HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

"The five million from the last settlement of 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy' still leaves more than three million."

Xu Lang silently calculated,

"The money I earned from my work on other film sets and from my photo albums totaled more than 50 yuan."

All of these together amount to less than 400 million.

The remaining bulk of the money is the more than 1300 million yuan that Cai Yinong has not yet settled, but after deducting more than 500 million yuan in taxes, only more than 800 million yuan is left.

At most, it's 1300 million.

As for the many GG endorsements I've recently taken on?

It's estimated that the payments will come in gradually over the next three months, and I'll receive four to five million in handouts.

After calculating, Xu Lang nodded and said to Ning Hao and Shi Kang:

"Eighteen million will arrive in installments over the next three months. That should be enough, right?!"

"1800 million?"

Upon hearing this number, both Ning Hao and Shi Kang gritted their teeth and repeated it.

"That's enough, that's enough!"

This number is considered a medium to large-scale production in the television drama field.

Ning Hao was speechless at the extent of Xu Lang's budget flexibility.

He remembered that when the two first talked about this, Xu Lang's investment plan was only around 800 million, but now it has doubled and even increased.

"This junior brother is really rich!"

More importantly, this guy is really willing to spend money.

Most film and television production companies try every possible way to save money, cutting budgets and skimping on costumes, props, and sets.

This guy is throwing money at it without considering the cost.

After thinking it over, Ning Hao still couldn't bear it and advised:

"Junior brother, there's only one TV series. You should take it easy. Don't lose it all; it's not a good idea!"

"Hey, isn't money meant to be spent? Spending it on things you want to do is enough!"

Xu Lang, now reborn, has an exceptionally clear understanding of money.

Most importantly, he still has ways to make money!

After discussing the money, the three of them started discussing the actors.

Ning Hao, holding a large stack of application forms, said to Xu Lang:

"You know what, Liu Yifei's name is really useful. As soon as it was announced that she was going to participate, a lot of well-known male artists signed up."

Xu Lang flipped through the application forms and found quite a few familiar faces from later generations.

However, Xu Lang is quite picky about male actors, and he is also unwilling to spend money on them.

Ugh, they're so stingy!

Looking at Tong Dawei's application form in his hand, Xu Lang shook his head.

"He just won the Golden Rooster Award, his salary must be high, it's not suitable!"

And just like that, the original male lead was eliminated.

As for Ning Hao and Shi Kang, neither of them expressed any opinion on the casting.

Xu Lang paid for everything, so whatever he says goes!

The two of them could also see that although Xu Lang was not a rich second generation, his extravagance was no less than that of a rich second generation.

Just play along with him!

While the two were thinking, Xu Lang had already finalized the three lead actors.

He pushed the three photos in front of Ning Hao and said:

Let's just have the three of them!

Ning Hao and Shi Kang peeked out:

The male lead, Lu Tao, is played by Zhou Yiwei;

The second male lead, Xiang Nan, is played by Wen Zhang;

The third male lead, Hua Zi, is played by Zhu Chenyu;

I don't really know any of these three people, whether it's Ning Hao or Shi Kang.

They're all newbies after all!

However, since the sponsor has said so, let's just go with it.

"Okay, I'll invite three people to audition right away!"

Ning Hao put away the three photos and made arrangements.

In the following days, Xu Lang was busy with both "Lotus Lantern" and "Struggle". After finishing his work, he spent time with Pu Shiyan, living a carefree life.

Soon, the preparations for "The Legend of Nezha" were almost complete, and they headed to Hengdian to begin filming.

What Xu Lang was most reluctant to part with was Park Si-yeon.

After all, he had gotten used to Park Si-yeon's special dish these past few days and had even grown to like it.

It's just so delicious!

Meanwhile, An Yixuan, Tang Yan, Yang Ying, and others went back to their respective jobs, some to film dramas and others to host events.

Suddenly, Xu Lang was the only one left in Beijing.

Fortunately, two things happened during this period that made Xu Lang quite happy.

The first thing was that Cai Yinong transferred the remaining amount to him.

"Xu Lang, you've settled all your debts, so we're even now."

Looking at the extra 1000 million in the account, Xu Lang felt a surge of joy.

However, he was not ready to give up on Cai Yinong and pressed on:

"Mr. Cai, what are your plans for the future?"

When it comes to future plans, Cai Yinong really can't do without Xu Lang.

"After the release of 'Chinese Paladin' these past two days, I feel much more relaxed. There are indeed a few more dramas that need to be started."

Oh, and also, if the reception of *Chinese Paladin 1* is good, I'm planning to film *Chinese Paladin 3* as well. I'm currently in talks with Softstar Entertainment about the copyright.

"Well..."

Xu Lang thought about it for a moment, but ultimately didn't take the initiative to say that he held the copyright to "Chinese Paladin 3".

"Let her discover the truth on her own. After all, if I'm too eager for her, she'll become worthless!"

Besides this, the second thing was that Zeng Jia found Xu Lang again.

"Snapped!"

Zeng Jia slammed her resignation letter down in front of Xu Lang, startling him so much that he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

"This woman is really fierce!"

I didn't even give her a formal promise, and she just resigned!

Although Xu Lang wasn't teasing her, Zeng Jia's boldness still surprised her.

Perhaps noticing Xu Lang's surprise, Zeng Jia said nonchalantly:

"I'm going to cut off my own escape route so I can charge forward without hesitation!"

"You're ruthless!"

Xu Lang gave Zeng Jia a thumbs up.

However, this was exactly what he wanted.

"Alright, since you're so agreeable, I can't go back on my word."

I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration!

Xu Lang extended his hand and shook hands with Zeng Jia.

Zeng Jia held Xu Lang's hands in both of hers, her heart pounding with excitement. After all, she had gone all in, risking everything.

"You should set up a company as soon as possible. I keep my word. All my people and everything I have can be given to you."

My wish is to be a hands-off boss!

As for commission?

When the commission was mentioned, Zeng Jia couldn't help but get nervous, her eyes fixed on Xu Lang.

Xu Lang pondered for a moment and then said:

"Depending on your contribution to each event, the commission rate can be set between 10% and 20%."

You can draft the specific details yourself and show them to me later.

"10%-20%?"

Upon hearing this number, Zeng Jia's breathing became rapid.

As a talent agent herself, she knows very well that this ratio is enough to support an independent talent agency.

Not to mention that he took over Xu Lang's studio, which was already well-established and had many high-quality artists.

"These terms are too good to be true!"

Zeng Jia was very satisfied.

Xu Lang, however, remained completely unconcerned.

His current situation is like having many hens that lay golden eggs, but Xu Lang himself doesn't know how to raise them, and these hens only lay an egg occasionally.

If you entrust the raising to professionals, it will lay eggs every day, which is equivalent to making the cake bigger.

Even though it incurs a 10-20% commission, it's worth it.

Moreover, Xu Lang didn't pay this commission himself; after all, 70% of it still went to the artist.

With Zeng Jia's involvement, the artists' share of the profits decreased by 7-14 percentage points.

However, Xu Lang wasn't worried. After all, anyone with a normal brain could figure out the reasons behind this.

For example, Zeng Jia, through hard work or various connections, got Yang Ying a 300 million yuan job.

Zeng Jiaxian took a 10% commission, and the remaining 90% was split between Xu Lang and Yang Ying in a 3:7 ratio.

Although it seems like 10% less, without Zeng Jia, there might not even be this 300 million.

Xu Lang had a very clear understanding of this.

After discussing the details for a while, the two basically reached an agreement.

Then, Xu Lang assigned Zeng Jia his first task.

"Zeng Jia, we need to productize some GG (male characters) in the TV series 'Struggle.' Think of a way to get as many as possible!"