Chapter 78: Chief Operating Officer
After hanging up the phone, Li Chen wondered if Yang Mi wanted to meet him tomorrow.
Thinking about it again, he felt it was unlikely.
Yang Mi had a somewhat chivalrous personality and was quite upright, after all, she had a police officer father.
If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't dwell on it.
He returned to the private room.
Jiang Wen still looked radiant.
He laughed heartily and said, “Little brother, I, Jiang Wen, rarely admire anyone, but you’re half of one.”
“I won an award at Cannes when I was 37, Chen Kaige was 41, but you, you finished the job at 22!”
“If the investment for my current film wasn't already full, I would definitely include you.”
“Come on, let’s have another drink.”
It’s a good thing you didn't look for me, Li Chen thought with a secret smile.
From what he remembered, the film the sun also rises lost a lot of money.
It seemed the capital chain even broke at the end, and Yang Shoucheng from Emperor Entertainment Group stepped in to fill the gap.
Li Chen didn't remember wrong, but he overlooked himself.
A few months later, Jiang Wen's the sun also rises spent all of Huayi Brothers' 18 million yuan.
But less than half of the film had been shot.
The Wang brothers were unwilling to invest more.
With no other option, Jiang Wen found Han Sanping, who then found Li Chen.
Of course, that was a story for later.
Jiang Wen raised his glass as he spoke, while Han Sanping stopped drinking once he reached his limit.
Li Chen inverted his glass and said with a smile, “I’ve also reached my limit. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future.”
Han Sanping also said, “Alright, we’ve met today, and it’s getting late. Let’s call it a night.”
Jiang Wen put down his glass and said with a smile, “Alright, then another day.”
“When you’re free, come visit my set and give me some advice.”
“To be honest, I’ve been feeling quite stifled these past five years.”
Han Sanping laughed when he heard this.
Li Chen also laughed and said, “You should be fine. When you act as a director, you do a director’s job.”
“When you act, you want to take over both the director and the producer.”
“Lu Chuan originally didn’t have many works, and one film, The Missing Gun, became a joke in the industry!”
“How can you still say you feel stifled!”
Jiang Wen burst into laughter, “Han Dong, you should have introduced me to Li Chen earlier.”
“His temperament is so much to my liking; he dares to say anything!”
“We should have met at the Premiere of Warriors of Heaven and Earth last time.”
“But you, you directly gave me no face, which made me quite unhappy at the time!”
Li Chen didn't say anything more; Jiang Wen was clearly drunk and becoming more talkative.
He was putting his arm around Li Chen's shoulders, but Li Chen subtly maintained some distance.
On the way back, Li Chen and Han Sanping finalized the Premiere of shoplifters for June 15th.
Han Sanping told Li Chen not to worry, saying he would handle all the guest invitations.
The scale and caliber would be unprecedented.
Li Chen thought to himself, it seems the profits from shoplifters have given Han Sanping more say in China Film Group Corporation.
Perhaps removing the 'deputy' from his title was already a sure thing.
Han Sanping then chided Li Chen a bit, complaining that he had quietly greenlit lost in thailand again.
Li Chen did not argue.
Rongchen Film and Television was, after all, his private enterprise.
There was no need to involve China Film Group Corporation in every project.
From beginning to end, Li Chen had been sending Han Sanping a message.
Rongchen Film and Television and China Film Group Corporation had an equal partnership.
Neither was a subordinate or an affiliated subsidiary of the other.
It wasn't before, and it certainly wouldn't be in the future.
Li Chen had already had Yang Siwei submit the script for ip man earlier.
Han Sanping had also read it and told him not to wait for approval.
Approval would definitely not be held up; he guaranteed it would come through in less than a week.
Casting and the initial preparations for the crew could proceed simultaneously.
The next day, back at the company, Xu Zheng came to report to Li Chen on the situation with lost in thailand.
Xu Zheng was truly capable; his cost control was impeccable.
He still called his wife, Tao Hong, to play the wife.
Other supporting roles were also filled by inexpensive, lesser-known actors.
Yang Mi stood beneath the Splendid Diamond building.
She looked up at Rongchen Film and Television's giant panda on a swing logo.
After a two-second hesitation, she strode into the building without a second thought.
Her assistant led her to a conference room via the elevator.
“Miss Yang, please wait a moment, Director Li is on the phone.”
The assistant poured Yang Mi a cup of coffee.
“It’s fine, I’m not in a hurry,” Yang Mi said, a little nervously.
The coffee at Rongchen Film and Television was a step above Rongxingda's.
One was freshly ground, the other instant.
Sigh, she had originally wanted to meet her senior outside.
But then her senior said it wasn't necessary to make it so complicated, and he didn't have time either.
Just come to the company.
She wondered if her senior had guessed her intentions.
Yang Mi felt uneasy.
Li Chen was a little surprised when he received a call from Lu Zhong.
“Teacher Lu, how did you know I was hiring?”
“Director Tian wanted to recommend Wu Bin, and asked for my opinion,” Lu Zhong said.
“Senior Brother Wu Bin? Heh, Teacher, you kept it very quiet from me,” Li Chen said with a laugh.
That day, when he met Tian Zhuangzhuang, he had mentioned wanting to hire a management talent who understood the film and television industry.
Tian Zhuangzhuang had said he would help Li Chen think of a way.
He didn't expect to have a lead so soon.
“Hmm, do you think he’s suitable?” Lu Zhong asked.
In Lu Zhong's view, since Tian Zhuangzhuang recommended his son, and she also felt Rongchen Film and Television was a good place, and she knew Li Chen, there was no need for a go-between, to avoid misunderstandings.
“Suitable, Senior Brother Wu originally graduated from the management department and even won a Jinji Award.”
“He couldn’t be more suitable, I’m just afraid Senior Brother Wu won’t condescend,” Li Chen said with a smile.
“I’ve asked Wu Bin, and he’s willing.”
“Working for you won’t disgrace his Golden Rooster Awards,” Lu Zhong also said with a smile.
After hanging up the phone, Li Chen was happy.
With Wu Bin here, he wouldn't have to do everything himself.
The company just happened to be lacking a Chief Operating Officer.
With Wu Bin's arrival, everything would be complete.
In the future, with Yang Siwei handling internal affairs and Wu Bin external, he would be free from worries.
Li Chen remembered that the screenwriter for the main theme film the taking of tiger mountain was Wu Bin.
His teacher had really helped him a lot.
Li Chen then called Tian Zhuangzhuang and thanked him profusely.
Then he contacted Wu Bin, and they arranged to meet at the company.
After finishing all this, Li Chen went to the conference room to see Yang Mi.
Now, wherever he went, he was the center of attention, and the company was no exception.
Meeting a young actress, especially a female one, in his office would inevitably lead to gossip.
Meeting outside would make it even easier for reporters to catch them.
It was better to meet openly in the company's conference room.
Even if employees saw them, they wouldn't gossip aimlessly.
Today, Yang Mi wore a pink spaghetti-strap dress, with bangs and her square-shaped face.
She was still youthful.
Seeing Li Chen enter, Yang Mi nervously stood up.
“Senior…”
“Sit, sit down and talk,” Li Chen said with a smile.
Yang Mi had a strange feeling; her senior was only three or four years older than her.
Yet, his every gesture exuded an air of grand maturity.
Compared to the two female executives at Rongxingda,
One was like a Fortune Global 500 company, the other more like a township entrepreneur.
Yang Mi took a sip of coffee to calm herself down.
Li Chen asked, “How have you been recently?”
A warm current flowed through Yang Mi’s heart.
She had thought her senior would directly ask about her purpose for coming today.
Yang Mi told Li Chen about her recent situation.
Although she didn't complain when talking about Rongxingda,
Her words still expressed a sense of lament that good resources never reached newcomers like her.
She then naturally expressed her envy for Tang Yan.
Li Chen didn't take her bait; he didn't care about her relationship with Tang Yan.
