162: Give you a job

Hans's brain was a bit overloaded at this moment. What did Lu just say? Give him $200,000? He couldn't have heard that right!

His current monthly income was around $1,000, which he was already quite satisfied with, yet Lu had just said he wanted to give him $200,000.

Hans couldn't believe what he was hearing. Heavens, who exactly was Lu! He could bring him into this company and even give him a job with a $200,000 salary; could it be that he was the son of the company's owner?

Just as Hans was speculating, Su Jixing heard the receptionist report that the boss had arrived, so he came over from the office.

"Boss, how come you didn't say hello when you arrived."

This "Boss" made Hans gasp; wait, he hadn't heard wrong, had he? Lu was the boss!

Hans: "You, you are the boss of this company?"

Lu Qingyu nodded: "Yes, I only acquired this company not long ago. The company is currently making a film, and I need designers for special effects, so I wanted to invite you to work at my company."

"Our company currently has four special effects artists, and their average income is $200,000. How about it? Would you consider coming to work at our company?"

A $200,000 income was quite normal for a white special effects artist with four or five years of work experience, but he was black. He had once imagined that it would be very good if his salary could exceed $100,000 one day in the future. Yet, Lu was actually giving him $200,000, and the key was that he was still a student, a student who hadn't graduated and didn't have his own works.

Hans said excitedly: "Lu, are, are you sure?"

Lu Qingyu nodded: "Of course, what is there to be unsure about."

Hearing Lu Qingyu's affirmative answer, Hans nodded frantically: "I'm willing, I'm willing."

He was more than willing. With this income, not only would he not have to worry about his tuition, but he could also provide a better life for his family.

Hans was almost crying: "Lu, don't worry, I will definitely do my best, and I will definitely work hard."

Lu Qingyu patted Hans on the shoulder: "I will have Avis take you under his wing for the things that follow, so you can get started with work as soon as possible."

Hans nodded and also bowed to Avis.

Avis didn't know what Hans's capabilities were, but since the boss brought him personally—it seemed he was the boss's classmate—asking him to take him under his wing was probably just asking him to take care of him and give him a job. Avis didn't hold any expectations for Hans, little knowing that later on, Hans would make all of them drop their jaws.

After sending Hans to the company, Lu Qingyu took the opportunity to discuss the filming of the movie avatar with Su Jixing. Although most of the plot here relied on special effects, it still required actors to perform.

Su Jixing had spent more than a week familiarizing himself with the foreign actor market and had already established the avatar project.

Taking advantage of Lu Qingyu's presence, Su Jixing decided to push the progress of the avatar project forward.

"Boss, we have made a preliminary screening of the actors. Please take a look first."

Lu Qingyu took the notebook handed over by Su Jixing and read it slowly.

These actors all looked good, and from the audition clips, it could be seen that their acting skills were also fine, but there was one point: the pay was too expensive.

The actresses they targeted were second or third-tier, and their pay was all over $500,000. Some were charged by the day, $100,000 a day. If they filmed for a month, that would be $3 million. If this were converted to RMB, it would have to be multiplied by six, so these actors were really not cheap.

The money spent on digital production for science fiction films was already a lot. Although his company had this technology, it couldn't just waste money.

Su Jixing saw that Lu Qingyu had been looking for a long time without saying a word: "Boss, are you not satisfied? Should I re-screen them?"

As an evil capitalist, he came abroad to make money, not to throw it away. Lu Qingyu said: "It's too expensive. Are there any with a salary under $50,000?"

Under $50,000? That was a bit difficult.

Su Jixing: "Then there are only actors who have just entered the industry."

Those just entering weren't necessarily bad either. Some people were born to act. As long as you were willing to look, you could always find someone who was both cheap and had adequate acting skills. Lu Qingyu suddenly thought of a good idea.

He could hold an open casting call. The works previously produced by the company Magic Paradise had not had a good response, and this company was also a very ordinary small company. With that history, everyone wouldn't hold any expectations for avatar.

The thing films feared most was a lack of buzz. Lu Qingyu couldn't let the film just be released like that. Instead of doing publicity after filming, it was better to start with a big spectacle.

Lu Qingyu said: "Brother Su, let's use an open casting call for our actors."

Su Jixing: "Open casting call?"

Lu Qingyu said: "Release the news: the large-scale sci-fi film avatar, with an investment of over $500 million, is looking for actors. Anyone over 16, with or without acting experience, can sign up. The actors selected for the female lead will receive $500,000, and the rest of the actors participating in the film will all receive a reward of $1,000."

After listening to Lu Qingyu's description, the smile on Su Jixing's face became increasingly uncontrollable.

Having been in the entertainment industry for many years, Su Jixing immediately understood what Lu Qingyu meant.

The pay for the female lead should be higher to create a gimmick, but the wool must come from the sheep. If the pay for the lead was higher, the pay for others would naturally have to be lower.

However, this method of open casting by Lu Qingyu gave people a different feeling. If they followed normal actor recruitment, then the pay for a male lead two or male third lead would be around $50,000. Even for extras, it would cost at least around $5,000 for the whole film.

But Lu Qingyu used the large amount of pay for the female lead to hook everyone, which would attract a large number of actors to sign up. Those who didn't get the female lead role, although they would have regrets, would feel that since they couldn't get the lead role, they could still fight for other roles, and there was also the feeling of taking advantage of the $1,000 pay, rather than only getting $1,000 after working so hard for so long.

And this way, the buzz for avatar was also there.

Su Jixing couldn't help but clap his hands and praise: "Boss, brilliant."

Lu Qingyu: "Then let's get started."

Su Jixing immediately started executing it, releasing the news from the official website of Magic Paradise.

Perhaps for established actors, a $500,000 paycheck was pitifully small, but for ordinary people with star dreams, this was simply a pie falling from the sky.

As soon as the news was released, it immediately attracted a lot of attention.

However, this move by Magic Paradise was seen as grandstanding in the eyes of peers.

"Magic Paradise's special effects are average, and their works are also average. They don't spend energy on improving the quality of their works, but instead specialize in researching some crooked paths."

"They are almost bankrupt; if they don't think of a way, I'm afraid they won't even last until next month."

"A $500 million sci-fi production, he really isn't ashamed. I'll see how he explains it to the audience when he produces a pile of garbage."