Chapter 693: One Hundred Million Media, Source of Terrible Films

People are, after all, different from one another.

Director Xu spent a great deal of effort before finally obtaining a channel from Chu Chenliang through which he could sell DVD discs abroad.

But when sent in Seeing Jin Li's private name to major renowned directors and powerful investors, their replies to her were much more enthusiastic.

These investors hadn't exactly never seen such messages, but the people who sent them were usually asking for favors, and the status of the two parties was not equal.

Those people would forget about it after reading and not take it to heart.

But when sent in Seeing Jin Li's own name, it was different.

If they helped Seeing Jin Li settle this matter, Seeing Jin Li would owe them a favor.

The favor of a famous star has immense utility.

It can be used for filming advertisements, shooting TV dramas, appearing on variety shows, doing magazine shoots...

Of course, these would certainly not be unpaid shoots.

But with Seeing Jin Li's status, there are some announcements that no matter how high the price offered, one still couldn't invite her.

With a favor owed, she would agree.

Upon learning that Seeing Jin Li was inquiring about overseas distribution channels for *Counterattack*, those renowned directors and investors were very attentive, one after another replying that they would help her inquire.

Hard work pays off!

Three days later, Seeing Jin Li obtained some news from Director Zhong (the director who filmed *Dream Builder*).

Zhong Wentai had originally called Seeing Jin Li, but couldn't get through, so he switched to calling the Dawn Entertainment line to communicate with Sui Lingfang.

Director Zhong hesitated for a moment and said, "I've heard some news, but this isn't my channel; I'm just passing on a word for someone else."

Sui Lingfang asked sharply, "Who?"

Director Zhong: "One Hundred Million Media."

Sui Lingfang searched for this company in her mind and found it quickly, feeling somewhat puzzled:

"Hasn't One Hundred Million Media been investing in idol dramas in recent years? Whether it's modern or historical, they've been involved in both. How do they have channels for overseas film distribution?"

Director Zhong said, "This has to start from the background of One Hundred Million Media."

"The shareholder composition of One Hundred Million Media is complex; 20% of the shares are held by a foreigner, and that person holds distribution channels in dozens of countries in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Malaysia."

"It's not to say that relying on that person guarantees distribution in those dozens of Southeast Asian countries, just that he will act as a referral, and the probability of obtaining an opportunity is 70%."

Director Zhong thought of something and added, "Do you know the idol dramas One Hundred Million Media has released in recent years?"

Sui Lingfang didn't have much of an impression; after all, who watches idol dramas and goes out of their way to search for the company that produced them?

She took out her tablet and quickly searched for One Hundred Million Media's track record over the past few years.

She didn't know until she looked, and she was shocked when she did.

Her expression turned serious.

"One Hundred Million Media has released nothing but terrible films in recent years. Both modern and historical dramas are rotten to the core. The ratings on professional film and television websites are all between 5 and 6 points; not a single drama is passing."

"Netizens' reviews of those dramas are all terrible. Last year, they finally managed to get a popular young actor and actress to join a historical idol drama, but the editing of that drama had major problems."

"Netizens all expressed that the viewing experience was chaotic, and the director's filming was so confusing that it was incomprehensible, leading to the ratings still not going up."

Sui Lingfang asked suspiciously, "So, does One Hundred Million Media really have overseas distribution channels?"

Their production strength is so lackluster that she really doubts if it's just bragging.

Director Zhong said affirmatively, "They definitely have overseas distribution channels. This time, it was also because they heard Seeing Jin Li wanted to find overseas distribution channels for *Counterattack* that they took the initiative to approach me, hoping I could act as a referral."

He explained, "Actually, many people in the director circle know that One Hundred Million Media has overseas distribution channels, because we often receive filming invitations from them; they hope to invest in us to shoot a TV drama."

"As for why they don't look for directors in the TV drama circle, but instead look for directors in the film circle..."

Director Zhong paused and said with a laugh, "It might be because the performance of the dramas they've released and produced recently hasn't been good, and they think the director is more of the problem, leading to a lack of trust in directors, and they don't want to cultivate newcomers."

"So they hope that we film directors can switch to shooting TV dramas, poaching people directly."

"Among them, possessing overseas distribution channels is the advantage they always talk about whenever they approach us."

Director Zhong revealed another secret that many people don't know.

"Although the dramas One Hundred Million Media has produced in recent years are all terrible, not a single one of them has lost money."

"If they were only released domestically, they would definitely lose money, but those dramas all used overseas distribution channels to earn it back in various ways, so their overseas distribution channels are very strong."

Sui Lingfang suddenly understood; so that was it.

When she went online and saw those reviews, she felt it was a bit strange.

A company that specializes in making terrible films, and not just one, but has been doing it for several years.

Why hasn't such a company gone bankrupt? Instead, it can continue to make terrible dramas, and even has a trend of growing bigger and stronger.

If their overseas distribution channels are very strong, this makes sense.

They have many types of channels to sell the films, specifically collecting copyright fees introduced by each country; they might even be able to recover the investment costs.

If they are strong in distribution, they can also negotiate a high buyout fee, and even obtain a portion of the broadcast revenue.

While Sui Lingfang was chatting with Director Zhong, she was also checking the information on One Hundred Million Media.

She raised her eyebrows, feeling it was quite interesting.

Some netizens say that although One Hundred Million Media specializes in making terrible films and domestic audiences don't buy it, some foreign audiences have a very good perception of their films.

At the same time, One Hundred Million Media is also teased by netizens as OST Media, physically in the TV drama circle, but mentally in the music circle.

Because several of their terrible dramas have produced divine songs.

Whenever music bloggers do a series on "Divine songs from terrible films," their dramas are always included.

Well, just the licensing fees for those divine songs might also allow them to make a big profit.

This looks a bit like a film and television company that doesn't attend to its proper duties.

The topic turned to overseas distribution channels.

Sui Lingfang said, "But *Counterattack* is a film. Currently, One Hundred Million Media is stronger in TV drama distribution. The two don't match, right?"

Director Zhong smiled, "That's the reason they didn't approach you directly; they were worried you would feel they weren't professional enough, so they approached me to talk to you."

"Based on my understanding of that shareholder of theirs, he has the ability to connect to theater distribution channels in dozens of countries in Southeast Asia."

"The reason One Hundred Million Media hasn't made films is because their idol dramas are terrible, yet there are various channels to break even, but if films are terrible, there are fewer channels to break even."

"Moreover, compared to TV dramas, in terms of films, the degree to which audiences don't buy it is very high, whereas many foreign audiences are actually more tolerant of TV dramas."

Director Zhong admitted, "Simply put, they have the ability to enter the overseas film circle for distribution, but they also know their production might not be up to par, so they have always stayed in the comfort zone of TV dramas."

Sui Lingfang hesitated, "I understand. Send me the contact information of the person in charge; I will take the initiative to communicate with them."

Director Zhong breathed a slight sigh of relief.

One Hundred Million Media holds overseas distribution channels and has experience in filming TV dramas.

If they really connect with Dawn Entertainment, they might require Seeing Jin Li to film a self-produced drama for One Hundred Million Media.

This drama could be a film, or it could be a TV drama.

But as a director, he knows very well that One Hundred Million Media doesn't have suitable directors, nor do they have good scripts; they really only know how to make terrible films from start to finish.

In all fairness, he didn't want to introduce One Hundred Million Media to Dawn Entertainment.

He didn't want Seeing Jin Li, a star with a good development momentum, to suddenly film a terrible movie, affecting her reputation.

But he just happened to owe One Hundred Million Media a favor, so he had no choice but to help bridge the gap.

Thinking of this, Director Zhong's eyes dimmed slightly.

If it weren't for his niece Qiu Qiwen coming to him personally to beg, he wouldn't have chosen this way to repay One Hundred Million Media's favor.

Sigh, stars!

As brilliant as a flower, yet as fleeting as a flower.

Who can remain evergreen?

Sui Lingfang's actions were fast.

She first held a meeting with the team to discuss One Hundred Million Media.

Everyone felt they could make contact first and see.

Besides One Hundred Million Media, some other directors also sent relevant channels, but they didn't seem that reliable.

Instead, One Hundred Million Media, introduced by Director Zhong, clearly has distribution channels, and their terrible dramas are also relying on overseas distribution channels to constantly recover blood.

This can be considered One Hundred Million Media's economic pillar, so it looks more reliable.

Additionally, before Sui Lingfang could contact One Hundred Million Media.

The person in charge at One Hundred Million Media, after receiving the reply "Recommended, not exclusive" from Director Zhong, couldn't wait to take the initiative to contact Dawn Entertainment.

Both sides communicated back and forth for more than half an hour.

One Hundred Million Media clearly stated, "Although we have only distributed TV dramas abroad in the past, we also have channels for films."

"If Seeing Jin Li is willing to cooperate with us, we can fill the theater screens for *Counterattack* in at least 10 Southeast Asian countries, and the scheduling can guarantee basic scheduling without being cut."

"As for how to arrange the scheduling for the first week after release, it depends on how *Counterattack* performs."

"If the performance is good, the theater chains will also actively arrange for more scheduling."

One Hundred Million Media also said, "Seeing Jin Li's influence in Southeast Asia is very strong, so don't worry too much; the theater chains might even take the initiative to add more scheduling from the start."

Sui Lingfang asked, "So, how do you want to cooperate with Seeing Jin Li?"

One Hundred Million Media said without hesitation, "Let Seeing Jin Li film a self-produced drama produced by us, and she will be the absolute female lead."

"She can choose the director, she can choose the script, she can change it however she wants, the whole crew is up to her, and she can film it however she wants."

Sui Lingfang:...

She took a deep breath and said with suppressed anger, "With Seeing Jin Li's current market value, there are plenty of films waiting for her to film; why would she go back to film TV dramas?"

One Hundred Million Media heard the unfriendliness in her tone and quickly said, "No, you misunderstood; we aren't asking Seeing Jin Li to film for free; we will pay according to the market price."

"Whatever her market value is for filming TV dramas, we will pay that amount; as for the director, we don't have to use our own directors; if she has a director she likes, we will hire them to film."

"As for the actors, besides Seeing Jin Li being the absolute female lead, the third female lead, third male lead, fourth female lead, fourth male lead, and other roles can all be decided by Dawn Entertainment; we only want one second female lead and one second male lead!"

Sui Lingfang frowned; to be honest, the conditions given were too good.

So good that it was like a pig-butchering scam specifically targeting Seeing Jin Li.

She asked, "You want the second female lead and second male lead; is it because you want to use Seeing Jin Li's popularity to make them famous, acting as a foil?"

One Hundred Million Media was so scared that sweat broke out on their forehead, and they quickly said, "Of course not; we just want to film a high-quality drama that can wash away our previous shame!"

"We will absolutely not let Seeing Jin Li act as a foil; we can give her great power."

"If she is not satisfied with the script, she can change it at any time; if she is not satisfied with the supporting roles' scenes, she can also change them; she can also designate the director."

"Including the film and television crew, if she is not satisfied, we can change to another one!"

Sui Lingfang roughly understood.

Perhaps One Hundred Million Media was also scared by the title "Source of Terrible Films" on the internet, and swore to make a high-quality hit drama, which is why they targeted Seeing Jin Li.

Although Seeing Jin Li's status in the film and television circle is very high, it doesn't mean she can't film TV dramas.

Because she started out in TV drama filming from the very beginning.

Unlike those actors who entered the film circle from the start, she has no so-called burden of dropping status.

She fought her way from the TV drama circle into the film circle, and although she has been rising in status all the way, Seeing Jin Li herself has never been limited to filming films.

Before, when choosing scripts, Seeing Jin Li had said that if she couldn't pick a good film script, she could look at TV drama scripts.

But...

Seeing Jin Li doesn't care whether she films films or TV dramas, but the company cannot not care.

Sui Lingfang was still very hesitant.

One Hundred Million Media said again, "How about this, we can sign a script contract for up to two years; Seeing Jin Li only needs to film one self-produced drama for One Hundred Million Media in two years."

"She has the right to freely delete, change, and choose directors and actors other than the second female lead and second male lead."

"If you don't trust our script, in two years, you can very well produce a script that Seeing Jin Li likes yourself; what do you think?"

Sui Lingfang's heart was truly moved.

Two years, it's not long, but it's not short either.

Using two years to polish a TV drama script is definitely no problem.

And with plenty of time, if there is a director she likes, she can also coordinate the schedule.

She almost agreed on Seeing Jin Li's behalf.

Sui Lingfang said, "I need to communicate with Seeing Jin Li and ask for her opinion."

The person in charge at One Hundred Million Media breathed a sigh of relief; being willing to pass the word to the artist proves there's a chance.

If there was absolutely no chance, the artist wouldn't even need to know.

The person in charge said, "Looking forward to your next call."

That night, Seeing Jin Li received a call from Sister Fang, specifically talking about this matter.

Seeing Jin Li asked, "Is One Hundred Million Media's distribution qualification reliable?"

Sister Fang said, "Director Zhong recommended it personally, so it should be reliable, and we can write this exchange condition into the contract."

"*Counterattack* is about to be released soon; if One Hundred Million Media can't secure the overseas distribution channels by then, they will be in breach of contract first, and we can also choose not to film."

Seeing Jin Li said with great interest, "It sounds like all the terms of the contract are in my favor, except for letting me lower my status to film a TV drama; they have shown the greatest sincerity, even letting me choose the director and change the script as I please."

Sui Lingfang: "Yes, I was also a bit moved, but after calming down, the risks are not non-existent."

"You have already achieved good results in the film circle; rashly going to film a TV drama will cause a lot of questioning, and One Hundred Million Media's self-produced dramas..."

She couldn't bring herself to say a good word against her conscience.

"The dramas they've filmed in recent years are all terrible; I really suspect they might have some kind of curse on them." ===== CHAPTER 694 =====