Chapter 77: New Director, New Artists

Over the past month, the two major art academies in Beijing have been exceptionally lively.

The reason is simple: in late February, the rising star of the domestic film and television industry, Wei Jin Fengliu Film and Television Company, officially announced the launch of its artist management business.

Along with this news, the company also announced its two new television drama projects for this year: Beauty's Rival in Palace and Temptation of Home.

Just by looking at the titles, everyone knew these were female-led scripts; one must know that in the entertainment industry, there are always more women than men, yet resources suitable for female artists are incredibly scarce.

For the young women at the art academies, these two female-led dramas were undoubtedly a golden opportunity to reach the top in one leap, and even many artists signed to smaller companies were restless.

For a time, the doors of Wei Jin Fengliu Film and Television Company were nearly trampled down. Zhang Xu's life had been very comfortable lately; having been promoted to Artist Department Director before the New Year, he was now recruiting and building his team after the holiday, becoming a regional lord of sorts.

For a middle-aged man nearing forty, there is nothing more intense than the pleasure brought by a second spring in one's career.

He had recently received many resumes from artists who came by reputation, but Zhang Xu did not forget Wei Jin's instructions. After screening the list of those who met the criteria, he arranged for people to begin detailed background checks, including school investigations, birthplace investigations, industry media reputation investigations, and so on.

The work was very tedious, but Zhang Xu did not find it troublesome. One must know that as the head of the artist department, if a real problem arose, he would be the first one to come out and clean up the mess. If the problem could be solved, it was fine; if it couldn't, and it was reported to Wei Jin, he didn't know what kind of trouble he would be in.

After nearly a month of background check screening, the preliminary qualified list was already in Zhang Xu's hands. Today, taking advantage of the gap while Wei Jin was back in Beijing to rest, Zhang Xu intended to let the boss take a look.

Arriving at Wei Jin's office, Zhang Xu saw the Assistant, Liu Yan, massaging the boss.

At this moment, Wei Jin's head was resting on Liu Yan's sexy thighs, his body curled up on the sofa; it seemed that the high-intensity work in Shanghai had left him somewhat exhausted.

Seeing Zhang Xu arrive, Liu Yan made a shushing gesture with her fingers and continued massaging unhurriedly; Zhang Xu was not in a rush either.

After about ten minutes, Wei Jin got up and only then noticed Zhang Xu sitting to the side.

"Why didn't you say anything when you came in? Is something the matter?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Liu Yan, as if blaming her for not reminding him.

Liu Yan felt quite innocent; it was he who said he wanted to rest and that no one should disturb him.

"President Wei, it's like this: the list of artists who have passed the preliminary background check is out. Would you like to take a look?"

Zhang Xu said, handing over the list in his hand.

Wei Jin took the list and flipped through a few pages casually, then felt somewhat surprised. Whoa, good heavens, this has swept up everyone from Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama, and even people from Shanghai Theatre Academy have come to join the fun.

"Why so many? Can our company digest them?"

"President Wei, to tell you the truth, even this is a small number; I've already screened out quite a few."

Zhang Xu was still quite satisfied; artists coming in droves represented the company's prosperity, and he felt a sense of honor as well.

"Hmm, send me the list of those you screened out later as well."

Wei Jin didn't actually care much about the future fame of these artists. It was the same old saying: the entertainment industry doesn't lack good actors, nor does it lack beautiful ones; what it lacks is opportunity. He wanted to see the rejected list to see if there were any hidden gems.

"Alright, President Wei. Regarding this, you see..."

Although Zhang Xu didn't know the boss's intention, he still executed the order firmly.

"You go get busy first. I'll be at the company for the next two days; I'll take a closer look."

Wei Jin waved his hand to dismiss Zhang Xu and signaled for Liu Yan to continue the massage. He had been a bit obsessed with Liu Yan's talent lately; if they weren't in the office, Wei Jin might have already taken action.

"Director Wu, are you getting used to being at the company?"

Sitting opposite Wei Jin was the Hong Kong director Wu Jinyuan. The two first met on the set of Chinese Paladin. For the past two years, Wei Jin had never broken contact, repeatedly wanting to poach him to the company, but had never succeeded. Last year, Wei Jin's box office success with the film Painted Skin put him at the height of his career in the industry, which finally moved him.

"President Wei, it's quite good. I've been in Mainland China for quite a while now, and I've gotten used to it."

Watching this young director he had known for two years become a top-tier commercial director in the country, with Wei Jin Fengliu Film and Television Company also developing rapidly, Wu Jinyuan felt a bit emotional.

"For the drama Beauty's Rival in Palace, I'll have to trouble Director Wu to put in more effort."

This year, the company's two television dramas—Temptation of Home had already been handed to Sun Hao. Sun Hao already had some experience with modern fashion dramas, and the crew was currently in preparation.

For the drama Beauty's Rival in Palace, the choice of director had remained undecided.

After much thought, Wei Jin felt it was more appropriate to hand it to a Hong Kong director. He didn't know that in the original timeline, this show was indeed directed by Wu Jinyuan. This counted as shearing the wool from the original owner, which was a case of hitting the mark by accident.

"President Wei is too kind. I will certainly do my utmost."

Wu Jinyuan was very grateful that he could independently direct such a large project just after joining the company; one must know that the company still had many Executive Directors and assistant directors waiting for their chance to move up.

Moreover, the remuneration the company offered for the director leading the project was not low; one could even say it was very generous. For a moment, Wu Jinyuan was full of expectations for his future.

Yang Rong was already 25 this year. Since graduating from Shanghai Theatre Academy, Yang Rong had been working alone. It wasn't that no management companies had approached her over the years, but she couldn't stand those harsh contracts, and coupled with her lack of strong career ambition, she simply continued working solo until now.

Working alone meant freedom, but she had also suffered quite a few losses.

After participating in the filming of Young Justice Bao III last year, she didn't know if it was because she had refused some requests from investors, but now, nearly half a year later, she hadn't received a single invitation.

Hearing this time that Wei Jin Fengliu Film and Television Company was recruiting artists, Yang Rong felt tempted. The matter of Liu Yan had spread throughout the industry; who wouldn't like a boss who protects his own?

But after she gathered the courage to submit her resume, there was no response for nearly half a month.

Just when Yang Rong had given up hope, the company called her to inform her that she had passed the second round of interviews and could come to the company for a face-to-face meeting.

When Yang Rong arrived at the company, she saw many people in the lobby, some of whom looked like students.

After consulting with the front desk, she was taken by a staff member to a small conference room. Seven or eight people were already sitting inside, one of whom she recognized: it was Yang Xue, who had appeared in Proud Twins last year.

The conference room was somewhat quiet, and everyone was not talking to each other. Before long, a somewhat thin, middle-aged man walked in.

"Hello everyone, I am the Artist Department Director of the company. My name is Zhang Xu. Some of you here know me, some don't. It doesn't matter; after today, perhaps we will be one family, and there will be a long time to get along in the future."

Zhang Xu introduced himself briefly and then distributed the materials in his hand according to name:

"Everyone can take a look at the company's contract. If you have any objections or are unclear about anything, you can raise them on the spot. If there are no problems, sign the contract, and you can officially become an artist of Wei Jin Fengliu."

For a time, the few people who received the materials began to read them very carefully. After all, it concerned their own future, and one could not be too cautious. There were not a few artists in the circle who had been cheated by management contracts.

Yang Rong looked at the contract; they offered her a 50-50 split for a term of five years. After meeting certain conditions, the split could be adjusted once a year, and the breach of contract penalty was not high. Overall, it could be considered relatively lenient.

However, there was one clause that surprised Yang Rong.

"If an artist engages in illegal or criminal acts or acts that violate public morals and customs, the company will automatically terminate the contract with them and claim three times the split income from the time the artist joined the company until the termination."

"It seems President Wei is someone who cannot tolerate sand in his eyes. This is for the best."

Yang Rong certainly wouldn't raise any objections; she was even a bit curious about Wei Jin. The new book is on the shelves; I beg all book friends for a subscription and collection. Thank you all!

(End of chapter)