HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 218 [218] Mainland Media: Qi Yuan is half of our mainland music scene!

Alan Mak is also willing to pursue co-productions.

Why did he want to invite Qi Yuan? Wasn't it because he valued Qi Yuan's box office appeal?

Mainland China is Qi Yuan's core market. With the box office of 30 million yuan in mainland China for "The Mission," plus the revenue from selling the copyrights to various TV stations and audio-visual publishers, Milkyway Image and its Taiwanese investors made a fortune.

Mak Siu-fai certainly hopes that "Infernal Affairs" can be screened in mainland China, which makes it necessary to attract mainland investment.

Mak Siu-fai didn't know any investment companies or investors in mainland China, so he needed Qi Yuan to act as a bridge and introduce them.

Qi Yuan knew the film would be a big hit, but he didn't immediately say he would invest money in it.

Qi Yuan first contacted Chen Kaige and asked him to inquire with Third Master Han about any potential investment opportunities.

Master Han was quite pleased; these Hong Kong filmmakers had finally gotten the hang of things.

Casting mainland actor Qi Yuan as the male lead and being willing to let mainland investors invest—that's the right thing to do! Co-productions are the way forward for Hong Kong films.

The mainland has money, while Hong Kong has technology and experience. By pursuing co-productions, more mainland actors can gain exposure, and the mainland can also learn from Hong Kong's experience through collaboration.

Master Han approved the investment of five million and hinted that as long as the film could abide by the rules, it would definitely enjoy the same treatment as domestic films.

After China Film Group invested, Qi Yuan invested five million yuan in the name of Starry Sky Films.

China Film Group and Starry Sky together not only met one-third of the investment criteria, but also exceeded it, accounting for half.

"Twenty million is still not enough if you all take your film salaries."

Mai Zhaohui was still worried.

Qi Yuan and Liang Chaowei are too expensive. With an investment of 20 million, half of that is paid by their salaries. How can they possibly make a film?
Qi Yuan had been waiting for this moment. He smiled and said, "If it really doesn't work out, I won't take the salary. You can convert the salary into shares for me."

With a five million investment plus his acting fee as equity, Qi Yuan may become the biggest investor in the film. If the film is successful, he will profit the most.

This is "Infernal Affairs," which was hailed as the savior of the Hong Kong film industry in its previous life. Lam Kin-yue made tens of millions by investing in this film.

There aren't many projects like this in the Hong Kong film industry since the millennium. Qi Yuan has come across one, so he's definitely going to seize the opportunity to make a fortune.

From Alan Mak's perspective, Qi Yuan can be described as very loyal.

The investment wasn't enough, so Qi Yuan personally invested five million without taking any payment. This is true support for the Hong Kong film industry.

Leung Chiu-wai, a Hong Kong actor, doesn't even have this kind of awareness; he's a real loser.

"Why don't you just take some of the payment?"

Mak Siu-fai was a little embarrassed.

If the movie flops, and Qi Yuan doesn't recoup her five million investment and doesn't receive a penny of her salary, he'll feel sorry for Qi Yuan.

“Taking a little is worse than not taking anything at all. Taking it all won’t cover the film budget. Director Mai, please put your heart into making this film. Making a masterpiece will be the best way to thank you,” Qi Yuan said emphatically.

Mai Zhaohui agreed and kept praising Qi Yuan to Zhuang Wenqiang and Du Qifeng beside him.

Alan Mak has become more respectful of Qi Yuan. Qi Yuan is now one of his biggest investments, essentially a major investor and a box office draw, which is incredibly valuable.

……

After finishing their book signing in Hong Kong, Qi Yuan brought Zhang Shaohan to the mainland to make an appearance, and they appeared together on the latest episode of "Happy Camp".

The show "Happy Camp" has undergone a change. In addition to Li Xiang and He Jiong, there is now a new host named Li Weijie.

The ratings for "Happy Camp" have been rising steadily, and it has become a top variety show in mainland China.

Aside from one or two variety shows on CCTV that can outshine "Happy Camp," all other variety shows are no match for it. By the way, Qi Yuan makes money by bringing Zhang Shaohan onto "Happy Camp."

Qi Yuan's appearance fee is very high. Hunan TV offered him 300,000 yuan for his appearance, and even Zhang Shaohan gave him some.

This is far superior to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In Taiwan, Qi Yuan only gets two or three thousand dollars for appearing on variety shows, which is just enough for travel expenses.

Moreover, two or three thousand dollars is already the highest level of treatment. Second or third-tier celebrities might only get a thousand dollars or so when they appear on Taiwanese programs. It's not uncommon for newcomers who aren't famous to have to pay for their own travel expenses.

In Hong Kong and Taiwan, unless there is a need for publicity, Qi Yuan generally does not appear on variety shows or accept television interviews.

At the start, Qi Yuan and Zhang Shaohan sang half of "Happy Worship" to liven up the atmosphere.

"Let's give a round of applause to welcome Qi Yuan. This is Qi Yuan's second time on our 'Happy Camp,' so it's like a return visit. The last time Qi Yuan came to our show, he was a superstar, and now he's become an Asian pop superstar."

Li Xiang praised him with a smile.

“A few months ago, Jay Chou came to our show and told us that you and he are very good friends.”

He Jiong mentioned Zhou Jielun.

Qi Yuan picked up the conversation and joked, "Yeah, I heard that after Jielun came to the mainland for promotion, many of my fans switched sides, especially the male fans."

Their reasoning was quite refreshing and unconventional: "I'm too handsome; I don't need their support."

He Jiong chimed in, "Did the male celebrities on TV hear that? Turns out, being too handsome can cause you to lose fans."

This joke was perfectly timed and created a small laugh.

"You won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor with your first film role, which is truly enviable. Could you share some of your experience with everyone?"

"I only filmed 'The Mission' for a total of nineteen days. At that time, I was just a newcomer. When it was my turn, I went on stage."

The director said I acted very well, and I thought he was encouraging me, and then I won the Best Actor award without even realizing it.

Even I haven't figured out the tricks myself. If I'm lucky enough to win Best Actor again, I'll share what I've learned with everyone.

The audience couldn't hold back anymore. This was too simplistic. Winning the Best Actor award without even knowing it was a joke. Actors in the industry would probably want to beat Qi Yuan up if they heard this.

This time, Qi Yuan didn't use any three-key song creation techniques; it was just a standard program promotion process.

After the recording of the program, Li Xianghe Jiong treated Qi Yuan and Zhang Shaohan to a meal.

……

As expected, this episode of "Happy Camp" once again broke the highest viewership record since the show's inception, becoming the top-rated program in its time slot.

On mainland music charts, Qi Yuan's popularity is even more astounding.

With its excellent song quality and tear-jerking music video, "Fairy Tale" has firmly occupied the top spot on various music charts.

Second place went to "At Least I Still Have You", third place to "Nocturne", fourth place to "Absolutely Devoted", fifth place to "Happy Worship", and sixth place to "Can't Help Falling in Love".

"Reverse Earth", "Little Love Song" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are in the upper ranks outside the top ten, ready to break into the top ten at any time.

Qi Yuan dominated the top six spots on the chart, and all of her new songs made it into the top thirty.

Just as Qi Yuan returned to mainland China to promote his new album, many media outlets used headlines like "Half of the Mainland Music Scene" when reporting on him.

Wang Banbi: '???'

(End of this chapter)