A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 48 Puppy
On July 16th, I finished my work in Taiwan and went to Hong Kong.

Four endorsement deals have been officially signed.

BMW was very fond of Lin Jianlu's youthful, energetic, and rugged personal image and intended to have him endorse their mid-size sedan, the BMW 3 Series. The offer was 6 million yuan for two years, plus a top-of-the-line 3 Series sedan. Ge Fuhong had been demanding 10 million yuan for three years, but they finally reached an agreement for 7 million yuan for two years, plus two sedans.

One bus from Hong Kong, one bus from the capital.

He has to attend at least two auto shows every year, and shoot TV commercials and magazine photos. Furthermore, whenever he drives in Hong Kong or mainland China, he must drive the 3 Series that was given to him.

There's also Adidas sneakers, which she's considered one of the brand ambassadors, responsible for one of their product lines. It cost 1100 million over three years, and she'll be directly supplied with every new product. Moreover, they're specially produced according to Lin Jianlu's shoe size. Similarly, she has to wear this brand when shooting commercials, magazine photos, or going out in casual shoes.

Then there's Coca-Cola, a two-year deal worth 800 million, with endorsements covering mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.

Moreover, not only must the copyright of the song "Brave Heart" be exclusively licensed to the advertisement, but they must also promise to write another inspirational song for them in the new album to be used as background music for the new advertisement.

When it came to copyright licensing, it was Sylvia Chang who handled the matter with Rolling Stone.

It's actually not that difficult. Rock Records' current leniency towards Lin Jianlu is even more pronounced than that of Luo Dayou, who is already at his peak—as I said before, Lin Jianlu has reached a level of fame where he can bully others. If everyone is on good terms, the cooperation can continue, which is beneficial to both sides, and a small matter won't escalate into a conflict.

Then, McDonald's, 850 million for two years. It involves filming commercials for individual items twice a year, once in Hong Kong and once in the capital, working as a server in the store for two hours each time.

Three days, four endorsement contracts, totaling 3450 million yuan.

In just the first year, Lin Jianlu was able to earn over HK$1500 million!
Of course, this is just the beginning.

In Ge Fuhong's words, the first step was to sign these few companies and set the tone.

Others are still in the process of negotiation and tug-of-war.

Fashion, suits, leather shoes, razors, shampoo, toothpaste, skis...

Even without new endorsement contracts, in terms of commercial value alone, he is already the third most valuable celebrity in Hong Kong, or even in the entire Chinese-speaking entertainment industry—only behind Andy Lau and Jackie Chan.

Especially Andy Lau, he's not easy to catch up with. He currently has more than 20 endorsement contracts, with annual endorsement fees exceeding 4000 million. In terms of album sales, concerts, or movie fees, anyone in the Chinese entertainment industry can easily beat him in any of these areas. His highest global album sales record is less than two million copies. As for his movie fees, given the current boom in Hong Kong films and the soaring actor salaries, he only earns a little over one million per film. But in terms of overall earning power, he has consistently ranked first in recent years.

It's because of its high commercial value!

Oh, by the way, Jackie Chan has already opened up a new track. Last year, his "Rumble in the Bronx" was not only released in mainland China, but also pioneered the concept of Chinese New Year films. It also sold well in Hong Kong. Most importantly, the film was also successfully released in North America and grossed more than 30 million US dollars at the box office.

This step is crucial!
He had tried to earn US dollars many times before, but had never succeeded. Now that he has taken this step, it means that he has begun to figure out what Americans like to watch—once he earns US dollars, there is no comparison!
In short, it was a very fruitful experience.

Signing contracts, taking still photos, shooting commercials.

Then, accompanied by Ge Fuhong and Lin Xilei, Lin Jianlu went to Japan for a second commercial performance to earn money.

Then the peninsula.

Finally, they made a surprise return and came back to Hong Kong.

This round trip can be considered a continuation of my previous trip to Southeast Asia to make money. Together, they make the trip essentially complete.

Last time in Southeast Asia, he made 48 US dollars. This time, he made another 41 US dollars. After deducting the 10% that had to be given to his agent, he pocketed a total of 80 US dollars!

More than half a year later, large sums of money were deposited into his account, and for the first time he finally felt a little bit like a rich man—more than one million US dollars, plus more than 1300 million Hong Kong dollars!

dinner!

Having earned such a large endorsement fee, he would be criticized by his friends if he didn't treat everyone.

Leslie Cheung, Wang Fei, Nansun Shi, Brigitte Lin, Leung Wing-ki, Wong Jing, Liu Chia-ling, Huang Zhan, Ge Fuhong, Sylvia Chang, and Lo Ta-yu. Wong Jing brought Chingmy Yau. Liu Chia-ling brought Tony Leung.

Wang Jing, needless to say, is a shrewd, interesting, and worldly man. Since they met, he and Lin Jianlu have always been in cahoots, exchanging knowing glances and engaging in shady dealings. They get along extremely well, and Lin Jianlu never questions who he brings. As for Liu Jialing, they aren't actually very close, but she has an excellent relationship with Wang Fei and is also on good terms with Leslie Cheung. They're often seen at the mahjong table and frequently discussed at drinking parties, hence the nickname—she's a "Northern Girl," yes, someone from the mainland who was quite ostracized in Hong Kong circles in the past, hence the derogatory term.

Unfortunately, Dou Wei returned to the capital in early July, while Xu Ke was in America, so they didn't get to meet.

As soon as they started drinking, Lin Jianlu noticed that Wang Fei was actually drinking juice.

I asked her and found out she was pregnant.

At this moment, Lin Jianlu suddenly remembered that she had avoided drinking last time when they had a big drinking session, but there were too many people to entertain at the time, and Lin Jianlu really couldn't pay attention to her. "Hey! You should have said so earlier! It's worth having a drink to celebrate!"

Wang Fei laughed loudly, "Go to hell!"

Wang Jing really cares about Qiu Shuzhen!
Chiu Shu-chen is actually approaching thirty, or at least in her late twenties. Having been in the industry for many years, she can no longer be considered a young girl. However, Wang Jing actually helped her fend off drinks, which made a group of older women resentful.

So they all turned their attention to Lin Jianlu.

Because another person being protected was Leung Wing-ki.

Nansun Shi and Brigitte Lin are both seasoned veterans, and their words are quite sharp. Liang Yongqi, a young girl who is only twenty years old and just starting out, simply can't handle them. Even Lin Jianlu often finds herself helpless against these two. No matter how good your words are, you can't compete with the older women who are even more flirtatious than you, especially Brigitte Lin, who really seems to have completely let loose. "We're helping you, Lu! Girls get even warmer inside after drinking a little alcohol!"

A group of men and women at the table slammed their fists on the table and burst into laughter.

Leung Wing-ki eventually drank several glasses of brandy, her face flushed.

Her face turned bright red, and she dared not look up at anyone.

It was only near the end of the drinking session that Wang Jing brought up something serious.

His best partner film company was only founded this year. Logically, he should be extremely happy with the huge success of the "Young and Dangerous" series. However, in reality, from the first to the second film, the entire Hong Kong society criticized the movie extensively, and the criticism continues to this day. The film "Feel 100%" made by Leung Wing-ki was a kind of remedy for him, but the release of "Young and Dangerous 3" at the end of last month still put him under greater public pressure, and even the box office was greatly affected.

Therefore, considering all aspects, Wang Jing, as a businessman, was absolutely unwilling to completely offend public opinion in Hong Kong and close off his future prospects, so he decided to end the "Young and Dangerous" series.

He wanted to make a "Young and Dangerous 4" and have Lam Kin-lu play the male lead. The script wasn't ready yet, and it was going to deviate from the original comic book. In his general idea, the story would take place after the handover, and Lam Kin-lu would be a company commander in the Hong Kong Garrison. He would get entangled with the original gang, including Chan Ho-nam and Chicken, and a series of events would unfold. In the end, under the male lead's guidance, the group would repent and stop being involved in the gang.

Ah... what a wonderful ending!

Lin Jianlu laughed loudly, "Get lost! Do you think we can just take pictures of the Hong Kong Garrison like that?"

He quickly explained, "It's an absolutely positive role! You're a veteran too! It's not being shown in mainland China, only in Hong Kong. Isn't that considered flattering the capital?"

Lin Jianlu kept waving her hands, "It won't work! Don't even think about it!"

After explaining the strict control that mainland China has over this type of subject matter, Lin Jianlu advised him to simply change course and give up on this idea. Wang Jing sighed in disappointment.

As the party ended, Brigitte Lin deliberately sidled up to Lin Chien-lu, laughing heartily, "Hurry back and give it a try!"

Lin Jianlu wrapped her arms around her and said, "Let's go try it! You've drunk more, so it'll definitely warm you up more!"

Nansun Shi and Sylvia Chang, who were standing nearby, burst into laughter.

Lin Qingxia laughed too, not even glancing at Liang Yongqi, who was drunk and dazed in Lin Jianlu's arms, and even winked at her, "Come on! I've been waiting for you to say that for months! Anyone who doesn't dare is a little dog!"

Liang Yongqi opened her eyes groggily and instinctively hugged Lin Jianlu's waist tightly, "I'm not a puppy!"

A group of people burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)