Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 755 Filming Begins (33)

Shen Yan initially gained fame through music!

The first EP contained five songs: "Why Not Go Home and Drink Tap Water," "Mountains and Seas," "Light," "Walking Horse," and "Half a Song"...

Sales exceeded 12!
The combined downloads of ringback tones, ringtones, and songs have exceeded 4 million, a remarkable achievement that has shocked the industry…

While not quite a sensation, he was certainly the most popular new singer of that year…

He won a bunch of newcomer awards!

Then his first album, "Chasing Dreams with a Pure Heart," sold over 80 copies.

Moreover, that year, China Mobile's M-Zone brand changed its spokesperson and theme song, and Shen Yan and his "My Sky" emerged out of nowhere...

The following year, their first tour was extended to 18 shows…

At that time, Shen Yan was primarily known as a singer!

However, as more and more of his films were released, he later won the Venice Golden Lion and the Academy Award for Best Director…

Many people think of him as a filmmaker!

But those who initially liked him did so because of his music.

Moreover, during Shen Yan's live streams, he would often hold his guitar and sing...

One more thing... Although a lot of new singers have emerged in recent years, the most clicked songs are still some 'old songs', including Shen Yan's songs...

Including some of last year's most popular songs, such as "It's None of My Business," "Half," and "Hibernation"...

These songs are all from the lower end of Shen Yan's album...

However, he sang the most popular songs last year, "Liang Liang" and "San Sheng San Shi"...

So, he hasn't left the Chinese music scene.

However, he hasn't released a new song in three years!

After discussing his latest EP, Shen Yan continued, "I'm currently filming in Shanghai... 'The Rebel'... a spy drama!"

"Unlike typical spy dramas, the character I play, Lin Nansheng, is initially just a quiet and reserved person, not the kind of all-around super spy... Rather than a spy drama, it's more like a story reflecting the history of the War of Resistance against Japan on the hidden front and the story of a generation of young people who faced hardship and clarified and strengthened their beliefs. The main plot revolves around why the male protagonist chose our party!"

This is a theme that *The Rebel* answers clearly and in detail.

……

That's right, the biggest difference between "The Rebel" and typical spy dramas is the character design of the protagonist!
In typical spy dramas, the protagonists are all exceptionally brave and capable from the very beginning.

They are underground party members who have infiltrated the enemy's ranks. Their strategies are flawless, and they have little room for growth!

"The Rebel" offers many interesting and noteworthy alternative interpretations, depicting the protagonist's journey from naivety to maturity, from confusion and uncertainty to unwavering resolve...

Lin Nansheng, however, was gradually honed to his sharpness, step by step transforming from a student who lacked confidence, was still hesitant and kind, into the "heartless person" who was riddled with injuries and used everyone around him to complete his mission.

The chosen time point is also very different: 1936!
Lin Nansheng was born in the first year of the Republic of China (1912). His generation was a generation that was willing to give up personal ideals and a stable life for the sake of the country and its people, and chose to abandon their studies and join the army.

It represents a generation of young people who are caught in a black vortex of seemingly endless national suffering.

This character follows the historical timeline.

So when he entered the scene, he investigated the nail "postman". In 1937, he became the action captain and went to the front line of the anti-Japanese war. In 1940, he assassinated Japanese invaders and traitors and joined forces with our party. After that, the main contradiction once again shifted back to the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.

The shift in primary and secondary contradictions is part of our modern history, and also the ambition of "The Rebel".

From Lin Nansheng's perspective, "The Rebel" is very unpleasant because he is a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

This also analyzes the inevitability of the failure of a certain party and the inevitability of the success of our party!
Lin Nansheng went through a process of confusion, doubt, disappointment, bewilderment, despair, and feigned sophistication from being selected to becoming the action team leader and then the deputy station chief.

My three former superiors: one was arrogant, stubborn, greedy, and had no bottom line; he defected to Japan and, even after defecting, he still wavered between two sides to protect himself.

A despicable, greedy, and unprincipled person who framed and slandered others.

One was a Communist Party undercover agent who slacked off and was perfunctory in his work. Later, after they became comrades, he developed a mentor-student relationship with Lin Nansheng. Ultimately, he chose to sacrifice himself to promote Lin Nansheng, but this left him with a stain on his reputation. This was undoubtedly extremely painful for Lin Nansheng.

"The Rebel" does not deny that there are talented, capable, and courageous people in a certain party. Lin Nansheng is a representative of these people, but they are often marginalized, ignored, and exploited.

Lin Nansheng was reprimanded many times. He seemed out of place, hopeless, and unable to save Tianhe, so he eventually "rebelled".

Compared to "The Disguiser"... "The Disguiser" is actually more of an idol drama!

The events were exaggerated, and the romance felt abruptly portrayed…

While "The Rebel" includes a romance subplot, it leans more towards a coming-of-age story...

Kong Sheng specially sought out Liu Jing to help straighten out the love story – Liu Jing is the screenwriter of "Parents' Love" and is good at love scenes!

……

The total cost of "The Rebel" was 1.5 million!
It has a total of 43 episodes, with a cost of 350 million per episode.

The production cost of a Republican-era TV series mainly includes scriptwriting, actor salaries, director fees, studio construction, set design, costumes and props, and special effects.

Of these cost items, actor salaries and special effects production are often the largest expenses.

Therefore, the more complex the special effects of a TV series, the higher its production cost will be.

The cast is also a crucial factor in determining costs, with the salaries of well-known actors typically significantly increasing the investment budget.

For "The Rebel," Shen Yan's salary was 30 yuan per episode plus 20% of the investment...

That's right, his salary was converted into an investment share!
Filming hasn't even started yet; it's only been officially announced, or rather, the cast has only been formally announced: Kong Sheng and Li Xue will direct, and Shen Yan will star...

Then, several video platforms engaged in various battles…

It was a real struggle—they actually started fighting!
Tencent ultimately won the bid at 650 million per episode…

Look, they've already made money before filming even started!

This is just the online copyright; there's also the television copyright…

Well, to be honest, even if Shen Yan were to pay 1000 million per episode for the online rights to a TV series, it still wouldn't be as much as he earns from acting in a movie!

After all, online platforms can't compare to cinemas yet...

—He usually earns over 2 million yuan for each movie he acts in!

That 200 million is just for his personal film salary...

But the maximum salary for a single drama series is only tens of millions...

Why does he act in TV dramas?
Simply because I like it!
At his age, it's not easy for him to find a suitable script...

I've wanted to try my hand at spy dramas for a long time, but the main characters in most spy dramas are middle-aged...

"Lurking," "Plot Against," "Cliff," and "Infiltration"...

Why not act in "Decipher"?
Uh… because it’s too difficult!

Among Mai Jia's novels "Decipher", "The Message", and "The Plot", "Decipher" is the most famous and has been translated into more than 30 languages. However, it was the last to be adapted into a film or television work. It is rumored that the copyright was sold seven times and returned each time, which shows how difficult it was to adapt.

To a certain extent, the more outstanding you are in one field, the more obstacles you pose to other fields!
The male protagonist, Rong Jinzhen, is portrayed as withdrawn and isolated in the original novel, which ultimately leads to his tragedy. If the character's traits are not preserved during adaptation, it's hard to imagine how the story would unfold...

Therefore, Rong Jinzhen's character in the TV series "Decipher" is portrayed as a genius with high IQ but a fool with low EQ. He cannot control his emotions, cannot read between the lines, and is ignorant of social etiquette...

This kind of character is so boring...

Going too far would make it look like an idiot, but not going too far would make it difficult to act...

Okay, most importantly, the copyright of "Decipher" is not in Shen Yan's hands!

(End of this chapter)