This director is so innocent.

Chapter 79 Unspoken Rules (Seeking First Subscription)

"Boss, our company is almost out of money."

Upon returning to the company, Su Jin was completely bewildered by Huang Jiaqiang's words.

Why are you out of money?

Since he became a bestselling young adult author, the company has never lacked money.

Of course, this is also because he didn't invest heavily in TV dramas before.

"What happened?"

"Boss, let me tell you about our company's expenses first!" Huang Jiaqiang took a sip of water to moisten his throat before launching into his long-winded explanation.

"This year, our company has developed a total of five projects."

"Struggle", "Golden Wedding", and "W: Two Worlds" are three TV series.

As for movies, we developed "The Coffin in the Mountain" and "Sheep Without a Shepherd".

We invested 750 million in "Struggle", 800 million in "Golden Wedding", and 900 million in "W One Two Worlds", but it is still in the preparation stage and not much money has been invested yet.

"We invested 500 million in 'The Coffin in the Mountain,' and you said you'd invest 700 million in 'Sheep Without a Shepherd,' so that's a total of 3650 million."

"hiss--"

After hearing this, Su Jin gasped.

How did it get to 3650 million?

Is he that rich?

"Wait a minute, how come 'Stone' only made so little money? What about the overseas rights?!"

"Overseas copyrights have nothing to do with us; we only receive revenue sharing in mainland China."

"No? I don't remember it being mentioned in the contract!"

"Boss, although it's not written down, it's the rule. Everyone does it this way. Generally, for film and television projects with Hong Kong and Taiwan funding, the mainland side inevitably suffers some losses due to a lack of distribution and connections!"

"What the hell are these ridiculous rules?"

Su Jin cursed and swore, but that was all she could do; she couldn't do anything about it.

From an outsider's perspective, you're just a tiny little company; you're lucky if you can even get dividends from us in mainland China. You want overseas copyrights? You're dreaming.

"Don't even mention us, Xi'an Film Studio is the same. They only have the mainland China rights to 'A Chinese Odyssey'."

Let's talk about the TV series "Struggle"!

"Struggle made a lot of money. It was sold to Shanghai TV station for 200,000 yuan per episode in the first run, but only half of that amount, 1.6 million yuan, has been received so far."

"The first run of 'Soldiers' Sortie' was priced at 2,000 yuan per episode. The second run was bought by Beijing TV at 30,000 yuan per episode, for a total of 510,000 yuan."

After listening, Su Jin began to make plans in her mind.

3650 million minus 1013 million equals 2637 million.

Subtracting the planned investment of 900 million for "W—Two Worlds" and 700 million for "Sheep Without a Shepherd," that leaves 1037 million.

Million.

Therefore, he didn't earn any money that year; instead, he spent 1037 million.

Fuck it!

Su Jin sighed and asked, "How much money is left in the account?"

"Three hundred and seventy-eight thousand five hundred and twenty yuan and three mao."

You're a real genius, you've got it down to the millimeter.

"I will transfer five million to the company from my personal account later."

"Boss, five million is too little; it's not enough for 'Sheep Without a Shepherd' alone."

"I know, but I'm out of money."

This five million came from royalties for "The Longest Day in Chang'an," which he had just received, as well as royalties from several previous books.

Jianmu Culture, on the other hand, is running a bookstore and still owes the bank money! They estimate they might get three or four million by 7 PM, but that's still too little.

"I have a good way to make money."

"What method?"

"Isn't the outside world very interested in Ning Hao's new film right now? We can raise the budget for 'Sheep Without a Shepherd' and then sell those shares to them at a premium."

Holy crap!

Why didn't he think of that for a moment!

They even thought about using their own money to make movies; how utterly despicable!

Huang Jiaqiang's method is highly feasible.

Many film companies want to enter the film industry, but making a movie is really no different from gambling. No matter how well you do your preliminary research, you don't know what the result will be until the movie is released.

What should we do then?

Invest in a famous director, then.

A great director can increase a film's success rate.

This is why people pursue big-name directors.

Ning Hao's "Stone" achieved great success with a small budget, grossing 24 million yuan at the box office with a budget of only 5 million yuan, which certainly gave investors confidence.

Now that she had managed to get the money, Su Jin was in a much better mood and took out a cigarette and gave one to Huang Jiaqiang.

"How much do you plan to increase costs?"

3000.

"How many?"

3000.

Having received confirmation, Su Jin gave Huang Jiaqiang a deep look.

He originally thought Huang Jiaqiang would just add six or seven million and then sell it at a premium.

I never imagined his heart could be so filthy.

But he really likes it!

"Okay, I'll call Ning Hao and ask him to come over."

"Why did you call him over?"

"Call him over to discuss the lead actor! With an investment of 30 million, if you want to sell it at a premium, Ning Hao's influence isn't enough; you need to add a big star."

"The boss is wise." Huang Jiaqiang is a smart man and understands immediately; he had been thinking one-sidedly just now.

Su Jin took out her phone and called Ning Hao. She didn't say what it was about, just that she had something urgent to discuss with him and asked him to come to the company.

Ning Hao happened to be here and arrived in about ten minutes.

As soon as he entered Su Jin's office, he grumbled, "What's the matter? Why did you call me over in such a hurry?"

"Good news." Su Jin smiled mysteriously, poured him a cup of tea, and asked with a smile, "Would you like Zhou Xun to be the female lead?"

Ning Hao sneered and said irritably, "Do you think I can just take it because I want it?"

"If you want it, I can find it for you."

Ning Hao frowned, looking at Su Jin with confusion. What was going on?

Wasn't it agreed that Ding Yongmei would be the female lead?

Why are we bringing up weekly news again?

"What exactly do you want?"

"Old Ning, Mr. Huang and I discussed it, and the budget for your genius directorial new film is only a mere 1700."

Wow, isn't this embarrassing? If word gets out, people will think we're mistreating you.

Therefore, after careful consideration, we have decided to add 1300 million to your investment, bringing the total cost to 3000 million, so you can experience being a big-name director.

Speak like a human.

"That's human language!"

"hehe----"

"Stop chuckling! Just tell me if you want Zhou Xun to be your leading lady!"

"Nonsense." Ning Hao rolled his eyes.

Zhou Xun is praised by many senior actors as an elfin girl with a natural talent for acting. Which director wouldn't like her?

"That's good. We'll definitely find Zhou Xun for you. Even if she doesn't come, I'll find someone of the same caliber."

"What about Yongmei? She's already finished her audition, and I've already spoken to her about it."

"Has the contract been signed?"

"no."

"That makes things easier. Just say the investors disagree, and we can cooperate again in the future."

"I'm not going. I don't have your thick skin. You go if you want."

"Director Ning, I'll go!" Huang Jiaqiang suddenly interjected, "I'm the producer of 'Sheep Without a Shepherd,' it's perfect for me to speak on their behalf."

"Okay." Su Jin nodded and said, "Old Huang, I'm leaving this to you. Make sure you extricate Ning Hao from the blame and shift all the responsibility to the investors."

"Isn't the investor yourself?" Ning Hao said quietly.

"If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all," Su Jin said irritably.

"I'm stating the facts," Ning Hao muttered to himself.

"you----"

"Director Ning, we're not the only investors; there are others too," Huang Jiaqiang said.

Su Jin suppressed her anger and asked, "Old Ning, you haven't decided on the male lead yet, have you?"

If Zhou Xun were to play the female lead, the male lead's status would definitely need to be higher, at least not much lower than hers.

Otherwise, they definitely wouldn't agree; this is considered an unspoken rule in the entertainment industry.

For example, when Sister Xia returned to work after giving birth, she partnered with an internet celebrity and was ridiculed by fans of her rival.

Oh, and that internet celebrity also has a group of people praising his looks.

That's absolutely infuriating.

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