Chapter 165: Questions from within Penguin
As the earliest and largest Internet company in China, Penguin's business has touched every aspect of life.

Penguin Pictures, the group's newest subsidiary, has recently been aggressively entering the film and television entertainment industry.

However, as a newcomer in the industry, he has not yet produced any outstanding work, which makes the senior management of Penguin Pictures very anxious.

Especially when two of the three films that were just invested in have basically failed.

Tang Haibin, vice chairman of the group and CEO of Penguin Pictures, was extremely anxious.

"Penguin is a listed company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the group. Over the past two years, how much policy and financial support has the group given us? What about us? Have we achieved any results?"

"I've said that if Penguin, as a listed company, cannot make progress, then we will be a burden and a tumor to the group's financial report. We will be the one that can pack up and go home at any time!"

"Everyone, it's been two years. Even if you can produce a decent work in these two years, I won't be so cautious when I go to the group meeting!"

After Tang Haibin finished speaking, the senior executives of Penguin Pictures in the conference room fell silent.

"Speak! What I want is your solution to the problem!" Tang Haibin knocked on the table, trying his best not to be swayed by his emotions.

Seeing Tang Haibin's tone slow down, Wang Jian, the company's vice president and also the group's vice president, cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Tang, the company currently has eight major creative teams, and I am in charge of the film business..."

"First of all, I want to apologize to you for not achieving the expected results in the film business! I will not explain the problems encountered in the work at the meeting. Let me first talk about the current situation in the film industry."

"During the Chinese New Year this year, we invested in three film crews across the country. As you said, two films have been released, but the results can be described as dismal."

“But we are very confident about the third film, ‘Charlotte’s Troubles’, which is also the one with the largest investment!”

When he said this, he looked up at Tang Haibin's expression.

"The main creative team of the movie "Charlotte's Troubles" actually originated from the Spring Festival Gala skit "Today's Happiness!""

"The director of the crew is Peng Mo, the screenwriter and director of Today's Happiness."

"Peng Mo is a professional actor with a very high level of skills. He wrote the script for last year's hit Crazy Stone, which received a great response from the market..."

"The actors in the crew, Shen Teng, Mary, and Shen Lang are all well-known actors in China, especially Shen Lang, who has performed well in many film and television works."

“As for the script, after multiple rounds of review and feedback from the producer assigned by the company, the response was very good!”

"I believe that the film 'Charlotte's Troubles', which will be released next month, will definitely turn around the company's current situation! It may even bring the company unexpected profits!"

……

After Wang Jian finished speaking, no one responded immediately.

However, doubts soon arose.

Chen Wu, the company's vice president in charge of the TV drama creation module, was the first to raise questions.

"Boss Wang, the movie section is not my responsibility, so I can't comment on it. But since Boss Tang asked everyone to speak freely today, can I raise a few small questions based on what you just said?"

When Wang Jian saw that it was Chen Wu who raised the question, he immediately felt displeased.

Although Chen Wu is not the vice president of the group, he is a professional talent recruited by the boss himself and has received much attention from above.

Moreover, Chen Wu is indeed capable. Since taking office, the two TV series he invested in have received good reputations.

Although it is not a hit drama, the group is very satisfied with his achievements in the current environment. However, although Chen Wu is talented, he is also arrogant and has repeatedly questioned his investment strategy in front of the group's senior management.

Wang Jian had been holding back a lot of anger in his heart for a long time. He didn't expect that he would be the one to attend the internal meeting of the company again...

But in a company meeting, you can't let others not speak, so Wang Jian had to force a smile and said, "Mr. Chen, you speak!"

Seeing Wang Jian's frustration, Chen Wu smiled slightly, stood up with high spirits and said, "Let me ask a few questions!"

"First of all, Mr. Wang, our company is currently in its infancy, so we need to be stable in everything. The several films you invested in were all directed by new directors."

"Yes, new directors are cheaper, but they haven't been tested by time and the audience, so the things they produce vary greatly. In my opinion, you'd better find some well-known directors to invest in. Big directors are naturally box office-friendly! You can avoid a lot of risks!"

As soon as he finished speaking, whispers were heard in the conference room.

"Mr. Chen is right!"

"That's right. If we work with a big director, we'll soon be able to make a name for ourselves in the industry!"

……

Even Tang Haibin, who was sitting at the top, nodded slightly, signaling Chen Wu to continue.

Chen Wu was recognized by everyone and spoke more confidently: "Also, we cannot say that there are no good movies and TV shows starring crosstalk and sketch actors, but there are more bad ones, such as "Eighteen Generations of Ancestors"!"

"Hahaha!"

"Pfft...!"

……

Chen Wu smiled and looked at Wang Jian: "Sketch and crosstalk are indeed a form of comedy, but it doesn't mean that these people can make everyone laugh when they appear on the big screen! In the final analysis, whether it is a movie or a TV series, it all depends on the script. If the script is rubbish, no matter how funny the jokes are, they will still make people feel cliché and incoherent!"

After all, he is a professional, and Chen Wu's comments were to the point. Wang Jian's face turned red, and he wanted to refute, but he couldn't utter a word.

"Speaking of scripts!" Chen Wu said, "I don't know how the colleagues in the film module review scripts. What are the standards?"

"The screenwriters of "Charlotte's Troubles", Gu Jialan and Shen Lang, are both actresses. Gu Jialan is, yes, an actress with a great business sense, but do these two have anything to do with scripts? Does that mean that you can just pick someone off the street and give him a pen and he can write a script?"

“When did screenwriting become so cheap?”

Since Chen Wu has started firing, let him go completely.

"And the actor Shen Lang, a 40-year-old actor, is said to play a senior high school student in the movie?"

"Hahaha..." There was a burst of laughter in the conference room.

Chen Wu pointed at everyone and said, "Look, everyone has the same idea as me. Mr. Wang, when we choose actors, we focus on whether the actor is suitable for the script."

"Instead of the actor's fame as you just introduced! Do you understand?"

"Shen Lang, if he plays a gangster, a villain, or a eunuch, I think he'd be a good actor, but we spent 20 million to invest in this movie, and you, Mr. Wang, actually let him play a high school student in the movie?"

At this point, he loudly questioned Wang Jian: "Boss Wang, do you think that our company's money is all blown by the wind?"

(End of this chapter)