China Entertainment 1997

Mid-December, Toronto, Canada

I have finished my concerts in North America for the time being, and I still have 4 concerts in South America in 10 days, so I have plenty of time.

This also allows Cao Xuan to relax and rest in the hotel for a day before flying to the Peruvian capital tomorrow afternoon.

Christmas was approaching, and there were Christmas elements everywhere inside and outside the hotel, but Cao Xuan was not very interested. After having dinner in the restaurant, he went back to the hotel room for a massage.

Don't get me wrong, it's a real massage.

In the first two rounds of concerts, Cao Xuan worked too much, was physically exhausted, and had to travel to various places, so his sleep quality was not particularly good.

So this time, the Empress of the East Palace specially hired a masseur to help Cao Xuan relax his body and mind and help him sleep and relieve fatigue after the concert.

Not to mention, the effect is not bad, whether it is a psychological comfort effect or not, but these days, Cao Xuan has to see a masseur to massage his muscles and bones every two days before going to bed.

"Ah~"

Cao Xuan let out a comfortable cry, twisted his body, and felt refreshed. He took a shower, lay down on the bed, and slept until dawn.

After breakfast, Cao Xuan calculated the time difference and called home. He heard the east and west palaces laughing and joking. The laughter made his ears hurt and Cao Xuan was confused.

"What are you two doing?"

"Watching TV, you forgot, "Run" premieres today. Don't tell me, this show is really good, hahaha."

The East and West Palaces kept laughing and didn't even have time to talk to Cao Xuan, which made Cao Xuan feel a little itchy.

He just started the program "Run" and didn't care about the details, nor did he see the finished product. Today, he was attracted by the East and West Palaces. He was really curious about this new version of "Run" by Fanxing.

"Run" is still in the exploratory stage, and it has not even been determined whether it will be broadcast seasonally or weekly throughout the year.

From a business and communication perspective, the latter is definitely better, but the comprehensive weekly broadcast is a big test for the program team and the behind-the-scenes team.

Reality shows have scripts. Even if it is just a process outline or guide, it is not done in one go. There may even be several links arranged to try to piece together the highlights.

In many cases, watching a program on TV only lasts two or three hours, and the actual recording takes one or two days or even longer.

Not to mention creativity, just filming and editing is a huge workload, and the program team is under great pressure.

Not to mention the resident MCs, many of whom have other jobs, and it is unrealistic to devote all their energy to this show.

Therefore, there is a high probability that Fanxing's "Run" will be broadcast in seasons. At most, there will be a little more episodes per season, 20 episodes per year, which can be said to be four or five months.

Currently, "Run" has signed a 10-term contract with Zhejiang Satellite TV, which is about half a season.

This contract is based on the price offered by domestic first-tier variety shows, which is considered a good treatment.

After 10 episodes, if the performance of "Run" is average, Fanxing will cancel the show without telling Zhejiang Channel. If the show becomes popular, he will sign a new contract with better benefits.

It can’t be considered a bet, it’s just a normal pilot.

It's just that ordinary variety shows don't have the confidence to face the platform, but Fanxing is not suitable for small companies, and has produced the phenomenal variety show "Tomorrow Star", so he is qualified to bargain with TV platforms.

In Canada, it is quite difficult to watch a provincial satellite TV station in China.

However, in a capitalist society, money can help. As long as the Canadian dollar is enough, Cao Xuan just wants to listen to the Yimeng tunes from his hometown, and someone will get them...

But Cao Xuan didn't have that trouble. He called the variety show department and sent the finished video directly to his computer, which was more efficient than spending money.

When he turned on the computer, he saw the opening introduction, which made Cao Xuan couldn't help but frown.

There should be an advertising space in this place!

But it’s understandable that as a new variety show becomes more popular, sponsors will naturally come to the show.

In fact, Cao Xuan wronged the program team. As a key variety show among stars, how could it not be favored by advertisers? However, due to the uncertain future, the price is relatively rigid.

So you still have to watch the pilot. After two or three episodes, you can probably figure out some clues, and the ads will be in place.

Having said that, when Cao Xuan saw the advertisements for TV series and variety shows, he often cursed them. Now that he is a boss, he can't help but curse when he sees that there are not many advertisements for his own company.

Not forgetting your original intention belongs to...

Without worrying too much about advertising, seven figures quickly appeared on the screen. The fancy background was omitted. Cao Xuan combined the previous plan settings and directly extracted the elements.

The captain, He Dan, is positioned as "intellectually responsible".

To put it bluntly, it depends on the brain. After all, Teacher He is not physically strong enough, so he can only add "intelligence" or "lucky" points. Considering his popularity and affinity, there are also people who have reached the league to set the position.

Liu Yan, sexy and responsible.

As soon as you put on that yellow tight-fitting sportswear, it creates an exaggerated look and instantly makes people energetic.

Even Cao Xuan couldn't help but look forward to the next part of tearing off the famous brand, and he didn't know how rough it would be.

Zhang Zijian is responsible for combat effectiveness.

On the surface, he is the boss, but in fact he is a kind and honest big brother, with the strongest fighting ability. However, whether he can become an ability user now depends on his specific performance.

Sha Yi, responsible for comedy.

Although he has not grown fat or aged yet, Bai Zhantang's magic power cannot be overshadowed. As soon as his eyes drooped, the laughter came instantly. The program team may have deliberately added some "unlucky attributes" to him to make his personality more prominent.

Xue Zhiqian/Jia Ling, contrasting and funny.

Although Sha Yi is responsible for comedy, he still has a bit of baggage now. The ones in the entire program team who are most willing to sacrifice themselves and don't care about image at all are Jia Ling and Xue Zhiqian.

Xue Zhiqian is a popular singer, and Jia Ling is a girl, who can create comedy and create a contrast.

And Cao Xuan obviously saw that Jia Ling's face was rounder than in the original information. Although it was far less than that of later generations, it still looked a bit naive. He obviously listened to the advice he gave to the program team.

Wei Chen, responsible for good looks.

At present, it is mainly about selling fans. Whether it will develop into a little cheetah or make fun of a little idol later depends on personal settings.

The character design given by the "Run" program team is not completely fixed. It just gives a rough direction. It still depends on the MC's personal performance. The best character design is based on the MC's own characteristics and expanded, forcibly adapting the character. It's full of dissonance and extremely unwise.

Seven resident MCs appeared, and two special flying guests were added, none other than the popular Damimi and Hu Ge.

After the two became famous because of "The Heirs", they collaborated again in "Tang Gong Suo Jade", with Hu Ge playing the male lead Li Ke.

Considering that Liu Tianxian, who has collaborated with Hu Ge many times, is now famous again, maybe Hu Ge will have another "Hu Gewang heroine" law in the future, and a lot of little girls are vying to film with him. .

This is really not an exaggeration. The next drama of Hu Ge's "Tang Gong Suo Jade" will be "Legend of Sword and Fairy 3". The male and female protagonists have already been decided, and they are still Hu and Yang.

What is more interesting now is that the director and producer both preferred Liu Tianxian to play the role of "Lan Kwai" played by Liu Shishi.

Liu Tianxian thinks this role is good and very likable, but she doesn't really want to play a supporting role, let alone supporting Damimi. Tangren has dedicated a lot of resources to help its artist Liu Shishi grab this role. .

What's even more interesting is that Da Mimi went against the norm and kept saying good things to Liu Tianxian, especially hoping that she would star in Nightshade.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that Damimi has changed her gender, it’s that she has always dreamed of having Liu Tianxian play a supporting role for her. If Liu Tianxian really plays the role of Nightshade, she won’t be paid for “Legend of Sword and Fairy 3”, even if it’s a small fee. I want to play Xuejian.

Leaving aside the casting of "Legend of Sword and Fairy 3", having Hu Ge and Damimi come over for the first episode is to build their reputation and increase exposure and topics for "Run" as much as possible.

The nine people chatted and chatted. Needless to say, there were a few popular celebrities. He Dan took special care of Wei Chen and Jia Ling.

He Dan and Liu Yan are popular hosts, Zhang Zijian and Sha Yi are both actors with hit masterpieces. Xue Zhiqian's album was a hit last year and he even appeared on the Spring Festival Gala. They are all relatively capable.

In contrast, Wei Chen's greatest fame is being among the top ten in the second season of "Stars of Tomorrow".

Jia Ling is even worse. Except for a few viewers who care about cross talk, she is basically the same as an amateur. She is also the most difficult to get a spot among the seven resident MCs.

Even so far, her position is not particularly certain. If she performs poorly, she may be replaced at any time.

As the captain and the core MC of "Run", He Dan naturally knows these situations and will deliberately take care of some scenes. On the one hand, it is an indirect help, and at the same time, it also allows the audience to become more familiar with the two people.

Seeing this, Cao Xuan couldn't help but nod. Outdoor reality shows actually also need to control the field, especially when there are many scenes where teams gather together, and a captain is needed to control the battle.

Not only do you need to control the scene, but you also need to have high emotional intelligence, be good at dancing, be able to take care of guests, accurately grasp the emotional atmosphere, and understand the rhythm of variety shows. You must also have sufficient status and prestige, otherwise no one will listen to what you say.

Even Deng Chao, who starred in the original version of "Running Man," struggled for a long time before he gradually found his groove. Moreover, the cold reception of the guests, the awkward atmosphere, and the out-of-control rhythm are still many shortcomings of "Running Man."

He Dan has disadvantages, but his advantages are more obvious.

If it were anyone else, they would either lack the emotional intelligence to control the situation, or have little experience in variety shows. Having both, they may not be able to dominate the scene, so Cao Xuan and "Run" both decided to find He Dan as the captain.

In fact, the original version of "Running Man" also approached He Dan, but was declined for various reasons.

On the one hand, he laughed at his poor physical strength, but on the other hand, Mr. He was at his peak at the time and his schedule was over. At that time, "Running Man" was still an experiment, and He Dan couldn't make the mistake of accompanying him to gamble.

Also, "Running Man" was a program produced by Zhejiang TV Station at the time, and was in direct competition with Hunan TV Station where He Dan worked.

When Fanxing approached He Dan, he was actually very hesitant. However, He Dan is still on the rise. The turmoil of "Happy Camp" in the past two years has made him have the idea of ​​​​transforming.

Although "Run" is not broadcast on Hunan TV, it does not belong to the platform. It is a different concept from being directly produced by Zhejiang TV.

The simple truth is that the copyright belongs to Fanxing. This year we can cooperate with Zhejiang Province and Taiwan, and next year it will be Beijing or Hunan Province. He Dan's worries are not that big.

In short, the still young Teacher He still could not resist the temptation of "creating China's first reality show variety show" and chose to join the "Run" program team.

And he is also the MC with the most expensive advertising fees. Since it is a trial broadcast now, he will be paid per episode, advertising fees and other miscellaneous accumulated expenses.

He Dan is priced at 150,000 to 200,000 per period, Liu Yan is priced at 100,000 to 150,000, Zhang Zijian, Sha Yi, and Xue Zhiqian are all priced at 30,000 to 50,000, Wei Chen is priced at 5,000, and Jia Ling is around 1,000.

This price is not an exaggeration, but it is definitely not cheap. If the variety show becomes popular later, the price will definitely increase.

He Dan took the lead and Liu Yan assisted, controlling the rhythm and slowly guiding the guests before everyone got into the mood.

Since it was the first issue, we didn’t talk too much nonsense, and we mainly focused on making games.

The nine people are divided into three teams: red, yellow and blue. He Dan, Damimi and Xue Zhiqian are in the red team; Liu Yan, Zhang Zijian and Wei Chen are in the yellow team; Sha Yi, Hu Ge and Jia Ling are in the blue team.

The first game is directly the artifact of "Running Man" - acupressure board relay race.

In a square in Beijing, a circuit track made of acupressure boards was built. There were various levels on it, and the team that completed it in the shortest time would win.

I don’t know if it was acted by everyone, or if the program team deliberately suppressed it, but these MC guests didn’t pay attention to the acupressure board at all, they just thought that the difficulty was in the level.

So, when Xue Zhiqian of the red team stepped onto the acupressure board with confidence, he suddenly grinned.

"Ah, it hurts."

"As for that, Xiao Xue."

Sha Yi carelessly took off his shoes and jumped up. Then he lost his voice from the pain, his face wrinkled up, and he looked at the program crew with grief and anger.

"Where did you find this thing? It's so wicked."

The guests laughed and went up to test it one after another, all grinning, but the onlookers were very happy, and even Cao Xuan couldn't hold back his smile.

The official competition that followed was even more hilarious. Xue Zhiqian was like stepping on a frying pan, jumping up and down, screaming in pain, shaking while walking, and then handed the baton to Damimi.

Damimi was a cruel person, stepping on her nails without saying a word. The last blow was He Dan. As soon as he took a step forward, he was opposite a fat man weighing nearly 300 kilograms, who demanded that he must be carried on his back for the last section.

The thin teacher He shivered in front of this strong man, which also caused laughter on the scene, and Cao Xuan couldn't hold back either.

When Teacher He carried the big fat man through this section with difficulty, the laughter never stopped.

Cao Xuan also saw this paragraph and realized why he couldn't stop laughing when he was on the phone with Dongxi Ergong.

As the saying goes, people's happiness is based on the pain of others. Seeing others playing games and eating while holding back will naturally make the people next to them happy. If these people are celebrities, the effect will be even better.

Afterwards, the answer questions were ejected into the water and taken on a high platform.

The first three teams answer the questions. The team's correct answer will add one point. The other two teams will be ejected into the water. If the other two teams answer incorrectly, the team will be ejected into the water and the points will not change. The one with the most points in the end wins.

The latter is a pool with a high platform of more than one meter. The camera is aimed at the high platform for time-lapse shooting. The camera freezes and the faces of several members of the team appear on the screen. The team will add a few points, and the one with the highest score wins.

If the first acupressure board was just an appetizer, from these two sessions, the guests began to show some qualities.

Teacher He is an old-fashioned person, his brain works very fast, and he sometimes sets traps for others.

Liu Yan is smart, sees through the trick, and follows the fisherman to make a profit.

Xue Zhiqian and Sha Yi are a bit silly, especially Sha Yi. His confused expression after being tricked into falling into the water peaked the audience's emotions and was the best in the audience.

The two teammates Jia Ling and Hu Ge's expressions of despair after being cheated are also very funny.

This game completely released the restraints of the guests. When they went to the high platform to take pictures, they no longer had any scruples and just started ruthlessly.

Watching a group of celebrities fighting openly and secretly, fighting, and even in a state of embarrassment, the audience was naturally delighted in front of the screen.

After the preparation of the first three levels, the last link, which is also nearly 2/5 of the time, is the final tearing off of the nameplate.

The first phase of the name tag tearing showdown was held inside the Fanxing Building. When the three teams found the name tags of other team members inside the building, they could tear off the other team's name tags and eliminate each other.

In a confined space, everyone hides, chases, plots, searches, and fights, which is exciting and entertaining.

This plot design of the variety show, even when "Running Man" was broadcast in the original time and space in 2014, was refreshing and enjoyable for many viewers who had never watched foreign reality shows.

Now in 2007, I dare not say that it is an epoch-making variety show design, but it can indeed support a novelty.

What's even more exciting is that the program team hired a "powerful person" to play the villain and arrest people.

And this villain is none other than Asia's No. 1 NBA player, Spurs legend Monte Battle, now in Guanghui, Xinjiang Province.

Although this NBA champion is lying down, his physical fitness is definitely a "behemoth" level for ordinary people. His height of more than two meters and his strong body make him extremely oppressive.

In fact, at the beginning, "Run" wanted to find a few martial arts stars, which would be enough to clean up this "rabble".

But then I thought about the lack of visual impact, so I thought about finding athletes. I originally planned to contact Dayao to make a guest appearance, but Dayao was unavailable, so I found Battelle.

Wearing a special tight-fitting suit with an indifferent expression, coupled with the bells on his feet, combined with the filming, editing, and sound effects of the program team, it was like the god of death coming, and the audience outside the screen could feel a bit depressed.

Not to mention the MC guests of "Run", they were chased in such a mess, like a bereaved dog, which made the audience feel pitiful and ridiculous.

Soon, Xue Zhiqian was caught. He begged for mercy but did not get a chance, and was eliminated first.

Then came Sha Yi, Da Mimi was blocked, Chu Chu pitifully begged for mercy, which made it difficult for Battelle to attack easily, and the hero Hu Ge saved the beauty at the critical moment.

Damimi escaped and Hugo was eliminated by Battle.

This whole scene is quite poignant, and it also flashes back to the previous game clips. They are obviously not in the same team, but they have become an infatuated CP who can't fall in love.

This is also a rare highlight moment for the two flying guests today.

Especially Hu Ge. Damimi and Liu Yan came out of the water before. Once the clothes were put on, there would be no shortage of shots. However, he had no special performance before, resulting in a mediocre performance. This time the hero saves the beauty, full of gimmicks and topics, and it can be regarded as It’s not a trip in vain.

Damimi also seized the opportunity to contact her teammates in the name of "revenge" and got a lot of shots as she wished.

With Damimi's help, Teacher He is ready to unite everyone to kill Battle and eliminate this trouble. Everyone is using their own methods.

Thus, the "Hunting Ba" operation was launched.

Damimi and Liu Yan were used as bait to attract Battelle. Zhang Zijian faced the enemy head-on, while Teacher He and Wei Chen attacked from the side. The three of them worked together to feint attacks on each other, seizing the opportunity to tear off the famous brand.

The plan was very good, and it started to be implemented smoothly, but there was a small twist in the end. When Battelle saw the siege, his first reaction was to be soft.

So, Teacher He died.

This was all chaos. Teacher He was the executor and commander of the plan. He came directly to capture the thief and captured the king first. The remaining people were instantly stunned.

Damimi was unlucky and was torn apart immediately. At the critical moment, Zhang Zijian held the opponent tightly, covering the retreat of others, and finally died heroically.

Only Wei Chen and Liu Yan were left, and they were obviously no match for Battle.

At this time, Jia Ling appeared.

It turns out that this girl started to hide herself from the moment she tore off her name tag and hid it until the end, especially when her two teammates were gone.

There was no other way, but the program team half-assed it and did a trick, telling her a hidden clause to make Battle's famous brand bigger and reduce the difficulty.

But even if the name brand becomes bigger, Jia Ling himself is no match for Battelle, so he comes to Liu Yan and Wei Chen, and the three of them join forces to fight Battelle again.

It is worth mentioning that in the final battle, Jia Ling showed that he was no weaker than a man in combat, and his chubby hands were very powerful, and even played a frontal containment role to a certain extent.

In the end, in the entanglement, Battle "gradually lost", and Wei Chen finally defeated Battle.

This result surprised everyone, including Cao Xuan, whose analysis was clear and logical. Teacher He, who was dispatching troops and generals, was instantly defeated by one move. Wei Chen, who was basically a sidekick, and Jia Ling, who had been hiding all the time, had the last laugh.

If he hadn't known that there was no script except that Battle had to lose, Cao Xuan would have suspected that the show team was specially showing off the two newcomers.

But overall, Cao Xuan thinks the first issue of "Run" is very good.

The rhythm is intensive, the atmosphere is well created, the plot has ups and downs, and there are all kinds of humorous jokes. Even he, who has a golden finger, didn't fast forward. He watched until the end, and he still felt a little unfinished. But after watching this, ordinary viewers a feeling of.

Sure enough, when Cao Xuan arrived in Peru in the afternoon, he received the ratings data of the "Run" variety show.

The average ratings for the first broadcast were only about 1.68, ranking second in the same period.

But the replay during the day the next day instantly reached 2.3, which is considered an extremely high figure in recent times.

Zhejiang TV station rebroadcast "Run" in the early hours of the evening, and it still achieved an average ratings of 1.5, breaking the ratings record for this time period in recent years.

After three consecutive rounds of data, although it cannot be directly concluded that "Run" is successful, we can also see the dawn of victory.

The program team worked hard to record the next program, and the variety show department and advertising department were also gearing up to contact Zhejiang TV Station and major sponsors and advertisers.

They saw the potential in "Run", and they were afraid that the duck would fly away, so they hurriedly came to contact it.

Regarding this, the staff of Fanxing only have one attitude -

You were "ignorant" to me at first, but now you have to pay more...