Actor: Thank you.

After finishing work in the evening, I had dinner with the crew.

During the dinner, Xu Zheng asked many questions with great interest, and was particularly interested in things like the film's revenue.

Not only the film's revenue, he is also very interested in the company jointly established by Zhang Yuan and the Hong Kong circle.

Everyone has his own ambitions.

And the local environment and climate determine the local people.

Xu Zheng is a native of Shanghai.

It is a common phenomenon among Shanghai people to value profit.

This is not a bad thing.

Because they put the greatest profit on the table.

It is much better than some small places that pretend to be friendly on the surface but then close the door and rip you off when you really come.

People in Shanghai believe in clear accounts between brothers. In fact, not only in Shanghai, but also in the areas south of the Yangtze River, there is a habit of keeping money separate.

Zhang Yuan did not have too many negative emotions about Xu Zheng's love of money and desire to make more money.

He has lived next to the Shanghai People's Art Theatre since he was a child and is very familiar with the entertainment industry!

So be clear about what you want.

"Brother Zheng, I see that you have been working in the film and television industry for so many years, but don't you have any ideas for further advancement?" Seeing that he kept asking questions, Zhang Yuan simply asked back.

"Hehehe..." These words touched his heart.

Xu Zheng then let out his signature laugh.

"Yes, brother, yes."

“In fact, I have always wanted to get involved in behind-the-scenes work.”

“I have also been exposed to behind-the-scenes work.”

"So you want to steal Haozi's job?" Zhang Yuan filled his glass of white wine.

This person can drink quite a lot.

"Hehehe, I envy him."

In fact, Xu Zheng has always wanted to transform.

Because with his image, the ceiling for being an actor is not high.

His understanding of the upper limit is money and power, not acting skills.

Although money and acting skills can buy status in the industry.

Judging from his looks and figure alone, it would not be easy for him to get top advertising endorsements.

Plus, he does have brains, and it's right for him to think about transitioning behind the scenes.

When filming "Li Wei as an Official 2", he had already taken on the position of assistant director and was learning the whole process.

The film "Li Wei as an Official" was originally a spin-off of "The Yongzheng Dynasty".

It was originally called "Li Wei as an Official in the Yongzheng Dynasty".

The film also used the original crew of "Yongzheng Dynasty".

But the role of Li Wei was replaced by Xu Zheng.

Because the original actor who played Li Wei, Mr. Zhao Yi, accepted a contract to play the young Bai Jingye in "The Mansion Gate", and their schedules conflicted.

This allowed Xu Zheng to take advantage of the opportunity.

To be honest, Xu Zheng's acting is not as good as Zhao Yi's.

It can also be seen from the role of Li Wei that Xu Zheng is a good actor, but it is more of a technical skill, and his talent is not top-notch.

He is also the type who can make anyone he plays look like himself.

The characters Zhu Bajie, Zhu Yunwen, and Li Wei are actually played in similar ways.

This creates another problem.

In the industry's perception, his acting range is not wide.

So after he turned 30, the number of film contracts he received continued to decrease.

This is also the reason why he is anxious to transform.

He wanted to control his own destiny.

Many actors are like this.

The boss was replaced by someone with connections before the filming started.

Out of fashion, laughed at by the younger generation.

Because of his ugly appearance, he was disliked by his peers and directors.

In the end, everyone wants to change the track.

"Actually, I met a director whose experience was very similar to Haozi's." After a while, after drinking some more, Xu Zheng spoke.

"We have made a lot of art films, but they either couldn't be released or didn't do well at the box office."

"So I learned from my mistakes and decided to make a movie that could be released and make money."

"Oh?" Zhang Yuan narrowed his eyes.

He got it.

This person asked all kinds of questions, just like Guan Hu and Li Xiang before, he was attracted by me because I was rich and had a company!
Come to life!
"What movie? Do you have any idea?"

"Yes, I will also participate in script writing, planning and production." Seeing that he seemed interested, Xu Zheng quickly took over the conversation.

“In fact, the structure of this story is a bit similar to Crazy Stone.”

"It's just that the story of Stone takes place in a city, while the story of this script takes place in a supermarket."

"These are people with complicated relationships among the general public, who are brought together."

Supermarket... Zhang Yuan knows what's going on.

I think he was talking about the movie "Nightclub"!

The movie is OK, and the cost is indeed very low.

It’s not wrong to say that it’s a bit similar to “Crazy Stone”.

Because director Yang Qing was inspired by Ning Hao's successful experience, and coupled with the setbacks, he planned to shoot a low-budget feature film that could be released.

Contacted Xu Zheng.

Xu Zheng knew that the crew had no money.

But having no money has its advantages.

He also saw Ning Hao's success and just wanted to make a transition, so he also needed to give it a try.

So he was willing to reduce his pay and participate in the filming.

But the prerequisite is that he must participate in all the work of the crew.

Screenwriter, producer, producer, director... he wants to get involved in all kinds of jobs.

Zhang Yuan understood what he was thinking.

However, he needs Xu Zheng's subsequent works to help him boost his performance.

After all, the plan of the film industry on both sides of the Taiwan Strait is to go public.

The facade is indispensable.

It's not impossible to cooperate first.

Besides, the cost and production cycle of this film are very low.

According to Xu Zheng, the budget was less than 200 million and the shooting time was one month.

Just a supermarket, a few actors, and a machine, it really doesn't cost too much money and time.

"Okay, why don't you get the director over here and we can talk."

"Okay, okay." Xu Zheng laughed and toasted him.

Things went even better than he had imagined.

"But there is a condition, let me make it clear first."

"Little money is also money."

Don't be fooled by the low cost of this film, it actually made money.

But this amount of money is just enough for him to pay his mortgage, it's just a drop in the bucket.

"You can invest money, but you have to use my people."

Zhang Yuan looked at Zhang Tianai, who had just arrived today and was eating with him.

This girl eats less, and her eating manners are much more elegant than Zhao Liying.

Moreover, she came the earliest, but now she is not doing as well as Zhao Liying.

Zeng Jia called him before dinner.

"Lost" became an instant hit as soon as it was aired.

After the film became popular, Zhao Liying, who played Mu Wanqiu in the film, immediately became popular as well.

She was originally unknown. Apart from Huayi's novice gift package and an Olay advertisement with Zhou Xun, she had basically no commercial value.

But now a bunch of small brands have come to her and asked her to be their spokesperson.

Actors depend on fate. Sometimes if a play becomes popular, they will become popular.

Without this one, you will never be famous in your life.

Although she is a supporting actress and only has a small reputation, she has obviously reached a new level.

Those who arrived later have achieved some success, so those who came earlier need to work harder.

"Just like in this play, you take Tianai with you."

"Teach him while shooting."

The financial sponsor has spoken, is there anyone who disagrees?
The original intention of this film was to find Li Xiaolu who loves to sing and dance rap.

The other party was a little concerned about the low pay.

Besides, Xu Zheng is the star of this play, so it wouldn't be a big problem if other people were to replace him.

"We are all family, no need to say anything." Xu Zheng agreed, and at the same time he had already thought of various arguments to persuade the director.

"Tian'ai." Zhang Yuan reached out and patted Zhang Tianai's shoulders twice, speaking earnestly.

"Study well."

“Seize every opportunity to make progress.”

Xiao Ai looked dazed.

He was holding chopsticks in his hand, with half a piece of broccoli on the chopsticks.

There was only half a piece left in his mouth, but he stopped chewing it halfway.

He was stunned for several seconds before swallowing hard.

Then he looked at Zhang Yuan's slap on his shoulder and nodded vigorously.

She never expected that just by having a meal, she would become the leading lady of a movie for no reason!
The boss is spending money to get me on stage!
"understand?"

"understood."

Anyway, the opportunity has been given.

Whether you can become famous and how much you can learn depends on yourself.

How much weight one can gain when food is put in front of his mouth depends on his aptitude.

Even if you don’t become famous later, you can only blame yourself, not me.

After dinner, Zhang Yuan returned to the room and was very excited.

I have been making rapid progress recently.

"Bullfighting", "Perfect", "Wolf Fang"...

Including "Nightclub", he already has four low-budget film projects in hand.

"Why do I look a bit like a rag collector..." he said self-deprecatingly.

There is no such thing as a low-cost TV drama project.

"Rouge Snow" and "The Legend of Nezha: Prequel" are both absolutely big investments in the industry.

These are the main projects, and there are many other related projects.

"That's what you want!"

Expanding influence is the top priority.

Moreover, he can also support other companies with these projects.

The crew has to eat before they start working, and the lunch boxes are provided by a catering company.

If the crew needs to do post-production, the special effects company can also take care of it.

During the Chinese New Year a while ago, Shu Chang settled accounts with him.

Last year, all affiliates.

Including catering companies, crosstalk clubs, drama clubs, brokerage companies, animation companies, and production companies, all made money.

The amount of money collected is more than 4000 million!

Only two companies are losing money.

One is a sugar man.

I have invested tens of millions, but I haven't made any profit yet.

But sugar people are a special case and cannot be counted.

The second is the post-production special effects company.

I feed myself all day and still lose more than a hundred dollars in a year...

However, after carefully looking at the accounts, I found that a lot of equipment and personnel had been added.

The company now has more than 50 employees and its equipment has been replaced with first-class domestic equipment.

But there is still a gap between it and the world's best.

I don't quite understand. This company needs to lose money, so why not close it?

You can't do business that makes you lose money.

If you want to do post-production special effects, there are so many good companies abroad, not just in China.

They have rich experience and first-class equipment, and you can use it as long as you pay.

Zhang Yuan touched Changchang's head, smiled but said nothing, without any blame.

She is thinking in a typical accounting or CFO way.

I look at things from the CEO's perspective.

It's almost the difference between Jobs and Cook.

"You can use it if you spend money."

"But if the technology is not in our hands, others can strangle us."

How could Zhang Yuan not know the nature of those foreigners?
If you want to use it, you have to spend a lot of money and queue up.

And even after you wait in line, they won’t use the best staff and equipment to do the work for you.

We must focus on Hollywood companies first!

Maybe they don't have time to do your job and outsource it.

Finally, I walked around and took a look.

It’s back in the hands of China’s special effects outsourcing studio!
As a result, one side spends more and the other side earns less, and the biggest profit goes to the foreigners.

The development of Chinese film and television dramas will drive the development of the special effects industry.

Especially with the rise of ancient idol dramas in later generations, which were released in large numbers, there was actually a huge demand for special effects.

Then why do domestic films and TV series still prefer to use foreign companies?

Technical ability is only one aspect.

On the other hand, the benefits here are huge!
When writing a bid on a construction site, you have to mention three or four material suppliers for Party A to choose from.

But when it comes to the film crew, the director and producer basically have the final say on who will do the special effects.

What does it matter which one to use and which one not to use?
It’s all about money!
Worshiping foreign things is one thing, but what’s even more serious is that the top management of the crew collectively made a lot of money on special effects!
Because post-production, publicity and props are the three most difficult things to quantify and the easiest to manipulate in the accounts.

Destructible props, smashed after use.

Whether a chair costs five dollars or fifty thousand dollars is up to the crew.

A palace was dismantled after filming, and whether it cost 100 million or 1000 million to build it was all up to the crew.

The same goes for post-production special effects.

1 or 10 per second, isn't it just what people say?

That's why there are hundreds of millions of investments but the special effects are so terrible.

A typical example is the "little blue man with three heads and six arms".

If the kickbacks taken by 523 were less than %, this effect would not be achieved.

In many films, the investors lose money but the directors make money.

Poet Chen is like this every time.

Many directors work part-time as middlemen.

The end result is that a lot of money was spent but the effect was not good.

He couldn't accept this.

So I would rather support myself and start a company!

I use my own people, so you directors, don't even think about interfering or doing anything fancy.

The special effects company only reports to and is responsible to me!

Only by eliminating this middle step can we achieve flat management and truly reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Ding ding ding...the cell phone is ringing.

Editor-in-Chief Liu called him.

"Why, you guys at CCTV are also working overtime?"

Zhang Yuan looked at the time and it was already 10 o'clock.

"Don't mention it. Our place is not as glamorous as it looks to outsiders."

"I came here to tell you that the performance of "Insidious" has improved."

"As you said, we have also recruited investors!"

Although it was already late, the other party's tone was very energetic.

He is so energetic because Zhang Yuan is doing well!
The films he sent were a big hit, and everyone in his lineage felt proud.

Many people originally complained about Zhang Yuan's "penetration into CCTV" and his attempt to get people into the Spring Festival Gala.

I just have some complaints, not cursing. It's not that I don't want to, but I dare not.

Now, the results are here!
The key point is that a very popular TV series was broadcast in January this year.

"Crossing the Guandong"!
After the film was broadcast, the national average viewership reached 11%.

The average viewership of the show on CCTV-1 also exceeded 5%.

When the editor-in-chief of the TV drama department saw the results, he immediately patted his chest with confidence.

"He's the drama king this year!"

After all, a professional editor-in-chief should dare to draw conclusions.

It can be seen from the broadcast channel that the team relationship of "Crossing the Guandong" is still better than his.

While others went directly to CCTV-1, he could only make do with Channel .

But this kind of "make do" is what many crews dream of.

Just when "Crossing the Guandong" came to a perfect end when the situation was going very well, after the broadcast was completed.

"Lost" came quietly!
What's going on?

The editor-in-chief of the TV drama department was dumbfounded.

How come there is another drama king?

After only a few days of airing, its average performance is not inferior to that of "Crossing the Guandong".

Are all movies nowadays so fierce?

As the film became popular and investment was attracting more investors, Chief Editor Liu started speaking much louder at the station.

"Are you satisfied?"

“I accept…”

"I'll tell you something." Chief Editor Liu straightened his head and chest, thinking that this little brother made him proud.

"Behind 'Crossing the Guandong' there is also investment from Zhang Yuan."

“That’s a master.”

"Yes, yes, yes, both hit dramas are related to him, that's not a coincidence."

"Otherwise, he would be able to show off in the station...ah, no, he is quite important."

Editor-in-Chief Liu was extremely excited when talking to Zhang Yuan on the phone.

Although Zhang Yuan couldn't see his expression, he could imagine how proud he was.

The internal struggle in their place is very fierce.

He must have felt great to have this opportunity to let out a sigh of relief.

Editor-in-Chief Liu, who usually didn't call him unless there was something important, chatted with him for almost two hours today.

It turns out that career is the rejuvenating elixir for middle-aged men.

The phone got hot from the call, so I hung up.

I wanted to take a hot bath and then rest.

I didn’t expect that I would feel more energetic the more I washed.

Thinking about how much money he could make from so many projects, he was as excited as Editor-in-Chief Liu and couldn't sleep.

He also asked his assistant to buy some barbecue for him.

Until about one o'clock in the morning, the excitement had not yet dissipated.

Patted his hands as he ate the roasted lamb loin dipped in cumin.

"Dandan, I'm alone, why would I buy kidney oysters for you?"

“It’s all in vain.”

I plan to wash my hands, lie down on the bed and try to rest.

But I heard a soft knock on the door outside.

"Who?"

"this late."

When I opened the door, I saw Xiao Ai, who was wearing a dress and obvious makeup.

"Tian'ai, what do you want at this time?" Zhang Yuan was puzzled.

But he still let her in.

It’s not good to be seen in the middle of the night.

"Didn't you ask me to come here?" Zhang Tianai widened his almond-shaped eyes and said softly.

"When did I say that?"

"You patted my shoulder three times in the afternoon and evening."

"Don't you mean for me to come to you in the middle of the night?" A gleam of great wisdom flashed in Xiao Ai's eyes.

Zhang Yuan: …

Why don’t you try watching a few fewer episodes of Journey to the West?
Were you and Zhu Yawen taught by the same teacher?

Do you like to guess what I'm thinking?
Actually, we can’t blame them entirely.

Zhang Yuan is busy on weekdays and has no time to talk to them in detail to communicate their feelings.

There are often inexplicable operations.

Therefore, the thoughts of these people gradually became "perverted".

In fact, it's just guilty conscience.

Because they feel deep down that it has been too easy for them to get the results they have today and to play these roles!
I just want to show off in front of my boss.

Zhu Yawen got the opportunity to act in a movie with Brother Hua and wanted to show off.

Xiao Ai has just been assigned the role of the heroine in a movie and she also wants to perform.

"I'm just average."

"I acted in several dramas but I'm still not popular."

“I didn’t make any money for the boss.”

"He still praises me so much, what on earth does he see in me?"

This starts to make you think.

There is a proverb in the West.

When humans think, God laughs.

This guy started to act smart and tried to understand his boss's intentions.

Just like Chang Chang doesn’t understand why he supports a special effects company.

Zhang Tianai also didn't understand why her boss kept her supported.

"You just said that at dinner." Zhang Tianai vowed.

“Seize every opportunity to make progress.”

I didn't ask you to grab me!

"I heard other actors say that on the set before."

"If you want to learn, you have to sleep with the boss."

Zhang Yuan: …

Isn’t this what the folk art world said?
If you want to learn, you have to sleep with the master.

Therefore, if an old artist accepts a female apprentice, nine out of ten of them are of low quality.

How come this habit has been passed on to the film and television industry?

Zhang Yuan scratched his head.

"Actually, you misunderstood me. I didn't mean that."

"Ah!" When Xiao Ai heard him say that, her cheeks turned red.

Like a fire.

This is not the end!
How come I misunderstood?

I hope my boss won’t remove the heroine of the movie I just arranged!
"Well, I, this... I'm leaving."

She was incoherent and didn't know what to say, so she could only walk out.

"Wait a minute." Zhang Yuan raised his hand to stop him.

Fellow Taoist, please stay.

Judging from her reaction, I guess she will go back to her room and hammer the wall until dawn.

As a boss, he also has to take care of his employees' psychological problems.

The boss.

There is an old saying: He who preaches the truth and resolves doubts is also the one who teaches.

He couldn't bear to see his employees' enthusiasm dampened.

Because he is kind... (End of this chapter)