Unboxing, Director!

Chapter 147 Open, open, open! Another phenomenal work is coming!
Currently, Lu Jiang has 15 treasure chests in his possession, including two gold chests, one white chest, three green chests, five blue chests, and six purple chests!
This is the harvest from the past six months.

In addition to the treasure chest, there are four other works.

Green is "The Rogue", blue is "Red Dust Inn", purple is "Blue and White Porcelain" and a purple movie "Happy Death Day".

Inventory complete, time to unpack.

As usual, let's start with the blue works.

The first box Lu Jiang opened since his time travel was blue, and it brought him "Fairy Tale," which launched his path to superstardom.

So, besides blue becoming Lu Jiang's lucky color, prioritizing blue treasure chests gradually became a habit.

Then Lu Jiang looked at the first blue treasure chest.

A treasure chest from Zhou Jianhui, wishing "you" could make it onto the charts.

"I hope you can continue the tradition and have a great start!"

Lu Jiang had a sudden thought and opened it directly.

After a flash of sacred blue light, the music video for "Free Loop" began.

"Free Loop" is a classic song by Canadian singer Daniel Powter, included in his 2005 album "Daniel Powter".

This song became a hit after being used in an Apple iPod Nano commercial, and subsequently swept the globe, especially becoming very popular in Asia.

Let's look at the results.

The song peaked at number 23 on the North American Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 20 weeks.

It has entered the top 20 in several countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Japan.

It is especially popular in Asian markets such as China and South Korea, and has long occupied the top spots on music platform charts.

Excellent financial prospects!
After reviewing the basic information, let's watch the music video.

As soon as the prelude began, Lu Jiang's eyes lit up.

So that's the song!

Like "You," the melody resonates with Asian aesthetics, which explains its popularity in Asia.

Next, let's watch the music video, which is the most classic version. It tells the story of the male protagonist and a piano, and it was widely circulated on Renren.com back then.

Lu Jiang nodded in agreement.

In terms of performance, it's a bit behind "you".

But Lu Jiang was already very satisfied.

So what if I didn't get a Grammy nomination?

Any song that can chart and become popular is a great start!

After firing the first shot, Lu Jiang then looked at the second blue treasure chest.

From Zhang Jingchu's "Participation in Lu Jiang's Film Debut" Blue Treasure Chest.

Open it directly.

After a flash of blue light, a 5-minute version of "Killer" by JJ Lin appeared before our eyes.

Holy crap, this is an amazing song!

However, the music video is a censored version.

never mind.

Even if Lu Jiang were given the original 21-minute version, he wouldn't film it.

Lu Jiang was in a very good mood after receiving the song and achieving a double success.

Let's continue.

Next up are Qiao Zhenyu's "Breaking Limits" and Wu Zongxian's "Protecting and Carrying" blue treasure chests.

Unfortunately, both blue treasure chests yielded two useless results.

Qiao Zhenyu played Man Jiang's 04 MV "Thank You for Being in the Sea of ​​People".

Wu Zongxian offered the 13 TV series "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties", the version in which Fu Dalong played Yang Guang.

The former was of poor quality, so Lu Jiang naturally wouldn't sing it.

The latter is actually of pretty good quality overall, and its viewership ratings are quite high, otherwise it wouldn't be a blue-quality show.

But for Lu Jiang, it was a double-edged sword.

Not only is it troublesome to film it, but there's also no benefit to it.

Moreover, the classic version of "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" is said to start filming in the second half of this year, so there is even less need to film it.

So let's use these two as padding for future crafting.

After receiving two "garbage" results in a row, Lu Jiang felt he needed to play it safe.

Leave the blue treasure chest unopened for now, and turn your attention to the lower-level treasure chests.

One white and three green, four treasure chests. First, let's look at the white treasure chest.

After a flash of white light, Jay Chou's concert version of "Listen to Mom" ​​appeared before my eyes.

What a great song!
But it's not perfect.

It's absorbing Jay Chou's good fortune.

Jay Chou will be under my command in the future.

Commercial value directly -1
Touching his nose, Lu Jiang looked at the next box.

Zhang Xinyi's "Gaining Recognition" treasure chest contained Qu Wanting's "You Exist in My Song".

Upon seeing this song, Lu Jiang immediately perked up.

You suck other people's blood, I'll cut off your luck, it's fair!

After accepting the song, Lu Jiang looked at the remaining boxes.

Currently, there are two green, one blue, and six purple.

Lu Jiang plans to keep at least two purple treasure chests to make a total of four gold treasure chests.

With ample gold reserves, one need not fear great storms.

As for the remaining two, we'll see how things go before opening them.

With the plan set, Lu Jiang continued unpacking.

Unfortunately, it seems that my luck ran out, as the next two green and one blue draws were all "garbage".

Jiang Xin's "Become a Lucky One" green treasure chest yielded the 14 TV series "Arrow on the String".

Jiang Xin also stars in this drama, playing a female anti-Japanese heroine who wields a bow and arrow.

But the most famous scene is the one contributed by her partner, Pan Zhilin.

Pan Zhilin plays Xu Erhang, who is surrounded by Japanese soldiers and repeatedly raped. In his humiliation, Xu Erhang suddenly lashes out and uses a bow and arrow to brutally kill the Japanese soldiers.
It looks better than a steamed bun grenade.

At least Pan Zhilin is good-looking.

The green treasure chest from Zhou Jianhui, which expressed his hope that Lu Jiang would surpass his predecessors, also yielded a TV series: Baby's "General and I" in 2019.

In terms of production standards, this drama is a game-changer compared to TV dramas from 02.

But they've overused technology, even daring to use forbidden techniques like "image cutout," truly deserving of the label "garbage"!
After two TV series, the last one, the blue treasure chest from Baoqiang that led to "entering Lujiang Company," turned out to be a disappointing but satisfying mess: the Alec Su version of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber."

We're too late!
If it had been found during the last unboxing, Lu Jiang wouldn't have had to share the project profits with others now.

But the current situation is not too bad.

The two theme songs and music for "Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre" are quite good, which can save Lu Jiang a lot of time writing theme songs.

At this point, all treasure chests below the purple grade have been opened.

Overall, the results can only be described as mediocre.

The three Chinese songs, plus the three songs in the backlog, are not enough to make up an album.

There is only one English song.

It was enough, but Lu Jiang felt that today was an auspicious day, and the results shouldn't be so meager.

After thinking about it, Lu Jiang decided to combine the trash he had collected into one batch.

If we can't come up with anything good, that's it for today.

Without hesitation, I started with blue.

Lu Jiang first presented the newly released blue song "Thank You for Being in the Sea of ​​People" and combined it with the blue song "Red Dust Inn".

As mentioned before, "Red Dust Inn" was a collaboration with Tian Zhen, so the work did not need to be kept. The same applies to the other works. After copying them down, those that could be discarded could be used as mats.

So if he creates another piece of junk this time, Lu Jiang will also use the purple "Happy Death Day".

Anyway, it's about to expire, and I don't have time to film it. I've already written down the script and storyboards, so I don't feel bad at all.

However, "Happy Death Day" was fortunate enough to escape disaster for the time being.

A flash of purple light followed.

The music video "Shape of You" is playing!

Sure enough, combining songs resulted in an even more sophisticated song!
"Shape of You" is a phenomenal single released by British singer Ed Sheeran in 2017. As one of the title tracks from his third album "÷", it broke numerous global records and became one of the most influential pop songs of the 21st century.

After listening to the song, Lu Jiang suddenly realized: So it was this dirty little song!

Let's look at the results.

It's absolutely blinding!

Playback and sales:
As of 2023, global sales exceeded 3000 million (including streaming conversions).

The first song on Spotify to surpass 30 billion streams (as of 2023), and ranked among the top three most streamed songs on the platform in history.

Ed Sheeran's official YouTube music video has surpassed 60 billion views (2023 data), marking his personal best.

Ranking performance:

It topped the Billboard charts for 12 consecutive weeks and ranked #1 on the overall annual chart.

It remained on the list for 77 weeks.

It topped the UK Singles Chart for 14 weeks and was the number one single of 2017.

It topped the rankings in the remaining 65 countries, including Germany, France, and Australia.

Certifications and Awards:
In 2018, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Solo Performance" for the song and won the award. However, the song that won the award was actually taken by Ed Sheeran's own song "Thinking Out Loud" (at that time, the rules allowed singers to have multiple songs competing for the same award at the same time).

So if it's inherited, will I directly receive the award?

Whether it is or not, at least this is another hit song that wins both the Grammys and the charts!

Overjoyed, Lu Jiang was filled with relief.

In other words, the "golden finger" (referring to a specific technology or method) only considers the quality of the music video in its song quality rating system.

Otherwise, based on the Grammy nomination alone, this work would definitely be awarded gold!

Not bad, not bad. I knew blue was my lucky color!

In high spirits, Lu Jiang continued synthesizing.

This time, two green trash TV series were directly combined to create a new blue "trash" series. It's still a work by Angelababy, from the 2015 TV series "Love Yunge from the Desert".

Are we so destined to meet?

Lu Jiang continued the compositing, this time combining the blue "Song in the Clouds" and the last "cushion," the blue TV series "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties."

A flash of purple light followed.

The 2004 film "A World Without Thieves" appears before my eyes!

It's not a purple-themed TV series, it's a movie!

Lu Jiang no longer cared about the magical golden finger rules.

He looked at the artwork on his own.

The movie "A World Without Thieves" needs no further explanation.

It can be said to be the most suitable Chinese-language film for this era.

Should we take a picture?
Absolutely!
Besides making money, it can also put pressure on Huayi Brothers.

Lu Jiang and Huayi Brothers are not on good terms now, and it's unlikely they'll become friends in the future.

Since they are potential enemies, there's no need to overthink it when taking action.

Of course, most importantly, after signing Baoqiang, he was already thinking about how to get him to play his signature role, "Shagen".

Now that's great, with this film, Baoqiang's future in the entertainment industry is practically guaranteed!

However, to actually acquire the rights to this film, the copyright issues still need to be resolved.

Lu Jiang didn't know when Feng Dapao bought the novel's copyright.

But he knew that as long as he upgraded the artwork to gold, he could solve the copyright issue.

Without hesitation, Lu Jiang sacrificed the purple "Happy Death Anniversary" to preserve "A World Without Thieves," turning it into a gold-quality item.

Gold-quality items have copyright benefits, but if they are not placed in the box, their achievements cannot be inherited.

Lu Jiang felt that the box was completely unnecessary.

Filmed this year, directed and starring myself, and released next year, a year earlier than the original timeline. At that time, without "Kung Fu Hustle" to compete with, the box office might even be better than the original timeline.

The unpacking is now complete.

I received a total of three Chinese songs this time.

With "Listen to Mom," "In My Song," and "Killer," plus three more in reserve, the new album is ready.

Lu Jiang felt that they could keep "Blue and White Porcelain" and release it later, taking a long-term approach.

Two English songs.

Both "Free Loop" and "Shape of You" are high-quality and commercially successful; even without the Grammys, their sales wouldn't be much worse.

If we're going to be bold, we could just put Chinese and English together and make it mandatory. Hmm, we can discuss the specifics with Zhou Jianhui and see if there are any regulations in the US that restrict this.

Add another movie, "A World Without Thieves".

Perfect timing! After winning an award for "The Lobster" in May, I can seamlessly transition into my film directing career.

perfect!

Of course, it would be even better if there were an even better TV series.

This way, both Chinese and Western cultures can flourish, and film, television, and music can develop in an all-round way.

Lu Jiang couldn't help but look at the remaining six purple treasure chests.

After thinking about it, I decided not to open the purple one.

Aim higher.

Synthesize the gold one directly before opening!

If what you get is "useless", then use it to farm skills.

In short, the golden chest will always have its uses.

Without hesitation, Lu Jiang directly selected four purple treasure chests and combined them into two gold chests.

Keep the remaining two purple treasure chests; they can be used as backup materials when you need to synthesize gold items in the future.

Now I have four golden treasure chests!
The landlord's surplus grain suddenly doubled.

Then you can just open one without feeling guilty.

Take a deep breath.

Lu Jiang followed his thoughts, and then golden light shone forth.

After the brilliance faded, "Dae Jang Geum" appeared before our eyes.

"Dae Jang Geum," a historical drama from South Korea that became a global phenomenon in 2003, not only achieved phenomenal ratings in South Korea but also became a key driver of the global expansion of Korean culture.

Look at the results again:

It has been introduced to 91 countries and regions, including China, Japan, Iran, and the United States.

China's performance:

It premiered on Hunan TV in 2005, achieving the second-highest viewership rating in the country that year, and was rebroadcast more than 20 times.

In 2005, TVB's highest viewership rating was 51%, ranking first for the entire year.

The Iranian Miracle:

When it aired in 2007, it had a viewership rating of 85%, and the government adjusted the curfew hours because people stayed up late to watch the show.

Awards:

It was nominated for "Best International Drama" at the 2005 Emmy Awards.

Cultural and social impacts:
The first Korean drama to be broadcast in prime time on major European and American television stations (the United States, France, and Italy) marked a milestone in the globalization of the Korean Wave.

The global "South Korean cuisine craze" has led to a 300% increase in searches for kimchi and ginseng chicken soup (Google data from 2004), driving the export of South Korean food culture.

The filming location, the Dae Jang Geum theme park on Jeju Island, attracts over one million visitors annually, indirectly boosting South Korea's tourism revenue by 12% in 2004.

The protagonist, Seo Jang-geum, has become synonymous with "growing up against adversity" and has been cited as an educational case by women's groups in many countries, becoming a global inspirational symbol for women.

The theme song, "Call," topped the charts in many countries.

The cumulative revenue from derivative IPs such as games, comics, and novels exceeds US$1 million.

Its influence will continue to be hailed by The New York Times as a "textbook example of Asian soft power" for the next 20 years.
Impact in China:

After the TV series became a hit in 2005, the number of Korean restaurants in China surged from less than 2000 to 1.2 in 2006, with bibimbap, kimchi, and ginseng chicken soup becoming standard fare for urban white-collar workers.

The "Dae Jang Geum Theme Restaurant" in Beijing still requires reservations and costs NT$300 per person. South Korea takes advantage of this to increase its kimchi exports to my country by 470%.

Between 2005 and 2010, the proportion of women applying to medical schools in Taiwan increased by 15%, with some respondents citing the influence of the TV drama "Dae Jang Geum" as a factor.
The "medicine and food from the same source" plot in the drama was serialized and interpreted by Health Times. Traditional Chinese medicine hospitals added "Korean-style medicinal cuisine" courses, and the sales of goji berries and astragalus doubled year-on-year.

Meanwhile, some scholars questioned whether South Korea was packaging traditional Chinese medicine as Korean medicine for export, sparking an online debate on "Traditional Chinese Medicine vs. Korean Medicine," which ultimately prompted China to accelerate the international standardization of traditional Chinese medicine.

On the industry and policy front, due to the monopoly of viewership by "Dae Jang Geum," the State Administration of Radio and Television issued a "ban on foreign dramas during prime time" in 2006, which indirectly led to the rise of many high-quality domestic dramas.

Therefore, "Dae Jang Geum" is like a mirror, reflecting both the domestic audience's desire for professionalism and female growth narratives, and exposing the shortcomings of domestic dramas in terms of industrialization and cultural confidence.

Its true legacy is that it stimulated the domestic cultural and entertainment industry to go from imitating the Korean wave to creating new classics such as "The Longest Day in Chang'an," which combine Eastern aesthetics with modern narratives.
"!!!"

Lu Jiang's eyebrows were crooked.

I learned from Han Sanpin that the Korean wave was about to officially enter the domestic market.

Lu Jiang was even wondering if this "Golden Finger" project would be adapted into a Korean drama.

In the end, they actually gave it to them.

And the first thing they dealt was such a trump card!

He is very familiar with "Dae Jang Geum".

When it was introduced to China, it was almost as popular as "Princess Pearl," drawing huge crowds.

Its influence remains fresh in Lu Jiang's memory to this day.

However, it wasn't because the plot was engaging.

Instead, after the song "Hu Da La" became a huge hit, two things happened: first, the song was too catchy; and second, there was controversy surrounding "Korean medicine."

Regarding the latter, in fact, during the years when the show was airing, ordinary people in China did not have much of a feeling of being "stolen".

Because people don't pay much attention to South Korea, many people feel that South Korea was a vassal state in the past, so it's no big deal that it knows Chinese medicine and Chinese food.

Many people even feel proud that South Korean dramas use Chinese culture!
But many years later, as South Korea's cultural theft became increasingly blatant, people belatedly realized that the Koreans had been doing this for a long time!

But by this time the influence had spread far and wide, and many foreigners had long regarded concepts such as acupuncture and dietary therapy as originating from South Korea. Even after the internet became so developed, many foreigners still thought so.

So, should we take a picture?
They didn't even think twice about it.

Lu Jiang made the decision directly.

This show absolutely has to be made!
Han Sanpin said that the TV station has imported five Korean dramas this year, and they will be broadcast during prime time.

In addition, at least 20 Korean dramas will be imported in DVD format!
And there will be even more next year.

In contrast, South Korea...

South Korea has only officially imported four Chinese dramas through television this year, and most of them are in off-peak time slots. No more than eight of them are available on DVD!
The reason why "The World's Number One" will be broadcast during prime time in South Korea is not entirely due to the fame of Lu Jiang and others, but because South Korea already has a good base of Chinese martial arts fans. However, martial arts fans are not the most mainstream, so broadcasting it during prime time will not have too much of an impact!
This also shows that while the Korean wave can sweep across mainland China, domestic dramas cannot make a comeback. This is not only due to the inherent lack of quality in domestic dramas, but also because of the significant influence of policies.

To put it bluntly, they just want to export their culture; why would they let you retaliate?

At this point, it would be fine if the golden finger hadn't been given to Lu Jiang for "Dae Jang Geum," but since it was, it would be better to make it a complete mess than to watch the Korean wave grow bigger!

Of course, Lu Jiang didn't think he would produce a terrible film.

Although the difficulty of recreating this drama is indeed extremely high.

For example, it would be difficult to find a replacement for the lead actress, Lee Young-ae.

Lee Young-ae's appearance perfectly matches the protagonist's "elegant yet powerful" character design; she's simply a match made in heaven.

Among mainland Chinese actresses, any one of them would probably be less impressive.

However, Lu Jiang felt that being the lead actor was important, but not the most important thing, or rather, he could make up for it in other ways.

Putting aside preconceived notions, objectively speaking, the overall quality of the original "Dae Jang Geum" wasn't actually that much better.

In the domestic historical dramas after 2015, as long as they are high-quality, such as "The Longest Day in Chang'an" and "The Story of Ming Lan", which of them has better Eastern aesthetics than "Dae Jang Geum"?
There's also Chinese cuisine, traditional Chinese medicine, architecture, calligraphy, and so on. If you really wanted to film them, wouldn't each of them be more profound than South Korea's?
In short, it all boils down to one sentence.

China has always been the ancestor of South Korea.

If you put your heart into it, you can surpass South Korea by several dimensions!

With these brilliant cultures as a foundation.

Furthermore, it incorporates the script framework of "Dae Jang Geum" and its core theme of female growth.

Lu Jiang doesn't think it will really lose to the original "Dae Jang Geum"!
At that time, it will use five thousand years of cultural elements to tell the most modern coming-of-age story, and then sweep the world.

Thinking about it this way, Lu Jiang suddenly felt his blood boil.
(End of this chapter)