This director lacks vision.

Chapter 185 Cooperation with CCTV

Despite the phenomenal success of "Back to 20" in the film market, Jiang Yifeng did not engage in extensive promotional activities.

The subsequent promotional tasks were all handed over to Shu Chang and her team.

On January 10th, Jiang Yifeng returned to the Pacific Rim film crew to continue filming.

Jiang Yifeng went to promote "Back to 20" before filming of "Pacific Rim" was suspended for two weeks.

However, the impact is not significant. The special effects team can take advantage of these two weeks to select a small segment of footage and create the complete image.

First, look at the final product. Work backward from the result to identify areas for improvement during the shooting process.

That's how special effects shooting techniques work; it requires gradual exploration and accumulation.

After the film crew resumed production, Jiang Yifeng clearly felt that the attitudes of the lead actors had changed significantly.

If Jiang Yifeng's previous film, "Lost in Thailand," was a box office hit, it might just be luck.

His second film, "Oldboy: Back to 20," is another box office smash, even setting a new record.

Then it's definitely not a matter of luck.

This is real ability.

Online, many people have already dubbed Jiang Yifeng "China's No. 1 Commercial Film Director".

In the past two days, Jiang Yifeng's and his assistant's phones have been buzzing with activity.

Business owners from all walks of life are calling, wanting to invite me to dinner to discuss film projects.

Not to mention these actors.

"Director Jiang, I didn't expect you to start work so early." Fan Bingbing said with a smile, "If a movie I starred in grossed 3 million in a week, I'd run around promoting it every day, even if it broke my legs!"

Fan Bingbing's words were both a way of praising Jiang Yifeng and an attempt to gain access to resources.

The implication is that she also wants to act in Jiang Yifeng's movies.

Jiang Yifeng said, "The new Shaolin Temple, which you starred in, is about to be released. Aren't you going to promote it? There aren't any scenes for you in the film these days."

The movie "Shaolin" will be released on January 19th. Fan Bingbing is the female lead, and Wu Jing is also one of the main actors.

Therefore, when Pacific Rim resumed filming, Jiang Yifeng did not arrange any scenes for them.

Hearing Jiang Yifeng's words, Fan Bingbing laughed and said, "What's there to promote? Returning to 20 is so powerful that even the Hollywood blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia was overshadowed."

When our movie is released, it certainly won't be as good as "Back to 20".

So I turned down the promotional offers there and came to the Pacific Rim film crew to learn from Director Jiang.

Fan Bingbing's statement is somewhat exaggerated; it's impossible for her to turn down movie promotions.

However, it also demonstrates a low-key attitude of learning from others.

She really wanted to act in Jiang Yifeng's movie.

After all, there are significant differences between the female leads.

Jiang Yifeng often stars in dramas with strong female leads. Whether it's Dark Glory or Back to 20, the female lead is always the absolute protagonist of the entire show.

Including the current Pacific Rim, Sito is the absolute protagonist, while the male protagonist Qin Feng is just a warm-hearted tool.

These kinds of TV dramas are truly designed to promote female stars.

After the hit drama "Dark Glory", Gao Yuanyuan's popularity soared, and she gained a certain degree of fame in East Asia and Southeast Asia.

With the release of "Back to 20," Shu Chang's career took off.

Liu Yifei jokingly called Shu Chang a big star during a live stream, and this wasn't just a baseless rumor; it's actually true.

In the movie "Back to 20", Shu Chang is not only the absolute protagonist with the most screen time, but also has a lot of room for performance.

She portrayed the character Su Yanfang so well that she naturally stole the spotlight, achieving the effect of the play making her famous.

Not only has she become incredibly popular, but her acting skills have also received high praise.

The most tangible thing is that the endorsement fee has increased several times over.

In contrast, both "The Orphan of Zhao" and "Shaolin Temple" are male-dominated films, and although Fan Bingbing is the female lead, she doesn't have any standout performances.

After watching the movie, viewers couldn't even remember what Fan Bingbing looked like; they forgot about her not long afterward.

This is the cruel reality.

Jiang Yifeng smiled and said, "My next drama is also a web series. Do you want to act in it?"

Fan Bingbing immediately became alert.

"Is this the 'Hunting' you were talking about last night? Isn't Liu Yifei the female lead in that drama? Director Jiang, you're not going to make me play the second female lead again, are you?"

It's impossible for Fan Bingbing to play the second female lead for Liu Yifei.

She was assigned to be Jing Tian's supporting character because, on the one hand, Jing Tian had a powerful background, so it wasn't shameful for him to lose to someone from the Heavenly Dragon Clan;
On the other hand, Jing Tian doesn't have much fame or status yet, so she can't compete with Fan Bingbing.

Fan Bingbing's role as Jing Tian's supporting character is like mentoring a newcomer.

This is similar to Liu Yifei singing and acting as a supporting actress for Shu.

However, when two people of similar status are in the same production, they inevitably have to compete for top billing.

For example, in the 09 film "The Message," Zhou Xun and Li Binbin had quite a few arguments.

Even more classic is the upcoming Painted Skin 2, which will be filmed this year, featuring the battle for top billing between Zhao Yanzi and Zhou Xun. That's the pinnacle of drama among top actresses.

Jiang Yifeng is even considering whether, if he were to produce a second season of Sisters Who Make Waves this year, he should spend a lot of money to invite the "Four Dan Actresses" and "Two Bing Actresses" to come and let them have a good showdown.

Jiang Yifeng looked at Fan Bingbing and said, "Since you are sincerely seeking knowledge from me, I am also a person of my word."

I have a dinner engagement tonight, why don't you come with me?

Fan Bingbing didn't ask any further questions, but deliberately said, "I can only drink half a jin of liquor at most. After that, I'll be completely at Director Jiang's mercy."

Before Jiang Yifeng could speak, Jing Tian walked over and snorted.

Fan Bingbing raised an eyebrow at Jiang Yifeng, then smiled and left.

Jing Tian had already noticed the affair between Jiang Yifeng and Fan Bingbing.

But despite her arrogant and domineering demeanor, she's actually an ostrich with an ostrich-like personality.

Simply put, it's about avoiding trouble by deliberately ignoring it.

"What dinner party are you having tonight? You were with Liu Yifei last night, aren't you going to spend time with me tonight?"

Faced with Jing Tian's questioning, Jiang Yifeng said, "The Rim of the Pacific is such a large investment that relying solely on online platforms may not be enough to recoup the costs."

That evening, I met with Lu Zheng and He Haimin to discuss the collaboration between Pacific Rim and Yangshi.

If Pacific Rim can be broadcast on CCTV, it will be a great help to you. If the follow-up is handled well, it can even help you win two awards.

Hey!
I go out for social engagements, isn't it all for you?
Who wouldn't want to relax at home with a beautiful woman in their arms?

Jing Tian: "..."

Although Jiang Yifeng's words were shameless, they also made some sense.

Jing Tian had no choice but to say, "I don't care. If tonight isn't okay, then tomorrow night is mine."

"Tomorrow night won't work; I have a social engagement tomorrow night too."

Jing Tian glared at Jiang Yifeng and said, "Then after we finish filming, we'll play games in the dressing room."

You haven't even tried my lab coat yet!
Let Fan Bingbing change her clothes outside. This time, I'm going to be the leading lady!

It has to be said that Jing Tian knew everything; she just deliberately didn't expose him before, cooperating with Jiang Yifeng in playing a ridiculous game.

“Okay, I’ll talk to Fan Bingbing and ask her to act more convincingly.” “We can give it a try.” Jing Tian leaned closer and asked curiously, “Is this game really that exciting?”

"You'll find out tonight, but you have to get into character, understand?"

"Getting into character is easy! Don't you know how good my acting is?"

Jiang Yifeng: "..."

In order to improve Jing Tian's acting skills, Jiang Yifeng had to help her get into character after a busy filming schedule, letting her experience the feeling of sneaking around.

Fan Bingbing was very cooperative, not only acting convincingly but also occasionally walking close to the character.

Jing Tian was really into character; her whole body was tense.

Jiang Yifeng was having so much fun that he didn't arrive at Lu Zheng's private club until 8 p.m., half an hour late.

"Sorry, the crew just resumed work today and we were quite busy, so we finished very late and I'm late." Jiang Yifeng casually made up an excuse, saying, "I'll punish myself with three drinks!"

Both He Haimin and Lu Zheng had a girl by their side.

Jiang Yifeng brought Fan Bingbing, so there's no need for that.

Fan Bingbing knew how to conduct herself; after simply introducing herself, she discreetly poured wine for Jiang Yifeng.

She played the role of a good female companion, without immediately trying to drink on behalf of others or showing off in a tactless manner.

He Haimin said with a smile, "Don't drink so much right away. We know your alcohol tolerance. We're here to talk about serious business."

Lu Zheng also said, "We wouldn't dare to offend you at the dinner table; we really can't outdrink you."

The turtle soup here is exceptional; save some for a nourishing meal so you can have a good time tonight.

At this point, He Haimin and Lu Zheng exchanged a glance and both laughed.

Jiang Yifeng raised his glass and said, "Then I'll drink to that and congratulate Director He on his promotion!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng also raised his glass.

We all drank together.

He Haimin was beaming; he had just been transferred from the Public Service Advertising Department to the Television Production Center as deputy director this year.

Despite being a deputy position, the director of the production center is currently vacant.

As long as He Haimin doesn't make any major mistakes while acting as the acting head of the department, there shouldn't be any major problems with him becoming a permanent employee.

This is a crucial step.

The Television Production Center is a very important department of YTV. The director of the center has a lot of power and often also serves as the deputy director of the station.

After finishing his drink, He Haimin sighed, "Now the higher-ups are pushing forward with the separation of production and manufacturing reforms. The production center will also be transformed into a corporate entity. In the future, we will not only be assessed on strategic indicators, but also on profitability indicators."

Strategic indicators assess social and cultural influence, not profit.

These used to be the main performance indicators for the television production center.

Now that we've added profitability metrics, we need to consider the issue of making money.

The reform of the production center began in 2010 and was fully implemented in 2011.

From then on, the quality of dramas produced by Yangshi Television Production Center began to decline significantly.

There is nothing we can do about this.

Whether it's a person or an organization, the worst thing is to have it all.

Strategic metrics and profitability metrics are often incompatible.

He Haimin continued, "I've just taken office and am under a lot of pressure to meet the targets, so the first thing I thought of was Director Jiang, and I came to ask you for help."

Tonight's dinner party was proposed by He Haimin and organized by Lu Zheng.

Jiang Yifeng nodded and said, "We're all friends, so we'll definitely help Director He with his favor."

Pacific Rim could be sold to Yangshi Broadcasting at a discounted price, or the production center could become a co-producer.

However, there may be some difficulties in the review process.

The main issue is that this drama contains scenes of the Great Tokyo Earthquake and nuclear explosions.

He Haimin had read the script for Pacific Rim with Lu Zheng and was already prepared.

He said, "Leave this to me."

We won't apply for Pacific Rim to be classified as a science fiction series; instead, we'll classify it as a mythological series.

It's quite normal for mythological dramas to feature mythical beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas attacking Fusang and the Ryukyu Islands.

This isn't a big problem.

For He Haimin, the Rim of the Pacific is a great project.

This TV series is very famous and is directed by Jiang Yifeng. If we can buy the rights to broadcast it at a reasonable price, we can make a lot of money from advertisers.

In addition, being a nominal producer at the production center also fulfills strategic objectives—contributing to the establishment of China's film and television special effects industry.

Moreover, subsequent shipments across the Pacific Rim to overseas markets will also generate revenue.

With this project secured, He Haimin won't have any pressure to meet his targets for this year. His arrival at the production center can be considered a great start.

Therefore, He Haimin was willing to put in the effort to help the Pacific Rim review process.

For Jiang Yifeng, he needs to expand his influence. The broadcast of Pacific Rim on CCTV is beneficial, both in terms of system rewards and the subsequent influence of the IP.

There's no way around it with Dark Glory; the main storyline of this drama is revenge, and it wouldn't pass censorship in China.

Jiang Yifeng didn't waste any energy.

Just as he didn't waste his energy getting Dark Glory broadcast on Korean television.

Don't try to do something you can't do.

Jiang Yifeng looked at Fan Bingbing and said with a smile, "Besides Pacific Rim, I have another project that I can collaborate with the production center on."

He Haimin immediately asked, "What project?"

Jiang Yifeng asked, "The drama 'Palace' that's been airing on Hunan TV recently is very popular. Director He, have you watched it?"

He Haimin said, "I've heard of it, but I haven't seen it."

Jiang Yifeng said, "This drama tells the story of a modern woman who travels back to the Qing Dynasty and falls in love while engaging in palace intrigue."

The entire series was poorly produced and had a nonsensical plot, but viewers loved watching it.

So I had an idea: since I've already transmigrated, why not be bold and transmigrate directly into the body of the first female emperor, Wu Zetian?

If a modern woman were to become Wu Zetian, could she replicate Wu Zetian's path to becoming empress? What twists and turns would she encounter in the process?
This is much better than wearing a Qing Dynasty costume drama.

Hearing Jiang Yifeng's words, Fan Bingbing was overjoyed.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yifeng prepared a TV series for himself, and it was even a collaboration with Yangshi!
He Haimin asked the most crucial question: "Are you directing this drama?"

Jiang Yifeng shook his head.

"I'm too busy to direct, so I won't be directing."

But I have a lot of confidence in this subject matter.

If the script is well-written and the director follows it, it will definitely be a huge hit.

This project is expected to require an investment of around 4000 million yuan, and our Fengxing Media is willing to contribute 2000 million yuan, taking half of the share.

(End of this chapter)