Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 254 - 255: What Grudge, What Resentment

Chapter 254: Chapter 255: What Grudge, What Resentment

Tangna Film and Television is a well-known company in the industry, with many excellent films playing on various video websites every year, creating untold profits for the sites.

It’s unwise to offend Tangna Film and Television for the sake of a mere "Small Bridge, Flowing Water, People".

As the date for the TV series broadcast approached and the online streaming negotiation still hadn’t been settled, Gu Qiao grew anxious.

"Director Gu, I just called the Panda Video website, and they said they’d accept exclusive broadcasting, but they want to change some conditions," hurried into the office, Director Gu’s assistant reported.

Gu Qiao’s face grew cold as she asked, "What conditions do they want to change?"

The assistant hesitated, then spoke hesitantly, "It’s about the revenue share ratio, they want to change that."

"The industry’s exclusive broadcasting ratios are almost fixed; do they want to take more or are they offering concessions?" Gu Qiao asked calmly.

It’s not like she hadn’t experienced the worst-case scenario. Her relationship with Tangna Film and Television was like fire and water; it wouldn’t be strange if Tangna wanted to play tricks with the exclusive broadcasting rights.

The assistant said indignantly, "They want to take more. The terms have already been sent over, very harsh. Director, we..."

"Then we just won’t sign with that video website," Gu Qiao said calmly, a sharp cold light flashing in her eyes.

"Go contact other video websites. Don’t do it one by one; reach out to all of them together and see if they’re speaking the same language."

The assistant nodded and immediately left.

When it rains it pours; as the online broadcasting rights hadn’t been settled, President Fang, the biggest investor in the film, called to berate her.

"What have you done? Have you sold the online broadcasting rights of this film yet? Sell them quickly, I need to recoup some of my capital! You said you would handle the operations, that’s why I let you take care of sales, rubbish! Even a ’great director’ can’t secure an online broadcast..."

Veins bulged on Gu Qiao’s forehead as she clenched her phone tightly, trying to restrain herself from cursing out loud.

This investor just had some money and knew nothing about the entertainment industry. Seeing that investing in films brought returns, he put forward a sum of money to invest.

Gu Qiao had also expended a lot of effort to persuade President Fang to invest in the first place.

President Fang was an outsider and didn’t know about her entanglement with Tangna Film and Television. He didn’t know then, and he still didn’t; otherwise, he would have exploded long ago, no need to wait until today.

If it weren’t for Tangna Film and Television meddling, "Small Bridge, Flowing Water, People" would have been sold smoothly already. She had been strict in the making of this TV drama, with her heart and soul put into the picture quality and tone; she believed it was no worse than any other drama. If it weren’t for Tangna Film and Television...

Gu Qiao bit down hard, trying to remain calm and composed as she said, "President Fang, the online broadcasting rights are currently under negotiation, and they will be sold soon. The TV broadcast and online stream will happen simultaneously. Please trust me."

"Trust my ass! It’s all over the internet that you can’t sell the online rights!" President Fang roared on the phone.

Gu Qiao was stunned, "Leaks?"

"At noon today, a bunch of marketing accounts started making noise, saying ’Small Bridge, Flowing Water, People’ couldn’t sell its online rights. The drama is about to be broadcast, but the online video websites have yet to announce, and there are rumors that Huadu TV might postpone its broadcast, not a very bright outlook for this drama."

In the abandoned old residential area, Luo You personally went to the set to bring He Jinxia this news.

"According to my sources, ’Small Bridge, Flowing Water, People’ can’t sell its online rights because of Tangna Film and Television. Since Tangna can’t control the TV stations, they’ve reached out to manipulate online broadcasting."

He Jinxia was dining when she heard this, and was stunned for a few seconds, as if to process the news.

After a while, she exclaimed, "What kind of grudge is this? She’s just a director, yet the big company won’t let her go."

Luo You shrugged his shoulders, "Betrayal, eh? Would you call that a deep grudge?"

With the situation being urgent, He Jinxia couldn’t afford to be polite and quickly shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice to fill her stomach, asking Sister Xiao Hua to pour some water. She turned to Luo You and said, "You didn’t come just to tell me this news, did you?"

Luo You’s expression turned grave. He glanced around, ensuring no one was close by, then said, "Reports online are only half true, but if Gu Qiao fails to sell the online rights this time, Huadu TV’s broadcast might indeed be delayed."

A delay would mean that the show cannot be released, and if it’s not released, then no one would see He Jinxia’s performance in a historical costume.

Officially, the only work He Jinxia has is the show ’Chen Xiaohui, Go Forward!’

More importantly, if ’Small Bridge, Flowing Water, People’ is delayed, her work would have a gap, without a continuous stream of productions being broadcast, not allowing her to maintain visibility with the audience.

With hesitation, He Jinxia said, "The network has already broadcasted the commercials, and there’s only one week left. The set date won’t change, right?"

Luo You shook his head, "Hard to say."

"Nowadays, TV series marketing largely adopts a ’TV + internet’ model. The series first airs on TV, followed by video websites a couple of hours later. This model helps TV series recover costs and make a profit."

"But with Tangna Film and Television playing their game, ’Small Bridge, Flowing Water, People’ having a simultaneous online release is uncertain! It’s the summer season now, the time of year with the highest traffic. Everyone wants their shows broadcast during this period."

"’Small Bridge, Flowing Water, People’ is set precisely for the summer season. With issues in online broadcasting, Huadu TV isn’t just about one person. If Gu Qiao can’t solve this, a change in the lineup is very likely."

After pondering for a moment, He Jinxia said, "But it could also be an opportunity. The trolls have already hyped up ’Small Bridge, Flowing Water, People.’ If Huadu TV decides to broadcast and there’s no online release, the TV ratings could potentially explode."

Luo You shook his head, "It’s too risky to do that, what if it flops? Between playing it safe and gambling for a win, which would you choose?"

He Jinxia was at a loss for words and could not respond.

After a while, she said, "It all depends on what kind of TV series could replace ’Small Bridge, Flowing Water, People.’ I can only trust Director Gu, the storyline of ’Small Bridge, Flowing Water, People’ is solid, it has the potential to be a hit."

Luo You nodded seriously. As an actress and an agent, they had no hand in TV broadcasts and could only trust that Gu Qiao would resolve the issues, leaving everything else to fate.

"I’m here for another reason as well, to check on the progress with the director and to wrap up your scenes as soon as possible. Let’s see what steps we take after August 1st."

Luo You was urging her to finish filming quickly out of urgency. He Jinxia was equally anxious, but haste was useless; who would have predicted such complications during filming?

After talking with He Jinxia for a while longer, Luo You went to find the director.

Only after receiving a serious and earnest guarantee from the director that the film would definitely be released in cinemas and would not be a "one-day wonder" did Luo You’s expression slightly improve, and he left the set.