Chapter 248 Where is the Gap

Unlike the rainy February, the weather in Beijing in March is sunny and spring is in the air.

A breeze carrying the gentle scent of the south blew into this ancient city, gently brushing the fresh green willow branches on both sides of Chang'an Avenue.

On March 5th, the day of the Waking of Insects, the atmosphere in the spacious and bright conference room of Tengda Culture in the Zhongao Building was a little serious and depressing.

Senior representatives from the three major film and television companies, Huaying Group, Emperor Entertainment, and Tengda Culture, as well as the famous director Jiang Wen, sat on both sides of the long table, with stacks of detailed investment analysis and budget reports in front of them.

The investment negotiations surrounding the movie "Let the Bullets Fly" have lasted for several hours, and Jiang Wen sat there, feeling helpless.

Even though he is a well-known director in the industry, and even though he has an extremely strong personality, he has to compromise in the face of the joint pressure from the three giant companies in the industry.

He sighed softly: "130 million is 130 million!"

Zhang Zhao smiled when he heard this, and couldn't help but look at Emperor Entertainment CEO Leah Yabo and Huaying Group Vice Chairman Jiao Hongfeng.

After several hours of tug-of-war, the three companies joined hands and finally got Jiang Wen to agree.

As soon as Jiang Wen made a concession, the four parties quickly reached a consensus agreement: the total investment amount for the movie "Let the Bullets Fly" was 130 million yuan.

Tengda Culture invested 65 million yuan to lead the investment with a 50% share, while Huaying and Emperor Entertainment Group each invested 25%. Tengda Culture and Huaying will jointly distribute the film in mainland China, while Emperor Entertainment Group will be responsible for the promotion and distribution in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

After Jiang Wen signed the letter of intent, Jiao Hongfeng clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Director Jiang, we have joined forces this time. I believe that Let the Bullets Fly will definitely become a classic."

Jiang Wen narrowed his eyes and glanced at the three investors. This group of shrewd guys had forced 20 million yuan out of his budget.

Fortunately, Jiang is no pushover. The original budget was made very generous to leave some room, so if he was frugal with the 130 million yuan, he could finish the movie.

This was the first time that Tengda Culture had invested such a large amount of money. Zhang Zhao was very excited and nervous, as success or failure depended on this one move.

But after all, 65 million real money was invested, so it is inevitable that there are some concerns and worries: "Director Jiang, I'm leaving Let the Bullets Fly in your hands. If there are any needs, as long as Tengda can do it, we will fully support it."

After all, he was the financial sponsor, so Jiang Wen was not vague and immediately gave a guarantee, reassuring Zhang Zhao: "Mr. Zhang is straightforward! Please rest assured, I have always been professional in making movies and will not let investors down."

Zhang Zhao nodded slightly. Adhering to the principle of trusting people when employing them, since he had made up his mind to invest in the project of "Let the Bullets Fly", he had to believe in Jiang Wen's ability.

"Boss Jiao, Boss Li, Director Jiang, it's time to have a meal together. I will show my hospitality as a host."

"Mr. Zhang is spending money, and I would be disrespectful to refuse it." When Li Yabo heard the invitation, he was overjoyed. He couldn't ask for more.

Before going north this time, Boss Yang specifically explained that since it was a rare opportunity to cooperate with Tengda Culture, we must establish a relationship with the largest giant in the Beijing circle and maintain a good cooperative relationship between the two parties.

Jiao Hongfeng also readily accepted the offer, and Jiang Wen could not refuse. When a big money sponsor invited him to dinner, how could he not attend? For a moment, both the host and the guests were happy, and the atmosphere in the meeting room became harmonious.

At this time, in the artist director's office, Wang Luodan sat opposite his agent Zeng Jia, with his fingers raised, looking at his newly done manicure, and asked casually:

"Jia Jie, I heard that Jiang Wen and people from Huaying and Emperor Entertainment Group came to the company today. The company is going to invest more than 100 million in a big production?"

Zeng Jia was dressed in a smart white suit, looking energetic, looking down at the documents: "Yes, we should have finished the discussion by now."

Wang Luodan leaned forward slightly, his eyes full of anticipation, and asked eagerly: "Sister Jia, for such a large production, is there a suitable role for me?"

"Don't count on this movie. Jiang Wen is the director and the star, with Chow Yun-fa and Ge You as the lead actors. It's definitely a male lead role, and Qiao Zhengyu only plays a small supporting role. There's no role suitable for you."

Wang Luodan was disappointed: "That's such a pity."

Zeng Jia closed the document in his hand and handed it to Wang Luodan: "This is the list of scripts we received recently. The company has already screened them for you.

The remaining scripts are all of decent quality, and the roles are very close to your personality and temperament. You can pick from them and choose the one you are interested in as your next play. "

"Sister Jia, I've been working overtime on the crew throughout the New Year. I'm too tired recently and want to recuperate for a while." Although Wang Luodan refused, she still subconsciously reached out and took the document honestly.

"There's no rush for a new drama, just choose it carefully. Your main task in the near future is to cooperate with Xin Baoyuan to promote "Who's in Charge of My Youth". If the ratings of this drama can continue the glory of "Struggle", you can secure a first-tier position."

Zeng Jia's eyes were burning with excitement. Now Wang Luodan was only one step away from being promoted to the first-tier. If he succeeded in ascending to the top, she would then have two ace artists under her.

In this way, she is considered an extremely successful agent in the circle. Even though she is backed by Tengda Culture, no one can deny her contribution to artist training and career planning.

Regarding the key node of his career development, Wang Luodan nodded solemnly: "I value "Who's in Charge of My Youth" more than anyone else!"

Zeng Jia was very satisfied with Wang Luodan's attitude and said no more. He knew in his heart that no artist would not value his or her acting career.

"Jia Jie!" Wang Luodan's expression suddenly became extremely serious. "The Weibo selection of the Four Little Flowers is very grand. Can the company guarantee that I will be selected? If I am selected as one of the new Four Little Flowers, it will be a huge boost to my status and fame."

On March 1, the Weibo platform teamed up with major mainstream media in the entertainment industry to comprehensively consider multiple indicators such as popularity, influence, quality of works, and level of activity.

Based on the weighted formula of media votes*30% plus netizens' votes*70%, the "Post-80s New Generation Entertainment Superstars" event was held to select the new four little beauties and the new four little fresh meat.

As of last night, Wang Luodan's results in this Weibo poll made her feel uneasy. In terms of media votes, she ranked only fifth, and in netizens' votes, she ranked fourth. In the overall ranking, she temporarily ranked fourth.

But the number of votes from Huang Shengyi, who was behind her, was very close to her and she might overtake her at any time. This made Wang Luodan very anxious and felt under great pressure. She urgently hoped that the company could give her support and help her get to the top.

"Why are you in such a hurry? The voting period is 20 days and today is only the fifth day. Besides, you are in the leading position. What do you have to worry about?" Zeng Jia looked calm and felt that Wang Luodan was a little too worried.

It would be fine if she didn't have enough experience, but Wang Luodan has starred in hit dramas such as "Struggle" and "Stewardess" in the past two years, and her popularity is not low now. As long as the election is fair, she is definitely qualified to be elected as one of the new four little beauties.

Moreover, Tengda Group is the organizer of this event. I think all media people will give the group some face. In terms of media voting, it is highly likely that Wang Luodan will be guaranteed to be among the top four.

Thinking of this, Zeng Jia opened her Weibo homepage and checked the latest voting rankings. The latest situation was just as she had guessed.

"Congratulations, you've made it into the top four in the media vote, and are gradually widening the gap with Huang Shengyi who's behind you. As long as you keep up the momentum, it won't be a problem for you to be selected."

When Wang Luodan heard the good news, he breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on his face.

However, I still didn't completely relax. I was thinking about finding some connections to help me canvass votes. After all, I couldn't take it lightly until the last moment.

After comforting his artists, Zeng Jia started to check the rankings carefully.

In the ranking of the four young actresses, Liu Yifei was far ahead in votes and ranked first, followed by Liu Shishi and Yang Mi in second and third place respectively.

The voting session has only just begun on the fifth day, but the votes of these three have already clearly opened up a gap with those behind them. If nothing unexpected happens, it is basically a foregone conclusion that these three will be selected as the new four little beauties.

The following few, such as Wang Luodan, Huang Shengyi, Lu Yi, Sun Li, etc., are also outstanding among the new female stars. Each of them has had one or even several works that went viral. Their strength should not be underestimated. They are competing for the last spot.

Wang Luodan seemed to know that Zeng Jia was looking at the rankings. He actually had an idea of ​​the top three, but he couldn't help but ask again: "There is no change in the top three, right?"

"What do you think?"

Wang Luodan curled his lips, expressing his dissatisfaction with one of them: "What's so great about being a resourceful person?"

At the beginning of the selection, she was ambitious and wanted to compete with Liu Shishi, but unfortunately reality gave her a heavy blow, and the number of votes for Tangren's No. 1 Sister left her far behind.

"Sister Jia, I think my performance in recent years is not inferior to Liu Shishi at all. Why is there such a big gap between my votes and hers?" Wang Luodan asked with a puzzled look on her face.

Zeng Jia heard this, supported his chin with both hands, and thought seriously. Now that he thought about it carefully, Wang Luodan's performance was definitely not inferior to Liu Shishi.

From her early starring roles in the Youth Trilogy and the Zhenhua Trilogy, to the hits "Struggle" and "Living with the Air Hostess", the ratings of each work can be said to be very good.

In addition, Wang Luodan is the spokesperson for five brands, which puts her in the first tier among the new generation of girls.

Seeing that the agent fell into deep thought, Wang Luodan did not urge him. She also urgently wanted to know where the gap between herself and Liu Shishi lay.

She thought that she was not inferior to him in terms of work performance, business ability, and number of fans. The difference in votes between the two should not be so big.

"It's the image! Or the public's impression of her!" Zeng Jia suddenly exclaimed, and he felt as if everything had suddenly become clear and enlightened.

Wang Luodan hurriedly asked, "Sister Jia, what do you mean? Tell me quickly."

Zeng Jia pondered for a moment, sorted out his thoughts in his mind, and then told him the key point he had just figured out: "Luo Dan, what is your impression of Liu Shishi? Don't be angry, speak objectively and fairly."

Wang Luodan frowned slightly, raised his head, thought seriously for a while, and then slowly spoke: "She is as quiet as a chrysanthemum, with good temperament and good manners."

Although she was very unconvinced in her heart, she had to admit that Liu Shishi's demeanor was the ceiling of the entertainment industry.

Every time she attends an event, she has an elegant posture and outstanding temperament. The unique charm that radiates from the inside out is truly eye-catching.

"This is the image she has shown to the world for a long time! This is the inherent impression she has formed on you!

Think about it carefully. You are a big star and a popular young actress. If you have this opinion about Liu Shishi, how do you think ordinary netizens will view her? "

Zeng Jia paused slightly and further elaborated: “I now understand that in the entertainment industry, pure beauty is not uncommon, and the audience often thinks it is natural for female stars to be good-looking.

Although Liu Shishi is pretty and gentle, she does not have an absolute advantage in appearance compared to other actresses. Therefore, Tangren Film and Television has taken a different approach in recent years, promoting and hyping her unique temperament, demeanor and other characteristics.

Over time, netizens naturally formed the impression that she was as calm as a chrysanthemum, not competitive, and elegant. This good impression not only improved her reputation, but also accumulated considerable popularity for her.

So even if the two of you have similar performances in film and television works, her votes are far ahead because many passers-by voted for her.

Even Liu Yifei is like this. The titles of "Sister Fairy" and "Heavenly Fairy" also leave a positive impression on the public. "

Zeng Jia's eyes were extremely bright at this moment. He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his thoughts became clearer, as if his concepts and methods of cultivating artists had been qualitatively sublimated in an instant.

I secretly admire him in my heart. Tangren Film and Television is worthy of being the leader in costume dramas, and Cai Yinong is indeed unique in cultivating artists.

Take Liu Shishi and Hu Ge for example, one is one of the four young actresses, and the other is among the four young actors. Tangren Film and Television each took one seat in both selections, and was in the limelight at the time, almost on par with Tengda Culture. This time it really made a big splash in the circle.

Wang Luodan listened to Zeng Jia's analysis, thinking deeply, and he vaguely understood the deep meaning in his heart. The image that a star shows in the spotlight and in front of the outside world is often completely different from his true state in private.

Although she was not sure what Liu Shishi was like in private, after Zeng Jia's advice, she realized that she was indeed elegant and graceful in front of the camera, and she brought her strengths to the fullest.

It is the wise to learn from others' strengths and make up for one's weaknesses. Although Wang Luodan cannot be called a wise man, she is not a mediocre person either. She immediately seized this opportunity and humbly asked: "Sister Jia, what kind of distinctive image do you think I should establish?"

Zeng Jia was immediately stumped by the question and had no good ideas for a while. The image displayed by Liu Shishi and Liu Yifei was obviously carefully crafted to suit their own advantages, and it was not something that could be explained in a few words.

I have no idea for now, so I can only deal with it: "Look at you, you are anxious again! Let me think about it carefully. Image is also a double-edged sword. Once the audience's opinion of you is fixed, it will be difficult to change it in the future.

So don't rush it. You, go back and think about your own advantages, and we will discuss this topic next time."

"Sister Jia, I'll go back first." Wang Luodan nodded. She was indeed too impatient just now. After saying that, she stood up and said goodbye.

Zeng Jia looked at Wang Luodan's departing back and had no idea about her image, but he had some ideas about another person who was about to join her team, Yang Mi. He felt that the character of "Desperate Sanniang" was very suitable for her!

(End of this chapter)