Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 422 What the superiors do, the inferiors follow
While the elderly couple went to the backyard to 'scout out' the location, Zhang Yan returned to the company building.

Wang Zhongqi's female secretary was waiting in the corridor early in the morning. When she saw Zhang Yan come out of the stairs, she immediately pushed open the door of Wang Zhongqi's office and reminded him.

This female secretary was recently hired by Wang Zhongqi. She was pretty and had a good figure. She wore a short leather skirt, had big waves in her hair, and swayed back and forth in high heels. If you said she was just there to do the work, probably no one would believe it.

But Zhang Yan saw it all but couldn’t say anything. After all, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. As the boss, he set an example, so how could he blame his subordinates for following suit?
But once this trend spreads, it's never a good thing.

I'll mention it to Wong Jing later.

Wang Zhongqi received a call from his female secretary and quickly came out with several documents, reporting to Zhang Yan, "Mr. Zhang, the box office statistics for last week are in."

It's already Wednesday, but efficiency is generally low these days, and there are often significant errors.

So Zhang Yan didn't complain. He took him back to his office, took the box office report and glanced at it. He found that the box office in the second week was only less than four million less than the first week.

It seems that there is a chance that the total box office will exceed 6000 million, and it may even reach 6500 million. It is unlikely to exceed that. The market for commercial films in mainland China is only so big. Only Hollywood blockbusters have a chance to break through the constraints.

[PS: The original film "In the Heat of the Sun" grossed approximately 5000 million at the box office.]

After reviewing the report, Zhang Yan casually asked, "I heard that the final box office figures for Andy Lau's 'Heaven and Earth' have been released?"

"This one……"

Wang Zhongqi stammered, "He should be out, but..."

Clearly, he hadn't been paying attention to these things before.

"Forget it, it's not important."

Although Zhang Yan said this, he planned to set up a special department to collect film and television data, and if possible, to have access to box office data from East Asia and Southeast Asia.

Another department is the publicity department. This time, he personally lobbied and developed the publicity plan. Although the results were very good, it's impossible for him, the boss, to do everything himself every time.

However, the mainland film industry is just undergoing a transformation, so it may not be easy to find talent in publicity and distribution.

The eight major film studios certainly have them, but most of those who come from that system are rather rigid and may not meet the publicity and distribution needs of Dream Realization.

However, if you recruit people from Hong Kong Island, you have to worry about them not adapting to the local environment.

Never mind, it's not urgent anyway, let's put it aside for now.

At this moment, Wang Zhongqi handed over another document and said, "The preliminary preparations for 'National Treasure' are almost complete. Deputy Director Yan asked us if we have any recommendations for a host."

"host……"

It's fine to invite a few young people as guests on this show, but the host should ideally be more mature and composed, and it would be even better if they also had some professional knowledge.

Based on these two conditions, Zhang Yan's first thought was Wang Gang, who was both an antique enthusiast and a host, making him the most suitable candidate.

But he quickly dismissed the idea, since Wang Gang was about to join the filming of "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo," and he couldn't very well sabotage his own project to cover up the TV station's mistakes.

Then he suddenly thought of someone: "By the way, hasn't Ni Ping already left 'Variety Show'?"

“It should be. We haven’t seen her host ‘Variety Show’ since September,” Wang Zhongqi said, his eyes lighting up. “If we could get Ni Ping to come, that would be perfect!”

Throughout the 90s, many CCTV hosts took on private jobs, and even more hosted events and galas for other provincial TV stations. This practice was not explicitly prohibited until 04.

However, there was no precedent for hosting a large-scale variety show before, and Zhang Yan would not have made a move on Ni Ping if she hadn't been in a semi-frozen state.

"Then let Master Ma give it a try. If it works naturally, great. If not, we'll think of something else."

After recommending the host, Wang Zhongqi reported on several other matters, such as the company's internal purchase of welfare housing; the Bayi Film and Television Base's application to increase cooperation in stage play performances; and the completion status of the script for the role in "The Age of Glory," etc.

Some things require Zhang Yan's handling, while others only require Zhang Yan's knowledge.

By the time he finished dealing with everything, it was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon. Zhang Yan got up, stretched his legs, and decided to take a walk across the street to the film and television city.

The TV series "The Hegemon-King of Western Chu" is currently filming war scenes, and several hundred armed police officers have been brought in to assist. He wanted to see how Hong Kong's production of large-scale scenes differed from CCTV's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." Speaking of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," CCTV is really patient. Ever since they announced it would be broadcast at the beginning of the year, countless people have been waiting and hoping, but it's already September and there's still no news.

Accompanied by Wang Zhongqi, his female secretary, and Assistant Lin, and with two security guards temporarily called, the group left the building and headed straight for the ticket office across the street.

It's not that Zhang Yan acts in a high-profile way; it's just that people are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat. These days, nouveau riche are everywhere, and people who resent the rich are as numerous as hairs on a cow.

I entered the base by scanning my face through the employee entrance.

As Zhang Yan walked further in, he found it becoming increasingly lively, with crosstalk performers, acrobats, magicians, and even dragon and lion dance troupes, reminiscent of the grand scene at Tianqiao in its heyday.

The most popular project right now is the rebuilt swaying bridge.

Near the "You Jump, I Jump" sign, three swing bridges are lined up, about half a meter off the ground, with thick soft mats underneath.

Visitors can engage in PvP battles or challenge park staff, and if they succeed, they can win prizes.

"Like being cooked in hot oil."

As Zhang Yan walked out of the entertainment area, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. Although the film and television base was also following his ideas, it was constantly being filled with things.

But there's a saying, "Too much of a good thing is bad."

Currently, the base has relatively few paid items; the main revenue comes from entrance fees and the weekend horse-riding parade. It's highly likely that supporting so many traditional artists is a losing proposition.

However, this involves the internal power struggle between the base and the August First Film Studio, and Zhang Yan, as an outsider, should not rashly intervene.

To put it bluntly, money is what truly moves people's hearts.

When the August First Film and Television Base project was first proposed, the August First Film Studio did not take it seriously, and even regarded it as a difficult task of "exiling to the frontier".

But after the base officially opened, it made a profit for several months in a row, and some people started to get envious.

So the base simply expanded its free performance programs to cover up the apparent financial issues and prevent anyone from getting involved.

However, this is not a long-term solution.

This practice of superficially balancing accounts while secretly taking benefits cannot withstand scrutiny from higher authorities.

Moreover, it is difficult for frontline employees to receive enough benefits. Without sufficient benefits, their motivation will naturally be insufficient, and in the long run, management chaos will inevitably occur.

This is not in line with Zhang Yan's original intention in introducing the film and television base. Although Yuan Meng is only a minor shareholder of the film and television base, this film and television base is one of the cornerstones for Yuan Meng's take-off.

Zhang Yan had put in a lot of effort to help the August First Film Studio with its strategies, which led to the establishment of the film and television base in Tianjin. How could he just stand by and watch it fall into internal strife?
In particular, Hengdian World Studios is also under construction.

It seems I need to have a good talk with the August First Film Studio during this trip to Beijing—if that doesn't work, then I'll have to get the municipal government involved.

Lost in thought, Zhang Yan led his team to the ancient battlefield area, only to find it surprisingly quiet, unlike the bustling scene he had imagined.

"what happened?"

Zhang Yan glanced at Wang Zhongqi beside him, and Wang Zhongqi subconsciously looked at the female secretary, who then looked down at her high heels.

In the end, Wang Zhongqi went to inquire about the situation himself.

After a while, he ran back, panting, and said, "Mr. Zhang, the crew took the team to the canal to film the scene of the suicide at Wujiang today."

"Old Wang, you've been looking really weak lately."

Zhang Yan glanced at the female secretary. Although his elder brother didn't say anything to his second brother, this was already starting to affect their work.

Wang Zhongqi was embarrassed and speechless, and decided to change his female secretary's high heels when he got back.

Zhang Yan shook his head secretly, but didn't say anything more. Instead, he led the team to continue walking inside—since they were already here, they might as well visit other film crews.

(End of this chapter)