China Entertainment 1997

"The weather in Beijing is... so fucking hot."

Cao Xuan grabbed his suitcase and walked out of the airport. Before he could sigh, he was brought back to reality by the scorching July sun.

Quickly lowering his hat, Cao Xuan, Zhu Jiang, and Zhang Chong got into the business car driven by Jiang Yue.

Zhu Jiang took the initiative to take over the driving seat and asked where he was going. Cao Xuan did not hesitate.

"back office."

"Why don't you go home and take a look first?"

Jiang Yue was confused, and Cao Xuan took off his hat and mask: "My parents have gone back to their hometown, what are they going to do?"

"Who asked where your parents live?"

Jiang Yue complained in her heart, but did not dare to say it out loud. As an agent, Fanxing vice president and good friend, Cao Xuan's affairs could rarely be hidden from her. She also knew that Cao Xuan, Zeng Li and Hu Jing were unclear about each other. .

As a woman, Jiang Yue expressed her strong contempt for Cao Xuan's scumbag behavior.

As an agent, she has also tried to persuade Cao Xuan many times. Cao Xuan's career is now booming, and she hopes that it is best for Cao Xuan not to fall in love for the time being.

However, Cao Xuan had made up his mind, and Jiang Yue had no choice. After all, she was just a part-time worker. She could give suggestions, but she could not interfere with the boss's decision.

The sequelae is that she treats Mr. Han at home even more harshly, and his life is miserable...

"Sister Jiang, have Hu Jing's next scenes been arranged?"

Jiang Yue was muttering in her heart when Cao Xuan suddenly asked. She was stunned for a moment before she came back to her senses and replied.

"I haven't made a selection yet. There are too few scenes for her right now, and there aren't many scenes or her character is bad, so I plan to take it slow and wait until "Youngster Bao Qingtian" is aired in September."

"That's okay. She filmed two movies in a row. It's okay to take a break. Has the dormitory problem been solved?"

"I have already moved in, and she asked me to thank the 'landlord' and allow her to modify the house as she pleases."

"Ahem, just live in."

Cao Xuan coughed twice and covered up the topic: "During this period, don't rush to take over the commercial performance. I have to record the songs. Next, I have to discuss album sales and concerts with Warner."

"So you can't go to the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala? You've been invited by several provincial stations?"

"Province Lu accepted it. I agreed before. If CCTV invites me, I will also agree. Forget the rest."

"Where's Jingtai?"

"Put it to me. I'll talk to Director Hu then."

"Understood."

Jiang Yue nodded, and Cao Xuan rubbed his brow worriedly.

Being too popular is actually troublesome, especially for singers. If there are any large-scale events or festivals, every TV station wants to invite Cao Xuan, a big brother from the mainland, to come and stand up.

CCTV can't push it, and Cao Xuan can't reject it outright from other provincial stations. After all, Fanxing will have to deal with these TV stations in the future, and it will be difficult to do business if it offends.

Fortunately, the provinces and stations that have the ability and financial resources to hire Cao Xuan are those economically large provinces, and they can maintain the relationship well by rotating them.

But there must be a distinction between closeness and distance.

CCTV is the big one, Beijing and Taiwan have a long-term relationship, and Lu Provincial TV is the hometown. These three are considered Cao Xuan’s basic base and are also the TV stations that he mainly maintains.

In addition, Cao Xuan also has to show off his face from time to time with the TV stations in Shanghai, Hui, Zhejiang, Su, Hunan and Qin that have connections or will develop in the future.

I'm a little tired, but if I can connect with others, I won't have to worry about Fanxing's TV series being thrown into my hands, and it will also be beneficial to Cao Xuan himself.

As I said before, the energy of television stations everywhere these days is amazing.

Thanks to the Provincial Taiwan Terminal, Cao Xuan and even Fanxing are given the green light to film, perform, and distribute locally.

If nothing else, the filming of "Journey to the West" was so successful in Qin Province that Cao Xuan hardly bothered, all because of the reputation of Qin Province TV Station.

Before, Jiang Yue and others were distressed to give up 20% of their share, but after the filming, they all understood everything.

Speaking of "Journey to the West", before returning to Beijing, Cao Xuan began to contact several TV station leaders he knew to prepare to sell the drama.

This is also one of his important tasks after returning to Beijing besides recording songs.

"By the way, Sister Jiang, how is your contact with Zhou Yi?"

After chatting for a while about "Journey to the West", Cao Xuan thought of Zhou Yi's big fat... no, partners.

"The progress is pretty good. Their boss lady even made a special trip here a few days ago, but the drama "Li Wei is an Official" has been postponed."

"what happened?"

"They want to use the original cast of "Yongzheng Dynasty", but many actors can't go wrong now, and it is expected that they will not want to film until next year."

"Can you tell me, the prospects of this drama are still very good. Also, what does the script say?"

"They are willing to sell it. I looked at the directory and there is the "Love Through Time" you mentioned, but the price is not cheap. The asking price is 400,000, which is the most expensive among the five scripts."

"This is not a sincere sale."

Cao Xuan smiled. These days, external capital has not yet poured in, and the film producers are stinging each other.

The investment for an ordinary 30-episode costume TV series is mostly between 3 million and 8 million. If it exceeds 10 million, it can be called a "big production".

Production costs are limited, and script costs are conceivable. Very few TV drama scripts can exceed 200,000 yuan.

Many well-known screenwriters only charge RMB 5,000 to RMB 8,000 for an episode, and there are only a few screenwriters in the entire industry who earn RMB 10,000 per episode.

Zhou Yi offered a price of 400,000, which was obviously on the high side, implying a polite refusal. After all, no one would bet hundreds of thousands on a script that had no future.

However, they never expected that they would encounter a cheating Cao Xuan, and 400,000 yuan did not scare him away at all.

Of course, the price is a bit high. Cao Xuan planned to get it for 250,000 to 300,000 yuan. Considering Zhou Yi's emphasis on the script, he even planned to let the other party participate in the cooperation with the script and a small amount of cash.

Now that Zhou Yi has made an offer, Cao Xuan feels that the matter can be discussed. Although "Journey to the West" is expected to achieve good results, the group portrait IP will only have limited help in the actor's fame.

"Love Through Time" is a light comedy romance drama that also contains the novel element of time travel. It is very popular among young audiences and is very popular.

Cao Xuan has not yet decided whether he will act in this role, but it is a good way to praise Hu Jing. The role of the heroine Xiao Wanzi is playful and clever, which suits her acting style.

The second female police officer Zhang Chuchu has a clear sense of love and hate, and is heroic and courageous. If the two of them can play the role together, Zeng Li would be quite suitable.

However, Cao Xuan felt that there was no need to create a Shura field for himself, so he might as well find someone else. Yuan Quan was good, the show was so cheap, and it could also help Cao Xuan soften the relationship between Zeng and Hu.

Of course, if it is really going to be filmed, some details of this drama still need to be changed and the plot optimized.

In addition, Cao Xuan still has some headaches with those lines, such as toothbrushes and men cannot share, "a pair for life," and "I only love you, Barabala."

It's so unfriendly to scumbags and not positive at all!

If it weren't for the plot, Boss Cao would have deleted it...

In addition to the script of "Love Through Time and Space", the crew of "A History of the Martial Arts" that Cao Xuan is concerned about is a bit complicated.

It is true that Zhou Yi is an investor, but he is not the first investor. The main producer is Sioux City Funa Culture Company, which is also the producer of "Springs and Pigs".

As for Sioux City Funa, who had just made a huge profit from "Spring and Pig", he was not short of money at this time and had no need to invest in "A History of the Martial Arts".

Unless Cao Xuan, the popular king, is willing to participate in the show, Funa may give up part of the share, but it's probably not much.

So things are stuck here. The investment share is only a little, the income is limited, and Funer is very stingy, and the salary he gave is just over 1 million, which makes Cao Xuan's desire to participate in "Martial Arts" continue to decrease.

With this time and effort, Cao Xuan could have saved up a TV series by himself, and he still holds the copyright of "Legend of Sword and Fairy" in his hand.

Back at the company, Cao Xuan called several senior executives to discuss the company's previous achievements and next steps.

Last year, Fanxing invested in "Young Bao Qingtian" and "Journey to the West". The former made a lot of money, and the latter is still being released. It's hard to say how much it is making, and it will definitely not be compensated.

Moreover, we must also consider the feedback on the value of the artists and the company after these two dramas are broadcast, which is also one of the company's benefits.

It can be said that Fanxing’s first step into film and television has been very stable in terms of sales.

As for Fanxing’s next few dramas.

"Li Wei is an Official" has been put on the line, but the project will be postponed until next year.

This drama is a co-production between Fanxing and Zhouyi, and a TV station may be added at that time, but even if it is a name and a background, it will only occupy a small share, and the two companies will still lead the production.

"Li Wei Becomes an Official" has a total of 30 episodes, and the investment is expected to be around 5 million. The two companies will share the share equally, each with 50%. Because the project is Zhou Yi's, they have the main say, but Fanxing is also qualified to intervene.

Lao Zhang also has "The Passionate Years", which is mainly about building connections and brushing up qualifications. The investment amount is only about 1 million. The specific share depends on the situation, but it should not exceed 30%.

The number of episodes is in his early 20s, and the share is not high. Cao Xuan is not making money from this drama anyway.

"A History of the Martial Arts" will be considered a blowout if there are no accidents. Now Cao Xuan is too dissatisfied and looks down on the small-time drama. The minimum guarantee for film and television investment is 40%.

Of course, except for the special purpose behind "The Burning Years of Passion" and those large-scale productions that easily cost tens or hundreds of millions.

Fanxing's appetite is still soft now, and he can't eat such strong dishes...

In addition, "Love Through Time" is what Cao Xuan attaches most importance to. If the script can be obtained, it will be Fanxing's highlight next year.

As for "Legend of Sword and Fairy", in order to achieve the special effects technology of the original version, the financial investment is likely to exceed tens of millions, or even more. Cao Xuan plans to delay filming for two years.

Anyway, the copyright is in his hands, and he bought it out for 10 years. Theoretically, before 2010, he can remake "Legend of Sword and Fairy" unlimitedly.

Apart from these two dramas, Cao Xuan has not found any new projects. Fortunately, Fanxing has signed a group of screenwriters before, and he can also produce scripts himself.

Qian Yanqiu, the screenwriter and director of "Journey to the West", decisively embraced Cao Xuan after filming and became Fanxing's contracted director and screenwriter.

He has a ready-made script in hand, a spy drama with the martial arts style of the Republic of China.

That's right, the male protagonist of this drama is Wang Yan Shuangying.

"Hero" is the first part of the Yan Shuangying series, and was later remade into a remake of "The Gunslinger of the Desert", which tells the story of forcing a king to become an apprentice and learn martial arts, killing Japanese and bandits.

Frankly speaking, this and the second part of the Yan Shuang Eagle series "Falcon 1949" are still watchable, but the remaining ones are all bad dramas.

Qian Yanqiu didn't pay attention to this series at all, or simply regarded it as a tool for making money.

The plot was all over the place, and the actors were messing around with each other, dying and coming back to life, leaving the audience confused.

The fighting power of the King is becoming more and more outrageous, the weapons are also used in various time travels, and the plot is not as rigorous as the previous two films. Although overall it is okay, there are many loopholes in various details.

In addition, the protagonist Zhang Zijian has also acted in other similar dramas, and the characters are seriously homogenized, which consumes the audience's enthusiasm.

Various negative situations occurred frequently, so that the series became worse and worse, and eventually became a bad drama.

But in fact, the Yan Shuangying series has great potential.

In fact, the Chinese audience does not hate the strange people and strange things during the Anti-Japanese War. On the contrary, they like to see them. After all, it is fun to watch the little devils beaten.

But the reason why the Anti-Japanese War drama was criticized so badly is because it was too witty, with buns, thunder, tearing up Japanese soldiers, and slingshots to masturbate, which really challenged the public's perception.

You can make the protagonist awesome, but you can't make the enemies look stupid.

The Yan Shuangying series does this very well. Most of his enemies are smart and even cunning, but Yan Shuangying is even better and often turns defeat into victory.

Therefore, the audience complained that Yan Shuangying was a pushover and that his fighting power was too exaggerated, but they rarely said that the plot and the villain were imbecile.

If this series is systematically and carefully sorted out the plot, optimizes the details, controls the combat system, and deletes some scenes that are too dramatic, and the actors don't mess around, Yan Shuangying will definitely have a chance to become an excellent series of spy war dramas. of.

So what Cao Xuan means is to overturn Qian Yanqiu's existing script, continue to dig deeper and transform it, and create a series of heroic espionage agents of the Republic of China.

The UK has 007 Bond, the US has Captain America, why can’t China have the heroic agent Yan Shuangying who is “half human, half ghost, the best gunner”...

Even Cao Xuan has thought about the timeline of Yan Shuangying's story. In the first part, he practiced his skills in his hometown in Guandong, killed bandits, ronai and Maozi, and became a famous local knight.

In the second part, when the Japanese invaded the Northeast, Yan Shuangying began to resist the war. During this period, he was inspired by the Eighth Route Army and joined our army. He killed a high-ranking Japanese official or sabotaged important activities.

In the third part, he was transferred to the base area, trained and formed a military work team, went deep behind enemy lines to fight guerrillas, killed Japanese and traitors, and achieved great fame.

The fourth part of the Liberation War, lurking in the enemy's nest, planning an uprising, and averting a major war.

The fifth part has just been liberated, fighting against enemy agents, and finally annihilating these bandit agents in one fell swoop, protecting the security of the people and national property.

The combat power of Yan Shuangying should not be as exaggerated as in the original version. One person can deal with hundreds of people while overwhelming the opponent.

Just maintain the level of the original part one and two, with perfect accuracy with both guns, fighting ability of one against ten, strong equestrian/driving ability, good at using terrain tactics, proficient in command, coupled with an extremely smart and sharp brain, high learning ability, etc. wait.

It belongs to the kind of human beings who are very awesome but not beyond the scope of everyone's acceptance.

It is best to have a growth line for the character's ability, such as from low to high in the first, second, and third chapters, getting stronger and stronger, with more and more skill points, and reaching the peak in the fourth and fifth chapters. Gods will kill gods when they are blocked, and Buddhas will be killed when Buddha blocks them.

The characteristic of pretentiousness must also be retained. The character of Yan Shuangying is outstanding because of his pretentiousness. The strong ancient dragon style is impressive.

Cao Xuan bala bala talked about Qian Yanqiu until his eyes lit up and he was ready to make a move.

I can't wait to go back and change the script immediately to create a Chinese version of 007 Bond.

Cao Xuan still has great confidence in him. After all, he has personally created well-known characters such as Di Renjie, Li Yuanfang, and Yan Shuangying. He is well versed in the tricks of showmanship, and the intelligence of the characters is also guaranteed.

However, Cao Xuan still reminded him to talk more with the screenwriters in the company. One person can only think about shortcomings, but many people can think about strengths.

You can also look for yourself. He has watched a lot of this kind of drama, and he can find some inspiration for Lao Qian.

In addition to the "Yan Shuang Eagle" series, which Qian Yanqiu had tentatively titled, Jiang Yue scoured several writers from under the banyan tree and produced two script outlines, which Cao Xuan read one by one.

The first script is a sitcom, which is about a few otakus living together. There are many similar Internet jokes in it, a bit similar to "Diary of an Internet Bug".

The screenwriters of "Diary of a Networm" are also Ning Caishen, Yu Baimei, and Fanxing. They are all under the banyan tree, and they probably communicate with each other in private.

This theme is actually good. "Love Apartment" is similar to this model, but with different emphasis. But the essential goal is to resonate with young people and gain an audience.

But the subject matter is good, but the timing is wrong.

"Love Apartment" became popular because of the rise of the Internet at that time. The "fashionable" lifestyle in it attracted a large number of young people who had just come into contact with the outside world. It quickly aroused widespread discussion and successfully broke out of the industry.

Of course, the "mixed" dense baggage and outstanding characters of "Love Apartment" are also important factors in the success of this drama.

However, in these two aspects, Fanxing screenwriters rely purely on creation, and it is difficult to reach the level of "Love Apartment". In addition, the market is immature, Cao Xuan is not optimistic about this project.

Besides, I'm tired of writing sitcoms, so let's change the subject...

The second script is very interesting. It is based on the Japanese "Kamen Rider" and made a Chinese version.

It is probably Chi You, the big devil behind the scenes who fights the little monsters and then combines to defeat the little monsters.

Uh, it’s Chi You, the big villain, again.

Regardless of whether it's urban, fairy tale, magic, or mythology, the protagonists all work together to fuck him. It's no wonder that the first generation of online novels were crazy about Chi You's whitewashing.

From this script, Cao Xuan vaguely saw the shadow of "Armor Warrior".

There is still a certain market for tokusatsu dramas in China today, but because the big killer "Ultraman Tega" has not yet been introduced, the major "Ultraman" and "Kamen Rider" are mainly being circulated on pirated CDs, and they are still being circulated on pirated CDs. It has not broken into the mainstream film and television industry.

If Fanxing comes up with a local tokusatsu drama before "Ultraman Tega" is introduced to the mainland, it has a high chance of becoming a hit.

Of course, it’s also possible that it won’t get much attention, or it won’t be taken seriously, and it will be roughly relegated to a children’s channel and treated as a live-action cartoon.

This is not an exaggeration, but something that is very likely to happen. TV stations and the mainland film and television industry do not pay attention to special effects dramas and the youth/children market at all.

So Cao Xuan was very hesitant about making this drama, and later decided to let the screenwriters come up with the script first.

There are too many zodiac animals, which easily distracts from the scenes. It is better to use the Five Elements Armor, make up the time and place, and the story line can be about fighting a local devil or an alien careerist.

The background of the protagonists is still bloodline, but forget about the Light and Shadow Village. It is too obvious to plagiarize "Naruto", so just make a corresponding clan with a certain surname.

For example, the Xia family has Sun Tonghuo, the Black Earth Mo family, the Jin family, the Shui/Jiang family, and the Mu/Lin family.

The main villain is set as a local devil, that is, the five families are the guardians, and has the blood of the sealed beasts, and the set is an alien, which means that they have obtained alien black technology for hundreds of years.

Anyway, the magic modification is over. It is a fictional background and the logic is self-consistent.

Actors look for handsome guys who are not yet famous, such as Qiao Zhenyu, Yan Kuan, Deng Chao, Hu Ge, Jin Dong, Guo Jinfei, Zhang Jin, Pan Yueming...

The entire Armor F5 combination might be the youth of a generation twenty years from now.

Cao Xuan still has certain expectations for this drama. Even if he can't make money from selling the drama, as long as his influence increases, peripheral sales will be an important profit point.

Although piracy is rampant now, it does not mean that there is no room for genuine products to survive.

Cao Xuan has always believed that there is a market for tokusatsu dramas. Although due to the environment, he will not become the richest man like his neighbor, but if it is done, it may not be impossible to become an important IP.

After listening to Cao Xuan's request, the screenwriters went to write the script with confidence. Cao Xuan did the math.

"Love Across Time and Space" + "Armor Warrior" + "Swallow Eagles" + "Passionate Years" + "Li Wei Becomes an Official"

If all these dramas are invested in the project, Fanxing will participate in the production of up to 100 episodes of TV dramas next year, with an investment amount of no less than 20 million. Among mainland film and television companies today, it can be considered an upper-middle level.

Cao Xuan is very motivated and also quite stressed.

After all, the investment of 20 million is not a small amount. Fortunately, his two recent major endorsement deals are about to be finalized. He is also actively preparing for a new album and concert, so he is not yet worried about a lack of funds.

………

After briefly discussing today's company matters, it was already past 9 p.m.

Boss Cao stretched out and saw that several senior executives were very tired and stopped eating supper. After saying goodbye to a few people, he and Zhu Jiang drove to a noodle shop and had a bowl of fried noodles each.

After having enough tea and rice, Zhu Jiang looked at Cao Xuan: "Should we go to Haidian or Tongzhou?"

Cao Xuan: "..."

Why am I like an emperor playing cards in the harem? How many times have I told you to keep a low profile?

But Cao Xuan really has nowhere to go today.

Zeng Li went back to his hometown for the summer vacation, while Hu Jing was in the capital, but she had gone back to Yunnan Province to see her parents, and her parents came with her when she came back.

He said he wanted to see her working environment, so he went to Fanxing to check it out. So far, he has no idea of ​​returning to Dian Province.

Cao Xuan's "ugly son-in-law" didn't dare to come to the house easily. When he went to Haidian, he was afraid that Hu Jing would block the door, so he simply returned to live in Dashizuo Hutong, where it was convenient to go to Baihua Recording Studio every day.

That night, Cao Xuan slept in Dashizuo Hutong. Zhang Chong and his girlfriend had already moved in together.

The next day, Cao Xuan brought Wangcai Laifu back and took him to Beihai to walk the dog before dawn, and found a stall for breakfast.

The beef patty is sizzling with oil when you bite into it, the meat filling is fresh and delicious, the pie crust is soft and elastic, and a bite of salty tofu puffs makes the whole person feel comfortable.

While eating breakfast and listening to the chatter of the old man from Beijing who came out for morning exercises, Cao Xuan vaguely found some of the comfort and relaxation he had felt before he became famous.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for him to be recognized by the fans. He paid a few autographs and ran away with the dog in his arms. The photo was even taken by the paparazzi.

"Shock! What is it like for everyone to run away in embarrassment in the great court of the King of Heaven?