In the New Era Art Park, Lu Chen Studio.
Compared with the original place, the new studio was not only several times larger, but the layout was also far from the original office building. In order to build this "new home," Lu Chen also specially commissioned a very famous design company in the capital to design and construct the decoration and construction.
He paid 500,000 yuan for the design fee alone, which was considered a friendship price.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. The new studio, which had been renovated with a huge investment, had the style and temperament of an art company. It had a simple and lively overall decoration style with exquisite details.
And Lu Chen finally had his own independent office, and also had a private place to receive friends and guests.
As for the original rented place, it was not empty or sublet, but became the office of the Chen Fei Charity Foundation, which was currently being renovated.
Now there was a guest in Lu Chen's office.
The man was in his forties, wearing a suit and tie, and looked gentle. He was slightly thin, had a high cheekbone on his cheeks, and his eyes were small. He was probably a little nearsighted, but he didn't wear glasses, so he always squinted intentionally or unintentionally.
The atmosphere in the room was a little dull. Lu Chen was concentrating on a contract document in his hand. His right index finger on the table gently tapped twice, which somewhat revealed his inner mood at the moment.
This middle-aged man in his forties was called Fang Jun. He was Fang Hui's agent and the latter's cousin.
The contract in Lu Chen's hand was brought by Fang Jun.
The content of the contract was mainly about the treatment of Fang Hui, as the director, in Lu Chen's new play.
"Autumn in My Heart" was directed by Fang Hui. At that time, she signed a contract directly with Lu Chen Studio, so after the shooting was completed, the studio also paid her.
Lu Chen and Fang Hui had a very pleasant cooperation. In addition, "Autumn in My Heart" was a big hit. Later, he and Chen Fei 'er specially made two Big red envelopes and sent them to her.
Because the success of "Autumn in My Heart" was largely due to Fang Hui's work, she had a strong grasp of the plot and properly expressed the mood of the story. In laymen's words, it was very "beautiful."
Therefore, Lu Chen intended to let Fang Hui direct the new play "Full House of Romance", which was also recognized by the cooperation.
But things were not that simple.
Fang Hui'sagent brought LuChen a contract, which was a bit … how to put it, a bit excessive contract.
In this contract, Fang Hui's salary as a director was 20 times higher than that of "Autumn in My Heart", reaching 5 million. In addition, she enjoyed many benefits, including a share of copyright!
Lu Chen could still accept a salary of 5 million yuan alone. Fang Hui's salary for shooting "Blue" was 250,000 yuan, which was not low for her value at that time, but there was no extra share of income.
Speaking of which, he felt indebted to her, so he gave her a red packet — this was the principle of doing things.
Now that they were going to shoot a new drama, it was necessary to raise the director's salary.
In today's film and television industry, it was very common for high-ranking directors to receive a share of the profits in addition to the fixed remuneration. The specific terms of the contract involved specific situations. It was not uncommon for top directors to make tens of millions of yuan from a blockbuster or a long TV series.
It was normal for Fang Hui to ask for a share.
However, Lu Chen couldn't remain calm when it came to the distribution of copyrights.
He had always been very concerned about copyrights. For example, for his own works, he would register the copyrights as soon as possible. Now, when he sold his songs to others, he would still retain part of the copyrights. For TV dramas like "Autumn in My Heart" and "Full House of Romance" that would definitely be popular, the copyrights had to be firmly held in his hands, and he could not allow others to covet it.
The benefits brought about by IP were the greatest and also the most lasting. Moreover, it was easy for others to take advantage of it if it was shared.
Therefore, even though Lu Chen was preparing for the new drama and had many partners, and many parties were investing in it to share the profits, he had never relented to anyone when it came to the copyright — this was the golden hen that laid the eggs!
Lu Chen couldn't help but feel strange. In his impression, Fang Hui was not the kind of greedy person. The salary she asked for was not outrageous and was in line with her value. However, it was a little unbelievable that she would get a share of the copyright.
Lu Chen's long silence made Fang Jun a little uneasy. He moved his butt and tentatively asked, "Teacher Lu, if you have any comments or ideas about this contract, you can tell me now."
Lu Chen glanced at him calmly.
In the entertainment industry, it was common for star artists, including directors, to use their relatives as agents. For example, his own agent was his sister.
The biggest advantage of using a relative as an agent was that he could rest assured. He usually didn't have to worry about being betrayed or backstabbed.
Fang Hui accepted Lu Chen's invitation and was willing to continue to direct his new drama. It was normal for her to ask her agent to come forward and talk about the salary with him. There was no problem of losing face.
But it didn't mean that there were no problems.
He thought for a moment and said, "Originally, when it comes to the contract in our studio, our manager is the one who talks about it, but my sister just went out today …"
Lu Chen changed the subject and said, "I've read this contract. Everything else can be discussed, but I'm afraid there's no room for discussion about the copyright. And I feel that the percentage you asked for is too high!"
The last few words, Lu Chen said resolutely, with unshakable firmness.
This was the advantage of facing an agent. Otherwise, if it was Fang Hui herself, some things would be hard to say.
Fang Jun's face changed, and then he said with a smile, "This can be discussed. The copyright issue can be put aside for now, but the percentage … In fact, we can inject capital."
Inject capital, that was asking for more. Lu Chen's new drama was not short of investment at all!
Lu Chen suddenly understood that the other party's request for copyright was just a cover. The real purpose was to divide the profits, and his appetite was quite big.
He suspected that this was Fang Jun's own idea.
It was not uncommon for the agent of a star artist to take the initiative to demand an exorbitant price when negotiating a contract.
Even Fang Hui might not know.
Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then shook his head and pushed the contract back to Fang Jun on the table.
This was the meaning of refusal!
Fang Jun obviously didn't expect Lu Chen's attitude to be so tough and refuse so firmly. He thought there would be a battle of words, but Lu Chen didn't give him a chance to show his eloquence at all.
This made Fang Jun a little angry out of shame.
He came prepared today. Not only did he carefully prepare this contract, but he also deliberately inquired about Lu Xi's absence. He chose to talk with Lu Chen face-to-face, trying to open a gap from Lu Chen.
Lu Chen was very young and had a good relationship with Fang Hui. In addition, he had a good reputation in the circle. Fang Jun wanted to persuade him with his own ability and fight for the best contract.
However, Lu Chen was far more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.
He couldn't help saying, "Teacher Lu, our Fang Hui has invited a lot of people now, and the treatment is not low …"
Fang Jun wasn't talking nonsense. "Autumn in My Heart" successfully made a group of newcomers popular, and it also promoted Fang Hui, who was only a little famous in the circle, to the position of a first-line TV director.
Around the New Year, many film and television companies approached Fang Hui and invited her to shoot the same type of TV series.
The price was quite high!
Otherwise, how could Fang Jun have the confidence to take out such a contract?
Lu Chen said with a faint smile, "Mr. Fang, I am friends with Sister Fang Hui. I think she can understand when it comes to business, and I also hope that her career can get better and better."
With that, Lu Chen also sighed secretly in his heart.
Originally, these words should have been the most appropriate for Lu Xi to say. Most of the time, the agent played the bad guy.
It was just that there were some words that Lu Chen had to say.
In fact, before Fang Jun, Lu Xi had also refused several contracts on behalf of Lu Chen Studio, including Zhang Liwei and Hu Yang, two newcomers who had become popular because of the TV series "Autumn in My Heart".
Both of them wanted to play roles in Lu Chen's new TV series, but their agent's requirements were very high.
If Lu Chen Studio met all their requirements, the budget of the new TV series was bound to be overspent by a big amount.
Zhang Liwei and Hu Yang were also very sincere, but their current net worth was far from what it was when they were shooting the TV series "Autumn in My Heart". The agent asked for first-line treatment. In addition to the pay, there were specific conditions such as clothing, food, housing and transportation when they went out to shoot.
Zhang Liwei and Hu Yang might be willing to reduce the pay, but the corresponding treatment was not enough, and they would be laughed at.
Moreover, the two of them now had a lot of film contracts and endorsements.
Therefore, after some contact, Lu Chen still gave up these original cast members. "Full of Romance" was a new TV series, not a sequel to "Autumn in My Heart". There were many artists who wanted to play a role, and there was a lot of room for choice.
The same thing was true for Fang Hui. She was not irreplaceable.
Since Lu Chen had said this, Fang Jun couldn't continue the discussion even if he wanted to. He could only put away the contract resentfully and try to save it one last time. "Teacher Lu, actually …"
Lu Chen waved his hand and interrupted him. "You can make an appointment with our manager to talk about it."
Although that was what he said, in fact, Lu Chen had already given up the idea of letting Fang Hui continue to direct. There were many directors in the circle who could shoot the same type of work, and there were also many choices.
Fang Jun left very reluctantly.
Lu Chen was more and more sure that this contract was drawn up by him on his own initiative and did not get Fang Hui's approval.
But what could he do? Lu Chen couldn't directly call Fang Hui to complain, could he?
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 also a little depressed in his heart. No wonder people said that the entertainment industry was too complicated. Many things could not be achieved just because you thought about it well. People's hearts could also change.
In this circle, there were really not many people who could always stick to their original heart.
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