Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

From a psychological perspective, a person's first impression of another person is very important.

Moreover, once a first impression is formed, it is extremely stable and difficult to be changed by subsequent information.

A good first impression can create a "halo effect" that masks flaws; a bad impression, on the other hand, can create a "sharp angle effect" that amplifies flaws.

The best example of this is Liu Yifei; the first impression of the "Fairy Sister" is that she is an invincible being.

Little-known fact: As of April 2026, Liu Yifei has starred in/participated in a total of 8 TV series.

From 08 to 21, Liu Yifei produced no television dramas.

Even so, Liu Yifei has never fallen out of the top tier of TV dramas, which shows how important first impressions are.

"Hilarious Men" was Zheng Nan's first impression on the audience.

This impression is a one-sided portrayal of a character.

Now Zheng Nan is trying to enrich his public image through interviews.

To give the audience the best possible first impression.

People need to be able to tell stories.

A well-told story creates a good first impression on the audience, which will make future career development in the entertainment industry smoother.

"How much? Twenty-six thousand!" Xu Yuanyuan was somewhat surprised. As a reporter, she knew a bit about the entertainment industry.

The sitcom "iPartment 1," which premiered last year, used mostly newcomers, so the budget must have been quite low.

Even so, the cost per unit is still around 300,000.

Even with 26,000 yuan, ten times the amount couldn't produce one episode of "iPartment," but Zheng Nan managed to produce eight episodes of "Hilarious Men."

"Everyone was surprised when they heard about the cost of 'Hilarious Men,' even my roommate who filmed with me."

Zheng Nan smiled. This was the story he was going to tell, a story of achieving great things with little effort.

This kind of story may be old-fashioned, but many people like it.

"May I ask how those 26,000 yuan were spent?" The reporter's keen interest prompted Xu Yuanyuan to continue digging.

"Of course, the biggest expense out of the 26,000 was buying the radio equipment, lavalier microphone, and memory cards. I bought them secondhand, and that cost 10,000..."

"Excuse me for interrupting, but where is the camera used for filming?"

"I borrowed it from my roommate Lin Wenruo." Zheng Nan wasn't embarrassed at all and said generously, "I borrow whenever I can, and I mooch off anyone I can. Even the main crew of 'Hilarious Men' are my classmates from the Shanghai Theatre Academy. They acted and helped out for free. I would like to thank Lin Wenruo, Dilraba Dilmurat, Yuan Bingyan, Duan Xingye, and Ren Yi."

"Understood, please continue." Xu Yuanyuan nodded.

"The remaining expenses are more scattered, including venue rental fees, fees for hiring extras, and expenses for meals and public transportation." Zheng Nan listed them one by one, even including taxi receipts and venue rental invoices.

Xu Yuanyuan took the stack of taxi receipts and remarked with some emotion, "Director Zheng Nan is so thoughtful, keeping even these things. Is it to commemorate his first film?"

Xu Yuanyuan had expected to hear a touching reply.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Nan shook her head: "No, the reason I kept these receipts in the first place was because I fantasized that someone would reimburse me if I became famous."

"Reimbursement?!" Xu Yuanyuan thought to herself, "No wonder she's a college student, so genuine. She can even say such a blunt truth."

"I'm poor. This 26,000 NTD was actually a dating allowance given to me by my mother, but I ended up using it to film 'Hilarious Men'."

Even with all that saving, it wasn't enough. There wasn't enough money for editing and music, so I had to do the editing and write the opening theme myself.

If attentive viewers watch "Hilarious Men" several times, they will notice that many scenes are reused...

Zheng Nan repeatedly emphasizes that the production team was poor, but the characters are genuine and sincere.

"After listening to Director Zheng Nan's story, I truly understand how difficult it was," Xu Yuanyuan said. She then moved on to the next question: "We've noticed some criticism online, saying your work is vulgar, tasteless, and lacks substance. What are your thoughts on these criticisms?"

These types of questions are common in interviews, but they are considered trap questions.

The internet is not registered with real names, so all sorts of monsters and demons can be found there.

Any popular work will generate many different opinions online.

After all, there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand readers' eyes.

Not everyone likes money; Ma Yun doesn't like money.

The worst option is to directly confront these kinds of questions, because if you don't express yourself well, it can easily become a black mark on your record and be dragged out and criticized repeatedly in the future.

Fortunately, Zheng Nan was a seasoned veteran; instead of giving a direct answer, she started telling stories.

"Everyone is under a lot of pressure these days. Office workers squeeze onto the subway and work overtime, students rush to finish their homework and take exams, construction workers, delivery drivers, and waiters are all carrying things and moving forward. At the end of the day, they are too tired to move and just want to find something that doesn't require them to think and can make them laugh easily."

"Hilarious Men" has no complicated plot, no profound truths, and not even a main storyline; it's just a series of jokes.

You can click on it, watch for a minute and laugh, watch for twelve minutes and still laugh. After watching, you don't need to think about it or reflect on it; it's just for fun.

This is my original intention in making "Hilarious Men," and I humbly accept whatever everyone says.

Seeing Zheng Nan's honest and simple appearance, Xu Yuanyuan couldn't bear to ask any further questions.

"Next question: With 'Hilarious Men' being so popular right now, how much money has director Zheng Nan made?"

"I didn't earn a single penny; the work was posted for free."

"As a first-year university student, is filming movies or TV shows during university considered neglecting my studies?"

"We filmed in our spare time so as not to interfere with our studies."

The interview lasted about an hour. After it ended, Xu Yuanyuan paid the bill and left with the materials.

Upon returning to her workplace, Xu Yuanyuan immediately went to report to General Manager Zhang Ling.

"General Manager, I'm back."

"How was the interview? Any breaking news?" Zhang Ling asked.

"I personally feel this is going to be a huge hit!"

"Let me give you a brief explanation."

"The total cost of the first season of 'Hilarious Men' was only 26,000 yuan!"

"Oh." Zhang Ling's reaction was indifferent.

"You know?"

"I know. I had an informant at the Shanghai Theatre Academy who told me this news, which is why I asked you to interview and confirm its authenticity. Since it's true, edit it out as soon as possible and release the news while 'Hilarious Men' is still showing and has a lot of buzz."

"Received." Little ox and horse, received, received. Xu Yuanyuan went to work obediently.

A day later, the interview was simultaneously launched on Sina Shanghai's official website, Sina Weibo, and Sina Mobile, with a particularly eye-catching title.

[Shocking! The first exclusive interview with the director of "Hilarious Men"! Taking you behind the scenes.]

Why is it considered eye-catching? Because the screen space of the pop-up window in the lower right corner of the computer is limited, and it can only display the first fifteen characters.

It turned into [Shocking! The director of "Hilarious Men" makes his first appearance]

Taking things out of context is an old trick used by journalists.

Two hours later, the hashtag "[The cost of 'Hilarious Men' was 26,000 yuan]" successfully became a trending topic.