Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

Movie?!

Zheng Nan asked Cai Yinong and Jiang Jinfu a question that left both of them speechless.

Movies and TV series are two completely different fields.

The two are different in nature: TV dramas focus on viewership ratings, while movies focus on box office revenue.

No matter how well you do in the TV drama industry and how high your ratings are, you might not get noticed in the film industry.

Because you can't compete with box office numbers!

Hu Ge is the best example. He is a top figure in the TV series field, but he is virtually unknown in the film industry.

Tsai Yinong admitted that she admired Zheng Nan's screenwriting ability, feeling that Zheng Nan was young and talented. She thought that if he trained for a few years, even if he didn't succeed in acting, he could switch to screenwriting, which would be a win-win situation.

But Cai Yinong didn't expect Zheng Nan to be so ambitious. She hadn't even learned to walk yet, and she already wanted to compete in the 110-meter hurdles.

"Well, Tangren Media doesn't have many connections in the film industry," Cai Yinong replied tactfully.

If it weren't for her good first impression of Zheng Nan, Cai Yinong would have turned around and left.

"Zheng Nan, listen to your senior's advice. The film industry is tough. Let's take it one step at a time," Jiang Jinfu said, coming back to his senses.

"Senior brothers, President Cai, you may think I'm being a bit unrealistic, but I think young people should have ambition. If you don't even dare to dream, what kind of young person are you?" Zheng Nan couldn't keep making web series forever; making movies was something he had planned long ago.

"It's right for young people to dare to dream and take risks; they should always try." Cai Yinong couldn't say whether Zheng Nan's idea was right or wrong.

However, once these words were spoken, it became difficult for the two parties to sign a contract, because Tangren Media basically could not provide resources in the film industry.

Even if she could provide it, Cai Yinong would give it to Brother Hu, Jiang Jinfu, and others first, not Zheng Nan.

With no hope of signing anyone, Tsai Yinong excused herself, saying she still had work to do: "Look at all my phone calls, I have to go back to the company. Jinfu, you keep Zheng Nan company while she eats. I've already paid for the meal."

"Take care, Mr. Cai." Zheng Nan stood up to see him off.

After seeing her to the door, Cai Yinong turned around and added, "Tangren has a partnership with Sohu. If the offer is the same, I hope you can consider Sohu for the copyright of 'Hilarious Men'."

After seeing Cai Yinong off, only Zheng Nan and Jiang Jinfu remained.

"Junior, you're really going to make a movie? This isn't just an excuse to avoid signing a contract, is it?" Jiang Jinfu still couldn't believe it. A freshman wanting to make a movie? That was crazy.

"We do have that idea, but we don't have enough capital or the connections to issue it right now."

Film approval, filming, and distribution is a very complicated process, and Zheng Nan can only think about it now.

"A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger!" Jiang Jinfu sighed. "Take it easy. Don't be like you were when you made 'Hilarious Men,' risking everything to make a movie. The cost difference between the two is huge. If the movie loses money, it won't be a small amount."

The meal took more than an hour to eat.

The private chef's food was indeed delicious, but the portions were small.

During the meal, Zheng Nan's phone rang three or four times. Each time, Zheng Nan would glance at the caller ID and then not answer.

Jiang Jinfu was puzzled and asked, "Why didn't you answer? Anyone calling you at this hour is probably after the copyright of 'Hilarious Men'."

"I'll answer any calls from anyone before it's over."

"I didn't notice."

"After the event is over, I will not answer the same number unless it calls more than three times."

"Got it! Strategy, right? The Thirty-Six Stratagems!" Jiang Jinfu looked like he understood.

It was called a strategy, but it was actually a helpless move by Zheng Nan.

"Hilarious Men" is released across all online platforms, and many people now have Zheng Nan's contact information.

For a period of time, Zheng Nan received so many phone calls that she even suspected her personal information had been leaked.

The copyright of "Hilarious Men" is definitely valuable, and both large and small platforms want it.

For small platforms, making a phone call is no big deal; what if they manage to secure the copyright?

Zheng Nan didn't have the energy to deal with everyone, so she had no choice but to resort to this tactic.

Smaller platforms might make two calls, and if they can't get through, they'll give up.

Even if you keep calling, Zheng Nan will at most answer with a few laughs, but he won't answer the small platform's phone number next time, since the small platform has no other way to contact him besides the phone number.

Large platforms are different; they can contact Zheng Nan through the video submission backend, phone, or even personal connections.

For example, Sohu conveyed its ideas through Cai Yinong.

For example, Sina Shanghai found Professor Long.

Platforms that genuinely want the copyright to "Hilarious Men" and are willing to pay a price will not be deterred by any difficulties and have many other ways to contact Zheng Nan.

"The vast horizon is my love, and flowers are blooming at the foot of the rolling green hills..."

The phone rang again. This time it wasn't an unfamiliar number; it was Professor Long calling.

Could it be that Sina also has designs on the copyright of "Hilarious Men"?

"Feeding Professor Dragon."

"I don't eat on campus, I eat off campus."

"It's nothing, what's wrong? Please tell me."

"The staff from Tudou.com want to see me, right? Okay, okay, I'll head back right away."

Zheng Nan never expected that the first major platform to contact him would be Tudou.com.

I never expected that the Shanghai Theatre Academy would collaborate with Tudou.com.

The first University Student Image Festival, which will be launched next month, has partnered with Tudou.com as one of the 21 participating universities.

"Brother Jinfu, I have to go now."

"You go about your business, contact me via QQ if you need anything."

…………

Upon returning to the Shanghai Theatre Academy, Zheng Nan met with representatives from Tudou.com in Professor Long's office.

"This is President Wu Zheng, and this is Zheng Nan," Professor Long introduced them briefly.

Wu Zheng is the Vice President of Expansion at Tudou.com, responsible for cooperation with universities, institutions, and offline events.

"The students of the Shanghai Theatre Academy are indeed all outstanding talents." Wu Zheng laughed heartily, flattering both sides with one sentence.

"It's all thanks to the excellent teaching of the teachers at the Shanghai Theatre Academy," Zheng Nan replied politely with a professional smile.

Even conversations between adults, even those about mutual interests, require some groundwork.

After exchanging pleasantries, Wu Zheng got down to business.

"Web series have been around for a long time. The first web series was 'Original Color' in 2000. Speaking of which, 'Original Color' and 'Hilarious Men' are quite similar. They were both produced by college students with low budgets."

The next more famous web series was "Hip Hop Quartet," produced by Youku in 09.

However, these two shows are still somewhat inferior to "Men's Laughter," which has generated a phenomenal amount of discussion recently.

Tudou.com is very interested in the copyright of the first season of "Hilarious Men," and also in the subsequent development of "Hilarious Men."

As he spoke, Wu Zheng took out the prepared price list.

"This is a quote from the company's senior management after they reviewed the data for the first season of 'Hilarious Men.' Further details on the copyright development will be discussed later."

Zheng Nan took the price list and glanced through it briefly, inwardly cursing Tudou.com for being so stingy!

Is this the kind of price a major platform can offer?