Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

"Please order whatever you two would like to drink."

Zhang Shuai'an called over a waiter and smiled as he spoke to McDonald's Bear and Li Zhaoxiong.

McDonald Bear casually said, "Just give me a glass of plain water."

Li Zhaoxiong, on the other hand, loves desserts and ordered several, along with a coffee with 70% sugar.

After a few pleasantries, McDonald's couldn't contain himself any longer and said directly, "Mr. Zhang, let's not beat around the bush. RTV warmly welcomes you to join us. If you join, the station will give you the treatment of a top-tier actor!"

Without mentioning specific conditions, the so-called treatment of top-tier actors is actually still based on a fixed salary.

Zhang Shuai'an stated bluntly, "I am a very ambitious person. Being an actor and earning a fixed salary is not in my nature."

McDonald and Li Zhaoxiong both knew what Zhang Shuai'an meant. They had read the newspaper before they came and learned that Zhang Shuai'an had made an outrageous demand, asking Shao Daheng for a salary of two million Hong Kong dollars.

"Mr. Zhang, you are indeed very popular now, but you should also be reasonable about your salary."

Li Zhaoxiong pondered for two seconds before speaking, "Two million for a film—no one in Hong Kong, or even Asia, has ever received such a price. Even within the film industry, only a handful of people can command that level of income."

The implication was clear: they wanted Zhang Shuai'an to be realistic and not make exorbitant demands.

"Before me, TVB's ratings were always crushed by your RTV."

Zhang Shuai took a leisurely sip of tea and said in a calm tone, "I wrote the script for 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian,' and I played the male lead. You all know what happened in the end."

TVB's ratings have been soaring, already exceeding 85%. With only two episodes left until the finale, it might even reach 90%. This has left RTV completely helpless, even affecting the ratings of "Reincarnated."

"We all know that you are very capable, Mr. Zhang, so we have come with sincerity."

McDonald's immediately showed an appreciative expression and directly stated the terms: "After a meeting and discussion, the station decided to sign a contract with you on a per-episode basis, paying you 3 yuan per episode. This price is already at the top-tier level."

Li Zhaoxiong added from the side, "At 30,000 yuan per episode, you would get 1.2 million yuan for 40 episodes. If it's a 60-episode series, you could get 1.8 million yuan, which is almost the same as 2 million."

Zhang Shuai'an shook his head again, tapped the table, and said, "I've already stated my terms to Mr. Shao before, and I'll repeat them to you now, for the last time."

His pronunciation was very clear, leaving no room for ambiguity: "I already have a new script in hand, twenty episodes, I'll play the male lead, and I'll decide on the female lead. No bargaining, two million Hong Kong dollars."

"That's impossible!" Li Zhaoxiong shook his head first: "Only twenty episodes, and it costs two million? Does that mean you'd take 100,000 yuan per episode? That price is outrageous. Nowadays, the total price for one episode of a TV series is less than 100,000 yuan."

Zhang Shuai'an said earnestly, "What if I said that this drama's ratings would be no worse than 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian,' or even higher?"

Li Zhaoxiong choked immediately and turned to look at McDonald's Bear.

McDonald Bear shook his head instinctively: "Impossible. The ratings for 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian' were already ridiculously high. How could there be anything higher?"

"I said it would happen, and it happened." Zhang Shuai'an's face was full of confidence: "Before 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian,' could you have predicted that it would have such ratings? But I was certain from the beginning that it would, which is why Mr. Shao made the bet. And I won."

McDonald Bear pretended to hesitate for a moment, and finally said with difficulty, "We can only give you a maximum value of 160 million. Any more than that would be beyond the value that a TV series can earn."

Hearing this, Zhang Shuai'an scoffed inwardly.

The revenue that a hit TV series can generate is actually quite considerable, and it is relatively hidden compared to movie box office revenue.

"I'm sorry, I can't accept this price." Zhang Shuai'an refused without the slightest hesitation: "If this is the only price your station can offer, then I can only apologize."

Li Zhaoxiong couldn't help but remind him, "Mr. Zhang, you've already rejected Boss Shao, and now you're rejecting us too. No matter how brilliant your script is, it'll be useless."

Zhang Shuai'an said, "I know, but I won't compromise. Two million is the lowest price I can accept."

"Mr. Zhang, how about this," McDonald Bear suggested a compromise, "we'll go back and try again, and you should also think it over carefully. We can schedule a time to discuss it properly in a few days, okay?"

"Whatever," Zhang Shuai'an said casually.

Just as McDonald's and Li Zhaoxiong got up to leave, Zhang Shuai'an suddenly threw out a bait: "If your station can't afford two million, I can sell you the sequel rights to 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian' first. You should be interested in that, right?"

"You own the copyright?" McDonald's was stunned. "There's no reason why Boss Shao wouldn't have taken it?"

Zhang Shuai'an said calmly, "The copyright has always been in my hands. If your station wants to make a sequel, I'll sell it to you for 200,000 yuan, but that's just the script."

Currently, the most expensive film scripts are those by Ni Kuang, with a single script fetching a maximum of 80,000 yuan. As for television scripts, they are all written by screenwriters within the station, or even by the directing team, and they all receive fixed salaries.

However, considering that it is a sequel to "Young Detective Bao Qingtian" and a ratings champion snatched from TVB, the price seems insignificant.

"We will report this to the station's leadership. Please wait for further information, Mr. Zhang."

With delighted expressions on their faces, Mai Dangxiong and Li Zhaoxiong hurriedly left.

Before long, a chubby figure walked over from a distance; it was none other than Young Master Kuang.

"How did the filming go?" Zhang Shuai'an asked him.

Young Master Kuang chuckled and said to Zhang Shuai'an, "Brother An, don't worry. I can't speak for my other skills, but my candid photography skills are absolutely top-notch."

"That's fine then." Zhang Shuai'an had also read the newspaper today, and the accompanying photos were indeed quite captivating. So he said, "This time, add a little something extra. Say that RTV (Rediffusion Television) is willing to offer two million to five hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars to poach me, but on the condition that I also sell them the rights to 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian' as a package deal. And I haven't agreed yet."

Young Master Kuang was so shocked his jaw almost dropped: "Brother An, Li really agreed to give two and a half million?"

Zhang Shuai'an didn't explain further: "Just say it like this, you can exaggerate a bit more, just don't go too far."

the other side.

After receiving reports from Mai and Li, Huang Xizhao frowned slightly.

The price Zhang Shuai'an offered was indeed a bit expensive, but his words piqued his interest.

Huang Xizhao suddenly said, "Spread the word that I've agreed to Zhang Shuai'an's price and are discussing starting filming the sequel to 'Young Detective Bao Qingtian' on a later date. Let's see how Shao Laoliu reacts!"

……

Early the next morning.

"Bang!"

After reading the newspaper, Shao Yifu slammed his hand on his desk in anger: "Huang Xizhao, this is simply outrageous!"