China Entertainment's Standout

Chapter 602: Zhou Yutang

"Chinese economic and cultural representatives Jack Ma and Zhou Yutang visited the Blue House and were received by Park Kaka!"

“Vice President Han sighed: I hope Jack Ma and Zhou Yutang are South Koreans!”

"Korean media gave Zhou Yutang the highest evaluation: the King of Asian Entertainment, who will bring hope to the South Korean entertainment industry!"

Following the crazy reporting by the Korean media, the domestic media also worked very efficiently. Early the next morning, news about Teacher Ma and Zhou Yutang had already been posted on various news and information sections.

The most eye-catching one is undoubtedly the photo of Park Kaka shaking hands with Zhou Yutang and Jack Ma respectively.

Mr. Ma, one of the parties involved, filled a large cup in front of Mr. Li from Samsung yesterday and returned to China overnight - Alibaba was only listed this month, and as the leader, he has a lot of things to do.

Another person involved, Zhou Yutang, was on his way to the crew of "Breaking the Tomb" at the time, sitting in the back seat of the car with his eyes closed to rest.

He withstood the test last night and ultimately did not let the bad atmosphere of the South Korean entertainment industry blow in.

However, Lin Yuna's sudden surprise appearance was inevitably a bit wanton and indulgent.

After maintaining the full knight posture for a whole night, he naturally unlocked many difficult postures.

This directly resulted in Lin Yoona, who was in good physical condition, being unable to get up, so she had to pretend to be sick and take half a day off.

It was a while's drive to the set of "Breaking the Tomb". In the car, Zhou Yutang was replying to Liu Shishi's messages and browsing the film and television news.

Every autumn, the entertainment industry’s awards season begins.

At the Huading Awards some time ago, Chen Baoguo achieved a Grand Slam and Tong Yaya won the Huading Best Actress award - this also added weight to her in the battle for the Golden Eagle Goddess voting this year, and she actually caught up with Yang Mi and Tang Yan who were leading the first tier.

The Huading Award is an audience reputation award. Zhou Yutang was originally nominated, but the organizing committee adhered to the principle of not giving awards if the award is not presented.

Zhou Yutang was still filming at that time and did not attend this year's Huading Awards, so of course it was impossible to present the award to him.

But this is not a big deal and for Zhou Yutang, it doesn’t matter whether he goes or not.

Ning Hao made a big splash in Toronto, while at the Venice International Film Festival, several nominated Chinese-language films won nothing.

"Dear" directed by Chen Kexing is scheduled to be released during the National Day holiday, which coincides with "Lost in Thailand".

Huang Bo starred in both films, but given his relationship with Ning Hao and Zhou Yutang's influence, Huang Bo's publicity schedule was more inclined towards "Lost in Thailand".

Even the latest special of Go Fighting has been arranged, with Xu Guangtou and Shen Teng as guests, but Chen Kexing does not receive such treatment.

Another piece of news that caught Zhou Yutang's attention came from Boss Jia, who was preparing for battle.

His PPT technique has reached perfection, fooling a lot of capital into entering the market, wanting to suffocate for his dream with him and make LeTV bigger and stronger.

There has been a lot of action recently.

The biggest move was the announcement of taking over the "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" tomb-raiding IP from Jiangdong Entertainment, which is comparable to the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" series.

And a complete strategic plan has been formulated for it.

The series of film and television projects were jointly produced by LeTV, Huanrui and Jiangdong. The first season of "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" was directed by Hong Kong director Soi Cheang.

The topic of the male lead was previously hotly discussed, and the original author of the novel, Nanpai Sishu, even organized a casting event online.

Zhou Yutang was elected as Wu Xie with a vast majority of votes, while his good brothers Hu Ge and Zhu Yilong were also highly favored to play Zhang Qiling.

It is impossible to act in the role.

Now when Zhou Yutang accepts a role, he doesn’t look at the pay, he only looks at the script.

He is not very interested in characters like Wu Xie, and his evaluation of the entire Tomb Raiders series is not as good as Ghost Blows Out the Light.

Otherwise, the project would not have been directly transferred to LeTV in the form of a cash buyout plus a share of future profits, and then Huanrui would have been brought in.

But LeTV’s statement was very interesting. It only said that after hard communication, Zhou Yutang’s schedule could not be coordinated.

Finally, Huanrui's young actor Li Yifeng was chosen to play Wu Xie, and another young actor Yang Yang, who became famous for "Gu Jian", also successfully took the role of Zhang Qiling.

Tang Yan, a strong contender for the Golden Eagle Goddess, played Aning. She also brought Chen Yuqi, a newcomer just signed by her studio, to get a supporting role.

Zhou Yutang was flipping through the news on the tablet with great interest.

Boss Jia is well versed in the art of hype, and we'll have to discuss this with him some other time if we have the chance.

A special press conference was held for this project, announcing that the movie, TV series and game series of the same name would be released simultaneously.

Let Boss Jia do whatever he wants.

He might make some money, but Zhou Yutang definitely won't lose anything either.

In short, just one sentence.

Zhou Yutang didn't want to contribute his strength, but he wanted the money.

When Zhou Yutang arrived at the filming location of "Breaking the Tomb", Showbox had already arranged for various media to prepare for interviews.

Directed by Bong Joon-ho, the film stars veteran South Korean actor Choi Min-sik, new generation queen Lee Ji-eun, and a talented newcomer Yoo Ah-in.

With such a luxurious and top-notch lineup, the production cost was 140 billion won, which is about million yuan.

This would not even be ranked in China, but in South Korea, it is already the most anticipated top production of the year.

The main reason is that after capital poured into the domestic entertainment industry, the pay for actors in the entire industry skyrocketed.

A star like Zhou Yutang, with a starting salary of 100 million, can suppress the entire South Korean film and television industry by himself.

The market in South Korea is so small that the pay offered to actors is not high.

Actors like Choi Min-sik and Bong Joon-ho are considered the ceiling of the South Korean film and television industry. For this drama, both of them received 6 million won, which is a little over 300 million RMB.

IU is 4 million won, a bargain price of two million.

Yoo Ah-in, who was strongly promoted by a South Korean entertainment company, was not even as cheap as cabbage and was sent away for only a few hundred thousand.

The biggest expense of the entire project turned out to be Zhou Yutang's script.

The price is 12 million, which is a friendly price given by Zhou Yutang in consideration of the pleasant cooperation with Showbox.

Of course, this price does not include the box office share he enjoys as an investor.

The people in Showbox's film department were quite pleased with the result.

An internationally renowned director of the Palme d'Or and the king of commercial films in Asia, three of the top five South Korean box office movies are still by Zhou Yutang.

Zhou Yutang's project is definitely worth looking forward to.

The crew has just started filming not long ago, but the main creators of the crew are already here.

"Memories of Murder directed by Bong Joon-ho is a classic. Choi Min-sik's acting is also very good. I had a great time working with him last time."

Zhou Yutang took care of the self-esteem of the Korean media: "This movie is a brand new attempt. As an investor, I hope that it can bring everyone a different viewing experience."

"He is an incredible genius." Bong Joon-ho smiled with his eyes narrowed as he praised Zhou Yutang highly.

"It is my honor to be able to act in a film directed by Zhou Yutang."

Choi Min-sik is also very good at it.

He is the gangster boss in "Lucy". He was originally used because they wanted to make money in the South Korean market.

Hard work pays off. Thanks to Choi Min-sik's box office appeal in South Korea, "Lucy" entered the South Korean film market more than a month late, and the total number of viewers reached more than 600 million, which completely exceeded expectations.

After dealing with the media, Zhou Yutang watched Bong Joon-ho direct the crew from the side.

He is a great director standing at the pinnacle of the South Korean film industry. "Memories of Murder", "The Host" and "Snowpiercer" are all excellent works.

There is certainly something to learn.

But after finishing the media interviews in the morning, Zhou Yutang didn't shoot many shots. He asked Ni Ni to prepare a few coffee trucks to support Lee Ji-eun.

When I visit a film crew in China, most of the time I order a KFC and McDonald's combo.

But there are more varieties in South Korea.

This coffee truck is a high-end form of support. It must be booked in advance from a specialized company, and each coffee truck costs approximately five thousand.

There are posters of IU printed on the body of the car. In addition to providing coffee to the crew members, there are also snacks, hot dogs, sandwiches and other simple foods.

This is also a point that can be promoted. The producer of the showbox film department almost knelt down and insisted on taking Zhou Yutang and IU to take a group of photos that looked like they were in intimate poses, preparing to use the scandal to hype the movie.

"Oppa."

After taking the photo, Lee Ji-eun returned to her innocent look and thanked him specially: "I'm sorry for the expense. Thank you."

"It's not much money either."

Zhou Yutang didn't take it to heart and instructed: "If you don't understand something, ask the director and the seniors in the crew. If someone touches you, tell Pei Yun and I will handle it."

Judging from the few shots taken this morning, Lee Ji-eun seemed to be struggling.

Not to mention that compared to Choi Min-sik and the veteran actors in the crew, even Yoo Ah-in in the crew is more talented than her.

After all, IU's main job is a singer, and the transition to film and television needs time to settle down.

"Well, I'll try my best."

After hearing the first half of the sentence, Li Zhien was a little touched, but after hearing the second half, she couldn't help but glanced at Zhou Yutang with some resentment.

His mouth pursed.

Now South Korean entertainment companies are all terrified when talking about JD female artists, and have strictly ordered their artists to control their lower bodies to avoid getting into trouble.

After all, Zhou Yutang is well-known.

His various romantic affairs are well-known even in the South Korean entertainment industry.

Zhou Yutang invested a lot of resources in Lee Ji-eun and made her the number one star in JD. People in the circle almost tacitly accepted that this was Zhou Yutang's woman.

Not to mention physical contact, even the opposite sex who dares to express affection to IU is extinct.
The sunshine in Seoul is just right in the early autumn afternoon.

Bae Joo-hyun and her teammates had just finished their filming schedule and returned to the company, and then they saw a scene that made their pupils tremble.

Lee Soo-man, Kim Young-min, and several senior directors of the company were standing by the company gate, as if they were waiting for some important person.

The group members looked at each other.

As newcomers who have just debuted, they are not so arrogant that they can deserve such an attitude from the company's top management.

"President, Director..."

The agent was also sweating profusely. After reminding them, Bae Joo-hyun bowed to the group members one by one, then trotted away from the stressful scene.

But they didn't go far. Sun Shengwan poked his head out and peeked curiously at the corner on the first floor.

"My brother-in-law is a director of the company. He heard that Lu Han did not return to the team and wanted to terminate the contract. Today, the president of JD came to discuss this matter with our company in person."

"Ashi, when did he come?"

"Hey, are you from the north? He went to the Blue House yesterday and it was already on the news. Don't you even know this?"

The staff of S&M were talking about it.

Bae Joo-hyun got a lot of information and looked at the company gate silently.

Ever since Wu Yifan ran away from Chadan, the remaining Chinese members in the group have been in a delicate situation.

On the one hand, S&M companies have to rely on them to make money in the Chinese market, and on the other hand, they have to prevent them from having any disloyalties.

But this kind of thing cannot be prevented at all.

The Tianchao Entertainment Company is not stupid either. Everyone wants to reap the benefits. Several other members of the group, including Lu Han, have privately received olive branches from various companies.

Following Wu Yifan, Lu Han also lost contact, citing poor health as an excuse. "Wow, here she comes!"

Jiang Shiqi had sharp eyes and saw two cars driving slowly one after another and stopping in front of the door of S&M Company.

First, Bae Yun, a well-known strong woman in the South Korean entertainment industry, got off the show, and Min Hee-jeong, a famous traitor in the S&M family, was also there.

Then, the rear door of the car behind opened, and a pair of long legs stepped out. Then, a beautiful woman in a professional suit and with excellent temperament got out of the car and stood next to Zhou Yutang.

"President Zhou, long time no see."

Lee Soo Man walked up to them with a brisk step, a smile blooming on his wrinkled face, and greeted them enthusiastically.

"Hello."

Zhou Yutang shook hands with him and responded calmly: "Teacher Li, long time no see."

"This is not the place to talk. Let's go inside and talk."

After a few simple greetings, Kim Young-min and other S&M executives surrounded Zhou Yutang and walked into the company like stars surrounding the moon.

"Oh, sisters, this is totally a chaebol from a movie or TV series."

The onlookers, employees and artists had already dispersed and had just run back to the practice room. Kim Ye-rin, the youngest member of Red Velvet, was breathing heavily with stars in her eyes.

The members of the group all felt the same way and started to discuss it.

After all, the chaebol sons in movies and TV dramas are all acted out and are somewhat exaggerated.

Zhou Yutang is a real chaebol in real life. His aura just now was so strong that it seemed that Lee Soo-man, Kim Young-min and others were inferior to him.

Even the female secretary beside him seems to be more outstanding than the artists.

Today's S&M company is not peaceful.

The news that Lee Soo-man and the company's top executives had almost come out in full force to welcome Zhou Yutang had already spread through various internal channels.

Someone had already recorded the video, and then the news began to spread among their respective small groups.
"Ashi, you're really handsome."

"I didn't expect this person to come to the company. What does he want to do?"

The trainees' discussion topic was all about Zhou Yutang.

Each of these brilliant achievements, like a dazzling halo, blesses this Asian handsome man.

This makes Zhou Yutang a legendary figure.

Zhou Yutang, who didn't know that he had become the focus of the entire S&M company, followed Lee Soo Man and others into the S&M company's large conference room.

Last time I came here I just took a quick tour and we are all still friendly.

But today, the stance was different, and there was a sense of forcing the emperor to abdicate. Zhou Yutang turned the tables:
"Teacher Li, we are old friends. I came to S&M Company today to do two things."

"Oh, talk about it."

Lee Soo Man still had a smile on his face and looked calm.

"First of all, Lu Han has been doing high-intensity work, but he is in financial difficulties and has health problems. I hereby propose to terminate the contract."

Zhou Yutang spoke in Chinese with a loud and clear voice, and Ni Ni translated it for him.

S&M companies really don't treat their artists as human beings.

As the most popular person in Chadan, Lu Han’s schedule is basically full.

The high-intensity work, coupled with insufficient rest, has resulted in persistent neuralgia at his age.

During this period, Lu Han was so tired that his left eye and the left half of his face became inflamed and swollen, and he even participated in Tea Egg's first round of Asian tour while sick.

After Zhou Yutang learned about the situation and communicated with Lu Han's family, he told them to ignore the S&M company and have a good rest at home.

One of the purposes of his coming to South Korea this time was to deal with the S&M company.

"Lu Han is still a member of our company. Isn't it too much to say that?"

Before Lee Soo Man even opened his mouth, a middle-aged female manager sitting at the back of the conference room shouted indignantly.

She spoke in Korean, but Zhou Yutang could understand her and glanced at her casually.

"Shut up!"

The smile on Li Xiuman's face disappeared instantly. His face became gloomy and he stared at the middle-aged female director.

The woman stammered and stopped talking.

The old man who built the S&M entertainment empire with his own hands now looked like a tyrant.

"Teacher Li."

Zhou Yutang leaned back in his chair, but his posture was extremely relaxed: "It seems that a lot of things have changed since you were not in the company."

"I'm sorry to make you laugh."

Li Xiuman turned his head and smiled again: "Lu Han's matter is indeed a bit unexpected. The company's agent couldn't contact him. I heard that he had some health problems recently and went to the hospital. Is he feeling better?"

"You don't have to worry about that."

Zhou Yutang's expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly: "He and his family have signed a power of attorney. If you still have any objections, we'll see you in court."

There's no point playing tricks on this old fox with eight hundred tricks.

Get straight to the point and start with the king bomb.

Ni Ni, who was beside him, stood up and handed over the power of attorney that she had prepared in advance.

After looking through the power of attorney signed by Lu Han, the faces of several senior directors changed instantly.

It was Han Geng who made the good start.

Then Wu Yifan followed suit.

After fleeing back to China, he hired a professional team of lawyers to submit an application to terminate the contract with S&M Company directly to the Seoul Central District Court. Through litigation, the court ruled that the contract signed with S&M Company was invalid.

"I understand."

Lee Soo Man took off his glasses and wiped them: "There is no problem with the termination of the contract, but Lu Han has to complete the Asian tour, so it can be considered as a complete ending. And the announcement needs to be carefully considered. I hope Chairman Zhou can understand."

In order to enter the Chinese market, Lee Soo Man did a lot of research on Chinese culture. He knew there is an old saying in China that goes, "He who knows the current affairs is a hero."

S&M couldn't even touch Han Geng and Wu Yifan, and now Lu Han, who has the support of Jiangdong Entertainment, is even more out of reach for him.

With Zhou Yutang's current connections and resources, if a conflict really came to a head between the two sides, the entire S&M company's business layout in China might even be strangled by him.

"The announcement can be discussed easily, but regarding the Tea Egg tour, we need to ask Lu Han first."

Zhou Yutang was very satisfied with Lee Soo-man's attitude. He wanted to consider the press release simply for the sake of the company's stock price.

When Wu Yifan terminated the contract, S&M's stock price had already fallen a lot. Now Lu Han is leaving again. If no precautions are taken in advance, the stock price will definitely plummet.

What's falling is not the stock price, but the flesh on his body.

They are not mortal enemies, and Zhou Yutang has no intention of dealing with Lao Li as long as he can achieve his goal.

He asked Ni Ni to make a phone call and soon got a reply, "Lu Han agreed. He will cooperate with his teammates to complete the tour."

"So."

Li Xiuman breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "What about the second thing?"

"Another example is Jessica from Girls' Generation. After her contract expired, her management contract was transferred to JD. She will continue to perform as a member of the group."

Zhou Yutang still followed the requirements that had been set before he came.

It is also possible for girl group members not to renew their contracts with their original companies but continue activities as a group by separating their individual and team contracts.

Yoona has deep feelings for Girls' Generation, and she wants the nine-member Girls' Generation to stay together until the end.

Then Zhou Yutang wouldn't mind stepping in and doing some work.

This way, you get the best of both worlds.

There was an uproar in the conference room.

During this period, Girls' Generation's contract renewal is the company's top priority.

The less popular members were easier to control and they signed contract extensions quickly.

Jessica's contract has not been negotiated yet, and even when she was threatened to quit the group, she never gave in.

Seeing the domineering Zhou Yutang, the directors of S&M Company suddenly realized something and felt a dull pain in their heads: "Shit, it turns out that she volunteered to be his woman. No wonder she is so confident and dares to challenge the company."

"Wait, what about Yoona?"

"Shit, this guy has done so many bad things and brought disaster to two popular members of Girls' Generation. He really deserves to die."

"Don't let Kim Taeyeon touch him."

The directors and senior executives were whispering.

It’s fine that Lu Han also touched Jessica from Girls’ Generation, which is really infuriating.

But apart from being angry, it seems like there's nothing I can do.

The directors of S&M are not fools.

He just entered the Blue House yesterday, and was able to chat and laugh with Kaka, and even went to SBS TV station with Chief Secretary An.

The Chinese tycoons are so terrifying that if you really make them angry, they might really destroy S&M's layout in China. Then you're doomed.

Zhou Yutang ignored the looks from these people and lowered his head to reply to Yoona's message.

She had already woken up, but since she was an insider in her own company, she didn't dare to come to the company and just kept a close eye on the progress of the matter.

Lee Soo-man discussed for a while with Kim Young-min and several core senior executives around him.

He took a deep breath and finally nodded dejectedly: "I can agree to your conditions."

"However, the specific contract cannot be disclosed. S&M Company hopes to cooperate with JD Company on more in-depth film and television projects in the future."

Stand in Lee Soo Man's shoes.

Now it’s just a question of how much loss will be incurred.

If we can use Zhou Yutang's influence to get some film and television resources, it can barely be considered a successful resource exchange and can make up for some of the losses.

"The heroine of the Mermaid project is the advance payment and my sincerity."

Zhou Yutang raised his eyebrows slightly and said calmly, "Except for me, no other entertainment company in South Korea can do this and get this role."

It sounds reasonable. "The Mermaid" is a 4 million dollar project, and there is no such big production in the entire South Korean entertainment industry.

But Lee Soo-man is still popular.

Damn, you can’t be so shameless.

Was that a deposit you paid to S&M company to show your sincerity?
What is your relationship with Lin Yuna? Do I need to tell you?
Last night, after Yoona finished her schedule in Jeju Island, she flew back to Seoul that night and packed herself up and went to the Shilla Hotel.

There was supposed to be a photo shoot this morning.

As a result, her agent reported that she still can't get out of bed. Who did this?

ps: The Korean branch is temporarily closed and I will return to China tomorrow
(End of this chapter)