Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 109 Arrived Just in Time

Ren Pingsheng stared at the photo for a long time.

This face is perfect for any camera lens; it's like it was made for this job.

But it's just not suitable for talent shows.

The reason is simple: she's too good-looking.

Talent shows are all about contrast: an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman singing an opera is a stunning surprise, while a disabled person plays a piano piece with their feet, bringing tears to people's eyes.

If you put a stunningly beautiful girl on the stage of a talent show, the audience will just take it all for granted.

But that didn't stop him from taking the man in.

Good quality and low price, grab it while you can.

But he couldn't just point at that face and say "I want it," or Zhao Bensan would definitely overthink it.

The biggest taboo for seasoned veterans is having their subordinates bypass them to do things.

Ren Pingsheng closed the roster and casually placed it back on the tea table. "Teacher Zhao, this group of people isn't suitable for the talent show."

Zhao Bensan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Actually, talent shows and sketch comedy performances are the same; they both involve managing expectations."

Ren Pingsheng didn't talk about those vague theories about variety shows; instead, he directly used Zhao Benshan's own works as examples.

"Think about last year's 'Not Short of Money.' What was the audience's reaction when Shen Yang came on stage in a little skirt? He opened his mouth and said Liu Huan, then turned around and said A Bao. He could imitate anyone perfectly. The contrast between then and now completely won over the audience."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Bensan tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice without saying a word, but his eyes clearly showed interest.

"Talent shows are the same. The only difference is that they encompass a wider range of talents. You can perform anything, but the core is always to surprise people."

Ren Pingsheng pointed to the roster on the table, "But everyone here is good-looking and well-dressed. They look like they were trained in a professional manner. The audience won't be surprised."

Zhao Bensan slowly nodded. "Then how do you suggest we do it?"

"Two ideas," Ren Pingsheng said, holding up two fingers.

"First, we'll choose from your existing team, following the path of Shen Yang, and find people that the audience won't have high expectations for, such as those who are a bit ugly but have a special skill."

"Secondly," he paused, "if Teacher Zhao wants to introduce new faces, he has to look for them in everyday life—coal miners, vegetable market vendors, the more grassroots the better, the more stories the better."

"story?"

"Yes, just like a restaurant waiter dreaming of going on the Avenue of Stars, on a talent show you can tell your story to be even more tragic, the more tragic it is, the more sympathy the audience will have."

Zhao Bensan stroked his chin and pondered for a long time.

"The first one is easy; I'll have someone go through everyone in the company. As for the second one... is it too late to start scrambling to recruit people all over the world?"

"The auditions don't start until the end of June, so there are still two months. And we don't need to search all over the world; we can just look in Northeast China. With your connections here, you could easily spread the word, and people wanting to be on TV would be scrambling to get on screen!"

"Alright," Zhao Bensan decided, "We'll take a two-pronged approach. When the candidates are selected, you can help me vet them."

"no problem."

Ren Pingsheng got up to leave, but as if he suddenly remembered something, he turned back and glanced at the roster on the table.

"By the way, Teacher Zhao, what are your plans for dealing with the people on this list? Since the idol group project isn't going to take off in the short term..."

Zhao Bensan waved his hand impatiently, "What else can we do? Let's just leave it for now. This lousy plan might fall apart anytime soon."

"If there are any suitable actors in there, could I contact them?"

Zhao Bensan glanced at him and smiled.

"Who have you taken a fancy to?"

"No," Ren Pingsheng shrugged. "I was just thinking that since we have so many ready-made resumes, we might as well use them as a backup talent pool. What if there are any suitable candidates for my next film? Anyway, you don't need them for the time being, so it's better than wasting them."

"You little rascal," Zhao Bensan pointed at him and said with a laugh, "you've got your eye on my fishpond."

"Teacher Zhao, you have plenty of big fish here. I'll just catch a couple of small shrimps to save the trouble of finding actors."

Zhao Bensan laughed heartily, waved his hand, and said, "Alright, alright, take it and see for yourself. Whether you can act or not is up to you to decide. But you'd better get the talent show thing sorted out for me."

"That's natural."

"And another thing," Zhao Bensan said, his smile fading, his tone neither too loud nor too soft, "if they really manage to make something of themselves from here in the future, they'll have to remember that they came from here."

Ren Pingsheng picked up the roster and bowed slightly to Zhao Bensan.

"Don't worry, Teacher Zhao, I understand the importance of remembering where the water comes from."

As he left the study, Dapeng followed behind, asking, "Who have you taken a fancy to?"

Why do you care so much?

"I was just asking casually, since it's possible we'll be acting together."

"She's your junior sister, so take good care of her."

Da Peng looked bewildered. "Huh?"

Ren Pingsheng ignored him and started making plans in his mind as he went downstairs.

Naza is now a complete blank slate.

Blank paper is good.

A blank sheet of paper means there are no contracts to bind you, and no dark history.

We need to get Wang Li to establish contact as soon as possible and lock the person down before anyone else.

As for Zhao Bensan's words, "Remember to leave from here," Ren Pingsheng remembered them.

In the future, we should visit each other during holidays and express our gratitude in public; we must maintain appearances.

At worst, we can just give Ben San Media a few more roles; that's how we repay their kindness.

Human relationships, in the end, are still about the exchange of benefits.

4 month 8 day.

Yanjing, Liu Laogen Grand Stage.

After a lively opening performance with gongs and drums, the filming ceremony for "The Laughing Hero" began.

Zhao Bensan, Zeng Zhiwei, Xiao Shenyang, Lin Xilei and other main creators stood on the stage, accepting interviews from various media outlets.

The atmosphere was completely different in a private room on the second floor.

"Director Ren, iQiyi has no objection to the valuation of 200 million."

Gong Yu broke the silence first, but his gaze swept across the other side intentionally or unintentionally. "But Baidu hopes to take all 15% of the shares."

Peng Zhijian adjusted his glasses, his tone calm yet unyielding, "Tencent also agrees with this valuation, but when it comes to market share, Mr. Gong..."

'

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open.

Dapeng poked half his body in, looking somewhat embarrassed and at a loss.

"Ping Sheng... um... someone is looking for you."

Ren Pingsheng frowned. He deliberately chose to hold the meeting in "his own territory" to avoid being disturbed by outsiders.

"Who?"

Dapeng stepped aside, moving half his body aside.

A man wearing a casual suit and with dyed brown hair walked in with a smile.

Gong Yu and Peng Zhijian's expressions changed simultaneously upon seeing the newcomer.

Zhang Chaoyang walked straight to the table and unceremoniously pulled out an empty chair and sat down.

He slammed the file folder on the table with a thud, his gaze sweeping over Peng Zhijian, whose face had darkened slightly, and then at Gong Yu, whose face was full of astonishment.

"Looks like I've arrived just in time."

After saying that, he turned to look at Ren Pingsheng, a smile playing on his lips.

"Didn't we say last time that we'd talk about this differently next time we meet?"

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