Entering the Chinese entertainment industry is like entering a deep sea

Chapter 833 Jin Yanxi 15 years ago, Bai Xiuzhu 15 years later

According to the current principle of "one drama, two channels", "Ode to Joy" is not available on Youku online streaming platform, so it can be selected from two of the four satellite TV channels.

In other words, a TV series can sell for a sky-high price of 10 billion.

The first to react were the stock prices of Yixin Media and Youku.

This 10 billion is not the box office revenue; more than half of it will go to the cinemas.

"With such high prices, will everyone end up making TV dramas and no one make movies anymore?"

Liu Yifei has a new nickname that's bothering her: "Ten Billion Empress Qian".

Li Chen gently stroked his wife's delicate nose and chuckled, "That won't happen, but this time it might be a turning point."

"You mean?" Liu Yifei wasn't stupid; she quickly understood what her husband meant.

As the saying goes, the world is bustling with people because of profit, and the world is bustling with people because of profit.

These terrifying profits are the envy of the other two video platforms and the top five private companies in the industry.

Huayi Brothers, which has been clamoring to move away from film and television adaptations, will probably have to admit its own mistakes.

"Money, making money, do you want money or not!" Li Chen didn't answer his wife's question directly, but just chuckled and imitated Zhang Yuqi.

The result made the pregnant woman very happy.

Liu Yifei, like a mermaid, completely threw March 2016 into chaos.

For the next two days, topics related to "Ode to Joy" dominated the daily trending charts.

For example, someone revealed that there were only four product placements in "Ode to Joy", but each of them was a big name.

The car driven by Liu Yifei's character "Andy" is a Tesla Model S, with a sponsorship fee of up to 5000 million yuan.

Yang Mi's "Fan Shengmei" skincare brand, SK-II, received a sponsorship fee of 3000 million yuan.

With the official announcements from both Dragon TV and Hunan TV, this exorbitant bidding war finally came to an end.

Sina Entertainment News

On March 10, 2016, with Dragon TV and Hunan TV jointly announcing that they had acquired the first-run broadcast rights of "Ode to Joy" for 12.5 million yuan per episode, this week-long "sky-high price battle" finally came to an end.

"The entire series has 42 episodes, and the total transaction amount exceeded 10 billion yuan, setting a new record for domestic TV dramas."

"What does this figure mean? It's equivalent to being able to produce two 'Nirvana in Fire' or four 'Go Princess Go' with the budget of one 'Ode to Joy'."

The record-breaking sale of "Ode to Joy" was like a bombshell, disrupting the previously clear distinction between "movie stars" and "TV stars".

-

A meeting room at Dong Shen Film Studio, No. 4 Jiuxianqiao Road, Beijing.

The meeting room was quite full of people, including Liu Zhi, CEO of Huace Media, Wang Liwei, General Manager of Syndicate, and Niu Jixin, Vice President of iQiyi.

The three families have already visited Chen Kun three times, and this is the third visit, all in an effort to persuade him to return to television.

The original novel of "The Rise of Phoenixes" was spread out on the table.

“This time, the three of us will go together. I refuse to believe that Chen Kun will still be unwilling!”

"With such a huge cake like 'Ode to Joy' out there, who wouldn't be tempted? I think we should have a result today."

“Chen Kun is a smart man. The fact that the three of us came together shows that we’ve already given him enough face and respect,” Niu Jixin said confidently.

He is the executive producer of "The Rise of Phoenixes" and also the production company that strongly recommended Chen Kun.

From the very beginning of the project, he believed that Chen Kun was the only choice for the male lead, Ning Yi.

The role of Ning Yi requires the actor to have excellent acting skills, good looks, popularity, and freshness.

There is another unspoken factor: Chen Kun is not an artist under Rong Chen's management.

It's been almost a year since they last tried to get Chen Kun to star in the show. This time, with "Ode to Joy" offering an exorbitant price, Niu Jixin brought together the heads of two production companies to try and secure Chen Kun's participation.

Coincidentally, at the same time, a similar scene was unfolding at the Kashgar Feibao Jingcheng Office.

As Zhang Ziyi's Mercedes-Benz entered the underground parking garage, Zhu Shaojie, the actual controller of Feibao, was already waiting at the elevator entrance.

This Fujian businessman, who always wears a sandalwood bracelet, has two followers behind him, a man and a woman.

Zhu Shaojie just arrived in Beijing from Xinjiang today and came to see Zhang Ziyi.

Zhang Ziyi took the initiative to quickly step forward and shake hands with the two of them. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they went into the office together.

Zhu Shaojie began his speech with a distinct Minnan accent: "Teacher Zhang, we can't offer hundreds of millions in cash like Huace. But Feibao can give you 33% equity, which will at least increase tenfold after the IPO."

It turns out that Huace had already contacted Zhang Ziyi before. A movie star coming down to earth to act in a TV series is a huge gimmick in itself, not to mention Zhang Ziyi's international reputation.

Zhang Ziyi's agent, Ji Lingling, chimed in, "I heard you haven't even decided on a director yet?"

Zhu Shaojie laughed and said, "Which director could refuse Miss Zhang's offer to join the project?"

Zhang Ziyi smiled, but thought to herself, "That's not necessarily true. At least a teacher can't direct a TV series. Li Chen won't direct a TV series she stars in either."

Sitting here today, she's actually too embarrassed to face Zhang Yimou.

So what if making money is shameful!
When news of Zhang Ziyi's meeting with Zhu Shaojie reached Yang Siwei's ears, he inquired and learned that Zhang Ziyi had also fallen for him.

He then reported the matter to his boss, Li Chen.

Liu Yifei's mouth gaped slightly as she listened: "She's really going to act in a TV series?"

Li Chen suddenly asked, "You mean Kashgar?"

Li Chen suddenly heard this name and belatedly realized that it was already 2016.

"Yeah, boss, what's wrong? A lot of star companies flocked to Kashgar and Horgos earlier this year, but they're all ghost companies, just names without people," Yang Siwei said with a dismissive laugh.

As far as she knows, around this year, Wu Xiubo, Huang Bo, Zhao Bensan, Li Xiang, and others have registered companies in Hall.

As for directors, industry heavyweights such as Han Han, Ning Hao, Zhang Meng, and Gao Xixi are all present, having registered companies in both locations.

"Are any of our people following suit?" Li Chen asked again.

Yang Siwei thought for a moment and said, "Probably not, but I haven't asked whether they have any private shares."

"The impression of Horgos Orange in the movie 'Duckweed' starring Han Yun and Deng Chao is actually Han Han's."

"Go down and investigate, see how many of our people are following suit."

Yang Siwei didn't know what the big boss meant, but simply nodded in agreement.

What Yang Siwei didn't know was that, apart from Rong Chen's family, the other five major private entertainment companies had already quietly registered companies in both locations.

Take, for example, that director Feng who was clamoring to establish a film and television school with Chenglong.

If Li Chen remembered correctly, one of the production companies in "Mr. Six" was a company called Horgos Spring Fusion.

Every year, top celebrities and companies can save millions of dollars; this temptation is probably not much different from that of drugs.

After Yang Siwei left, Liu Yifei finally asked the question that had been bothering her.

"When I saw Yang Siwei mention Kashgar just now, your eyelids twitched! What's wrong? Is something going to happen?" The pregnant woman was very sensitive; Yang Siwei had just mentioned that so many people were registering companies there.

It's even possible that some of the artists in Rong Chen's group have secretly invested in the company or had someone else hold the shares on their behalf.

She knew that Yang Mi's Jiaxing Media had also registered a company there. Li Chen thought to himself, "What a coincidence. The only companies in the industry that haven't registered in these two places are probably Red Star Wu Studio and Rongchen Pictures."

Even in his previous life, Li Chen had never heard of any connection between Hongxingwu and these two places.

"You truly are untainted by the mud," Li Chen said with a smile, stroking his wife's cheek.

Liu Yifei grabbed her husband's large hand: "What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's okay, what can happen?"

"You're so annoying! You never tell me anything! I'm even more worried when you don't tell me," Liu Yifei said with dissatisfaction. Her husband's slight glance hadn't escaped her notice.

They even asked another question, 'Kashgar,' which made it even stranger.

Liu Yifei had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Yang Siwei just mentioned that many artists have flocked to both places, but even if Liu Yifei doesn't go out, she knows that these people are probably just moving their companies' financial and tax matters here.

However, their actual business operations are still far away from both locations, which is why Yang Siwei mentioned the "ghost company."

"Okay, okay, let me tell you. It's not a big deal, but this approach clearly goes against the original intention of attracting investment to the area."

"While the number of registered businesses appears to be surging, how much benefit will this actually bring to the local area? Will it meet expectations? And how effective will it be?"

"Actually, no. It's just a cluster of businesses that are superficially trying to avoid each other, and it doesn't contribute anything substantial to the economy."

"Over time, will some companies and individuals start to take advantage of these conveniences to transfer large amounts of profits, or even engage in the phenomenon of 'wool-pulling' (exploiting loopholes)?"

"I was just thinking about whether I should make a big announcement during these next few days of meetings!"

Liu Yifei panicked upon hearing this and quickly grabbed her husband's hand: "No! What you're doing will incur public wrath!"

Li Chen laughed and said, "Do you think I'm stupid? Even if I were to do it, I wouldn't say it out loud."

"Moreover, some people are probably already trapped and can't get out."

The difference between avoiding and escaping is just one word, and by now Fan Bayi is already deeply mired in trouble.

"Fine, to avoid making you worry, I'll just keep quiet this time."

"You said it! You have to do what you say." Liu Yifei finally smiled when she heard this.

"Alright, alright, would I lie to you? Even if I don't speak up, the higher-ups won't sit idly by. At the latest, by next year, there will definitely be corresponding measures."

"When the time comes, they'll run away just as fast as they came."

-

A week later, just as Dragon TV and Hunan TV jointly announced with Youku that "Ode to Joy" would be released on May Day.

iQiyi, together with Huace Media, New Film Union, and Dong Shen, suddenly released the news.

Chen Kun will star in the historical drama "The Rise of Phoenixes," adapted from Tianxia Guiyuan's novel "Huang Quan." As for his co-star, some sources say he will also be a film actor.

The news immediately went viral and became a trending topic. Chen Kun's last TV series was "The Dream of the Red Chamber" in 2008, after which he focused on movies.

The moment the news of "The Rise of Phoenixes" came out, the internet exploded, especially among fans of Liu Yifei, who didn't mind sending their "blessings"!
The hashtag #JinYanxiBaiXiuzhuFifteenYearsEastoftheRiver# dominated the trending topics on Weibo.

Netizens' imaginations ran wild.

"Jin Yanxi in 'The Rise of Phoenixes' is a strategist who plots his way to power, while Bai Xiuzhu in 'Ode to Joy' is worth over 100 million!"

"Back in the day, Bai Xiuzhu chased after Jin Yanxi in 'The Story of a Noble Family,' but now, the tables have turned! Jin Yanxi can't catch up with her no matter how hard he tries."

"The difference in market value between Chen Kun's Dong Shen and Liu Yifei's Rong Chen is equivalent to the size of the Pacific Ocean."

"Back then, Liu Yifei was only 15 years old. Chen Kun thought she was too young to act in emotional scenes. Looking back now, wasn't it Chen Kun who couldn't handle the role of an Oscar-winning actress?"

Liu Yifei has been staying at home every day to rest during her pregnancy, but these scandals keep coming one after another.

However, she and Chen Kun had long since become strangers, and she had no interest in whether he acted in TV dramas or not.

If Chen Kun hadn't recently trended on social media, she would have almost forgotten about all the unpleasantness from back then.

Not to mention Chen Kun's return to the small screen, there's more to come.

On March 18, Zhang Ziyi's studio suddenly registered the Weibo topic #ShangyangFu#, and her agent Ji Lingling admitted: "We are indeed evaluating TV series projects."

Zhang Ziyi is going to act in a TV series, and netizens are laughing so hard they can't live anymore.

Zhang Ziyi has stated publicly on multiple occasions that the pace of television dramas is not suitable for her.

Moreover, her public image has always been that of a good student who listens to her teachers. It is almost common knowledge in the industry that Zhang Yimou warned Zhang Ziyi not to act in TV dramas.

The line that was once said in imitation of Zhang Yimou's tone, "Director Zhang said, don't lower your standards for money," has now been shattered.

The hashtag #Zhang Ziyi's salary for "Shangyang Fu"# topped the trending searches.

According to sources, the production company has offered her a staggering 1.2 million yuan in salary plus profit sharing.

"Zhou Xun's 'Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace,' Zhang Ziyi's 'Shangyang Fu,' and that Yanzi's 'Tiger Mom Cat Dad,' all that's missing is Lao Xu. The first batch of four little actresses is almost complete!"

"Are movie stars going to collectively 'descend to earth,' and TV dramas are going to become 'movie quality'?"

"Liu Yifei single-handedly raised industry salaries and narrowed the gap between the big and small screens! Producers must be crying in the bathroom."

While others might not know who the movie star in "The Rise of Phoenixes" is, Li Chen does.

At this moment, Zhang Yimou can probably only let out a long sigh.

Both Zhang Ziyi and Nini have entered the competition, proving that the bond between mentor and student cannot compare to the solid foundation of real money.

Once "Ode to Shangyang" was published, "The Long Song of Tiansheng" was immediately forgotten.

Penguin and Strange both took the initiative to contact Zhang Ziyi.

There's a strange phenomenon in the entertainment industry: Zhang Ziyi doesn't carry the box office, yet her salary remains consistently high.

Now that he's acting in TV dramas, his salary is still unparalleled.

On Sunday, Zhang Yimou came to visit with his wife and son.

The children were having a great time, while Chen Ting and Liu Yifei sat under a parasol and chatted leisurely.

Zhang Yimou also mentioned to Li Chen that Nini would also be starring in "The Rise of Phoenixes".

"Well, you can't blame them. With such high pay, who wouldn't be tempted?" Zhang Yimou said with a sip of tea.

Li Chen thought to himself, "You still ended up descending to the mortal realm later, didn't you?"

First, the producer takes the lead in testing the waters, then the director takes the camera.

In late March, Zhang Yimou began to devote all his energy to the project "The Battle at Lake Changjin".

Casting alone is a daunting task.

Historical war-themed films and television works must achieve two key objectives.

First, we must respect historical facts.

Secondly, the personality and experiences of important historical figures must be extremely consistent with the role.

For this reason, Zhang Yimou also invited Li Chen.

(End of this chapter)