China Entertainment 1997

The domestic idol drama market has been changing. For example, in the early days, the female protagonists were basically ugly ducklings, and the men were cool young masters or CEOs.

In the middle and later stages, as the audience's consciousness awakened, the characters of idol dramas began to diversify. The male and female protagonists were no longer single, but were also subdivided into a large number of sub-categories or settings.

For example, ancient idols, sweet pets, BE (abuse), Nianxiao, etc., and even the so-called Danmei, can broadly be regarded as a type of idol drama.

But there is one direction that remains unchanged, which is to focus on the female and teenage market, especially female audiences, and grasp their tastes. This will create an idol drama with good results.

In the early days, most domestic female viewers had a relatively simple and narrow perspective on many things due to their limited exposure to information. In addition, the so-called "success" culture prevailed at the time where money was paramount.

The ugly duckling counterattacks, finds a handsome, rich and infatuated husband, marries into a wealthy family and becomes a phoenix. The plot of easily transcending classes can satisfy the fantasies of most ordinary grassroots women.

Of course, the same goes for men. It can be seen from the style of Internet writing at that time that counterattacks and crazy slaps in the face were the most popular routines.

Also because of the limited knowledge of the screenwriter and author, some jokes are inevitable sometimes.

When the Internet rises, information begins to explode, and ordinary people can see a lot of things. It is difficult for this kind of superficial fantasy to be popular again, so screenwriters and authors must also start to dig deeper and more detailed.

But in 2006, it was not yet at that level.

Strictly speaking, idol dramas exploded last year, with Mainland's "The Boss Falling in Love with Me" and "Luo Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", and Taiwan's "Mischief Kiss", "Green Forest" and "The Devil Is Around". , making domestic idol dramas popular.

The ugly duckling-style heroine did not bore the audience and was even very popular.

In this case, if you want to have a strong woman as the heroine, you may not be lovable, so the book Cao Xuan found for Damimi was also an idol drama similar to The Ugly Duckling.

However, compared to the heroine who cannot be "purely stupid", this heroine has a stronger shining point.

South Korea's most popular idol drama - "The Heirs"

In fact, at the beginning, Cao Xuan wanted to make the movie "Let's Watch the Meteor Shower" to steal Sister Shuangzi's luck. However, if I think about the script carefully, I found that there were too many flaws and it was very similar to "Meteor Garden".

On the contrary, "The Heirs", although in the eyes of later generations, the routines are equally bloody, the reason why it can be so popular is that it has great merits.

Although the three main characters of the male protagonist, female protagonist, and second male protagonist are still roughly the domineering young master, the ugly duckling female protagonist, and the infatuated male protagonist, there are many subtle changes, and the setting details and plot plots are richer.

In other words, the screenwriter really used his brain.

The plot may seem cliche, but many details are very touching and deeply touch the audience's emotions.

This is not to praise or disapprove, but similar idol dramas, especially many mainland idol dramas, are deeply influenced by Qiong Yao dramas. They only know how to fall in love sillyly, with several male protagonists surrounding the female protagonist and fighting each other, and the emotions and plots are very difficult to deal with. I don't care about anything except love.

Audiences who have not been exposed to too much information may be very moved at the time, but once they are more knowledgeable and their horizons are improved, the screen will be filled with embarrassment.

In contrast, if you watch some excellent idol dramas afterwards, even if many plots are very cliché, there are still many shining points.

Of course, we cannot generalize. There are many bad dramas in Korea, and there are also many high-quality idol dramas in the early stage of China, especially in Taiwan. In the later period, mainland film and television got rid of the shackles of Qiong Yao dramas, and some excellent works appeared.

However, "The Heirs" became a hit in South Korea, and then had a certain impact in Japan and China. It is one of the few phenomenon-level works that can cause a stir in East Asia, and it is still worth picking up.

At the very least, Cao Xuan is more willing to produce "The Heirs" than "Let's Watch the Meteor Shower".

Of course, if you want to make this drama, you still need to make some modifications. For example, the title "The Heirs" is actually a satire on the solidification of Korean classes.

Official positions can be inherited, business groups can inherit, and ordinary people who work as servants (nannies) and part-time workers in chaebol families will also have their future children inherit their jobs.

Apart from anything else, if Cao Xuan shoots according to the original version, then the good days are over.

Therefore, many of the spicy and satirical plots in Fanxing's version of "The Heirs" will be reduced and more focused on the matching male and female protagonists.

The heroine of "The Heirs" is tough, cheerful and a little confused. Da Mimi can still give it a try.

The male lead Cao Xuan doesn't choose any other candidates. Yan Kuan and Hu Ge can choose one. The second male lead can be chosen from either of them, or someone else can be found from outside. Anyway, the first premise is that it must be a handsome guy.

Idol dramas don’t need to worry about anything else. They must have handsome men and beautiful women. If their looks are not good enough, no matter how good the characters are, it’s useless.

Cao Xuan briefly talked about the script of "The Heirs". It is not all completed yet, and there is still a lot of Chinese translation work, but the selling points are still good.

Da Mimi's eyes lit up when she heard this. Hu Jing and Mr. Zhou nodded repeatedly. The only problem was.

"It's a wealthy family and a world-class company, so the investment won't be low."

Mr. Zhou asked, and Cao Xuan shook his head: "It's not as much as you think. We have ways to save costs."

Facing the confused Mr. Zhou, Cao Xuan coughed, and Hu Jing gave her some weird tips on how to save money.

For urban dramas like this, scene rental is often a relatively large expense, but Stars can be rented for free.

Boss Cao can manage company buildings, office scenes, and luxurious offices in one sentence. Boss Cao has a lot of idle villas and mansions. He has private jets and American villas.

Some time ago, Cao Xuan spent US$3.5 million to buy an Italian-style two-story villa covering an area of ​​about 700 square meters in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, to use as his residence in the United States.

In the future, he will go to the United States for work more frequently. It is still inconvenient to just stay in a hotel. It would be better to have a fixed house.

The reason why I bought a house in Beverly Hills was mainly for privacy and room for appreciation. If I don’t use it in the future, I can just sell it.

Cao Xuan is not very willing to buy property abroad now. If he is sanctioned one day, he will suffer a big loss, so he will not buy too many foreign fixed assets unless necessary.

The script of "The Heirs" has American scenes, so this house can be used for filming. Anyway, Cao Xuan doesn't live there more than once a year.

After all the calculations, many things in "The Heirs" can be directly borrowed from Cao Xuan. Except for luxury clothes, which may cost a little money, the rest may be luxury sports cars.

Cao Xuan himself only wears the clothing of Septwolves or privately customized clothing when he goes out. He basically does not wear other brands of clothing. The two palaces in the east and west are almost all customized.

The three of them don't like cars. The cars at home are basically business series, not even a sports car.

However, these can be rented, and the crew can even be used to negotiate advertising. Even if they can't bring in much advertising money, it is still a good choice to use them for free.

As for the resort, Cao Xuan has a small stake in a Sanya resort, about 80%, which is owned by Jiaoyang Venture Capital. It is said that it is doing well, with a valuation of hundreds of millions, and it is considered a key project in Jiaoyang Venture Capital.

Also because Jiaoyang Venture Capital invests in various projects, ranging from big to small, even Cao Xuan is not completely clear about how many industries and companies he owns.

For example, some time ago, Cao Xuan learned that he still had half a winery in Jin Province.

Dongxi Ergong also liked to go to a chain beauty salon last year. Every time she went there, she received the most meticulous and considerate services. The manager greeted her every day and invited experts from abroad to develop a beauty plan.

The East and West Ergong were very satisfied and took the initiative to advertise the beauty salon. All their Amway girlfriends and friends from all over the world went to this store to shop. As a result, the level of service they received was simply not comparable to the two of them.

Afterwards, the two of them learned that the beauty salon Jiaoyang Venture Capital owned 35% of the shares. There happened to be an executive from Jiaoyang Venture Capital who was also a regular visitor here. When he came for a beauty salon, he saw Dongxi Ergong and told the boss about the two. person identity.

The service received by the wife of the major shareholder is certainly not comparable to that of ordinary customers. Poor Ninomiya thought she had met a conscientious businessman and wasted her feelings.

So, after all, many things can be borrowed directly.

Cao Xuan is used to it. In the previous filming of "The Domineering President Falls in Love with Me", the male protagonist's two villas were owned by Boss Cao, and other related crews would also rent them if they found suitable ones.

Among them, the two villas in the capital and the one in the Magic City with a large floor-to-ceiling floor facing the Huangpu River are used the most, and they are almost becoming public filming locations for the Stars crew.

Cao Xuan basically does not charge rent, but only charges compensation for some damage to items and cleaning fees.

Speaking of this, Hu Jing couldn't help complaining that one time the crew was careless and made the house a little messy. Afterwards, the property management and cleaning staff called her to complain. She was so angry that she went to the producer to ask for rent.

And Mr. Zhou and Damimi have long been fooled by Xiu!

Fortunately for Mr. Zhou, although Rong Xinda is stingy, she has been a popular star for several years, has a net worth of 8 figures, and has settled down in the capital.

But even so, she felt distressed for several months after buying a house in a high-end community with all the money. As a result, Cao Xuan used the unused mansion as a public studio.

Not to mention Da Mimi. She has just become famous and her income has just increased. Before that, she filmed a few movies and earned a few hundred thousand in total. The company took a lot of it, and she also used some of it herself. The rest The money I spent was not even enough for a down payment.

When she went to South Korea some time ago, it was all money lent to her by Hu Jing. She chose the best institution and the fee was not cheap.

Therefore, now, let alone buying a house, Damimi is still carrying a large amount of foreign debt. After listening to Hu Jing's words, her whole body went numb, and she once again felt the huge differences in the world.

Cao Xuan on the side felt that if Damimi could maintain this state, it would be of great help to her in "The Heirs" to further explore the heroine's heart and feel the gap between herself and the wealthy male protagonist.

However, Cao Xuan must also admit that although his family is rich, even richer than many so-called wealthy families, their background and temperament are still too unrestrained, full of nouveau riche temperament.

But Boss Cao quite likes to be a nouveau riche, free and without having to worry about everything.

Besides, there are not many so-called top inherited families in the entire New China. Everyone has only made their fortune for a few decades. Some middle-class citizens who have inherited several generations are better than ordinary families and often call themselves "aristocratic families". Thought it was a Celestial Dragon.

Cao Xuan hated these half-baked pretentious people the most. He didn't care what his descendants would do in the future, but he still liked to make himself comfortable and happy, even if he was a "despised" nouveau riche.

The Empress of the East Palace was somewhat led astray by her, but the Empress of the West Palace, perhaps because of her teacher, had a more stable mentality and was relatively low-key in this regard.

………

Showing off their wealth made Zhou Gongzi and Damimi feel bad. They looked at Cao Xuan for several days with a bit of resentment in their eyes.

However, after all, the two of them are not easy to deal with, and they came out one after another. However, the difference is that Mr. Zhou put down his obsession and remained calm as usual, while Da Mimi was inspired to fight. There is a bit of conflict, and I can see that. psychology.

Cao Xuan really wanted to tell Damimi that even if she worked hard, it would be difficult for her to compare with him in terms of wealth in this life.

But considering that the child was still young, Cao Xuan did not tell her the truth cruelly.

What's more, it's good to be ambitious. If you receive more notices and film appointments, you can save your first pot of gold in a few years, and at the same time contribute to Lao Cao's family.

Well, according to the contract signed by Damimi, she has a 370-300 relationship with the company. The harder she works, the more money the boss Cao Xuan will make.

So touching...

After filming this movie, Damimi will go to Guolan to play a female lead. As for "The Heirs," filming won't start until at least the second half of this year or even next year.

Considering that Liu Tianxian will have at least three works released this year and next, "Hello, Time", "Myth" and "Hurricane Rescue", many of them are popular and lovable characters.

In a short period of time, Damimi, the core of the East Palace Party, would be crushed to death by Liu Tianxian, leaving no room for improvement.

Silently sympathizing with Damimi, Cao Xuan continued to devote his energy to the filming of "Painted Skin".

On June 15, 2006, after more than three months of filming, "Painted Skin" was officially completed.

Although the film has already started post-production before this, it still requires a lot of post-production special effects and the workload is much greater than that of an ordinary film. Even if more manpower is added, it is still hard to say whether it can be released in time for this summer's release.

According to estimates, even with the most ideal post-production schedule, "Painted Skin" will not be released until after August 10th.

If it is delayed further, the effect of the summer release will be greatly reduced, so Cao Xuan means that even if he works overtime, he must rush to release it before mid-August to maintain Fanxing's signature in the summer release.

Cao Xuan himself was also assigned a small task, which was to write the theme song for the "Painted Skin" movie.

This is very simple for him. The songs are all ready-made. The theme song of "Painted Skin 2" "Painted Heart" was considered a good film and television masterpiece in the original era. It comes from the same lineage and can be used.

However, Cao Xuan did not plan to sing it himself, nor did he sing it for the company's internal singers. Instead, he used it as a bonus and made a linkage with the second season of "Tomorrow Star".

Starting in May this year, the second season of "Tomorrow's Star" officially launched auditions. The competition format is roughly the same as that of the first season, but there are also many changes, and the rhythm is relatively compact.

Moreover, in addition to some key games and finals, more games have been changed to recorded games, which has inhibited many off-site live shooting sessions.

There was nothing we could do about it. The voting process for the first season of "Tomorrow's Star" was quite controversial, but Cao Xuan had the foresight to impose many restrictions at the time.

After the turmoil occurred, restrictions were further tightened. Regardless of the effect, at least the attitude was very correct.

But in 2005, "Super Girl" tasted the sweetness of "Tomorrow's Star", but unfortunately it got carried away by the sweetness. Under the shroud of a lot of negative controversy, not only did it not restrict it, but it even seemed to go against the trend and commit crimes.

Afterwards, although "Super Girl" made a lot of profits, it also received criticism from many aspects. This year's third season of "Super Girl" was almost canceled.

Under such circumstances, although so-called popularity voting is not prohibited, it is obviously greatly restricted by relevant units.

"Star of Tomorrow" took the lead, immediately modified the competition system according to the situation, and managed the season safely and smoothly while ensuring the highlights as much as possible.

Auditions were held in early May, and the top 100 actors in the country were selected at the end of May. They gathered on stage in June to start fighting, and by the time "Painted Skin" was completed, the top 50 actors in the country were basically selected.

Cao Xuan took out the song "Drawing the Heart" and prepared for an extra contest. The winner would be eligible to sing "Drawing the Heart" composed by Cao Xuan himself.

You know, the bonus for winning "Star of Tomorrow" is that Cao Xuan writes a song, which is a rare bonus.

Not only will they record the theme song, but they will also be able to participate in the premiere performance of "Painted Skin". This is a lot of exposure. It is a very rare opportunity for this group of players. If they do it well, they can prepare to debut directly.

At the same time, the "Painted Skin" movie also successfully completed the interaction with the second season of "Tomorrow's Star", creating a wave of popularity and greatly promoting the film's promotion.

In fact, in the first season of "Tomorrow's Star", Cao Xuan wanted "Xiu Chun Dao" to interact with him to help promote the movie.

However, considering that the first season was the time to establish the brand, there were no extraneous matters in the end, and only a few leading actors of "Xiu Chun Knife" were allowed to serve as judges.

Now that "Tomorrow's Star" has made a name for itself, its basic base is solid, and it can play tricks appropriately. A play-off game will be beneficial to both the program and the movie, and the audience will also enjoy watching it.

Sure enough, the program team announced this rule appropriately at the critical moment. The audience was full of expectations, the contestants were gearing up, and the attention of "Painted Skin" also took off.

"Tomorrow's Star" is the most popular variety show nowadays, and both TV series and variety shows have given way to it at the same time.

Last year's "Super Girl" was considered a phenomenon-level variety show. The top three finalists Li Yuchun, Zhou Bishang, and He Jie were not much less popular than the top four finalists Zhang Jie and Yao Beina in the first season of "Tomorrow's Star".

The champion, Li Yuchun, broke out of the industry on a large scale and became the topic of the year in 2005. He was also the second super star after Gu Miaomiao to become popular in the draft.

However, compared to Gu Miaomiao's way of getting out of the circle with her beautiful songs and sweet songs, Li Yuchun's way of getting out of the circle is relatively more controversial and the topic is more discussed.

It is not even an exaggeration to say that the second season of "Super Girl" became a hit, and Li Yuchun himself contributed at least one-third of the credit.

This year, the third season of "Super Girl" and the second season of "Tomorrow's Star" collided, and everyone thought it was a battle between Mars and the Earth.

As a result, in terms of ratings and influence, Season 2 of "Tomorrow's Star" won by a huge margin. It can even be said that it surpassed the other show by a large margin.

In the light of the second season of "Rising Star", the third season of "Super Girl" is better than many ordinary talent shows, and it is not even a little bit worse than last year's phenomenon.

However, there is a saying. Although the third season of "Super Girl" did not pose a threat to "Stars of Tomorrow", it and another national variety show "Avenue of Stars" brought many other influences to the second season of "Stars of Tomorrow" .

In 2004, the first season of "Stars of Tomorrow" was full of talented people.

There are popular singers like Zhang Jie and Gu Miaomiao, powerful singers like Phoenix Legend and Yao Beina, creative geniuses like Gao Jin and Chen Chusheng, and there is also no shortage of grassroots stars like Abao and Xiao Shenyang.

Everyone has their own killer moves and competes for beauty. No one dares to say that they will definitely win. It is very enjoyable for the audience to watch.

But after 2004, various talent shows appeared frequently, which wildly stirred up the talent market.

Among them, "Super Girl" and "Avenue of Stars" are the most popular. One has attracted countless promising female singers, and the other has dug out grassroots stars and powerful singers.

It's just a matter of stealing some potential players. The most important thing is that many viewers are tired of watching young female players and grassroots and capable singers.

A big side effect of the result is that many young male contestants emerged in the second season of "Tomorrow's Star", and they are more popular in the popularity competition.

During the filming of "Painted Skin", Cao Xuan would also pay attention to "Tomorrow's Star" when he had time, and you can clearly feel this change.

To put it simply, the second season of "Tomorrow's Star" has a more audition-oriented nature, unlike the first season which focused more on the characteristics of singers.

It can also be seen from the top 100 contestants in the country in the second season of "Tomorrow's Star".

Let’s not talk about those whom we don’t know, but those who are familiar to Cao Xuan. Among the young female singers, there are only a few such as Qi Wei and Shang Wenjie.

On the contrary, there are a lot of male contestants, such as Ma Tianyu who sang "Damn Tenderness"; three pirated F4s of "Let's Watch the Meteor Shower", Zhang Han, Wei Chen, and Yu Haoming; and Li Yugang, the cross-dressing expert who was taken advantage of by Cao Xuan.

There are also Pu Bajia, who is known as the king of Xiao; Jing Boran and Fu Xinbo, who are relatively famous in later generations; Li Yifeng, one of the four most popular niche students; Qiao Renliang, who is lively and cheerful at this time; Zhang Chao, who played the original Snow Mastiff of Time and Space ; Guan Gu Magic King Chuanjun, etc.

The one I know is "Tomorrow's Star", but I don't know but I thought it was "Happy Boy" or "Come on Good Man"...

Cao Xuan actually doesn't care whether there are more male or female singers, but he hopes for some good talents worth cultivating.

As for this group of male contestants, although their singing is not bad, they are not particularly good either. Especially compared to Zhang Jie, Ping An, and others in the first season, their standards are even a bit eye-catching.

Let's put it this way, if this group of people can reach the top 100 in the country, the proportion of their appearance, luck and male contestants' halo is definitely stronger than the singer's ability itself.

In fact, there were also such singers in the first season, such as Xue Zhiqian, but they were in the minority after all. Unlike the second season, they have become one of the mainstream categories of contestants.

Fortunately, what makes Cao Xuan more gratified is that this year's newly established Hong Kong and Taiwan competition areas have given him many surprises.

Yang Zongwei, Lin Youjia, and Xiao Jingqi, three relatively capable singers, have retained a lot of face as a music program for "Tomorrow Star".

Don't look at the second season of "Tomorrow's Star", which is highly discussed, has strong performance and advertising revenue, and although its reputation is not as good as that of the first season, it is also surprisingly good against the backdrop of other talent shows.

But in Cao Xuan's heart, he is still quite disappointed. There are really not many singers in the top 100 in the country, and there is currently no one who is particularly interested in signing a contract.

However, Cao Xuan can actually understand that the first season of "Tomorrow's Star" was just a land reclamation, and there were good seedlings everywhere, so he didn't have to worry about it at all.

But after two years, other talent shows have taken turns to cut the grass, and there are fewer good seedlings.

In addition, there are some restrictions on contestants in the second season. Considering fairness, celebrities with certain influence were persuaded to quit. This resulted in the second season being basically amateur PK, and the professional quality must be worse.

But understanding is understanding, and it is an indisputable fact that the overall level of players has declined.

Compared with the first season, the number of singers signed by Fanxing in the second season may drop significantly.

However, considering that there are many future actors and handsome guys this season, I can choose a few suitable ones and film the third "Armor Warrior".

"Armor Warrior" Season 1 * Five Elements Armor, except for Zhang Jin, the transparent tiger hero, the rest Yan Kuan, Zhang Zijian, Deng Chao, and Qiao Zhenyu are all famous.

In particular, Yan Kuan, the first male lead, Yan Long Xia, became so popular after watching the idol drama that he became a vaguely A-list niche.

"Armor Warrior" Season 2 * The male protagonist Hu Ge is also very popular. Although Luo Jin and Yuan Hong are not very popular, they are also slightly famous.

With the encouragement of these seniors, many actors may want to compete in the third season of "Armor Warrior".

However, Boss Cao has a bad taste and has always wanted to turn this special photo series into a metaphysical TV series, and establish a law that "filming armored warriors will be popular".

So after the second part of "Armor Warrior", he had to endure it for two years, until this time "Star of Tomorrow" allowed him to see an opportunity.

Ma Tianyu, Wei Chen, Yu Haoming, Jing Boran, Fu Xinbo, Li Yifeng, Qiao Renliang, Zhang Chao.

Eliminating some that Cao Xuan doesn't like or are inappropriate, we can easily pick out eight leading actors and come up with the Eight Diagrams Armor of "Armor Warrior".

Considering the situation of eight people in the original time and space, coupled with the current bonus of "Armor Warrior", it is estimated that no matter what, Xiao Hong can be defeated.

The popularity of 5 people in one season is called luck, and the popularity of 8 people in two seasons can hardly be explained as good luck. If 16 people are popular in three seasons, it is really metaphysics.

Maybe in a few years, when the male protagonist of this space-time entertainment novel travels through the new century, he will definitely do two things -

①Copy Cao Xuan’s song

③Performing "Armor Warrior"

It is estimated that there are still many people who choose to join Fanxing and join Fan Xiaopang, Da Mimi or Liu Tianxian, but they just don’t know whether Boss Cao is positioned as a good big brother or a villain...

————

ps: I recommend this book, I am also reading it myself, "China Entertainment 2004". The author has written a fine book about China Entertainment. The writing style is very comfortable and the plot arrangement is good. The only regret is that the heroine is not Jia Ling...