"Triple profit-sharing agreement?" Many people were confused by the name, while others remembered and asked Old Li beside them, "Old Li, the triple profit-sharing agreement you mentioned, isn't that the one you told us about when we joined the crew, the one that tricked us into signing with Tangren Group?" Chu Yunfei recalled and asked Old Li beside him.
"Yes!" Old Li chuckled, "I told all of you old guys back then to sign this triple profit-sharing agreement with Tangren Film and Television, just like I did. But you said the money was too uncertain, and it was better to get a fixed salary, so you refused me. This has nothing to do with me."
"No, is Huang He really planning to settle accounts according to the triple profit-sharing agreement this time?" Chu Yunfei exclaimed. He remembered the content of this profit-sharing agreement, and if it were to be distributed according to this agreement, it would indeed be quite interesting. xxs
Just as Chu Yunfei was questioning, Huang He on the stage spoke, "For our triple profit-sharing agreement, some friends below may not be clear, so I will explain it in a little more detail. Of course, this is for the adult film and television contracted artists who have signed the triple profit-sharing agreement with us. For those who haven't signed, please just listen for fun."
"First, the first tier of the agreement is everyone's fixed salary, which has already been distributed to everyone as the television series was filmed, so this first tier of profit has been distributed."
"Next is the second tier of profit-sharing. According to the rules, when the profit generated by the television series does not exceed the cost, 20% of the total revenue will be distributed to all crew members. Among them, actors get 10%, directors get 3%, and other crew members share the remaining 7% equally."
"So, Director Zhang and Director Chen, calculated based on the cost of 10 million, you two will share 300,000 in the second tier of profit-sharing. Since Director Chen was primarily responsible for the directing work this time, Director Chen will receive 200,000, and Director Zhang will receive 100,000. Do you have any objections?"
"No!" The two directors shook their heads repeatedly. It was impossible for them to have any objections.
"Next is the part for the actors. Actually, this part is more difficult to distribute, as everyone has their own reasons and it's impossible to distribute based on subjective impressions."
"Therefore, I have decided to distribute it based on the performance duration in the final edited version. Every non-extra actor who participates will receive a basic performance score of 1000 points. After that, for every second of appearance on screen, one performance point will be added."
"Finally, each actor's performance points divided by the total performance points of all actors will result in the final profit-sharing ratio. The specific calculation process and data will be distributed to everyone by the staff. If you feel there is any problem with this data, you can also calculate it by referring to the final version of the television series."
"Now, let me announce the results of our calculations. The actor who receives the highest profit-sharing ratio is Mr. Li Youbin. His performance point ratio is 11.32%, so he will receive 10% of the 10 million, which is 1.132 million in the second tier of profit-sharing!"
"Applause!" A round of applause erupted from below. Li Youbin also stood up and bowed to everyone to express his gratitude.
"The second person is Mr. Zhang Tong. His performance point ratio is 4.67%, so he will receive 46,700 in the second tier of profit-sharing!" Huang He announced the second name. Zhang Tong was startled. He hadn't expected to be ranked second, to be the second person whose name was called. In a sense, he was also ranked second in the entire television series.
However, Zhang Tong looked at his filming duration and it seemed that apart from the protagonist Li Yunlong, he was indeed the actor with the longest screen time.
This made Zhang Tong's blood boil. Although he graduated from the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Lyon, France, before "Drawing Sword," Zhang Tong had never filmed any television series, let alone movies. He was a complete newcomer who was discovered by the director while doing odd jobs on the set, who believed he had the ability to play the role of Wei Heshang, and thus became Wei Heshang.
It could be said that Zhang Tong was the lowest-ranking actor present. Yet, he received the second-highest profit share, which made Zhang Tong incredibly excited and incredibly grateful that he had followed Li Youbin's advice and signed with Tangren Film and Television. Although not a core actor fully cultivated by Tangren Film and Television, he was considered a cooperating actor. Later, he received invitations for two television works from Tangren Film and Television, which he also accepted and signed with the triple profit-sharing agreement, which gave Zhang Tong some hope for the future.
After that, Huang He continued to announce a few more names, such as Tong Lei and Ren Zhong, who were actors signed and cultivated by Tangren themselves, and naturally had also signed the triple profit-sharing agreement. However, most of the actors present were not called, and they could only watch these people receive their shares.
However, many people present felt that it was making a fuss over nothing. Li Youbin, who received the most, only got 110,000 in profit-sharing, which was not even as much as their salaries. It was truly not something worth boasting about or exaggerating.
"Why isn't your name here?" Tong Lei asked Hu Jing curiously after receiving her share.
She remembered that she had also advised Hu Jing to sign the triple profit-sharing agreement. Hu Jing had also expressed great optimism about the show at the time and was willing to sign. Tian Lei thought Hu Jing had signed, but Huang He never mentioned Hu Jing's name from beginning to end.
"There was a slight accident, I didn't sign!" Hu Jing said with a wry smile. She had intended to sign, but later she vaguely became Boss Huang's secretary, so she couldn't pursue an acting career. Thus, the signing fell through. Looking back, it seemed she had lost a lot.
"There's still 7% left, which belongs to the entire crew!" Huang He said with a smile. "This is really hard to say whose contribution is greater or smaller, so I will distribute it equally, and everyone will receive the same profit share. But don't feel wronged, this is just a small amount of money. The next, third tier, is the main part!"
Hearing Huang He say this, everyone's spirits were lifted.
Those who had signed the agreement knew that what Huang He said was true. The second tier of profit-sharing was just a guaranteed share, and it was small money. The real substantial part of the triple profit-sharing agreement was in the third tier, which was the profit sharing from the pure profit after the production costs were covered.
Those who had not signed were all very curious about how much money they could get from this third tier.
"The third tier of the profit-sharing agreement is for the portion that exceeds the production cost and belongs to the pure profit of the television series. According to the agreement, 40% of this portion will be obtained by Tangren Film and Television, and the remaining 60% will be distributed to all those who have signed the agreement!" Huang He said calmly. Those who had not signed at the scene suddenly felt a tightening in their chests.
Is what Huang He said true or false? 60% of the profit is distributed, doesn't that mean a full 36 million yuan will be distributed to everyone present?
Just as everyone felt this figure was incredible, Huang He continued, "First, let's distribute the directors' shares. The profit-sharing ratio is three times that of the second tier of profit-sharing, meaning the two directors will receive 9% of the pure profit, which is 3.24 million yuan. Among them, Director Chen will receive 2.16 million, and Director Zhang will receive 1.08 million!"
The two directors listened and breathed heavily. Although later a famous director could earn tens of millions in salary, a few million might not seem like much. However, this was in 2003, when the top television directors earned at most around 1 million yuan in salary.
Moreover, the data from later years are actually very false. You see some celebrities earning tens of millions in salary, but a large part of this is used for tax evasion. The actual money received is far less than this.
"Next is the distribution for the actors!" Huang He said with a smile. "However, here, I do not intend to use the previous distribution method, which solely relies on screen time, because it is very unfair to excellent actors."
"A television series becomes famous, possibly more so due to the brilliant performances of some actors, even if their performance is only for one or two minutes, it can benefit the entire television series immensely."
"Therefore, this time, we plan to distribute it according to market research."
"After the television series was completely finished, we randomly surveyed 500 viewers who had watched all episodes of 'Drawing Sword' and gave them a survey form to fill out. This survey form has also been distributed to everyone present, and you can take a look!" As Boss Huang's voice fell, staff members brought samples of the survey form.
At first glance, everyone saw the names of all the actors listed on the survey form, and there were instructions for the users filling out the survey to rate all the actors. The score was on a 10-point scale, meaning they could score from 0 to 10 arbitrarily, but decimals were not allowed.
On the back of this survey form, different aspects of the television series such as music, script, props, makeup, scenes, lighting, fireworks, etc., were also rated on a percentage basis. Clearly, these were to determine the profit-sharing ratios for the specific members of the crew.
"Everyone has seen this form. The specific profit-sharing rules are actually just a small variable added to the previous ones!"
"First, we will still use the previous calculation method to calculate each actor's performance points. Then, we will look at the scores given by the audience to the actors. We will add up all the scores received by each actor and then divide by 5000 points to get the average score."
"Then, this average score multiplied by 100% and then multiplied by your performance points will be the final performance points participating in the third tier of profit-sharing."
"Let's take Mr. Li Youbin as an example. His performance points are 50,425 points. After being scored by 500 viewers, his final score is 4812 points, so the average score is 96.24 points."
"Therefore, his final performance points for profit-sharing will be 4812 x 96.24%, which is rounded up to 4632 points, acting points. "
"Each non-extra actor will have such acting points, and then they will be divided according to these acting points. Therefore, I am very honored to announce that Mr. Li Youbin's acting point ratio is 20.37%, so he will receive 20.37% of the 30% of 60 million, which is 3.6666 million yuan!" After a series of rule explanations that made many actors' heads ache, they finally knew how much profit Li Youbin would receive, which was 3.6666 million yuan. This shocked countless people and made their ears turn red with envy.
At this time, even top movie stars like Andy Lau only earned around 3 million Hong Kong dollars for a movie. This Li Youbin was actually comparable to Andy Lau in terms of salary. This made everyone feel all sorts of indescribable emotions, and it was unclear whether it was admiration, jealousy, or some other emotion.
"Brother Yunfei, do you know how much my original salary was?" Old Li suddenly turned his head and asked Chu Yunfei with a smile.
"I don't know!" Chu Yunfei rolled his eyes. However, he knew his own. His salary was 300,000 yuan. He thought this salary was quite high at the time. It was the highest salary he had ever received for any role, which made him feel a little proud. Now, hearing about Li Youbin's 3.6666 million yuan, it was truly damn impressive.
"I had initially agreed to take a salary of 500,000 yuan. But when I heard that Tangren also had this kind of triple profit-sharing agreement, I thought it was quite good. Our Old Li felt that with our Old Li's acting skills, it would be a piece of cake to earn more than 500,000 yuan in salary at that time, so I changed the profit-sharing rules!"
"You don't know, at first, I felt so miserable. Filming was so hard, and I only got 5,000 yuan a month. And once the filming was done, this 10,000 yuan salary was gone. Before today, Old Li had only received 20,000 yuan in salary."
"You don't know, Old Li worried every day. What if this TV series wasn't popular when it aired? What if this TV series wasn't allowed to be broadcast at all? I worried every day, and I lost several strands of hair. But now it's good, Old Li is also a rich man. I'm going to buy a house tomorrow, a big house in Beijing!" Li Youbin said happily, making Chu Yunfei roll his eyes and refuse to talk to Li Youbin.
Well, 3 million yuan at that time should still be able to buy a house of several hundred square meters in Beijing!
Chu Yunfei was so angry that he couldn't speak, but some people noticed another thing. Although Li Youbin's profit-sharing ratio was only 11% before, it increased to 20% in the third tier of profit-sharing.
This showed how high Li Youbin's score from the audience was, while the scores of many other actors were much lower. This indicated that the brilliance of the entire television series was almost entirely taken by Li Youbin alone, which was why he received double the profit share in the third tier of profit distribution.
Thinking of this, they became even more curious about how much they were worth in the eyes of the audience.
Huang He seemed to read the minds of those present and said with a smile, "Since the audience scoring involves everyone's privacy, the audience scores will not be directly announced. However, our staff will privately give each of you a small note so that you can know how much your performance is worth in the eyes of the audience, and this can also help you find directions for improvement!"
Then, Huang He announced the amounts received by other people. The largest amount was again received by Zhang Tong, but his average audience score was not announced. Only his final profit-sharing ratio was announced, which increased significantly from the previous ratio, reaching 6.82%. He received a huge sum of 1.2276 million yuan, which made Zhang Tong almost kneel on the spot with excitement.
However, only these two people received profit shares of over a million yuan. The actors who received money afterwards did not have such terrifying profit shares.
Tong Lei ranked third, receiving 762,400 yuan. Ren Zhong received 513,800 yuan. More than a dozen contracted actors received money, and these amounts were generally over 100,000 yuan, which was much more than the fixed salaries they received.
After all, they were mostly young actors who had just graduated or were even still studying. Receiving over 100,000 yuan was already an extremely fortunate thing.
Afterwards, Huang He also distributed the accounts to other members of the crew. The rules were the same. Different types of work in the crew were distributed according to audience scores. As for the staff of the same type of work, their attendance and workload were calculated and distributed accordingly. These would have more detailed tiered rules, which will not be elaborated here.
"Actually, this profit distribution is just the beginning," Huang He concluded. "Because the profit of 'Drawing Sword' is far more than this. I just received news that Sichuan Satellite TV has also successfully signed a contract with us, purchasing the third round of broadcasting rights at a price of 250,000 yuan per episode. More television stations will definitely be willing to purchase our works in the future."
"Please rest assured, every quarter, the staff of adult films and television will conduct corresponding statistics and settle profit shares with everyone according to the same proportion. As long as 'Drawing Sword' can still earn even one cent in the future, everyone can also receive corresponding returns. Perhaps in another 20 years, you can still receive these profit shares from the company."
Well, the contract period for the triple profit-sharing agreement was 20 years. After 20 years, these actors would no longer be able to share money. However, being able to share for 20 years, no one present would have any complaints.
There were also more events at this celebration banquet, such as the banquet itself, and Tangren Film and Television also paid for a three-day vacation at a resort, which all crew members could attend.
However, those present had no interest in thinking about these other activities. They were all immersed in the enormous profit-sharing ratios.
Those who received money were naturally overjoyed and felt fortunate to have received such huge sums.
As for those who did not receive any money, their eyes were red with intense hatred, regretting why they had refused the triple profit-sharing agreement in the first place.
Gradually, a few consensuses formed in their hearts.
First, next time there is a filming invitation from Tangren Film and Television, they will definitely not refuse and will resolutely participate.
Second, they will never demand fixed salaries and must sign the triple profit-sharing agreement.
Third, they must work hard and study acting skills when performing, and must deliver performances that satisfy all audiences, otherwise, their profit-sharing ratio will still be low, which is embarrassing.
Once these consensuses were formed in everyone's hearts, the original purpose of Huang He calling this celebration banquet was achieved.
Otherwise, would a big boss like Huang He be willing to spend a whole day attending such a celebration banquet? Nor would he organize such unimaginable things as distributing money publicly.
His fundamental purpose was to tell everyone in the industry through this celebration banquet and the huge profit shares that if they wanted to film good works, they should come to Tangren.
If you come to Tangren, you must produce good works.
And as long as good works are produced, everyone can make money together.
Huang He wanted to use this method to tell the entire industry that their Tangren was a production company that only produced high-quality products and not garbage, aiming to build a reputation of "Tangren Production, Guaranteed Quality."
Thus, this celebration banquet, which was destined to be unforgettable for everyone present, came to an end. However, Huang He and matters related to the television series still needed to continue for a while, because he was going to visit Leng Zhiwen on set next.
At this time, "Chinese Paladin" had already started filming. The urban parts of "Chinese Paladin" were being shot in Hengdian. However, this was not the main filming location for "Chinese Paladin." The real filming location was in Zhelin Lake, Jiangxi Province, also known as Lushan West Sea.
This is a name that many Chinese people have never heard of. In 2003, Zhelin Lake was not developed at all. Later, Huang He visited Zhelin Lake and found that the scenery of Zhelin Lake was actually very beautiful, very similar to Qiandao Lake, and very suitable for the Immortal Spirit Island in "Chinese Paladin," as well as for the final battle scene with the Water Demon.
Therefore, Huang He decided to shoot the main plot of "Chinese Paladin" near Zhelin Lake, instead of choosing the Qiandao Lake area where the filming took place in his previous life.
Of course, the main reason for choosing Zhelin Lake was not that Zhelin Lake was better than Qiandao Lake. In fact, Huang He felt that both were similar. The most crucial reason was that Zhelin Lake had not yet been developed at this time, and land prices were very cheap.
When Huang He went to find a special effects team to produce "Misty Journey," or rather, when he decided to make the entire entertainment industry an important branch of his career, Huang He decided to build his own film and television base for the Jiangnan Group.
It was not a film and television city with a strong commercial atmosphere like Hengdian, which mainly featured various ancient city buildings, but a film and television city suitable for filming various Xianxia dramas and sci-fi dramas, with rich natural scenery.
Therefore, Huang He purchased over 150 square kilometers of land in the Zhelin Lake area at once, including 30 square kilometers of water area, which was more than four times the area of Hengdian Film and Television City.
Of course, such a large area for a film and television city might be too much. But it doesn't matter. In the future, a Jiangnan Park could also be built here, bringing in all the universes that Huang He fancied, such as the Marvel Universe, the Misty Universe, the Investiture of the Gods Universe, the Monster Universe, the Ultraman Universe, etc. It should be able to generate a lot of money every day!