Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

TV dramas are too long; I can't keep up with them.

That's practically saying it outright.

Liu Chun, a cunning fox, naturally understood the hidden meaning in Zheng Nan's words and gave Zheng Nan a deep look.

He remembered that Zheng Nan had just turned 19 last month.

A 19-year-old college sophomore wants to make a movie?!

This idea is incredibly bold.

Sohu is such a big company, who knows how many talented people it has hidden away, but no one dares to step forward and say that they want to make movies.

Liu Chun acknowledged Zheng Nan's talent, but there are many talented people out there.

The sheer weight of the "Hilarious Men" IP alone is certainly not enough to get Sohu to support Zheng Nan in making a movie.

That's what I think in my heart, but I can't say it out loud.

"How can a young person say no?" Liu Chun chuckled casually and then fell silent.

Zheng Nan wisely refrained from saying anything more.

"The exclusive rights fee for the second season of 'Hilarious Men' will be transferred to your company account within three business days. The revenue sharing fee will be credited to your account gradually within six months after the show airs." Liu Chun discussed it with his secretary, and then said to Zheng Nan, "We need to hold a meeting to decide on the airing of the second season. We will notify you once it's decided. Don't forget to cooperate with the promotion."

After finishing their business, Zheng Nan politely said goodbye to Liu Chun and left the Sohu building with her uncle.

As Zheng Nan walked out of Sohu, he sighed deeply. He had been too naive and underestimated the difficulty for a college student to gain support for making a film.

"You want to make movies?" Ding Xiu asked.

"Of course I want to. There's a hierarchy in the entertainment industry. Currently, web dramas are at the very bottom of that hierarchy, not even as valued as some online singers, while movies have always been at the very top." Zheng Nan wondered if she was being too hasty, and looked at Ding Xiu: "Uncle, do you think I'm daydreaming?"

Currently, online singers can connect with ringback tone services, and earning hundreds of millions or even millions from a single popular song is not difficult.

"Ideas that are outlandish and difficult to realize are called fantasies. The success of 'Hilarious Men' has already proven your talent." Even if it is truly a fantasy idea, Ding Xiu has to support his own nephew.

"Thank you, Uncle." It feels so good to be trusted by family.

"I have a question. Why don't you just write out the script for the movie you want to make? Wouldn't it have increased your chances of success if you just presented the script to Liu Chun directly?"

"It's a long story to explain..."

The film industry is a closed circle. Capital and hot money keep flowing in, but they only recognize acquaintances, stars, and safe genres. The script is the least important thing in the film industry.

Thinking you can attract investment with just a good movie script is wishful thinking!

Here are a few simple examples: Xu Zheng's "Lost in Thailand" sought investment in 2010 but was repeatedly rejected. In the end, it was only able to start filming with Wang Baoqiang and Huang Bo taking pay cuts and friends pooling their money. Lu Yang's script for "Brotherhood of Blades" was completed in 2010, but he failed to secure investment for two years until Zhang Zhen agreed to star in it, which finally brought in 30 million yuan in investment.

Weren't the scripts for "Lost in Thailand" and "Brotherhood of Blades" good? Was Xu Zheng not famous?

Xu Zheng and others couldn't even secure investment, so how could Zheng Nan possibly impress Liu Chun with just a script? And how could Liu Chun persuade a group of Sohu executives to invest?

"Unless it's a low-budget art film or a new director support program, you can't attract investment based on the script alone." At this moment, Zheng Nan really wished she had a system so she wouldn't have to consider practical factors.

"You're planning a big production?"

"If you have money, make a big production; if you don't, make a small production." Zheng Nan wasn't old-fashioned; he had a lot of movies in his mind, both low-budget and high-budget.

"Let's make a small production first, then we'll outperform Sohu."

"It's unrealistic. To get a film released in theaters, the first step is to find a qualified film company to partner with in order to pass censorship and obtain the film license. Then, theaters only recognize the distribution company when scheduling screenings; otherwise, there will be no screenings, and you also have to consider issues like piracy and box office fraud..."

The reason why movies can stand at the top of the entertainment industry's hierarchy of contempt is because there are too many barriers to their release.

These barriers are both the moat protecting the film industry and stumbling blocks hindering its development.

"Stop talking, my head hurts!"

…………

On September 4th, the day before the start of the semester, Yuan Bingyan rushed back to the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Entering the dormitory and seeing Reba, she exclaimed with delight, "Reba, when did you get back? Why didn't you tell me?"

For the past two days, Dilraba has felt like she's forgotten something, but she can't remember what it is.

Upon seeing Yuan Bingyan, Dilraba realized that she had forgotten her best friend.

Lately, I've been chatting with Zheng Nan on QQ all the time, stealing vegetables from her QQ farm and fighting for parking spaces, completely forgetting about my best friend.

"I came back a couple of days ago, and I didn't want to bother you," Dilraba explained somewhat awkwardly.

"What are you afraid of about our relationship! Aren't you tired from filming?"

"Yan Yan, I remember you're a dried bean curd stick, right?" Reba quickly changed the subject, afraid that Yuan Bingyan would ask for more details.

"Fuzhu" is a nickname used by fans of the TV series "My Own Swordsman".

"Senior otaku! Ask me anything about 'My Own Swordsman'!" Yuan Bingyan said confidently.

When "My Own Swordsman" was airing, Yuan Bingyan was fourteen years old. She became deeply fascinated by "My Own Swordsman" after watching just one episode.

"Mo Xiaobei's become our junior! Shall we go check it out tomorrow?"

"Okay, okay."

On September 6th, Zheng Nan returned to his beloved Shanghai Theatre Academy to begin his sophomore year.

Encouraged by Dilraba and others, Zheng Nan also went to see the real-life Mo Xiaobei.

Arriving at the freshmen military training ground, all you could see from afar was a bunch of people in camouflage.

"They're all wearing military training uniforms, you can't tell who's who at all!" Zheng Nan complained.

"I remember we also had closed military training in this field last year, and it exhausted me." Lin Wenruo looked at the younger students with schadenfreude.

Watching freshmen undergo military training is one of the joys for upperclassmen; nothing is more enjoyable than seeing others endure the hardships you once suffered.

"None of you are up to the task, let me, the humble tofu skin, take the lead!" Yuan Bingyan declared, "Everyone, disperse!"

Three minutes later, Yuan Bingyan dejectedly gave up: "I can't tell either."

"Once they finish their military training and go back to the Shanghai Theatre Academy for classes, there will be plenty of opportunities to watch them," Dilraba comforted her from the side.

"Isn't Mo Xiaobei the only child star among this year's freshmen?" Zheng Nan asked.

"There's also Guo Xiaoting, who debuted as a child star," Dilraba replied.

Guo Xiaoting played Hua Ying in "Chinese Paladin 3" and Minmin Gege in "Scarlet Heart". She and Mo Xiaobei are the most famous freshmen in the 2011 class of Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Zheng Nan thought back for a moment and realized that Deng Lun would be the most famous among the 11 freshmen, but unfortunately, this guy also fell into tax evasion and his career was ruined.

Thinking of the tax evasion, Zheng Nan looked at Yuan Bingyan again.

He thought to himself, "The rate of tax evasion among celebrities who graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy is rather high."

"What are you thinking about?" Dilraba noticed Zheng Nan looking at Yuan Bingyan and quickly asked.

"I'm thinking about the company hiring agents."