Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 655 Hollywood Heroine Genre

After the huge success of CBS's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" show last year, the company has placed great emphasis on variety shows.

This year, CBS's original wilderness survival reality show, "Survivor Season 1," will air this summer.

The reality TV show "Survivor" selects 16 participants and confines them to a specific environment where they can survive with limited tools in order to compete. The final winner will receive a prize of $100 million!

“This reality TV show is good,” Aaron said, sitting in his office and looking at Byron Gilbert, CBS’s programming director.

The Survivor show can be said to be adapted from the Swedish game show Robinson Crusoe, which originated from the show "Survival on a Desert Island" created by British television producer Charlie Parsons of Planet 24 Entertainment. It was first proposed in 1994.
However, this idea did not attract the interest of major broadcasters in the United States and the United Kingdom. In the end, the program rights were purchased by the Swedish television company Strix, which created the game show "Robinson Crusoe," which originated from the novel "Robinson Crusoe."

When Robinson Crusoe premiered in Sweden in 1997, it caused a sensation: the show confines the participants to a desert island to show the audience their real behavior.

Moreover, since the game participants are all ordinary people, it has a great appeal to real life. In addition, its novel theme and lively format have led to its rapid success in Sweden and the entire Nordic region.

After the huge success of the British show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", CBS immediately imported the show again, renaming it "Survivor".
"The filming location for the first season of Survivor was Borneo, which was a good choice."

Aaron put down the file. "I have another idea you can listen to."

Byron Gilbert's eyes lit up. "Oh, what's the idea?"

"Ha, it's about talent shows, specifically for young American singers. After auditions, there's a final round, followed by elimination rounds to determine the champion, runner-up, etc."

"CBS can hold regional auditions near its affiliated television stations in some major U.S. cities, with the preliminary rounds leading to the finals..."

Aaron was referring to "American Idol." There isn't a talent show like that yet, and CBS came up with it first, which is a game-changer!

Byron Gilbert was stunned. "This is a big show. Even with age restrictions, there will be a lot of people participating."

Aaron nodded. "Yes, Universal Music will also be involved. Those who make it to the finals will receive a record deal with Universal, and the winner will get a $100 million record deal."

"This show is sure to grab attention and discover talented singers, bringing fresh blood to Universal Music."

"Your production team should take it back and discuss it, and formulate a feasible standard and rules. Then, you can directly invite Britney Spears to be the publicity and promotion ambassador!"

Aaron had some hit shows from decades later in his mind, but sometimes he just couldn't remember them.

With the emergence of shows like "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Survivor," others can also be used to make CBS the ratings champion of American television.

That evening, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, Vice President Albert Gore hosted a charity reception that attracted a large number of Hollywood stars!

Meanwhile, Aaron met with the head of the forum company at the Bitmore Millennium Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
They discussed a collaboration between CBS and newspapers owned by the Tribune, including the *Los Angeles Times* and the *Chicago Tribune*, to jointly cover this year's US presidential conventions, the Sydney Olympics, presidential debates, and the election. After leaving the hotel, Aaron went to Catherine Zeta-Jones's residence, where her romantic film *America's Sweetheart* was nearing completion.

"Oh, you're going to play the female lead in Paramount's 'Tomb Raider'?"

Aaron sat on the sofa, still somewhat surprised.

"Yes, we've done the costume fitting photos. Actually, Paramount's favorite is Liv Tyler; they think she's the most suitable."

"However, as you know, Liv Tyler is currently filming 'Charlie's Angels,' which involves a lot of action scenes, and she's already very tired. She doesn't want to film any more action scenes!"

Catherine Zeta-Jones smiled. "Of course, British game companies support Kate Beckinsale and me."

"However, I have a lot of action scenes in 'The Mask of Zorro' and 'Entrapment', so I am more suitable."

Aaron looked at the other person and nodded. "They do look quite good. Your current reputation and abilities absolutely match."

"Action scenes are no problem for you either, you should be doing some intensive training too, right?"

Catherine Zeta-Jones is looking forward to starring in a film where a woman takes the lead role. "Yes, I will soon be undergoing various gun and action training. Filming will not start until the second half of the year, so there is enough time. The crew is looking for suitable locations."

Aaron stood up, poured himself a glass of wine, and took a sip. "There aren't many works with strong female leads like this yet. Paramount was able to get this project approved thanks to its female president, Shirley Lansing!"

After all, Tomb Raider had a budget of $8000 million, while Universal's Charlie's Angels had a budget of $9000 million. Aaron Kwok was chosen as the lead actor because he has always been supportive of female-led works.

Catherine Zeta-Jones walked over and kissed Aaron on the cheek. "Universal really started it, investing in the film version of *Charlie's Angels*, which is a pioneering move for female-centric commercial blockbusters."

"Now, which major Hollywood film studio isn't eyeing Universal?"

The new wave of fantasy adventure blockbusters sparked by "The Mummy", the thriller and suspense genre was popularized by "The Sixth Sense", and the youth comedy trend was brought about by "American Pie" and "Scary Movie", etc.

In addition, Dawn's early releases of new action films such as "Speed," "Con Air," and "The Rock" dealt a significant blow to the traditional muscle-bound action films led by Stallone and Schwarzenegger.

Of course, Universal's action-comedy series, such as "Bad Boys" and "Rush Hour," are even more difficult for traditional action films to compete with!
Aaron shrugged. "America, huh? They're masters of imitation, especially Hollywood."

"As soon as a few successful commercial films with leading ladies are released, a bunch of female-led works will soon follow."

Unfortunately, in Hollywood, the pay gap between men and women is too large. If female actors have huge commercial appeal, film companies are naturally willing to invest in them.

Unfortunately, it's not possible. Nowadays, it's really difficult for actresses to carry a commercial film!
(End of this chapter)