Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 430 Kill two birds with one stone

"Thank you so much, Brother Hua. I always need your help." Zhang Weijian was moved to tears when he received a call from Andy Lau.

He met Andy Lau in 86. At that time, Andy Lau gave him pointers on how to act, and the two became friends.

Later, in 90, Zhang Weijian was in debt and borrowed money from Andy Lau to get by. That's why he always said that Andy Lau was his benefactor.

However, if someone had suggested he develop his career in mainland China last year, even if that person was Andy Lau, he would definitely have refused decisively.

At that time, he had just been handpicked by Wong Jing as Stephen Chow's successor and filmed 12 movies in one go, receiving so many film offers that his hands were sore.

But things are different now. It can't be said that all 12 movies were a complete flop, but only two or three of them managed to break even.

With his reputation in the film industry ruined and his contract with TVB terminated, leaving him with no TV dramas to film, the past six months have been a period of agonizing hardship, if not utterly desperate.

[PS: Historically, he had no acting roles or songs for a whole year until he was spotted by a Taiwanese record company in 95, which revived his career.]

"Do a good job now that you're in the mainland."

Andy Lau, still worried, cautioned, "Yuanmeng's future will definitely not be much worse than those film and television companies in Hong Kong. You must not take advantage of your Hong Kong identity to show off in front of others."

“I know, he’s a big shot. He’s very powerful in mainland China. Even Lung Wu goes to the mainland to support him. How could I dare to mess with him?”

"If you maintain this attitude..."

"Boss, I was just kidding."

hang up the phone.

Zhang Weijian began packing his bags to head north. Although he was worried that he might not adapt to the new environment, he thought that even if he did, it would be better than rotting away in Hong Kong.

Because he had already completed the necessary procedures during filming, he quickly booked a flight for that evening, planning to fly to Beijing to meet up with Andy Lau and ask Andy Lau to introduce him in person.

Although the movie he made before flopped, he still had the money in his pocket, and he wouldn't run out of money in just six months, so Zhang Weijian booked a first-class ticket.

As soon as I boarded the plane, I saw a 'familiar face'.

Of course, this so-called acquaintance means that he knows the other person well, but the other person does not know him well.

"Dragon is born!"

Zhang Weijian quickly stepped forward and greeted them, "Are you also taking this flight to the mainland?"

Long Wu quickly recognized Zhang Weijian, the beggar version of Stephen Chow who had been chasing him from the end of last year to March of this year. I think his name was Zhang Wei.

"I recognize you, Tony Leung, right?"

Long Wu didn't stand up, and casually asked, "What, are you going to the mainland too?"

Although it was the first time he had been called "Wei-zai," Cheung Wai-kin dared not correct Lung Wu's title and still smiled broadly, saying, "Brother Tak-wa helped me find a future in the mainland and recommended me to join Mr. Cheung's Dream Company."

"Ok?"

Long Wu then looked Zhang Weijian over properly and instructed him, "When you go to the mainland, you must fight to the death. Don't let Zhang Sheng look down on us Hong Kong Island people."

The two chatted for about three minutes before Zhang Weijian tactfully returned to his seat.

At the same time, he secretly sighed in his heart, "As expected, the big guy is powerful. Even a big shot like Long Wu has to look at him with more respect when he hears his name."

They arrived in the capital.

Upon seeing the bodyguards sent by Andy Lau to pick him up at the airport, Zhang Weijian realized that Long Wu had booked the same hotel as Andy Lau.

It's a pity that someone else was picking them up, otherwise they could have gotten to know each other better on the way.

However, upon further reflection, he realized that Zhang Sheng was the one he should be relying on right now, and there was no point in trying to curry favor with Long Wu at the last minute. So he changed his mind and began to think about how to perform in front of Zhang Sheng.

…………

at the same time.

Zhang Yan is in the president's office at the Broadcasting Institute, discussing campus recruitment with the president.

However, the other party clearly had other ideas.

"Mr. Zhang." The principal of the Broadcasting Academy personally poured Zhang Yan a cup of tea and said with a smile, "It would be best to hold campus recruitment in the spring or summer. Holding it now is not conducive to students' focus on their studies."

That's pure nonsense. Holding campus recruitment in the summer would even affect graduation exams.

However, Zhang Yan did not refute it, after all, the other party's words were clearly not what they meant. So he asked directly, "Then, Principal, how do you think we should cooperate?"

"Is this it?"

The principal hesitated for a moment before saying, "I think it would be better to first use the internship as an excuse to have teachers take third- and fourth-year students to shoot commercials, and then select the best candidates next graduation season. This would be better for both our school and your company."

Got it, the school wants a piece of the pie.

The so-called internships certainly won't pay very high salaries. The teachers will make a profit, and the rest will be extra income for the school.

However, having a teacher guide the internship is indeed better than directly recruiting new people, and it also saves Zhang Yan the trouble of arranging shifts and teaching Zhang Guoli and the others.

"This is a win-win situation!"

Zhang Yan laughed and said, "Fangfang told me yesterday that our school leaders had different opinions, and I was a little worried. But now it seems that our school leaders are more capable. Their solution is much better than what I came up with on a whim."

"Haha, Mr. Zhang, you flatter me."

The principal laughed and said, "Everyone knows that President Zhang is famous for his brilliant ideas. We just benefited from his greater familiarity with the school's situation."

After finalizing the internship and filming arrangements in a few words, the two then started talking about public speaking.

Zhang Yan's prepared speech used examples such as "Swing Bridge," "Boys and Girls Rush Forward," and other variety shows from other TV stations that imitated the format, to predict that future variety shows will focus on entertainment.

CCTV's transformation may be slower, while local TV stations that are going satellite TV will be more likely to gain an advantage if they can complete their transformation earlier.

After reading the speech, the principal said with some surprise, "Mr. Zhang, are you saying that CCTV might fall behind in viewership ratings? That's...that's unlikely, isn't it?"

I meant variety shows.

Zhang Yan corrected, "In TV dramas and news programs, CCTV will most likely continue to dominate in the future, but in variety shows, local stations are more agile and can adapt more easily due to their unique characteristics."

The principal nodded slightly, indicating his approval of Zhang Yan's statement.

Of course, he also understood that Zhang Yan's speech was a way of promoting Tianjin TV from the sidelines. After all, when it comes to variety shows, who can compare to Tianjin TV with Zhang Yan's support?

"When do you think would be a suitable time to schedule this speech?"

"The sooner the better. There are too many things to do in Tianjin, and I won't be able to stay in Beijing for more than a few days this time."

"Then this afternoon, three o'clock this afternoon!"

The principal acted swiftly and immediately summoned the office director to issue an internal notice.

The office director immediately turned on the loudspeaker and began praising Zhang Yan profusely, showering him with titles like "industry leader" and "driving force in industry development," among seven or eight other accolades.

However, the students of the Broadcasting Institute did not feel that there was anything wrong with it. After all, because of Zhang Fang, a celebrity senior, Zhang Yan's popularity in the Broadcasting Institute even surpassed that of the Central Academy of Drama and the Beijing Film Academy.

Upon hearing the broadcast, Shi Xiaonuo and Liang Yan grabbed Zhang Fang's arms on either side, excitedly saying, "We didn't expect the school to invite your brother to give a speech! Fangfang, what is Mr. Zhang going to talk about?"

Zhang Fang said with little interest, "It's just some issues related to the development of television stations and variety shows."

Seeing her listless appearance, Liang Yan asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Aren't you happy that your brother is giving a speech?"

"I'm not unhappy."

Zhang Fang said helplessly, "My brother just asked me to be a peacemaker, and then he assigned me a big job right afterward."

"What kind of big job is it?"

“You’ve all seen the movie channel, right? That was my brother’s idea. He even said he wanted to create a variety show that introduces classic movies—and now, the movie channel has approached him, so he’s passed the show on to me.”

Seeing Zhang Fang's half-dead and sighing appearance.

Liang Yan shoved her aside, clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and asked Shi Xiaonuo, "What should I do? I really want to beat her up right now!"

"Count me in!"

(End of this chapter)