The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 590 IQIYI’s Revenge
"I know, Mom!"

"Take some kimchi back? No, why don't you think about it again and change it."

"What? Bullying Shishi? Dad, you can't say that. How could it be possible? With you and mom backing me up, how dare I bully her?"

"Hello, mom, I can't hear you. What are you talking about? Dad's private money is hidden behind the wedding photo. The signal in Korea is not very good. I'm going to hang up first. We'll talk again when we get back home. You and dad should go to bed early."

Hotel, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Lu Yuan threw his phone onto the sofa. Seeing Liu Shishi coming out of the bathroom, he said unhappily, "Did you complain to my dad? He caught me and scolded me."

Liu Shishi had just finished taking a shower and was wrapped in a white bath towel, steaming all over.

"Complain?"

She frowned and said innocently, "No."

"Is it?"

Lu Yuan took a step forward, gently hooked the edge of the bath towel with his index finger, and pulled it towards him.

Liu Shishi grabbed the bath towel to prevent it from being pulled off, staggered, and stood on tiptoe, and the two looked into each other's eyes.

"you sure?"

Liu Shishi blinked her eyes, sparkling, and refused to admit it: "No, absolutely not."

"Where's your cell phone? Let me see it." Lu Yuan didn't believe her nonsense and turned around to look for it.

"No!" Liu Shishi was horrified and rushed over to grab it. The chat history with Xinyou had not been deleted yet. The scope of the chat was quite large. It would be so embarrassing if this bastard saw it.

"Give me."

"No."

"You won't give it to me, right?"

"Snapped!"

"Hey, bite me."

"Ah, my towel, you bastard."

The two of them twisted themselves into a knot on the bed. After Liu Shishi was slapped on the butt a few times, she gave up struggling completely.

Lu Yuan held the stolen phone, opened WeChat, checked it, and snorted, "Okay, you have learned to block me in your circle of friends now. The red marks on your arm are obviously scratched by yourself. What does it have to do with me? I was wondering why my dad called me at this time and even asked my mom to educate me."

Liu Shishi timidly hid under the quilt, with only her head exposed. When he finished reading, she quickly snatched the phone back and said softly, "I'm here to complain. Who told you to tickle me in the car? You wouldn't let me go even when I begged for mercy. And just now, you pulled my bath towel."

Lu Yuan glanced at her sideways, lifted the quilt and pressed on her again.

Liu Shishi shrank back and said, "No, hahahaha, I was wrong, brother."

"Will you post on WeChat Moments to complain next time?"

"No, no."

"Are you still going to call me Oppa?"

"No, never again."

"Ok?"

"what?"

Liu Shishi looked at the boyfriend in front of her and an idiom emerged in her mind: saying one thing and meaning another.

Humph, bad man.

She put her arms around his neck and shouted in a sickening voice: "Oppa, sarangheyo~"

"."

The sudden rain has just stopped, and the work is done.

Lu Yuan held the iPad and checked the news about HWA company and screenwriter Kim Eun-sook.

After the TV festival awards ceremony, I reached a preliminary consensus with Park Jung-hwan on "My Love from the Star" in the restaurant.

There was not much discussion on the specific details of the cooperation, and he will let the company's people communicate with the other party later.

Not long after returning to the hotel, Park Jung-hwan sent a message saying that everything had been done and he had contacted Kim Eun-sook and HWA company and agreed to meet at the cafe tomorrow.

Liu Shishi snuggled in his arms, put a facial mask on her face, and watched the hotel's TV variety show with a silly smile.

"Hahaha"

Lu Yuan was annoyed by the noise, so he pushed her away, glanced at the TV, and said suspiciously, "Isn't this the Running Man that Xiao Jing recommended?"

In 2012, there were several popular variety shows in South Korea with extremely high ratings.

After preliminary evaluation, Lu Jing and PPS staff selected several targets, including the key projects "Infinite Challenge" and "Running Man".

"'Running Man' is not airing today. This variety show is called 'Two Days and One Night' and it has high ratings in Korea."

"What are you talking about?" Lu Yuan asked.

Liu Shishi replied: "It's a travel program. Through interactive games played by several hosts, it introduces places worth visiting in various parts of Korea, delicacies, etc."

"What's the point? All the famous places and historical sites in Korea are in Chinese. The program team has to translate them. Wouldn't it be embarrassing for the audience?"

"Pfft!" Liu Shishi understood the meaning of his words, laughed out loud, and pinched him.

“But I think this program is great. If it were in our country, there would be a lot more things to film, including all kinds of food and attractions, local customs, and heritage culture.

Many Chinese people are busy with work and have no time or money to travel throughout the year, and they are not even familiar with the country's attractions.

Maybe it can also boost the tourism industry in various provinces. If PPS is successfully exported, this program will be seen by audiences in Southeast Asia and other countries, and it may also boost national tourism.”

"Stop, stop, stop. You are not allowed to dream." Seeing that she was talking more and more outrageous, Lu Yuan waved his hand to interrupt her.

"Who said before that with strong competitors like Tencent and Youku right in front of us, shouldn't PPS survive first and then consider other things?"

"A red bird will be redder if it is close to a red bird, and a black bird will be blacker if it is close to a black bird. It's all because you kept repeating PPS in my ear. I was infected by you."

Liu Shishi vigorously refuted and said, "My father once said that if you don't have a dream in life, then what's the difference between you and a salted fish? What if you succeed?"

Lu Yuan rolled his eyes, reached out his hand and helped her turn over.

"What are you doing."

"Playing with salted fish."

Compared with the marginalized situation of Chinese screenwriters, Korean screenwriters have considerable say.

From character selection to plot direction, Korean screenwriters have about 70% of the decision-making power in the production process of Korean dramas.

The status of a Korean director is not as high as that in China. He must shoot the film faithfully according to what the screenwriter has written.

Therefore, Korean screenwriters can choose which director and which first-line actors to use.

This is very different from the current situation in China where screenwriters are basically speechless after handing in their scripts.

The current situation in China's film and television industry is that big-name actors will bring their own personal screenwriters to the crew and change the original screenwriter's script.

Some directors would change the script at any time during filming, according to their own needs and the producer's ideas, and they would change the pages on the spot every day, resulting in incoherence and discontinuity in the play.

So much so that many times, screenwriters with ideas are forced to become directors themselves.

"Chairman Lu, writer Kim Eun-sook graduated from the Department of Creative Writing at Seoul University of the Arts. Compared to other screenwriters in Korea, writer Kim Eun-sook has an advantage: she is particularly good at writing stories about Cinderella and Prince Charming.

She can capture the emotional resonance of female audiences, write the emotional scenes very well, and create fairy-tale elements full of pink bubbles. Coupled with her aesthetic taste, most female audiences can't stop watching her dramas. "

"Kim Eun-sook's family was very poor when she was young, and life was very difficult. She had to drop out of school to earn money to support her younger brothers' education."

"Anyway, I think she's a good choice for you."

In the coffee shop, Park Jung-hwan said a lot in one breath and picked up the cup to moisten his throat.

Lu Yuan pinched his chin and asked curiously, "Director Park, you seem to be very familiar with her?"

"We were classmates before, both in the Department of Creative Writing and Art at Seoul University."

Park Jung-hwan explained, looking slightly ashamed.

"But she is much more talented than me. Right after graduation, she was invited to co-write the SBS TV series "South of the Sun". In 2004, she released the Lovers Trilogy. Her value skyrocketed, with 3000 million won per episode. She also won two Baeksang Arts Awards for Scripts."

Liu Shishi lowered her head and stirred the coffee with a spoon. She calculated in her mind that it was about 16 RMB, which was similar to the offer from domestic screenwriters.

The starting price for scripts written by young domestic screenwriters is generally 2 yuan per episode.

Famous screenwriters can earn 10 to 20 per episode, and screenwriters at Tangren make around 30. The top ones in the industry, such as Gao Mantang, Jiang Wei, Liu Liu and others, can earn per episode.

While the three were talking, Jin Enshu walked in. Jin Enshu was in her forties, with a typical Korean drama auntie look, shoulder-length curly hair, fair skin, a bag, and a slightly bloated figure.

"Director Park." She had just walked into the restaurant, looked around, noticed her old classmate, greeted him, and then her eyes lit up.

She walked straight over and exclaimed, "Oh my, is this President Lu and Miss Liu? I really like the show 'Startling by Each Step' starring you two. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello, writer Kim Eun-sook."

Screenwriters in Korea are not called screenwriters, they are generally called writers.

After a brief greeting and drinking coffee, Lu Yuan gradually stated his purpose.

Kim Eun-sook listened quietly with a smile on her face throughout.

In fact, when she received a call from Park Jung-hwan last night, the other party had already told her what Lu Yuan was thinking.

Introduce your own works to China Video Network for broadcast.

Of course she is willing.

In 1992, a song called "Spring Story" spread throughout the streets and alleys of China, and the iron fence of the planned economy was opened. The following year, China introduced the first Korean drama "Jealousy".

At that time, it was still domestic dramas that dominated the mainland TV screens.

Subsequently, Korean dramas were continuously introduced, such as "Autumn in My Heart" and "Winter Sonata".

Each one of them makes young boys and girls go through a lot of trouble, and they are obsessed with the love story of Cinderella and Prince Charming.

With the huge market in China, Korean dramas officially took off.

This situation continued until 2005, when Hunan Satellite TV introduced "Dae Jang Geum".

After the show was aired, it ranked first in the national ratings in its time slot, suppressing a number of domestic dramas and pushing the trend of Korean dramas to the peak.

The popularity of Korean dramas has gradually overshadowed domestic dramas.

The General Administration realized this and immediately introduced relevant policies to restrict the broadcast of Korean dramas.

As the import quota for Korean dramas decreased, a large number of Korean dramas began to withdraw from Chinese screens, and domestic mother-in-law and daughter-in-law dramas became the favorites of housewives.

Only the fans are left lingering on Korean drama websites, missing their idols.

During the same period, Korean dramas themselves were mired in the creative quagmire of terminal illness, Cinderella, amnesia, etc.

Although South Korea has also made innovations and reforms, these dramas that have achieved high ratings in South Korea are still niche products in China.

At least there is the Southeast Asian market, but the popularity of Korean Wave has inevitably declined slightly.

This situation continued until last year, when China's streaming media grew and video networks began to make efforts to purchase the copyrights of Korean dramas.

But currently there is still no phenomenal Korean drama in China.

Kim Eun-sook is very confident in her work. She wants to be the first to try it out. If her drama becomes a big hit in China, she will lead Korean dramas to become great again.

"President Lu, this is the outline of my story."

"The Heirs?"

Lu Yuan looked at the documents handed over by the other party.

"Yes, it's a tragic love story between a chaebol heir and Cinderella." Kim Eun-sook narrated simply in English.

Lu Yuan was not surprised. Park Zhenghuan had just said that the other party was good at this kind of thing.

He flipped it open and took a look. Hmm. Bloody. Korean version of the domineering CEO falling in love with me. Brother Xiao Ming might be interested. He is blind.
Liu Shishi, however, watched with great interest.

Park Jung-hwan looked at his friend, his eyes cast towards the entrance of the cafe, frowned, and asked, "Eun-sook, why didn't the people from HMA come with us?"

After he said that, Lu Yuan also turned his eyes away from the script.

"I don't know." Jin Enshu said blankly: "They didn't come? I thought they arrived early."

"No, maybe there was a traffic jam on the road."

"Ding ding ding."

Jin Enshu took out her cell phone and looked at everyone: "Sorry, I have to answer a call."

"it is good."

After she left, Lu Yuan touched his girlfriend and said, "Why are you so engrossed in watching this?"

"Although the plot is cliché, the chaebol and Cinderella are so exciting." Liu Shishi answered without raising her head.

Lu Yuan shrugged his shoulders. There were indeed significant differences in the preferences of men and women.

But this is also one of the reasons why he chose Korean dramas to be broadcast on PPS. Young female audiences like this.

"What did Miss Liu say?" Park Jung-hwan asked in English.

"She said your friend is very capable and has a fascinating story."

Park Jung-hwan laughed and said, "Chairman Lu, Eun-sook is very talented, especially in the love between young men and women."

"Since you think so highly of her, why doesn't CineonTV cooperate with her?" Lu Yuan asked.

Park Jung-hwan forced a smile and said, "KBS, MBC, and SBS, the three traditional TV stations, share the market. 80% of the TV station's advertising revenue each year is concentrated in the hands of these three companies.

CineonTV's funding and influence are far less than theirs. CineonTV's annual revenue is about 150 billion won, equivalent to less than 8000 million yuan.

Eun-sook is indeed excellent, but the production cost of her scripts is also high, easily tens of billions. Whether it will be a big hit is a matter of probability, no one can guarantee it, and our TV station dare not take the risk. "

Lu Yuan expressed his understanding.

"Da da da."

There was the sound of hurried high heels walking.

Kim Eun-sook trotted over and spoke her native language. Lu Yuan didn't understand what she meant and turned to Park Jung-hwan.

Park Jung-hwan slammed his hands on the table, straightened up, and exclaimed, "What, iQiyi?"

Lu Yuan understood the three words "iQiyi" and asked, "What's going on?"

Park Jung-hwan immediately explained, “Chairman Lu, China’s iQiyi is in contact with HWA and is considering investing in this drama.”

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes. Park Jung-hwan said yesterday that iQiyi has been very high-profile in South Korea recently, discussing cooperation with Lotte and other companies.

How did Keai Qiyi know about this?

Could it be that after learning of his idea, HWA took the initiative to contact iQiyi, intending to wait for a good price between the two platforms, PPS and iQiyi?

He asked, “Writer Kim, how much is the estimated cost of filming this drama?”

Kim Eun-sook answered truthfully, "HWA's estimated investment is 400 billion won."

That is 200 million RMB...

Lu Yuan fell into deep thought. It was not that he couldn't come up with the money.

It cashed out 30 billion from iQiyi, then purchased PPS for 25 billion, and then merged the blueprint copyright into PPS, causing the valuation of PPS to soar to 50 billion.

The investment from companies such as vivo, oppo and SMG brought him a capital inflow of 12.5 billion.

With the accumulated funds from filming, endorsements and movie investments over the years, he still has about 25 billion in funds.

But he believes that it is not cost-effective to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in a Korean drama.

His original intention of introducing Korean dramas was simply to set a benchmark.

Show Korean content producers that in addition to copyright transactions, there is a more advantageous way - choose to log in to PPS and share profits with the platform, which has great potential for making money.

However, the intervention of iQiyi disrupted his plans.

"Ding dong!"

As he was pondering, the notification sound of WeChat interrupted his thoughts.

Lu Yuan took out his cell phone and quickly glanced at it. It was a message from Gong Yu.

"Boss Lu, my subordinates were ignorant and took the lead. I am really sorry. I will apologize in person when I get back."

Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows. Gong Yu was probably typing this text with a smile on his face.

Obviously, iQiyi is also aware of the purpose of his starring in "My Love from the Star" and will give PPS a good start next year.

So they specifically invested in "The Heirs" in order to compete?
He smiled and replied briefly.

"See you there or not!"

(End of this chapter)