Entertainment: Since 1990

Chapter 267 Will He Renew His Contract?
"A gathering of heroes? I think it's just a meeting of radishes."

"Imperial Jade Liquor, 180 yuan a cup."

One cup whets your appetite, two cups keep your kidneys healthy, and three or four cups are all gone.

Cao Jian had seen this skit many times and could almost recite the lines by heart, but it was the first time Yang Yuying and Guo Aiming had seen it, and the two of them kept laughing.

But Boss Cao had been observing the girl, Dong Jie.

He recalled that Dong Jie's first film was "Happy Times," directed by Zhang Yimou, in which she played a blind woman.

Her innocent demeanor in the film left a deep impression on countless people, and she even won the Best Newcomer Award for it.

Later, he signed with Hong Kong and joined Wang Jiawei's film and television company, where he starred in "The Story of a Noble Family," and his career flourished.

Her only flaw is her poor eyesight; she abandoned her handsome husband to cheat on him with an ugly man.

Now that I've seen her, I have to intercept her and save the wronged man.

Moreover, Dong Jie also appeared in the movie "2046," and I happened to recruit her when I was making the film.

As Cao Jian was making his plans, the Spring Festival bells rang.

Outside the window, firecrackers were going off in unison, and he, along with two women, set off fireworks downstairs.

"So beautiful, I hope it will be like this every year."

The two women watched the fireworks explode in the sky and silently made a wish.

Although they knew this wish was difficult to fulfill.

That night, Cao Jian was served very comfortably, and the next morning, he wrote the poem "Come Home Often" in one stroke.

"If this song doesn't make it to the Spring Festival Gala, I'm not going to write any more songs."

Cao Jian handed the song to Yang Yuying with a confident expression.

"I believe you."

After a night of rain and dew, Yang Yuying became even more beautiful, her eyes filled with admiration for the man.

Such a great song, and my man wrote it in just over ten minutes.

Having followed a genius, what more could I ask for?
She suddenly asked, "Are you really not going to the Spring Festival Gala? Are you waiting for Hong Kong to return to China?"

"That's right!"

Hong Kong's return to China has become one of the most discussed topics in China. Cao Jian has also decided to wait for the handover and then make a splash with a song on the Spring Festival Gala.

After the first day of the Lunar New Year, Cao Jian began to pay respects to some local leaders in Guangzhou. He didn't return to Hong Kong until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year to start his work for the new year.

Meanwhile, the second installment of "Young and Dangerous" had been in theaters for ten days, grossing nearly 30 million yuan, and was expected to surpass 40 million yuan by the time it was taken off the screens.

This left directors like Wang Jing feeling both envious and helpless.

Wang Jing is now at a loss for what to film, so he has turned his attention to erotic films and plans to make a movie called "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra" to ride on the popularity of the Ancient Tomb Sect in "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

Making this kind of film is Wang Jing's favorite thing.

During this time, he also discovered a very sexy girl from Taiwan who would star in the film.

Cao Jian chose to ignore this.

They've run out of ideas; these are all the films they can make.

Besides, I already have Lin Chih-ling, what more could I want?

Can Shu Qi be compared to Lin Daiyu?

A week after returning to Hong Kong, filming for "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" began amidst much attention.

Previously, Taiwan had some cross-strait co-productions that achieved good ratings, but Hong Kong had very few, mainly due to language barriers.

However, thanks to the efforts of Cao Jian and Wang Fei in the past two years, Mandarin songs have become increasingly popular, and Mandarin has become more and more popular in Hong Kong. Many actors have also improved their Mandarin proficiency.

Before Cao Jian's adaptation of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," the novel had already been adapted into two television series.

The 82 version starring Huang Rihua as Xu Zhu is the most well-known.

In 90, Taiwan also produced a version, but unfortunately it was not well-known and the ratings were only so-so.

There are many challenges in making the TV series "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils". One of them is to showcase the Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) and the Six Meridians Divine Sword in a good way, which is not easy.

Of course, there's also Qiao Feng's Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, which was later changed to Twenty-Eight Palms, and it also requires a lot of special skills.

Fortunately, special effects technology has matured, and Cao Jian has seen this version and thinks it's quite good.

Of course, besides the plot, acting, and special effects, Director Cao's film has another plus: beautiful women. The first scenes shot after filming began were those of Duan Yu.

The adorable He Meitian was already quite beautiful when she appeared, but when Mu Wanqing appeared with her face covered, even though she didn't reveal her true face, her fair skin and beautiful figure were enough to catch everyone's eye.

Cao Jian's portrayal of Duan Yu also captured the necessary handsomeness.

If he weren't handsome, how could he have won over Zhong Ling on their first meeting?

Appearance is important at any time.

However, what impressed the crew the most was not the many beautiful women, but Duan Yanqing, one of the Four Villains.

Ye Erniang and Yue Laosan were already bad enough, but when Duan Yanqing appeared, the evil feeling seemed to come from the very bones.

"Director Cao is really good at choosing people."

"Yes, this Duan Yanqing might scare the children."

"That's right, but I think this show will probably be even more popular than 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'."

"That's quite possible, but I wonder if Wang Yuyan is prettier than Xiaolongnu."

When Duan Yanqing appeared on screen, the crew was filled with confidence for the show, and many people were also looking forward to the appearance of the beautiful Wang Yuyan.

It's said that the girl who plays Wang Yuyan also played Xi Shi in mainland China. I wonder if she'll be more beautiful than Xiaolongnu.

While Cao Jian was filming "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", his album "Stubborn", which he recorded last year, was released in China and Southeast Asia, taking advantage of the popularity of "Young and Dangerous 2".

Cao Jian has not released many albums in the past two years, and his output has decreased significantly.

However, after "Stubborn" was released, people immediately realized that the former superstar had not let filming affect his singing.

"My last act of stubbornness, I'll hold your hands tightly and never let go."

Cao Jian already had a large fan base, and his album sold out immediately upon release, with his songs resonating throughout China and Southeast Asia.

Its popularity is no less than that of "Goodbye Kiss" and "Too Softhearted" back in the day.

This song is especially catchy and has become one of the most frequently requested songs in karaoke.

People heard the voice of freedom in this song, and they also heard the feeling of never giving up on dreams.

In just half a month, the album sold over three million copies worldwide, and the sales are still rising.

At this point in time, PolyGram was already on the decline.

The singer switched labels, and his Cantonese albums didn't sell well in mainland China, leading to the imminent acquisition of his company.

But since Cao Jian joined, the company has been reborn.

Although many popular singers left the company, with the support of Cao Jian and Wang Fei, the company's performance improved steadily and it made a lot of money.

However, this year happened to be the last year of Cao Jian's five-year contract with PolyGram.

While Cao Jian is busy filming, PolyGram has already held several meetings to discuss the most popular issue of contract renewal.

"Mr. Zheng, I think we shouldn't renew the contract. We can discover more new talent, since Cao Jian is currently focusing all his energy on filming."

“I also think it was the right thing to not renew the contract. Although ‘Stubborn’ sold very well, one album a year is really too few. Moreover, this person is free-spirited and does not hold concerts as required. There is no need to renew the contract.”

“President Zheng, what the two vice presidents said makes sense, but I think Cao Jian’s talent is truly rare. I think it would be better to renew his contract, and I also support President Zheng’s suggestion to increase his share of the profits.”

"I do not recommend renewing the contract."

At the meeting, everyone expressed their opinions, but most believed that Cao Jian is now a wealthy man and a shareholder of TVB.

Will he follow the company's arrangements?

As a singer, what kind of person doesn't sing well, doesn't hold concerts to make money, and is busy with their own film and television company every day?
"Your vision is indeed short-sighted."

Zheng Donghan was speechless at the state of his subordinates.

He knew very well that if Cao Jian did not renew his contract and left PolyGram, then Wang Fei and Zhou Huimin might also leave.

If that's the case, will PolyGram still have any singers to support the company?
With Mr. Cao's abilities, is it difficult to establish a record company?

The only option now is to increase the revenue share from record sales. While Cao Jian is busy filming and doesn't have time to run a record company, we might be able to keep him.

Keeping Cao Jian is equivalent to keeping Wang Fei and Zhou Huimin.

However, even if he increased the profit-sharing ratio by 5%, Zheng Donghan couldn't guarantee whether he could retain Cao Jian.

This young man, who is now a big name in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, is still willing to work for PolyGram?
Zheng Donghan really couldn't guarantee that.

(End of this chapter)