After all of them were reborn, who would still be an actor?

Chapter 718 July's Over-Publicity Campaign: A All-or-Nothing Shot for the Summer Blockbuster Season
Kan Qingzhi is filming in Hengdian.

Ever since Li Mingyang took her to film My Sunshine.

She was poached by Boss Zhao and recruited to Huace.

Huace has acquired Croton Media, instantly becoming the largest and most powerful TV drama company in mainland China.

Nineteen dramas were produced last year, and they were all sold.

This output is absolutely terrifying!

With Huace Media, you basically don't have to worry about not having roles. Of course, Huace Media also has big problems, namely, its artist management is a complete mess...

Mr. Zhao, the boss of Huace, also made a good plan, keeping some inventory on hand, including "My Sunshine" and "Like a Flowing River"!

Both dramas have now been sold. Leveraging his reputation as a Palme d'Or-winning director, "My Sunshine" and "Like a Flowing River" sold for 500 million yuan in their first run, including both online and television broadcasts.

Among them, "My Sunshine" is a TV series he personally directed, which cost 100 million yuan to produce and sold for more than 300 million yuan.

He made a profit of over 200 million...

Huace released its financial report ahead of schedule, and on the same day that it announced the cost budget and returns for "My Sunshine", Huace's stock price rose by 5%.

They made another 700 million.

Chinese entertainment and film companies are so eager to go public that they'd risk everything, because the stock market brings in money so quickly!

Simply selling TV dramas is a thing of the past.

With the increasing popularity of streaming media, viewers' viewing habits have undergone tremendous changes, and streaming media has become the first choice for young people to watch videos!

Youku Tudou's PC platform reaches over 5000 million users daily and 3 million users monthly!

It accounts for 30% of the total coverage.

Mobile devices reach an average of 2700 million users daily, with monthly user growth exceeding 1000 million!
Meanwhile, the other two, iQiyi and Tencent Video, are catching up very closely.

None of the three parties have created a significant gap!

The intense competition has directly led to another surge in copyright fees, resulting in extremely high profits for television drama companies!

Content competition in the streaming media industry has directly promoted the industrialization, commercialization, standardization, and financialization of the entire television industry.

Huace Media is offering increasingly higher and higher prices to its celebrities!
At the same time, Huace is also actively deploying its own film and television industry chain and actively entering the film industry.

Huace is different from many film and television companies because it has the strong support of the Hangzhou government!
Thanks to government support, Huace has the most powerful production team in the Chinese entertainment industry and the most phenomenal ability to create hit dramas.

In this respect, even Lemon, New Classics Media, and Sugar Man combined cannot compare to Huace Media.

However, Huace also has its own problems.

Development limitations!
Even with its enormous financial resources and close collaborations with Wanda, iQiyi, Alibaba, Tencent, and Perfect World, it can only linger in the film industry.

The best opportunity was to partner with Koreans to start a company, entering the market from the outside, but unfortunately, the ban on Korean entertainment was imposed.

Logically speaking, Kan Qingzhi should have had a good time at Huace, which should be better than at Rongxinda.

Given the current booming situation of celebrity salaries in China, it would be truly unbelievable that Kan Qingzhi would be willing to be a secretary.

Unexpectedly... when Jing Tian visited the film set and chatted with Kan Qingzhi, he agreed.

"You didn't pressure her, did you?"

In the general manager's office on the ninth floor of Mingyang Entertainment, Li Mingyang flipped through a pile of employee resumes without looking up.

"No, I just mentioned it to her, and she agreed," Jing Tian said in a muffled voice as she lay on the sofa applying a face mask.

"She's doing so well as a celebrity, why would she want to be a secretary? Is she out of her mind?"

"They're classmates, don't talk about her like that..."

Despite saying this, Jing Tian also felt that Qing Qing was not mentally sound. She had been thinking about how to make Qing Qing her informant for a whole day and night.

Unexpectedly, she only had to make a suggestion before Kan Qingzhi excitedly agreed.

She also specifically mentioned that you can't act if you're a secretary.

Kan Qingzhi then asked if the salary was one million.

Jing Tian said yes, there are rewards for good work.

Qingqing wholeheartedly agreed.

"When is she coming?" Li Mingyang asked.

"Wait until we finish work tonight."

"Is she still filming? What is she filming?"

"Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils..."

"Um...this is a pretty big IP, what role will she play?"

"The second female lead."

Li Mingyang looked up and said incredulously, "She's already become the second female lead in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, and she still wants to be my secretary? She's either mentally ill or too ambitious. Forget it."

"But we've already agreed... let's meet up, just like old classmates catching up."

What else could Li Mingyang say but to meet him?

Continuing to look at the employee resumes, there were a total of 3080. These were all employees of the flower arrangement company who were about to go to South Korea for further training.

He originally wanted to throw himself into the Korean language all at once and pursue systematic advanced studies.

But yesterday, Zuo Shandiao suddenly called him with good news: the higher-ups had decided to increase the overseas subsidy for bouquets by doubling it from the original 50 million to 100 million.

In other words, even if he does nothing but drastically cut costs and ramp up production, Bouquet Entertainment can still make a profit.

That's really helpful!

He certainly couldn't let such good intentions go to waste.

Therefore, Li Mingyang changed the original plan and no longer included everyone.

Instead, they went to South Korea in three batches for further studies.

Each batch consists of over a thousand people, and the program lasts for four months, meaning all participants can complete their advanced studies within a year.

The first batch of employees is crucial. Since there aren't many achievements to refer to, it all depends on fate.

If it looks good to you, then make a decision.

Around 4 PM, Lao Wu, Guo Fan, Xiao Yang, Zhang Ruoyun, Tang Yixin, and Li Xin from the July An Sheng film crew came to his office to report on their work.

Luckily, Jing Tian went shopping at the neighboring circular building, otherwise Li Xin would have been doomed...

This girl actually threw condoms into his room back then. Her audacity and her brains are just... enough to make you sigh.

Although Mimi instructed her to do it, she was incredibly audacious to actually do it.

"Director Li, hello."

"Director Li, hello."

"Director Li, I have fulfilled my mission. Filming for 'July and An Sheng' has finally wrapped up," Guo Fan said.

Li Mingyang nodded approvingly. Putting everything else aside, they finished filming "July and Ansheng" in just half a month. That efficiency was far superior to Jing Tian's.

Of course, with two and a half directors taking turns filming, it's hard to be slow!
"Director Li, I've finished editing the sample footage. Do you have any feedback?" Wu Zhikui patted his laptop bag and said.

"Alright, let's go to the conference room." Li Mingyang stood up, pushed open a door next to the bookshelf, and walked into the movie room.

The overall layout of the Summit Building hasn't changed much; it still has one main entrance leading to floors one through five, and one side entrance leading to floors six through nine.

Because next door is Bouquet Entertainment, which has a larger, more complete, and more impressive office space and facilities.

The office function of the Summit Tower has been largely replaced.

Floors one through five have been converted into staff dormitories.

The sixth floor houses a gym, restaurant, and coffee shop.

The seventh and eighth floors are both indoor photography studios.

Before Li Mingyang returned to China, the entire ninth floor, apart from his office, was the finance department.

When Li Mingyang was preparing to return to China ahead of schedule, he specifically asked Lao Wu to renovate the ninth floor.

In addition to the original office space, a viewing room was added, and the finance department on the ninth floor underwent a detailed office layout.

Both Bouquet Entertainment and Bouquet CJ have their own finance departments, while the integrated audit is handled by Mingyang Entertainment, which is an internal third-party audit!
The screening room is equipped with high-end cinema-grade sound equipment and features two rows of twenty sofa seats, each with a matching small coffee table.

It also has a toilet inside.

Li Mingyang led the group into the screening room. Lao Wu was in charge of the projection, Guo Fan was in charge of adjusting the air conditioning and lighting, and Xiao Yang took out drinks from the refrigerator.

Li Mingyang sat in the middle of the first row and waited quietly.

After a while, the lights in the screening room dimmed, and the entire screen lit up.

Li Mingyang did not get involved in the July and Ansheng project, and the actors were all selected by Guo Fan and Lao Wu themselves.

With a cast including Zhang Ruoyun, Xiao Yang, Tang Yixin, and Li Xin, Li Mingyang has little to say.

Tang Yixin plays Li Ansheng, and Li Xin plays Lin Qiyue.

Deep down, Li Mingyang felt that the two women's acting skills were not as good as Xiao Ma and Xiao Huang Ya's.

Xiao Ma is love-struck and can't control his mouth, but he's a very good actor.

The "Little Yellow Duck" is a Zhang Yimou girl and the youngest actress to win three Golden Horse Awards. Her acting skills far surpass those of her peers.

Ten minutes later...

Li Mingyang straightened up. Lao Wu and Guo Fan did not follow Jing Tian's latest script and did not go in the direction of art films, but instead started shooting a youth comedy.

Zhang Ruoyun and Xiao Yang were both drawn to the comedic turtle man.

Tang Yixin and Li Xin are both youthful and vibrant, and their personalities are well-suited to their roles; they basically acted according to their own personalities.

Li Mingyang finally understood why the film was shot so quickly.

And the subsequent plot unfolded exactly as Li Mingyang had predicted, with all the conflicts relying on melodramatic twists.

A classic bathroom scene, they get straight to the point, a good fight, and some pulling and tugging.

There was no emotional buildup; the two girls filmed it as a fight between delinquent girls...

"Hey, Lao Wu, Guo Fan, you two come out with me for a second." Li Mingyang had seen enough, so he got up and headed for the door. Once in the office's rest area, Li Mingyang sat on a single sofa, pointed to the three-seater sofa opposite him, and gestured for the two men to sit down.

After the two were seated, Li Mingyang spoke up: "You're copying me, are you after the box office?"

Guo Fan and Lao Wu nodded vigorously.

How long is this kind of video?

"It's been over three hours, and we'd like to cut it down to an hour and a half... but we're not confident... so we're hoping you can help us, Director Li," Old Wu said tentatively.

"You two are really giving me the cold shoulder. I thought you were going to make an art film, but you plagiarized me and made a teen romance film, and it's so melodramatic..."

"Art film... Director Li, we really tried our best. We spent two days selecting the actors... but those people were all too complicated. We didn't have enough time, so we could only make it like this."

Li Mingyang didn't say anything, but got up, picked up the phone on the table, and called the front desk to ask them to prepare some drinks and snacks to be brought in.

"How much did you spend?" Li Mingyang asked after hanging up the phone.

"The cost was over four million, but Dajun reimbursed two million."

"Are you two planning to throw money at marketing and ticket subsidies?"

"Yes! It's much easier for movies to achieve good box office results now than before. Just invest heavily in marketing and ticket subsidies, and you can get good box office returns. Audiences are very enthusiastic about going to the cinema," Guo Fan said.

"Summer vacation is just around the corner, and we want to release the film during the summer vacation," said Lao Wu.

Li Mingyang nodded, sat down on the sofa, looked at Guo Fan, and smiled, "Old Guo, I remember your Left Ear is being released this summer, right?"

"Yes, that's how the lighting was arranged."

Which one do you plan to focus on?

"Of course it's July and An Sheng," Guo Fan said firmly, straightening his back.

"The left ear doesn't work?" Li Mingyang frowned.

"The filming of 'Left Ear' was alright, but it was so difficult for me to film... That screenwriter, Rao Xueman, is too troublesome and keeps overstepping her authority. President Wang isn't on my side either, telling me to cooperate with her, saying that offending her now won't do the box office any good, and that we'll have to rely on her to be on the front lines when the film is released. What kind of talk is that? It makes it seem like the success or failure of the film depends on her. What am I to her then?"

Guo Fan was furious and disliked Zuo Er intensely.

Upon further inquiry, Li Mingyang discovered that Guo Fan didn't even have the right to choose the actors; in the end, it was all Rao Xueman who made the decisions.

"The Left Ear is scheduled for release on July 12th, but my idea is to release it a week later on the 19th."

“Mr. Wang won’t agree to a simultaneous competition,” Li Mingyang said, shaking his head.

Guo Fan was a little disappointed and looked at Lao Wu.

Old Wu lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, "Director Li, another Hollywood blockbuster is coming this summer. There are nearly ten major Hollywood blockbusters, and there aren't any good release dates for the whole summer. Since Left Ear has been scheduled for the summer, I feel like President Wang is going to give up on Left Ear."

"Well, what I'd say about President Wang is... he's just like you now, focused on expanding overseas and not paying much attention to the domestic business. I don't think he'd care about competing with others at the same time..."

“He just pays less attention, not that he doesn’t pay attention at all,” Li Mingyang said.

"How about we reschedule Zuo Er?" Guo Fan suddenly said.

Li Mingyang understood.

Cyber ​​Daji is going to switch her left ear to the more reliable July and An Sheng.

The total investment for The Left Ear was 45 million yuan. Filming has already cost most of it, and there are still more than 10 million yuan left for publicity and distribution.

When Tian Tian handed this mess over to the two of them in July and An Sheng, the production team still had more than 60 million yuan in their accounts.

Not counting other things, the two of them spent more than 60 million on publicity and promotion!

This advantage is considerable!

With ticketing platforms monopolizing ticket sales, the domestic film industry is heading towards an extreme: low production costs plus high marketing and distribution expenses.

After confirming with Guo Fan several times and receiving a positive reply, Li Mingyang called Wang Changtian and asked him to switch the slot for the left ear so that July and An Sheng could use the left ear's schedule.

Wang Changtian was speechless. Changing the release date of a movie is actually very troublesome, especially skipping a release date. People who don't know the situation might think something is wrong, which is not good for publicity.

However, upon hearing that Lao Wu had over 60 million yuan for publicity and distribution, Wang Changtian immediately said it was no problem.

After agreeing on July's and An Sheng's schedules, Li Mingyang didn't immediately tell Lao Wu and Guo Fan. Instead, he took out a pre-prepared betting agreement and had the two sign it.

The two were immediately unsettled upon seeing the betting agreement.

"Director Li, you didn't make a mistake, did you? Why is the bet 500 million in box office revenue?"

"Our production cost was only a little over two million..."

Li Mingyang rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask you to guarantee 500 million in box office revenue. This is a tiered betting agreement. You guys are really ambitious, actually aiming for 500 million. You get 3% of the profits for every 100 million in box office revenue."

"Well... people always strive for better things..." Guo Fan said with an awkward laugh.

"What if it exceeds 500 million?"

Despite suffering repeated setbacks in the film industry, with only one web movie, One-Punch Man, as a representative work, Lao Wu still expects to surpass 500 million in box office revenue.

"Still 10%."

Old Wu was somewhat disappointed, while Guo Fan felt that it was enough.

They didn't dare use the crew's money for personal purposes, but they were counting on box office revenue sharing.

"By the way, you can't keep the budget for this movie too low. Put the numbers on the table and aim for 20 million," Li Mingyang said.

"This is easy. We haven't even included Lao Wu's and my pay yet, and Tang Yixin and Li Xin haven't received their pay either. Once we include everyone's pay, it'll be close to 20 million," Guo Fan said with a sly smile.

“We can keep the costs secret until the box office results are in,” Old Wu said seriously, looking at the performance-based agreement.

Li Mingyang waved his hand dismissively, "Do as you please."

"Director Li, I heard you're going to have a showdown with Director Zhang, is that true?"

"That's what I think, but they probably won't agree."

"When it will be released is entirely up to Director Li. As long as it passes censorship, scheduling is just a matter of one phone call from Director Li," Guo Fan flattered.

Li Mingyang looked at the cheerful Guo Fan and couldn't help but find it amusing.

Among the top directors in China, Guo Fan has suffered the most severe suppression.

The Wandering Earth 2 was ripped off by Banhe Green's rampant box office theft, and the company didn't dare utter a sound.

The first thing to do after the success of The Wandering Earth was to thank Ning Hao and Andy Lau, trying to establish a connection.

Although he was never shortchanged by his superiors in terms of prestige projects, he has been very careful and cautious in his words and deeds since his success, and he has lost all of the demeanor of the Cyber ​​Daji.

In Li Mingyang's mind, Guo Fan is much better than Zhang Yimou, the top science fiction director in China!
His status in the industry is even lower than that of a group of actors...

Various compromises, various endorsements, a whole bunch of messy deputy positions, and all sorts of drudgery!

Not to mention comparing him to Zhang Yimou and Kai, even Ning Hao, Chen Sicheng, Deng Chao and their ilk are all doing better than him.

A bunch of weirdos have made the film industry smaller and smaller, to the point that it can no longer tolerate dissent.

Li Mingyang speaks very quickly; he has a clear understanding of things.

As soon as we finished negotiating, the receptionist arrived with restaurant staff, and the coffee table was filled with snacks, fruits, and drinks.

"Director Li, aren't we going to call them out?" Old Wu said, pointing to the door of the screening room.

"It's okay, I just want to hear what they have to say."

Old Wu nodded in agreement; there were surveillance cameras in the screening room.

Guo Fan saw Lao Wu nod and belatedly realized that there was surveillance in the viewing room.

"Speaking of the July and Ansheng project, what criteria did you use to choose this actress? I originally thought you were going to find an established young actress," Li Mingyang said, sticking a piece of mango on a toothpick.

"Based on our past collaborations... we'll choose whoever is more obedient and hardworking; we don't have time to waste," Wu Zhikui said.

"Tang Yixin is obedient? And can endure hardship?"

"Although she brought her own investment to the project, she had a good attitude, and Zhang Ruoyun listened to her quite a bit. You know, we didn't dare to say anything bad about Zhang Ruoyun..."

Indeed... the two of them have figured out this food chain perfectly.

Da Yun is his brother after all, and the two of them chose him as the male lead, so they can't really control him.

Da Jun would laugh and joke around, trying to build rapport with the two of them, leaving them speechless.

But it's different with Tang Yixin.

My sister-in-law will teach Da Yun a lesson with her fists and knees...

Li Mingyang had already experienced it firsthand on the set of the Witch movie—it really worked! It was truly brutal!

Li Mingyang, Lao Wu, and Guo Fan were drinking and eating outside, initially mainly talking about July and An Sheng.

As time went by, the two gradually became less reserved and more open. They started talking about more and more things, no longer limited to movies and the company, but about everything under the sun.

Lao Wu and Guo Fan were both long-time employees from the early days of the business. No matter how much Li Mingyang achieved in the past, neither of them felt anything about it; they took it all for granted.

But to stand and accept the Palme d'Or at the Cannes awards ceremony at the age of 24 was truly astonishing.

The two of them couldn't help but feel restrained and worried!

Is Li Mingyang still the same Li Mingyang?
This was the biggest question in their minds.

The Palme d'Or!

The three highest honors in Europe that Zhang Yimou has always dreamed of.

Poet Chen became a pivotal figure in the Chinese film industry thanks to the Palme d'Or, enjoying a period of effortless success for twenty years!

If Li Mingyang were to become devoid of desires and wants, the two of them would truly be left speechless with grief!

They also wanted to create miracles.

Miracles don't happen so easily.

It was supposed to be a loan for the Palme d'Or, but the filmmakers from Tokyo University won't get it at all.

In the blink of an eye, they won it, and it was the only Palme d'Or.

Even more awesome than Poet Chen!
Old Wu knew that Li Mingyang had no intention of winning the Palme d'Or because it was too expensive!
The initial offer was outrageous; it was essentially selling FBTV in exchange for the Palme d'Or.

Later, the Cannes authorities demanded an exorbitant price and even forced Li Mingyang to kneel!
But in the end, FBTV was saved, and they even got the money while standing!
Amazing!

It's completely different from what they expected!
(End of this chapter)