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

Chapter 441 This Award Is Not Easy to Get

"In the modern society of the Internet age, the new generation of young people are becoming more and more atomized and individualized in the ever-expanding urbanization process. On the one hand, many people are not used to getting along with strangers, and they all call themselves "socially anxious"; on the other hand, they yearn for a life of living together with friends."

“The planning of “Fifty Kilometers of Taohuawu” is actually a bit like a social experiment. Its goal is to observe the living habits and psychological changes of young people today, explore the possibilities of ‘social boundaries’ and ‘group integration’, and show more possibilities between different lifestyles of ‘living in groups’ and ‘being alone’…”

In the conference room of Arclight Films, the staff was explaining the theme of the new program using the PPT on the projection screen.

At the table in front of the screen, seven or eight people sat opposite each other on both sides. On one side were Meng Bai and the staff of Heng Video, and on the other side were a few strangers.

The leader of the group of strangers was a slightly plump middle-aged man. He looked at the content displayed on the projection screen carefully and discussed with the people around him from time to time.

If Yang Chaoyue was here, she would definitely recognize him. This serious-looking middle-aged man was the chief director of Rocket Girls 101's group variety show "Rampage at ", and also the creator of the popular shows "Metamorphosis" and "Where Are We Going, Dad?", Xie Dikui.

As the largest entertainment satellite TV station in China, Mango TV has cultivated countless excellent variety show teams over the years. However, due to the restrictions within the system, many people chose to jump out and work alone after growing up.

Xie Dikui is one of these people. Within two years after "Where Are We Going, Dad?" became a hit, he left Mango TV and founded Xiyue Media with his brother Xie Digang, creating their own variety show production team.

Although Meng Bai made "Fifty Kilometers Peach Blossom Village" mainly as a gift to his niece, he still had to do the program seriously. After contacting many domestic variety show teams, he finally decided to hire the experienced Xie Dikui as the chief director of the new program.

As for Xie Dikui, he was really surprised for a long time when he first received the invitation from Arclight Films.

Although he was a variety show producer, he still knew the reputation of Arclight Films in the film and television industry. But he was wondering, Arclight's projects have always been movies and TV series, why did they find him to shoot variety shows?
I never expected that after actually getting in touch with them, I would find out that they were actually going to make a variety show this time.

Xie Dikui was both happy and worried about this kind of "playful" Party A.

What makes people happy is that this program is backed by two major platforms, Tencent Video and Heng Video, and it is a big deal. There will definitely be no problem with the scale and funding of the project.

As for the worry, it is that this kind of party A often likes to interfere in the actual production of the project. The key is that they have no experience in the production of similar projects before, and they will inevitably come up with some fantastic ideas at that time.

What's more, the direct partner of this project is Arclight Films. Such a leading team in a field often has a problem, which is to bring their experience and temperament in the field to the new field.

Although both variety shows and TV series are entertainment works, they are actually different in nature. If Arclight really uses their experience in TV series to treat variety shows, you can imagine how many fights they will have to fight when preparing future projects.

The staff of Arc Light introduced for about ten minutes, explaining the main concept of the program "Fifty Kilometers Taohuawu" before finally stopping.

"Thank you, Director." Meng Bai asked in a warm manner, "What do you think of the theme and idea of this program?"

"Mr. Meng, you're too polite." Xie Dikui turned around quickly and said carefully, "It's indeed an interesting project plan, and the theme is indeed in line with the current concerns of young people. Arclight Films is worthy of being the number one team in the film and television industry, and it always brings some new ideas."

Listening to the official tone of the other party, Meng Bai smiled and suddenly changed the subject: "Director Xie, I heard from Chaoyue that she is quite familiar with you?"

"Chaoyue?" Xie Dikui was stunned for a moment, then reacted, "Mr. Meng is talking about Yang Chaoyue, right? Yes, we have worked together before, and I have seen her several times on the show, so I am familiar with her... Well, she is a pretty good girl."

I vaguely remember that Mr. Meng and Yang Chaoyue seemed to have had some scandals, but I don't know what the relationship was. Anyway, he had a good impression of Yang Chaoyue, and since she suddenly mentioned it, he might as well praise her more, since it was just a matter of one sentence.

However, Meng Bai didn't care too much about it, and continued: "Before this, Chaoyue and I had a general understanding of Director Xie's style of producing programs. We also learned about the programs he had produced before. Since Director Xie was chosen for this project, it means that he is the most suitable after comprehensive consideration."

"Thank you, Mr. Meng, for your kindness." Xie Dikui hurriedly thanked him, "Don't worry, Mr. Meng, we will actively cooperate with Arc Light and do our best to make the show a success."

"Great!" Meng Bai praised. "Since Director Xie also thinks we should actively cooperate, then if you have any opinions or ideas about this program, just say it. Those official jargons can be omitted if possible."

"what……"

Xie Dikui finally understood that his previous attitude made people dissatisfied. The words he said just now were actually a way of telling him that we at Arclight knew what level he was at and knew his ability in variety shows, so everyone should be open to cooperation and just speak frankly.

After understanding this, Xie Dikui felt relieved. Obviously, Arclight did not rely on its achievements in the film and television industry to arbitrarily interfere in variety shows that it was not familiar with, but fully trusted these professional variety show people.

Sure enough, there was a reason why Mr. Meng had built up such a large force with his bare hands at such a young age. And it also fully proved that it was indeed more comfortable to cooperate with young people.

In this case, Xie Dikui no longer concealed the truth and said directly: "Mr. Meng, the themes and meanings just introduced are all part of the framework for external publicity. What is really important about the program is the specific production form."

At this point, seeing that the other party was collectively thinking, he simply said: "How about this, Mr. Meng, can you tell us which similar variety shows we hope to benchmark against for this project?"

As the saying goes, "All articles in the world are copied", in fact, other entertainment projects are the same. Everyone is doing it, but in fact, the content is almost the same, it's just a new form.

So instead of listening to the other party talk about their ideas and thoughts for a long time, it is better to directly ask which program to follow.

It's like the classic joke in the programmer circle: the project manager said excitedly that he hoped to achieve the functions of this application, and then the programmer asked impatiently, "Just tell me who you plan to copy this time?"

Meng Bai naturally understood what Xie Dikui meant. After thinking for a while, he said, "There is no program that is directly comparable to them. If I have to say, it can be roughly understood as the domestic entertainment program "Longing for Life", plus the Korean entertainment program "Roommate", plus a Dutch reality show "UTOPIA" ("Utopia")"

With the popularity of Kpop in the past few years, many reality shows from neighboring Korea have been introduced to China, such as the classic "Running Man" and "Go Fighting", which also opened a new era of domestic entertainment variety shows.

Because of these imported programs, many people think that Korea's variety shows are very creative, but in fact, the production level of variety shows in the Netherlands is equally outstanding worldwide.

The most typical example is the "XX Good Voice" which became popular all over the world a few years ago and was introduced to more than a dozen countries. The original version of this program was actually "The Voice of Holland".

The UTOPIA that Meng Bai mentioned is also a reality show in the Netherlands, and it is produced by the same team as The Voice of Holland. The program team selected 15 amateurs and placed them in a living environment similar to primitive society, where all of them need to live together for a year.

From building houses to feeding chickens and cattle, from working in the fields to chopping wood and cooking, the members' lives together are fully recorded by the camera, exploring what kind of sparks can be created by humans and humans, and humans and nature in a closed environment.

This reality show was very popular in Europe and the United States, and Tencent Video also introduced it to China, making a program called "We 15". Unfortunately, it did not adapt to the local environment, and the domestic audience at that time had no interest in "amateur variety shows", so it was eventually shelved.

Therefore, for "Fifty Kilometers of Taohuawu", Arc Light learned from previous experience and made major adjustments to the program format, changing the environmental background from primitive survival to community life, eliminating the interaction between humans and nature and focusing on the impact within humans.

The most important thing is to replace the amateur guests with celebrities, variety show hosts or other practitioners in the entertainment industry.

Xie Dikui is indeed a veteran variety show host. Although Roommate and UTOPIA are both relatively niche shows in China, he has watched them. As for Longing for Life, it goes without saying that it is already a representative work of the current "slow variety show" in the domestic entertainment industry. Putting the content and format of these shows together with the theme of Fifty Kilometers of Taohuawu is quite a good match.

He couldn't help but glance at Meng Bai and others sitting opposite him, thinking to himself: Arclight is indeed the top production team in the film and television industry. The key point lies not only in their ability, but also in their rigorous attitude. Even in the field of variety shows that they have never set foot in, they can actually have so much preparation.

Thinking of this, Xie Dikui's attitude became more serious.

"I think I understand what you mean, Mr. Meng. So, when we get back, we'll come up with a detailed program plan and show it to you."

"Okay, then I'll have to trouble you, Director Xie."

Xie Dikui nodded in return and then asked, "Do we have any other requirements for the specific production of the program?"

Meng Bai shook his head: "Director Xie is a professional variety show creator. We believe in the level of professionals, so just design it according to your ideas."

Xie Dikui's eyes lit up when he heard this. Damn, there is such a good party A in the world!
"Uh, Mr. Meng really doesn't have any requests?"

"There are indeed no requirements for production, but we may have some requirements for the selection of future members." Meng Bai said.

The guest list must be discussed first. This program was originally designed to please Meng Ziyi. It would be too funny if she didn't make the final list.

It's not just Meng Ziyi. Meng Bai also plans to ask the girl if she has any friends she likes to play with. As long as they are suitable, they can be included in the show.

Well, thinking about it this way, Yang Chaoyue is actually pretty good. She is a close friend of Meng Ziyi, she is very popular, and the show effect is also good.

The only possible problem is that Xiao Chaoyue's schedule is the most full in the group because of her popularity. Rumor has it that in the past two years, the producers of the program that can get her schedule will publicly brag about it in the circle of friends.

But then again, the program "Fifty Kilometers Peach Blossom Village" will not officially start until the middle of next year, including the early preparations and investment promotion. By then, Rocket Girls will have disbanded, and each contestant will return to their respective companies. Without group planning, it will be much easier to arrange the schedule.

Meng Bai thought about it and decided to wait until the time comes to ask Meng Ziyi and invite whoever she wants to go with her.

Xie Dikui naturally agreed to this request. For the program team, the condition of the sponsor and their own people was not a big deal.

Just like the coal boss back then, apart from sleeping with the heroines, he never interferes with other work. He can be regarded as the conscience capital of the film and television industry.
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After Ruyi Pictures was merged into Hengten Network, it obtained 32% of the shares according to the other party's current market value. At the same time, the original shareholders of Ruyi Pictures, the brothers Ke Liming and Meng Bai, also became new shareholders of Hengten Network, holding 17% and 15% of the shares respectively, becoming the second and third largest shareholders of the company.

Evergrande is still the largest shareholder, while Tencent, the former second largest shareholder, has slipped to fourth. As for the remaining shares, they are held by retail investors in the secondary market.

This is also a common situation for many Hong Kong-listed companies, where the proportion of circulating shares is small, market liquidity is poor, and it is easier for the company to be manipulated by shareholders.

After acquiring Ruyi, Hengten Network successfully expanded its business scope to the film and television industry. The market is also optimistic about this acquisition, and the company's stock price has risen a lot recently.

However, this rise is only driven by temporary emotions. Whether it can really be sustained depends on subsequent film projects and the performance of the streaming media platform of Heng Video.

The filming of the "Zijin Chen Trilogy" has been completed, and the second phase of the "Green Ivy Criminal Investigation Universe" has been somewhat difficult to produce due to censorship restrictions. Arc Light's main focus is currently on the new "Tracing Back Series".

The drama "Twinkle Twinkle Star" has started filming in Blue Island these two days, and the leading actors Meng Ziyi and Qu Chuxiao have also joined the crew to start filming. The other two dramas in the same series, "The Beginning" and "Want to See You", are the next ones to be made.

Although many people in the circle want to get their hands on these two "big pieces of pie", the specific lineup has actually been decided within Arclight.

"Want to See You" is the female lead, and it is also the one with the most exciting script in the trilogy. Meng Bai plans to give it to Li Qin. However, this girl has just joined the crew of "The Golden Years" recently, so if she wants to shoot it, it will have to be next year.

As for the other film, The Beginning, the female lead was chosen to be Zhao Jinmai. This young lady is currently free and will be able to join the crew directly after the preparations are completed.

Meng Bai did not hide it and told her the news directly.

"Heroine? For me?" Zhao Jinmai's surprised voice came from the phone: "Really, Brother Meng Bai!"

"Why would I lie to you if there's nothing wrong?" Meng Bai said, "Besides, didn't I promise you a long time ago that I would give you a female lead drama after the college entrance examination? Now I'm just bringing it forward a little bit."

"I thought it was a joke...Thank you, Brother Meng Bai!"

"It's just thanking you verbally. You have to say something practical." Meng Bai joked.

Zhao Jinmai agreed without hesitation: "Okay! Aren't we going to attend the Golden Rooster Awards next week? I'll give you, Brother Meng Bai, a formal gift."

"Oh, okay, then I'll wait." Meng Bai responded casually, but didn't take it to heart.

Mai Mai is a little girl, her film pay is in the hands of her parents, and she doesn't have much pocket money, so what kind of gift can she give? He was just joking, and he would just pretend to be surprised and make the little girl happy.

However, when Zhao Jinmai talked about the Golden Rooster Awards, it was indeed one of the few major events at the end of the year.

A few days ago, the Golden Rooster Awards jury announced this year's shortlist, and ArcLight's "City of Lights" and "Detective Chinatown 2" were not selected.

But this does not mean that this year's Golden Rooster Awards have nothing to do with them. "The Wandering Earth", which was released at the beginning of the year, is also within the selection range, and in the announced shortlist, it won a total of six nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Recording, Best Art, Best Editing, and Best Music.

When Guo Fan saw the list of nominees, he felt sorry that he didn't win the Best Screenplay award. Meng Bai didn't mind it. His script was based on Liu Cixin's original novel, and it wasn't purely original. So he didn't win.

The outside world is very interested in "The Wandering Earth" being nominated for the Golden Rooster Awards. This is the first time that an orthodox domestic science fiction film has been seen in a mainstream domestic award.

Especially after the failure of "The Fortress" in the summer season, the audiences paid more attention to "The Wandering Earth", the only remaining film, hoping that it could win an award to prove the rise of domestic science fiction themes.

But the competition this year is just as fierce, with last year's big hits "Dying to Survive" and "Operation Red Sea", "So Long, My Son" which was a big hit at the "three major old European festivals" Berlin Film Festival, and "The Gutian Bugle" which has a superior subject matter.

This award is not easy to get.

(End of this chapter)