Chapter 125: Teaching the big shots

October 11, 2002, Xiangjiang Heng'an Pavilion, Mei Mei Yanfang's residence.

"Little brother, yesterday was your birthday, what wish can be made up?"

Seeing Lu Kuan was drawing storyboards on the balcony, and the early autumn sea breeze in Xiangjiang was still gentle and moist.

He was stunned for a few seconds, almost forgetting that there was such a thing as a birthday.

"Just want to have a good rest, ran the roadshow for three weeks, too tired."

The mainland roadshow ended, and the next step was to cooperate with Edko Films' Xiangjiang, Wan Province, and if necessary, Korea and Japan trips.

Wang Wang Minhui smiled: "No, it's only once a year, birthday still has to be done!"

She and Mei Mei Yanfang looked at each other and took out two red envelopes from the handbag like a magic trick.

"Here, the red envelopes from me and Sister Mei, know you don't like trouble, wrap a red envelope to get a color."

Boss Lu was overjoyed, what is more practical than a red envelope.

"Okay! The gifts from the two sisters are just right!"

Wang Wang Minhui and Mei Mei Yanfang both knew it was a joke to make everyone happy.

Boss Lu is not short of money now, they know the bottom line.

"Whiplash" cost 6 million, and the North American copyright was sold for 2.8 million USD.

It has been on the mainland for ten days, with a cumulative box office of more than 21 million, mainly because it caught up with the first few days of the long holiday.

Yesterday's Xiangjiang premiere box office has not yet been released.

But is this number still important?

Wenjie Culture and Bona are almost one blog post and celebration soft article every day, declaring the long rainbow of the film's box office while continuing to hype itself to raise the heat.

He is no longer the newcomer who was nameless and relied on Mei Mei Yanfang's reward for saving his life to start his first film with 3 million.

Boss Lu is naturally confident about this number.

In the past life, "Warm Spring" invested 2 million, and without famous directors and stars, it could take 20 million box office through roadshows covering first and second-tier cities.

Not to mention the "Whiplash" with Golden Lion Award, stars, hype gimmicks, the country's first private distribution company, blog network propaganda, etc., all buffs pulled full?

"Wow, the two are too stingy, Sister Wang Minhui 3800, Sister Mei 9600, will it be too little?"

Mei Mei Yanfang scolded with a smile: "What do you know!"

"'3' and '8' are rising and sending, '9' and '6' are long and salary, good words!"

"Besides, you Director Lu are not short of money now!"

Boss Lu smiled and didn't speak; it's better to be low-key when making money.

Wang Wang Minhui teased: "Sister Mei, this is because you think we two are too thin. It seems the only way is to take out a gift that shows sincerity."

Seeing Lu Kuan didn't know why: "Ah?"

Mei Mei Yanfang looked at the excitement with a motherly smile, and Wang Wang Minhui took out a delicate little incense bag from the handbag like a magic trick.

"Mr. Lu, good luck, this is sent to you by your heroine."

"Little Liu? She still has this heart?"

Boss Lu took the little incense bag without giving way, and smelled it at the tip of his nose.

Well, refreshing and brain-awakening, suitable for people who stay up late.

Not bad, Boss Lu now has a feeling of being a coal boss and a stick chaebol, the taste of being responsive is really good.

There are those who go to the kidneys, and there are those who go to the heart like Little Liu, not in vain for the party and country's cultivation of her!

Mei Mei Yanfang was still waiting to tease a few words, and the servant came to notify her to answer the phone.

——

"Did you call?"

"Yes, Li Dong, Sister Mei said she would go to the banquet with Seeing Lu Kuan on time."

"Call Jiang Jiang Zhiqiang."

"Yes, Li Dong."

Huo Huo Wenxi stood respectfully beside Li Li Shoucheng, not daring to be half-slacked.

"Heart-stirring" and "Whiplash" were released in the same period, and the mainland box office defeat gave Zhang Zhang Jianting, Nicholas Tse, and others great pressure.

But there are no tears and regrets in front of capital; no matter how bad the state of Nicholas Tse, Edison Chen, and others is, work still has to continue.

Today is the day "The Twins Effect" starts shooting, Edison Chen, Gillian, Charlene, and many other Emperor Group artists joined the crew, and Li Li Shoucheng also came to the Yau Ma Tei set early.

Then came Nicholas Tse, who heard the news; although there was no scene for him, it was always good to show his face in front of the boss.

This is also Mani's suggestion; he doesn't have such emotional intelligence.

Li Li Shoucheng looked at Nicholas Tse, who was usually a cool and cool look, and only naturally clasped his hands in front of him in front of the big shot, not daring to cross the rules.

"Boss, it's important to make more movies and earn money for the company if your hands are itchy!"

Mani glanced at him calmly.

In front of elders and big shots, these second-generation stars are usually obedient; if they could be so mature and cautious in the entertainment circle and society, it would be fine.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but think of the young director who brought trouble to Emperor Group.

He seems to be younger than Tse, but his behavior and scheming brought feelings similar to the big shots who have been in the circle for many years, making people hard to see through.

"Okay, you guys start work, Mani, accompany me to continue walking."

Li Li Shoucheng got up supporting his knees, Nicholas Tse hurriedly stepped forward to support him, and the former smiled and patted the young artist's back of the hand.

Mani fell half a step behind the big shot, pricking up her ears to prepare to answer Li Li Shoucheng's inquiry at any time.

"Mani, did you read the newspaper today? The box office gap between our film and 'Whiplash' is very large!"

Ten days of box office, 21 million to 8 million, a gap of more than two times.

Not only the Xiangjiang newspapers, which have always been unscrupulous and dare to speak, are extremely sarcastic, but the Internet is also full of teasing and belittling of Nicholas Tse and others.

The blow to the artist's image is not small.

Everyone is enthusiastically discussing the bet mentioned by Seeing Lu Kuan at the premiere, the bet that touches the porcelain of Emperor Group.

"Li Dong, the company knows it, but I think it doesn't have to be taken seriously."

The two were walking around the set, and the crew members along the way greeted them respectfully in turn.

Li Li Shoucheng kept staring at the road under his feet "Oh? You tell me."

"Mr. Lu is a smart young man; he said these things not to offend Emperor Group, but just to bind and hype with us."

Mani answered respectfully.

Li Li Shoucheng looked at her with satisfaction and said: "I knew you could see it; I am becoming more and more interested in this young man; Xiangjiang hasn't had such a young man for a long time."

Turning to imply: "Mani, I see you have a good impression of him; he is really handsome, that is, he likes women."

Mani's heart sank; even if the big shot's words are a joke, where can they be taken lightly.

"Li Dong is joking, there are many handsome guys in the company, I can't see them all, where do I have time to care about an outsider."

Li Li Shoucheng turned his head and smiled; he is an old man who has been in the rivers and lakes for many years, and naturally will not focus on the gains and losses of one city and one place.

A few million investment, he has this number when he bets on a horse on a whim.

Li Li Shoucheng changed the subject: "This year, the company is an eventful autumn."

Emperor Group and Li Li Shoucheng personally have frequent accidents this year.

Before, Xiangjiang artists collectively marched to complain about "East Weekly" publishing nude photos of female artist Carina Lau being kidnapped by robbers, and "East Weekly" is one of Li Li Shoucheng's personal group assets.

Later, there was... finally ended with his personal obedience to the judgment and 240 hours of social work labor.

"Boss, there are more lace events in the company this year, fortunately, the artist's development is still good."

"Gillian and Charlene created more than 60 million in revenue for the company this year, filling the vacancy after Tse's accident."

"Joey created more than 35 million in revenue, which is also very good. Tse is now temporarily withdrawing from the music circle to focus on finishing this film, but he also brought about 30 million in revenue to the company."

Mani counted the results of several artists with tilted resources like a family treasure.

Although she is currently only engaged in brokerage business within Emperor Group, her excellent working ability made Li Li Shoucheng and Emperor Group CEO Wu Yu praise her, and many matters outside brokerage business have been notified and handed over.

The big revenue creator of Emperor Group this year is none other than the Twins combination.

This pair of idol girls who imitated the Japanese "Puffy" combination had an advertising fee of only about 100,000 at the beginning of their debut, and the latest mainland advertising quote has reached 2.5 million.

The rapid development of the mainland market and the pursuit of Hong Kong and Taiwan stars are also one of the factors for Li Li Shoucheng to adjust his strategy to go north this year.

Mani saw that the boss was non-committal, and continued to add: "Boss, Chen Yixun's situation needs attention."

Chen Chen Yixun transferred to Emperor Group in 2001, because of copyright issues, he could not continue to sing the songs of the previous company at the concert, so he turned into a model worker and released 4 albums in 2 years.

And the attention Mani referred to is that Chen Chen Yixun's contract is about to expire in 2004, and he himself seems to have some strange emotions.

Li Li Shoucheng rarely had some fluctuations in his expression, nodded and said: "I know this, I have already asked people to do it."

Seeming unwilling to talk more about this matter, Li Li Shoucheng changed the subject: "I'm tired, go back first, arrange the banquet tonight."

"Yes, Li Dong."

The senior manager respectfully sent him to the car, and then calculated Li Li Shoucheng's instructions in her mind.

Why invite Seeing Lu Kuan to dinner?

At 6 o'clock in the evening, Mei Mei Yanfang, Seeing Lu Kuan, and Wang Wang Minhui arrived on time and came to his mansion in Repulse Bay.

Li Li Shoucheng has a strict side and a warm side. Every New Year's Eve, he will invite artists under his banner to this mansion for dinner and parties.

Mei Mei Yanfang received Mani's call in the morning and then conveyed Emperor Group's invitation to Seeing Lu Kuan.

Boss Lu naturally had no objection.

Just as he said to Mani before, he had no conflict with Emperor Group, just some small friction with some short-sighted people.

Emperor Group needs a partner to go north, and in the past life, they found Jiang Wen.

Seeing Lu Kuan also needs a sitting tiger in Xiangjiang. Mei Mei Yanfang is an actor and singer, and Jiang Jiang Zhiqiang wins in overseas channels. The capital scale is still a magnitude worse than Li Li Shoucheng.

Setting aside disputes and developing together is a wise approach.

Since Li Li Shoucheng came forward to organize the banquet, he naturally wouldn't set too high a posture, and Emperor Group also called several female stars to accompany the seat.

He was wearing casual clothes today, smiling and shaking hands with Mei Mei Yanfang, Seeing Lu Kuan, and others.

"Welcome, Ah Mei, your body is much better, right?"

"This is Mr. Lu, really heroic!"

Big shots have the bearing of big shots; no matter how they fight each other, the decency that should be there is there.

Li Li Shoucheng is also very optimistic about this talented young director; they don't know each other without fighting.

The big crocodiles in Xiangjiang of his generation, which one hasn't fought a few times?

Boss Lu handed over a small gift, neither humble nor arrogant: "Li Dong is over-praised, sorry to bother you today."

Everyone took their seats, and the Western dinner made Seeing Lu Kuan feel a bit itchy.

Wild boars can't eat fine bran; he feels he is still suitable for the atmosphere of the food stall.

Li Li Shoucheng raised a glass: "Mr. Lu, congratulations on the big box office."

He turned to Jiang Jiang Zhiqiang again: "Ah Qiang, you still have vision, unlike my useless son-in-law."

Jiang Jiang Zhiqiang was embarrassed; people scolded his son-in-law Zhang Zhang Jianting, so he naturally couldn't answer.

Seeing Lu Kuan was a bit unusually modest today: "'Whiplash' is just lucky, catching up with a good era."

"Oh? Mr. Lu might as well talk about it."

"Letting me talk belongs to showing off in front of the master; Li Dong and Jiang Dong are the ducks who know the spring water, and have already actively gone north, right?"

Li Li Shoucheng glanced at Jiang Jiang Zhiqiang, not knowing if this was his suggestion or this young man's own realization.

His political sensitivity is extremely high, and he began to plan to exert influence in the mainland as early as the 1980s.

Measures taken include but are not limited to sponsorship of universities such as Xiamen University and Renmin University, and running film and television schools in Beiping with mainland companies.

As well as the Emperor Group office in Beiping with very high specifications, showing a positive appearance of cooperation.

It is not strange for characters at his level to see these grass snakes and gray lines, but a young director in his twenties has such insights, Li Li Shoucheng is becoming more and more interested.

"Mr. Lu, there are no outsiders here today, everyone chat at will, what do you think of the fatigue of Xiangjiang films now?"

As soon as this remark came out, not to mention Mei Mei Yanfang and Wang Wang Minhui, the artists like Mani and Twins who were called to accompany the seat were all shocked.

The boss, as the head of the Xiangjiang entertainment circle, does not hesitate to expose his own shortcomings, and such a situation of being virtuous and corporal is not seen.

Could it be that this young director, besides making movies, has insights into these things that exceed so many company think tanks and industry elites?

Emperor Group has a strong influence in Xiangjiang and the entire Southeast Asia region, and Li Li Shoucheng himself is not stingy about investing in mainland directors, such as Jiang Wen.

For Seeing Lu Kuan now, if he can have two strategic partners, Edko Films and Emperor Group, in Xiangjiang, it will be of great benefit to his future film distribution and the cultivation of his artists.

Seeing Lu Kuan pondered for a while, knowing that it wouldn't work without throwing some dry goods.

Equivalent exchange, you must first let others see the value.

Forget it, let's teach them a lesson.

Seeing Lu Kuan said sternly: "Now the whole world has to look at Hollywood's face. The glorious era of Xiangjiang was the era of Hollywood film decline. The end of the Star Wars trilogy made the dominance of sci-fi blockbusters over the world film industry loose."

"By 93, 94, the emergence of digital technology drove the upgrade of the entire American film industry system."

"When 'Jurassic Park' and 'Titanic' swept the world, Xiangjiang encountered the 1997 financial crisis again, so how could it be spared?"

Li Li Shoucheng and Jiang Jiang Zhiqiang are both industry gluttons, counting the time context described by Seeing Lu Kuan in their hearts, and nodded frequently.

Li Li Shoucheng suddenly raised his wine glass: "Mr. Lu, how to teach us old people?"

"Li Dong is serious; talking about instruction is too heavy. Let's communicate with each other."

"Mr. Lu, doing is doing, that's just crossing the river by feeling the stones, we still want to hear your thoughts."

Boss Lu really wanted Sun Sun Wenwen to send a 5 million commercial consulting contract, but felt it was a bit inappropriate.

Lost, lost.

"Two, I heard Jiang Dong likes to gamble, and Li Dong likes horses; you are all people who have seen the wind and clouds in the casino."

"Now there is a gambling game that hasn't been seen in a thousand years in front of you. I don't know if you still have the courage to go all-in?"

Jiang and Li looked at each other, and looked at Seeing Lu Kuan again.

"I'd like to hear

Jiang and Li looked at each other, and then looked at Seeing Lu Kuan in unison.

"I'd like to hear the details."

(End of chapter)