Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 231 Having connections in the court makes things easier

Wei Liben had said that the number of places was limited, and Zhang Yan thought that there would not be many people going to Jiuquan this time. But when they arrived at the meeting point, they found that there were more than twenty people.

That wasn't all. When they arrived in Beijing—there were no direct flights from Tianjin to Jiayuguan Airport at the moment—the former director, Lin, the leader of ZXB, also came with a few people to join them, bringing the total to about thirty people.

While waiting at the airport, Leader Lin specifically called Ma Yuan and Zhang Yan aside and quietly revealed that he would soon be transferred to the State Administration of Optoelectronics.

Last time it was a lateral transfer to Beijing, but this time it's a promotion to deputy director level [deputy BU level].

Ma Yuan and Zhang Yan were overjoyed to hear the news. Although ZXB had a bigger name, for the film and television industry, optoelectronics was definitely a better fit.

"After I'm transferred there, I'll most likely be in charge of coordinating the connection between Hong Kong film and television resources and mainland film and television resources before and after 97."

As he spoke, Leader Lin patted Zhang Yan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "If you have any good ideas in the future, you and Lao Ma can just contact me directly. You will definitely get credit for your contributions."

Zhang Yan adopted a flattered demeanor and nodded vigorously, saying, "I will do my best to offer my humble opinion to the two leaders!"

Leader Lin laughed and pointed at Zhang Yan, but said nothing more.

After boarding the plane.

Zhang Yan and Yan Xiaoming were arranged to sit together. It would have been nice for old friends to sit together, catch up, and chat, but Director Yan kept writing and drawing in a notebook, and his expression seemed quite serious.

Zhang Yan stole a couple of glances, then quickly looked away, no longer daring to look.

It was a letter of denunciation to ZY. It seemed that a mid-level manager at a newspaper was first suppressed and warned for providing information to "Humanity's Right Path", and then an accident happened.

I told you I shouldn't get involved in this kind of thing!

After all, Tianjin is the largest port city in northern China, and port cities are known for their shady dealings...

But it felt strange to keep his eyes fixed straight ahead, so Zhang Yan simply took out paper and pen and started sketching on it.

Based on my observations and experiences over the past two years, by the time the plane landed at Jiayuguan Airport, several suggestions for co-productions between mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong had already been put forward.

First, there's the principle of equal star power in co-produced TV dramas. Although Zhang Yan didn't know about the later regulations from the optoelectronics industry, he could still see the condescending attitude of Hong Kong and Taiwan professionals from the experiences of Wu Yujuan and Wang Luyao.

Therefore, he felt it necessary to impose restrictions through regulations: one of the male or female leads must be from mainland China—and if the male lead is from Hong Kong or Taiwan, the second or third male leads must be from mainland China, and vice versa.

The second suggestion is that in cases with multiple possible outcomes, it is essential to report to the optoelectronics company in advance to avoid situations where companies profit from the mainland while simultaneously engaging in widespread smear campaigns and spreading rumors.

As for the Hong Kong and Taiwan versions adding pornography and violence, we don't need to worry about that too much.

The third suggestion is...

These suggestions are mostly aimed at the television drama industry. After all, Zhang Yan has never led any film projects, so his suggestions probably don't have much persuasive power.

…………

The Jiuquan base sent a bus directly over. Before boarding, Zhang Yan showed his written suggestions to Ma Yuan, who then forwarded them to Leader Lin.

After reviewing it, Leader Lin didn't say anything at the time.

However, after arriving at the Jiuquan base, he and Ma Yuan were called to his room.

"Xiao Zhang."

Leader Lin frowned slightly and said, "I know that your suggestions are all for the development of our country's TV drama industry, but the current intention of the higher-ups is to try to introduce Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television capital to improve the production level of our mainland film and television dramas."

Is it inappropriate to impose so many restrictions right from the start? If this provokes dissatisfaction among Hong Kong and Taiwanese investors and negatively impacts the overall strategy of 'attracting and upgrading' investment, it could backfire.

Zhang Yan only needed to offer suggestions, but Leader Lin had to consider many more things, especially the risks. However, Leader Lin greatly admired Zhang Yan, so after raising his questions, he immediately gave his approval: "Of course, points like the second and fourth are very necessary. We really need to try our best to avoid situations where we eat the food and then complain about it."

"lead."

Zhang Yan said seriously, "I won't say anything fancy in front of you. The Hong Kong film and television industry is different from ours. Most of them prioritize profit."

I think whether they curse or not, whether they are willing to follow our rules, does not depend on whether we greet them with a smile, but on how big this opportunity is.

"As long as there are sufficient interests for us in mainland China, I believe that even with slightly stricter conditions, a large amount of Hong Kong and Taiwanese film and television capital will be willing to invest in the mainland."

After pondering for a while, Leader Lin nodded and said, "So, the marketization of broadcasting rights that you proposed earlier is the foundation of all these conditions?"

Leader Lin is quite capable; he immediately grasped the key point.

This is also the main motivation for Zhang Yan to make suggestions so eagerly. If the finished product of "New Dragon and Phoenix" is released but the marketization reform of broadcasting rights is delayed, then the film will be ruined in Yuanmeng's hands.

Taking this opportunity, Zhang Yan said to Ma Yuan, "After 'The New Dragon and Phoenix' is filmed, I want to sell it on local TV stations first, and then broadcast it on satellite TV after it has been broadcast for a while. Of course, our station will definitely get a preferential price then."

Ma Yuan frowned slightly, then slapped his thigh and said, "No wonder you're helping a county-level TV station make money by setting up a free song request channel. You were planning to play the long game!"

Until the beginning of the new century, many ordinary prefecture-level city TV stations were still broadcasting pirated movies and TV dramas. Some were even too lazy to buy CDs and went directly to audio-visual stores to rent them.

In this situation, it's simply wishful thinking for the production team to try and get the broadcasting rights from them.

But the situation is different for Yuanmeng. After running the training course for half a year, he has established personal relationships with many city and county-level TV stations. As long as the rebroadcast price is lowered enough, a considerable number of TV stations should be willing to do him a favor.

By the time we've pooled our resources, we can recover a significant amount of money.

Zhang Yan said speechlessly, "You've misunderstood me. I didn't think that much about it at the time..."

“Others might not think I’d believe you, but you… hehe, do you think I’d believe you?” Ma Yuan chuckled coldly twice, then generously said, “This is the first time you’ve ever done this, so our station can’t hold you back. We’ll make you whatever amount you’re owed—if CCTV pays more, we’ll let them broadcast it first.”

He paused for a moment, then added, "But you'd better do a good job with the second season of 'I Am a Singer,' our station's advertising revenue for this year is all going to come from this!"

Leader Lin chuckled beside him, "Once I'm transferred to the optoelectronics department, I'll try to get you another pilot project title—after all, having a positive role model makes it easier for us to negotiate with Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television capital."

That's why there's an old saying: having connections in the imperial court makes things easier.

Of course, you also have to learn to flatter your superiors; otherwise, if you just ask for policy support without any real support, you'll either end up corrupting each other or going your separate ways in the long run.

Using the marketization of broadcasting rights as bait and foundation to promote Zhang Yan's suggestions seems much more reliable.

Leader Lin discussed some details with Zhang Yan and felt that the governing strategy suddenly became clear. Overjoyed, he wrote the four characters "大展宏图" (meaning "Great Ambitions") and presented them to Zhang Yan.

After a period of rest and repair.

In the evening, a grand banquet was held in Jiuquan. The China Aviation Industry Corporation, which had just been reorganized in June, even sent a vice president to host the banquet, during which he said many auspicious words of New Year's greetings.

Yan Xiaoming was still a little confused. This was a major government agency, so why did their attitude seem a bit obsequious?

Zhang Yan explained in a low voice, "They've changed their name to a company, so they must be trying to generate profits—how much money can they make launching satellites for the country? Private companies can't afford this kind of thing now. In the next few years, their biggest customer base will be provincial-level television stations, right?"
So they genuinely hope we do well; after all, the better we develop after going satellite TV, the more TV stations will want to go satellite TV in the future.

Yan Xiaoming suddenly realized, then shook his head and said, "If such an important department starts doing business, then what will happen in the future..."

Yan Tai was a man who was truly upright, but also truly conservative.

(End of this chapter)