Unboxing, Director!

Chapter 137 The Great Ability of the Road
The moment the news of Lu Jiang's new drama opening auditions was released, it felt like a boulder had been thrown into the entire Chinese entertainment industry, drawing the attention of countless industry insiders.

Those with good connections quickly learned the details of the project and the casting process.

The title is "The World's Number One," a martial arts drama with 30 or more episodes, starring the original cast of "Meteor Garden."

The general plot involves four secret agents bravely fighting against the Eastern Depot.

The four secret agents are the main characters.

The information was very basic, but it didn't diminish the show's value in the eyes of many.

Lu Jiang's first work was a practice project, but it became a huge hit.

The second film was not just practice; it also became a hit throughout Southeast Asia.

He's now working on his third drama, which is reportedly based on an original script.

But smart people know that even if the final quality of the show is terrible, it will definitely have plenty of buzz in the early stages.

Moreover, apart from some minor roles, this audition only included a few minor ones.

There are even two of the four main characters, as well as a third female lead!

This meat is too fatty!

Countless actors flocked to the scene.

Everyone quickly learned the specific audition requirements.

Besides appearance requirements, the third female lead needs to be quirky and clever.

Two secret agents, one male and one female.

Men who know martial arts and can play comedic roles will be given priority.

Women who excel in men's clothing will be given priority.

Countless actors are assessing their own assets and beginning various preparations.

While the actors were preparing for auditions, Lu Jiang also launched a business promotion conference.

First and foremost, it's about pre-ordering TV dramas.

After the previous two hugely popular dramas, various TV stations may have some doubts about this original costume drama.

But the fact that the original cast is returning is enough to dispel most of the doubts.

Of course, this is on the premise that the original cast and crew are really back, and it's not just a gimmick.

Making a cameo appearance, just showing your face, and then using that for all sorts of publicity is definitely not acceptable.

People were indeed somewhat worried about this at first.

After all, your Four Secret Agents only have one original cast member, so it all seems like a gimmick.

Fortunately, a group of people from the TV station gathered at Dawn Films and saw that F3 and Fan Binbin had plenty of screen time in the show, so everyone was basically relieved.

The remaining concerns are whether these roles can be played well, and whether there will be a market for characters who are not portrayed as virtuous and righteous.

It's normal to have these concerns.

Lu Jiang couldn't completely guarantee that this drama would be a hit.

So whether you buy it or not is up to you.

Want to buy it?
Leaving aside mainland Chinese television stations, representatives from Southeast Asian countries made a decision immediately: they had to buy it!

Putting everything else aside, the fact that F4 and Fan Binbin are both in the show is enough to generate a lot of buzz!
Their commercial value has been proven.

Meteor Garden is still very popular, and F4's advertisements are still hanging high in various places.

The drama "Full House" is still airing and Fan Binbin and Lu Jiang are currently enjoying immense popularity.

This is quite different from the situation in mainland China.

The most popular TV series in mainland China right now is "Romance in the Rain".

But this show didn't break out of the Chinese-speaking world.

In the eyes of non-Chinese people, the most popular Chinese celebrities, apart from those from Hong Kong, are really only a few like Lu Jiang.

Some of Lu Jiang's stars have even surpassed those of Hong Kong celebrities.

Therefore, Lu Jiang and others have a strong fan base in various places, which guarantees high viewership ratings in the early stages.

As long as viewership is guaranteed in the early stages, there's no need to worry about advertising revenue.

Soon after, several countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, signed investment and pre-purchase agreements.

Each company collectively secured a 15% share, and the total investment for "The World's Number One" was set at 5000 million RMB.

After securing the share, they signed a pre-purchase contract.

This is also the current cooperation model between Dawn and Southeast Asian countries.

Investment + purchase: interests are deeply intertwined.

Otherwise, if it were sold as a standalone product, the broadcast time, price, and subsequent commercial performances would be quite unpredictable.

Therefore, if you want to "broadcast simultaneously across Asia" and reap the benefits in one fell swoop, you really have to give up some profits.

After signing, everyone shook hands and took a group photo.

If other film companies in mainland China saw this, they would be extremely envious.

Other mainland dramas, let alone selling to overseas markets, even just getting in touch with overseas markets requires going through various connections and negotiating step by step. It's hard to say when the deal will be finalized, and even then, the price isn't guaranteed.

Many are sold as complete sets, and the prices are very low; a package price of $50,000 is considered good.

Therefore, many mainland film companies are not very interested in going overseas.

As for Lu Jiang, he has already signed contracts with six international and regional companies even before filming has started. Moreover, the entire series is not being packaged together; instead, it will be sold by episode, just like in mainland China!

The price per episode is not low either, averaging $50,000 per episode!
The total cost for each of the six locations is $300,000 per episode.

If the entire series has 30 episodes, that means it recouped $900 million before filming even started!
This surprised Han Sanpin, vice chairman of China Film Group, who was involved in the negotiations.

This time, "The World's Finest" is still a co-production between mainland China and Macau.

The production company in Macau remains the same, still Macau Television.

The mainland company that used the license for its operations has been upgraded, from Beijing Film Studio to China Film Group.

This is why Lu Jiang met Zuo Shandiao, the notorious figure in the Chinese entertainment industry, for the first time, and Zuo Shandiao, Han Sanpin, will also become one of the producers this time.

This investment promotion conference also marked the first time the two had officially met and worked together.

As for their first collaboration, Han Sanpin put it: "Your single deal is equivalent to half of the country's total foreign trade volume last year!"

After signing the contract with the overseas television station, Han Sanpin chatted with Lu Jiang with a smile.

"No way." Lu Jiang was genuinely surprised.

"How could this be fake?" Han Sanpin said seriously. "Do you know which drama sold the best last year?"

"do not know."

"Kangxi Dynasty, $8000 per episode."

Only 8000?

As if sensing Lu Jiang's shock, Han Sanpin gave him a thumbs up: "So, right now, in China, you're the only one who can sell a drama overseas, sell it by the episode, and sell it for such an astronomical price. That's a real skill!"

"You flatter me, Mr. Han. It's all just good luck."

"Any further humility would be too fake!"

"I'm not being modest, I was just lucky. The novel and interesting genre of the series is one aspect, but the main reason is that it benefited from the current easing of relations between China and Southeast Asia. Otherwise, it definitely wouldn't have been so smooth a few years ago."

"You still care about this?"

These words made Han Sanpin's eyes light up again.

He had considered that Lu Jiang would remain humble, but he had also considered that Lu Jiang would say something else.

But I never expected Lu Jiang to be so "modest" from this perspective.

This is very rare nowadays; at least among the young people he has met, or most private film and television entrepreneurs, this is rarely mentioned.

Lu Jiang, however, took it all for granted: "The cultural industry can't be judged in isolation. Whenever it comes to going global, in addition to cultural differences, international politics is also a factor that must be considered."

In 01, it would indeed be difficult for the average person to bring up this kind of issue from this perspective.

But Lu Jiang was someone who returned in 2025. At that time, the country had experienced too many things in just a few years, which made many people "awaken". It can be said that at that time, any ordinary person who frequently went online knew that many things had to be viewed from a global perspective, rather than being "naive" like most people are now.

Therefore, in Han Sanpin's view, some of the things Lu Jiang casually mentioned were "far-sighted" and "ambitious".
Of course, this is only because of Han Sanpin. If it were an ordinary film and television company boss, Lu Jiang wouldn't bother saying these things. Even if he did, people probably wouldn't believe him or wouldn't want to believe him.

This is probably the kind of pretentious act that all time travelers in the entertainment industry would put on when they encounter the bandit leader Zuo Shandiao.

There's no way around it. Unless you travel to an earlier time and follow the system, and your position surpasses his, Zuo Shandiao will always be an insurmountable obstacle in your future film career.

Lu Jiang's goal was simple: you're a big shot, and I'll be a big shot too. Let's support each other and do something that benefits everyone, giving a boost to domestic films and television.

After a brief conversation, Han Sanpin's gaze toward Lu Jiang had changed.

Before coming to Dawn Company, he only thought that he was going to meet a star, a musical prodigy, a potential director, or a business owner.

Now, he's starting to think that Lu Jiang might create endless possibilities in the field of domestic film and television dramas.

What the future holds is unknown.

But it's definitely the right thing to pay more attention to this child now.

After the first wave of overseas transactions is completed, the next step is the mainland transactions.

Similar to "Full House," four television stations took a 15% share and signed a pre-purchase agreement.

CCTV remains the preferred broadcasting platform in mainland China.

Earlier, CCTV had also extended an olive branch.

However, since it involves co-production between Macau and the mainland, Lu Jiang's primary goal is to broadcast it as soon as possible, so CCTV naturally cannot be as flexible as satellite TV stations.

Of course, besides that reason, the script is the biggest problem.

CCTV is currently taking a conservative approach to dramas set in fictional histories, simply because there is no precedent for it.

So Lu Jiang thought it would be better to make a sequel.

The next drama will most likely be "The Story of a Noble Family". We have already contacted that team and things are progressing well. In the future, we may not be able to handle the project on our own, but it is definitely possible for us to send actors and become one of the main producers.

We'll have to wait until the script is completely finished before we can discuss the specifics.

Over the next half day, four mainland TV stations were confirmed for the premiere of "The World's Number One". In addition to Beijing TV and Anhui TV remaining unchanged, Guangdong TV and Sichuan TV were newly added.

This time, Lu Jiang intentionally shifted the broadcast area to the south, because the original series achieved the best results in the south.

The four companies jointly purchased the property, starting at 120 million, with the exact amount to be determined at the screening event.

The remaining 20% ​​belongs to China Film Group, Fan Xiaotian's BJ Jin Yingma, Zhou Yi, and Taiwan's Wu Da Lao.

China Film Group took 10%, and the rest was divided among the various companies.

Dawn will retain 50%.

50% of a 5000 million investment sounds like a lot, but in reality, it's estimated that less than 1000 million will actually be needed.

Because F4 plus Fan Binbin's film salary alone is 800 million.

There are still advertising and business opportunities to be negotiated.

Although the investment promotion for period dramas is not as fierce as that for urban dramas.

However, there are still many categories that can be explored for product integration. For example, wine utensils (traditional Chinese style wine brands), jewelry (jewelry brands), and carriages/weapons (car or knife brands).

There are also scene integrations: shop signs (such as pharmacy sponsorship) and palace plaques (cultural tourism cooperation).

And dialogue placement: characters mentioning ancient sayings related to the brand (such as "This tea is a tribute to XX").

In short, "Meteor Garden" was a worthwhile production, and its popularity continues to this day, making Dawn incredibly wealthy.
With everything settled, the next step is to finalize the casting.

Gym.

Lu Jiang finished his last set of core training.

Sweating profusely, Lu Jiang took off his shirt and stood in front of the mirror. Soon, screams rang out behind him: "Wow, so handsome!"

Fan Binbin and Dong Xuan, who had just finished a promotional event together, appeared at the event. Upon seeing her figure, Fan Binbin became infatuated.

Although most of the words here are exaggerated and acted out, she had seen it many times before.

But Lu Jiang's eight-pack abs are indeed real, and Dong Xuan almost screamed out loud.

The filming of "The Lobster" has been completed for more than half a month, and Lu Jiang has been losing weight and working out since then.

The body enhanced by the Golden Finger showed its effects quickly after training.

In just half a month, Lu Jiang is already close to becoming a "muscle man," and his physical strength has increased even further.

Lu Jiang decided to leave it at that and stay true to himself from now on, otherwise Fan Binbin wouldn't want to have sex with him anymore.
Turning around, Lu Jiang patted his eight-pack abs: "How's that?"

Fan Binbin immediately nudged Dong Xuan, saying, "Go touch it!"

Dong Xuan blushed immediately and quickly shook her head: "No, no, just take a look."

"What a coward!" Fan Binbin complained, but his expression clearly showed satisfaction.

"Next time, let her in alone. How can she touch you when you're here?" Lu Jiang joked.

"Oh yeah, I'll be more careful next time." Fan Binbin smiled and then touched it himself.

Dong Xuan could only turn her head away, thinking to herself that she must have been crazy to hitch a ride with Fan Binbin today, and now she's been fed a bellyful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).

Despite her frustration, she kept her eyes glued to the side mirror.

The mirror perfectly reflected his eight-pack abs and V-line. Wow!
As a result, Lu Jiang also looked in the mirror.

Their eyes met.

Dong Xuan immediately lowered her head, then looked up again, appearing very busy.

Lu Jiang suppressed a laugh but didn't expose him.

But Dong Xuan herself revealed it first.

"Huanhuan, why is your face red?" Fan Binbin turned around and laughed when he saw Dong Xuan's face.

"Oh, really? No, I think I'll go back to the car first."

Dong Xuan fled in panic.

Fan Binbin turned around with a smile: "I told you I was a virgin, but you didn't believe me!"

"What's the use of a letter if it doesn't provide food?"

"Yes, you can eat it. Just ask and I'll bring it to you."

"Okay, okay, how about tonight?"

"Humph!"

Fan Binbin turned and left.

Lu Jiang shook her head. "She won't give me any food, but she keeps tempting me. I really don't know what she's thinking."

After watching the show, the three of them took a car back to the company, where hundreds of artists had gathered.

These are the candidates for Cheng Shifei and Princess Yunluo.

As for Haitang, her audition is tomorrow.

Lu Jiang entered the company through the back door and, without any preamble, began the audition.

Every audition is a treasure trove moment, and Lu Jiang is looking forward to landing a few roles this time.

The auditions began quickly, with Princess Yunluo being the first to audition.

This role won't be particularly outstanding or important; as long as the character is pretty and can portray a lively and quirky personality, that's enough.

Of course, the most important thing is to see if there are any treasure chests.

In the end, only one person out of this group found out that he had a treasure chest.

The owner was quite famous; she was none other than the later Consort Hua: Jiang Xin.

Jiang Xin is still very young and inexperienced; she's probably just starting out as a struggling artist in Beijing. The green treasure box on her head already indicates this: [Jiang Xin has just finished filming "Empress Ma with Big Feet" and started her journey in Beijing; she hopes everything will go smoothly.]

Let's save it for the next round and see how it goes against Shu Chang.

Shu Chang has already finished filming Consort Dong'e and will arrive tomorrow. Although she is still very young, she is said to not look that young and has very good acting skills.

Let’s see then.

Next came the audition.

After two days of auditions, Princess Yunluo finally chose Shu Chang.

Just as rumored, this young girl is only 14 years old, but she doesn't look that young and has acting skills that don't match her age.

No wonder she's called the Child Granny of Tianshan!
After confirming her identity, Lu Jiang received a white treasure chest: [Want to try out a new character]

White.

Desires are quite low.

No wonder he later chose to study.

As for Jiang Xin and Lu Jiang, they were also given opportunities.

Although her role was minor, all she wanted was for things to go "smoothly," so gaining Lu Jiang's appreciation was already quite an achievement, and Lu Jiang thus successfully obtained her green treasure chest.

Should we sign these two?

After the candidate was confirmed, Fan Binbin asked the question immediately.

"You can give Shu Chang a try. This girl has great potential, and I think highly of her. However, you may not be able to sign her."

"Let me ask first, what about Jiang Xin?"

"You decide for yourself. I don't have any plans to give her the main character resources for the time being."

"I see."

Fan Binbin understood immediately and went about his business.

Next comes the issue of right and wrong.

The role ultimately went to Zhang Jin.

He is a martial arts athlete of the elite level and also a martial arts instructor.

His acting skills are also quite good; he was very lively when he played the role of "Tong Xin".

The most crucial thing is to get across Lujiang.

Therefore, one can be a cow or a horse.

Of course, Lu Jiang didn't think of him at first. Originally, Lu Jiang preferred Huang Haibo, who later played the quirky Pigsy.

There aren't many young actors in mainland China who can pull off quirky comedic roles right now.

But Huang Haibo was unavailable.

Zhang Jin was handpicked by Lu Jiang when he visited Lu Jiang's home with gifts during the audition.

The kid still feels very guilty about injuring Lu Jiang.

So he arrived with a purple treasure chest on his head: [Zhang Jin wants to change his image in the host's eyes]

What impression?
With treasure chests, martial arts skills, and acting talent, what else could it be but a beast of burden?

Lu Jiang, of course, gave him a chance to atone for his sins.

The matter is settled.

The audition for Haitang began the following day.

For the role of Haitang, we need an actress who is outstanding in male attire.

At the same time, she should also be very feminine when dressed as a woman.

Michelle Ye acted very well in the original version.

She perfectly blended the bold and decisive spirit of Haitang with the dashing charm of a woman disguised as a man.

The martial arts movements, demeanor, and steps were completely devoid of any effeminate mannerisms, leading many viewers to initially mistakenly believe that the actor was a male in drag.

The later romantic scenes developed very naturally, something TVB artists are particularly good at.

But precisely because of their excellent acting, it's hard to find a replacement; there are indeed very few truly captivating performances.

Lu Jiang actually thinks Li Binbin looks pretty good in men's clothing.

Her portrayal of Meng Lijun was excellent; she was full of heroic spirit and completely devoid of any effeminate mannerisms.

Unfortunately, the person belongs to Huayi Brothers, and the two sides will not cooperate at present.

In addition, Huang Yi's male attire is also quite good.

Her drama "The New Female Imperial Envoy" has just finished filming, and the casting team sent her stills. She does look quite dashing.

However, the other party's schedule was unavailable.

I searched and searched, but couldn't find a suitable one, nor any treasure chests.

Even if there's a treasure chest, Lu Jiang would accept it no matter who it is.

Finally, having no other choice, they were about to just pick anyone when Han Sanpin came to the company again.

After understanding the situation, he made a phone call on the spot.

Half an hour later, Michelle Ye confirmed her participation.

What else could Lu Jiang say but "666"?

Finally, there are some minor, peripheral roles.

Wan Sanqian chose Feng Lei, who played Zhao Ruilong in "In the Name of the People".

This person initially played upright characters, but couldn't change his image after playing Zhao Ruilong.

He looks quite noble, so playing a lovestruck tycoon wouldn't be a problem.

The remaining roles were filled by auditioning actors and veteran actors found by the casting team.

Cheap and easy to use.

The roles have been finalized.

On September 27, 2001, Yi opened for business and filming began for "The World's Number One".

(End of this chapter)