Chapter 921: Star and Agency

Actually, Darren Wilson leaving now and no longer serving as Yan He's agent is the period with the least impact on Yan He.

Yan He suspects that it is probably precisely because of this that Darren brought this matter up with him at this time.

After this summer, Yan He has completely established a foothold in Hollywood. Even if Darren leaves, Yan He's work can immediately find an agent no worse than Darren to take over.

A top-tier superstar like Yan He will never lack top-tier agents to serve him.

And if Darren Wilson goes to D19 as an executive, it indeed means that Yan He can increase his cooperation with D19 in the future.

Yan He believes that D19 is definitely not the career end point in Darren Wilson's heart.

And with Darren Wilson, in a sense, it can make Yan He feel more at ease and bolder to carry out more cooperation.

From *Saw* to *Halloween*, from *The Purge* to *It*... a large number of thriller and horror scripts can be quickly promoted without having to go one by one slowly.

On the other hand, besides scripts of this genre, Yan He has quite a few other scripts that can be handed over to Darren Wilson to operate—

With him acting as a bridge and mediating, Linghe can also take the fast lane through cooperation with D19, without having to accumulate slowly and walk cautiously like now.

Why did Yan He think about continuing to cooperate with D19 to develop more horror and thriller films? To put it bluntly, it's because he took a fancy to this type of movie, which is relatively the easiest to produce, and is the most capable of controlling costs, allowing Linghe (North America) to quickly complete the initial accumulation of the first stage.

The scripts he got through the "Golden Finger", the scripts Linghe received itself, including scripts collected from all over the world that can be adapted, can all be filmed one by one under his own investment.

And as the film company with the most experience in distributing horror and thriller films in the world, and also the most successful, Yan He hopes that these films can have the participation of D19. Whether they are willing to invest, this can make the interests of both sides more firmly bound together. If D19 is unwilling to invest, they can do distribution, and Yan He is even willing to make concessions at the beginning. In short, through these movies, Linghe (North America) can overtake in the corner in Hollywood and establish a foothold.

If Darren Wilson goes to D19, then with Darren Wilson's understanding of Yan He, especially as a beneficiary of Yan He's excellent results—this cooperation will definitely be much smoother, more convenient, and even more stable than Yan He originally expected.

This phone call from Darren Wilson made Yan He ponder for a long time.

On the one hand, what is the goal of Linghe (North America), and what is its positioning? Is it to become a first-tier film company in Hollywood, with an independent production and operation system from Linghe in China, or is it to unite with Linghe in China and eventually play the role of international distribution?

On the other hand, to what extent should his cooperation framework with D19 be negotiated? How should the copyright of each movie be divided and attributed? If D19 wants to participate in investment, how much investment share should be given to D19? And what conditions should D19 give?

After Yan He thought about it seven or eight out of ten, he immediately went to tell Chen Ziyan about this matter, wanting to hear Chen Ziyan's ideas.

After Chen Ziyan learned of this news, she showed a look of surprise.

"I didn't expect him to come to ask for your opinion on this matter," Chen Ziyan said. "In the United States, it is a very common operation for agents to transfer to company executives, but it is actually quite rare in recent years to go directly to a first-tier film company to be an executive, and it is also an executive oriented towards film production."

Especially for an agent like Darren Wilson who has already reached the top position in the industry, the income of a general film company executive is not higher than his. Under normal circumstances, Darren Wilson should become a partner of his own agency and be an executive of the agency. In this way, he can enjoy the company's profit dividends and continue to receive high commissions from the agent's work.

"Darren seems to have always regarded being an executive of a first-tier Hollywood film company as a goal of his career."

Chen Ziyan shook her head.

"What his ultimate goal is has nothing to do with us for the time being, let's not talk about this. Actually, you are right. If he finally accepts D19's invitation, he can indeed become the person in charge of D19's cooperation with you. Perhaps, he told you about this in advance because he also wanted to get some support from you to help him negotiate with D19. He is your agent, and you also know that with your current situation, if he can bring you to increase cooperation with D19, then this is his bargaining chip for negotiating with D19."

Yan He was thoughtful.

"It's equivalent to, it's very likely that his idea coincides with mine."

Chen Ziyan smiled slightly.

"That's right."

Yan He said: "This is really—"

"Darren Wilson's work in the past few years has indeed been done very well. For a creator like you, it is obvious that as long as he doesn't leave Hollywood, no matter what work he does, you mean a huge resource that can move anyone. I think this is the reason why he told you before this matter was settled," Chen Ziyan said. "He doesn't want to end his cooperative relationship with you because he no longer serves as your agent. In fact, I think he will strongly recommend another agent to you, an agent who has a good relationship with him and can continue to maintain a friendly cooperative relationship with you."

Yan He nodded.

"For this matter, remember to tell Xu Tianming and Chen Yin later. They deal with D19 a lot, perhaps they know some other information," Chen Ziyan said. "However, no matter what, be prepared early. I will go to contact the agencies and agents in Hollywood, and I am also preparing to help Jiang Jun change an agent."

"Is there any problem with Jiang Jun's agent?"

"Ability is not enough. After two years of running-in, he still cannot provide truly effective help for Jiang Jun's work. Basically, it's work that an assistant can do," Chen Ziyan said. "You can tell by the dramas Jiang Jun has taken on in the past two years. Under normal circumstances, even if Jiang Jun doesn't look down on the scripts he brings, at least in terms of media public relations resources, brand resources, and other services, he should have been equipped with the treatment of a first-tier Hollywood actor for Jiang Jun. As a result, there is nothing. I have endured him for long enough. It was Jiang Jun who kept saying 'let's see', so I endured it for so long."

"I think to some extent, Pick Fire can be like Linghe, setting up a branch in Europe and America. It doesn't need any physical organization. It can be like us sending Wan Qingqing over, cultivating our own agents there, or directly hiring agents there to cooperate with Pick Fire," Yan He said. "Of course, relatively speaking, the agency industry doesn't have enough resources and background, making it harder to open up the situation. It eats information gaps and social networks. However, from a long-term perspective, doing so is in any case more conducive to our understanding of the industry situation there, rather than listening to second-hand news."

Chen Ziyan: "We actually did this long ago, but for an actor of Jiang Jun's level, I don't want him to be used as our experimental product. I still hope to be able to match him with an agent who truly appreciates his acting talent and has the ability to push him to a higher level in Europe and America."

"That's true, understood."

"Our Pick Fire has already set up an Asian branch and a European and American branch. Although they are both in the starting stage and their abilities are not enough, as you said, it is a layout in any case, especially in Asia. Actually, this is a market with great potential. You also know that because there are many commonalities in cultural and historical backgrounds, they are actually influencing each other. Before, Caina only signed the agency for the Chinese region to us. Now, except for the agency in her own country which is done by her original company, the agency in other Asian regions has all been handed over to us," Chen Ziyan said. "She alone can bring millions of USD in revenue to the company every year, and in the first year of signing with us, it was completely unimaginable."

Millions of USD... Yan He felt tongue-tied after hearing it.

This is equivalent to tens of millions of RMB in income a year.

Domestically, the revenue an first-tier artist brings to the company might not even be that much.

Because Pick Fire's operation of foreign artists is very successful, actually several agencies want to follow suit. However, on the one hand, they are not trusted by foreign artists, and on the other hand, they also found that they have no resources to operate these foreign artists.

Caina herself is already the most famous Thai artist in China.

However, if it weren't for various programs like *The Birth of an Actor* helping her further open up her popularity, and then through Pick Fire's operation, helping her take on several Chinese film and television dramas, she wouldn't be able to have such high commercial value in China.

If it weren't for this, Linghe wouldn't have bought Thai movies that Caina had already released overseas and promoted them for release domestically.

Most importantly, Pick Fire not only helped her take on Chinese film and television dramas, but also helped her take on a Korean drama and a Japanese drama. The endorsed brands come from 7 countries and regions. Pick Fire's strategy of positioning her as a top Asian idol actor has greatly increased her commercial value.

It is precisely these collaborations that made Caina willing to further increase her cooperation with Pick Fire.

It can be said that without Pick Fire's operation, Caina couldn't have brought such high revenue to Pick Fire. Of course, without an artist like Caina, Pick Fire's operation would also be a clever woman who cannot cook without rice. The case of win-win cooperation between the two sides has always been regarded by Chen Ziyan as the most iconic work achievement of Pick Fire in recent years.

"Does Caina have an agent in Europe and America?" Yan He asked.

"Yes," Chen Ziyan nodded, "At first we were helping her with agency, later after *Flypaper* was released, she went to sign an agency in Europe and America herself. She is a very smart actress." ===== CHAPTER 922 =====