Back to 17, My Brother is the Cult Leader

Chapter 107 Meeting

The meeting room of Yuanchuang Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Fang Yuan arrived twenty minutes earlier than the agreed time.

Xiaomei had already prepared the tea. The Longjing tea was steeping in a glass, and the tea leaves were slowly unfurling in the hot water.

At 8:50, Ning Hao pushed open the door and came in.

He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, and his hair was a bit longer than when we last met, casually tied back with a rubber band. He spent three months in the editing room during the post-production of "Crazy Racer," and he lost a lot of weight.

Ning Hao sat down in the chair to Fang Yuan's left.

"You seem to be in good spirits."

"Come on, I still haven't recovered. That period really exhausted me."

"Alright, Director Ning, you're now one of the top directors in China."

"Don't listen to their boasting. I've only actually directed two films, but they're making it sound like I'm some kind of genius."

"Hmm, not bad, it hasn't gotten too cocky yet."

Li Xinyu and Hao Wei entered at almost the same time.

Li Xinyu was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, dark trousers, and her hair was tied in a low ponytail. She was holding a folder and a laptop in her hand.

She is the company's operations manager, and her responsibilities cover everything from early-stage project incubation to later-stage marketing and promotion.

Hao Wei was wearing a thin gray jacket over a black undershirt, carrying a canvas bag, and his hair was loose.

She is the company's art director, in charge of the performing arts affairs of several shareholders. She herself has just become a shareholder of the company, and the shares she received were returned by Wang Jinghua.

The four people sat down.

Xiaomei changed the tea and sat down to take meeting minutes.

Fang Yuan didn't exchange pleasantries. He took out two books and two manuscripts from the file bag, stacked them on the table, and pushed them in front of Ning Hao.

They are "If You Are the One", "A Sigh", "I Am Not Madame Bovary", and "Aftershock".

The first two parts were published on Rongshuxia as e-books. So there are two script outlines.

The latter two books were published recently.

Ning Hao picked up the top book, "If You Are the One," and opened the cover.

He didn't read the main text, but first looked at the table of contents and then turned to the first chapter.

The meeting room fell silent. Fang Yuan leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on Ning Hao's fingers as he turned the pages, without urging him to hurry.

Ning Hao read about seven or eight pages, pausing twice to go back and reread a section from the beginning.

"I'll go back and read the original text online carefully." Ning Hao put "If You Are the One" aside.

Ning Hao also glanced at the other three books and put them back in their original places.

"I'm finding these three a bit too difficult to film now, so let's stick with 'If You Are the One' instead." The framework of the matchmaking service can be structured like a road movie.

When a man meets different women, each woman represents a segment of his life, making the pace easy to control.

The dialogue style is different from what you gave me in "Stone" and "Racing" before.

Fang Yuan said, "You should ask Sister Xing to write the script."

Ning Hao nodded. "Okay. I'll give you the first draft for the second half of the year."

Fang Yuan took back the other three books.

"Let's leave these for now. Nobody's filming them right now anyway. We'll film them again in a few years when I'm more confident."

"You should work on the script first. Once the script is finalized, Xinyu will oversee the project, and you'll be the producer."

"Okay," Li Xinyu nodded.

"Director Ning, after we finish filming this project, consider my suggestion. Either you and your spouse can both come to the company, and Sister Xing can take charge of the scriptwriting department. Or I can invest in you, and you can set up your own studio."

Ning Hao had a slight toothache. "Do I really have to choose?"

"You should go back and discuss it. You can't make the decision anyway, so why are you still worrying about it?"

"Senior Sister Hao, could you tell me about Zeng Li and Yan Danchen's schedules for the second half of the year?"

Hao Wei opened his notebook.

"With the success of 'Happy Death Day,' both of them saw a significant increase in fame and pay, resulting in numerous film offers."

"As for Zeng Li, 'East Meets West' has finished airing, and its ratings ranked in the top three in its time slot."

We currently have two scripts in talks. One is a period drama set in the Tang Dynasty, starring a female lead, co-produced by China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group, and the platform has already been secured as CCTV.

The other one is a modern urban drama, with the female lead, a project by Huayi Brothers. Both companies are pushing for it.

"Yan Danchen's reputation was very good after the broadcast of 'The Love Story of Tang Dynasty'."

There are currently three scripts. One is a period drama, a palace intrigue theme, with the second female lead, and it's a project by Hunan Broadcasting System.

One is a period drama set in the Republican era, featuring the female lead. The other is a modern suspense/crime drama, an episodic series where she is a victim in one episode; her screen time is limited but her character is distinctive.

Fang Yuan listened and thought for a moment.

"They've taken on the roles in the second half of the year. Zeng Li's period drama is given priority, as China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group have guaranteed distribution channels."

For Yan Danchen, if her schedule doesn't allow for that, we'll prioritize the modern suspense drama, as the episodic format is shorter.

Hao Wei quickly wrote it down in his notebook.

Fang Yuan thought for a moment and then said, "In the first half of next year, try to reduce the workload for them. I have some plans and arrangements in place."

The meeting room fell silent. Hao Wei looked up at Fang Yuan but didn't ask why.

"There's one more thing. Zeng Li released an album before, and the market response was good. You asked her if she would be willing to release another one."

If we wish, we can produce it in the first half of next year and release it in the second half.

"I'll talk to her first and see what she's willing to do."

Fang Yuan turned to Li Xinyu.

"I have a guest coming tomorrow, will you help me greet him/her?"

"OK"

"What kind of guest is so formal?" Ning Hao asked, somewhat curious.

Fang Yuan ignored him and turned to look at Hao Wei with some hesitation.

Everyone looked at him strangely, but in the end, Fang Yuan seemed to have made up his mind.

"I'm going to Hollywood this summer, and I might stay for a while."

"Wow, what great projects do you have now?"

"A Hollywood company has taken a liking to a script."

"There's another series that's about to launch. I was just considering whether to use those two, but forget it, I don't think this project is very suitable."

"What project is it? Can you help us out? We want to go to Hollywood and earn dollars too!"

For the previous film, "Happy Death Day," Zeng Li and Yan Danchen were paid a percentage of the profits, with a minimum of 2%. In the end, they each received $200 million, which caused a sensation in the industry.

"The script was very good, but it touched on religion, so there was no need to cause trouble."

The other is horror films. They can't keep working in this industry; if they keep doing that, they'll become the most beautiful ghosts.

As he spoke, Fang Yuan took out a script and tossed it to Ning Hao.

Paranormal Activity.

"The main problem is that films like this can't be imported to China. And since they're series, they might make money, but in the long run, it's not worth it for the two of them to act in them."

"This script is creative! Fang Yuan, are you going to direct it yourself?"

"You want to give it a try? Are you good at English?"

"I'll be your assistant director."

"What can an assistant director do if he doesn't speak English?"