novelraw Chapter 609: The Starlet Cultivation Plan
Chapter 609: The Starlet Cultivation Plan
[Chapter 609: The Starlet Cultivation Plan]
For the entire next day, Linton, Li Bingbing, and Xu Jinglei did not leave the hotel.
The three of them freely poured out their sweat and passion in the presidential suite... one cheerful and sweet song played after another... However, it wasn't until the third morning, when Xu Jinglei left reluctantly, that Linton still hadn't invited her to join the Clear Sky Film and Television Company.
Li Bingbing felt a bit strange, though mostly she was secretly delighted, but she still asked Linton uneasily, "Honey, are you not going to let Xu Jinglei join Clear Sky Film and Television Company?"
There is no harm without comparison; thinking of Xu Jinglei's wildness, and how Li Bingbing could endure loneliness for a long time while rolling through the entertainment industry yet still resist various external temptations, Linton felt she was truly quite good and didn't mind giving her some affirmation and encouragement at this time.
"No, she won't be joining. At Clear Sky Film and Television Company, you are the absolute first sister, and you have priority for all resources. Of course, the company won't refuse to cooperate with her and will consider her if there are suitable projects."
"Honey, really?" The massive surprise almost made Li Bingbing faint. She turned and threw herself into Linton's arms, looking at him with watery eyes, fearing that what she just heard was a hallucination.
"Of course it's true."
"Why?" Li Bingbing was overjoyed but still a bit uneasy.
Since they were on the subject, Linton also felt it was necessary to give Li Bingbing a reminder to prevent her from succumbing to temptation in the bizarre entertainment industry and giving him a green hat.
"Because she is not single-minded toward me and has started seeing other men."
"Ah, my god, is that true?"
"Of course it's true. I'm also reminding you that if you want to keep receiving my favor, don't follow her example. You must be single-minded toward me, otherwise, our relationship will also deteriorate."
"I won't, Honey. There will only ever be you in my heart." Li Bingbing felt a chill in her heart and hurried to declare her stance, proactively offering a sweet kiss.
"I hope you remember what you said today."
"But, is seeing each other once a year too little? Can you come to China more often in the future, or can I go to America to see you?"
Thinking about what Xu Jinglei had said before, Linton felt that time and companionship were indeed issues that had to be considered. Leaving a beautiful woman like a flower in a foreign land for a long time to face all kinds of temptations in the entertainment industry was indeed too much of a test for human nature.
"How about this: after I return, I'll have someone send you a cooperation invitation letter so you can apply for an American visa. In the future, you can come to America to see me every quarter, but call me to confirm the time before you come."
"Honey, that's wonderful." Li Bingbing was overjoyed and proactively offered a passionate kiss, "Honey, love me."
...The cheerful and sweet songs rang out again... In the afternoon, Linton took Li Bingbing back to Beijing on his private jet.
On the plane, Li Bingbing, having developed a taste for it, proactively invited Linton to a 'thousand miles in a day' activity.
The plane landed in Beijing, and this time Jennifer Roberts, the new general manager of Clear Sky Film and Television Company, came to pick them up.
After getting into the car, they didn't go to the hotel first but went straight to the newly established Clear Sky Film and Television Company.
After more than ten days of preparation, Qingkong Film and Television had been formally established, with its office occupying a floor rented in the Yinyan Building in the Chaoyang District's Central Business District.
This location was near CCTV and Beijing Television, making it an ideal office space for private film and television companies.
As the company was in its startup phase, its business was currently quite simple, with four departments temporarily set up: the General Department, the Finance Department, and two business departments, the Film Production Department and the Talent Management Department. Personnel had not yet been fully recruited.
However, the main framework was already in place, which didn't hinder the normal conduct of business.
Linton then formally introduced Li Bingbing to Jennifer Roberts and explicitly told him that Li Bingbing would be joining the company and was the female star Qingkong Company would heavily promote next.
Actually, Linton didn't need to emphasize it; Jennifer Roberts was an insider after all, and Li Bingbing was already a somewhat famous up-and-coming actress.
When he saw Li Bingbing and Linton come out of the airport together, he already understood that she had latched onto the big boss.
Moreover, Clear Sky Film and Television Company itself needed to sign high-quality artists, and Li Bingbing was indeed a good prospect.
But with Linton's instructions, the situation was naturally different. Jennifer Roberts gave Li Bingbing a highest Rank contract for a term of five years, with a 50/50 commission split, and guaranteed to provide her with at least one TV series lead role every year.
Li Bingbing thus became the first signed artist of Clear Sky Film and Television Company.
While Li Bingbing went to the Talent Management Department to sign the contract, Jennifer Roberts took the time to report his work to Linton.
Jennifer Roberts truly lived up to his background from Beijing Television; his network of connections was indeed extraordinary.
According to his thinking, since the company had just been established, there was no rush to produce TV series independently. Instead, they would first participate in the investment of other companies' TV projects to gain experience and train their team.
Once the company was running smoothly and the team had matured, they would then consider taking lead control of TV series production.
As it happened, just a few days after the company was founded, a new TV project came knocking.
A TV series titled "Sisters," which tells the story of female migrant workers, was being prepared under the lead of CCTV.
The TV series was planned with an investment of 6 million RMB, but CCTV only had 3 million of its own funds, leaving a 3 million investment gap.
Producer Chen Xiaoqi had worked with Jennifer Roberts before. Knowing that Jennifer Roberts had become the general manager of the well-funded industry newcomer Clear Sky Film and Television Company, he proactively contacted him to solicit investment.
TV series produced by CCTV, due to the endorsement of the CCTV platform, had very harsh requirements for external investment; the investment would be discounted, profits were extremely low, and there was even less of a voice in the production process.
Taking the "Sisters" project as an example, for an investment of 6 million, CCTV invested 3 million but would take 65% of the shares, while other companies investing 3 million would only get 35% of the shares.
Finally, when calculating profits, the data was often opaque, and CCTV was exceptionally dominant. Even if the project itself made a lot of money, partners could usually only get meager profits.
Under such harsh conditions, generally speaking, private film and television companies wouldn't participate; those who collaborated were other state-owned film companies and local TV stations.
However, CCTV-produced TV series also had one advantage: the probability of losing money was extremely small. Relying on the unique platform of CCTV, as long as the TV program was basically qualified, there was no need to worry about ratings, let alone advertising recruitment.
But in Jennifer Roberts's view, these harsh conditions were not a problem for Clear Sky Film and Television Company.
The company was just starting out and urgently needed high-quality projects to make a name for itself in the industry while training the team. Although the profit margin for CCTV projects was small, the possibility of losing money was also small.
And most importantly, now that the company had its leading lady Li Bingbing, they could precisely fight for the female lead of the TV series.
The project itself had a small profit margin, but CCTV series made people famous. If they could raise their own woman's popularity, wouldn't Li Bingbing's subsequent commercial value earn it all back?
After listening to Jennifer Roberts's report on the basic situation of the TV series "Sisters," Linton was very satisfied with his thinking.
He then exchanged some business ideas with Jennifer Roberts, suggesting that he could co-produce TV series with several first-tier TV stations, such as Hunan TV, Beijing TV, Anhui TV, and Dragon TV.
At the same time, he gave Jennifer Roberts a list and basic information for nine people: Hu Jing, Yan Danchen, Zeng Li, Gao Yuanyuan, Yin Tao, Dong Xuan, Qin Lan, Ni Hongjie, and Zhang Ziyi.
"Do you know that back in '94, my Garden in America held a waitress recruitment event in China?"
"I know, it was practically a beauty pageant. It was a huge sensation at the time and had a very large impact."
"Right. At that time, I asked Director Lin Hao of the Forestry Bureau to help with the recruitment. I didn't expect him to turn the recruitment into a beauty pageant. These girls were the top performers of that recruitment pageant. Look, aren't they all great beauties?"
"Boss, you indeed have a very good eye. They are all great beauties."
"Exactly, they are indeed all great beauties. But to be honest, with their conditions, it would be too much of a grievance for them to go to my Garden to be waitresses. It would simply be burying talent."
"Boss, actually it's not a grievance at all. I heard that among the group that went back then, dozens have already joined American citizenship. I don't know how many people envy them."
"Everyone sees things from a different perspective. Going to America to be a waitress is still a relatively low-level job no matter what. But if they can achieve something in the film and television industry and become movie or TV stars, the development prospects will certainly be much stronger."
Seeing the photos of nine great beauties in the nine resumes, Jennifer Roberts was a bit incredulous. "So you didn't hire them back then?"
"Correct, precisely because they were beautiful and, in my view, had the potential to be stars. So I talked to each of them individually at the time and suggested they study hard and strive to get into film and art academies to become big stars in the future."
"Heavens, Boss, you are simply a Saint! They are so beautiful, yet you were willing to let them go?"
"What's there to be unwilling about? What kind of expression is that?"
"Alright, Boss, you are truly great. Did they all give up based on your suggestion?"
"Yes, they all withdrew. They should all be in the three major art academies now. You can go to the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing Film Academy, and Shanghai Theatre Academy to look for them. If possible, try to sign them into the company and train them well."
"Alright, I'll go to the art academies to find them next. It's just that, with so many people, if we sign them all, the company's resources might not be enough?"
"Don't force it. Respect their own wishes and just treat it as giving them an opportunity. Sign as many as you can. "
"As for resources, I've given you so much funding. Can't you start several productions at the same time?"
"Understood, Boss. Please rest assured, I will definitely handle this well and strive to sign them all and train them all into film and television stars."
"Good. To give you the bottom line, the current primary task of Clear Sky Film and Television Company is to train female film and television stars, followed by making a profit."
"Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me. This is an order and my assessment requirement for you. Besides, doesn't the company have a Talent Management Department? As long as they truly become stars, their commercial value will naturally increase. Just because the film works don't make money doesn't mean the talent management won't."
"Alright, I understand."
"Also, you know Xu Jinglei, right?"
"I do. She's the one currently being heavily promoted by the Beijing circle. She's filmed several movies this year."
"Actually, Li Bingbing and Xu Jinglei are just like them. They also passed my company's beauty pageant recruitment interview back then. But I saw that they both had the potential to be stars, and since one was studying at the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the other at the Beijing Film Academy at the time, I also advised them to give up on being waitresses at my place and study hard. "
"Now they have both graduated. Li Bingbing has joined our company, but Xu Jinglei has other ideas, so don't consider signing her to the company. However, if the company has any suitable projects in the future, after prioritizing the company's artists, you can appropriately consider her."
"Understood."
...Li Bingbing, who came back after signing the contract, was greatly surprised. She didn't expect that just after joining Qingkong Film and Television, she would have the chance to star as the female lead in a CCTV TV series. It seemed she was about to take off.
Perhaps because she had become the first sister of Qingkong Film and Television and was about to star as the female lead in a CCTV TV series, plus Linton was leaving the day after tomorrow.
That night, Li Bingbing was exceptionally passionate, her combat effectiveness improved dramatically. She fought and lost, lost and fought again... the melodious and lingering songs did not stop all night... The next day, Li Bingbing went to the company to coordinate for the TV series "Sisters."
Linton, accompanied by the executive deputy director of the Forestry Bureau, went to visit Panjiayuan and again purchased 50 top-tier Hetian mutton-fat jade Wushi jade pendants, directly clearing out the inventory of several Crystal shops.
The previous jade pendants were almost exhausted, and next, the members of the Harem Group would one after another begin to get pregnant and have children.
For example, after returning from this sea yacht party, Naomi, Jennifer Connelly, and Cameron all expressed their desire to have children to Linton.
And since he was going to cultivate new starlets, it was always better to have more jade pendants prepared just in case.
Afterward, Linton went to the Ming Tombs Jade Factory and spent 80 million US dollars to place a massive order for 40 tons of ordinary Crystal, asking the factory to ship it to Montana via sea freight as soon as possible.
Director Lin Hao had already served as the executive deputy director of the Forestry Bureau for two years. His next step was very likely to go further and be dispatched to a local area to serve as the chief executive of a provincial government.
In a local area, economic development is the top priority, and rapid economic development requires investment.
He jokingly said to Linton, "Linton, if I really go to a local area next year, could you, as a big capitalist, consider investing to support me?"
Linton's impression of Director Lin Hao was quite good; they had indeed gotten along well over the past few years. However, as for investment, he would not consider anything other than venture capital for the internet and Universal Studios.
But besides investment, he had another trump card. "I have no plans for investment for now, but my charity fund can be opened to the place where you serve. At that time, I'll have the person in charge coordinate with you. Building roads and schools won't be a problem."
Director Lin Hao was overjoyed. "That's great! With those words from you, my confidence is even stronger."
...At this point, all the work of Linton's trip achieved a harvest of Perfection.
On September 23, the 15-day trip to China ended.
Linton bid farewell to the reluctant Li Bingbing and returned to Los Angeles with Xu Qing and Li Xiaoran on his private jet.
As for Aunt Kelly, she had to stay in Jiangxi Province with her assistant to continue inspecting the progress of this year's 80 million charity investment project. Once the work was completed, she would return to America on her own.
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