Chapter 397

In 2002, for those in China's entertainment industry—especially those in film—was not a year worth celebrating.

At least, that was the general public's perception as of early December.

Simply because all four top-grossing films they had seen so far were foreign movies—

In January, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone grossed over 57 million RMB in mainland China; in April, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring earned 56 million;

In July, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones reached 45 million RMB, and in August, the classic Spider-Man earned 43 million.

Although these were all films, under the pen of a reporter from the Capital Entertainment News, any box office figure could be converted—

You wouldn't realize it until you calculated it; once you did, you'd be shocked!

"So Zhou Yi's single concert box office actually surpassed many Hollywood blockbusters?!"

The average public, who knew nothing and only cared about box office numbers, had no idea these two industries couldn't be so easily compared; moreover, the article was written with extreme sensationalism and even brought in a heavyweight director for comparison—

Chen Kaige's film released in September this year, Together.

Released after avoiding the flood of Hollywood blockbusters, this film, touted as his transformational work and borrowing elements from Hollywood commercial cinema, ultimately earned only 13 million RMB in mainland box office.

Although comparing genres was unfair, for reporters, news that grabbed attention and boosted sales and influence was the ultimate goal.

Especially since all these figures were real; all it took was a touch of journalism's magic, a slight polish to the writing and content.

Thus, while netizens were still immersed in the news that Zhou Yi's single concert had outperformed Feng Dapao's entire year's efforts, the Capital Entertainment News's analysis and comparison further fanned the flames, making the already heated online public opinion even fiercer—

The formula Hollywood = American blockbusters = high box office = they're great, though somewhat absolute, was unquestionably the most widely believed in this era.

Zhou Yi had spent three consecutive releases, including two singles, to finally break through in the U. S. and Europe, but since his main battlefield wasn't domestic and Tom Cat's songs had no real foothold in China, after listening to Tom Cat's music, people felt it was just okay.

They only knew Zhou Yi had broken into America and made the Americans cry out in despair.

He was impressive, sure, but many in the public lacked a concrete sense of scale—because there was no clear enough opponent to anchor his influence.

After all, the audience for English songs was limited.

But once the Capital Entertainment News article came out, this "abstract" opponent suddenly became tangible and immediate—because they had actually seen Harry Potter and Spider-Man this year!

If this had happened in the past, saying Zhou Yi's concert box office surpassed Titanic, who wouldn't say "Amazing"?

"Damn! Even Hollywood blockbusters can't beat Zhou Yi?!"

"I actually went to see Spider-Man in theaters—it was pretty good, didn't realize it was only fourth place."

"Is Zhou Yi really the last pair of underwear in China's entertainment industry? Why does everything need him? Music needs him, now even movies do."

"These big directors in China are all useless; Chen Kaige, what a waste, made a movie that earned only over ten million, his box office crushed flat, and now it's up to a singer like Zhou Yi to save the day…"

"True enough—these big directors who strut around in China, even on home turf, get crushed by Hollywood, yet they can't even let out a single fart, only bullying their own people."

"Only Zhou Yi can take on the Americans…"

Go to America and take on the Americans; come back to China and still take on the Americans—our Zhou Yi is truly incredible!

When Zhou Yi woke up and saw these newspapers handed to him by Qian Jiang, the meat buns in his mouth tasted even better; Chen Kaige, still in Beijing, didn't have such a good appetite—

"These people have nothing better to do than write nonsense! How can a concert be compared to a movie?"

Chen Kaige was clearly furious about being reduced to a stepping stone.

He always saw himself as an artist, especially now, when his prestige in China was at its peak—he believed himself the best in the country, even surpassing Zhang Yimou.

Besides, box office isn't the only metric—he sold tons of copyrights too; why not count those?

"If there's no hand from New Picture behind this article pushing things, I'll reverse my name!"

Having been deeply entrenched in the entertainment industry for so long, Chen Kaige was no naive novice.

He knew perfectly well that Zhang Yimou's backer, New Picture, was a company that loved hype; this sudden newspaper article dragging him out for public flogging could hardly be without New Picture secretly slipping in their own agenda.

"Not just that—they now most want to push Hero out. Zhou Yi's commercial power is simply too strong."

Chen Kaige's wife, Chen Hong, once hailed as the number one beauty of mainland entertainment, looked at the reports in her hands; wrinkles, unnoticed, had crept into her eyes, worn by time: "Hero's production team must be grinning so wide their mouths are crooked—Zhou Yi's popularity means more attention for them."

"That promotional song alone earned them 7.2 million; they've really hit the jackpot."

If earlier, the niche circle of artistic directors had looked down on Zhang Yimou for desperately embracing Zhou Yi to gain attention and buzz, today, they were secretly burning with envy.

Today morning, Hero's production company, China Film Group, and Warner Records jointly released the instrumental promotional song; its popularity skyrocketed.

"Why don't you try casting him in your next film?"

Chen Hong was somewhat tempted.

Concert tickets cost far more than movie tickets, and Zhou Yi still filled eight thousand seats—she couldn't imagine how high the box office would be if he starred in a movie.

"No way. He's not a good actor, and he flat-out refuses roles; otherwise, don't you think all those investors would be lining up to offer him parts?"

Chen Kaige shook his head.

His commercial value was obvious to anyone—even if Zhou Yi were willing to open the door, countless investors would rush to customize roles and scripts for him, not to mention that Time Warner already had its own film subsidiary.

Chen Hong sighed: "What a pity."

…………………………………………

"If this were the past, I'd have begged and pleaded with you to take a role."

In a Shanghai hotel suite, Qian Jiang handed his notebook to Zhou Yi after breakfast, his bulky buttocks landing on the sofa with a creak: "But now, forget it—these people are offering way too little."

Times have changed; Zhou Yi is no longer the man who could be lured by so-called astronomical paychecks.

Besides, to be blunt, the so-called astronomical paychecks these people offer now, Qian Jiang wouldn't even glance at—they're lower than Zhou Yi's endorsement fees, what a joke.

Millions of RMB mean everything to others, but for Zhou Yi, even if he did nothing next year, just the global post-release royalties from his English albums would exceed that amount.

In Qian Jiang's eyes now, Zhou Yi was like Jet Li—his price was fixed. Unless he invested in and starred in his own film, no one in China could currently afford his fee, and Zhou Yi didn't have Jet Li's mountain of personal debts to repay—

He wasn't even from the Film Academy; no senior classmates, teachers, or mentors from the film circle came knocking.

Countless film offers flew toward Zhou Yi like snowflakes, but all were blocked by Qian Jiang's outstretched umbrella.

"No sincerity—just talk of 'depth,' 'art,' or 'awards.' I don't care about any of that." Zhou Yi flipped through a few pages listlessly, then stopped altogether.

Too little pay, too much work.

Filming takes months at minimum, and they offer "this little"? He didn't think he could endure such hardship.

"That can't be helped; domestic film costs are what they are right now."

Seeing Zhou Yi about to throw the notebook back, Qian Jiang hurriedly stopped him: "Flip forward, flip forward. There are a few endorsement deals here that have passed multiple rounds of negotiation and screening from the many offers currently seeking you."

As everyone knows, the endorsements Zhou Yi currently carries are not many; among top stars, the number he carries is even the least, without exception. Even compared to singers within the same company, Sun Yanzi has more endorsements than him.

On one hand, Zhou Yi's rapidly rising star status means many endorsement products cannot meet the negotiation threshold; on the other hand, Qian Jiang is intentionally maintaining Zhou Yi's style of valuing quality over quantity in endorsements.

Don't let the small number fool you; his endorsement income is among the highest in the entertainment industry. Just the two major contracts with Coca-Cola after renewal and Sohu are enough to make him stand out above the rest.

If Chen Long hadn't been slaughtering it globally with his films, taking on a pile of endorsements both domestically and internationally, Qian Jiang would even have the courage to publicly buy the press release stating he had the highest endorsement fee.

"New endorsements?"

Zhou Yi flipped forward, and the first thing that caught his eye was his old friend, Anta.

As the second brand Zhou Yi endorsed after his debut, the initial nine million for three years contract, while appearing astronomical at the time, now looks like a bargain price relative to the returns Zhou Yi brought them—not to mention the move of Zhou Yi stepping onto the World Cup closing ceremony wearing Anta shoes.

It must be known that the gap between Anta and Li Ning originally was a chasm, but now, aside from the gap in assets and market share between the two companies themselves, in the minds of the younger generation, Anta's brand influence has almost overtaken Li Ning by taking a shortcut thanks to Zhou Yi, helping it compete on equal footing with Li Ning domestically.

The endorsement contract was signed between the two parties on May 7, 2001; looking at the three-year term, there is still about a year and a half left before the contract expires.

Considering Zhou Yi's status is now vastly different from before, with brands like Adidas, Nike, Reebok, and Li Ning all eyeing him hungrily, it is no surprise they would propose opening renewal contract negotiations at this time.

After all, for contracts of this caliber, negotiations lasting half a year or more are not uncommon.

"Especially Nike, Adidas, and Reebok; the Ding family is very worried the three giants will take you away, given that the financial power they control is worlds apart from Anta's."

Qian Jiang pointed out the source of Anta's anxiety: "Ever since you appeared at the World Cup closing ceremony, companies like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok have been observing you. Now, after a series of inspections, they want to sign you as their spokesperson for the China region."

In these days, there are no sports brand companies capable of competing with these three giants in terms of financial power; even Li Ning isn't enough to look at. If they offer a bid that Anta simply cannot match, then...

"30 million? Renew for three years?"

Seeing this price, Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow.

"I estimate we can continue negotiating, but since you aren't a professional athlete, the maximum offer will likely be 40 million. Moreover, the son of that Anta boss has hinted openly and subtly that if possible, he would be willing to discuss the situation with you personally."

Zhou Yi pursed his lips noncommittally, his gaze then falling on the next few new endorsement offers that had approached him—

One look, and good heavens: Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Ericsson...

All international giants, and all for mobile phone endorsements.

"The shot of you using a mobile phone in the 'Fairy Tale' MV was noticed by them as the song became a hit; besides these international companies, domestic ones like Bird Mobile also want to sign you."

Qian Jiang mentioned the current king of the domestic mobile phone market.

No one can stop the arrival of the mobile communication era; everyone knows the mobile phone market will soon become a battlefield of fierce slaughter.

Currently, Bird Mobile, which has won the sales championship in the domestic mobile phone market for two consecutive years and holds a 50% market share, facing the aggressive approach of giants like Nokia and Samsung, has decisively turned its gaze toward Zhou Yi.

They currently have only one singer spokesperson—international diva Li Wen.

If they sign Zhou Yi as well, then they will have signed the only two singers currently in the country who have gone global.

"Nokia originally wanted to negotiate an endorsement with Guo Fucheng, but your results were simply too excellent, so they gave up on Guo Fucheng and turned to you."

The initial offers from several companies were all between 30 million and 40 million for about four years; the difference lay in the resources they could provide after the endorsement.

"My suggestion is to temporarily exclude domestic mobile phones like Bird and Panda; since you plan to struggle abroad in the future, the channels of international brands can help you a lot."

Qian Jiang gave advice based on Zhou Yi's personal situation, and incidentally gave him a heads-up: "Additionally, you are going to South Korea at the end of December to attend the China-Korea Song Festival; at that time, I estimate people from Samsung Mobile will come to show their goodwill proactively."

"The price offered by Nokia is also the lowest among these companies, but since it currently holds the number one spot in the global mobile phone market share, this company's channels and influence are the widest in Europe and America, so the resources that can be negotiated might be the most helpful..."

Qian Jiang analyzed the pros and cons one by one, and incidentally pulled out a DVD endorsement contract: "BBK wants to invite you to endorse their DVD; they are also one of only two companies that have clearly stated their first-round offer."

4 million USD for two years.

A contract that is absolutely considered a major deal in the DVD field; converted to RMB, it is over 32 million.

"BBK has always been willing to spend money; in 2000, they tried to sign Schwarzenegger for 2.5 million USD for two years, but the advertisement was complained about by viewers via phone calls and taken off the air shortly after airing during CCTV's prime time."

"Now that it's you, a real Chinese person, complaints leading to removal won't happen; there is no risk."

"...?"

Being complained about and taken off the air is actually acceptable.

Hearing this, Zhou Yi almost choked on a mouthful of water: "Then what about the other one?"

"Tencent, the company with QQ."

Qian Jiang pulled out another contract from his briefcase: "Their software is half a year away from its third anniversary, so they want to invite you to be their spokesperson and write a promotional song related to QQ. The current first-round offer is 50 million for four years."

"If we negotiate, I think we can reach 60 or 70 million, or shorten or extend the term slightly."

"QQ has been having a very hard time recently; a software that poses a huge threat has appeared on the market, plus companies like Sohu and NetEase are causing trouble; they definitely want to protect their position and market share at all costs."

"... The term doesn't need to be shortened; I have a good outlook on this company's prospects; extending it to five years is fine, but no more than five years."

Hearing the name of this little penguin out of the blue, Zhou Yi rubbed his chin with his fingertips: "As for the endorsement fee, since they are facing a market crisis, we should hammer them hard; if we extend it to five years, we can ask for more; the promotional song is not a problem."

Xu Shanggao's "Gray Avatar" is simply the best QQ promotional song, killing it across all student demographics.

"Maximum five years?"

Zhou Yi nodded: "Mm."

Five years later, in 2008, the disaster of the Shield versus the Little Penguin has already been planted. Serving as this spokesperson any longer would be impolite; withdrawing early leaves one feeling light and free.

(End of this chapter)