"The calculation is like this, but this TV series should not be judged solely on its short-term investment. We must consider its important position in the future history of television art!" Li Guoli said. "Such a position cannot be bought with any amount of money!"
"Perhaps. I'm not sure what benefits such a status for this TV series could bring to our Tangren Film and Television, but I do know that this TV series can bring great harm!" Huang He said indifferently.
"Harm? How is that possible? This TV series is so good, how could it be harmful?" Li Guoli said, utterly bewildered.
"Take a careful look at the plot of this TV series, and then think about the present. How would you feel?" Huang He retorted.
Li Guoli was dismissive at first, but the more he thought about it, the more terrified his expression became, until he felt his pores were about to stand on end.
"I personally like Stephen Chow's movies, and I also really like a line from his movies. Director Li, do you know which line it is?" Huang He asked again.
"I'm not sure..." Li Guoli shook his head vaguely.
"It's from 'Justice, My Foot!' When Bao Longxing's mother comes to rescue him with a sword of authority, she says a classic line. If I put it this way, Director Li should remember it now." Huang He said.
"'What? You use the sword of the former dynasty to punish the officials of the present dynasty!'" Li Guoli gasped, and his whole body went limp, as if his bones had been removed, slumping onto the chair.
"It seems Director Li has understood. If the former dynasty were the Ming Dynasty in the movie, then it would be fine. But using the sword of the Qing Dynasty is simply too foolish!"
"Moreover, I personally dislike this script very much. It reeks too much of washing powder, and it contains too much hidden agenda. There are a few rat droppings in it that are particularly disgusting. Zhang Li has taken the wrong path!" Huang He said indifferently. Li Guoli nodded, then shook his head, unable to say a word.
"Alright, let's not discuss this TV series anymore. Is there anything else that requires my investment?" Huang He asked again.
"There's nothing that requires investment, but there are a few scripts in the scriptwriting stage that I think are very good and that we want to produce as our own Tangren Film and Television productions. Please take a look, Chairman!" Li Guoli said, regaining some spirit.
"Okay, which ones are they?"
"The first one is 'Dandelion'. It's a script that was prepared earlier, and we planned to invite many Taiwanese..."
"No need to say more. We're not investing in this. Withdraw it!" Huang He interrupted Li Guoli's speech with a decisive refusal. In his previous life, Huang He had no recollection of such a TV series, nor had he ever heard of it. Therefore, this TV series was bound to be unpopular, and the investment would definitely be a loss.
"This... alright..." Li Guoli wanted to persuade him a few more times, but he ultimately gave up. In fact, he was quite optimistic about this TV series and felt it should have some selling points, but it wasn't to the point where he needed to argue with Huang He.
"Then there's 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'. There's nothing much to say, everyone has heard of the stories of Liaozhai." Li Guoli said.
"Does this TV series have any selling points?" Huang He asked. Huang He had heard of 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' in his previous life, which was much better than 'Dandelion'. However, the problem was that his impression was not deep, and it didn't seem to have generated much buzz in the film and television industry, so Huang He was a little hesitant.
"Yes, this TV series actually has no selling points because the stories of Liaozhai are well-known. But this is precisely the selling point of this type of TV series, which is the stories. The audience knows them and will be interested in watching them."
"Although some versions of 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' have been filmed in China before, those versions were all shot in a bizarre and eerie style. There's nothing wrong with shooting it this way, after all, Liaozhai is about ghosts. But such a TV series will scare away many viewers, and frankly, it doesn't look good when filmed."
"So this time, I plan to be innovative. The overall style of the TV series will be in the normal costume drama style... no, even leaning towards a youthful and vibrant costume drama style. At the same time, we will try to use young actors; they must be young handsome men and beautiful women, to create a 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' that is completely different from all previous styles, making it more attractive to the audience!"
"Moreover, Liaozhai is a unit drama. One TV series can accommodate 3 to 7 different stories, and each story requires a different cast. This way, it will be convenient for our company to train new talent, as most of our veteran actors have left, and we need new talent!" Li Guoli explained.
"Good, I approve!" Huang He nodded decisively after listening, which made Li Guoli breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that this Boss Huang was not ignorant, but made decisions based on his personal preferences. He could still listen to correct opinions.
Although Li Guoli still felt that 'Towards the Republic' was a TV series worth investing in.
"In addition, there is another script called 'Heavenly Sword Flying Fairy'. I think it is also very good and can enter the preparation stage!" Li Guoli said.
"'Heavenly Sword Flying Fairy'? Let me see!" Huang He pretended to look at the script for a while, then nodded in agreement.
As a joke, 'Heavenly Sword Flying Fairy' was quite popular in his previous life, and Huang He liked it very much, so he would not reject this TV series.
"Alright, that's about it for the TV series we are preparing this time. Now we will have plenty to do for the next two to three years!" Seeing that Huang He had agreed to another TV series, Li Guoli's face also showed a smile. This meeting had achieved most of his goals.
However, he did not expect Huang He to then say with a darkened face, "Is that all the scripts? Is there nothing else?"
"You still want scripts!" Li Guoli was startled. "Boss, that's about it. Each TV series takes a year to film. We currently have three TV series in preparation, which is enough for our plans for the next two to three years. We don't need any more scripts!"
"Three TV series? No, that's far too few!" Huang He shook his head. "In my plan, we will film 10 TV series within the next two to three years, and by 2008, we will become the strongest film and television cultural company in China. By 2020, we will become the strongest film and television cultural group in the world. Are a mere three TV series enough to satisfy Director Li?"
"Uh... hehe..." Director Li's expression was a little stiff. Although bosses liked to brag during this era, bragging also needed to be based on some facts. Boss Huang's bragging was a bit too much, and he didn't know how to respond.
Being the number one in China might be acceptable, but being the number one in the world was too far-fetched.
For someone like Director Li to brag along about becoming the world's number one film and television group, Director Li's skin was still too thin.
Of course, bragging was not the main problem. The real problem was how to achieve these boasts. Thus, Director Li could only say helplessly, "Chairman, it's no problem for you to want to film 10 TV series within two to three years, as long as you are willing to invest the money. However, if you require Tangren Film and Television to produce them ourselves, I'm afraid we won't be able to. We currently have a serious staff turnover. I am the only director left, and we have less than five contracted artists. In our current state, it's probably impossible for us to film so many film and television works."
"Hmm, if we are short of people, we can just recruit them!" Huang He said with a smile.
"This... Chairman... currently, industry peers do not fully understand our income reforms. It is not easy for us to recruit personnel in our current situation!" Director Li said helplessly.
"I am naturally aware of this situation, but most of those who refuse us should be some so-called big stars!" Huang He said with a slight smile. "As for true veteran artists, as long as their work is up to standard, I believe they will not be too concerned about remuneration!"
"Moreover, our income system is set for Tangren's internal members. For contracted actors who are not part of Tangren, we can still invite them with the previous fixed salary model. This should not be a problem, and we can invite those veteran artists!" Huang He said with a smile.
"Giving lower prices to our own people and higher prices to outsiders, is there such a thing in the world!" Chen Li muttered to herself after hearing this.
"Oh, that's incorrect!" Unexpectedly, Huang He's ears were very sharp, and he retorted directly. "Why would you say we give higher prices to outsiders and lower prices to our own people? According to the profit-sharing mechanism I set, as long as a TV series is successful and can make money, even if it's just breaking even, the income of the veteran artists, whether they are internal or external to the company, should be the same!"
"And if our works can make money, then the income of our internal employees will be higher than that of artists who receive fixed salaries. The better the quality of the work, the more money it makes. It is possible for our internal staff to earn several times more than outsiders. How can you say that we give higher prices to outsiders and lower prices to our own people?"
"Furthermore, the income from a TV series is not temporary. As long as it is filmed well, it will be replayed indefinitely, and the income can continue indefinitely. At the same time, TV series will have many peripheral revenues and some derivative income, which will continue to generate money in the future, and this money will also be distributed to our people proportionally and continuously."
"Of course, if they leave the company, this income will cease."
Huang He's rebuttal silenced Zhang Li, but it was evident that she was still somewhat unconvinced.
"I don't know why, but many people in the industry now assume that most TV series lose money. Yes, that is the reality, and most TV series do lose money, but this is an abnormal phenomenon."
"Under normal circumstances, it should be like in the 1990s, where everyone diligently produced a TV series, put their heart and soul into making the TV series the best they could, and then the TV series would more or less make a profit. This would be a healthy and upward-moving circle."
"Instead of everyone rushing into the film and television industry like now, without any intention of diligently creating works. They just keep inviting some so-called big stars for gimmick and publicity, resulting in more and more garbage being produced!" Huang He said indignantly.
In fact, in 2002, this problem was only starting to emerge and was not yet too serious. It only became truly bad after 2010, with the rise of so-called traffic stars, when the quality of works in the entire film and television industry became so poor that one didn't even know how to complain.
The entire circle had become completely distorted.