How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 141 Was this movie filmed in Japan? [10,000-word update, please subscribe]

The huge stir that Fruit Assassin caused abroad has had little impact on China, with almost no coverage outside of the gaming industry.

First, Wang Yao did not conduct any marketing in China; second, several mainstream gaming portals were unwilling to report these "good news from competitors."

Wang Yao didn't want to get involved with them for the time being, since none of them were good people. On his second day in Hong Kong, Wang Yao glanced at the sales figures and news coverage of "Water Sling".

With the viral spread of parodies like "Louis XVI's praise" and "fruit head swap," the popularity continues to rise. Netizens seem to have an innate ability to create memes, and based on this natural traffic, achieving a million sales this month should not be a problem.

The second step of promotion is not in a hurry; let things settle down first. Besides overseeing the promotion and distribution of "Water Spinner," he also has another important matter to attend to in Hong Kong.

He contacted Mr. Chen Yuxiang's family through Hong Kong University, and after paying their respects, he bought the adaptation rights to Mr. Chen's story.

They first submitted the script for "22.22" to the Hong Kong Film and Television Office for review, and then asked Stanley Kwan to direct the script.

When Stanley Kwan received the script, his eyes lit up. "This script is much more interesting than 'Lost in Time'."

"These are the candidates for the roles. Director Guan will take a look when he goes to film 'Lost 3' to see if they are suitable," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Is Mr. Wang aiming for an award with this film?" Guan Jinpeng glanced at the list and frowned.

The list was full of newcomers from Wang Yao's company. Not only were they unknown, but their acting skills also seemed rather poor. He felt it was a waste of such a good script.

“No, it’s just a regular commercial film.” Wang Yao shook his head.

"That's such a pity. I could have revised this manuscript and maybe it could have won an award," Guan Jinpeng said regretfully.

"It's alright, it's just a trial run. There are plenty of good projects to come," Wang Yao said with a smile.

“Alright, if you, the investor, have no objections, then I’ll try to finish filming by mid-May and immediately start filming this one. I should be able to finish filming by the end of June, but if we want it to be released in September, then we’ll have to do the post-production on this one first,” Kwan Kam-pang said thoughtfully.

"It's alright, the post-production team is fully equipped." Wang Yao nodded.

Stanley Kwan flew to Shanghai with his new script to prepare for the start of filming for "Lost 33".

Gu Tianle threw over another stack of project proposals, more than 20 in total. Wang Yao is now in charge of his management, and what to film and whether to participate in investment are all matters that need to be discussed between the two of them.

Gu Tianle truly lives up to his reputation as a prolific film producer, having already secured so many scripts at the beginning of the year, and most of them are projects by top-tier directors.

After careful selection, Wang Yao chose three films: "The Thief 2," "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," and "A Chinese Ghost Story." All of them offered lucrative salaries, had reputable production companies, and were good for product placement.

"The Thieves 2" is a sequel. The first film was both critically and commercially successful, and the second film, with the original cast, is unlikely to flop even if it relies on nostalgia. Moreover, it is invested in by Bernard.

The remake and drastic alteration of "A Chinese Ghost Story" has a gimmick. Although it's another way to boost Liu Yifei's star power, the salary is sufficient. Box office and word-of-mouth are not important. The criticism won't affect Gu Tianle. Moreover, Wang Yao will handle the publicity and distribution, which will earn them even more money.

The melodramatic love triangle between Gao Yuanyuan, Gu Tianle, and Wu Yanzu in "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" had a short filming period, high salaries, and was easy to sell through product placement in urban dramas.

Wang Yao plans to secure several decent endorsements for him this year, since the era of "Greedy Blue Moon" hasn't arrived yet, and Gu Tianle can still pursue the route of becoming a high-end spokesperson.

"After I finish filming these few, I estimate I can still make one more," Gu Tianle said with a smile.

For a normal actor, two projects a year is the limit. Gu Tianle has already finished filming one at the beginning of the year, and he wouldn't mind filming three more. He can be considered a workaholic.

“Wang Jing and I are preparing for a few TV series. We’ll do the projects ourselves then.” Wang Yao smiled and handed over a tablet. “There’s a game here. You can play it to pass the time when you’re on set.”

"This thing is so high-tech, how do you use it?" Gu Tianle was a complete idiot when it came to electronics, after all, he had used old-fashioned mobile phones his whole life.

After Wang Yao taught him how to turn the game on and off, and how to play "Water Spine," Gu Tianle felt like he had opened the door to a new world. He thought he would never be able to play video games in his life, but he never expected that there would be such an easy game to pick up.

"But this stuff is really addictive. Even I, an adult, can't control myself," Gu Tianle remarked after playing with it for a while.

“Even without games, there would be other things that are addictive, just in different forms,” Wang Yao shook his head.

Games like "Water Spikes" are perfect for passing the time on set. If, after being introduced to the game by Koda Raku, fellow actors post about it on social media, it can become a natural topic of conversation.

Gu Tianle originally wanted to take Wang Yao to experience Hong Kong's nightlife. Although he was frugal, he was still a man and would occasionally go out to relax. Unfortunately, they were about to return to Beijing.

After instructing Jin Quan to keep an eye on the traffic-generating activities for "Water Assassin" and the Ms platform, Wang Yao flew back to Beijing. Upon landing, he was picked up by Gong Yu and taken to a club. After a few meals, they finally got down to business.

"Mr. Wang, the revenue sharing from the copyright cooperation is no problem, but the board of directors has some objections to the purchase price." Gong Yu smiled and said, "Of course, I personally agree with the value of Mr. Wang's program, but others feel that it is a bit over budget."

With a price tag of 10,000 per minute and no top-tier celebrity lineup to back it up, it would be strange if there weren't any questions.

"Is your company's opinion based on viewership or conversion rate?" Wang Yao countered.

"Of course they all have them. After all, Baidu started out doing advertising, so their calculation models in this area are quite sophisticated," Gong Yu explained.

"Mr. Gong, why don't you tell me how many minutes you plan to spend on the procurement?" Wang Yao asked in return.

"Personally, I would definitely prefer all-inclusive," Gong Yu said with a smile.

"If I calculate based on 2 minutes per year, how much exposure or conversion do you think is appropriate for your company?" Wang Yao asked again.

Although Wang Yao's tone was very straightforward, Gong Yu appreciated his attitude of facing the problem head-on.

“If we follow the industry standard of CPM purchasing, at 30 yuan per thousand impressions, it would require over 60 billion impressions,” Gong Yu said in a deep voice.

"What about conversion rate? 'Campus Belle' generated over 1 million in sales with 25 million in exposure. How do you calculate that?" Wang Yao frowned.

"That's why I couldn't figure it out and wanted to ask President Wang for his opinion," Gong Yu said with a wry smile.

Qiandu always felt there was something wrong with the data for "Campus Belle". How could the ROI conversion data be so high? They didn't even make this much money selling "miracle potions".

"So at the time, I said that this model was mainly about attracting investment. If the product is suitable, the effect may be beyond expectations, because my content is all for product integration. So I dare to ask for this price. But if your company's algorithm does not agree, then I can only apologize." Wang Yao smiled and shook his head, seemingly not intending to continue bargaining.

"President Wang, don't worry, everything is negotiable." Gong Yu immediately became anxious.

If Wang Yao doesn't cooperate, where will he find an opportunity to bring monetization to the platform?

Incubate it yourself? The timeframe is unknown.

Should we outsource again? It would be more efficient to just hire Wang Yao directly, given the same time and cost.

“Theoretically speaking, if I were to attract merchants and manage traffic myself, I could guarantee your ROI without any problem. But then again, the same applies to my cooperation with other platforms. The prerequisite for cooperating with iQiyi is that we agree on the profit model.” Wang Yao’s smile faded, and he looked somewhat disappointed.

"I agree, of course I agree, otherwise I wouldn't have rushed to find you." Gong Yu smiled.

“Besides, ‘Campus Belle’ already has its own fan base, and there’s also the secondary promotion cost of Mulan Street. These are all content costs. If President Gong understands content, he should know that this isn’t just about making a video; it’s a complete content monetization chain.” Wang Yao shook his head.

“I understand, but I also hope that President Wang can be more understanding of our small family. Decisions at this level cannot be made lightly. How about we compromise?” Gong Yu asked tentatively.

"A compromise price?" Wang Yao frowned.

“No, it’s a compromise on the implementation plan. The annual framework contract of 2 minutes is no problem, but we will cooperate in phases. The first phase will be three months. I will purchase 5000 million worth first, and then decide on the subsequent cooperation after we see how things go,” Gong Yu said.

Wang Yao narrowed his eyes. This suggestion was nothing more than an attempt to reduce risks in the early stages, but it also made them unwilling to give Wang Yao the opportunity to cooperate with other platforms.

You want to occupy a position without doing anything at the lowest cost, right?
When faced with income, people tend to choose income with certainty.

When faced with losses, people subconsciously choose to take risks and gamble. This is the loss aversion inherent in human nature.

Gong Yu wanted Wang Yao's new model, but he wasn't sure, so he had to gamble. But whether he gambled 50 million first or 200 million directly, it would be very difficult to back out later.

Because the huge sunk costs in the early stages can affect the gambler's mentality later on.

Wang Yao understood, but he was also unwilling to lose his guaranteed income. "Does President Gong mean that you can call off the game at any time without paying the penalty?"

"I believe in Mr. Wang's abilities," Gong Yu said with a smile.

"So, does that mean if I don't want to cooperate anymore, I can terminate the cooperation at any time?" Wang Yao narrowed his eyes and revealed a subtle smile.

“Of course. Both parties have the right to terminate the contract when the phased cooperation expires.” Gong Yu frowned subconsciously, and felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.

“No problem, that’s fair. Let’s give each other a chance to cooperate first.” Wang Yao’s smile deepened.

Seeing Wang Yao compromise, Gong Yu breathed a sigh of relief and then drafted the contract.

The copyright is a 55/50 exclusive partnership, renewed annually. Originally it was to be renewed every 5 years, but Wang Yao felt that since purchasing is renewed annually, the copyright should be renewed as well, since he couldn't be sure whether Kiwi's advertising revenue was stable.

Gong Yu was in the wrong and had no choice but to agree.

The total contract for the purchase was 2 minutes, but only 5000 minutes were purchased in the first three months. Of that, 1500 million was for the entire year of "Campus Belle," meaning that only 3500 minutes were actually purchased in the first three months, which is about 40 minutes of content per day.

After the details were discussed and the contract was finalized, Wang Yao got up to leave, but was stopped by someone behind him as soon as he stepped out of the private room.

Turning his head, he saw Ren Quan, who had drunk quite a bit, waving at him.

The club that Gong Yu arranged wasn't very big; it was probably a small, private kitchen for a select few. I never expected to run into someone I knew there.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you say you were going to Hong Kong?" Ren Quan seemed to have drunk quite a bit, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"I was just back at the last minute to discuss some collaborations with the iQiyi platform. What's this all about?" Wang Yao laughed.

Ren Quan is no longer the minor celebrity he once was, so it's quite rare to see him get this drunk.

"It's a gathering of friends, come on, let me introduce you." Ren Quan grinned and put his arm around Wang Yao as they walked into the private room.

Before I even opened the door, I could hear the noisy atmosphere inside.

Ren Quan and Wang Yao's arrival quickly attracted everyone's attention.

"Come on, let me introduce you. This is my boss, Wang Yao."

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions on everyone's faces became subtle.

Wang Yao glanced at the dinner party. Including Ren Quan (two men and three women), Zhang Chaoyang, Liu Tao, Qin Hailu, and surprisingly Zhang Xinyu.

"Mr. Wang, it's been a long time." Zhang Xinyu was the first to react and quickly stood up.

Liu Tao and Qin Hailu exchanged a glance, their expressions revealing surprise.

Zhang Xinyu initially thought the young man was Ren Quan's good friend, and that the title of "boss" was just a joke. However, her reaction confirmed that the man was no ordinary person. He was a rising star heavily promoted by Meishe Company, and even Liu Tao, who had just made his comeback, was going to help her gain recognition.

"Wang Yao? I've heard so much about you, I never expected to run into you here today." Zhang Chaoyang sat with his arms crossed, sizing up Wang Yao.

"Mr. Zhang, nice to meet you." Wang Yao first nodded to Zhang Xinyu, and then greeted Zhang Chaoyang.

Seeing this, Liu Tao and Qin Hailu also stood up. Since Zhang Chaoyang had mentioned someone by name, that person must be someone of great importance.

"I don't need to introduce these two. You probably grew up watching their TV dramas. Mr. Zhang, you're really lucky today. I usually can't catch him, but I didn't expect to run into him here on your turf." Ren Quan said with a smile after pulling Wang Yao to sit down.

"Which private room is Mr. Wang in? I'll have someone waive the bill," Zhang Chaoyang said with a smile.

"It's Mr. Gong from Kiwi Fruit who's treating us," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Hmm?" Zhang Chaoyang raised an eyebrow. "President Wang is seeking cooperation with a video platform? You sit for a while, I'll go out and meet him."

As expected of Mr. Zhang, whose mental state is unstable, he went out and arrested people right away.

“Mr. Zhang is just easygoing, not impolite,” Ren Quan said with a light laugh.

"I've heard about it," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Mr. Wang should be old enough to drink now," Liu Tao joked.

"I'm allergic to alcohol and don't drink," Wang Yao politely declined with a smile.

"This sparkling water is quite delicious." Zhang Xinyu, with her keen eye, unscrewed a bottle for Wang Yao and placed it in front of him.

Even though they could sense Wang Yao's aloofness, the people at the table were all shrewd and they resumed their drinking conversation. Wang Yao listened for a while and roughly understood what kind of gathering it was.

Ren Quan, Liu Tao, and Qin Hailu all followed Wang Jinhua when they worked at Huayi, and they also followed her when she went to Chengdu. Later, Wang Jinhua left Chengdu again, and Qin Hailu went on her own. At that time, Liu Tao met Wang Ke, one of the Four Young Masters of Beijing, and thought that by marrying a rich man, she could retire from acting and live a comfortable life as a wealthy wife.

As a result, right after getting married, the financial crisis bankrupted Wang Ke. Instead of living the life of a multi-millionaire wife, she and Wang Ke were burdened with nearly a billion yuan in debt.

Originally, Liu Tao wanted to dump Wang Ke, but because they were in debt after marriage, even if they divorced, she would still be burdened with at least 5 million yuan in debt, and she would also be branded as a gold digger who looked down on the poor and loved the rich. So she had no choice but to grit her teeth and go back to work, at least she could still maintain the image of a virtuous wife and loving mother.

Under the pressure of huge debts, Liu Tao really went all out last year, mobilizing almost all his abilities and connections to start filming intensively to pay off his debts. Today's situation is because Zhang Chaoyang will be investing more in the entertainment sector later, and Sohu Pictures is going to film a self-produced web series called "Qian Duoduo" as a test.

Liu Tao is willing to take on such a novel project as web series, which shows that he is indeed short of money.

Meishe Pictures also invested in this drama, which is why Zhang Xinyu had the opportunity to sit at this dinner party.

Qin Hailu also wanted to cooperate with Sohu later, and also came to support her best friend Liu Taocheng. She invited Ren Quan to catch up with old friends, and Zhang Chaoyang wanted to find out if there was any opportunity to invest in Kanpianer.com.

It was obvious that Liu, Qin, and Ren were very close. Taking advantage of Zhang Chaoyang's absence, Qin Hailu kept teasing Ren Quan for getting rich without bringing his sisters, trying to secure some resources for herself and Liu Tao.

“I told you before that I was working for the boss, but you didn’t believe me. Now that my boss is here, ask him if our company has any investment projects.” Ren Quan pulled Wang Yao out as a shield.

"Kanpianer.com really doesn't have any more projects to invest in; managing theaters is already at its limit," Wang Yao said with a smile, but then his tone shifted.

"However, if Miss Liu wants a cooperation opportunity, I can help you think of a way."

Upon hearing this, Liu Tao's watery eyes were veiled with a captivating allure. He rested his chin on his hand and smiled with interest. "Mr. Wang, do you have any projects you could introduce me to?"

"Yes, quite a few. The only inconvenience is that I often need to travel abroad to film, and each shoot can last for two or three months, leaving me away from home for extended periods." Wang Yao nodded.

As soon as the words were spoken, Qin Hailu and Liu Tao's smiles froze simultaneously.

This movie of yours, was it filmed in Japan?

?

(End of this chapter)