Chinese entertainment: What's wrong with actresses wanting to improve?

Chapter 144 Praising Hu Jing

September 4, Beijing.

Fu Yibai had just returned to his office from the editing room.

Liu Yan pushed open the door and came in, holding a cup of coffee, which she placed in front of him.

"President Fu, President Zhao and the others have arrived."

"Let them in."

Liu Yan stepped aside, and Zhao Qi, Wang Peng, and Lin Wei filed in.

Wang Peng spoke first.

"Mr. Fu, director Ning Hao's film 'Green Grassland' has been successfully shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival."

"Oh, congratulations to him then."

Have you contacted their PR firm yet?

"I've already contacted them."

"Okay, the company can approve a public relations budget of 500,000 US dollars."

Try your best to get Director Ning Hao an award.

"Yes."

Next was Zhao Qi.

The screening of "Lurking" has ended.

We contacted several TV stations, and the highest offer was 25 yuan per episode.

"Mr. Fu, what do you think?"

"Sell."

Fu Yibai leaned back on the sofa.

"This is Jiang Wei's first time directing a spy drama, so the price is not low."

With positive word-of-mouth spreading, there will be plenty of opportunities for second and third rounds of funding.

"it is good."

After Zhao Qi finished speaking, Lin Wei continued.

"Mr. Fu, this is the income report of the company's artists for the past year and their schedule for next year."

Fu Yibai took the report and quickly glanced through it.

Fan Binbin's name is listed first. In the past year, he earned a total of 143 million yuan from two movies, "Inception" and "Painted Skin", plus several top luxury brand endorsements and commercial performances.

Hu Jing followed closely behind, with two hit dramas, "Empresses in the Palace" and "My Own Swordsman," plus several endorsements, bringing her total income to 21 million yuan.

The sum of Qin Lan, Gao Lu, and Wang Ou is between ten million and twenty million.

Although Tang Yan hasn't aired "My Love from the Star" yet, she has already earned more than three million yuan from her previous dramas and commercial performances.

Although Yang Rong and Yan Danchen have gained some fame, their income last year was only two or three million.

Yang Mi just signed a contract and her income isn't much yet, but with the release of "Brotherhood of Blades" next year, it should be able to boost her earnings.

On the male artist side, Huang Bo, Lei Jiayin, and Wang Baoqiang together have less than 20 million.

Fu Yibai closed the report, feeling somewhat emotional.

The earning power of top actresses is truly incomparable to that of second- or third-tier actors.

Fan Binbin alone is almost equivalent to the total number of all other artists in the company.

This is just her personal income; if you take into account the commercial value and project influence she brings, the difference is even more significant.

"Make sure Hu Jing's schedule is free for me in the second half of next year."

I'm planning to put on a big production to promote her.

Wang Peng, this is the script.

Contact the space agency as soon as possible and come up with a solution.

Wang Peng took the script from Fu Yibai.

"Gravity? A space sci-fi movie!"

"Mr. Fu, you're going to make a sci-fi movie!"

"Science fiction!"

Zhao Qi and Lin Wei also exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

It's just a science fiction movie that's not available in China...

Wang Peng didn't finish speaking, but Fu Yibai already understood his concerns.

"This time I will also bring in Franchise Pictures and Warner Bros. to go for global distribution."

This time, however, it's Dawn in control.

Therefore, it is essential to ensure that all preparations are foolproof in the early stages.

All professional data must be confirmed with the space agency.

We want to prove that Chinese teams can also handle hard science fiction.

"yes!"

The group chatted for another ten minutes or so, and after discussing their work, the three of them parted ways.

8 PM.

Fu Yibai pushed open the villa door. The living room lights were on, and the sound of a television could be heard, mixed with the low conversation of women.

He changed his shoes and went inside. The three women on the sofa turned their heads at the same time.

Fan Binbin was nestled on the far left of the sofa, wearing his white shirt, his legs bare, holding a cushion in his hands, while a rerun of "My Own Swordsman" was playing on the TV.

Hu Jing sat in the middle, draped in a thin blanket, her long hair loosely tied up, her face flushed from just having taken a shower.

Zeng Li was on the far right, with her legs curled up and a cup of tea in her hand. When she saw him come in, her eyes curved into a smile.

"You're back?"

Fan Binbin spoke first, tossing a cushion aside, getting up to greet him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and kissing him on the lips.

"Have you eaten yet? There's still some soup warming in the kitchen."

"have eaten."

Fu Yibai put his arm around her waist and led her inside, where they sat down on the sofa.

Hu Jing moved aside to make room for him.

Zeng Li handed over a cup of tea, the temperature just right.

On TV, Tong Xiangyu is lecturing Guo Furong in a Shaanxi dialect, while Wang Ou's voice comes through the screen, carrying a touch of coquettishness.

Fan Binbin snuggled back up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Why are you so late today? Didn't you say the meeting would be over this afternoon?"

"There are a few things that need to be decided at the company."

Fu Yibai picked up his teacup, took a sip, and glanced at the three people's faces.

Fan Binbin leaned on his shoulder, her fingers playing with the hem of his clothes.

Hu Jing looked at him, her eyes questioning.

Zeng Li held her teacup and waited quietly for him to continue.

"We have a big project coming up next year, a space-themed project, in collaboration with the space agency."

Fu Yibai paused and looked at Hu Jing.

"Sister Jing will play the female lead."

Hu Jing paused for a moment, her teacup hanging in mid-air.

"I?"

"Um."

Fu Yibai placed the cup on the coffee table.

"The script is called 'Gravity,' and the female lead has more than 80% of the screen time. It demands high acting skills and tests emotional tension."

It's specially made to flatter you.

Hu Jing stared at him for a few seconds, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

Fan Binbin laughed out loud from the side.

"Jing-jie, are you out of your mind?"

Hu Jing snapped out of her daze, glared at her, and her eyes were a little red.

She put down her teacup and took a deep breath.

"Yi Bai, I..."

"Don't."

Fu Yibai raised his hand.

"No need for thanks, just perform well."

Hu Jing nodded and didn't say anything more, just looked at him with bright eyes.

Fan Binbin nuzzled against his shoulder, her tone slightly teasing.

"Oh dear, our CEO Fu is promoting new talent again. Shouldn't I, the old hand, step aside?"

Fu Yibai turned his head to look at her.

Fan Binbin met his gaze, blinked, and laughed carefree.

Just kidding.

My schedule is completely booked for next year; I have several films waiting to be filmed.

She paused, her tone becoming more serious.

"These are all top-tier resources, the kind you can't turn down."

So it's good that you don't have any projects for me, otherwise I'd be having a headache trying to choose.