Compared with the original place, the area of the new studio has not only been expanded several times, but the layout is also far from the original office building. In order to build this "new home", Lu Chen also specially commissioned a well-known design company in Beijing to design it.
Renovation design and construction.
For the design fee alone, he paid half a million, which was considered a friendly price.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. The new studio, which has been renovated with a huge investment, has the style of an art company. It has an overall simple and bright decoration style with exquisite details.
Lu Chen finally had his own independent office, and had a private place to receive friends and guests.
As for the originally leased space, it has not been left vacant or sublet. Instead, it has become the office space of the Chenfei Charitable Foundation and is currently being renovated.
There is a guest in Lu Chen's office now.
The other person is in his forties, wearing a suit and tie, and looks elegant. His figure is slightly thin, his cheekbones are a bit high, his eyes are small, probably due to myopia, but he does not wear glasses, and he always narrows his eyes intentionally or unintentionally.
The atmosphere in the room was a bit dull. Lu Chen concentrated on looking at a contract document in his hand, and tapped his right index finger twice gently on the table, which somewhat revealed his inner emotions at the moment.
This middle-aged man in his forties is called Fang Jun. He is Fang Hui’s agent and the latter’s cousin.
The contract in Lu Chen's hands was brought over by Fang Jun.
The content of the contract is mainly about the treatment terms for Fang Hui, as the director, in Lu Chen's new drama.
"Blue Life and Death" was directed by Fang Hui. At that time, she signed a contract directly with Lu Chen Studio, so after the filming was completed, the studio paid her remuneration.
The cooperation between Lu Chen and Fang Hui was very pleasant, and the drama "Blue" was a hit, so later he and Filia Chen specially wrapped two big red envelopes as gifts.
Because the success of "Blue Life and Death" is largely due to Fang Hui. She has a strong grasp of the plot and appropriately expresses the artistic conception of the story. According to layman's terms, the filming is "beautiful".
Therefore, Lu Chen intended to hand over the new drama "Full House" to Fang Huilai to direct, and the cooperation was recognized.
But things are not that simple.
Fang Hui's agent brought Lu Chen a contract, which was a little too much, how should I put it?
In this contract, Fang Hui's director's salary was 20 times higher than when she was filming "Blue", reaching 5 million. In addition, she was entitled to a number of profit sharing, including part of the copyright sharing!
The salary alone was only 5 million, which Lu Chen could still accept. Fang Hui's salary for filming "Blue" was 250,000, which was not low considering her worth at the time, but there was no additional profit sharing.
To be honest, I owed her something, so I gave her a red envelope later. This is the way to behave.
Now that we are filming a new drama, it is inevitable to improve the director's salary.
In today's film and television industry, it is very common for big directors with high status to receive a share of the fixed salary. The specific contract terms involve specific situations. Top directors can earn tens of millions from making a blockbuster or a long drama.
are everywhere.
It is normal for Fang Hui to request a share.
But when it comes to copyright sharing, Lu Chen can't keep a normal mind.
He has always paid great attention to copyright. For example, he registered the copyright for his works as soon as possible. Now he still retains part of the copyright when selling songs to others. Things like "Blue Life" and "Full House" will definitely be popular.
For TV series, the copyright must be firmly in hand and cannot be coveted by others.
The benefits brought by IP are the greatest and long-lasting, and they can easily be exploited if shared.
So even though Lu Chen is preparing for a new drama, he has many partners, and they invest and share the profits from multiple parties, but when it comes to copyright, he has not let anyone loose. This is the golden hen that lays eggs!
Lu Chen couldn't help but feel strange. In his impression, Fang Hui was not the kind of greedy person. The salary she demanded was not outrageous and was in line with her worth, but it was a bit unbelievable to get involved in the copyright sharing.
Lu Chen's long silence made Fang Jun a little uneasy. He moved his butt and asked tentatively: "Teacher Lu, if you have any opinions or ideas about this contract, you can tell me now."
Lu Chen glanced at the other party calmly.
In the entertainment industry, it is very common for celebrities, including directors, to use relatives as their agents. For example, his own agent is his sister.
The biggest advantage of using a relative as your agent is peace of mind, as you usually don’t have to worry about being betrayed or stabbed in the back.
Fang Hui accepted Lu Chen's invitation and was willing to continue directing his new drama. It was normal for her agent to come forward and negotiate with him about his salary. There was no problem of losing face between the two of us.
But that's not without problems.
He thought for a while and said: "Originally, our manager is negotiating all contract matters in our studio, but my sister happened to be out today."
Lu Chen changed the topic and said: "I have read this contract. Everything else can be discussed. But the copyright aspect is probably not negotiable, and I feel that the share ratio you are asking for is too high!"
Lu Chen said the last few words categorically and with unwavering determination.
This is the advantage of facing the agent, otherwise if it were Fang Huiben, some things would be difficult to say.
Fang Jun's face changed, and he immediately smiled and said: "This can all be discussed. The copyright issue can be put aside for now, but we can actually invest in the share ratio."
Injecting capital means asking for more. Lu Chen’s new drama is not short of investment at all!
Lu Chen immediately understood that the copyright request put forward by the other party was just a cover, and the real purpose was to split into this piece, and his appetite was quite big.
He suspected that this was most likely Fang Jun's own idea.
It is not uncommon for the managers of celebrity artists to make their own decisions and speak loudly when negotiating contracts.
Even Fang Hui may not know.
Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then shook his head, put the contract on the table and pushed it back to Fang Jun.
This is what rejection means!
Fang Jun obviously didn't expect Lu Chen's attitude to be so tough and his refusal to be so firm. He thought there would be a quarrel, but in the end, Lu Chen didn't give him a chance to use his eloquence at all.
This made Fang Jun somewhat angry.
He came prepared today. Not only did he prepare the contract carefully, but he also specifically inquired about Lu Xi's absence, so he chose to interview Lu Chen in an attempt to open a gap with Lu Chen.
Lu Chen was young, had a good relationship with Fang Hui, and had a good reputation in the industry, so Fang Jun wanted to use his ability to convince him and get the best contract.
However, Lu Chen was far more difficult to deal with than he thought.
He couldn't help but said: "Teacher Lu, our Fang Hui invites many people now, and the treatment is not low."
Fang Jun is not just talking nonsense, "Blue Life and Death" has successfully made a group of newcomers famous, and also promoted Fang Hui, who was only slightly famous in the industry, to the position of a first-line TV drama director.
Around the Chinese New Year, many film and television companies approached Fang Hui and invited her to shoot TV series of the same type.
The asking prices are quite high!
Otherwise, how could Fang Jun have the confidence to come up with such a contract?
Lu Chen smiled lightly and said, "Mr. Fang, Sister Fang Hui and I are friends. We talk about business. I think she can understand. And I also hope that her career will get better and better."
As he said this, Lu Chen also sighed secretly in his heart.
Originally, these words should have been most appropriate for Lu Xi to say, as the manager often acted in a negative light.
There were just some words that Lu Chen didn't feel comfortable saying.
In fact, before Fang Jun, Lu Xi rejected several contracts on behalf of Lu Chen Studio, including Zhang Liwei and Hu Yang, two newcomers who became very popular because of the drama "Blue".
Both wanted to play roles in Lu Chen's new drama, but their agents' demands were very high.
If Lu Chen Studio meets all their demands, the budget for the new drama will definitely exceed the budget.
Zhang Liwei and Hu Yang are also sincere, but their current net worth is far from what it was when they were filming "Blue". Their agents ask for first-line treatment. In addition to the salary, there are also things such as going out to shoot.
There are specific conditions for food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc.
Zhang Liwei and Hu Yang may be willing to lower their remuneration, but if the corresponding treatment is not enough, they will be laughed at.
Moreover, the two of them currently have film appointments and many endorsements.
So after contact, Lu Chen gave up on the original cast members. "Full House" is a new drama, not a sequel to "Blue Life and Death". There are so many artists who want roles, and there is a lot of room for choice.
big.
The same goes for Fang Hui, she is not irreplaceable.
After Lu Chen's talk reached this point, Fang Jun couldn't continue the conversation even if he wanted to. He could only put away the contract angrily and tried to save it for the last time: "Teacher Lu, actually..."
Lu Chen waved his hand and interrupted him: "You can make an appointment with our manager to talk."
Although that is said, Lu Chen has actually given up the idea of letting Fang Hui continue to direct. There are many directors in the industry who can produce similar works, and there are also many choices.
Fang Jun left very unwillingly.
Lu Chen became more and more certain that this contract was drawn up on his own initiative and was not approved by Fang Hui.
But so what? Lu Chen can't just call Fang Hui to complain, right?
If he really did that, he would be too immature.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen called Sister Li.
To be honest, he was a little depressed in his heart. No wonder others said that the entertainment industry is too complicated. Many things are not always what you want, and people's hearts can also change.
In this circle, there are really not many people who can always stick to their true intentions. ——
The first update is here, please subscribe and support!!! (To be continued.)