Chapter 1138: An Empty Shell

After Chen Qing finished speaking, the expressions in the conference room varied. At first, everyone seemed pleased. However, as they were all intelligent individuals, they quickly sensed something amiss upon further reflection.

Even if Wu Shanlin and the others were unaware of Hollywood’s golden rule of "never invest your own money in movies," this proposal, upon closer examination, seemed even more problematic than using one’s own funds.

First, these executives had been promised shares in Jinshu upon joining. As long as everything went smoothly, they would become shareholders after their contracts ended. Even though the promised shares didn’t exceed 10%, it still meant they would become part owners of the company.

Now, consider this plan. Take Zhang Yimou’s Hero as an example. With an investment equivalent to 250 million RMB, it was an astronomical sum for mainland China at the time. After all, publicly, there were fewer than ten individuals in China with personal assets exceeding 250 million RMB.

If Jinshu borrowed 250 million to invest in a film, success would naturally bring joy to all. However, if it failed, even though the debt wouldn’t fall on them personally since it was the boss’s money, theoretically, the company would be left with negative assets. Using a term that had recently emerged due to the Giant Group incident, the company would be on the brink of bankruptcy.

In that case, what use would their shares in Jinshu be? They might even be saddled with massive debts.

The room fell silent for a moment before Wu Shanlin finally spoke up, "Director Chen, will this loan be under the name of Jinshu Media Group or its subsidiary, Jinshu Films?"

Everyone immediately perked up and looked at Chen Qing. This was a highly technical question.

The reason the Jinshu system had become so entrenched in just over a year was due to its complex structure. Jinshu Media Group was just one branch of the system, which also included Jinshu Cinema Line Group, responsible for theater operations, and Jinshu Film and Tourism Development Group, centered around the Jinshu Film Studio in Jiangsu.

As for Jinshu Media, its registered business scope included film production, artist management, advertising planning, and more. It had a string of subsidiaries, including Jinshu Films, Jinshu TV Production, Jinshu Talent Agency, and Jinshu Advertising, most of which were already operational.

On the other hand, whether it was the parent company, Jinshu Media Group, or its subsidiaries like Jinshu Films, they all shared a complex equity structure. This was mainly due to current Chinese laws and regulations, which restricted foreign investment in certain sectors, capped shareholding at 50% in some cases, and allowed full ownership in others. As a result, both the parent company and its subsidiaries had entirely different equity structures, and whether some surface-level shareholders were holding shares on behalf of others was another matter.

However, one thing was certain: the entire Jinshu system was firmly controlled by a certain tycoon behind the scenes.

Now, regarding the executives present, the equity incentives in their contracts were tied to different corporate entities. Wu Shanlin, Guan Yinan, and other top executives had five-year contracts with equity incentives tied to Jinshu Media Group. After five years, they could receive 5% to 10% of the shares based on performance.

Other second-tier executives in various subsidiaries had equity incentives tied to Jinshu Films, Jinshu TV, and other subsidiaries.

Thus, Wu Shanlin’s question was highly pertinent. If the funds for Hero were borrowed under Jinshu Media Group’s name, the debt responsibility could fall on everyone. If it was borrowed under the subsidiary Jinshu Films, even if they couldn’t completely escape liability, at least the parent company, Jinshu Media, would bear less responsibility, and other second-tier executives in subsidiaries wouldn’t be affected by the debt.

When Chen Qing heard Wu Shanlin’s question and saw everyone looking at her, she paused briefly before saying, "The boss said it’s under Jinshu Films’ name."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing the expressions of the executives, Chen Qing almost smirked but managed to hold back.

In fact, on the way back, Chen Qing had also thought of this issue and brought it up to her boss. Her first instinct had been to borrow under Jinshu Media Group’s name. However, her boss was more considerate and didn’t go that route.

The boss still wanted to get things done and didn’t want to dampen the enthusiasm of Jinshu’s executives. Otherwise, given Chen Qing’s personality, she would have turned Jinshu into an empty shell, not just limiting it to Jinshu Films this time.

After all, this situation was quite frustrating.

Chen Qing was determined to investigate who was behind the sabotage to ensure they wouldn’t cause further trouble in the future. However, she also understood that while her boss was being somewhat considerate, using this strategy indicated he wasn’t entirely unaffected. Due to domestic legal restrictions, the Westeros system couldn’t hold absolute control over certain businesses. However, in a way, the control exerted through debt was just as effective.

Chen Qing had always worried that once Jinshu grew, it would attract unwanted attention. By saddling it with massive debt, Jinshu would appear as a "mess" to some, and no one would want to take on such a burden, reducing the likelihood of interference.

Additionally, by setting high-interest rates on the debt, the Westeros system could siphon off most of Jinshu’s profits, making the company unprofitable. In extreme cases, the entire company could be turned into an empty shell, further deterring any potential interference.

The end result was that even if the Westeros system didn’t hold absolute control over Jinshu on paper, its actual control over the company would only grow stronger.

Since Chen Qing’s answer had somewhat eased everyone’s concerns, and given that this seemed to be the only way to move forward with Hero, no one raised further objections. Instead, they began discussing more practical matters.

Luo Qian, president of Jinshu Cinema Line, asked, "Director Chen, what about China Film Group? What do we do with them now?"

The original plan had been for Daenerys Entertainment to invest 80%, with China Film Group and Jinshu each contributing 10% of the budget. Now, with Daenerys Entertainment out and Jinshu taking on the loan, Jinshu’s investment share had jumped to 90%. Luo Qian’s underlying question was: was it still necessary to keep China Film Group involved?

Chen Qing, however, didn’t let her emotions get the better of her. She nodded and said to Wu Shanlin, "Talk to China Film Group this afternoon. Unless they withdraw on their own, the cooperation continues. However, since we’ll be covering 90% of the funding, Jinshu will take full control of the production. As for distribution, we’ll still collaborate with China Film Group."

In essence, this was a toll fee, mainly related to distribution.

At this stage, private film companies in China weren’t allowed to engage in distribution, and foreign companies were completely out of the question. Historically, the first private film distribution license was obtained by Bona in 1999. Therefore, even though Jinshu had handled most of the marketing and distribution for the New Year’s release Keep Cool, it had still been done under China Film Group’s banner.

And it certainly wasn’t free.

The same would likely apply to Hero. Thus, there was no need to kick China Film Group out over a 10% investment—it wouldn’t be worth it.

No one objected to Chen Qing’s decision. Wu Shanlin then asked, "Director Chen, what’s the plan for Daenerys Entertainment buying out Hero’s overseas rights?"

"It’ll be a one-time buyout. As for the price…" Chen Qing glanced around the room. "It’ll depend on the final product, so you’ll need to put in the effort."

Wu Shanlin hesitated before saying, "Director Chen, I was wondering, could we sign a flexible agreement where the price fluctuates based on overseas box office performance?"

Chen Qing smiled. "You’re quite confident, aren’t you?"

Wu Shanlin also smiled. "It’s not that I’m confident. It’s just that with Mr. Westeros personally approving the project and Director Zhang at the helm, it’s bound to be good."

Chen Qing didn’t hesitate and nodded. "The boss would definitely appreciate that attitude. Since you’ve brought it up, I can agree to it right now."

They then discussed some more details. Chen Qing didn’t forget about Zhang Yimou and asked if he faced any difficulties in the current preparations.

As long as the funding continued, Zhang Yimou had no issues.

In fact, Zhang Yimou was highly motivated for this project because Jinshu had offered him a generous director’s fee of $300,000.

$300,000—equivalent to over 2 million RMB—was the largest sum Zhang Yimou had ever received since starting his career. Additionally, Jinshu had recently added a 1 million RMB bonus for the success of Keep Cool, which hadn’t been part of the original contract. This made Zhang Yimou realize he had chosen the right company, and knowing that a certain someone was behind the scenes, he was fully committed.

This was actually the result of Simon’s personal intervention.

Whether it was Jinshu’s executives or its film talent, Simon was never stingy when it came to compensation.

Take Zhang Yimou, for example. The falling out between him and Zhang Weiping had been widely publicized in the industry, and it ultimately came down to money—a classic case of "I thought we were brothers, but you’re just here for the money!"

For their first collaboration, Keep Cool, Zhang Yimou’s fee was 300,000 RMB, which was the market rate. Simon didn’t intentionally overpay.

With the success of Keep Cool and Hero being such a major project, paying Zhang Yimou in RMB would have been unfair, so his fee was raised to $300,000. While this couldn’t compare to Jet Li’s earnings, it was still the highest among mainland directors. Additionally, a profit-sharing clause was added. Although Zhang Yimou himself thought it unlikely to see profits from a 250 million RMB investment, he felt reassured.

Everything was clear and transparent.

Thus, even though Jinshu maintained strict control over the project, limiting his usual creative freedom, Zhang Yimou found it reasonable.

The meeting ended around noon.

Lunch wasn’t a grand affair; they simply had a working meal at the company. During the meal, Chen Qing casually brought up two upcoming TV projects: Super Girl and Kangxi Microblog Travels.

Both had been finalized.

Super Girl had faced quite a few hurdles over the past six months.

Mainly because the past two years had coincided with the rise of provincial satellite TV stations. Once a local TV station became a "satellite TV," it could reach a national audience, and provincial stations were reluctant to share programs with other channels.

Additionally, Super Girl was a rare singing competition show in China, and there were disputes over copyright issues. After several changes, Super Girl had finally landed on Jiangsu TV, thanks to Chen Qing’s personal efforts.

Currently, Super Girl was in the final stages of promotion on Jiangsu TV, with the first season set to premiere on June 7. The season would run from June to August, lasting three months—half the duration of previous seasons, mainly due to a lack of confidence.

Moreover, the first season would be limited to Jiangsu, rather than having multiple regional competitions as in the past.

As for production, after negotiations, Jinshu Media would have full control, with Jiangsu TV only responsible for content review. The show’s copyright and the rights to sign the contestants would belong to Jinshu.

In terms of profit-sharing, Jinshu would retain all product placement revenue, while Jiangsu TV wouldn’t pay for the program. Instead, following the common practice of the time, Jiangsu TV would allocate a certain amount of advertising time to Jinshu, and how much Jinshu could earn from it would depend on their own efforts.

This was a form of risk-sharing.

Clearly, the higher the show’s ratings, the more Jinshu would earn. If it failed, they couldn’t blame anyone.

As for Kangxi Microblog Travels, the situation was much better.

From production to distribution, everything had gone smoothly. The first-round broadcast rights had already been secured by Beijing, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Guangdong TV stations. The transaction model was also based on advertising time rather than cash purchases, with a planned simultaneous broadcast on July 1.

After lunch, as Chen Qing was about to leave, Guan Yinan caught up with her.

Noticing her expression, Chen Qing took her to her car, dismissed the driver and assistant, and closed the door before asking, "What’s the matter?"

"It’s about the three female leads of My Fair Princess," Guan Yinan hesitated but finally said. "It’s Xiao Zhao and the others. They’ve probably seen how Jing Xi and An Qi are being treated and asked me to help inquire. Director Chen, I also want to know Mr. Westeros’s stance on this."

Chen Qing immediately understood.

Guan Yinan was more concerned about the latter part. The situation was simple: if all the female stars and even female producers at Jinshu Talent Agency were the boss’s women, Guan Yinan, as the head of the agency, would find it difficult to manage a group of "ladies."

As for the three female leads of My Fair Princess, it seemed Guan Yinan was just casually bringing them up.

The last time the boss had visited China, the three women had been summoned to the yacht on Taihu Lake. It seemed they had since developed some ideas.

Chen Qing was a very detail-oriented person, especially when it came to her boss. She had even suggested setting up a separate residence to keep them together, as it would have been easy to do. However, her boss had shown no interest, casually dismissing the idea.

Clearly, it was just a casual fling.

With this in mind, Chen Qing directly said, "Tell them not to get their hopes up. Also, Guan Jie, keep work and personal matters separate. What happens privately is none of your concern, but when it comes to work, if anyone tries to throw their weight around because of their status, handle it according to company rules or let me know, and I’ll deal with it."

This was a clear and straightforward answer, and Guan Yinan felt reassured.

Thinking more carefully, the women under the boss at Jinshu Talent Agency were all quite well-behaved, and none had acted arrogantly because of their status. Even Chen Qing, who was also the boss’s woman, was someone to look up to.

Perhaps this was just the boss’s natural talent for choosing the right people.

With this in mind, Guan Yinan felt at ease. Otherwise, if Jinshu Talent Agency became a pool for the boss to keep his mistresses, Guan Yinan, who genuinely wanted to get things done, felt it would be better to resign early.