Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 333, Section 331: I Just Want to Stir Up Trouble
the other side.

After clarifying the various affairs of the company and setting clear goals for the heads of each business line, Wang Sheng entered a "laid-back" state.

Several films and the stakeholders involved behind them were embroiled in a fierce battle during the Spring Festival film season.

Wang Sheng is busy delivering warmth and care.

At Li Xiaoran's villa...

In the large, single-level apartment where he lived with Gao Yuanyuan...

In the apartment where Fan Xiaopang lives...

In another large, single-level apartment used as a fertility room, with Cecilia Cheung...

With the Spring Festival approaching, some of these women were going to perform on the Spring Festival Gala, while others were going home for the New Year. Only then did Wang Sheng find time to plan what he would be busy with after the New Year.

……

Wang Shengxian first summarized the major domestic and international events of this year.

Successful bid for the Olympics, successful accession to the WTO...

These individual events, when connected, form the general trend of the times.

The successful accession to the WTO was an event that had a direct impact on the Chinese film industry.

With its successful accession to the WTO, as part of its commitments, China increased its annual import quota for revenue-sharing blockbusters from 10 to 20 films after 2001, which brought enormous competitive pressure to the Chinese film industry at the time.

In response to the changing situation, after China's accession to the WTO, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued the "Implementation Rules on Reforming the Film Distribution and Screening Mechanism" on December 18, 2001, officially and forcibly implementing the cinema chain system.

Each province and city was required to establish two or more cinema chains by June 1, 2002, or the supply of imported revenue-sharing blockbusters would be suspended.

Meanwhile, in order to adapt to WTO rules and domestic reform needs, relevant departments made major revisions to the original film management regulations. On December 25, 2001, the relevant departments promulgated the new "Film Management Regulations", which came into effect on February 1, 2002.

The core content includes:

1. Lowering the entry threshold for film production, for the first time explicitly allowing institutions other than state-owned film production units (i.e., private companies) to engage in film production business, as long as they meet the conditions and apply for and obtain a "Film Production License".

This provided legal protection for private capital to enter the film production field, and the film production rights on which film studios depended for survival were completely lost.

2. Standardize the film censorship system.

This has become a censored mythical beast in the eyes of countless art-house film directors.

3. Encourage film exports.

It's similar to South Korea's "cultural nation-building" and "Korean Wave export" initiatives; the point is to expand outwards.

The export of art-house films has also benefited from this trend.

However, the winners of the three major European film festivals after 2000 do not enjoy the same status in China as the winners of the three major European film festivals before 2000.

The first to receive the award were the pioneers, who were credited with "being the first to reach the summit," and the whole country celebrated. As a result, they held a very high status in China, such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige.

After them, mainstream newspapers rarely gave nationwide coverage to those who followed suit and used the pretext of exploring human nature to make stereotypical films, elevating any one of them to the status of a "cultural hero."

This suggests that when a certain "film festival aesthetic" (such as focusing on marginalized groups, social suffering, or specific Eastern imagery) is repeatedly used, domestic audiences and media begin to experience aesthetic fatigue, and it even sparks controversy about "self-Orientalism" in order to meet the expectations of Western judges.

This diminishes the perceived "purity" and "sense of honor" of later winners in the public's perception.

A closer look reveals that many award-winning filmmakers after 2000 have generated extremely little public attention; this is the shift.

What's even more interesting is that the historical moment of large-scale social criticism of the three major European film festivals and the historical moment when the three major European film festivals showed signs of returning to their pedestal coincided with the era of the explosion of short video self-media.

Wang Sheng had no intention of commenting on the award winners; he was simply interested in this historical trend and wanted to stir things up.

For example, using media influence to redefine the standards of a "good movie" and the significance of "winning awards." This requires gradual planning.

No rush, my dear brother hasn't sent any rockets yet. We're still a long way from successfully entering the WTO.

……

In addition to conceiving new projects.

With nothing much to do, Wang Sheng was thinking about what movie to shoot this year while also checking the TV movies his company produced last year.

These relatively low-cost, short-production-cycle films serve as an important platform for nurturing new directors, actors, and screenwriters, and often uncover hidden gems.

Ever since discovering Huang Bo, Wang Sheng has given clear instructions to the TV and film division to use more suitable and promising grassroots actors.

He had Li Tingting bring over dozens of TV movie videotapes with good ratings and reviews, and randomly selected some to watch.

Most of the works met expectations, representing a stable output from an industrialized production line. There were occasional highlights, but nothing particularly surprising.

Until he introduced a series of television movies called "Young Magistrate".

This is a period suspense crime-solving anthology series that tells the story of a young county magistrate and his assistant as they solve various strange cases within their jurisdiction.

The production quality isn't top-notch, but the script is solid, the reasoning is clear, and it incorporates some light comedic elements.

Wang Sheng fast-forwarded through the videos, mainly to understand the market acceptance of this type of period detective drama.

However, when the camera panned to the young actor playing the male lead's sidekick—a clever, timid yet loyal, skilled fighter with a strong local accent—Wang Sheng subconsciously pressed the pause button.

The screen froze on a face that was unremarkable, even somewhat simple-minded.

But those eyes revealed a cleverness and a unique sense of humor.

Wang Baoqiang.

The vivid face on the screen overlapped with the actor in his memory who would one day establish himself in the film and television industry with his unique comedic style.

This is a promising stock, a rough gem that has not yet been fully polished.

His appearance limits him from taking the idol route, but his natural grassroots charm and unique sense of rhythm have irreplaceable value in comedic roles, and even in certain serious drama roles.

Wang Sheng picked up the internal phone on the table almost without hesitation and connected with Li Tingting.

"Tingting, look up the actor who played the male lead's sidekick in the 'Young Magistrate' TV movie series we filmed last year. His name is Wang Baoqiang. Find his detailed information, contact details, resume, and contract details."

“Okay, Mr. Wang,” Li Tingting replied crisply, without asking any further questions.

"After finding the person, I handed the information to Cai Yinong, the director of Enlight Media, and told her, 'I've got my eye on this person, sign him.'"

The terms will be based on the standards for promising newcomers, and the agency contract will be handled by Enlight Media, allowing her to personally follow up on the process.

"Yes."

Li Tingting agreed.

hang up the phone.

Wang Sheng looked at Wang Baoqiang on TV and had an idea for the first project after the New Year.

It's a copy of "Lost in Thailand".

The "Lost in..." series can be said to represent a quarter of the Chinese-language comedy film market.

(End of this chapter)