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Chapter 570: Chapter 477: Film Company (Please Subscribe!)_1
It hadn’t been long since I last parted ways with Pan Yue. The Deputy Mayor of Shanghai market wouldn’t be replaced so quickly, I’d thought.
"Brother Shen, you know Pan Yue, don’t you." Tang Qing asked straightforwardly.
Shen Yi was taken aback, then upon recalling Pan Yue, he nodded with a surprised look on his face, "Yes, I do. He’s my childhood friend and schoolmate. We’ve always had a good relationship. We even had drinks together at the beginning of this month. Why, do you know him too?"
Tang Qing nodded in response, "Indeed, we all know Pan Yue. If you think about it, Pan Yue is Feng Sen’s cousin-in-law, his cousin is my god-sister. We are indeed connected."
Upon hearing this.
Shen Yi was overjoyed, things would be much easier if everyone knew each other.
His impression of Tang Qing and the others increased greatly. Pan Yue had always been one of his true friends. Now, he found out that Pan Yue was their cousin-in-law, Shen Yi felt as if he was looking at his younger generation, his gaze becoming warmer.
He also knew Dou Jiao of course, and was somewhat curious about Tang Qing’s connection with the Dou family and Chai Ren.
Chai Ren, on the other hand, was surprised to find out about their relation, "Young Brother Tang, I had no idea you guys had this connection. That’s great, we are all family now. Here, let’s drink to it!"
Chai Ren finished speaking.
Everyone toasted to this, it wasn’t Baijiu liquor after all, so they could drink it freely.
The atmosphere became harmonious as the meal started. Everyone had a common intimate acquaintance, and that meant they were family. For the average person, such ties might not be very firm, but at their level, these ties represented resources because they were all in the same social stratum.
If the levels were different, even if they were relatives, equal exchanges would not be so common.
After the meal.
Everyone was already quite familiar with each other, they started addressing each other casually. Shen Yi had been called over from Shanghai by Chai Ren with a single phone call, although he was a bit resentful before, he dared not say anything. When Chai Ren introduced his friends, he naturally had to be more careful.
Now that they were all familiar, Shen Yi’s discontent had completely vanished.
After the meal.
Miao Ru took Lin Jiaxue upstairs, the men’s conversation was not as vulgar but was equally boring. Feng Sen and Li Kai left as well, on Chai Ren’s suggestion, they immediately realized that Chai Ren wanted a word with Tang.
After the four of them left.
Only three remained.
Chai Ren suddenly became serious and said to Shen Yi, "Shen Yi, there were too many people earlier so I didn’t introduce him properly. Now that it’s just the three of us, let me give you a formal introduction. Young Brother Tang is not just a regular freshman, he has nearly one billion RMB in assets, he is quite a local tycoon.
Young Brother Tang, in the future, if you have any problems in Shanghai, you can just find him. Shen Yi is quite a good person, he’s not a prodigal son, and he’s very measured in his work. Do you know what he’s doing right now?"
In the end, Chai Ren asked a question, ignoring Shen Yi, who was standing next to him, dumbfounded.
Tang Qing cooperated and asked curiously, "What work? In politics or business?"
Chai Ren shook his head and laughed.
"No, he’s a deputy manager in a department of a private enterprise in Shanghai. Nobody in the company knows his real identity."
Tang Qing was really surprised now.
This didn’t make sense.
You have a deputy mayor dad, you don’t go into politics, you don’t start your own business, you don’t go to a large state-owned enterprise to accumulate experience and make easy money. Instead, you’re hopping around in a private enterprise, does your dad even know?
"Brother Shen, what were you thinking?" Tang Qing turned to ask Shen Yi, who was just coming back to his senses.
Shen Yi, of course, had been asked this question many times before. He chuckled and said, "When I graduated from postgraduate, I insisted on proving myself to my family, so I worked at this company for a few years. Honestly, it’s exhausting. Not physically, but mentally. If one day I became unemployed, I would have to ask Young Master Chai and Brother Tang for a meal."
Of course, Tang Qing didn’t believe Shen Yi’s words.
The son of a deputy minister rank official would be short of food?
Don’t joke around.
"What does Brother Shen’s current company do?" Tang Qing asked.
Shen Yi shook his head and said, "Ah, it’s just a film production company, Tangren Film Production. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but I’m the deputy manager of the planning department there."
Being a deputy manager was hardly proof that he had proven himself.
He didn’t even have the nerve to go back to his father’s side now. Once he did, his dad would start ’turning over old accounts’, and he would be scolded and had to retreat in shame. With such a stubborn father, Shen Yi was also extremely troubled.
"It seems to be quite a large film company." Tang Qing murmured thoughtfully.
"It’s not small, but working there for so long, although I knew the entertainment circle was a bit chaotic, I didn’t think it would be so messy. What I heard, what I saw... it all left me feeling quite uninspired. No wonder my father constantly belittled me. I’ve decided that I’ll quit next month and find another job. This job is not interesting at all." Shen Yi lamented.
When he heard that Shen Yi was planning to jump ship, Tang Qing’s eyes lit up as he asked, "Brother Shen, do you like movies?"
Shen Yi was taken aback and nodded, "I do. If it wasn’t for my unrelated major, I would certainly have gone into filmmaking. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have applied to Tangren Film."
"Well, Brother Shen, would you be interested in working for me?" Tang Qing smiled, revealing his fox-like cunning.
His plan for a movie company had long been in place, with plans to establish one in Shanghai within the year. The main problem was finding the right people. However, looking at these two, Tang Qing got an idea.
The process of making a movie from scratch involves many steps and passing through many obstacles to secure broadcasting rights. With the limited number of screens domestically and limited screening resources, it wouldn’t make sense to invest without securing a good time slot and schedule.
These are resources.
Shen Yi and Chai Ren are the ones who can obtain such ’resources’, saving Tang Qing a lot of trouble.
"Little brother Tang, you’re planning to invest in making movies?" Chai Ren asked in astonishment, struggling to keep up. Thinking about it, Tang Qing really does have the money for such an endeavor.
Fuckin’ hell.
With monthly dividends of three hundred million RMB, what Tang Qing earns in a year is more than the total nationwide box office income of the previous year. Are you sure you’re not here to lose money? You could earn the money of an entire country’s box office market just lying there.
Tang Qing nodded, "Yes, I have such a plan."
"Tang, have you carefully considered this? Domestic movies aren’t making much money at the moment. This investment carries considerable risk," reminded Chai Ren; current investment in domestic films is indeed a gamble.
Shen Yi agreed with Chai Ren’s words. Risk and opportunity are interchangeable concepts. For a super-rich local tycoon like Tang Qing with assets close to one billion RMB, investing in film for profit is absolutely a bad move.
With this strength, there are so many more places where money can be made.
Why muddle through this mess?
Tang Qing waved his hands: "It’s alright. Besides, who said I only want to make films for domestic release? If that were the case, I wouldn’t invest a penny. The actual goal is to make films that can break into the international film market. The pool of domestic films is too small and simply can’t stand much wrangling."
Upon hearing Tang Qing’s ambition, Chai Ren was momentarily at a loss for words.
Tang Qing’s intent was very clear.
He has no interest in investing in movies made specifically for the domestic market. If it can’t be shown abroad, Tang Qing won’t make it.
"Little brother Tang, this will be quite challenging. Do you have specific plans?" thought Chai Ren, better to ask for clarification first.
"Here’s what I’m thinking. I plan to establish a film company dedicated to producing films capable of breaking into the international market, starting with science fiction films and gradually delving into other genres. The primary aim is to show the world our Chinese culture, our ideas, and our technology, asserting their position as world-class. Why should foreign films earn money in our country, while we also need to return the favor?" Tang Qing spoke with fervor.
Of course.
The two men in front of him were no longer teens, they were quickly approaching middle-age. They couldn’t possibly be hoodwinked by Tang Qing so easily.
Chai Ren said gravely:
"Little brother Tang, I understand your enthusiasm, and I agree with your viewpoint. But here are several realistic problems: First, the cost. Making science fiction films is way more expensive than our country’s low-budget films. Secondly, special effects. You know well that domestic effects are subpar. If we were to use foreign ones, that would mean it’s not purely domestic technology. That would seem like we’re promoting foreign special effects technology. Thirdly, the film script. If we make a film about individual heroism, it might not be such a good idea domestically, where we emphasize unity and consideration for the big picture. Some lines seem to have nothing, yet they truly exist."
After finishing, Chai Ren looked at Tang Qing. As he said, these are three problems. Only when all of them are solved can we genuinely say that we’re promoting Chinese culture and technology. Otherwise, there would be ’flaws.’
He did not mention the issue of distribution, since these three are typically insurmountable hurdles.
Tang Qing smiled when he heard this.
Of course, Tang Qing had thought about these problems.
The answer is.
There are no problems at all.
Once the problems of special effects and money are resolved, the script becomes a minor issue. There are countless excellent science fiction works in the country and many great science fiction writers. It’s just that the domestic science fiction culture has not been activated. Many works are buried in dust, unseen by the world.
What Tang Qing needs to do next is to let them see the light of day.
"Brothers, I can assure you there will be no problems with money. As for the problem of special effects, I can guarantee that we won’t be using Western special effects teams or technology, but our own. As for the script, if we announce a contest with rewards, I believe many excellent works will emerge. Don’t underestimate the imagination of our Chinese people," Tang Qing confidently said.
The implication was clear: what you perceive as problems are simply minor obstacles for me.
PS: I’m not sure whether this plot setup is too plain.
