Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 141 You need not worry.
Early October.

The Spring Festival Gala production team ultimately chose Han Hong's "My Hometown" from "Walking Around the World" and "My Hometown".

This year's focus has been on Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, resulting in a significant decrease in the ethnic flavor compared to previous years. Following Zhang Yan's reminder, the production team also felt they should try to improve in this area.

"Walking Around the World" is clearly inferior to "My Hometown" in terms of national characteristics, so even though the former is more popular, the production team still chose the latter without hesitation.

After choosing his song, Zhang Yan had nothing to do with the Spring Festival Gala production team. He spent two days with Feng Gong and met Chen Peisi, Zhao Benshan, Zhao Lirong, and Zhang Guoli—Zhang Guoli was from Tianjin.

Then they began preparing to shoot a music video.

Zhang Yan originally wanted Guan Hu to continue working for him like a slave, but Guan Hu was busy with the release of "Hair Messed Up" and couldn't get away for the time being.

Moreover, he feels that now that he is a film director, he has little interest in music videos.

Anyway, the MV shooting was indeed relatively simple, so Zhang Yan finally decided to do it himself. He picked a few easy-going people from the shooting teams of "Tianjin Wei" and "Hair Messed Up" and put together a makeshift team.

Zhang Yan was the chief planner and director, Chen Hong was the producer, Wang Jinghua was the production manager, and the newcomer Zhang Yadong also got the job of music supervisor - Zhang Weining was busy collecting songs and was really too busy to be in two places at once.

Zhang Yadong was very proactive. When filming "My Hometown", he even offered his seven-month-old son to play the role of Han Hong when he was a child.

Making a music video is indeed a simple task, since it's only going to be broadcast on a local TV station in a small city, so there's no need to be too meticulous.

Moreover, the market is currently blank, and there are no benchmarks to follow.

So Zhang Yan followed his own ideas and did whatever was simple and cheapest.

For example, in the movie "Sing If You Want" starring Chen Hong, she played a guest role as a music teacher, playing the accordion in the classroom and leading the children in singing.

"My Hometown" moved from Japan to Baishi Mountain.

"Walking Around" was sung all the way from Fangshan to Chang'an Avenue.

"My Deskmate" is even simpler. It's the same group of kids, the same classroom, but they found two of the best-matched deskmates and let the kids improvise, picking out the right shots to capture the moment.

"Persistence" was made entirely by the director and producer themselves. The two of them would stand back to back, hold hands, and occasionally cover their faces with a red cloth to create a silhouette. The sour smell was almost piercing the screen.

Zhang Yan was busy with his work when Feng Xiaogang suddenly came to his door looking dejected, saying that he was about to go to the United States with the crew to film "A Native of Beijing in New York".

The final version adopted by Beijing and Taiwan was the one with a dark side, in which the protagonist did not turn evil, but only slept with the dark-skinned old woman and gained a dark-skinned son.

"Isn't filming abroad a good thing?"

Zhang Yan asked in bewilderment, "Why do you look like you've suffered a setback?"

"Ah~"

Feng Xiaogang plopped down on the stage steps and said with a wry smile, "Didn't I brag to you the other day that I finally became a director? But when the project was submitted to the station, the leaders felt uneasy about entrusting such a big project to a novice like me, so they appointed Director Zheng instead."

"So you became the assistant director?"

"It's not that bad. It's said to be co-directed, but he's in the lead and I'm in the back."

Tsk~
No wonder Lao Feng looked dejected. He was the one who mainly handled everything from topic selection and scriptwriting to casting and fundraising for this project.

Now that they're about to go abroad to film, suddenly the higher-ups have handpicked Zheng Xiaolong to lead the cast...

Zhang Yan patted Feng Xiaogang on the shoulder and said with a look of sympathy, "I'm not familiar with your Director Zheng. Remember to remind him to settle my screenwriter's fee first."

"屮~"

Feng Xiaogang said speechlessly, "Can't you say something nice to me and comfort me?"

Zhang Yan thought for a moment, then patted him on the shoulder: "After you leave, I will take care of your wife and daughter, so don't worry."

"go away!"

Despite the criticism, Feng Xiaogang did indeed come with the intention of entrusting his wife and children to someone else, mainly because his drinking buddies were not very reliable, and Zhang Yan was the most trustworthy and reliable in comparison.

In addition, he also came to apologize to Zhang Yan.

Previously, Zhang Yan, in his capacity as screenwriter, recommended Chen Daoming to the production team. Feng Xiaogang had also assured him that he would put in a good word for him, but in the end, Chen Daoming was not selected, and Jiang Wen was chosen as the male lead.

"Acting skills and image are secondary. The main problem is that Chen Daoming is dressed too stylishly. The station is worried that he will defect to the enemy and betray the country. Jiang Wen recites the quotations like a jingle..." This year, the fever for going abroad continues unabated, and the arts and culture industry is one of the hardest hit areas.

Leaders in Beijing and Taiwan were not only worried that the actors would illegally travel to the United States, but the entire crew was also subjected to strict scrutiny. It is said that a system of collective responsibility was even implemented, requiring people to form groups of three to monitor each other when going out on the street.

Who was chosen as the female lead?

Compared to men, actresses undoubtedly have more opportunities to leave the industry, since it's easier for them to find new jobs.

"Wang Ji and Yan Xiaoping".

Feng Xiaogang spread his hands and said, "Both of them have been to the United States. One studied on her own, and the other accompanied her husband to study. The station felt that choosing them was safer."

So, Xu Fan, whom Lao Feng recommended, was also eliminated, which made Zhang Yan feel much better.

He scoffed, "On the one hand, they're strictly guarding against those who haven't been there, while on the other hand, they're giving the green light to those who have been. Isn't that just encouraging actors to go abroad for a 'gilded' experience?"

"There's nothing we can do now..."

As Feng Xiaogang was speaking, he suddenly saw a group of girls wearing bodysuits walking towards him, chatting and laughing.

He paused for a moment, then asked in surprise, "What are you filming today? Why are you dressed so scantily?"

"Wang Luyao's 'Heartbeat Rhythm'".

"Is it that one?"

Feng Xiaogang shook his chest at Zhang Yan, revealing two rows of yellow teeth, and said with a lewd smile, "Then I'm not in a hurry to leave today."

"Get lost."

Zhang Yan rolled his eyes at him: "Once you go to America, there are plenty of plus-size [middle-aged women] waiting for you to patronize them."

"You know what, I'm actually planning to go and see a stripper."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Feng Xiaogang stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Brother, this journey will take me thousands of miles away. My family will have to rely on you."

"Sure, I'll have my sister-in-law leave the door open for me tonight."

After seeing Feng Xiaogang off, Wang Luyao came out from backstage somewhat embarrassed.

Her clothes were no different from those of the other girls, but there was a sense of skin showing through her, and coupled with that touch of shyness, it made people even more tempted.

Zhang Yan unconsciously stared at them, but quickly regained his serious demeanor before Chen Hong and Wang Jinghua noticed.

Wang Luyao had already taken in this scene and was secretly pleased that her decision to choose a smaller size was worthwhile.

She had been looking for an opportunity lately, but unfortunately Zhang Yan was too busy, and she couldn't find a chance to spend time alone with him.

This time, shooting the music video for "Heartbeat Rhythm" was the most likely opportunity to achieve a breakthrough, but Chen Hong was still watching over me from the sidelines.

At this moment, Zhang Yadong jogged over and said to Zhang Yan, "President Zhang, Li Chunbo has already set off and should arrive in Tianjin around 10 o'clock."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan took out his car keys and tossed them to Zhang Yadong: "Go pick him up. Take him to see Brother Ning first. If Brother Ning approves of his new song, then bring him to see me. Oh, by the way, there's a box of imported milk powder in the trunk. Consider it payment for the little guy's performance."

The production team didn't think much of "Xiao Fang" at first. Professionals thought it was too corny, and Zhang Yan felt the song sounded awkward because of his sister.

Therefore, Yuanmeng never intended to sign Li Chunbo in the first place.

Who knew that Li Chunbo's "Xiao Fang" would become so popular? When Zhang Yan finally realized her dream and wanted to sign him again, the price Li Chunbo offered was unacceptable to her.

Later, the two sides lost contact and even their commercial performances became separate events.

As a result, when it came time to collect songs for Yuanmeng, Li Chunbo suddenly volunteered again, saying that he had a song about family affection that he wanted to include in Yuanmeng's new album. The "Domination Plan" is still a secret for the time being, and when collecting songs from the public, the unified statement is that a new compilation album is going to be released.

Originally, Zhang Yan did not want to bring outsiders to the event, but although he wrote many songs for his family, it was hard to find any truly excellent ones. In the past two weeks, he had collected seven or eight songs, but none of them were close to the quality of "Only Mother is Good in the World" and "If There's No Wine to Sell".

Therefore, Zhang Yan ultimately decided to inspect the goods first.

(End of this chapter)