wanted to create a big story.

At the current exchange rate of 6.83, 7200 million US dollars is only equivalent to 4.9 million Chinese yuan, but he forcibly converted it into 5 million yuan.

Finally, they brought up the Forbidden Kingdom, which was released last year, to create a topic about generational change.

But the benefits of doing so
As soon as this news was published, it was immediately reprinted by major portal websites.
This immediately sparked a heated discussion on the internet.

Weibo.

"Congratulations to Sisi and Director Gu on making 500 million! They should really work together soon and film Gravity as soon as possible!"

"Gravity is a sci-fi blockbuster. After filming, it will take several years to complete the special effects. Instead of looking forward to Gravity, we might as well look forward to The Sound of the Wind being filmed even earlier!"

"Am I the only one who wants to see The Fault in Our Stars? Why is it that it's already been released in Hong Kong, but the release date in China hasn't even been confirmed yet?"

"Don't ask, the answer is it hasn't been approved yet! Whiplash, 500 Days of Summer, The Artist, which of those movies wasn't released months later?"

"Good things come to those who wait. There's definitely no problem getting Director Gu's films imported; it's just a matter of waiting a while."

Tianya Forum.

Compared to the congratulations on Weibo,
The atmosphere here, being the stronghold of Liu Yifei's haters, was much more somber.

[If you don't understand, here's a question: Liu Yifei and director Gu Bei collaborated three times in one year. Did Liu Yifei save Gu Bei's life?]

"I just saw the news about Liu Yifei's foray into the international market. I just counted and found that she has already collaborated with Gu Bei three times in one year, including The Sound of the Wind, Star Luck, and the upcoming filming of Gravity."

If you include Whiplash from two years ago, that makes four times. Why is Gu Bei so fond of Liu Yifei?

"Grab the second floor!"

"Third floor, I'm sorry, but Liu Yifei really did save Gu Bei's life!"

"The original poster is clearly ignorant."
During the promotion of Star Celebrity, Gu Bei revealed how he met Liu Yifei.

The sound engineer for the short film he won an award for at Sundance was someone Liu Yifei paid to make so that he could finish filming.

"Without Liu Yifei, Gu Bei might have finished filming the short film in a few months, but he might not have met an investor who believed in him and gotten the opportunity to direct that Palme d'Or-winning film."

"Actually, we misunderstood Director Gu. The reason why Director Gu has collaborated with Liu Yifei so many times is simply because he makes movies so fast."

"Summer, The Artist, and La La Land (which is about to start filming)—none of these movies feature Liu Yifei. And aren't all of these films released within the last year?"

"I agree with the comment above, and Director Gu just likes to use people he knows."

The male lead in La La Land is the same actor who played the male lead in Whiplash.
Leonardo DiCaprio also revealed that he will be starring in the film adaptation of Gu Bei's novel Inception.

Zhang Ziyi also launched two projects at once with Linlang Entertainment: "The Message" and a romance film.

The Fault in Our Stars, a film that hasn't even been released in China yet, is causing a huge uproar online.

In a corner where no one pays attention,
Fast & Furious 4 was released under the translated title "Racing Storm".

After five days of release, it only grossed 1500 million yuan at the box office, failing to make much of a splash.
Slumdog Millionaire, which has been in theaters for a month, has grossed 550 million yuan in mainland China this week, and its cumulative box office has exceeded 5000 million yuan.

This situation has also occurred on the North American internet.

The box office champion not only represents revenue, but also the film with the most viewers during the same time period.

It will naturally become the focus of public opinion during the same period.

Especially after the publisher's overwhelming advertising fades,

Public opinion buzz is a powerful tool for a film to continuously attract audiences to the cinema.

Twitter.

"I absolutely love Liu's performance. She perfectly portrayed the pain and confusion I've experienced. Can anyone tell me what other movies she's acted in?"

"You can rent the DVD of The Forbidden Kingdom at the Redbox near your home. Her Golden Swallow doesn't have many scenes, but she is very strong inside. I also drew strength from this character."

“If there is a Chinatown in your area, you can buy DVDs of the TV series that Liu has acted in. She has acted in hundreds of episodes of TV series, but you have to watch them with subtitles or learn Chinese.”

Because of this level of popularity,
Even though most book fans had already seen the movie,
But people still go to the movie theater every day.
Or, when struggling to decide what to watch, they might simply choose a movie that looks familiar.

Facing the aggressive launch of Warner Bros.' new teen comedy film, *Back to 17*,

Even if the other party also has a large-scale release in 3000+ cinemas.
Starship Entertainment easily secured its second consecutive week at number one, taking the top spot at the box office with $2880 million in its second weekend.

And it just so happens to be on a Friday.
It successfully surpassed the $100 million box office mark.

It became the fifth film in North America to gross over $100 million in 2009.

The head of L'Oréal's North American division is ecstatic.

Liu Yifei, as L'Oréal's global spokesperson, was signed by the China branch and her marketing budget was used by the China branch.

As a result, the movie "Mistake for Our Stars" made Liu Yifei an idol for girls in North America, and most of the increased sales came from the North American market.

Not long after,

People from L'Oréal's North American branch came to us.

We are preparing to shoot new advertisements and promotional photos for Liu Yifei.

Overtime pay should naturally be paid for work not covered by the contract.

Meanwhile, people from L'Oréal's China branch were urging Liu Yifei to return and film a new advertisement.

I plan to launch a promotional campaign when Starship is released in China, and ride the wave of the movie's popularity.

However, this sudden overtime work...

This also meant that Liu Yifei, who originally thought she could take a break for a while,
She had to get busy again, and at the same time, she needed to build her team in North America to pave the way for future development.

……

Rose Films.

Gu Bei was checking the documents in his hand.

In preparation for filming the opening scene of La La Land,
He had to negotiate frequently with Los Angeles City Hall to try and secure as much filming time as possible.

The opening act of this large-scale musical dance performance along this stretch of highway is arguably one of the most iconic moments of La La Land. It's not just visually spectacular;
This also set the tone for the entire film.
It showcases Los Angeles as a city that creates dreams and destroys them.

The intertwining of dreams and reality is the theme of La La Land.

La La Land without a theme might just be a clichéd love story, with a plot that isn't even particularly outstanding.

But it was only after it had a theme that La La Land truly gained a soul and became another classic Hollywood musical.

at this time,

The office door was pushed open.

Liu Yifei peeked in and secretly glanced at Gu Bei.

After seeing that Gu Bei was busy, she withdrew her head and prepared to leave Gu Bei's office.

"come in!"

Gu Bei waved to her.

After Liu Yifei approached, he asked curiously, "How did your chat with this manager go?"

In China, Liu Yifei's studio, led by Liu Xiaoli, along with a team including executive agents, personal agents, assistants, bodyguards, and drivers, is able to support the operation of all the work.

On the North American side, things are a bit more complicated.

According to California law,
To prevent brokers from manipulating clients...

The brokerage contract can only be signed for a maximum of one year, and the broker's commission is capped at 10%. Furthermore, there cannot be any penalty clauses for terminating the contract with the broker.

After this series of measures
In North America, there is no such thing as an agency "freezing out" an artist.

While artists' rights are protected, the 10% commission cap means that management companies and agents can hardly make any money.

The status of agents has plummeted, and the industry has been completely reduced to a service industry, where they merely act as intermediaries, helping actors secure projects.

Of course, in the last century, CAA also circumvented the law by packaging projects and directly charging studios a certain percentage of service fees.

However, with major studios becoming subsidiaries of media conglomerates and the rise of independent studios, packaged projects are no longer the mainstream, and agencies like CAA have returned to their role as service providers.

Agents only help actors get job opportunities, but they don't help actors plan their careers.

At this point, managers can no longer fill the gap. Their job is to help actors plan and design their career paths so that they don't lose the opportunity to reach higher levels for short-term gains.

Managers have a wider fee range, but it is generally within 5-20%, with both the lower and upper limits being higher than those of brokers.

However, compared to agents who can work on an assembly line,
Managers' work is all customized.

Most of them work alone or run their own agencies, so the outside world knows even less about them.

Finally, there are lawyers. As the 'aristocratic' class in North America, lawyers in Hollywood also earn a lot of money, taking a 5% cut from every contract, which is essential for both stars and studios.

Actually, domestic companies
It's a combination of a production studio, agents, managers, entertainment lawyers, and a series of other supporting industries.

Compared to their Hollywood counterparts, they invest more and take a larger cut, but compared to popular celebrities, their cuts aren't actually that outrageous.

However, since all functions are combined, their dominant position over artists becomes too disparate. Who can refuse to use the power in their hands?

Liu Yifei is now looking to hire her own manager to plan and evaluate her future work in North America.

"I have a good impression of Linda, and my mom likes her too!"

Liu Yifei tilted her head, thinking about what they had just talked about. "She didn't immediately ask me to give up my career in China and devote myself entirely to the North American market."

Rather, it means that the Chinese market has great potential, and I can try to develop both markets simultaneously, becoming a communication channel between the North American and Chinese markets.

Gu Bei heard this,

I've also formed a certain assessment of Linda.
Those who can realistically assess the prospects of the Chinese market at this stage are generally quite insightful.

If Linda is able to realize this, then Liu Yifei will at least not miss opportunities due to a narrow-minded perspective in her future development.

He then asked, "So, Linda, what are your career plans for the North American market?"

Liu Yifei's tone became noticeably happier as she said this: "She told me not to rashly take on too many roles similar to Xingyun, because if I play too many teenagers at my age, I will immediately face the pressure of transitioning to a different role."

"I already have a minority appearance, so the transition will require significantly more effort than for white people."

"That's a brilliant statement!"

Gu Bei nodded.

In fact, Hollywood is not lacking in actors who always play the same type of role. For example, Jason Statham is always a man with a melancholy heart and burdened by suffering.

However, this type of role must be one that audiences consistently need; otherwise, it will quickly be abandoned by North American audiences.

Jackie Chan is, to some extent, one of those who were abandoned. Coupled with the negative impact of being a minority, his career transition failed, and he was unable to play leading roles in Hollywood for long.

"What I like most is the advice she gave me after I told her that I wanted recognition for my acting skills."

Liu Yifei continued enthusiastically, "She told me not to take on any roles for now, but to use gravity to get into the commercial film industry, gain some recognition first, and then start taking on low-budget films."

Gu Bei's thoughts were similar to Linda's.

Liu Yifei needs to establish herself in commercial films first, at least to be recognized by most people, before she can have the opportunity to win awards in the field of art films.

After all, art films also need an audience.

Only when a film can be sold can it gain word-of-mouth and positive reviews.

He agreed, saying, "That's what I think too. It's best to make a name for yourself in the commercial film industry first, and then pursue art. That's the path most actors take anyway."

Liu Yifei's eyes lit up: "Then I'll sign a contract with her?"

"I think it's good."

……

Liu Yifei ultimately chose to sign with a manager named Linda.
Then she began filming L'Oréal commercials.

For Liu Yifei, who has just gained a lot of popularity, L'Oréal's large-scale exposure throughout North America is a way for her to maintain her popularity in the North American region.

L'Oréal, on the other hand, is able to profit from her fans.

To some extent, it is mutually beneficial for both sides.

Gu Bei, on the other hand, devoted himself to filming La La Land.
This production crew is the largest he has ever managed since he entered the industry, larger than many A-list productions.

(End of this chapter)