"Brother, do you think there is hope for my sister this time?"
Li Xiuxiu asked while sitting on the sofa, peeling Xinjiang small fragrant pears that were in short supply on the market.
Li Tang, who was flipping through the script, said casually: "I don't know, it depends on luck."
My ex-girlfriend is a hard-working actor with average talent. But as a second female lead who doesn't have many roles, Li Tang thinks it's enough. The main thing is to see whether she can catch Lou Ye's eye.
Li Xiuxiu has learned the specific situation from her ex-girlfriend. What Li Tang can help is to get an audition opportunity.
"I have confidence in my sister, she will definitely be able to do it."
Seeing his former sister-in-law cheering him up, Li Tang smiled and encouraged: "I hope so, I think she is quite suitable."
Li Xiuxiu's eyes lit up and she hurriedly climbed up the pole and said, "Brother, can you have a good talk with Director Lou Ye then?"
"Don't worry, I will definitely say what needs to be said."
"Hehe, I knew it. Brother, with you here, I will be more confident. Brother, eat pears!"
As he spoke, he smiled and brought the peeled pear to Li Tang's mouth.
Li Tang didn't see anyone outside. He opened his mouth and took a bite before catching it with his hand.
After all, my ex-sister-in-law was a reporter. Not only was she better at talking than my ex-girlfriend, she was also much thicker-skinned. In fact, the two sisters look quite similar. Li Xiuxiu looks slightly taller than her ex-girlfriend. Neither sister's skin is fair, but Li Xiuxiu is darker. And compared to her ex-girlfriend who was morbidly thin just to be on camera, Li Xiuxiu looks obviously stronger and healthier.
Maybe it's because Aiwujiwu, the original person has always regarded her as his biological sister. Li Tang, who has merged the memories of his original body, will naturally not have the dirty idea of taking in sisters.
Li Xiuxiu was not idle. She peeled two more pears, cut them into small pieces and put them on a plate. She carefully inserted toothpicks and served them to her sister. The past two days may have been so intense that my ex-girlfriend's voice was a bit hoarse, so she ate pears to soothe her throat so as not to affect the filming.
…
On January 16, the box office share of "The Third Man" finally arrived. According to MK2 statistics, the box office of "The Third Man" exceeded US$10 million outside the Chinese-speaking region. Although this box office performance only ranks in the middle of the box office rankings of all the literary and artistic films represented by MK2 this year, considering that this is a Chinese-language film, this is already a very remarkable result. For this reason, the beautiful Ms. Juliet Schramek of MK2 called specifically to congratulate Li Tang, and also expressed her desire to continue cooperation in the future.
In fact, there is a very mature art film distribution system overseas, with dedicated art theaters, and it has also cultivated a group of fixed audiences.
For example, of the box office of "The Third Man" exceeding 10 million US dollars this time, nearly one-third came from the North American box office, followed by traditional European countries such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy.
However, this time the Japanese market actually contributed 120 million yen in box office, which is equivalent to nearly one million US dollars, which is really unexpected. This is probably related to the fact that I live in a Confucian cultural circle, and that I have been passionate about suspense themes since I was a child.
Compared with monetary income, the biggest beneficiary is actually screenwriter and director Cheng Er. The success of "The Third Man" has made the name of this young Chinese director remembered in the field of art films. One day, he may also become a director after Lou Ye and Chief Jia, including Hou Hsiao-hsien, Yang Dechang and Wang Sunglasses from Hong Kong and Taiwan. There is a Chinese director who is well-known in the field of art films.
"Uh... Li, Brother Li, is it too much?"
Seeing the five million check on the table, Cheng Er, who had always been a man of few words, could not help but breathe quickly and speak incoherently.
This is five million! At present, the first prize of the popular Shuangseqiu welfare lottery in Shanghai is only 5 million, which has made countless citizens dream of getting rich.
Li Tang smiled and said: "Brother Ming settles the accounts. This is calculated based on your investment ratio, and also includes the remuneration of the director and screenwriter. In addition, I would like to remind you that you'd better find a more reliable accountant. Here Part of it is your labor income, and part of it is business income. The tax standards for these personal income taxes are different, so don’t be taken advantage of and don’t pay less tax.”
"Is that so?"
Cheng Er knew nothing about this. Before, he helped people shoot commercials, music videos, etc., and had no concept of paying taxes at all. Perhaps Party A paid him after-tax remuneration, although this is unlikely.
"How much tax should I pay?"
"Probably around 30 percent."
"So many?"
Cheng Er couldn't help but was speechless. Even if calculated at 30%, five million would have to pay a tax of 1.5 million. For a person who has no concept of paying taxes, this figure is painful enough.
"So I ask you to find a more reliable accountant, otherwise if calculated according to the comprehensive income tax, you should pay 45% tax." Li Tang explained to him.
In view of the past life experience, it is impossible to evade taxes in the United States. There is a saying that goes something like this: taxes and death are inevitable.
Therefore, Li Tang carefully studied the relevant domestic tax rates from the beginning. Although the current domestic taxation system is still very imperfect, he does not dare to take risks. It is always right to pay taxes honestly.
"good!"
Cheng Er carefully put away the check after some consideration. After all, with such a huge figure, he didn't trust Li Tang's studio to deduct taxes on his behalf.
Not only Cheng Er, but also Xiaopang, Xu Guangtou, and Jiang Qinqin must be compensated. They all helped for free at the beginning, so they can't just get a dime of their own money. Everyone received a big red envelope according to the role they played, and everyone was happy.
Still the same sentence: Brothers will settle accounts. Especially Xiaopang and Jiang Qinqin need to figure things out carefully, otherwise they will become nothing more than a duck.
Jiang Qinqin offered her 100,000 yuan because she had few roles. Because she said hello in advance, she also knew that the movie had made money, so she responded with a "thank you" text message.
Fan Xiaopang tried to send 500,000 yuan, but nothing happened. She was probably busy filming and couldn't take care of it for the time being, and with her big personality, she probably wouldn't care about her bank account all the time.
On Guangtou Xu's side, the call came right after Qian had called.
"Brother, are you rich?"
"I've made a little bit of money. It's almost Chinese New Year. Please give me your thoughts."
When Baldy Xu agreed to help, in addition to his relationship with Li Tang, it was also mainly because he liked the script and had the mentality to play a supporting role even if he couldn't play the leading role. It was true that he had not thought about the reward, but Li Tang had no choice but to give up because he had no money. He didn't expect to receive such a big red envelope this time, which inevitably made him feel itchy.
In his "simple" understanding, no matter how generous Li Tang is, since he can send him a red envelope of 200,000 yuan, it means that he has earned at least 2 million yuan or more.
"I'm in Hainan these days, but I'll be back next week. Let's get together at Chenguang. How can we do that?"
"Oh, boss, I'm really sorry. I'm going to the capital in two days, and I may not be back until the Chinese New Year. After the Spring Festival, can I arrange the felling?"
"Okay, okay, brother, I won't be polite, thank you."
It is said that the economic base determines the superstructure. Maybe even Xu Guangtou himself didn't realize that his attitude towards Li Tang was inadvertently much more polite.
His ex-girlfriend had already reported to the crew, and Li Tang packed up and flew to the capital.
As usual, Zeng Jia came to pick him up at the airport, driving a brand new Buick GL8 business car, and the driver was still the same Master Shen Linchen.
"Teacher Li!"
As soon as Li Tang got in the car, Xiaopang, who had been waiting in the car, threw herself into his arms.
"Why are you here too?"
Li Tang hugged her. They hadn't seen her for more than two months. She had obviously lost weight again. If she hadn't worn so many clothes in the winter, she might have been a bit irritated.
At the same time, he turned his attention to Zeng Jia in the passenger seat.
Zeng Jia turned around and explained with a smile: "Bingbing said that I want to give you a surprise."
"It's just that I finally met you. I want to give you a surprise!"
Xiaopang keenly felt that Li Tang's response seemed not as enthusiastic as he imagined, and couldn't help but pursed his lips to express his dissatisfaction.
"Okay, let's talk about it when we get home."
In front of Zeng Jia and the driver, Master Shen, Li Tang couldn't help but push Xiaopang to the seat next to him and let her sit down.
If Xiaopang had been holding back a lot, for example, she worked so hard during the filming, she cried almost every day during the scenes, which almost made her shed all her tears for the rest of her life. It's a pity that he was choked back by Li Tang's words.
"snort!"
Xiaopang turned away unhappy.
Zeng Jia, who was sitting in the passenger seat, looked funny through the rearview mirror, and happened to have some time for her to report her recent work to Li Tang.
The most important task of the studio at present is to recruit people and find office locations. Recruiting people is because it is the end of the year. At this time, most people will go home for the New Year, so it will be difficult to recruit people for a while. However, Zeng Jia suggested that in addition to some important positions, such as finance and publicity, which require a few experienced people, it is best to recruit college students with corresponding majors for other positions. On the one hand, the salary is cheap, and on the other hand, talents can be observed and cultivated in practice.
Although Li Tang's answer was still "You figure it out." Zeng Jia noticed that he actually listened very seriously, which also made Zeng Jia realize that she might also be the kind of person to be observed and cultivated in his mind. .
But no matter what, Li Tang Studio is the best platform she dreams of to fully display her ideals and ambitions.
When talking about the office space, Zeng Jia suddenly said to the driver Shen Lin: "Master Shen, drive a little slower on the 798 in front."
At this time, the car was driving on the airport expressway. When he heard the name 798, Li Tang's heart suddenly moved. In the memory of his previous life, he knew that there was a famous 798 Art District in Beijing, and as a promising young man who loved art, he had gone to many art exhibitions and art exhibitions, and also listened to music in the small theater there. Yes, I have watched the Pioneer Drama performance.
The theaters, art centers, office buildings, etc. that were transformed from old factories are comparable to the science and technology centers transformed from old industrial areas in Brooklyn, New York.
Sure enough, the car slowed down after a while. Zeng Jia pointed to the dark factory building on the left and said: "Brother, this is the third radio equipment factory in Beijing, but everyone is accustomed to calling it 798. Because the efficiency is not good, production has been discontinued long ago. Now. There are many factories and office buildings for rent. I came here for a tour some time ago, and many artists have their studios here. It is also convenient to travel, so I thought..."
Before Zeng Jia finished speaking, Li Tang interrupted: "Can you go down and have a look now?"
Shen Lin said hurriedly: "Okay, just go down from the North Fourth Ring Road overpass in front, turn to Jiuxianqiao Road and then go back around."
"Then go down and have a look."
The traffic in the 798 factory area is indeed very convenient. It is adjacent to the Airport Expressway and is right between the North Fourth Ring Road and the North Fifth Ring Road under construction. The Jiuxianqiao Street next to it is already quite lively.
798's factory is very large, but the roads inside are full of potholes and the street lights are on and off. Against the dark old factory buildings on both sides, it's a completely dilapidated scene.
Xiaopang, who was still angry with Li Tang, stretched his neck and looked out of the car curiously. After a while, he curled his lips and said, "What kind of crappy place is this?"
Zeng Jia looked a little embarrassed. From the beginning, she mainly considered the rent to be cheap and the place to be large. If you rent an office of 30 to 40 square meters in an office building in the city center, you may be able to rent a small building here for the same price.
The most important thing is that since last year, because of the low rent, many artists' studios have been attracted to settle here.
The so-called artist these days is just one word - poor! There seems to be some kind of painter's village popping up in many places.
But one thing to note is that Beijing has always been known as the "cultural center". Artist studios, galleries, cultural media companies, etc. have not yet formed a large residential center in Beijing, and they are all scattered here and there.
The site here is large enough, the rent is cheap enough, and the transportation is convenient enough. Maybe a landmark center with culture and art as the theme can spontaneously form.
Besides, even if it doesn't become an art center, the rent here is cheap anyway, so we can just find a new place after we get past the initial studio stage.
Zeng Jia didn't speak, but Shen Lin, who usually didn't talk much, said: "There are not only 798 here, but also 708, 709, and 718 factories. In the past, when the profits were good, everyone was very envious. Now it is no longer possible, and almost all the workers are gone. If I’m laid off, I’ll just have to collect some rent to make ends meet.”
At the end of the story, Shen Lin sighed deeply. He was also a laid-off worker, so it was inevitable that he would be moved by the situation.
Fortunately, we arrived at the end of the field soon.
"Master Shen, pull over for a moment, that's the small building in front of you," Zeng Jia said.
The car stopped, and Zeng Jia got out of the car while pointing to the small building next to him: "Brother, this is it. This used to be the office building in the factory. It has three floors in total and a total area of about 400 square meters, including the one in front of the door. You can park in one area..."
Li Tang had a vague impression of this area because it had already been developed when he came here in his previous life. He only remembered that the large factory building with sawtooth roofs diagonally opposite was the most famous Ullens Local Art Center in the entire 798 Art District.
There is no reason not to get such a good location. Before Zeng Jia finished the introduction, he asked directly: "How much is the rent?"
"Well, the rent here is 60 cents per square meter per day. In total, the entire building costs about 120,000 yuan a year."
Zeng Jia was afraid that Li Tang would think this place was too big, so he continued: "Of course it's enough for us to rent a floor for now, about 40,000 yuan."
Li Tang looked at the small building without comment and walked to the intersection next to the small building. There were no street lights here and it was pitch black, but he could vaguely see a row of long factories behind the small building.
"Where's the rent here?"
"ah?"
Zeng Jia looked at the row of dark and sloppy factory buildings not far away, which were estimated to be five or six hundred square meters. She was stunned, shook her head and said, "I haven't asked about this, but it must be cheaper than the office building in front."
Li Tang nodded and said: "You can ask the factory tomorrow. If the price is right, the small building in front and the row of factories in the back are all required. And the longer the lease period, the better. It is best to sign a dozen Twenty years or something.”
Having said that, the manufacturer is definitely not a fool. It is estimated that it will be good if it can be signed for ten years.
(End of chapter)
