2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 65 "The Best of Us" Profit Sharing (2-in-1)

There were two people when they came, and three people when they left.

Chu An didn't have to put in much effort, and Fei Mingyu went with him.

Firstly, he was unwilling to give up.

Secondly, the vast majority of people cannot resist the fame and fortune that the entertainment industry brings.

The three returned to Shengjing on New Year's Day, and 2002 arrived quietly.

Instead of returning to the courtyard house in Shichahai, I went to Lu Mingze's studio first.

It's actually Lu Mingze's home in Nanluoguxiang, separated from the Central Academy of Drama by only one wall.

This courtyard is much larger than the one Chu An lives in. It has two courtyards, with the front courtyard used as a studio and the back courtyard as a residence.

"The advertising revenue sharing with various TV stations is being settled gradually, but the total amount has already been calculated."

Chu An didn't need to worry at all that Lao Lu would swindle his money; that guy just didn't have that kind of cunning.

"5600 million, plus the previous amount, totaling 1.23 million."

Lu Mingze's voice trembled as he recited the numbers.

It earned 1.2 million yuan on its premiere, and that was a show that was rushed out in just over two months.

Chu An did the math and said, "Actually, it's not much money."

The previous 67 million yuan, including production and distribution, plus 20 million yuan in red envelopes for other members of the crew, was all spent without a penny left.

Only this 5600 million can be considered profit; after taxes, less than 5000 million will remain.

Of this, 20% is the investors' dividend, which is 1000 million. As for the question that Mr. Chu previously gave the production team 2000 million in bonuses, how will he explain this to the investors?

It's very simple, no explanation needed.

It can only be said that many times, what we consider common sense is actually not common sense, but a misconception.

For example, people believe that these investors have the right to know where the funds go, the right to audit the details of fund usage, and the right to hold people accountable and file lawsuits, etc.

First, there may be a misunderstanding of the differences between partnership, equity participation, and investment.

Partnership: This means signing a "Partnership Agreement". Regardless of the amount of capital invested or the number of "shares" held, unless the management and distribution rights are clearly stipulated in the contract, all partners enjoy equal management and decision-making rights.

Even if you only invest 1%, and you sign a "Partnership Agreement", that 1% of the management rights and voting rights are the same as the other 99%.

Equity Investment: A genuine equity investment agreement requires the joint establishment of a company or an agreement to jointly operate the business in the form of a company. Furthermore, the cooperative project cannot include any projects of a sole proprietorship nature in order for the corresponding shareholding rights under company law to apply.

And investment.
It means I invest money to participate in one or more projects you are running.

During the operation of these projects, what rights do I enjoy, such as financial control, liquidation rights, anti-dilution rights, right to know, auditing rights, project governance rights, exit guarantee rights, and so on?

Everything must be reflected in the contract; if it is not in the contract, I cannot obtain the corresponding rights.

To put it simply, if you are a minority shareholder and not very skilled in the art of cooperation, then the "Partnership Agreement" is the most advantageous for you.

People generally believe that owning shares means having corresponding voting rights and the right to supervise funds, provided that the project is in the form of a company and an equity investment agreement is signed.

For film and television investments, investment agreements are signed.

The general direction of film and television investment agreements in this era, as well as the protection of small investors, followed the lead of Hollywood.

Small investors have absolutely no right to concern themselves with things like auditing or the flow of funds, let alone these things.

Some large, unscrupulous companies, such as Hollywood studios, will dictate the exact figures for later merchandise revenue, other copyright income, etc., and you have no right to know the specific accounts no matter where you sue them.

Some even have to wait for the big companies to take the profits first and distribute them before they get their share.

Therefore, countless people have been scammed.

As for Chu An's approach, the 2000 million was included in the cost, not in the profit, and there's nothing more to it than that.

Such examples are countless in the film and television industry, too numerous to list.

This is one of them.

Secondly, all the investors who participated in the investment of "The Best of Us" also invested in the next film - "You Are My Glory".

Chu An's motivation for giving out red envelopes was to ensure that the original cast could all return for the next drama, which is perfectly reasonable.

third!!
Chu An said that there was no need to go through the formalities; he could make the decision directly.

This is because investors and ordinary people have completely different logic.

When ordinary people make an investment, their main consideration is how much profit they can make.

Ordinary people see the benefits first and tend to think positively.

A mature investor thinks: How many times can I afford to fail like this?

They're playing the odds!
The reason for not considering the issue of profit is, as Lin Wanchen said, "It's better to be pessimistic about human nature."

Even with the best project and the most trustworthy project executor, we must consider the worst-case scenario.

If, in a profitable situation—in fact, a situation where they are making a lot of money—the creators can't accept spending 2000 million to retain talent, then they shouldn't be in this industry.

Chu An will not let him in again next time.

To get back to the point, Chu An only received 1500 million, which isn't much at all.

Chu An said, "Transfer 500 million of my dividends to your own account as payment for the house."

"The courtyard will be converted into a studio space, and then leased to me."

The rest can just sit in the studio's accounts.

Don't ask, the answer is legal tax avoidance.

Chu An wouldn't do anything like tax evasion; it would only lead to trouble sooner or later, and there was no need to do it.

However, if he can legally and legitimately avoid personal income tax, he doesn't need to pretend to be a sucker.

In fact, his salary for filming "With You", his scriptwriting fees, and the red envelopes given by the crew were all received in the name of Lu Mingze Studio.

In other words, after deducting what he is about to spend, he already has more than 1200 million yuan sitting in the studio's account.

Upon hearing Chu An's words, Lu Mingze's brows furrowed like a pretzel. "So, I really can't get the courtyard back?"

Chu An sighed, "Forget it, forget it! A house, look at how stingy you are! Forget it, okay?"

Seeing that he was getting anxious, Lu Mingze said, "That's not what I meant!"

Chu An: "Alright, it's settled then."

Lu Mingze, “???”

chap!
In the end, Lu Mingze didn't hesitate and gave the courtyard house to Chu An. Moreover, Chu An was generous and paid a huge premium for the house.

Old Lu wasn't a stingy person; since he had decided to give it, he would do it decisively. In the end, he didn't take the money and gave it to Chu An.

In his words, "Playing around is playing around, but you've helped me earn so much money, so I should show my appreciation."

Chu An didn't stand on ceremony with Lao Lu. The road ahead was long, and there would be many more times when they could support each other.

Lin Wanchen and Fei Mingyu were stunned.

Fei Mingyu was initially a little reserved when he met Director Lu, but now he realized that making TV dramas was really that lucrative.
Lin Wanchen
He now seriously suspects he's been fooled by Chu An!

"You won't let me invest in film and television, but you're making a fortune yourself? Is that fair?"

Chu An wasn't ashamed at all. "It's appropriate! I earned it through my own abilities, what's inappropriate about it?"

This left Lin Wanchen speechless.

After a long pause, he finally managed to say, "Anyway, I'm going to invest in 'You Are My Glory'!" Chu An ignored him and continued to say to Lu Mingze, "Take out another million to help Fei Mingyu record an album."

Upon hearing this, Fei Mingyu rolled his eyes. "Do you even understand anything?"

"One million isn't enough!?"

He counted on his fingers for Chu An, "These ten songs are all good songs, we can't skimp on them. So, just renting a studio for recording will cost several hundred thousand. The costs for distribution, promotion, and chart ranking will be even greater, at least two or three million more, just to barely make ends meet."

Chu An, however, acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world, saying, "Yes, this million was originally meant for you to rent a recording studio."

Fei Mingyu: "Then will you pay for the subsequent investments?"

Chu An said, "What money are you going to contribute? We're a bunch of laymen, where are we going to find distribution channels for you? Let alone publicity."

"To put it bluntly, we have money but nowhere to spend it!"

Fei Mingyu, “…”

He increasingly felt that this guy was unreliable.

After thinking it over for a while, I thought, "Forget it! If all else fails, I'll ask my dad for some more money, and I'll go and beg my old company."

Although he breached his contract by leaving the entertainment industry, he didn't argue with his former company about the breach of contract fees, and their relationship was still quite good.

Then I saw Chu Anchou clicking his tongue.

"How did I end up with such a bunch of weirdos?!"

Lin Wanchen and Lu Mingze were indignant, "What does this have to do with us?"

Chu An counted on his fingers for them, "Let's not even talk about those two idiots surnamed Lin. They're stupid and rich, and they keep losing money on making movies."

"You!" Pointing at Fei Mingyu, "You're just like him, relying on your rich dad to curry favor with the entertainment industry, right?"

Lu Mingze wanted to laugh, "That's right, this industry is supposed to make money, why are you always thinking about losing money?"

Chu An, "You're not even as good as these two!!"

Who gave you the audacity to gloat over someone who sells houses and makes movies?
He addressed the three men, whose heads seemed a bit off, saying, "We're here to make money, not to do charity!"

Fei Mingyu was about to retort: ​​How can you make money without investing?

Chu An shut him up, "There are ways to deal with not having money. Just shut up!"

"Just focus on recording your song, and you don't need to worry about the rest!"

Promotion and distribution are indeed issues under normal circumstances. In this day and age, music distribution and promotion are still relatively "closed" compared to film and television dramas.

In the era before widespread internet access, it was extremely difficult for singers from smaller companies to break through, except for a few major labels. From production to distribution and promotional channels, everything was almost monopolized by large companies.

It's really unlikely that Chu An, with his head held high and eyes blazing, would dare to break into the music industry.

But
Why specifically Fei Mingyu? Isn't it because Ji Yang just handed him a ready-made publicity plan?
At this point, the conflict between Chu An and Ji Yang, after brewing for the past few days since Chu An left home, has gradually developed into a hot entertainment news topic, with the new actor and the crew publicly bullying Ji Yang.

On New Year's Day, the entertainment sections of "Popular Entertainment" and "The Beijing News" began to name names and match C, L, and J from "Entertainment Frontline" with the individuals mentioned.

Ji Yang's fans were initially just speculating about who it might be, but this gave them a target to vent their frustrations on.

First came the internet, then radio entertainment hotlines, and then letters from viewers to various entertainment print and television media.

Ji Yang's fans launched a frenzied attack on Chu An through various channels.

A certain entertainment gossip section.

"Brother Ji Yang is just too kind, he always gets bullied!"

"We must unite and avenge our brother!"

"Protect our best brother Ji Yang!! Does anyone know where that idiot Chu An lives?"

A music radio station's midnight request program:

"I want to request a song by Ji Yang, and by the way, I wish you good luck, brother, and may Chu An get run over by a car when he goes out!"

An entertainment magazine published the following: "[Newcomers respecting their seniors is a virtue and a tradition; we should say no to bullying!!]"

The overwhelming barrage of criticism nearly drowned out Chu An.

On the other hand, Chu An let the situation develop without offering any clarification.

Many onlookers were even puzzled.

Why are all the media outlets following suit and attacking him? Not a single one has taken the initiative to approach him, do an interview, or give him a chance to explain?
Even some bystanders who weren't directly involved were secretly astonished, "It's completely unequal; Chu An has no chance at all."

Some people even felt sorry for Chu An, yes.
Although Chu An has no official channels to speak out, entertainment gossip reports are still the same old thing.

We're all in this industry, who doesn't know who?

Everyone knows what kind of person Ji Yang is. Besides, if it were in Lu Mingze's group, it might be possible to say that Chu An bullied Ji Yang, since Lu and Chu An have a special relationship.

But Shen Jin's group? That guy surnamed Shen is cunning as a monkey when it comes to hair; there's no way such a thing could happen to him.

It can only be said that last year it was Fei Mingyu, this year it's Chu An, and Ji Yang is at the height of his power, and no one can stop him.

As for what Chu An was doing at this time...
This has caused Lu Mingze and Lin Wanxing a great deal of worry.

He acted like nothing was wrong all day, turning down all the interviews and reports that Lu Mingze had asked him to do.

Okay! It's not that no media wanted to interview him. It was the first big scandal of 2002, it generated so much buzz, and so many people were lining up to see Chu An get his comeuppance. He should at least give an explanation, right?

But apart from going to Wanxing's film crew to help Shen Jin revise the script, Chu An didn't see anyone else.

Even Sun Jianyi called to ask if he needed help clarifying things, but Chu An turned them all down.

Go ahead and curse? It's not the right time yet.

At this very moment, Chu An was frantically typing away on his computer.

His mouth is still dirty
"Damn it!"

"Comrade Lin Wanchen, why don't you just make a website? Forget about film and television investment, it's just too inconvenient!"

In an era before Weibo, short video platforms, and even traditional blogs, President Chu could only reply to posts on forums one by one and leave comments on news articles one by one.

I'm really exhausted.

Lin Wanchen dismissed his nonsense and didn't have time to listen to his banter.

Seeing Chu An replying there made me feel terrible.

Chu An was seen sporting a cool ID: "Director of the Entertainment Industry Disciplinary Committee."

In a thread titled "We are your eternal support," which already has hundreds of replies, someone commented...
(Original Poster) [Director of the Entertainment Industry's Disciplinary Committee]: "Protect our best brother Ji Yang!!"

Another post titled "【On Chu An's Ten Deadly Sins】" was opened, which stated...
(Original Poster) [Entertainment Industry Disciplinary Committee Director]: "Reliable sources say that Director Shen's scene for tomorrow has been changed again by Chu An, who is going to slap his brother!"

Lin Wanchen was speechless. "No... you're the one who created all those trending posts online?!"

What picture?

Chu An replied inhumanly, "I'm not after anything, I just think netizens these days are too polite."

"It's not intense at all."

Ji Yang's fans are crazy, but how can you bystanders be so polite?
Lin Wanchen: "..."

.

I fell asleep last night, so I won't be separating the chapters today.

Just wait a little longer! Soon we won't have to go to the construction site every day; we'll only need to go occasionally.

(End of this chapter)