Of course, Xian Yu wouldnât say that. It was merely speculation by everyone else.
However, just because Xian Yu didnât say it didnât mean others wouldnât think of it.
At this moment.
Many at Starlightâs film division felt their faces flush hotly.
Howeverâ¦
The one who felt the most embarrassed was Du An.
Du An was the director of âThunderstormâ and a well-known top-tier director in Qi Province.
Last year, after the merger of Qin and Qi, Starlight spent a lot to lure Du An over, building an entire film around him as the central director.
Their goal, naturally, was to make a killing and make a loud statement in the film and TV industry on Starlightâs behalf.
However, the performance of âThunderstormâ turned out to be average.
In contrast, âFlirting Scholarâ, which the company didnât value much, ended up carrying the banner for Starlightâs film and TV department!
At that time, Du An felt rather embarrassed.
To save face, Du An decided that his next film must showcase his value and let Starlight witness the strength he possessed as a top director from Qi Province.
Butâ¦
Before Du Anâs next film came out, Xian Yuâs new movie, âSound Engineerâ, was already a success!
Du An suddenly felt even more embarrassed!
Equally embarrassed was Zhang Yu, the famous scriptwriter Starlight had poached from Qi Province. Zhang Yu wrote the script for âThunderstormâ.
But before Zhang Yu had time to write his second script, his work got overshadowed by the success of âSound Engineerâ!
It was a script that even Zhang Yu praised!
When the two men reunited, Zhang Yu sighed slightly: âHeroes come from young, you might want to consider collaborating with Xian Yu.â
âI canât.â
Du An smiled bitterly: âThe scriptwriter-centric model is in conflict with my philosophy.â
The scriptwriter-centric and director-centric models are two different ways a film crew operates, each with its own advantages.
An ambitious director, of course, would not willingly submit to the command of a scriptwriter, let alone a renowned director like Du An?
Even for Zhang Yu, his script was in service to Du An, the director. Du Anâs ideas determined the way the script would be presented.
Unless Xian Yu was willing to leave the presentation of the script to Du Anâs discretion, Du An would never collaborate with Xian Yu.
Why did everyone talk about Xian Yu when âSound Engineerâ became a hit?
Itâs because everyone knows âSound Engineerâ is the product of the classic scriptwriter-centric model. The director listed, Yi Chenggong, was merely a tool for Xian Yu to realize his vision.
âRight.â
Zhang Yuâs words were probing to some extent, which somehow assuaged her concerns. She wouldnât lose her job just yet.
âLetâs do our best on our next film.â
âHmm.â
Du An responded solemnly.
He came to Starlight thinking he would be the bigshot of the film division, but after joining the company, he ended up losing to a rookie. And it was through internal competition at that.
Meanwhileâ¦
With the popularity around âSound Engineerâ, Olâ Zhou, representing the film division, attended a high-level meeting hastily convened by the company.
The subject of the meeting was Xian Yu.
Chairman and CEO Li Songhua gently tapped his fingers on the desk, suddenly saying: âLetâs increase Xian Yuâs contract.â
Everyone nodded.
As an officially recognized Maestro Junior, there has to be a huge differentiation from ordinary hit songwriters. For the company to court Xian Yu, they were willing to pay a greater price.
This was the consensus of all executives.
Li Songhua further added: âIncrease Xian Yuâs resource allocation in the film division. If he shoots a new film, increase the standards a bit.â
âSure.â
This was within Olâ Zhouâs authority.
If it was only âFlirting Scholarâ making it big, the executives might have opposed this decision, but now itâs different.
After all, when the company decided to fund âSound Engineerâ, the initial intention was just to win an award. They didnât expect the film to have outstanding box office performance.
But now, the box office hit the mark.
Moreover, the companyâs appreciation for Xian Yu has reached new heights!
â¦
When Lin Yuan found out his contract was being elevated again, he was quite pleased.
In fact, his agent Jin Mu had already reminded Lin Yuan to discuss a rise in contract level with the company, but before Lin Yuan took the initiative to speak up, the company very consciously made the relevant decision.
Of course, Lin Yuan was delighted.
The new contract met no resistance whatsoever. Since it was the bossâs order, Olâ Zhou easily wrapped up the process and gave Lin Yuan a detailed introduction to the new contract:
âIf you collaborate with a third-tier singer in the future, you can have 90% of the download earnings.â
Lin Yuanâs eyes lit up!
Olâ Zhou continued:
âIf you collaborate with a second-tier singer, you can have 70%. The remaining portion, the company will negotiate with the singer.â
âIf you collaborate with a first-tier or King of Singing, you can take 50% share. The remaining part will also be discussed by the company.â
Lin didnât pay much attention to the last two profit-sharing scenarios.
If it werenât absolutely necessary, only a fool would collaborate with second- or first-tier singers, or even the King of Singing.
Details werenât addresed further.
In any case, this contract is much stronger than Lin Yuanâs previous contract!
It was double!
Daddyâs share is 100%!
Lin Yuan isnât Daddy yet, but to be able to have 90% share, he was close to the Daddyâs share!
Of course.
Daddy can take part in the profits outside of the downloads. Thatâs a treatment Lin Yuan cannot have for now. However, considering Daddyâs experience and his total past works far exceed his own, Lin Yuan was willing to accept this.
Without any doubts, he signed the new music contract.
With this matter resolved, Olâ Zhou looked at Lin Yuan and asked: âDo you have any other requests?â
âYes.â
Lin Yuan had already prepared his answer: âIn the future, I want to participate in 50% of the investment decisions for my scripts.â
â50%? Like this time?â
Olâ Zhou hesitated, then said: âIâll think about it when I go back. This isnât a big problem, but arenât you worried about films losing money? Donât think that just because youâve had two successful films in a row, that you will always be successful. The market is unpredictable.â
âI see.â
Lin Yuan spoke.
The success of films that had been successful in his previous life doesnât guarantee 100% success in this life, but he felt that the probability of success is at least higher than that of ordinary films.
âThis isnât a big problemâ¦â
Olâ Zhou hesitated for a moment before saying: âBut Iâd suggest you invest around 30%. The company has larger operations, so if the film succeeds, even though we earn a bit more, if it fails, your losses will be less.â
Olâ Zhou didnât have any ill intentions.
He just felt that even the most impressive directors and scriptwriters have their off days. âThunderstormâ was a clear example.
Lin Yuan nodded.
He didnât plan to invest as much every time. After all, as a scriptwriter, he can also participate in the profit sharing. He canât miss out on making money.
If thereâs risk, bringing the company in can lighten the load.
He couldnât avoid the company in the matter of film production anyway. Without the companyâs support, gathering a reliable crew wasnât easy.
âBy the way.â
After their discussion, Olâ Zhou asked: âDo you have any ideas for your next film?â
âNot yet.â
âAlright, we will wait for your news.â
Olâ Zhou got up and said, âFrom now on, at least one third of the resources from the film division will be on standby for you at any time. The company really trusts your scripts now, but in the future we may add a pre-condition, that is, to try and choose actors from within the company as much as possible.â
âUnderstood, as long as the company actors meet the requirements.â
âYou can rest assured.â
Olâ Zhou smiled: âIf the company needs to find people from within, as long as the script is good, even if you want an A-lister, I can negotiate the pay.â
The main creators of the film department are still Du An and Zhang Yu.
Starlight wouldnât deny the twoâs abilities just because âThunderstormâ received average feedback.
However, starting from âSound Engineerâ, Xian Yu will also become the second most important figure in Starlightâs film department, next to these two.
âââ-
ps: Iâm feeling a little dizzy, so Iâm calling it a day, I will make up for it with an 8000-word update tomorrow.