How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 199 What's Wrong with the Playboy? [10,000-word Update, Please Subscribe]

When Wang Yao woke up the next day, Zhao Liying and the others had already gone to film with the crew. After all, they were there to work, not to travel.

Wang Yao received Li Xiaomu's notification and visited about two hours later with LP Company President Hideaki Honma and Yui Aragaki. The efficiency was indeed very high.

During this period, I organized a list of the small animation companies I came into contact with later.

"Mr. Wang, this is Hideaki Honma, president of LP Company, and this is Ms. Yui Aragaki." Li Xiaomu led the group in.

"Mr. Wang, it's a pleasure to meet you." Honma Hide was a stern-faced middle-aged man who was said to have a military background.

Standing behind them was Yui Aragaki, a tall woman in a dress, who also bowed in greeting.

As the company's mainstay, Yui Aragaki rarely attends these private gatherings with her boss anymore, especially when it's a dinner hosted by the yakuza.

Therefore, she was very curious about the identity of the inviter and was somewhat surprised when she saw Wang Yao.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Honma." Wang Yao smiled and nodded. "I am honored to invite you, as I admire Ms. Aragaki and would like to invite you to participate in the filming of our movie."

“I heard about Mr. Wang’s situation from Xiaomu. We naturally value this international opportunity to participate in the production of a Chinese film very much.” Honma smiled. “Could we take a look at the script?”

In the entertainment industry, one must be very careful with any public activities, especially in a small country like Japan, where even a slight oversight can cause controversy and damage one's career.

Especially the recent international rejection of Asahi and the chain reaction triggered by Kitagawa have put major Japanese film and television companies in a sensitive state. The old tricks of unspoken rules seem to be somewhat risky under the impact of the Internet.

Therefore, they are all trying to figure out how to use marketing to package their artists into a persona of being "unattainable" and "not subject to unspoken rules".

The persona of an international star is naturally the first choice.

No matter what it is, as long as it has the word "international" on it, it will instantly become high-end, especially giving fans enough room for imagination and self-consistency.

My brother/sister is an international star, they don't care about the limited resources in their own country, and they would never be subjected to unspoken rules.

So when he heard that Wang Yao had a social circle in China with figures like Cheng Long and Fan Bingbing, Honma Hide personally brought Aragaki Yui to visit and learn more.

Wang Yao handed over the pre-prepared Japanese version of the script outline.

"Thank you." Yui Aragaki reached out and took it, thanking him softly in broken Chinese.

"Oh? It's a story about women's career growth. Not bad, not bad. These kinds of inspirational stories usually do well at the box office." After watching it, Hidetoshi Honma felt there was no risk.

He's portrayed as a relatively stereotypical kind-hearted senior colleague, appearing in only three or four scenes. It's probably more of a 'gimmicky cameo' designed to generate buzz.

“Ms. GAKKI’s image and temperament perfectly match the Chinese audience’s aesthetic for a ‘kind girl,’ so she was our team’s first choice for collaboration. If she’s not a good fit, we’ll have to look for Satomi Ishihara and Masami Nagasawa.” Wang Yao smiled.

Upon hearing these two names, Hidetoshi Honma's expression changed slightly as he smiled and said, "Our GAKKI's acting skills and popularity are no worse than those two. She just debuted a little later. Moreover, those two are currently commanding a high price due to their popularity. Mr. Wang might be overcharged."

“Miss GAKKI is indeed the best choice.” Wang Yao smiled.

"I took a look at the cast, and they all seem to be newcomers in China? They do have quite a few social media followers, all in the millions." Honma Hide felt something was off after checking the information on Zhao Liying and the others.

Apart from the lead actress Zhao Liying, who has experience in several TV dramas, the other actors are basically newcomers who have not yet debuted, and this lineup is essentially without any existing audience base on the big screen.

Strangely, these individuals all have a considerable number of followers on their Weibo and social media accounts. Among them, Nazha has the most, with over two million followers, surpassing even Yui Aragaki's follower count on Twitter.

What kind of lineup is this exactly?
"The lead actors are indeed newcomers to the film industry, but they still have a certain fan base. The second and third female leads are models who debuted through endorsements. Their related endorsements have generated nearly a million US dollars in sales. Moreover, they are both female fans and are currently enrolled as prospective students at the best film academy in China. They have absolutely no problem in terms of popularity, buzz, or acting skills."

"The female lead is a very talented actress. Although this is her first time trying film, the quality shouldn't be a problem," Wang Yao explained.

"That's true, but movies are ultimately paid for by audiences. Product sales don't equal audience conversion rates. This project was probably made by Wang Yao to promote newcomers," Honma Hide laughed.

"So, I hope to find some popular and well-known celebrities to help boost her popularity. Although GAKKI's role is not large, her remuneration is not low, 3 US dollars," Wang Yao said with a smile.

Yui Aragaki currently only receives $3 per episode for her roles in Japanese dramas. It's just a cameo appearance, a few shots, and she can earn that much in a two-day period at most. Plus, there's the opportunity for overseas exposure. Shu Honma was instantly energized.

I thought Wang Yao was trying to use Li Xiaomu's connections to get something for free, but it turns out he's actually a big spender!
Everyone says Huaxia Film Company is rich, and it turns out it's true.

"It's not about the salary, it's just that I feel GAKKI is suitable for this role." Honma Hide said to Aragaki Yui with a smile, "GAKKI, tell Mr. Wang your understanding of this role."

Yui Aragaki, who was suddenly called out, was taken aback for a moment, then blushed slightly and shrank her shoulders shyly. "Um, I think I can portray this role quite well. I've acted in quite a few workplace dramas. The only difficulty is the scene where I help the female lead get rid of her boss's harassment. There might be some action scenes to be added to that? But I'm confident."

She just starred in the hit drama "Code Blue 2", successfully transitioning from a teenage girl image, and has no resistance to this type of role.

However, upon hearing that Wang Yao was willing to pay $3 for this cameo role, a hint of curiosity appeared in their eyes.

Even though she is now considered a pillar of the company and a near-top-tier actress in the industry, she is still receiving a 'newcomer's base salary' at LP Company. Last year, her income was less than 500 million. Despite generating over 6000 million in revenue for the company, she only received less than one-tenth of that, which made her somewhat resentful.

The Mr. Wang across from me is not only generous but also handsome. Compared to President Honma's deadpan face, he's practically a company perk.

She did want to try and find out about his treatment of the artists under his management. Although switching to Huaxia Company was unrealistic, it would still be a bargaining chip for future negotiations with the company.

“I’m also looking forward to working with Ms. Aragaki.” Wang Yao smiled.

"Actually, our GAKKI has very good acting skills and audience appeal. I heard that if Mr. Wang has other film collaborations in the future, he can give us priority consideration. At least we are more cost-effective than Satomi Ishihara and Masami Nagasawa," Hideya Honma said with a smile.

"Does President Honma's company only handle artist management?" Wang Yao asked.

"We're basically involved in all sectors, from film and television to music to idols. Our production might be a little weaker, but we have strong production support," Hideaki Honma said seriously, sensing that Wang Yao seemed genuinely interested in collaborating.

LP is actually a lean, intermediary company similar to Tianhuo.

"Actually, I got the idea to film a medical drama after watching Ms. GAKKI's 'CODE BLUE,' but mine is more of an international series project." Wang Yao briefly explained his idea for "X," raising the budget for a single season in Japan to 3000 million.

Honma Shu's breathing quickened upon hearing this. If he could take on the production of this drama, the profits from the actors and production alone would be substantial, almost equivalent to one-tenth of the company's revenue.

“I think medical dramas are a hot genre right now, especially with the recent relaxation of standards for Kampo medicine in the Japanese market. It’s bound to have a huge boom in the future. And your background as a private hospital will also attract the interest of many private hospitals. If Mr. Wang really wants to do it, please be sure to give priority to our LP.” Honma Hide said solemnly, bowing deeply to Wang Yao.

Startled, Yui Aragaki quickly bowed in greeting.

Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly and stepped aside, saying, "President Honma, please don't be so polite. I can't accept such a courtesy."

"That's just how the Japanese are, their knees are so weak it's scary, you'll get used to it." Li Xiaomu joked in Chinese, helping Honma Hide to his feet.

Wang Yao then picked up Yui Aragaki.

Feeling the touch and force of Wang Yao's grip on her upper arm, Yui Aragaki blushed instantly to the roots of her ears, glancing at Wang Yao with a mixture of shyness and annoyance.

Sure enough, handsome men also secretly take advantage of others!

Honma Shu's mood improved considerably after eating a large pancake. He began to exaggerate the complexity of the Japanese film and television industry, implying that without local connections, it would be almost impossible for outsiders to enter the Japanese market.

The two countries, Japan and Korea, have developed an almost distorted level of xenophobia in their emphasis on commerce, especially in the cultural and creative sectors.

In order to protect the comics industry, a committee system was even created. Basically, any comic IP with potential is controlled by the committee, and the control is decentralized. If any party disagrees, the copyright cooperation will be severely hampered.

A typical example is the development of sequels to popular anime. Production may be delayed due to a small dispute over the distribution of profits, which could even bankrupt a company and an IP.

It is also a form of institutional rigidity.

This phenomenon did not change until 15 years later, when the streaming era crushed traditional television stations, and most creators or companies in Japan had the opportunity to own their own intellectual property.

The same applies to film and television production, where everything is controlled by the television station.

The two sides had a pleasant conversation, and Wang Yao verbally promised that the production of the Japanese film "X" would be handed over to LP Company. Finally, due to other commitments, Honma Shusai reluctantly took his leave with Aragaki Yui.

Just as they stepped out of the courtyard gate, they saw a tall, elegant woman walking towards them, entering through the door they had just come out of.

"Is it Lin Zhiling?" Honma Hide asked in a low voice.

"Yes, that's right," Yui Aragaki whispered, covering her mouth.

Lin Zhiling recently caused quite a stir in Japan for her role in "Moon Lovers" alongside Takuya Kimura. Her almost perfect looks and temperament have won over Japanese audiences. "Is she also an artist under Mr. Wang's company?" Honma Shu asked Li Xiaomu, turning to him.

"They're probably friends or business partners," Li Xiaomu shook his head.

After getting into the car, Honma Shu searched for keywords related to Wang Yao and Lin Zhiling on Yahoo! Search and found the news about Wang Yao spending millions of US dollars at an auction to make the beauties smile at the "Shi Ba" gala.

This confirms once again that Wang Yao is indeed a wealthy second-generation heir with considerable influence.

"Huh, I didn't expect him to be a playboy." Yui Aragaki looked utterly disappointed.

"So what if he's a playboy? At least he's willing to spend real money, which is much better than those rich kids who use their status to scam people, GAKKI, let me tell you..."

"There are no men who aren't prone to infidelity, but as long as that man is willing to spend money on you, then infidelity can even become an advantage, because every time he cheats, he will feel guilty towards you, and that guilt will be your most important weapon in the relationship." Honma Hide said with a serious smile.

"President, I despise cheating men!" Yui Aragaki wrinkled her nose and frowned as she looked up gossip about Wang Yao.

"Mr. Wang, it's nice to see you again." Lin Zhiling took off her sunglasses and gave Wang Yao a warm hug.

Through the thin fabric, it delivered two powerful blows to Wang Yao.

"Thank you for making the special trip over here," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"I was originally going to come to Japan for a promotional event, but it all just happened to be fate." Lin Zhiling's uniquely soft, childlike voice made the already sweltering June even more stifling.

At the last dinner party, Wang Yao and she exchanged contact information. As soon as the "Sister Flower" project was finalized, Wang Yao insisted on her schedule and offered her a fee that she couldn't refuse. So this time, she cameoed in "22" for free.

"Take a look at the script and the character descriptions." Wang Yao handed over a script.

"Hmm? Was Mr. Wang entertaining guests just now?" Lin Zhiling followed Wang Yao into the house and saw the messy fruit peels on the low table.

"I met with the president of a local company to learn about the local environment," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"These two scripts seem to be the same." After sitting down, Lin Zhiling noticed another Japanese version on the table. With her quick wit, she immediately guessed what was going on, raising an eyebrow in annoyance.
"Is Mr. Wang just keeping a donkey while looking for a horse? He said he couldn't live without me, which made me cancel two events and rush over. Turns out he's just a backup plan."

“You’re the main course, she’s the backup.” Wang Yao smiled and shook his head, offering no further explanation.

Yui Aragaki and Lin Zhiling are the same character; Wang Yao wanted two versions, but each had its own purpose.

"Hmph." Lin Zhiling snorted lightly, gently biting into the chilled watermelon, and carefully read through the character script: "A kind and understanding older sister. I suspect that President Wang has a stereotype about me."

"It's not me, it's the audience. We always have to cater to the audience's preferences," Wang Yao said with a smile.

In the time it takes to eat a slice of watermelon, Lin Zhiling finished reading the content. "There's nothing wrong with it, except that the scenes about workplace harassment don't have any explicit guidelines."

"Don't worry, this is a workplace inspirational drama, so the scale is definitely not as big as 'Red Cliff'." Wang Yao curled the corners of his mouth, his gaze sweeping over the curves of her as she sat sideways on the tatami.

"Tsk, hold on." Lin Zhiling blushed slightly. "When do we start filming?"

"It should be in the next day or two. Director Guan and the others have gone to film some scenes. If you're free, wait for me. We'll go find them after I finish meeting the next client," Wang Yao said.

"Do we need a translator?" Lin Zhiling joked.

"You can work as the secretary to the Party Secretary and get familiar with the role beforehand," Wang Yao said with a smile.

The character of this 'kind older sister' is actually the secretary of the villainous boss.

"Funかりました~President様~" Lin Zhiling knelt down and sat up straight, bowing in salute.

No wonder she has such good relationships in the entertainment industry. Her personality is indeed very comfortable to be around. She is not pretentious, but also open and knows how to maintain boundaries.

"What's your relationship with the 'Kangxi' program team like?" Wang Yao asked.

“Great! What’s up? Do you have any celebrities who want to be on Kangxi? I ​​can arrange it.” Lin Zhiling winked.

"I want to buy their online streaming rights. Could you help me get in touch with them later?" Wang Yao said with a smile.

“It’s nothing, but I also have a question for you, Mr. Wang. Our boss is planning to launch a beauty e-commerce website. What do you think?” Lin Zhiling asked.

"Catwalk also wants to cross over into another field?" Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly.

Catwalk is arguably the largest talent agency in Taiwan. Basically, 80% of the models come from this company. Currently, most of the active Taiwanese artists who started as models are from this company. They are also involved in film and television agency business and have a good relationship with Royal Entertainment. At the beginning of the year, they won the agency for "All Love".

In terms of scale, it should be considered to be on the scale of an early-stage beauty camera, with an estimated value of around 2 million.

"It's all because of President Wang's sudden emergence that everyone is eager to get involved. Our CEO thinks Catwalk's model is very similar to Tianhuo Media, so he's also thinking of getting into e-commerce," Lin Zhiling said reproachfully.

“I’m not very familiar with the environment in Taiwan, but e-commerce is definitely the trend. However, I’m not optimistic about it. It won’t be able to scale up, and frankly, Taiwan’s beauty brands don’t have much competitiveness. Unless they can incubate their own brand, it’s meaningless.” Wang Yao shook his head.

"Are you deliberately trying to hurt her?" Lin Zhiling looked at Wang Yao with her big, watery eyes full of resentment.

"?" Wang Yao looked puzzled.

"You know I just lost 3000 million yuan investing in a cosmetics brand last year, are you deliberately trying to hurt me?" Lin Zhiling recounted her and her brother's tragic experience of being scammed into investing in a cosmetics company and a beauty salon.

ARTDECO is a German brand. Lin Chih-ling spent tens of millions of yuan to acquire the general agency in its early years and handed it over to her brother to operate. However, due to entrusting the wrong person, the brand itself was not strong enough, and the Taiwanese beauty market was impacted by Japanese and Korean cosmetics. Even with Lin Chih-ling's reputation, the brand suffered losses because it was positioned as a high-end brand and lacked target users.

In fact, almost no Taiwanese artists have succeeded in starting their own businesses locally; Jay Chou and Hsiao Ya-hsuan both suffered heavy losses.

The reason why they could accept the scale of "Red Cliff" was simply to quickly expand into the mainland market, make money, and pay off debts.

"Investing is risky. You might as well put that money into real estate." Wang Yao chuckled, genuinely unaware of this.

"Mr. Wang's sarcastic remarks warmed my heart." Lin Zhiling made a wronged expression.

It has to be said that this woman is truly skilled; every gesture she makes exudes an unusual allure.

"Short of money?" Wang Yao curled the corners of his mouth, his smile playful.

"Hey, I'm the representative of Taiwanese female artists who refuse to work in Taiwan." Lin Zhiling chuckled and made an X.

“You’re a pillar of Catwalk. If you can persuade them to accept Skyfire’s investment, I can give you a second chance to start your own business,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

“Impossible, how could they possibly accept investment from a mainland company?” Lin Zhiling blurted out.

“Or you could poach a few promising individuals from Catwalk for me. I’ll settle accounts per person, and if the accumulated value is enough, I’ll redeem a startup opportunity for you,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Really?" Lin Zhiling raised an eyebrow; she did know a few people who wanted to switch jobs for career development.

"Of course, why would I lie to you?" Wang Yao smiled.

"Wait for my message." Upon hearing this, Lin Zhiling got up and walked towards the quiet backyard to make a phone call. When she returned to the living room, she found two strange men there, seemingly discussing business with Wang Yao.

Upon seeing Lin Zhiling, the middle-aged man opposite Wang Yao was visibly stunned.

Lin Zhiling smiled demurely and nodded in greeting. She knelt down beside Wang Yao, helping to make tea and acting as his secretary.

I quietly pricked up my ears to listen to their conversation, and my curiosity grew even stronger.

What kind of client is Wang Yao?

Love Hood and Pretty Tenant

Computer Lover

These projects sound so Japanese!

(End of this chapter)