Unboxing, Director!

Chapter 163 More money is needed!
However, Lao Lu's pose collapsed in less than five seconds, replaced by a sense of loneliness.

Indeed, while demolition is a great thing for others, for Lao Lu, most of the 20-plus houses that were demolished were his "ancestral property".

It's the house my grandfather left behind; he lost it, then redeemed it.

It carries a magical life experience.

So money isn't that important at this moment.

The important thing is that those past memories and the goals we fought for have become nothing but a dream.

Seeing him like this, Lu Jiang encouraged him: "It's good that it's demolished. It's too scattered, with one house here and one there. We can't even keep up with collecting rent. When we make money, our whole community will be better off. Isn't that better than Grandpa?"

That's true.

"Let's build another office building, over 50 stories high, the kind that overlooks your own neighborhood. Wouldn't that be impressive?"

"That would cost a lot of money!"

"You'll have money soon, don't worry!"

"What's the use of having money if you don't even have a son?"

"Hey, isn't this a bit much? It's not even the New Year yet and you're already pressuring us?"

"What a joke! We're human beings. What human only goes into heat during the New Year?"

"Where did you learn that?"

"Zhao Zhongxiang, Animal World, didn't you watch it often when you were a kid?"

"What the hell is this!"

"Anyway, just be careful. You're already 25. When I was your age, you could already be climbing!"

Old Lu left a message, left the deposit slip, and went off to walk his bird with his hands behind his back.

Lu Jiang curled his lips.

Only 25!

What's the rush?

With the money issue resolved, the next step of negotiations will be handled by the professionals at Qidian Venture Capital.

It can be acquired, it can be invested in; in short, Jay Chou's ownership for at least the next five years must be obtained.

In this case, you need to prepare more money just in case.

Wu Zongxian is no saint. Don't assume that just because you have a good relationship he'll give you a discounted price; he might very well take advantage of you.

So when Lu Jiang returned to the company the next day, the first thing he did was to finalize the money-making plan for this year.

Currently, Dawn Entertainment's revenue mainly comes from two sources.

The two main businesses are television drama production and artist management.

The two complement each other.

This year can be considered as another great harvest.

The TV series "Xiao Shiyi Lang" starring Qiao Zhenyu and Yu Bo will be broadcast in early July.

At the end of July, "The World's Number One" will premiere simultaneously across Asia.

In addition, Deng Chao's "The Emperor of Han Dynasty" is confirmed to be broadcast at the end of May.

Several dramas aired during the summer vacation. In addition to revenue from the dramas and advertising, the biggest source of income was, of course, artist management revenue.

The quality of these dramas is quite good.

Even if it's just average, it won't stop Lu Jiang from holding a concert.

Lu Jiang and F4 didn't hold many concerts last year.

Riding the wave of the drama's popularity this year, Lu Jiang and F4 have made a comeback after two years, and the box office is sure to be good.

Besides commercial activities such as concerts.

The most satisfying thing is releasing songs in Europe and America.

On that day, Zhou Jianhui came to Dawn, and the two made final discussions about the release of the new English album.

The current English mini-album is titled "lu," and consists of three English songs, which will not be included with the Chinese songs in a larger album.

Because this does involve some review and approval issues.

In order to capitalize on the World Cup hype, and given that this was Lu Jiang's album that truly opened up the European and American markets, they ultimately decided to proceed in the normal manner.

All three English songs have been recorded, but the music videos are not yet ready.

Aside from Lu Jiang not having time to film, the main reason was that Warner Bros. headquarters attached great importance to it.

They have already developed a marketing plan for the song.

The debut, using pure music and traditional methods such as radio, generated initial buzz with high resources and extensive investment, while simultaneously setting Grammy goals from the very beginning.

After gaining initial popularity, they announced a collaboration with a well-known celebrity to further boost the song's popularity.

After its continued rise in popularity, the song launched commercial copyright collaborations with various brands and institutions (such as the World Cup), propelling its popularity to a global level in a short period of time.

In September, the Grammy public relations cycle began.

Ultimately, they strived to win a Grammy Award as the perfect ending to this album.

This is a mature system for packaging and hype.

They broke down every step of the song's journey from release to popularity, arranging everything meticulously and clearly.

Of course, this also depends on the song's ability to stand out.

Bad songs are definitely not acceptable.

Lu Jiang's three songs are clearly worthy of Warner Music resorting to such measures.

However, there is one that is rather special, namely "hall of fame".

Zhou Jianhui said that the song will directly collaborate with the World Cup from the very beginning, and the music video will directly use World Cup footage.

It's too late to make it the theme song for this World Cup; the song was already decided in the second half of last year.

But it's perfectly acceptable to ride the coattails of someone's popularity; in the entertainment industry, it's either you riding on my coattails or I riding on yours.

Many Western singers currently have similar plans.

Zhou Jianhui lamented, "If this song had been written six months earlier, it would definitely have become a promotional song or even a theme song!"

After saying that, he added, "But it's not bad now. It matches all kinds of sports events. It can achieve better results even without being tied to the World Cup. Even if it rides on the World Cup hype now, this song might be more popular than this year's official theme song."

Lu Jiang is waiting to see.

The specific launch date has been set for May 8th.

Lu Jiang can then make another trip to North America.

As for Mandarin albums.

This is a mini-album of five songs. Apart from "Blue and White Porcelain", the other five songs will be included.

The plan is the same as last year: to release the series after "The World's Number One" concludes.

There are still two music videos that haven't been filmed yet.

Lu Jiang wasn't in a hurry. There was still plenty of time; he could take his time taking the photos and make it in time.

Moreover, his new English album will be a hit by then, and the value of his music video resources will skyrocket, which might even be used to exchange for better resources.

As for the new album's performance, the fact that it only has 5 songs does give the impression of being somewhat perfunctory.

But given the quality, it's not a big problem.

Even if it's just long-time fans buying, there's no need to worry about sales.

Perhaps after the English album achieves good results in May, the new Chinese album can ride that wave of success and break out of Asia, achieving considerable success globally.
Over the next two days, Lu Jiang focused on completing various advertising endorsement shoots in Beijing.

On her last night, Fan Binbin finally returned to Beijing.

She is currently working on two of her own projects, "Water Moon Cave" and "Snowflake Goddess Dragon," and is not acting in any roles.

It's not that she doesn't want to act, but the reality is that it doesn't allow it.

Although Fan Binbin is already a "Chinese pop goddess" with high popularity and commercial value, her image is still positioned as a leading lady.

Furthermore, the mainland's TV drama industry is still in its infancy, especially in the urban drama sector, where few can match the level of "Full House".

Other roles that match her image and status are rare, and the projects are all mediocre, so there's no need to film them.

There are new projects being launched for her, but Fan Binbin is quite cautious, afraid of ruining the capital that Lu Jiang has worked so hard to accumulate for her.

The situation is even worse in the film industry.

The mainland film market is not yet open, and Hong Kong films are not easy to involve mainland actors. Even if they are, they are mostly second or third billed roles, and the prospects of the projects are generally not good.

So Fan Binbin is currently in a very awkward position.

There aren't many suitable TV series, and there's even less of a path to finding movies.

This led Fan Binbin to decide that since there were no suitable roles available, he would simply stop acting and use the extra time to study, shoot commercials, participate in his own productions in his spare time, prepare for becoming a producer in the future, and then shoot more commercials.
Fan Binbin is quite enthusiastic about this.

Upon meeting, she started chattering away about the project, acting as if she'd never seen a project run before. Lu Jiang, of course, sensed her deep melancholy, so after she finished sharing, he tossed her a copy of "A World Without Thieves."

"what is this?"

"This is our first Chinese-language film. Filming will begin next year, and we aim to release it no later than the summer of 04."

Fan Binbin replacing Rene Liu should have no problem winning an award.

But he didn't mention "Dae Jang Geum".

Because he hasn't considered Fan Binbin as his first choice for the female lead yet.

Fan Binbin and Lee Young-ae are truly not the same type of actress.

Unless there is absolutely no more suitable candidate in the end, then we will change the character design and propose it again.

The same applies to "The Story of a Noble Family".

There were almost no suitable roles for her in "The Story of a Noble Family".

If Fan Binbin were a year or two younger, he would be very suitable to play Bai Xiuzhu.

But now she has matured, and her appearance is the same as when she played Yun Lei in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". In fact, thanks to fitness and the popularity of "Chinese Wave Goddess", she seems to have more of the aura of the top female star in the Chinese entertainment industry, and she is much more composed than a year ago.

It doesn't match Bai Xiuzhu's "cute and arrogant" feeling at all.

She could certainly pull it off if forced to, but her status is no longer suitable for this kind of supporting role.

"Really!"

Fan Binbin's face lit up upon hearing this, but he quickly asked, "What about the Hollywood movies? Are they canceled?"

"That one is a separate matter. The best-case scenario is to make both, achieving success in both China and the US."

Such talk is no different from making empty promises.

But Fan Binbin falls for this, since it was Lu Jiang who said it.

She immediately wrapped her arms around Lu Jiang's neck, like a little girl, and happily imagined the dreamlike scene of the Condor Heroes dominating the world.

After finishing the flatbread, Lu Jiang then asked about the dress.

Judging by the timeline, the shortlisted works for this year's Cannes Film Festival will be announced in a few days.

For Lu Jiang, this Cannes Film Festival was simply a trip to garner honors.

But for Fan Binbin, it will be a watershed moment in his career.

A red carpet queen is about to be born, a fashion queen is about to arrive.

For Lu Jiang, it meant a lot of money was beckoning.

So Lu Jiang still cares a lot.

Fan Binbin shook his head after hearing this and said, "Four sets have been designed, but no orders have been placed yet."

"Expensive?"

"Not really, it's just that I'm afraid I won't need it."

"Go ahead and place your order, you'll definitely need it!"

"Is there good news from Teacher Situ?"

"Hmm, there's a good sign. There's a high probability of good news, after all, it's like having double insurance."

Actually, there was no good news from Szeto Chiu-tung. At most, he said that they were very optimistic about "The Lobster" and the short film "Beauty".

But simply being optimistic about someone doesn't guarantee they'll win an award.

However, Lu Jiang has a golden insurance policy; "The Lobster" is guaranteed to win an award, so what's there to be afraid of?

That's not exactly making a boast.

Fan Binbin didn't understand these things. After hearing what Lu Jiang said, she immediately dialed the number and quickly placed an order.

Four dresses, totaling 60 yuan.

It's cheaper.

But who can blame her? She's Fan Binbin. With that face, she could outshine everyone else even in a rag!

After placing the order, Fan Binbin started tearing at Lu Jiang's clothes: "Let me check how much of the 'public grain' is missing~"

"Damn it, where's the basic trust?"

"I believe you, but I'm hungry, is that a problem?"

"Then you'd better be prepared."

"and many more!"

"what happened?"

"Put this on."

"What is this? Holy crap, isn't this Zhang Wuji's costume? Where did it come from?"

"I had Baoqiang bring it to me yesterday."

"You're causing Baoqiang too much trouble."

"I don't care, I just want you to become a great hero."

"Let's make this clear first, no surrendering today. I, Zhang Wuji, have nine kidneys!"

When we were out and about, Gao Yuanyuan and the others didn't dare to play around too much because of the soundproofing issue.

This benefits Fan Binbin.

However, Fan Binbin was ultimately only one person and couldn't withstand Lu Jiang at his peak. So, the female hooligan who had kidnapped the hero quickly became a female prisoner: "Hero, spare my life!"

The following afternoon, Lu Jiang set off for Hengdian to continue filming "Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre".

Just before boarding the plane, Liu Guoquan, the director of "The Story of a Noble Family," called.

On the phone, she mentioned something with some difficulty: she had a friend who was a big boss, and wanted to meet with Lu Jiang to discuss the casting of Bai Xiuzhu.

"big boss?"

Lu Jiang frowned immediately.

Could this boss's surname be Chen?

Lu Jiang wasn't very clear about the behind-the-scenes story of the original timeline, but his first reaction was that it was a mystery.

Liu Guoquan continued, "Yes, this boss is very powerful; he's on the Forbes rich list."

It must be Chen Jinfei!
These days, "The Story of a Noble Family" has been in preparation.

Some of the roles have already been decided.

For example, Leng Qingqiu, Lu Jiang accused his own person Dong Xuan of murder.

In terms of cool and aloof beauties, Dong Xuan is no less stunning than Dong Jie.

The other characters, such as Xiao Lian, are basically the same as the original version. The remaining characters, such as Bai Xiuzhu, are still undecided because no suitable ones have been found.

I was planning to hold a round of auditions next month, but now the person in charge has come looking for me?

Lu Jiang then asked, "Did he offer a price you couldn't refuse?"

“If it were just about money, I wouldn’t have called you; I would have just refused. The main reason is that I met this girl and I think she’s a good match. If you don’t have anyone more suitable, I think choosing her is a really good option.”

"Then let's have an audition. If she's really suitable, I won't object. Why do you need to meet with me separately?"

"The boss wants to talk to you about something else."

Liu Guoquan gave a brief explanation.

Lu Jiang smiled silently.

As far as I can remember, the reason Liu Tianxian was cast in "The Story of a Noble Family" was, according to media reports, that producer You Jianming saw Liu Tianxian in an outdoor advertisement for Jinfei Apartment, thought she was very suitable, invited her to audition, and she eventually became the lead actress.

Whether this is true or not is unknown.

But now it seems that this was indeed the script.

Because now, the other party has also put forward a similar idea.

Lu Jiang and Liu Guoquan were struggling with casting when Lu Jiang happened to see an advertisement and thought the girl looked good. Why not give her a try? And that's how it happened!
Chen Jinfei offered 200 million for this script.

200 million, 10% of the investment, no profit sharing, pure sponsorship.

According to current industry practice, this price is already the maximum sponsorship price for a production crew to include actors.

Will you agree or not?

Lu Jiang smiled and shook his head.

He felt that there was no need to even think about such things.

You think a mere two million will make me, Lu Jiang, your talent scout?

That definitely requires extra money!
(End of this chapter)