Actresses

Answer to Chapter 84

"So, that's the reason?" Ren Jie said with a smile.

—While taking a break to use the restroom, Shi Jiahe quickly searched for all the information about Ren Jie and Yizhen Films. From a series of works, she confirmed that the person in front of her was indeed a production company boss who was down-to-earth in the industry.

In the film and television industry, it's actually very easy for people to connect quickly. Once they know each other's professions, if they click in person, they can easily become inseparable. And today, Shi Jiahe decided to be impulsive and speak her mind.

So, not long after the two of them entered the Japanese restaurant, she poured out all her recent feelings.

When Ren Jie asked the question, Shi Jiahe had just finished eating the sushi in front of her.

She was silent for a while, then finally sighed heavily. "Yes. I feel that my relationship with my sister has come to an end, and coupled with the fact that I'm currently on the verge of collapse, leaving is probably the best choice."

"We've been together for over five years, which isn't a short time."

"Yes, although I never expected to do this job for the rest of my life, it's been so long without me even realizing it."

Ren Jie was still smiling. "A talent agency relationship either ends in one or two years, or it lasts for more than ten years. It's actually quite a pity if it ends after about five years. In other words, you two still couldn't get through the adjustment period."

Shi Jiahe frowned. "Isn't the adjustment period supposed to be one or two years? Why is there this saying that it can last five years?"

"Although I work in production, I also spend a lot of time dealing with artists. I also worked as an agent for a few years in my early years. I feel that this process is a bit like an unhealthy marriage, where the two sides are out of sync. The best period for the relationship between an artist and their agent is the so-called honeymoon period, the first year, because the artist still feels it's new and is willing to listen to everything the agent says—of course, this is the artist's perspective on you. From the agent's perspective, it will feel more comfortable after a year or two, because by then you have adapted to each other's work and have a certain inertia. But at this point, the artist will start to find fault with you. After the honeymoon period, the artist will actually stop growing. After that, it's you adapting to her, and it will always be you adapting to her. She will not only not move forward, but may even regress. And in order to maintain the working relationship, you have to invest more and more energy and emotion in her, but the higher your sunk costs, the less you may get in return, including income."

Shi Jiahe sighed. To say something like that, one could tell that she had truly been hurt in the talent agency industry.

"Yes. Because making money basically depends on the artists, but it's hard to see the value of the manager. Even without others asking me, I doubt myself. What can I do? Even without me, my sister is still everyone's sister, but if I leave her, many of my connections will become useless immediately. I know that very well."

"So, in this process, those who can't hold on leave, which is what makes the five-year mark so regrettable. Those who persevere can stay for over ten years, truly becoming like family to the artist. But such examples are too few. Although there are precedents in the industry, they are extremely rare. Most of what I've seen ends between two and five years. A peaceful parting is a luxury; in the end, there's always some entanglement, making one feel that those years have been wasted."

Shi Jiahe laughed, "My sister isn't like that. She's not petty. She may have a bad temper, but it's just a minor flaw. She never hesitates on important matters. However, her career hasn't been as good as it used to be these past few years. If I leave now, on the one hand, it will be difficult for me to choose the next step in my own career, and on the other hand, I feel a bit reluctant. I always feel that I should stay with her for a while longer, at least to see her career improve. But that's the problem. I've recently come to a complete realization that my abilities are indeed limited, and I probably won't be able to help her much if I stay any longer. So, it's time to make a clean break."

Ren Jie waved his hand, "Speaking of which, I have to interrupt you for a moment. When working with artists, the one thing you absolutely shouldn't bring out is self-doubt. If we all have that kind of mentality, then a lot of things can't move forward. We producers often take four or five years to see a result, and even a fast one takes two or three years. If we consider things from a results-oriented perspective, then a lot of our time is being wasted. But I don't think that's ineffective time; it's all part of the necessary process. So don't feel like you have limited abilities or that you haven't done anything. Don't think like that."

"Mr. Ren, I don't know what stage of life you were in when you became an agent, but after I became the agent of a top-tier artist like my sister, I might have had a sense of accomplishment for the first two years, but in the past few years, I haven't found much meaning in it. You just used the relationship stage as an analogy, so I can quote something like, I feel that I've been declining in all aspects in the past few years. For example, my professional skills. Because I have no way to verify whether my abilities are good or bad. I can't find an anchor point, and there's no value system that can be measured linearly. All my feelings are chaotic. To put it bluntly, it's all based on my sister's personal feelings. Her happiness is the most important thing. But I can't ignore how her career is reflected in the outside world. I'm busy from morning to night every day, and I feel very tired, but looking back after a year or two, what exactly have I been busy with? Have I gotten any good roles for my sister this year? How well did the movie do? None of them are satisfactory. I feel very guilty."

"This isn't just your problem; it's a problem everyone in our industry faces. The value of an agent is hard to quantify. And there's a critical issue with top artists: they only care about their own feelings within the team, but everyone has their own pride. When an artist thinks they're just throwing a tantrum, it actually hurts the pride of the team members. When the artist's anger is directed at the team members, but others have no outlet, problems are bound to arise over time."

Shi Jiahe paused for several seconds. These words were like a massage hitting a knot, instantly relieving her tension. She felt she didn't even need to say anything more; Ren Jie had already said everything!

"But what pains me most is that my sister is actually very good to me, which makes me even more confused..."

"Don't be confused, this is one of the abnormal aspects of our industry. Business and personal matters, work relationships are all mixed up, but everything is geared towards money and fame, because artists are the ones who earn the most money, so their feelings are what matters. Staff members always have to give in and be tolerant. Do you think it's just a coincidence that agents are mistreated? It's the same when producers and investors deal with artists. And once an artist has negative publicity, it affects the project, and we're the ones who bear the risk."

"Won't the artists compensate you?" Shi Jiahe laughed after asking the question, "What a naive question."

"How could we possibly lose money? Any reshoots or reshoots would be paid for out of our own pockets. We'd be happy to do that, but we can't just leave a good project sitting there, right? We have to find ways to salvage it and recoup our costs. So, one of my main ideas for production these past few years has been to move away from celebrity endorsements and focus on the characters, finding suitable actors. That's what I want to discuss with you in detail. The projects our company produces have one thing in common: they're hard to break out of their niche. They only have positive word-of-mouth, not buzz, which is my biggest headache."

Shi Jiahe was still interested in this topic.

Actually, she had no real concept of what a job offer was, and hadn't even considered looking for a job so soon, especially since she hadn't even started handing over her responsibilities from her previous job—and how long that handover would take was anyone's guess. Maybe a day, maybe a month, it all depended on Sister Ran. But for her, this wasn't just an ordinary resignation; her bond with He Yuran always outweighed workplace rules. So, everything was still a complete mess.

But Shi Jiahe's intuition told her that Ren Jie's demands were unlikely to be met, so she decided to listen to what he had to say first.

Ren Jie continued, "The promotional period for a TV series is too short now. It's over before it even gets any buzz. Our company usually produces eight episodes, and even if it's twelve, we're at a disadvantage in terms of scheduling. Moreover, the platforms don't give us any preferential treatment now, so we have to pay for our own promotion. Sometimes we don't even get a prominent spot on the site's internal pages; we often have to search to find it."

"Even your company's dramas get this kind of treatment?"

"That's basically how it is now. Apart from the S+ series that platforms are pushing hard, it's becoming increasingly difficult to make small but excellent dramas. In fact, it's safe to say that this path may not be viable for the next two years."

"But I thought the way out for long-running dramas was to be small and exquisite. If that's the case, then long-running dramas might really be coming to an end."

"I still have reservations about the pessimistic view on long-running dramas. The key depends on the people doing the work, and besides, platform policies are always changing, so there's still room for maneuver," Ren Jie said cautiously. "But I'm also very clear that I need to address our company's weaknesses. We need people with a more entertainment-oriented mindset and stronger interpersonal and coordination skills with artists to join us. Our current producers are too production-minded and too rigid; they're still far from being good at figuring out how artists can generate buzz and create hype."

"Mr. Ren, I didn't quite understand what you meant." Shi Jiahe had already clearly thought about how to refuse.

"I need a celebrity producer who is active in the public sphere and can also serve as a publicity platform for the company. But it's not convenient for me to do this myself, for various reasons," Ren Jie said with a smile.

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "I've been avoiding being too visible for the past few years, and it's obvious that we don't meet each other's needs, so let's just forget about it."

"Mr. Ren, although we haven't discussed the details yet, and although I haven't figured out what I want to do, I'm very clear about what I don't like to do. I don't really like being in the spotlight, nor do I like dealing with public opinion or being disturbed by the voices of people who have nothing to do with my work. Thank you so much for your invitation, but I don't think I'm the person you're looking for. Although this is our first meeting, I am extremely grateful for your trust."

"Don't be so quick to draw conclusions. Perhaps your understanding is flawed, or perhaps I haven't explained it clearly to you, but I believe that in the future, if we want to create successful dramas, it's a trend for those behind the scenes to step into the limelight. We're no longer in the era where good wine needs no bush; the public's attention is too easily distracted, you don't deny that, do you?"

"That's true, times have definitely changed," Shi Jiahe replied casually.

"Therefore, your mindset regarding work also needs to change. I want to ask you a question: if you had to choose next, would you want to continue as an agent, or would you like to try transitioning directly into a producer?"

Helpless, Shi Jiahe could only force herself to think about it.

"...Probably the producer."

Ren Jie smiled. "No problem. Tell me your ideas for the project, and I'll fulfill them for you, how about it?"