raknovel Chapter 111 Sign 5
Chapter 111 Sign 5
Chapter 111 Sign Five
The key issue is that, given his past failure to secure "The Terror Live," familiar business owners simply wouldn't hire him.
Even if they used their past relationship as a reason—they would definitely just give him any job to get rid of him. The weather was still very hot in early September, but Zhang Jianhua's heart was ice-cold.
He's over forty years old this year.
Having finally climbed to this position, starting all over again, he was no match for these youngsters. Just then, a voice came from beside him: "Minister Zhang, what a refined taste! On such a hot day, you still have the mood to appreciate the sunset, though it's a bit early."
Zhang Jianhua turned his head to look.
Zhang Jianhua saw Su Qing wearing sunglasses, a white women's shirt, and black business pants. He sneered, "You're not as enthusiastic as Miss Su. You even came all this way to laugh at me. To be honest, neither you nor Director Huang are very considerate people. For you to show up here at this time to laugh at me, Miss Su, you must be quite well-informed."
"A high-ranking executive at an entertainment company was fired; such a big deal can be easily found out with a little inquiry."
He received a compliment from Zhang Jianhua.
Su Qing did not show the slightest hint of smugness. Long before, after the box office of "The Terror Live" had experienced several consecutive declines, she knew that Huatian Entertainment could no longer keep Zhang Jianhua.
Senior management is not immune to making mistakes.
Rather, it was because "The Terror Live" was so successful that with a production cost of a few million, it directly grossed over 700 million at the box office. Changkong Media earned 20 to 30 million just by distributing the film.
The key is that the cycle is short and the returns are high.
"You've seen it all, you can go now."
Zhang Jianhua immediately started kicking people out.
"Let's find a place to talk."
Su Qing spoke up.
"I don't like talking to people who are rude or uncouth, and I especially dislike talking to people who throw drinks in someone's face and then refuse to pay the bill."
Mention this matter.
Zhang Jianhua was even more frustrated. He could forgive the two for using him as a stepping stone to promote the movie "The Terror Live." After all, in the business world, it is a kind of wisdom for others to come up with a way to use him to promote "The Terror Live." But he could not forgive the two for not even making a purchase.
It cost him 30,000.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk!?"
Su Qing countered, "Even if you have connections, making such a mistake means you'll just be relegated to the sidelines at any other entertainment company. You might as well go work at Dongsheng Film Studio. I heard you're a good drinker—"
"No matter how good my alcohol tolerance is, I won't drink with someone who doesn't pay the bill."
Zhang Jianhua replied directly.
Su Qing was somewhat speechless.
This resentment is a bit too much! After thinking for a moment, Su Qing said calmly, "Some time ago, Huang Min and I went to meet two senior executives of the blog company. Not only did we not pay the bill, but Huang Min also packed up three bottles of red wine worth 150,000 yuan."
Zhang Jianhua trembled, and for some reason, his resentment lessened a bit. He quickly asked, "Really!?" Seeing Su Qing nod, Zhang Jianhua felt much better. It turned out she had shown mercy.
But as soon as this thought crossed Zhang Jianhua’s mind, he was surprised to find himself acting like a madman. He had been cheated out of 30,000 yuan, but when he heard that others had been swindled out of 150,000 yuan, he was actually quite happy.
"Let's find somewhere to talk! It won't hurt you."
Su Qing said, "Besides, we don't have any major conflicts. Put yourself in their shoes and think about whether your asking price was reasonable. With a 20% distribution agency fee, and the theaters taking more than 50%, how much was left for Dongsheng Pictures? People can be greedy, but they have to know when to stop. Huatian Entertainment put you in the wrong position."
"I've been the head of the distribution department for over ten years, and you're telling me I'm not suited for this position?!"
Zhang Jianhua was somewhat angry.
"May I ask which of your films have achieved both box office and critical success?"
Su Qing's casual retort left Zhang Jianhua speechless, his face contorting in shock. He opened his mouth, wanting to name a few of his works, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't come up with anything. Su Qing chuckled and said, "Don't bother thinking about it. I've seen your resume. You haven't released any good movies over the years. The only one that grossed over a billion yuan was produced by Huatian Entertainment in its early years. Now—actually, it's a good thing you were fired."
"What do you mean!?"
Zhang Jianhua asked.
"You know better than I do what's going on with Huatian Entertainment."
Su Qing replied, "Your company's total market value has dropped from 12 billion to over 3 billion. The year before last, your company's debt ratio was 55%, increasing to 62% the year before that, and soaring to 69% last year, which is 27% higher than the film industry's average debt ratio of 42%. At this rate, if no good movie becomes a box office hit this year, it will definitely exceed 70%. Even if your company's boss is good at robbing Peter to pay Paul, your company will fall into a debt crisis within one or two years at most. So being fired now will at least get you a considerable amount of compensation. If the company really becomes insolvent, even if you are a senior executive and receive compensation, it will be much lower than it is now."
"You underestimate Hua Tian."
Hearing Su Qing belittle his company like that, Zhang Jianhua felt somewhat uncomfortable.
But Zhang Jianhua knew very well that what Ms. Su said was true. Given Huatian Entertainment's situation, even if they produced a blockbuster, it wouldn't help. The main problem was that film production costs were too high now, with 300 to 400 million being normal. Add another 100 to 200 million for marketing and distribution, and the break-even point would be over 1.3 to 1.4 billion.
Given the current state of the film industry, only a handful of films break the billion-yuan box office mark each year.
Unless all directors are like Huang Min.
With a few million dollars, they produced a film that was not much inferior to big-budget productions. Sweating a little from the sun, Su Qing said, "If you don't want to find a place to talk, let's talk in the car."
This time, Zhang Jianhua did not refuse.
He was also unbearably hot, showing signs of heatstroke. After opening the car door and getting in, Zhang Jianhua asked directly, "What position are you planning to give me!?"
Minister of Commerce
Su Qing said earnestly, "I've inquired around and they say you have a very pleasant voice and a good capacity for alcohol, so you'll be the Minister of Commerce."
"How much is your monthly salary?"
Zhang Jianhua had no objection to the position of Minister of Commerce, but he raised a question that concerned him more. He said, "My current annual salary is over 500,000 yuan a year. I won't go to Dongsheng for anything less."
"A monthly salary of 20,000 yuan"
Su Qing mentioned a number, and Zhang Jianhua instantly lost interest. If Dong Sheng could offer a higher annual salary, he wouldn't mind going, but 20,000 a month was too low, not even half of what he was making now.
Just as Zhang Jianhua was about to refuse, Su Qing spoke up, "Huang Min wrote a web series that can 'GG' the brand at the beginning and end. You talk to the brand, and if it's over 100,000, the company will give you 5,000 as commission. If it's 1 million, you'll get 50,000."