My capital is quite large.

Chapter 292 The Painful Blizzard

The punishment of Bai Lu had a far more profound effect on Haofeng Group than had been imagined.

It's less of a punishment and more of a show of force to deter others.

All the shrewd female artists in the group withdrew their tentative hands.

However, amidst the calm and avoidance of suspicion, Lao Han, the director of the film and television department, has encountered an unexpected problem that is causing him some trouble these past two days.

Zhang Tianai.

To be honest, this girl's status and position within Haofeng's artist department is rather awkward.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly whose side she's on, but anyone in the upper management or the president's office who's an informant can easily find out that her entry into the company is inextricably linked to the two top secretaries in the president's office.

But ever since Secretary Zhang put in a good word and got her into the company, and then gave her a low-budget web series, the entire president's office has never paid any extra attention to her again.

In the talent department, where people are always opportunistic, this kind of indifference—saying hello and then letting things fend for themselves—is always seen as a sign that the big boss doesn't think you're good enough for them.

Since I wasn't chosen by President Li, my treatment was naturally that of a low-level nobody.

But who would have thought that the low-budget web series "Go Princess Go," whose very name sounds like a joke, would become inexplicably popular on iQiyi and Bilibili after its release!

The girl who didn't even have a private lounge at the company suddenly became an internet sensation in a way that baffled all industry experts!

How to allocate and distribute resources to a newly popular actress has become the most troublesome problem on Lao Han's desk.

When Lao Han delivered the documents to Xiao Zhang's secretary, he deliberately sounded out her opinion.

Zhang Yuxi's reply, however, carried a strong sense of distance: "Zhang Tianai? Since she's an artist under the company, the subsequent resource arrangements can be handled according to the company's procedures and systems. I'm not familiar with her, so Director Han doesn't need to specifically ask me."

I'm not familiar with her.

Hearing this almost dismissive and indifferent reply, Lao Han felt even more uncertain, but he dared not disturb Li Feng, who was extremely busy, for the sake of a minor actor.

Unfortunately, their film and television department's budget for the first quarter had just been cut, and for every major production going forward, the lead roles had to be carefully selected from among the actresses, for fear of offending any powerful figure.

But now that someone has become truly famous, you can't just send them to act in a web series to make up the numbers when they're at the peak of their popularity, can you?

Just as Lao Han was struggling with his decision, his subordinates handed him a movie script that had undergone three rounds of review.

—The project controlled by LightSpeed, "Passing By Your World".

With a renowned director at the helm and the original author Zhang Jiajia personally writing the screenplay, plus the fact that the other party only left a 40% investment gap due to funding and marketing considerations, this kind of commercial blockbuster is almost guaranteed to make a profit in the current film market.

Most importantly, Enlight Media offered very generous terms to demonstrate its sincerity in forging a deep partnership with Haofeng.

Apart from the male lead Chen Mo, who had to be played by Deng Chao, whom they recommended, all other roles were decided entirely by Haofeng Film and Television!

Looking at the main characters in the script, Lao Han quickly came up with an idea!

The leading lady, Lychee, was naturally left for the two ancestors of Tang poetry to choose from.

After all, with Yang Mi and Liu Yifei away, the best scripts in the company naturally go to these two.

As for Xiao Rong, the capable and aloof radio director, she would be the perfect fit for Ni Ni.

Mr. Li personally set the target; Ni Ni's annual exposure on the big screen must keep up.

Although she's become somewhat laid-back now and not very career-driven.

But Xiao Rong, a supporting role that doesn't require much energy or action scenes, is perfect for her.

As for Haofeng's own son, Yang Yang, with such a sure-fire way to win a movie through his face, it's natural that he would be included.

It just so happens that his drama "Love O2O" was about to wrap up filming, and he had a gap in his schedule before joining the "The Lost Tomb" crew.

Yang Yang is, after all, a core member and veteran of the film and television department, so we certainly can't treat him unfairly.

With this arrangement, wouldn't it be perfect to give the role of "Yaoji," the radio intern with a significant amount of screen time, to Zhang Tianai, who has just started to gain popularity?

The person became famous on their own merits, so the company can't refuse to provide them with resources.

But she doesn't have any connections, so naturally she can't be given too much.

……

Meanwhile, undercurrents were swirling within the film and television department as they vie for a share of the spoils.

Across the ocean in North America, the esports scene is also witnessing a dramatic shift that could reshape the industry.

With Blizzard Entertainment's acquisition of the Major esports league for a hefty sum in early 2016, the term "esports" has become increasingly well-known and discussed worldwide.

However, unlike Haofeng, which focuses on the two niche markets of MOBA and mobile esports in China, Blizzard is clearly ambitious. They want to build an esports empire that covers all categories, similar to ESPN!

But at this critical juncture, what pains them the most is their brand-new, groundbreaking 3D shooter masterpiece – Overwatch.

Years ago, when Li Feng invested in Activision Blizzard, he used his 3% priority transfer right as leverage to persuade Mike Morhaime to sign an exclusive, permanent distribution agreement for Overwatch in the entire Greater China region.

Despite Blizzard sending more than a dozen business and legal teams to Nanjing over the past six months, attempting to repurchase the agency rights with various high-priced revenue sharing or cooperation offers, the company has been unable to achieve its goals.

But Li Feng maintained a contract-abiding attitude throughout, showing no leniency whatsoever!

To prevent Blizzard from using tactics like delaying the release during the later stages of development, Chen personally led a team to Irvine, North America.

In the test server at Blizzard headquarters, they packed up the entire Overwatch source code, which was nearing completion but whose release date Blizzard had delayed for various reasons, and brought it back to Nanjing!

Faced with Li Feng's brutal behavior, which was almost tantamount to robbery, Blizzard's top management was so angry that they protested vehemently in the media.

But faced with Haofeng's top-notch legal team and the black and white contract, they could only swallow their anger.

After all, if it really comes to court, they have absolutely no chance of winning.

Ultimately, Blizzard could only issue a humiliating statement: the Chinese version will be handed over to Haofeng as scheduled, and publicly stated that Blizzard will indefinitely suspend all future cooperation with Haofeng Group!