I became famous in the entertainment industry by burning incense

The busy May Day holiday passed in the blink of an eye, and Jinli returned to school to resume her normal study life.

During the May Day holiday, the entertainment industry was also filled with a series of dramatic stories.

But this time, it wasn't a romantic dispute between celebrities; instead, it was a celebrity publicly demanding unpaid wages.

On the day Jinli returned to school, she browsed the trending topics during the May Day holiday.

She initially thought that the celebrities posting about demanding unpaid wages were actors from short dramas, but she never expected that the fire would spread to actors from long dramas as well.

To be honest, short dramas have become incredibly popular in recent years, with some even becoming phenomenal hits, indirectly changing the pay system for actors in these dramas.

Actors were initially paid only a base salary, regardless of viewership ratings. However, this was changed to a combination of a base salary and a share of the profits generated from the film's online release.

In the later model, some celebrities can earn millions in revenue sharing just from one hit movie.

However, some celebrities find this model extremely difficult to follow.

Originally, the buyout fees for celebrities have risen sharply with the booming short drama market. Some top short drama actors' fees have increased from 2 yuan a day to as high as 10 or 20 yuan a day.

However, the profit-sharing system has, in effect, curbed the exorbitant salaries of actors in short dramas.

Many actors in short dramas have seen their salaries return to normal levels seen in the short drama market, with everyone betting that their videos will become hits after release.

Of course, this doesn't change anything for top-tier actors.

They can still receive a high guaranteed filming fee, as well as a high percentage of subsequent profit sharing, after all, they have already made a name for themselves and have many netizens following them.

For actors at the middle and lower levels, this system has actually brought their pay back to the levels of a few years ago.

After a lot of hard work filming, the film was released online, but because the production team didn't have the money to hire wealthy actors, they weren't sure they would make any money after the film was released. They could only get a guaranteed minimum salary.

In some cases, production crews even delay paying their actors' salaries.

Therefore, it's not surprising that short drama actors publicly demand unpaid wages online.

Even netizens were surprised that actors in long-running dramas are now demanding unpaid wages, and it was a top-tier actress who publicly posted about it.

She stated that she had not received her payment for a minor role in a popular period drama released last year, and tagged a film and television company in her message, hoping they would settle the payment as soon as possible.

This news has been trending on social media for two days.

Even after the May Day holiday, the trending topics remain high in the top 10.

As an industry insider, Jinli directly asked Sister Fang if she knew what was going on.

She has been making movies all the time in the past year and has rarely done TV series.

However, when she used to film TV series, due to the process of TV series release and the settlement cycle of the production team, it would often take two or three years before all the remuneration was settled.

There will be some additional income from acting fees, but that is all from the revenue sharing after the film and television series have finished airing.

Surprisingly, Sui Lingfang happened to know about this.

She said with a headache, "This actress's contract with her original company expired this year. Chenxi Entertainment originally wanted to poach her, and the actress was very interested."

After all, you three former members of Pink Girls have achieved excellent results in various metrics under the management of Morning Light Entertainment.

Many moderately famous actors, after terminating their contracts with their original companies, consider our company their first choice for switching.

Fang Jie changed the subject, "But the problem is that the company this actress signed with before was a company that specializes in idol training. This actress finally became the company's leading lady, but was tricked by the company into signing a lot of supplementary contracts."

The actor was about to sign with our company, but then their original company suddenly said they still had three years left on their management contract.

Jinli was stunned for a moment, "Then what should we do?"

Sui Lingfang: "We can only temporarily suspend signing contracts; we do not accept artists who pose a risk."

Jinli then asked, "And what about the salary?"

Sui Lingfang thought for a moment and said, "It must have been arranged by the lawyer that the actor deliberately revealed this information."

"We all thought she would first publicly address the contract issues with her original company online, but she was smart and first mentioned that her payment had not been received."

While it's true that her payment for that film wasn't deposited into her personal account, that doesn't mean she didn't receive it.

Jinli was taken aback again. "What do you mean?"

Fang Jie pondered: "That idol training company is quite complicated. The payment is first deposited into the company's account, and then the company shares the revenue with the actors."

It's clear that her company didn't share in the profits, so recently the investment company behind that film and television series has also been causing trouble for the idol company.

They were urged to resolve the matter quickly, otherwise the investors' reputation in the industry would be ruined, and many actors would refuse to take on roles in productions in which they had invested.

Sui Lingfang offered her guess: "I suspect she's trying to force the company to either explain the issue of her salary or have the company transfer the money to her."

The next step will definitely be to resolve the contract issue with the original company.

Jinli asked, "Once she resolves her contract issues with her original company, will Chenxi Entertainment still sign her?"

Sui Lingfang said with certainty, "No."

"We want to sign this artist because she is very popular, and the brands also like her. We believe she has her own traffic and resources."

However, after discovering the contract issues between her and her original company, we conducted a special investigation and found that during her rise to fame, the idol company actually provided her with many resources.

In other words, idol companies have always used the practice of having their artists participate in other events in exchange for better opportunities.

So it's like the company has been supporting this artist all along. If she came to Chenxi Entertainment, we definitely couldn't do that.

Sui Lingfang said helplessly, "The boss is very lazy. He doesn't participate in social interactions, he doesn't attend drinking parties, and he certainly won't invest in a film and television company that is obviously a scam."

Therefore, in terms of resource exchange, Chenxi Entertainment is very weak; it relies entirely on your personal fame to get offers from advertisers.

Other established artists don't have the same level of fame as the members of Pink Girls, so they don't get approached by advertisers.

As for new artists, there's no need to even mention it; they can only hope for a sudden surge in popularity.

It's safe to say that the only celebrities on the entire internet who can get sponsors to actively seek them out are the members of Pink Girls and March Band.

Of course, there are also some older artists, such as former superstars.

But those artists are basically inactive now, and they might not even appear in public once a year.

Sui Lingfang paused for a moment, then said, "Let's put it this way: unless she really wants to retire, then our company is the first choice."

If she had any ambition at all, she probably wouldn't have come. Our company can't afford to take her.

Jinli chuckled, "It's rare to see Chenxi Entertainment so clearly define its own position."

Sui Lingfang shrugged. "Can I say that these evaluations are not the company's own evaluations? They are the external evaluations of the company. There's nothing I can do but accept it."

"By the way, do you remember the variety show 'Farming, Youth'?"

Jinli nodded, then her eyes flickered slightly. "Judging by the time, their films should be released soon, right?"

Sui Lingfang smiled and said, "Yes, it will be released on Children's Day, June 1st. Should we do some promotion for them?"

Jinli replied without hesitation, "No problem. I even invested in this variety show. Who would have thought that before the show even aired, we'd already received a share of the profits?"

Sui Lingfang: "Because you are still in school, it is inconvenient for you to participate in the filming. Otherwise, the company would have liked to have you as a guest star for an episode to encourage the young men."

Jinli cheerfully replied, "When I have summer vacation, you can arrange an episode for me, and you can help me record the schedule." She had high hopes for those trainees and also for this unique variety show.

There are many slow-paced variety shows on the market, but there really aren't any variety shows that specifically focus on farming.

Even if it exists, it's not a selling point.

However, Jinli believes that if viewers can watch the entire process and witness the bountiful harvest firsthand, it will have a significant impact.

Therefore, she absolutely supports the production of a growth-themed variety show called "Let's Farm, Boys," with seasons one, two, and three...

Besides, the investment in this variety show was indeed not large.

Even if the returns are not good after launch, the losses are not significant.

Jinli felt that she had enough money to fund this variety show for at least ten seasons.

It's fortunate that Chenxi Entertainment didn't know Jinli's thoughts, otherwise they probably wouldn't have dared to follow her in the first place.

The two have very different investment philosophies and mindsets.

Jinli values ​​long-term potential, while the company prefers short-term gains.

Sui Lingfang: "There's one more thing I need to mention to you. The person in charge of the joint venture with Yajun Watches contacted me. He was quite apprehensive and very respectful towards me."

She asked suspiciously, "Did you say something to them during a previous event?"

Jinli thought for a moment and shook her head: "No, Gu Cheng just took me to greet some high-level executives, and then they asked me a few questions."

By the way, when they found out that I also studied at Tsinghua and Peking University, those high-level officials looked very surprised, and they looked at me as if I were a high-value commodity.

They asked me if I had collaborated with Yajun, and I said yes. Gu Cheng then added that the collaborative product had been delayed for almost a year before it was released.

Sui Lingfang was taken aback, and asked hesitantly, "This high-ranking person you're talking to, his identity must be quite extraordinary, right?"

Jinli shook her head: "I don't know. Gu Cheng knows more about it. Should I ask him?"

Sui Lingfang thought for a moment and said, "No need. It doesn't matter whether you know or not. The person in charge has already given me a clear date. The co-branded product will be released during the summer."

Jinli was delighted.

Judging from Ya Jun's style, why would she schedule it for the summer vacation?

"I thought they would choose a less popular season, since my contract only allows me to receive sales commissions for the first three months."

Sui Lingfang analyzed: "The person in charge clearly told us that they designed a series of twelve zodiac animals."

You were born in the Year of the Tiger, so if you endorse the Tiger series of watches, and it's released during a less popular season, then the other eleven zodiac animal watches won't need to be sold.
That's probably why they decided to give you the peak season.

Jinli hadn't expected them to choose such a broad theme.

She thought for a moment and said somewhat solemnly, "The zodiac series contains a strong Chinese culture. If they intend to promote this watch internationally, they need to do a good job."

By the way, regarding women's watches, don't they categorize them according to the Six Arts of a Gentleman?

Sui Lingfang: "No, they don't have such a big market for women's watches, so we don't plan six levels. Instead, we promote them as a series and divide them into a single level."

The value of a collection is higher than that of a single item.

Jinli instructed, "Tell them to be careful and thorough. If the design is not good, I will not endorse it. Don't try to fool me with rubbish. There's no rush."

Sui Lingfang laughed: "We're not in a hurry, otherwise I would have urged them last year. Now it seems they're more anxious than we are."
-
Returning from the May Day holiday, the students were not defeated by the comfortable holiday life, but instead worked even harder.

People often say that one should be prepared for danger even in times of peace, but Jinli feels that it is probably impossible to be "safe" in the environment of Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

I think about potential dangers every day.

However, she was enjoying herself, but she could sense that her classmates were somewhat anxious.

My roommate used to ask about my schedule only once a week, but now she asks about it almost every day.

Jinli didn't want them to follow her arrangements, so she made some changes, adding three hours to the rest time.

This wasn't about secretly hiding it from them or preventing them from having the opportunity to surpass her; rather, it was about her ability to withstand her intense studies.

If an ordinary person were to learn using her methods, that would be truly terrifying.

I study when I wake up, sleep when I get tired, and then continue studying when I wake up.

If you can't study to death, then study like there's no tomorrow.

During her time at school, Jinli's personal affairs continued to proceed smoothly.

Director Xu of "Counterattack" finally got in touch with Chu Chenliang through Fang Jie's matchmaking.

The main reason is that Director Chu finally finished revising the script for "Dawn 2" and only then did he have time to leave seclusion.

If the script isn't revised, I still can't get in touch with him.

It's unclear how the two discussed it, but thanks to Director Xu's efforts, "Counterattack" opened up the Hong Kong film market, achieving simultaneous release in mainland China and Hong Kong.

As for overseas, there's really nothing we can do about it.

Foreign films tend to import special effects blockbusters, while youth inspirational films can only go abroad if they can reach a level of nationwide promotion and emotional impact.

However, Director Chu said that if he really wanted to go to sea, he could talk to the authorities about selling DVDs for him.

Director Xu agreed without hesitation, even though it was highly likely that it would be a buyout and he wouldn't receive any subsequent sales commissions.

Sui Lingfang didn't understand why he was so determined to go to sea, and she talked to Jinli about this issue several times on the phone.

Jinli thought about his experience making movies and said thoughtfully, "Maybe he doesn't want to be controlled by others every time he makes a film."

If he can open up overseas markets and gain a certain influence globally, he might be able to take a dominant position in the next drama.

When I was filming, I noticed a big problem with him: he was too accommodating to the actors.

This is also related to the fact that the actors he previously worked with were all top-tier celebrities, so he couldn't be hit or scolded; if he said a few words to them, he would be complained about by investors.

Director Xu is very adept at understanding interpersonal relationships in China. While this prevents him from encountering many problems during filming, it can also affect his ability to express his ideas in the work.

"At the same time," Jinli paused, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

"The drama 'Counterattack' perfectly embodies his vision, and he must be very confident in it. Morning Light Entertainment can't interfere with the distribution, but I still want to help him."

Jinli changed her tone, "Sister Fang, could you send a private message to the brands and directors I've worked with who have overseas channels, in my personal capacity, to help 'Counterattack' go global?"

Sui Lingfang hesitated: "Are you sure? Director Xu spent so much time and could only get it released simultaneously in Hong Kong. Director Chu could only help him with the DVD release."

Asking for help in your name might not change anything, and we don't even know the quality of this film. Why don't we wait until it's released and see?

Jinli: "It's too late to talk about it after the film is released."

She said seriously and solemnly, "Since Director Xu is so optimistic about 'Counterattack', he is willing to use all his resources and bet everything on it, even signing an unreasonable sales agreement."

If he dares to be so optimistic, why shouldn't I, as the most important actor in this drama, believe him?

I want to give wings to "Counterattack" so that it can fly further.

May every girl, regardless of nationality, skin color, or age, find strength in this drama and transform it into motivation to move forward. (End of Chapter)