America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 221, Section 220: Evil Forces

Song and dance performances have always been a major part of the Spring Festival Gala; to be precise, aside from comedy sketches, song and dance performances are the mainstays.

Interspersed among them are some niche genres such as acrobatics, magic, opera, and kung fu.

However, song and dance performances have always had a common problem: watching them on a television screen and watching them live are completely different experiences.

Many song and dance performances are very exciting to watch live, with synchronized movements and energetic performances by the actors.

However, once it's broadcast on camera, many viewers immediately find it boring and often choose to skip it.

This is especially true for song and dance performances that don't have big stars to carry the show; simply put, they are gala dances.

However, Mike's dance breaks this inertia. Although watching on a small screen is not as impactful as watching live, it is still captivating and irresistible.

"Mingming, what do you think? This is the idol your mom and dad used to idolize, see?"

Looking at her son, who had been stunned for a full five minutes, the mother put food in his bowl and asked in a boastful manner.

The son was still not recovered from the performance, his chopsticks were raised in mid-air and his mouth was slightly open.

This single movement continued throughout the entire piece.

The energetic drumbeats, the dynamic rhythm, the harmonious tempo, and the perfect timing kept echoing in his mind.

"Stunned? That's normal. I was stunned when I first saw it too," Dad said with a smile.

"His dancing is amazing."

"Is it better than Jay Chou's somersault?"

The son nodded: "Although I don't understand the lyrics, the dance and stage effects are simply overwhelming. Compared to this, Dragon Fist's performance is a complete disaster."

"To put it another way, all other song and dance performances are like a car crash or an earthquake compared to this one."

As she spoke, the son suddenly looked at his mother and said, "Mom, I want to learn to dance, I want to learn this."

"Let your dad teach you."

"Well"

After Michael's performance ended in the Spring Festival Gala studio, thunderous applause resounded throughout the venue.

Even many veteran cadres couldn't help but immerse themselves in this performance style they had never seen before.

After the climax, like a man entering a period of post-coital reflection, most of the following programs became rather dull, except for "The Golden Monkey Celebrates Spring" performed by Liu Xiao Ling Tong.

Watching the dazzling monkey show performance, the lifelike acting truly makes him the number one monkey show performer, and the irreplaceable Monkey King Sun Wukong in many people's hearts.

Like many celebrities, Liu Xiao Ling Tong's reputation has also suffered a setback in the internet age.

In particular, the so-called sale of films at the funeral hall during director Yang Jie's funeral shattered the childhood memories of many people.

This situation is particularly serious on Bilibili, where a group of "Six Studies" experts, such as "Where is the film?", are the most vocal in their pronouncements.

When the incident occurred, Eric was also caught up in it and joined in the fun by shouting a few words.

However, after calming down, I decided to take the initiative to watch the videos that had been circulating online, and after watching the original version, I found out that there was something fishy going on.

The video has clearly been edited; the clothes are inconsistent, and the speech is not edited to reflect the context. It is obviously malicious slander, and the journalists have learned their journalism very well.

It wasn't just the issue of selling films at the funeral parlor; there were also serious problems such as getting into the Journey to the West production team through back channels and the four members of the Journey to the West performing in Singapore without Yang Jie's consent.

He also bought Yang Jie's autobiography to read, only to find that the two autobiographies presented completely different statements on the same issue.

To put it bluntly, it's normal for a woman in her seventies or eighties to not remember many things when she dictates her autobiography to someone else.

Moreover, even after the incident of selling films at the funeral parlor, Liu Xiao Ling Tong and Yang Jie's family continued to maintain contact and had a good relationship. If there had been a real problem, they would have broken off relations long ago.

Later, some of their friends investigated the matter further and gradually uncovered the truth of the incident.

Upon further investigation, it was discovered that "Where is the video?" was actually a student who had been expelled from school for academic misconduct. He made the video during his most impoverished period, revealing his sinister intentions.

Netizens got a big scoop and enjoyed it immensely, creating countless memes, but it was nothing more than a mob being manipulated by someone with ulterior motives.

Blindly following others, lacking independent judgment, and even unwilling to watch the original film, they only indulge in the pleasure of criticizing celebrities.

Because of their large numbers, and the principle of "the law does not punish the masses," this group has historically escaped any form of punishment.

The most unfortunate are Liu Xiao Ling Tong and others who have had similar experiences; they have no way to defend themselves and can only silently endure it.

After the performance of "The Golden Monkey Celebrates Spring," Eric gave a warm round of applause as an apology for joining in the commotion back then.

After several performances, it was 12 o'clock, and the whole audience counted down together.

As the Spring Festival Gala drew to a close, the Arirang group, Siqin Gerile, and others presented "Singing to Welcome Spring," while Wang Xia, Wei Song, and others offered "Sharing Happiness."

Finally, everyone went on stage to sing "Unforgettable Tonight," bringing the 2004 Spring Festival Gala (Year of the Monkey) to a close.

"Is it over?" Mike asked, watching the actors gradually leave the stage after their performance.

Eric nodded: "This is the last chorus. It's over now. Let's go."

"Why are you in such a hurry? Someone told me there's a fireworks display and that I absolutely have to see it, it's so beautiful."

Eric grabbed his hand and stood up. If they didn't leave now, they wouldn't be able to leave later.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned; the two were surrounded before they even reached the entrance to the studio.

To be precise, Michael was surrounded. Nobody was after Eric; a huge crowd managed to push him out.

They were all actors and audience members; they weren't like Lao Han and didn't know Eric's identity.

Perhaps in other people's eyes, Eric is just Michael's bodyguard, except that this bodyguard is too thin and too handsome.

But no matter how handsome he is, he can't compare to the world's king of pop who just brought everyone an unparalleled and amazing experience.

"Michael, please sign your autograph."

"Michael, let's take a picture together, you look so handsome!"

"Michael, Michael, look this way, look at me here!"

Although most of them spoke Chinese, the seasoned Mike understood what they wanted and smiled as he signed autographs for each of them.

Jay Chou appeared behind Eric at some point: "Mr. Cooper, I was hoping to treat you to dinner, but judging from the situation, I'm afraid that's not going to happen."

Eric shook his head slightly; they were lucky to get out of there in an hour.

Sure enough, it was past 2 a.m. when the two left the TV station.

They're so enthusiastic, so incredibly enthusiastic.

Mike was open for almost two hours, but there were still quite a few people trying to get close to him.

In the end, when all else failed, CCTV came up with a solution.

They simply gathered everyone together, took a group photo, and recorded the names of those who participated. They promised to send the photo to everyone later before the two of them were able to leave.

As for treating everyone to a meal, seeing that Mike was already exhausted, no one dared to bring it up again.

Back at the hotel, Eric took a shower and then fell into a deep sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, it was already past nine in the morning.

Drawing back the curtains and letting the sunlight into the room makes it feel much more comfortable.

Eric opened his phone and saw several text messages displayed on the screen.

One of the messages was from an unknown number; when I clicked on it, I found it was from the director of CCTV.

"Hello Mr. Cooper, this is Chen Quan. I'm sending this message to tell you some good news."

"The viewership ratings for the Spring Festival Gala have been tallied. The peak was during Mr. Michael Jackson's performance. Please pass on this good news to him."

When we arrived at the restaurant, Mike was eating there.

He ate the tofu pudding with fried pork fritters that Eric recommended, and he can handle spicy food very well.

"Michael, won't eating so much chili damage your voice? I've heard that singers have many taboos to protect their voices."

Mai Kou scooped up a big spoonful of tofu pudding and slurped it into his mouth: "This soup is delicious with chili, it's really tasty, but I'm usually careful. Although I like spicy food, I don't eat it often."

"This fried food is also delicious, and it tastes even better when paired with other foods. It's just that it looks very big, and it's not the same as the kind sold in Chinese restaurants."

"Because Chinese restaurants sell fried dough sticks, which don't contain eggs."

"Yes, it's missing eggs. And is this garlic? Why isn't it spicy at all? It's actually sweet."

Eric looked at the salted garlic cloves in his hand, and he had no idea how they were made.

"Because it was treated with a special method, probably soaked in vinegar, I'm not quite sure."

"By the way, I have some good news for you. Last night's performance was the highest-rated show, with nearly 52% viewership. That means over 6 million people watched your performance at the same time."

Upon hearing this number, even Michael Jordan, who is used to big events, couldn't help but show a surprised expression.

"My God! 6 million people, OMG! You mean 6 million people!"

"Yes, not 6 million, not 6000 million, but 600 million."

After a moment of stunned silence, Michael came to his senses: "You said the Spring Festival Gala is like the Super Bowl, but it seems to be much more powerful than the Super Bowl. Does that mean I've suddenly become a big star in China?"

"Wait a minute, no wonder the waiters immediately asked for autographs when I arrived at the restaurant. It turns out they all watched the show last night."

"600 million people, my God, that's unimaginable. The United States only has 200 million people."

After breakfast, the two prepared to climb the Great Wall as planned.

Since it was during the annual holiday, the Badaling Great Wall was bound to be packed with people, so Eric chose to go to the Jiuyanlou Great Wall instead.

I thought this would be more convenient, but when I arrived at my destination, I found that there were quite a lot of people here.

He had only gotten out of the car and taken a few steps when Mike was recognized, even though he was wearing sunglasses and a mask.

Then came the autograph session and photo opportunity; after a lot of effort, I finally made it up there.

Looking at the rugged terrain beneath his feet, Maikou couldn't help but exclaim, "It's just as beautiful and magnificent as the photos online. Does it really have a history of over a thousand years?"

Eric waved his hand: "If we start from the earliest Great Wall, it's more than two thousand years ago. However, after the Qin Dynasty was destroyed, the subsequent dynasties also built the Great Wall."

"The place we are standing on has a history of about four or five hundred years. It has been renovated in the middle and showcases the splendid ancient culture of China."

"Four or five hundred years is a long time. The United States has only been established for a little over two hundred years. China is truly a beautiful and mysterious country. I really like it here."

After spending a day in Yanjing with Michael, he returned to his hotel to rest in the evening, while Eric was going to have dinner with Lao Zhou and Lao Han.

Inside a private room at a private club.

The female director in her thirties, whom Zhou Xiaopeng brought, was pouring drinks for the group.

Actually, the club provides wine dispensers, but Lao Zhou didn't use them. He brought a woman specifically to do that.

After filling his glass, he raised it again: "The second glass is to congratulate Old Han on his promotion! Now he's gone from host to abbot, his future is bright!"

Boom!

Everyone drank it all in one gulp.

The female director refilled everyone's glasses, and Zhou Xiaopeng raised his glass for the third time: "This last glass is for Eric. This important matter is settled, and from now on, MGM films and television shows will be available in China. It's a win-win situation!"

Gudong!

The third cup was downed in one gulp, all for the sake of deep affection.

After all, for human beings, there are few things in the world that evoke more emotion than shared interests.

"Eric, Old Chen couldn't come because of something, but the optoelectronics team has already communicated with our Beijing TV station, and the first TV series will be produced by our station."

"What are your thoughts? What genre do you plan to choose for your first film?"

Eric put down his chopsticks; this was the real focus of tonight's meal.

"This is how I saw it: in the years before I took over MGM, the company was not doing well and we weren't producing any new shows."

"Forget about those old dramas, they're outdated."

"MGM currently has several new series, some of which are already completed and others are nearing completion, including political thrillers, post-apocalyptic survival, supernatural tales, and horror dramas."

"The post-apocalyptic survival you're talking about is that show, 'The Walking Dead,' right?"

"right."

"Let's put this one aside for now; it's too explicit. It's okay for the internet, but it's a bit too much for TV. What about the others?"

"In terms of scale, House of Cards reflects the American election struggle, Hannibal is a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs, Supernatural has ghosts, and Breaking Bad is out of the question, as it depicts drug production."

"By the way, Supernatural has one advantage."

"What?"

"Liu Yifei starred in this drama."

"Who is Liu Yifei?" Old Han asked casually.

The female director gave him a long explanation.

"A beautiful new generation actress has landed a role in your film, hahaha."

Old Han looked at Eric and chuckled sarcastically, his thoughts obvious.

"Ms. Han, in short, she is quite popular in China, especially after the broadcast of 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,' Wang Yuyan propelled her popularity to the top tier in the country."

"Not only is Liu Yifei involved, but Supernatural also has an advantage: it has ghosts but isn't scary. The level of fright might not even be as good as Hong Kong zombie movies."

Zhou Xiaopeng considered it for a moment. At that time, there were no regulations prohibiting the creation of spirits, and ghosts and monsters were allowed to appear in TV series and movies.

He slammed his hand on the table: "It's Supernatural."

(End of this chapter)