Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 149 Bloody Drama

After the National Day holiday, the temperature dropped sharply, making people feel the chill of late autumn.

The entire city of Beiping seemed to be shrouded in a gray veil, with continuous rain for several days.

Outside the blinds, rain pattered against the glass. In contrast to the gloomy weather outside, Zhuang Liqi was in a good mood. He sat behind his desk, his hands folded, his eyes sparkling.

"What are Qiao Zhengyu's schedule for the next few days?"

Sitting across from him, Zeng Jia looked through the schedules of the artists in his portfolio and replied, "For the next ten days, he will be doing promotional tours for 'So Young,' and he will also be going to Changsha to appear on 'Happy Camp' with Gao Yuanyuan."

Zhuang Liqi nodded: "I know he's been working hard lately, but 'So Young' is doing very well right now. The box office is mainly determined by the first two weeks, so let's hang in there a little longer."

"So Young" grossed 4058 million yuan during the seven-day National Day holiday, a remarkable achievement.

Before its release, no one expected that a low-budget youth film would have such great box office potential.

"Rob-B-Hood," starring Jackie Chan and Louis Koo, was a strong contender and became the biggest box office dark horse during the 2006 National Day holiday.

Zeng Jia nodded in response: "I understand. Zheng Yu himself also attaches great importance to it. He flew back and forth between major cities during the National Day holiday and hardly rested for a moment."

"This is a golden opportunity. Whether the total box office can exceed 100 million depends on the growth of this week's box office."

Zhuang Liqi then turned his gaze to Li Feng, who was standing next to Zeng Jia, and gave the order directly:

"In addition to on-the-ground promotion, we also need to keep up with online promotion. Nowadays, young people love to go online, so we need to launch a massive campaign across all major portals and forums."

Mr. Zhang and I have applied for an additional 500 million yuan to invest in the promotion and distribution of "So Young." Li Feng, you must make sure every penny of this money is used effectively.

Publicity Director Li Feng, with a serious expression, solemnly stated: "President Zhuang, please rest assured, I will definitely oversee the process and lead the entire department to ensure the success of the follow-up publicity work for 'So Young'."

With a movie that is expected to gross over 100 million yuan at the box office, Tengda Culture attaches great importance to it. Li Feng naturally dares not slack off in the slightest and requires everyone in the publicity department to go all out to promote "So Young".

Over the past few months, Zhuang Liqi had come to understand Li Feng's personality: he was serious, cautious, and hands-on. He was very satisfied with Li Feng's statement just now.

Seeing that both directors looked tired, he then delivered some good news to boost morale:

"Everyone has been working very hard lately, just get through this week. General Manager Zhang has already agreed that after the movie finishes its run, regardless of whether the box office exceeds 100 million, each department will receive a bonus."

Li Feng and Zeng Jia were delighted to hear this. Tengda Culture has always been generous to its employees, and as middle-level managers, they were entitled to even more. To receive a bonus before the end of the year was a windfall, so they were naturally happy.

After mentally reviewing each aspect of his recent work and finding nothing to be overlooked, Zhuang Liqi instructed, "If there's nothing else, you can proceed with your tasks as we just agreed."

So the two directors said goodbye and left, leaving Zhuang Liqi alone in the office, head down in thought. His move to Tengda Culture was a major turning point in his career.

As a veteran who has worked in the film and television industry for many years, he has accumulated extensive industry experience and possesses a unique artistic vision.

Coupled with his diligent and meticulous work attitude, he quickly gained Zhang Zhao's trust after joining the company and was put in charge of the production, promotion and distribution of Tengda Culture's TV dramas.

Zhang Zhao has now gone to another city to discuss film scheduling and revenue sharing, and before leaving, he entrusted him with the publicity and distribution work of "So Young".

Faced with the important task entrusted to him by the general manager, Zhuang Liqi dared not slack off or be negligent in the slightest. He attached great importance to this work and was determined to achieve results.

Suddenly, a melodious cell phone ringtone interrupted his thoughts. Zhuang Liqi looked at the caller ID, a sense of surprise washing over him. He muttered to himself, "Why would she call me?"

Filled with curiosity, I answered the phone: "Hello, Sister Hua!"

The person who called was Wang Jinghua, a top agent in the entertainment industry.

A cheerful female voice came through the receiver: "Mr. Zhuang, I hope I didn't disturb you?"

Zhuang Liqi laughed and said, "No, I'm just free. But Sister Hua, why did you suddenly contact me today? I'm flattered."

In 2005, Wang Jinghua and a large group of her artists jumped ship from Huayi Brothers Entertainment to Chentian Entertainment. At that time, Zhuang Liqi was also working at Chentian.

However, not long after, Zhuang Liqi switched to Tengda Culture. The two had a brief working relationship, but it could only be considered a nodding acquaintance.

"I don't come here unless I need something. I'll discuss it with President Zhuang." Wang Jinghua is straightforward and speaks and acts directly.

"Please speak, Mr. Hua."

“There is a novel called ‘Struggle’. I found out that the copyright is held by Tengda Culture. I would like to purchase the copyright of this novel. I wonder if Mr. Zhuang can help me.”

"Struggle?" Zhuang Liqi murmured. He seemed to have heard Zhang Zhao mention it before, and subtly inquired, "Sister Hua wants to adapt this novel into a TV series?"

“Yes.” Wang Jinghua readily admitted. In their line of work, what else could they do with acquiring novel copyrights but adapt them into movies?

Zhuang Liqi, being cautious by nature, said: "Sister Hua, I haven't been with Tengda Culture for long, and there are many things I don't know the specifics of. I need to find out more details before I can give you an answer. However, if you want to make a TV series, I think we can cooperate."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jinghua hesitated for a moment: "This! President Zhuang, to be honest, I've almost finished negotiating on my end. Everything is ready except for the final piece of the puzzle: the copyright. I hope you can help me out and do me a favor. Consider it a favor I, Wang Jinghua, owe you."

Out of professional habit, Zhuang Liqi subconsciously asked, "The arrangements are all set up! Which company is the investor, Chen Tian Investment? And who is the director?"

Since she had asked for help, Wang Jinghua couldn't deliberately hide it: "It's not Chen Tian, ​​it's Xinbaoyuan Film and Television Investment, and the director is Zhao Baogang."

"Sister Hua is straightforward. Please wait a moment while I look into the situation and get back to you."

Although Xinbaoyuan Film & Television's influence has declined somewhat in recent years, it is still an established film and television company that has produced classic works such as "Never Close Your Eyes" and has a Class A TV series production license.

Zhuang Liqi still wanted to give Zhao Baogang and Wang Jinghua some face; it was just the copyright of a novel, and selling it wouldn't be a big deal.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhuang. I look forward to your good news."

At that moment, as soon as Wang Jinghua put down her phone at Xinbaoyuan Company, the two people sitting opposite her couldn't wait to ask, "What did Zhuang Liqi say?"

Wang Jinghua shook her head: "He said he needed to understand the situation before he could give me an answer. After all, he's only a deputy, and there's a general manager ahead of him. It's a pity we haven't dealt with Zhang Zhao before, but Director Zhao, don't worry, I could tell from his tone that he's willing to help."

The one who had just spoken was the renowned director Zhao Baogang. After hearing what Wang Jinghua said, he could only nod in disappointment and wait patiently.

"I was interested in buying the rights to 'Struggle' back then, but I was too late, and Tengda Culture beat me to it. Later, I found out that Tengda had been buying novel and screenplay rights like crazy for the past few years and hadn't stopped."

"I wonder what Zhang Zhao is hoarding so many copyrights for?" Wang Ying asked curiously from the side. He was Zhao Baogang's good friend and personal cinematographer, and had joined Xinbaoyuan Film and Television when it was founded in 98, making him a company veteran.

Zhao Baogang added, "It shouldn't have been Zhang Zhao's intention. Back then, before he became the general manager of Tengda Culture, Tengda was already acquiring copyrights."

Wang Jinghua thought for a moment and speculated, "I estimate that it was most likely the idea of ​​that young master. He is also a great writer. It is said that he made his fortune by writing novels. He may be more sensitive and attentive to this area."

Zhao Baogang sighed: "I hope everything goes well."

Tengda Culture is currently at its peak. Although Zhao has some influence in Beijing's social circles, he has little contact with people from Tengda, and they could easily ignore him.

It just so happened that Wang Jinghua had a collaboration with Xinbaoyuan and also happened to know Zhuang Liqi, the vice president of Tengda, so she entrusted Wang Jinghua to handle this matter.

Wang Jinghua learned by chance that her old friend Zhao Baogang wanted to start a new project. She originally wanted to send a few people to the crew, but when she learned that the copyright issue had not been resolved, and since she knew Zhuang Liqi, she volunteered.

She had no choice. Ever since she broke up with Huayi Company, she brought a large group of actors to jump ship to Chentian Entertainment. She originally valued Wu Kebo's abilities, but who would have thought that he was such an oddball. Chentian invested in so many film and television projects, yet he didn't use any of his own people.

With so many artists under her management to support, she needs to arrange for them to take on roles. "Struggle" happens to be an ensemble drama, which allows her to include more actors. That's why Wang Jinghua is worried about the copyright issue and hopes that the TV series can be filmed as soon as possible.

After Zhuang Liqi ended the call, he began to understand the situation and, after asking some questions, learned the ins and outs of the copyright of "Struggle".

The copyright of this novel is now, to be precise, under the name of its sister company, Lantu Copyright. Back then, Lantu Copyright was a subsidiary of Tengda Culture, and all the copyrights acquired by Wang Jing through Song Ci were placed under Lantu.

Later, Tengda Group was reorganized into TT Video Network. Lantu, which owned a large number of online film and television copyrights, was transferred to TT Video Network, along with the novel copyrights it had previously purchased.

Zhuang Liqi had a headache. He thought it would be a simple matter, but it turned out to be so complicated. Wang Jinghua wanted to buy the copyright to "Struggle," but the leaders of Lantou Company had to give their approval first.

However, he has only been with Tengda Group for a short time and doesn't have many connections within the company, so people might not necessarily give him face. But since he has been entrusted with this matter, he should do his duty, so it seems he will have to ask Zhang Zhao to handle it.

Rubbing his aching temples, Zhuang Liqi didn't hesitate and immediately called Zhang Zhao to report the situation and ask him for a decision.

Zhang Zhao is currently in Guangzhou discussing matters with Liu Rong. He hopes that the Southern Cinemas can continue to support the screening of "So Young" to ensure that the box office will successfully exceed 100 million yuan, which will be a milestone for Tengda Culture.

After listening to his deputy's account, Zhang Zhao pondered for a moment: "Old Zhuang, this matter is a bit difficult. I remember mentioning 'Struggle' to you last time."

This was originally a project the company had been planning to develop for the past two years, and it was one of the key projects personally selected by the chairman. We couldn't just hand it over to someone else.

Zhuang Liqi frowned: "President Zhang, let's not even talk about the upcoming year. Does the company still have the resources to start a new TV series next year?"

He was not familiar with the film production department; he was only in charge of television dramas. Tengda Culture had already planned to film four television dramas: "Soldiers Sortie," "Hello, Old Times," "Story of the Cooking Squad 3," and "My Love from the Star."

Even setting aside the company's financial pressures, the production team is already working at full capacity, so where would they find the energy to start a fifth TV series?

"Mr. Zhang, since the chairman wants us to develop 'Struggle,' and we don't have the energy to film it, it's not good to drag it out."

I think it's entirely possible to collaborate with Xinbaoyuan. We'll handle the investment, add one or two actors, and leave the rest to Zhao Baogang."

Zhang Zhao nodded. Collaborative filming was a win-win solution. In the industry, it's taboo to hog everything, so it would be good to give Wang Jinghua and Zhao Baogang face.

However, there is still an emperor emeritus at home, and he needs to report on the key projects that Boss Song specifically assigned him.

"Old Zhuang, let me be frank with you. President Song has a girlfriend, and the two of them have a very good relationship. If we're going to film 'Struggle,' she has to get to choose the roles first."

"Girlfriend! Who is it?" Zhuang Liqi was startled, guessing that it might be one of the two female artists in the company, whom he should not have offended before.

"It's that little girl, Liu Shishi, who played Mu Nianci in Tangren Media."

Zhuang Liqi breathed a sigh of relief. He had never offended Liu Shishi. He had even praised the young girl's action scenes when he saw her on the set of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes." He had only formed good relationships with her.

"Wait for my news, I'll report to President Song right away."

Zhuang Liqi understood Zhang Zhao; that's how large corporations are—there are many things to consider, especially matters involving leaders, which cannot be taken lightly.

In this way, "Struggle" was reported up the chain of command.

"Zhao Baogang wants to film that melodramatic TV series 'Struggle'?" Song Ci received Zhang Zhao's call just after class at Peking University, and he was about to return to his dormitory.

Hearing Zhang Zhao's report, I was puzzled. This is the power of inertia in the world. How come we always end up back where we started?

Although "Struggle" was melodramatic, it was incredibly popular; audiences love melodramatic plots. Moreover, the show was a phenomenal success, making all the main actors famous overnight.

Now that Tengda has the copyright, they certainly can't just give up this hugely popular drama. However, Zhuang Liqi's suggestion is worth considering.

"Alright, we can cooperate with Xinbaoyuan, but we want to take the lion's share."

"Would Miss Liu like to play a role?"

After thinking about it, Song Ci concluded that the most likable character in the entire drama "Struggle" was Mi Lai, after all, she was beautiful, strong, and tragic, which made people feel sorry for her.

Wang Luodan's career took off thanks to this role. Now that Wang Luodan is an artist under our company, and the character doesn't quite match Shishi's temperament, it would be pointless for her to participate.

Moreover, Ms. Liu's schedule is also full next year. She will be filming "Strange Tales of Liaozhai" at the beginning of the year, followed by "Hello, Old Times" and a movie. In addition, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" has resumed production. I hope she doesn't overwork her.

"Shishi won't be acting anymore. She has a very full work schedule next year. You guys can decide on the roles for her in 'Struggle'. We can arrange roles for all the artists from Tengda."

(End of this chapter)