Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 365 Winter is coming
When Meng Bai was in college, he took an elective course that focused on how to adapt foreign film and television works when they were transplanted. The teacher mentioned "Love Apartment" once, but it was just a negative example.

It’s not because it’s plagiarized, but mainly because I dislike its poor local adaptation.

For this reason, Meng Bai never really watched this popular sitcom, and didn't know Wang Chuanjun very well. The few impressions he had were the conflicts with fans of "Love Apartment" and the "I don't like" controversy caused by Wang Jiawei's "The Ferryman" two years ago.

However, after watching the show "Dying to Survive" today, Meng Bai's impression of him changed a lot. Regardless of what kind of person he is, he is indeed a qualified actor in terms of acting skills.

As for Zhang Yu, Meng Bai had met him once before, when he went to see Rao Xiaozhi with Guo Fan. He starred in the new movie "Nobody", a ridiculous crime comedy, which is said to be released at the end of the year.

"What do you think of this movie?" At the end of the premiere, Ning Hao introduced the main actors to Meng Bai and asked by the way.

“Awesome movie!”

Meng Bai praised him without hiding anything. Ning Hao was about to laugh when he heard him continue, "Why didn't you mention this project when you asked me to introduce your director plan?"

"What are you saying? The movie had already been filmed when we met. What's the point of me introducing it to you?"

"Then can our "The Beneficiary" also reach this level?"

"The production scales are different, so they can't be compared." Ning Hao spread his hands, "But the quality standards are definitely the same."

"Okay, I hope there will be a surprise." Meng Bai said: "How is the progress now?"

Ning Hao thought for a moment and said, "We are preparing for the production crew recently. If everything goes well, we should be able to start filming before the end of the year."

"That's pretty fast." Meng Bai said.

Ning Hao remembered something else: "By the way, how is your The Wandering Earth going now? When I talked to Lao Guo a while ago, he told me that the post-production special effects weren't going well."

Speaking of this, Meng Bai couldn't help but sighed: "It's okay, anyway, we're working overtime. There are fewer film and television projects starting this year than in previous years, and several special effects companies have more time. Anyway, we're working overtime now, and the progress is normal."

"Haha, as a rival of the Spring Festival period, this is not good news." Ning Hao said with a smile.

"You should talk to Brother Guo about this. As an investor, I just want to make money, and I won't get involved in anything else."

"Very good, our director likes investors like you."

They both laughed.

After laughing, Ning Hao sighed again: "Speaking of which, this year's film and television market does feel a little colder than in previous years. You just said that there are fewer film and television projects that have started filming. The same is true for several of our projects this year. It's not as easy to find investment as before."

"It's normal. The general trend is not good and the capital is out of money." Meng Bai said.

Domestic Internet capital began to rise around 2010, and gradually reached its peak around and . The huge amount of traffic needed to be expressed, and the film and television industry became the best place to go. With the influx of hot money supported by capital, the domestic film and television industry also began to develop rapidly.

New capital has brought new trends and new ways of playing. Fan economy, IP effect, traffic competition, the combination of stars and capital, the suppression of traditional platforms by mobile terminals... The old rules have been disrupted, and everyone is swept up by this huge torrent and rolling forward.

When the industry was at its hottest, almost any director could start filming immediately with an idea, and any film and television company could get financing immediately with just a work.

Film and television bases such as Hengdian and Shanghu are open almost all year round, and cinemas have expanded from second- and third-tier cities to small county towns in the 18th tier. A third-tier actor can earn millions of yuan for a single film, and movie box office sales are breaking records in the billions every year.

What is the golden age of entertainment? This is the golden age of entertainment!

But just like the prosperity of all industries in the past, the bonus period will eventually pass.

In fact, since the second half of last year, many people working in the film and television industry have been able to vaguely feel the chill hidden under the prosperity. This year, this feeling has become even more obvious.

Because of Pinduoduo, Meng Bai has been asking Gu Fei and others to collect information on the capital market, so he may understand market changes better than most people in the industry.

At the beginning of the year, due to adjustments in the management department, game licenses were suspended, and an important monetization channel for Internet traffic was blocked.

Then, a large number of P2P crashes caused financial capital to enter the minefield. As a result, concepts that have been popular in recent years, such as shared bicycles, long-term rental apartments, cryptocurrency circles, and private equity funds, also encountered funding chain problems.

Small investors are having a hard time, and the giants don’t have much surplus. The aftereffects of the 2015 stock market crash are gradually showing up, with the A-share market falling from 3500 before the Spring Festival to 2800 this year, and it has not yet bottomed out.

Even Tencent, which has always been the most generous, has tightened its investment restrictions this year and is no longer spending money as lavishly as before.

Under this situation, the entertainment industry, which has long relied on Internet capital, will naturally go downhill.

Add to that the recent "yin-yang contract" incident, which has led to official intervention and may trigger another round of major rectification, which would make the situation even worse.

Of course, these are changes hidden under the surface. On the surface, the entire industry is still thriving. Only people like Meng Bai, who are closer to capital, can feel it.
-
After the premiere of "Dying to Survive" ended, Meng Bai took Li Yitong, who was still deeply moved by the plot, back to the large flat in Sanlitun.

The good news was that Jin Chen, who had been acting as a light bulb, was finally gone, allowing him to comfortably enjoy a night of tenderness and sweetness.

When Meng Bai returned to the company the next day, he was refreshed and called Chen Jing over. He asked her to check the tax situation of some of the companies in the recent period.

"It's a sensitive period recently, and no one knows whether it will spread to the entire industry. At this time, everything should be done in a safe way. Check our previous taxes and some possible problems, and deal with them as soon as possible... We shouldn't have any problems, right?"

"Um……"

Seeing Chen Jing hesitate for a while, Meng Bai was stunned: "No, Sister Jing, is there really a problem?"

Are you kidding? You, a mature and steady lady, have also betrayed the revolution?
"Actually, it's not a problem." Chen Jing adjusted her glasses. "We previously had several projects that used Landao's accounts and paid taxes locally and enjoyed local preferential policies. It's reasonable according to the regulations, but there is also a certain amount of ambiguity. I'm worried that if it's stricter this time, it may become a loophole."

Because several projects including the "Green Vine Series" were previously filmed in Landao, ArcLight registered a company in the local industrial park for convenience, mainly for the purpose of fund allocation, while also being able to enjoy some local preferential policies.

Theoretically speaking, this is somewhat different from those companies registered in Horgos. After all, they do have a lot of filming work done in Landao, so it can be justified.

It’s just like Meng Bai said, this is a sensitive period recently, and we’re afraid that if the authorities take real action and take a one-size-fits-all approach, it would be bad if we get hurt by mistake.

Meng Bai thought about it and said to Chen Jing, "Well, let's not wait for the situation to change. Let's directly communicate with the tax authorities of Jingbei and Landao, and make up the money that needs to be paid, and finalize this matter."

Since the problem has to be solved anyway, it is better to be proactive. At least your attitude will appear more sincere.

Even if the authorities really want to rectify the industry in the future, they will not be embarrassed to take action against Arc Light when they see how active we are.

After giving Chen Jing instructions, Meng Bai felt relieved and started to be a spectator.

To be honest, he was really curious about how big a problem Fan Qiaoqiao could find this time.

However, after the official announcement, all parties involved in the incident have stopped their activities and remained silent. It is estimated that there will be no more news before the case is fully investigated.

Netizens' attention is very fragile. After several days without any new news, everyone's enthusiasm gradually began to shift to summer movies.

Meng Bai's vision is obviously correct. After the release of "Dying to Survive", it immediately became the most talked-about movie in recent times, as expected. The box office in the first four days reached 13 billion, breaking the record of 2 million in the first week of "Wolf Warrior 9.6" last year, which is a good start for the 2018 summer season.

However, Ning Hao and Xu Zheng are not without competitors. In addition to Shen Teng's "The Richest Tomato", there is another movie to be released earlier.

After four years, the last part of Jiang Wen's "Republic of China Trilogy", "Evil Does Not Suppress Justice", was also released in this year's summer vacation.

What’s even more surprising is that Jiang Wen, who has always been considered "full of style" by fans, has put a lot of effort into promoting the movie this time.

First, as a non-fan, he went to Youku to be a commentator for the World Cup, and then he appeared on several talk show variety shows such as "13 Invitations" and "Round Table".

If everything up to this point seems normal, then the next operation is a bit surprising.

Tencent Video announced that this summer's hottest variety show "Produce 101" will open the "Group Night" finals. In addition to the host Huang Bo, Jiang Wen, Liao Fan and Eddie Peng will also be invited as special guests.

When many people first saw this news, they thought that the employee in charge of publicity at Tencent Video was drunk. It was not until one night later that they realized that it was actually true!
Jiang Wen - Girl Group

What is a fucking surprise? This is a fucking surprise!

Although there is another Huang Bo, he has been on the show once in the previous episodes. Although it was also to promote the movie, at least it doesn't seem so abrupt.

But this sudden appearance of ginger pattern is a bit abstract.

However, it can also be seen from this that the "One Step Away" four years ago was indeed very powerful, forcing Jiang Wen to no longer dare to maintain his momentum.

Meng Bai called Fang Fang directly and asked her to help him get two front-row guest seats for the final night.

The scene of "Jiang Wen + girl group" is really a great show effect. It would be a pity if you don't go to watch it in person.

"...Okay, Mr. Fang, thank you very much."

After hanging up the phone, Meng Bai thought about it and called Meng Ziyi again.

She has a good relationship with Yang Chaoyue and has been talking about her since the beginning of the show. Now that it is the finals, it would be nice to go to the scene to support her.

Listening to the ringtone from the mobile phone, Meng Bai couldn't help but think of Yang Chaoyue's ranking results, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

This girl has been a dark horse since the beginning of the show. She ranked third in the first round and second in the second round.

In the latest episode that just aired, the program ranked the contestants for the third time, leaving only the final 22 contestants into the finals, and she still firmly maintained the third position.

Of the other three members of TCG who were with her before, only Hanikzi is still on the show at 21st place. As for Hu Linxi and Zhao Xiaotang, they were eliminated first.

If we talk about the most famous contestant in the entire "Produce 101", it is definitely Yang Chaoyue.

Of course, the audience's debate against her has never stopped since the first episode.

Opponents believe that she is not talented and can do nothing except having a pretty face; supporting fans say that Chaoyue is indeed not good at singing and dancing but that is because she has no foundation. Apart from that, her program effects, personality, character, and professionalism are all fully qualified, and she is also beautiful.

Anyway, in terms of appearance, the two sides are quite unified.

Meng Bai had also taken the time to watch her performances a few times before. How should I put it? Maybe it was because I was used to watching her performances in the company before, but I still felt that this girl was just cute and adorable, and not as amazing as her fans said.

Whether you support it or not, the program producers and Tencent Video have made a lot of money from the traffic.

As for whether the program crew really intended to give Yang Chaoyue the so-called "sacrifice script" at the beginning, it didn't matter after Meng Bai specifically mentioned it when he went to Tencent Video to discuss cooperation on the new drama.

Just as I was thinking about it, the ringing of the phone stopped, and then Meng Ziyi's weak voice was heard.

"Hey, little uncle."

"What's wrong with you?" Meng Bai asked puzzledly.

Meng Ziyi said in a muffled voice: "It's okay, just breathe - I caught a cold after filming a waterfall scene the day before yesterday, just breathe -"

"From your voice, it sounds pretty serious."

"It's not serious, just a sniffle. It's just a little uncomfortable."

"Then...drink more hot water?"

"...Uncle, sometimes I really wonder how you find so many girlfriends."

"I didn't look for them. They always looked for me."

"..."

In the hotel room, Meng Ziyi, who was resting with a quilt in his arms, couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"What are you calling me about? If nothing, I'm going to rest."

"Oh, I was just thinking about asking you when the show will be finished. I need to talk to you about something."

Meng Ziyi thought for a moment: "Haha, you're saying you have something to do now, but you just told me to drink more hot water... I have to finish filming here by the end of August, so I don't have time."

"August? Forget it." Meng Bai said calmly, "I wanted to take you to see Xiao Yang and the others at the finals, but since we don't have time, forget it."

"Finals? I can go, I can go!"

Meng Ziyi's voice suddenly rose an octave, and he sat up from the bed and shouted excitedly.

"Didn't you say you wanted to film a movie?"

"Just take two days off." Meng Ziyi said sincerely, "Filming is not as important as you, little uncle!"

"Come on, don't give me that." Meng Bai said, "Then you should arrange the time in advance. I will wait for you in Xiaoshan then."

"okay!"

Meng Ziyi agreed happily.

But after hanging up the phone, she couldn't help but mutter to herself: "You still don't believe me? Filming is not as important as my uncle!"

(End of this chapter)