Chapter 98 Senior Brother, please take me!
In the noisy restaurant, Meng Bai pushed the dish he had just served to Zhu Xudan, and recommended: "Qingpu wild rice stem fried eel shreds, a classic local dish, try it."
Zhu Xudan carefully picked up two eel shreds, and the slightly curved fish meat trembled slightly with the movement of chopsticks. Put it in your mouth and taste it carefully, the fresh taste mixed with the fragrance of chopped green onion and garlic exploded on the tip of your tongue. The softness of the eel and the crispness of the wild rice stem make people happy when eating.
"This dish is delicious." Zhu Xudan praised with bright eyes, and looked at the customers who were still queuing in the corridor outside the store: "No wonder so many people come."
"Renhe Restaurant, a time-honored local restaurant in Shanghai. If we hadn't come early, we would have to queue up now." Meng Bai said while eating: "A friend recommended it to me before, but I haven't made time. Fortunately, you came today."
Meng Bai thought to himself that when there is a chance, he can bring Teacher Li to try it. The girl seems to have always been dissatisfied with his and Zhang Ruoyun's choice of eating mutton hotpot last time.
But it's troublesome to go out to eat with her. After all, she is a second-tier celebrity. No matter how she dresses, she will be recognized. Unlike her cheap junior sister, she is dressed simply and doesn't even need to wear a hat.
Tsk, I feel a little sad for her as I talk.
The two of them ate for a while, and when the dishes were almost ready, Meng Bai finally got down to business: "You said you came here today, did you have something to talk to me about?"
Zhu Xudan put down her chopsticks, propped her arms in front of her, leaned towards Meng Bai and said: "My contract with Leshi.com will end next year. Recently, the company asked me about the renewal. I am a little unsure, so I want to ask you to help me with some advice."
Leshi.com once held an online talent show called "I'm Crazy for School Beauty" in 2012. At that time, Zhu Xudan participated in the program as the "school beauty of the Central Academy of Drama". She was quite popular in the program at that time, so after the show ended, she signed a contract with Leshi.com with several other girls who participated in the program.
Unfortunately, signing a contract is a signing, but Leshi.com is a video website, and basically has no experience and personnel in artist management, so none of the girls who signed the contract ended up with a name.
In comparison, Zhu Xudan is considered good, at least she graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, so she also played some small supporting roles in several small online dramas or promotional dramas, but it was not considered a big development.
Over the years, the biggest help that Leshi.com gave her was probably recommending her to audition for a role when "Pendulum" was being filmed, and she got to know Meng Bai again through this opportunity.
Relying on the friendship they had when they were in school, Meng Bai also took this little junior sister with him, and she really had some career development.
Seeing that the three-year contract she signed was about to expire, and that several film and television agencies had contacted her recently, Zhu Xudan was a little undecided.
After thinking about it, the person she knew who was most likely to provide help or advice was her "Senior Brother Meng Bai". It happened that she asked her bestie to come to film this time, so she followed along.
"You are here to ask me, your senior brother, for career advice." Meng Bai smiled and said, "Then you have to treat me to a meal."
"No problem, I should have treated my senior brother." Zhu Xudan said without hesitation, and her straightforward attitude was still very satisfying.
It's not that she is short of this little money, but since she is looking for someone to help, she still has to have a good attitude.
"From your own honest opinion, do you want to renew the contract?" Meng Bai did not rush to answer, but asked first.
Zhu Xudan shook her head. She was completely unknown in Leshi.com. She did not even have a proper agent. She had almost all the resources she had earned by herself, and she had no feelings for the company.
She thought Meng Bai would persuade her to wait and see now that they were cooperating with Leshi.com, but he agreed without hesitation: "It is right not to renew the contract. Leshi's current development strategy mainly relies on already famous stars, and there is no plan to train new people. You continue to stay here, except for wasting time. There is no use."
It is precisely because of the many cooperations that Meng Bai has a deep understanding of Leshi.com's various development plans. Whether it is Leshi.com or Leshi Pictures, they are now taking the path of capital operation. The only demand for artists is their popularity and popularity, and there is no plan to train them independently.
"You just said that other brokerage companies have contacted you?" Meng Bai asked.
"Yes." Zhu Xudan nodded: "Jiaxing Media contacted me before and asked me if I had any plans to sign a contract after the contract expires."
"Jiaxing Media?"
"It's Senior Yang Mi's company." Zhu Xudan introduced.
"Oh, that company."
Meng Bai really knew about this company. It was Li Qin who introduced it to him.
It's not quite accurate to say that it's Yang Mi's company. She's just a partner with more than 10% of the shares. The real bosses are the two agents she has worked with for many years.
"Isn't that good?" Meng Bai said, "I remember that this company seemed to have been established only last year. There don't seem to be many artists except Yang Mi herself. If you sign it now, although there are no top resources, with Yang Mi's popularity and popularity, it's no problem to guide newcomers."
Many big-name stars will slowly start to guide newcomers after they have been in the industry for a long time. The most direct way is to be the leading actor yourself, and then ask the crew to give you a supporting role or something. Generally, the investors will not refuse it for the sake of the star's face.
"It's really good, but the contract period they asked for is too long." Zhu Xudan said embarrassedly, "One contract is twelve years."
Meng Bai raised his eyebrows. Wow, the golden period of actresses is only that long, and it's almost as long as the buyout system.
Zhu Xudan was born in 1992. After twelve years, he will be exactly 35 years old, which is about the same as the employment period of a programmer.
But think about it, the contract period of actors is generally quite long, ranging from seven or eight years to fifteen years. This is to prevent artists from flying away before they have made money for two years after they have finally become popular.
Meng Bai sighed again in his heart, fortunately he did not choose to be an actor back then.
Judging from the popularity and development of Jiaxing Media, even a twelve-year contract is a very worthwhile opportunity for newcomers like Zhu Xudan.
If he didn't know Meng Bai, Zhu Xudan would definitely agree without thinking. But now...
Zhu Xudan leaned forward, raised his head, looked at Meng Bai with shining eyes, and said expectantly: "Senior brother, why don't you take me!"
"..."
Meng Bai's breathing stagnated, and for a moment he even felt as if he had traveled through time to a rural period drama.
After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly: "If I were your dialogue teacher, I would punch you to death. Next time you say this, put the logical emphasis on 'you', not on 'want', these are two different meanings."
Zhu Xudan held up her face, tilted her head slightly and looked at Meng Bai and said: "But, senior brother, I meant both?"
"Wow, I treat you as my junior sister, but you actually support me." Meng Bai said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "Do you remember what I said to you before? I, your senior brother, am not a good person either. Next time you make such a joke, I will..."
"Senior brother, what can you do to me?" Zhu Xudan said provocatively.
"Little girl, it's just that my shooting schedule is too urgent and I can't make time, otherwise I will make you skip tomorrow's daytime and watch the moon directly."
These words were too "domineering", even though Zhu Xudan was not a child anymore, he couldn't help blushing.
Successfully suppressing the girl's "arrogance", Meng Bai calmed down and said seriously: "I don't mind if you want to sign me. But I have to remind you that Arclight Film and Television is only a small production company now. It has no artist management business and no professional management team. It is not much better than Leshi.com." "
But Arclight has its own film and television resources. Isn't this a good advantage?" Zhu Xudan asked.
Meng Bai shook his head and said: "Although I don't know much about artist management, I know that only film and television resources are definitely not enough. And then again, Arclight's drama may not have a role suitable for you in every drama. If you are not selected for the next drama, what should I do? Wait for another one, or go out and find it yourself? Or are you willing to play the supporting role after playing the heroine?"
Zhu Xudan was stunned. Indeed, she really ignored this problem. Arclight Film and Television's film and television production planning must have a certain idea, and it is impossible to accommodate her.
And think about it again, the next few dramas currently announced by Arclight Film and Television are also suspense themes. This kind of dramas are almost always about male protagonists, while the female protagonists and other female characters are often just tools, so the upper limit of the popularity of the actors is there.
"But, Senior Brother," Zhu Xudan asked, "Do you always have to use other actors in your future dramas?"
(End of this chapter)
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