Entertainment: Who still wants to fall in love when there are cheats?

Chapter 140: Revising the Script and the Contract

Originally, Li Boda wasn't very confident about the script for "Magic Phone," but after flipping through a few pages, he found that the script actually had some merit.

Of course, most importantly, Li Boda saw a role in this script that he had been looking forward to for a long time.

You Suowei is the president of Eric Foods and the leader of the Flying Man group.

He must be very talented in business; after all, being the president of a large company and achieving this level of success is no easy feat.

Most importantly, this game later replicated a magical phone, namely, the silly girl.

A good businessman with a certain talent for scientific research—this is exactly the kind of role Li Boda envisioned.

The only thing that Li Boda felt a little regretful about was that this role was the second male lead, not the male lead.

The male lead, Lu Xiaoqian, is just a lucky salesman. Apart from luck, he has almost no other abilities. At least compared to You Suowei, he is just a poor loser.

Looking at the script in his hand, Li Boda hesitated for a moment.

The script is indeed absurd, cramming together elements of modernity, science fiction, and mythology into a chaotic mess.

However, Li Boda genuinely liked the character of You Suowei; he liked the character's design.
Originally, Sister Wang didn't think Li Boda would be interested in the script for "Magic Phone," but to her surprise, Li Boda held the script and read it for quite a while without putting it down, which made her somewhat astonished.

"Boda, do you like this script?" Sister Wang couldn't help but ask.

"It's alright. The main thing is that I think the character You Suowei is pretty good. I've always wanted to play a domineering CEO, but I've never had the chance. I'm quite satisfied with the character of You Suowei now," Li Boda said with a smile.

"..." Sister Wang was a little speechless. She had forgotten that although the script for "Magic Phone" was absurd, the role of the second male lead, You Suowei, was actually a role that Li Boda had always wanted to play.

As Li Boda continued reading the script, he increasingly felt that it was indeed a script worth acting in. If it could trigger a cheat code, it could help him solve many problems.

"Boda, the You Suowei you mentioned is the second male lead. With your current status, it's a waste for you to play the second male lead," Sister Wang reminded him.

“Then let’s ask them if the script can be changed, and make You Suowei the male lead. Actually, You Suowei’s character is quite good. He’s righteous and kind at first, but he becomes corrupted by the magic phone. In the end, he wakes up in time, reforms, and saves the world. This character is quite good, and he can definitely be made the male lead.” Li Boda said casually.

Given Li Boda's current status and position, he already has a certain amount of influence within the production team. As long as Li Boda is willing to make some changes to the script, unless it's a particularly domineering fictional character like Zhang Dahuzi or a director, they will generally be accommodating.

"...Should I go ask?"

"Then I'll trouble you, Sister Wang." Li Boda smiled, revealing a set of white teeth.

Even Sister Wang was momentarily dazzled by Li Boda's sunny smile.

……

Next, Sister Wang began contacting the "Magic Phone" company.

"...My son Boda really likes your script, especially the character You Suowei. He is kind and righteous, and although he later turns evil, he is able to repent in time and save the world. He especially likes this kind of character."

"..."

"Yes, yes, compared to Lu Xiaoqian's opinion, Boda does prefer a character with a more complex personality like You Suowei. It's just a pity that You Suowei is the second male lead, not the first male lead."

"..."

"Please understand, after all, our Boda's current status is really not suitable for playing the second male lead. We receive a lot of scripts every day, all of them for the male lead."

"..."

"You said you could revise the script? Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"

"..."

"Oh, thank you, thank you. I'm so sorry. My Boda really loves the character You Suowei. I'm so sorry."

"..."

"Okay, it's settled then!"

After hanging up the phone, Sister Wang wore a smug smile. Because of Li Boda's fame and status, when Sister Wang contacted the "Magic Phone" production team, the other party's tone was particularly gentle, without the slightest hint of aggressiveness. Sister Wang didn't even have to make any requests directly; she just gave a slight hint, and the other party immediately agreed to revise the script, making You Suowei the male lead.

Wang Jie had almost never experienced such treatment before, and she felt it was absolutely amazing! She felt like she was about to reach the pinnacle of her life.

After securing the rights with the "Magic Phone" production team, Sister Wang immediately informed Li Boda.

"In that case, Sister Wang, let's go back to the company," Li Boda said with a smile.

"Back to the company?" Sister Wang was taken aback.

“Go back to the company and revise the contract,” Li Boda explained.

Upon hearing this, Sister Wang suddenly realized that Li Boda's current status and fame were incomparable to when he signed with Tangren. It was normal for him to want to change the contract, but it might not be that easy.

However, as Li Boda's executive agent, Sister Wang was on Li Boda's side. So when she learned that Li Boda wanted to change the contract, she not only did not stop him, but also said a lot about these aspects and some information about the company.

Seeing Wang Jie's attitude, Li Boda became increasingly satisfied with her. He was already thinking about taking her with him when he left Tangren in the future.

“Sister Wang, the contract change I’m talking about isn’t the kind you’re talking about. Although I do want a larger share of the profits, that’s not the point. The point is that I want to change the contract I signed with Tangren to one between my studio and Tangren. Everything else can remain the same, but I just want to become my own studio,” Li Boda explained.

"A studio?" Sister Wang was a little surprised.

“Sister Wang, as you know, I personally sign a contract with Tangren Media, and I have to pay 45% of my film and television salary as tax. But if we change my contract with Tangren Media to a contract between me and my studio with Tangren Media, then I will only have to pay 35% of the tax.” Li Boda explained simply, and then left the rest unsaid.

After all, by going through a series of means, reducing the tax rate from 35% to below 10% is not illegal, but it is still a loophole, and there is no need to explain it so clearly.

Even so, Sister Wang still looked enlightened and loudly declared that Li Boda must revise the contract.

After all, 10% is no small amount for a celebrity.

For an average worker like myself, a month's salary is only a thousand yuan, which isn't even enough to cover the tax threshold. Whether it's forty-five or thirty-five, it makes no difference.

But Li Boda now earns millions or even tens of millions a year. That 10% difference is a million-dollar difference, which is not a small amount.

……

"You want to change the contract?" Cai Yinong frowned as she looked at Li Boda.

Cai Yinong's feelings were also quite complicated, because she never expected that Li Boda, whom she had never thought highly of, would have made it to this level in just a few years.

Even Li Yapeng, the highest-paid actor promoted by Tangren Media before, was far inferior to Li Boda. (Li Yapeng's salary for the 2002 TV series "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was 80,000 yuan per episode, the same as Zhou Xun's. Of course, Zhang Yimou hadn't started withholding salaries back then.)
Although Hu Ge, whom she promoted with all her might, has gained a little bit of fame, she is still far behind Li Boda.

During this time, Cai Yinong hadn't seen Li Boda at all, mainly because she was somewhat unsure how to face him. She also understood that once Li Boda's contract with Tangren expired, they would likely part ways. So she didn't do anything further; she let Li Boda be as he was.

Unexpectedly, this time, Li Boda took the initiative to come to his door and said directly that he wanted to revise the contract.

“Yes, Mr. Cai, there are still two to three years left on my contract with Tangren. During this time, I haven’t thought about changing jobs. After all, although our company hasn’t given me any more resources, it hasn’t tripped me up either. I’m quite happy here at Tangren. However, I want to open my own studio, so let’s amend the contract and make me my own studio,” Li Boda explained with a smile.

Cai Yinong was taken aback, then suddenly realized.

Cai Yinong is ultimately from Hong Kong and has started a company in mainland China. Although no mainland celebrities have opened their own studios yet, it is very common for celebrities to open their own studios in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong celebrities open their own studios and sign contracts with entertainment companies, which allows them to pay significantly less tax and gain more freedom.

So as soon as Li Boda opened his mouth, Cai Yinong understood what he was thinking.

"It's just that we're changing 'you' to 'your studio' in the contract, and all the other conditions remain the same, right?" Cai Yinong didn't intend to make things difficult for Li Boda, because it really wasn't worth it.

After all, Li Boda is no longer the worthless newcomer he once was. If things really get ugly, and Li Boda wants to switch companies, there are plenty of entertainment companies willing to take him on. In that case, Tangren Media might be the one to suffer the loss.

“Mr. Cai, I think we could perhaps discuss profit sharing. After all, in the last two years, I've hardly used any of your company's resources…”

“Boda, you’re not right to say that. As a member of the company…”

Cai Yinong and Li Boda began negotiating.

(End of this chapter)