Huayu: Just started as a stagehand, but the director's comeback system

Jiang Huai doesn't dislike many things. One is that others are richer than him, and the other is that others have money but don't spend it on him.

Perhaps it is because of this selfishness and ruthlessness that Jianghuai has come to where it is today.

When he met several Hong Kong actors under Wang Jinghua's management, he found that they were far more spoiled than he had imagined.

The Hong Kong film and television industry is in decline, and even homeless people on the street can comment on it. Yet, these Hong Kong actors and directors seem to only have the past glory in their eyes.

"Director Jiang, please speak frankly. We still need to visit the film set later."

Liu Jialing, born in 1965, looked at Jiang Huai in front of her. If she were an ordinary Hong Kong woman, he would probably be the same age as her son. In addition, given his fame as a Hong Kong diva, she couldn't help but feel a little contemptuous. Even though Liang Jiahui kept giving her glances from behind, she ignored them.

"Please sit down and wait for everyone to arrive."

Jiang Huai looked at his watch. It was almost time to meet, but only three people had arrived: Liu Jialing, Liang Jiahui, and Guan Zhilin.

He met with all six Hong Kong actors under Wang Jinghua's management; the remaining three, Sandra Ng, Yang Ziqiong, and Anita Yuen, had not yet arrived.

Seeing that Jiang Huai was no longer paying attention to her and was just tapping his fingers on the table, Liu Jialing had originally thought that Jiang Huai was young and making exorbitant demands, and she had never really intended to leave. At this moment, she could only go back and sit down next to Liang Jiahui.

Seeing this, Jiang Huai couldn't help but sneer inwardly. These actors from Hong Kong did indeed have a stronger businessman's air about them. It was a pity he was born too late, otherwise he would have gone to Hong Kong to learn how to be a ruthless businessman.

The remaining three arrived together, arriving precisely at the agreed time, neither a minute early nor a minute late.

"Now that everyone is here, please sit down."

Jiang Huai doesn't care about anything right now. As long as the contract is signed, he can make all the decisions himself. There's no need to rush.

After Jiang Huai finished speaking, he looked around. Apart from Liang Jia Hui and Guan Zhi Lin, who were still somewhat serious, most of the others were fiddling with the things in their hands.

He then realized that he needed to add some extra ingredients, otherwise these foreign monks wouldn't take his newly published scriptures seriously.

"I believe that everyone has played roles in mainland China to some extent and understands the distribution of entertainment circles in mainland China."

I won't mince words. I'll just go with what Liu Jialing suggested: anyone who leaves this room without signing a contract, regardless of their future performances in mainland China, will be permanently banned from the Beijing entertainment circle.

Jiang Huai wasn't lying. Although he wasn't a junior member of the Beijing circle who grew up under their watchful eyes, he did have a nominal mentor, Zhang Yimou, and he had long been considered part of the Beijing circle.

What he said today wasn't just about superficial things. These Hong Kong actors will still have a long way to go before they can enter the mainland market, and he has enough time to complete various exchanges of interests within the Beijing entertainment circle.

"Director Jiang, I, Wu Junru, am not easily intimidated. I refuse to believe it today."

Hearing Jiang Huai's threatening words, Wu Junru, who had always been treated with respect since arriving on the mainland, immediately stood up in anger.

In her view, the mainland entertainment industry is just a suddenly developed relative. It used to completely imitate Hong Kong, but now it has turned the tables and become the dominant force.

They can even determine their survival in the entertainment industry. If they don't stand up to Jiang Huai today, they will completely lose their voice tomorrow and be at the mercy of others.

"Ning Hao, find someone to send Wu Junru out, and also spread the word that if Ms. Wu acts in any director's film in mainland China, that director and the company behind her will be considered to have unilaterally canceled all cooperation with Yihuai Media."

After Jiang Huai finished speaking, he didn't let Wu Junru say anything more and sent her out directly.

It's unclear how effective the other party's cooperation will be, but at least the others present have become serious and no longer show the same disdain as before.

"Alright, everyone, please share your own circumstances. I'm happy to hear your opinions."

Jiang Huai hasn't yet reached the pinnacle of the mainland entertainment industry, so he naturally still listens to opinions. Of course, if they don't suit his taste, he'll pretend he didn't hear them at all.

"Director Jiang, it's not impossible for me to sign a comprehensive contract, but you have to guarantee me my footage every year."

For actors, things like salary are definitely not as important as exposure. With exposure, you have everything in the entertainment industry.

"Yes, I will definitely guarantee these things. I'm not some unscrupulous businessman; I certainly won't do one-off deals."

Jianghuai doesn't sign actors just to sideline them; they definitely want them to make money for them. Besides, these actors already have their own fans, so they can make money directly without any upfront investment. Therefore, they must ensure their exposure.

"Any other questions?"

Seeing that everyone was willing to talk properly, Jiang Huai's attitude improved considerably.

Like Sandra Ng just now, she still doesn't understand her own positioning. New actors flood into the mainland every day. Even if older actors have had great pasts, they can't compare to the beauty of younger actors. After all, which audience doesn't prefer someone more beautiful?

"Director Jiang, in addition to exposure, I also want to use my own team in Hong Kong. Even if I add more people, I must ensure that I have the right to appoint and dismiss personnel within the team."

After thinking about it, Liang Jiahui felt that the most important thing was his team. External problems are usually fatal, but if there are internal problems, who knows how many dirty secrets will be exposed.

"Hmm, that's fine too. And Ms. Guan? Do you have any questions?"

Jiang Huai agreed to Liang Jiahui's request without hesitation. In any case, the penalty for breach of contract was set well enough that no matter how many people were around the other party, they would not be able to reverse the order of things.

"I have no problem, Director Jiang. I'm fine with being the same as everyone else."

Compared to the others, Rosamund Kwan is more sensitive to changes in her surroundings. As a beauty pageant winner, she entered the entertainment industry and received a lot of attention from the start. However, back then, she was simply treated as a commodity in the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Their sensitivity to changes in the surroundings has also been cultivated. Now that they have entered the mainland, it is nothing more than starting all over again. Even if they have a fan base, the unfamiliar environment is just a bonus, not the key to success or failure.

Therefore, Rosamund Kwan always kept a low profile in Jianghuai before the new year. No matter how capable Wang Jinghua was, he never produced his own works. Ultimately, cultivating artists still depended on the opinions of others.

Now that the other party has broken away from Huayi Brothers, if they are still unfamiliar with the mainland as before, they will definitely only have the option of following her. However, Jiang Huai has extended an olive branch, and no matter how you look at it, Yihuai Media is a bigger ship.

"Alright, since everyone agrees, I'll have the lawyer draft the contract, and everyone can take a look and see if there are any problems."

Jiang Huai had already found out that the contracts between the group and Wang Jinghua had expired this year, so when Fu Lulu contacted them, she made it clear that they would come to sign the contracts today, and the group had all brought their lawyers with them.

Liu Jialing, Yang Ziqiong, and Yuan Yongyi realized that Jiang Huai had overlooked their behavior and understood that he cared about their attitude earlier.

However, after careful consideration, as long as their contracts are the same as everyone else's, there's no problem.

As for returning to Wang Jinghua's company, they hadn't considered it when they came here today. They believed that Wang Jinghua could maintain his glory for a few more years after leaving Huayi Brothers, but that glory could only last for a few years.

They understand better than Sandra Ng that embracing the mainland market is embracing the future, and that if they continue to be tied to Wang Jinghua, they may very well fall silent along with him.

After careful consideration, the five people present signed their names after the lawyer reviewed the contract and confirmed that there were no problems.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Jiang Huai couldn't wait to contact reporters to hold a press conference. These people were idols for many people in the last century, and he believed that there would still be a lot of buzz.

This war of words with Wang Jinghua not only garnered him external attention but also brought him tangible benefits.

Moreover, it's a huge favor to Huayi Brothers. Whether they admit it or not, it will be much easier to negotiate the price when I try to poach talent from them in the future.

……

The prosperity of Shanghai means that most newspapers have branches here. Jiang Huai signed the contract in the morning, and the press conference was held in the afternoon as planned.

At the press conference, Jiang Huai made no mention of Wang Jinghua, but kept talking about creating new glories with Guan Zhilin and others.

Although the press conference was rushed, it garnered significant attention and became a major social hotspot.

The headlines of the news articles published by reporters are also mostly similar:

"Wang Jinghua is at his wit's end, now deserted by all." "The war started by Wang Jinghua has been brought to a close by Jiang Huai himself."

Having accepted Jiang Huai's travel expenses, these people naturally spread various negative news about Wang Jinghua. Even though the other party had lost several Hong Kong actors, it wasn't considered a major blow. However, their reports claimed that Wang Jinghua was like a tyrant at the Wujiang River, powerless to turn the tide.

News spreads quickly, and almost all newspapers that focus on entertainment news followed suit. With their guidance, onlookers no longer cared about the data Wang Jinghua listed online, since news is still more authoritative than the internet.

If the news is saying this, then it must be true; Wang Jinghua must be at his wit's end now.

Upon seeing Jiang Huai's impressive performance, Huayi Brothers, which was still dealing with actor contracts, immediately followed suit.

Several actors who betrayed Wang Jinghua the most were blacklisted, and most of the other actors who left with him were sued.

Although the chances of winning are not high, it is enough to waste a lot of their time. Moreover, it is not easy for actors with lawsuits to get endorsements. After all, merchants do not care about the reason for your lawsuit, they only consider whether your risk is worth the reward.

Under such pressure from both sides, even if Wang Jinghua is very capable, she no longer speaks online. It's only because she has accumulated enough experience over the years that she's willing to quit the entertainment industry.

This matter is now completely over, and Ning Hao, having finished filming "The Golden Era," has officially joined the Parasite crew.

"Brother Huai, you've been acting as a pawn for Huayi Brothers, drawing Wang Jinghua's hatred. Is it really worth it?"

Ning Hao had this question during his verbal battle with Wang Jinghua, but he didn't ask because it was a crucial moment. Now that things are over, he naturally voiced the question that had been on his mind for so long.

"If you don't go into the river, you'll only catch small fish. Only when you go into the river can you see where the big fish are."

Although the decision to personally confront Wang Jinghua seemed abrupt, Jiang Huai had indeed considered the pros and cons.

Wang Jinghua is very famous in the entertainment industry, but outside of it, very few people know him.

If the other party were famous, Jiang Huai would have to bear the backlash from their fans. Unfortunately, the other party wasn't, so Jiang Huai didn't have to bear any backlash from outside the entertainment industry. As for the actors under the other party's management, they had just switched sides. Weren't they afraid that if they spoke out now, the audience would secretly call them Lu Bu among men?

Jiang Huai could understand this, and Wang Jinghua, as his agent, could naturally understand it as well. So all that was left was to deal with the backlash Wang Jinghua would face within the entertainment industry.

After weighing the pros and cons, this backlash can be easily borne. So even if one is used as a pawn of Huayi Brothers, it's not so bad. The actual benefits are obtained, and the relationship with Huayi Brothers is deepened. It can be said to be killing two birds with one stone.

"It's thanks to Brother Huai's deep thinking that I can handle this. I'm not good at this kind of thing. I'll go check on the crew."

Ning Hao listened to Jiang Huai's explanation, but still felt that there were many parts he didn't understand. He could quickly tell the difference between a good and bad movie script, but he was really not good at business.

Since that's the case, it's best not to interfere. Just focus on your own duties and leave the rest to Jiang Huai to handle. This will allow him to concentrate on his new script.

"Okay, go ahead. Don't forget to help me recruit a new assistant director. No one will be helping me if you leave."

"What kind of job is it? Like Zhang Yimou's, with clear division of labor, or is it just a general hiring of two people to be in charge of everything?"

Previously, Ning Hao and his wife were responsible for all aspects of the Jianghuai production team. Whenever there was a need, Jianghuai would arrange for them to do it, since there were no other manpower available.

Zhang Yimou's film crew is a model of clear division of positions. The assistant director in charge is Pang, who has worked with Zhang Yimou all the way. As for Jiang Huai's aunt Fu Lulu, she is the casting assistant director. Although she connects with the actors' agents and has a lot of power, the final decision on the lead role still rests with Zhang Yimou.

Besides the two of them, there were also assistant directors in charge of filming, and even assistant directors were responsible for things like providing meals and coordinating lighting and set management.

"Let's recruit two or three people first, and then we'll refine the list later."

Jiang Huai thought for a moment and decided that it was best to maintain the current format of the production team. Zhang Yimou's production team had also been meticulously developed step by step. If everything was done at once, it was very likely that if something went wrong in one place, it would affect the entire production team.

"Okay, then I'll go find some good prospects."

After receiving Jiang Huai's instructions, Ning Hao immediately agreed. Although this required the assistant director to be very capable, there were too many talented but unappreciated people here, so he could find at least two suitable ones.

"Okay, after you go out, have Mei come over. I have some work to give her."

After Ning Hao left, Jiang Huai thought for a moment. He didn't have any other work now, so he should relax and let off some steam.