Chapter 128 Eating alone is not so delicious

Whether it is Zhou Chenggong or Wang Zhihang, if we really talk about ability, they have it, but it is not outstanding, just average.

Lin Yicheng is willing to use them mainly because of their positive attitude and loyalty.

Knowing that I am not capable enough, I am willing to work diligently without any ulterior motives.

Another aspect is character.

The master exploits the apprentice when he is not strong enough to gain benefits for himself. When the apprentice becomes strong enough, he will take precautions and suppress him, fearing that he will take his job.

When the apprentice is not famous, he pretends to be nice to his master and tries his best to drain his master's abilities and get his connections. After he becomes famous, he sets up his own business and turns his back on his master.

These are the norm in the circle and are not uncommon.

It is very rare in the circle that Zhou Chenggong and his apprentice have such a good relationship, which shows the character of both of them.

This kind of person will basically not betray you as long as you treat him well.

Wang Zhihang had made a serious mistake in the "Disguiser" crew before, causing losses to the company, and Lin Yicheng has already made relevant punishments.

Now the project of "Crazy Nightclub" is handed over to him, which is like giving him a blow and then giving him a sweet reward.

By the way, he further won over Zhou Chenggong, making him even more loyal to Lin Yicheng.

These are the so-called imperial mindsets, which should not be told to outsiders.

……

Lin Yicheng doesn't have to worry too much about the movie "Crazy Nightclub".

The word "nightclub" is a gimmick in itself. The good name played a big role in the success of this movie in its previous life.

The name alone can attract a large number of audiences who want to go to the cinema and give the film a good critical review.

Of course, it is normal for audiences with such purpose to curse after leaving the cinema.

You can't accuse them of selling dog meat under the guise of mutton, because what they meant was "convenience store at night" and the movie name is just an abbreviation.

I misunderstood, who can I blame?
This time, with the addition of the word "crazy", even those who have not seen "Crazy Stone" will probably be curious and want to go to the cinema to find out what "crazy" is.

……

What Lin Yicheng is thinking about now is how to allocate the investment for this movie.

Deep down in his heart, Lin Yicheng wanted to keep the profits all to himself. After all, this was a project that was bound to succeed, with high returns for zero investment.

But reality does not allow it.

Although Galaxy Film and Television Company has a cinema chain, it does not have the distribution capabilities. It is impossible for this film to be released only in the Galaxy Cinema Chain without making copies for other cinema chains.

So, China Film Group still has to be pulled in.

Now that China Film Group has taken action, does that mean Qingying will just not care?
Although Qingying Studio is of average strength, it can basically no longer bring any benefits or convenience to Lin Yicheng.

But we really can't just ignore them.

First of all, the head of Qingying is Xie Xiaojing, so he has to give face to the Buddha.

Furthermore, when Qingying was willing to invest in "Crazy Stone", it still took certain risks. Lin Yicheng has to continue this favor and cannot turn his back on it after getting upset.

Finally, Qingying is a subsidiary unit of Beijing Film Academy. As the "light of Beijing Film Academy", we naturally cannot forget our alma mater when there are benefits.

Especially in Lin Yicheng's current situation, it is no exaggeration to say that he is surrounded by enemies. He cannot afford to lose Beijing Film Academy, his base and basic base.

Otherwise, Lin Yicheng would not be able to find any helper even if he looked everywhere. Even if he was made of iron, he would not be able to withstand the attacks of a group of opponents.

Even though Beijing Film Academy has declined in the past few years, especially after the demise of the Big Three, it seems that that is the end of it.

But can you really look down on others?
This is one of the three major universities with many students all over the world. After decades of hard work, all kinds of visible and invisible personal connections have been interwoven into a dense network.

This net may not be able to trap someone to death, but it can certainly trap them for a while, preventing you from moving forward and forcing you to move backward.

In this case, Lin Yicheng needs to consider carefully how to allocate the investment shares between China Film and Qingying.

It is necessary to ensure that Xinghe Film and Television Company can obtain the maximum profit, and also to satisfy China Film and Qingying. At the very least, it is necessary to prevent them from feeling resentful and unhappy.

……

In the afternoon, Lin Yicheng came upstairs to Star Culture Communication.

There are two companies, one on the 8th floor and the other on the 10th floor, separated by only one floor.

There are currently more than a dozen artists under Star Culture Company. The top female artist is of course Yao Di, and the top male artist is Huang Bo.

In addition to them, there are Hai Qing and Huang Haibo, who also have high status in the company. However, these two people mainly focus on small-screen TV dramas, which has no conflict with Yao Di and Huang Bo, and their acting styles are also different.

The powerful actors of the Mesozoic era include Dong Shu and Yang Haoyu, the younger ones include Zu Feng, and the younger ones are Zhu Yawen and Luo Jin.

The rest, most of whom are graduates of the Beijing Film Academy, have no fame yet and can only play minor roles in some drama crews.

If we only look at the talent and fame of the artists, Star Culture is pretty good compared to other agencies in the industry and can be considered second tier.

However, the company's revenue is a bit lacking.

These people, one by one, either have low commercial value and cannot get any endorsement advertisements, and can only make money from film remuneration. Or they are a bit Buddhist, not very keen on commercial performances and so on, and do not make much.

The current atmosphere in the circle is still somewhat conservative. Many actors still value their reputation and are unwilling to show up too much and consume their popularity.

People like them have a simple idea that actors belong to the lower class and have a low social status, so they should not belittle themselves.

If the audience likes them, they can go and watch them on the big screen or the small screen. This is performing arts and it is not shameful.

But in their eyes, commercial performances and side gigs are just selling one's face or even body.

Zong Shuai also respects the artists' ideas and makes corresponding plans. He will not force the actors to do things they don't like.

Therefore, since its establishment, Star Culture has had a very good reputation in the circle and the atmosphere within the company is also very good. There is almost no situation where peers are enemies and colleagues are enemies as in other brokerage companies.

There are not many people in Star Culture Company today, only some clerks and office staff.

This is a normal situation. When actors go out to film, assistants, makeup artists and the like will follow them.

If an agency's employees are mostly present on weekdays, then there is a problem. It means that the company has no future and its artists are not popular.

"Hey, you're finally here. I thought you forgot that you are a shareholder of this company." As soon as they met, Zong Shuai couldn't help teasing Lin Yicheng.

"I don't know how to run a brokerage company. I am willing to invest because I believe in Brother Zong's ability."

The reason why Lin Yicheng invested in Star Culture was mainly for Zong Shuai's sake, and also because he could use some of the resources of Galaxy Film and Television Company, so as not to give them away for nothing to outsiders.

In this case, there is naturally no need to show up often to demonstrate your presence.

It is enough for people in the company to know that he is a shareholder and that he has a future here.

When doing business with others, you must grasp the proper degree of balance so that you can have long-term cooperation and avoid conflicts.

……

Besides, Lin Yicheng really doesn’t care about the income and dividends from Star Culture Company.

Last year, Star Culture Company's net income was less than three million, and Lin Yicheng received even less.

Today’s brokerage companies may seem prosperous, but their profitability is just so-so, and they lack influence more.

As far as Lin Yicheng knows, Wang Jinghua, who just switched to Orange Sky two years ago, earned commissions from artists that barely reached tens of millions last year.

He is the number one agent in the country, and the artists under him are either stars or big names.

This is how much she earns, not to mention other agencies.

If people outside the industry knew this, they would definitely be surprised: don’t celebrities make a lot of money? Why don’t their management companies make much money?

In fact, this is not difficult to understand.

Why are celebrities willing to sign with an agency? Because agencies can provide celebrities with a variety of services, solve many problems, and do many things that celebrities cannot do on their own.

In order to promote their celebrity artists, they need to pay media page charges, journalists' writing fees and travel expenses.

When celebrity artists under the company need to attend an event, they need clothing, jewelry, makeup, and vehicles, which is another expense.

In addition to these, there are some TV stations and some departments that cannot be offended. You have to show your appreciation and have personal connections. Which one doesn't cost money?

The star’s team is equipped with assistants, drivers, makeup artists, costume designers, etc., and the labor costs are not low.

This is at work, what about in life?

The agency has to provide various services to celebrities, which involve various expenses and it is impossible to calculate them specifically.

The more money an agency makes, the more it earns from the gross profit it gets from the stars; the actual net profit is not much.

No matter whether it is Hollywood or in China, brokerage companies have always been at the bottom of the film and television industry.

……

When Hollywood's CAA was at its peak, Michael Ovitz was touted as the "King of Hollywood".

In reality, CAA's market value is only a fraction of that of the "Big Seven".

Michael Ovitz himself met with the presidents and CEOs of the "Big Seven" and had to be careful to please them. In order to help his actors get roles, he even danced on the dining table.

Later, Disney extended an olive branch to him, and he immediately abandoned CAA, which he had founded, and went to work for others as president.

Wang Jinghua in China left Huayi and had to join Orange Sky, relying on the protection of a large company.

Without the resources provided by large companies, brokerage firms cannot develop.

After Wang Jinghua left Orange Sky again and founded Eighteen Brokerage Company, it went downhill within a few years.

These factors led to Lin Yicheng not paying much attention to Star Culture Company and not being in a hurry to set up Galaxy Film and Television Company's own agency department.

Of course, when the era of traffic comes, Lin Yicheng will not go against the trend and will still make the money he deserves.

If he doesn't make this money, someone else will.

Money is something that doesn't cost a fortune, so the more you have, the better.

(End of this chapter)