"I don't need to remind you what to do later, do I?"Zhou Ping'an looked back at Ma Zhiyuan who was sitting behind him.
Ma Zhiyuan was sitting in the back seat, looking down at his phone. When he heard Zhou Ping'an's words, he paused as his thumb swiped the screen.
Ever since the news that he was the father of the child in Xu Qinyin's belly was exposed, Ma Zhiyuan's life has undergone earth-shaking changes.
His popularity plummeted, he was criticized a lot, many collaborations fell through, and many of his previous endorsements were also lost.
Zhou Ping'an's face turned ugly when he saw him.
Ma Zhiyuan's accident caused his income to drop as well. And just at the beginning of this year, Zhou Pingan lost Li Zhibai because he wanted to have his cake and eat it too.
Zhou Ping'an could almost imagine Li Zhibai's private exclamation of "Retribution!"
The comments made by Lu Yanhe and Li Zhibai on Weibo further stepped on Ma Zhiyuan, who was already in dire straits.
This time, Ma Zhiyuan didn't even have the courage to respond.
He has lost his biggest asset - his fans.
Ma Zhiyuan didn't say anything, but Zhou Ping'an knew he had heard it.
Zhou Pingan said: "According to the agreement we reached with Xu Qinyin, you have to pay her 50 yuan in child support every month. If you can't get yourself together soon, no one will pay this child support for you."
Ma Zhiyuan frowned slightly.
"How else do you expect me to cheer up? I've accepted every job you've assigned to me."
"It's one thing to accept an offer, and another to satisfy others," Zhou Pingan said. "If you continue to work the same way as before, fewer and fewer people will be willing to cooperate with you in the future."
Ma Zhiyuan said: "What is my attitude?"
"You're so arrogant." Zhou Pingan looked at him coldly, "Do you think you're still that popular idol? Without the support of your fans, I had to beg others for your job. How did you do it? During the last shoot, you were not satisfied with the outfit the production team arranged for you, and you got angry and insisted on changing it. You made such a scene just for a piece of clothing. What do you think of your attitude?"
Ma Zhiyuan: "I don't have any fans' support now. If I am bullied like this, what will happen in the future? People know that I am easy to bully, so they can just treat me casually? Didn't you see what kind of clothes they prepared for me? They are so ugly that if I wear them to record a show, I will be on the hot search immediately."
Zhou Pingan: "Then why can't you just talk to me nicely? Why can't you just tell me and let me negotiate with them? You just lost your temper in public and let everyone see you get mad over a piece of clothing? This matter almost got exposed on the Internet."
Ma Zhiyuan: "I just want to let these guys who look down on others see clearly that I am not someone who can be bullied. Do they really think that I am a tiger in plain land being bullied by dogs?"
Zhou Pingan sighed.
Ma Zhiyuan: "You regret choosing me and giving up Li Zhibai, right? Just go find him again. You don't have to force yourself to be my agent if you don't want to."
"Did your brain get squeezed by a door or were you reincarnated as a pig?" Zhou Ping'an was so angry that he was about to jump up from his chair. "Who do you think you are? Why are you still complaining here? Do you believe that I will really throw you here and never care about you again? I want to see how you can pay the five hundred thousand yuan child support every month!"
Ma Zhiyuan's face turned pale.
"Do you think the money you earn will be enough for you to spend for a few years? Let me tell you, you still have to pay the liquidated damages to several brands!" Zhou Ping'an took a deep breath and calmed his temper. "Ma Zhiyuan, let me make it clear to you again, don't challenge my patience. I am still willing to take care of you and lead you in your struggle. That's because I still have some feelings for you and want to help you. If you continue like this, one day my patience will be worn out by you, and you will have to go out on the street to beg for food."
The carriage fell into an eerie silence.
The driver seemed to have not heard the hurricane-like argument that had just happened beside him, and his hands were firmly on the steering wheel.
-
"In the beginning, the first choice for the role was Ma Zhiyuan, but he didn't want to take it, so I got the role. But regardless of that, I read the script and really liked the story and the role."
Yan Liang sat opposite director Shen Mofan and told the story behind why he took on this role without any hesitation.
"I've never seen a fraud drama, let alone acted in one, so I find it very fresh." Yan Liang said, "In the past few years, I've been quite lucky as an actor. Since Yan He asked me to act in Friends, I've had representative works, and then I was exposed to dramas like The Mountaintop."
Shen Mofan was chosen as the director only after all the actors were confirmed.
He listened to Yan Liang talking seriously about his situation and nodded from time to time.
"I had no confidence in acting at the beginning, and you should understand that, director. Yan He is not to mention Li Zhibai, who is also very talented in acting. If you haven't seen his plays, you can go and watch them. Although he hasn't won awards like Yan He, I think it's only a matter of time before he wins awards." Yan Liang said, "Beside them, I often feel ashamed and think I can't act. But later, I feel there is no need to compare with them. I will go all out for every role I play, so I believe that every role I play is equally good."
Shen Mofan said: "I'm quite surprised that you are willing to act in "The Mountain Top". I heard that your salary for this play is not high."
Yan Liang: "Maybe it was influenced by Yan He and Zhi Bai. I don't care too much whether the pay is high or low."
"Do you hope to win an award or something through this drama?" Shen Mofan asked.
Yan Liang: "Win an award? Of course I'd like to win one, but I don't have that idea. I'm not a talented actor. I need to figure out a role well and do a lot of preparation. I have to be the early bird. I won't think about winning an award until I've finished the performance."
"You really surprised me." Shen Mofan said, "Not long ago, I also met Yin Xincheng, who also starred in "Friends". I met several popular young male actors before, but it's the first time I've seen someone like you who is so popular but still keeps such a low profile."
Yan Liang smiled and said, "There's nothing I can do, Director. I don't have the capital to show off. Of course, I hope I can sit in front of you with full confidence and say don't worry, leave the role to me, there will be absolutely no problem. But it's not possible. I can only tell you the truth about my situation, and then ask you to help me and guide me to complete this role."
Shen Mofan nodded.
He asked: "In this drama, the contrast and transformation of you before and after is quite big, especially in the later scenes where you turn evil, which may have a big impact on your idol image. Are you mentally prepared?"
"Well, it's done. I don't have much of an idol image anyway." Yan Liang said with a smile, "My agent often forgets that I'm still an idol."
Seeing Yan Liang say these words with a bright smile on his face, Shen Mofan was quite touched.
The last time he worked with Xu Yiren, the movie "My Home I Haven't Returned To For A Long Time", although the movie was very successful, it was a lot of suffering to work with Xu Yiren. This popular actress has too many problems. She was late for filming and left early, refused to make herself look ugly, and always complained that the filming time was too long and affected her rest. If Xu Yiren's acting was not really good, Shen Mofan would have been unable to bear it.
Despite this, Shen Mofan silently made a decision not to cooperate with Xu Yiren in the future if possible.
There are many celebrities with prince syndrome and princess syndrome in the entertainment industry. It is hard to tell at events, cocktail parties, or even in private meetings. They can't pretend for three days, but they can still pretend for half a day.
This time Yan Liang came to Jiangguang specifically to meet him in advance and have a chat. This attitude already made Shen Mofan feel very happy, not to mention that this meeting and chat today made Shen Mofan have a better impression of Yan Liang.
-
"Mrs. Huang, it's great to see you again!" Zhou Ping'an went over to Longyan Film's Mrs. Huang with a warm face and shook hands with her. "Thank you for taking the time to come and see us. I know you must be very busy. Zhiyuan just came back from the Northeast some time ago. This time he brought two boxes of old ginseng that he specially asked someone to purchase there. Zhiyuan."
Ma Zhiyuan smiled, took the gift box in his hand and said to Mrs. Huang: "Hello, Mrs. Huang, I am Ma Zhiyuan."
The assistant beside Mrs. Huang took the gift box from Ma Zhiyuan and put it aside.
Mrs. Huang looked at Ma Zhiyuan with a smile and asked, "He is even more handsome in person than in the video. No wonder he is so popular with girls."
Zhou Pingan smiled and said, "I said that too. I've always said that he should make good use of his advantages and not always think about transforming himself into a talented actor. He obviously has the foundation of an idol."
Mrs. Huang immediately said, "It's a good thing that young people are willing to improve themselves. You have to encourage their spirit."
"Haha, that's right. I'll listen to you." Zhou Ping'an exchanged greetings with Mrs. Huang.
They then sat down.
"Mrs. Huang, regarding the movie we talked about before, The Umbrella Girl, although Zhiyuan has not acted much before, judging from the script, he is still very suitable for this role, and he also wants to try his hand at being an actor." Zhou Pingan said, "I wonder if the actor for the male lead has not been decided yet?"
Mrs. Huang smiled and said, "That play, the actor for that play has been decided. We found Liu Zefan and we signed the contract last week."
"Liu Zefan?" Zhou Pingan was a little surprised. "Hasn't he never acted in a movie?"
Mrs. Huang nodded, glanced at Ma Zhiyuan, and asked, "Has Zhiyuan ever acted in a movie before?"
Ma Zhiyuan has never played this role either.
Zhou Ping'an subconsciously thought that Liu Zefan could never compare with Ma Zhiyuan.
This is indeed the case. Although Liu Zefan is also popular, he is still a long way behind top idols like Ma Zhiyuan.
The words came to his lips, but he swallowed them back in time.
If that incident had not happened to Ma Zhiyuan, they wouldn't have to come here to beg for help.
Mrs. Huang said, "However, I do have another project in hand. There is a role that is quite suitable for Zhiyuan, but it is not the protagonist. Can Zhiyuan accept playing a supporting role?"
Ma Zhiyuan's face almost fell.
Zhou Ping'an knew him well enough. He immediately looked at him and gave him a wink.
Only then did Ma Zhiyuan maintain the smile on his face.
-
"Let me play a supporting role? Are you crazy? Let me play a supporting role for their newcomers?"
As soon as he got in the car, Ma Zhiyuan glared at Zhou Pingan angrily.
"You still told her to consider it? What is there to consider? When did I, Ma Zhiyuan, need to play a supporting role for others?"
"If you don't like being a father, you don't have to." Zhou Ping'an said bluntly.
Ma Zhiyuan was so angry that his face turned red.
He clenched his fists and said, "I don't play supporting roles."
"Now it's not you who chooses others, but others who choose you." Zhou Pingan said, "Do you think anyone is willing to give you a chance now? Do you know what you have done? Your fans are all leaving in large numbers, so why should you play the leading role?"
Ma Zhiyuan said: "Those who say they want to stop being fans, just let them do it. I don't care. I have so many fans. If half of them were to stop being fans, the remaining half would still have more fans than Liu Zefan! Let Liu Zefan star in the film, haha, just wait for it to flop."
Zhou Ping'an looked at Ma Zhiyuan with disdain.
Ma Zhiyuan is a person who had it so easy before. He became a top idol overnight and has been supported by the company and fans ever since. I don't understand what's going on with him. However, it's too early for Zhou Ping'an to give up on Ma Zhiyuan. He just had a child, was irresponsible in bed, and lost a group of fans - Ma Zhiyuan was actually right. Despite so many vicious incidents, he still has a group of very loyal and sticky fans.
Ma Zhiyuan's commercial value is still there - it's just that his business image has become negative.
Those who care about their brand image will naturally stay as far away from him as possible and not engage in any cooperation.
However, if you care more about popularity and fame at this stage, then cooperating with Ma Zhiyuan, such as asking him to do a business promotion or a live broadcast, will be more effective than cooperating with those popular anchors.
Because in addition to Ma Zhiyuan's own fans, there will also be a large number of black fans who will hear the news and come to scold the brand, causing its popularity to soar.
This is even more true for variety shows.
For many programs, they do not have their own traffic and must create some topics in order to stand out. Artists like Ma Zhiyuan who have their own topics and hot searches are the most welcome.
In addition, the most important thing is that what Ma Zhiyuan did did not touch on the principle of the issue, did not touch the bottom line. Maybe after a few months, when this wave of popularity has passed, Ma Zhiyuan's popularity may slowly recover. For artists like Ma Zhiyuan who have become the top artists in the industry, as long as they are not banned, "a lean camel is bigger than a horse", and they can still pull for several years. Maybe in the next few years, he will become popular again because of some opportunity.
All Zhou Ping'an needs now is to continue to suppress Ma Zhiyuan's arrogance and make him clearly aware of his current situation.
Ma Zhiyuan actually still doesn't have a particularly clear understanding until now.
-
Star Entertainment Company Building.
When a black nanny car drove over, many fans gathered on the first floor immediately craned their necks to look. When they saw Maxine's Wei Zhuoran, Qu Yousong, Jiang Bai, Chen Jing and others getting out of the car one by one, they immediately screamed and shouted.
Several artists, escorted by bodyguards, hurried into the company building. No one stopped.
Lin Suyang was waiting for them at the elevator entrance. When he saw them coming, he smiled.
"Yesterday's performance was very successful." Lin Suyang smiled and clapped, saying, "The organizers are very satisfied with the results."
Maxine had a commercial performance in Jinkou yesterday. The venue was packed with people and the event was almost cancelled due to safety issues.
Wei Zhuoran put one hand in his trouser pocket, smiled and said, "Brother Su Yang, please assign us less work later. We have been rushing to make announcements every day this month. It's very tiring."
Lin Suyang said, "I'll try to arrange some rest for you in the back. You've really worked hard in the past two months. There have been too many announcements. Go up, Boss Ma is waiting for you."
Wei Zhuoran nodded.
Lin Suyang brought the Maxine members to Ma Zhongquan's office and came out immediately.
Ma Zhongquan wanted to show Maxine his friendly and caring side as a leader, so it was naturally inconvenient for him as an agent to be there.
After Lin Suyang came out, he sent a message to Li Zhibai and asked: Have you left for the airport?
Li Zhi Baihui: It just ended and I haven’t gotten on the car yet.
Lin Suyang: We’re still in time. Tell the driver to drive steadily and don’t worry. If there’s a delay, there’s another one leaving in an hour.
Li Zhi replied with a "good"
Lin Suyang has always been satisfied with the cooperation with Li Zhibai.
Compared with Ma Zhiyuan, Li Zhibai is really incomparably better.
Lin Suyang just couldn't understand why Zhou Ping'an chose Ma Zhiyuan over Li Zhibai. In Lin Suyang's eyes, Zhou Ping'an was simply out of his mind.
Zhou Ping'an must be regretting it so much now.
When Ma Zhiyuan is not doing well, Zhou Pingan is unhappy, but Lin Suyang is very happy.
In recent years, Star Entertainment has entered the fast lane of development.
Lu Yanhe, Li Zhibai, Ma Zhiyuan, Yan Liang, Wei Zhuoran and a few others alone occupy half of the top-tier popular young actors.
Other agencies may not even have a single young male artist of this level, but Star Entertainment has produced a lot of them.
This has also led many brokerage companies to start their own trainee programs.
When summarizing Star Entertainment's successful experience, everyone felt that there was one thing that was very worth learning, that is, among the broadcasting seeds, there are always a few that can grow.
Hundreds of trainees are also a feature of Star Entertainment.
He went downstairs to buy coffee.
When Li Zhibai comes back in the evening, he will go to the airport to pick him up.
Unexpectedly, he ran into Ma Zhiyuan and Zhou Pingan in the elevator.
Lin Suyang glanced at them, the corners of his mouth curled up subconsciously, and he was too lazy to act anymore.
When Ma Zhiyuan saw him, his face immediately turned dark.
Zhou Ping'an had a blank expression on his face.
Lin Suyang picked up his phone and sent a voice message to Li Zhibai.
"Zhibai, just eat something on the plane to fill your stomach. I've already reserved a table. There's a new Italian restaurant on Chunming Road. Let's go try it together. I'll pick you up at the airport later, and we'll have a good chat in the evening about our work plans after we finish filming Director Liu Bige's new movie."
Lin Suyang's voice was filled with joy, ease, and uninhibitedness, as if he was the only one in the elevator.
Ma Zhiyuan and Zhou Ping'an's faces turned even darker.
Of course, the darker their faces were, the brighter the smile on Lin Suyang's face.
-
People are not afraid of seeing their enemies, but they are afraid of seeing their enemies when they are down and out, especially when their enemies are living a prosperous life.
When Lin Suyang left the elevator and only Zhou Pingan and Ma Zhiyuan were left in the elevator, Zhou Pingan looked at Ma Zhiyuan and asked, "Now do you know how others see you? Even Lin Suyang can mock you in person."
Ma Zhiyuan had a gloomy face and said nothing.
"You must take the film from Longyan Film Company." Zhou Ping'an said without hesitation, "If you want to show off, wait until you are back on your feet. Before that, either you listen to me or find another agent."
Ma Zhiyuan looked at Zhou Pingan angrily.
Zhou Pingan said: "I am serious."
Ma Zhiyuan took a deep breath, "Whatever you want!"
After hearing this, Zhou Ping'an slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
If you have the ability, don't say "it's up to you". If you still dare to say "change it if you want" at this time, then you are really tough.
Zhou Ping'an complained about Ma Zhiyuan in his heart.
-
"We have received more than 500 short films so far. Excluding those that were obviously just for show, there are only about 30 effective films. After watching them, we found only three that we thought were good and had merit."
Chen Siqi shrugged helplessly at Lu Yanhe, "Although there are still two months until the registration deadline, the current situation is not optimistic."
She was talking about the "power accumulation plan" that was launched earlier.
Lu Yanhe said: "In fact, it is not easy to find one or two potential directors in a year."
Chen Siqi said: "No, no, no, we watched the film and thought it was pretty good and had some merits. The standard is not as high as you think."
Lu Yanhe asked, "Are these films available on Northern Lights?"
"We were originally planning to upload it online, but the quality of the short films we have received so far has made us hesitate to upload it. If people see that the participants who sign up for the competition are of this level, those who are really talented and are waiting may not come." Chen Siqi was troubled. "Sure enough, the most difficult thing about this kind of high-cost competition is to attract talented participants."
Lu Yanhe said: "I overestimated the situation. I thought that there were many people in the industry who wanted an opportunity, and it shouldn't be difficult for them to shoot a ten-minute short film. After all, as long as they made it into the top three, they could get funding to officially shoot a film. I thought this reward was enough to attract them."
Chen Siqi said: "Of course, we can also comfort ourselves that those who have really made good films don't want to send them to us so quickly. Anyway, there are still two months before the deadline. They can continue to polish and perfect them, or they can look at other people's works and decide whether to send them to us."
Lu Yanhe: "We can't hope to receive a few good works by the final deadline. If we don't receive any at the end, then this 'accumulation plan' will almost be a death sentence."
Chen Siqi asked: "Do you have any ideas?"
Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "Not yet, but I will call a few people I know and ask if they are interested in participating. In fact, every time I shoot a drama, there are many people who have been circulating in various crews and constantly accumulating strength in order to become directors in the future."
"Alas, different trades are like different worlds." Chen Siqi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Indeed, we overestimated ourselves. But fortunately, Northern Lights arranged for several young directors trained by the company to participate in the competition, so that the top three will not be chosen. When the time comes, they can use the funds to make films, and Northern Lights will be self-sufficient."
Lu Yanhe could hear the unwillingness in Chen Siqi's words.
Of course, we worked so hard to come up with this plan not just to help Northern Lights Video train directors.
Chen Siqi still wants to go through this plan seriously, develop the story library of "Jump Up", and deepen her ties with the film and television industry.
Chen Siqi hopes that through this plan, she will be able to provide more targeted help to Lu Yanhe when he needs it in the future.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's see if there are other solutions later." Chen Siqi said, "You will be a senior next semester, and you don't have any classes. I have a required course scheduled for the last semester. It's really annoying."
"Have you completed all the credits for your elective courses?"
"Yes, I have already taken all the courses." Chen Siqi said, "Next semester, I will only have one course per week. Because of that course, I have to stay in school. But it is definitely much better than before. I don't have to rush to catch a plane or high-speed train anymore. I can travel to other places more leisurely."
Lu Yanhe asked: "After you graduate, where are you going to put "Jump Up"?"
Chen Siqi said: "I will definitely return to Yuming, but I plan to set up an office in Jiangguang. I have accumulated a lot of resources and connections there in the past few years. It would be a pity to give up. However, our "Jump Up" is still a company that focuses on cultural media. Whether it is magazine publishing, publicity and marketing, or our own media, the resources in Yuming are definitely richer. The best resources in the country are basically concentrated in this area."
"Then don't you want to rent an office building?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Chen Siqi said: "I plan to buy a single-family house in the suburbs as an office location for everyone to work together. It is really unnecessary for our company to rent a CBD where every inch of land is valuable. It is a waste of money. Our base camp is magazines. Currently, the main revenue segment is magazines and self-media advertising, film and television dramas and other publicity and marketing. To be honest, it looks lively, but we don’t have a mature team that can operate independently. It is difficult to be independent at present."
Lu Yanhe asked: "Buying a single-family house in the suburbs isn't cheap, right?"
"It's not cheap, but it's also an asset of Jump Up, so it's considered an investment and won't depreciate." Chen Siqi said, "I asked someone about it. A small single-family house of more than 300 square meters, plus a yard, costs about 15 million yuan."
There is actually not enough cash of around 15 million on the books of "Jump Up".
In recent years, "Jump Up" and self-media have made a lot of money, but the annual expenditure is also not small. The team of more than 100 people, just to support this team, the annual labor cost is at least eight figures. "Jump Up" has developed too fast, and most of the money earned has been used for expansion.
Lu Yanhe asked: "What are you going to do with the money?"
Chen Siqi said, "The company has about 5 million available on its books. For the rest, I will pay a little myself and ask you to pay a little more - you are also a major shareholder. The rest will be financed by a bank loan. Moreover, based on the current revenue capacity of our "Jump Up", we can probably borrow 5 million. If it's fast, we can pay it back in one to two years, and if it's slow, three years will be enough. I've calculated this. Compared with the rent for renting an office space in the city, the interest on the bank loan is much more cost-effective."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
With a business of their size, if they want to rent an office building in the city, they can't afford it at all, not to mention places with good locations. Even in worse locations, the rent would definitely be at least two to three million. Plus, the water, electricity and property costs of commercial buildings are even higher, so they easily spend tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in extra expenses.
Although Lu Yanhe didn't understand the details of this financial account, he understood it.
Lu Yanhe said, "How about I pay for the remaining 10 million? That way, you don't have to borrow money from the bank."
Over the past few years, Lu Yanhe has become a hidden wealthy man, and 10 million is indeed not a big pressure for him.
"Jump Up" is his own base, so he was happy to pay for it and didn't give it to anyone else.
It is also your own asset.
It's just moved from the left pocket to the right one.
Chen Siqi said, "Forget it. I see that your business is bigger than mine. You're going to graduate soon. Why don't you buy a house? If you want to buy a house, it certainly won't be a small one, right? At that time, with your work pace, you will definitely need a professional logistics team to help you take care of these things in life. There are so many places to spend money. There's no need to spend so much on "Jump Up". We're not really tight on money. Also, Yan He, the company account is the company account, and the personal account is the personal account. If "Jump Up" really goes bankrupt one day, we can only save it if we can. If we can't save it, we can't hurt ourselves and try to save it."
Finances are the easiest thing to get complicated.
Chen Siqi didn't want Lu Yanhe's personal finances to be complicated with the finances of "Jump Up". No one can guarantee what the future of "Jump Up" will be like. What if - of course, it's just a matter of chance - "Jump Up" goes bankrupt in three months due to some force majeure, then Lu Yanhe will have nowhere to put the 10 million yuan he paid. To put it bluntly, if the company goes bankrupt after taking out a loan from the bank, the bank cannot ask Lu Yanhe to personally assume the relevant debts. Loans are corporate actions. When banks review loans, they consider the company's profitability. In essence, it is actually a revenue project for the bank - and as long as it is a project, there are risks.
Chen Siqi felt that there was no need to transfer all these risks to Lu Yanhe alone. (End of this chapter)
