How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 114 The Beginning of Thoughts
Upon arriving at the hotel, Wang Yao was momentarily stunned, as if he had been transported to the world of "Home with Kids." Not only was Song Dandan there, but Gao Yalin was also there, along with Zhang Yishan and Yang Zi. It was unbelievable.

Zhang Yishan and Yang Zi greeted Song Dandan warmly, only to be ignored.

"Mr. Wang, it's a pleasure to meet you. I didn't expect you to be so young and accomplished." Song Dandan greeted Wang Yao warmly.

"Nice to meet you, Sister Dandan. I never expected to realize my childhood dream here," Wang Yao said with a light laugh.

"Mr. Wang, you must have grown up watching our shows, right? That's a real honor. Please take a seat." Gao Yalin greeted him with a smile.

Song Dandan and Gao Yalin are both invested by the same Chinese company, Baina Investment. Because they both work in the sitcom genre, they have a close and deeply intertwined relationship.

This company, Baina, was also Hu Mei's main partner in the early years. They produced "The Emperor Wu of Han", and Hu Mei should be considered a core figure of Baina.

Gao Yalin is considered an authoritative screenwriter in the field of family comedies, while Song Dandan is a leader in this field.

As everyone sat down and exchanged pleasantries, Wang Yao roughly understood Hu Mei's intentions.

The failure of the film "Confucius" had a significant impact on Hu Mei, who wanted to return to the comfort zone of television dramas. Coincidentally, Wang Yao had just returned from Korea and bought a lot of copyrights, which he discussed with Hu Mei.

At the time, Hu Mei said she would take the materials back to take a look, and Wang Yao thought it was just a perfunctory remark, but he didn't expect that she would actually go and study them. This time, he used the excuse of Nazha's exam to bring them together to cooperate.

It must be said that doing things within the system is rigorous; there has to be a legitimate reason for doing so.

Gao Yalin, fearing that Wang Yao might not be aware of his identity as a screenwriter and director, specifically explained that although he had been an actor for many years, he still hoped to try directing. He had heard that Wang Yao's company had some good foreign scripts, and he wanted to remake them to test the waters.

“There are a few scripts that would be suitable for Teacher Gao and Sister Dandan,” Wang Yao said with a smile. “You can look up ‘Funny Family’. I bought the adaptation rights to it. It’s actually a bit similar to ‘LOHAS Family’ that you just aired.”

"To be honest, I was drawn to this script, which is why I asked Director Hu to make some arrangements," Gao Yalin said frankly.

“I’m still very optimistic about the comedy market. After all, the entertainment programs available to audiences are too monotonous these days. If Teacher Gao and Sister Dandan have any ideas, I’m naturally willing to take them on. In addition, we will be preparing some variety shows later, which just happens to require the help of a comedy master like Sister Dandan to give us some advice.” Wang Yao smiled.

"Oh, no, no, I'm just a comedian. I can help you with a performance, no problem. But for consultation, I can introduce you to Zhao Benshan," Song Dandan said with a wave of her hand and a smile.

"If we could cooperate with Uncle Benshan, that would be the best," Wang Yao said, narrowing his eyes.

Seeing that Wang Yao was easy to talk to, Gao Yalin and Song Dandan relaxed a lot.

After all, Hu Mei had told him some of the young man's stories.

Right now, even a behemoth like Chengtian Entertainment is scrambling to keep up, thinking he's not some arrogant young man.

"So, does that mean we have work to do again?" Zhang Yishan was the first to react.

"Didn't you say you didn't want to film sitcoms anymore and wanted to change your career path?" Song Dandan asked with a smile.

“That’s Yang Zi, I didn’t say that,” Zhang Yishan said, waving his hand.

"Yes, it's me, it's me. I want to act in an idol drama. Mr. Wang, do you have any suitable scripts? I'm good quality and inexpensive. It would be even better if I could act with Gulnazar." Yang Zi said with a smile.

"Are you going to be someone else's lackey?" Zhang Yishan complained.

"You don't know anything. These days, the popular leading ladies are silly girls like me, and glamorous supporting actresses like Gulnazar. She's not a good actress, so she's only good for supporting roles," Yang Zi said bluntly.

It seems they were observing Naza's exam process.

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions on everyone's faces at the dinner table changed drastically.

Song Dandan wanted to go over and pinch her; that brat had no sense of propriety.

Jiang Yan looked at Wang Yao nervously, as she sensed that their relationship was unusual.

However, Nazha chuckled and said, "Yeah, my brother also thinks I'm suitable for playing a pretty face, not the kind with a lot of lines."

"I don't have a suitable actress for an idol drama, but I do have a suitable actress for an urban drama," Wang Yao suddenly had an idea.

Seeing that Wang Yao's expression was normal, Song Dandan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly changed the subject, "Urban dramas? That's a big category."

"Struggle" and "Dwelling Narrowness" are typical urban dramas, which are prone to becoming huge hits.

"In the past two years, 'Go Lala Go!' has made workplace dramas popular, right? I want to add some workplace elements to urban dramas. I have my eye on a script."
"It's a drama about five women from different social classes and backgrounds, depicting the different problems they face after entering society, and how they help each other grow," Wang Yao briefly explained.

It was Yang Zi's representative work, "Ode to Joy," a drama aimed at urban women, which perfectly capitalized on the female-oriented trend he sparked.

Most importantly, it is suitable for integration with clothing/skincare brands.

Currently, product placement in film and television dramas in China is still in its infancy, and Wang Yao plans to make a quick buck.

"That sounds interesting." Gao Yalin's eyes lit up. "It sounds like President Wang already has a draft?"

"We're still negotiating," Wang Yao nodded.

"Ode to Joy" is adapted from a novel by a low-profile online female writer who is skilled not only in female-oriented themes but also in period and realistic themes. "Like a Flowing River" and "All Is Well" are both her works.

Wang Yao is already having headhunters poach her from [Spark Literature]. "We at Baina have extensive experience in adapting urban themes, and our screenwriting team is also very mature. Mr. Wang can give us priority consideration for cooperation," Gao Yalin said smoothly.

Novel writing and screenplay adaptation are two completely different industries, especially in China. Original work fans and adaptation fans cannot coexist because the screenwriters who hold the power in the industry insist that their adaptations are for the mainstream audience, while the original novels are for a niche audience.

However, this is indeed the case. After all, the mainstream audience for TV dramas is less likely to read novels, and these people tend to watch short dramas instead.

Gao Yalin's suggestion is quite good, after all, Baina has indeed made great achievements in the field of urban themes.

“No problem, but this project isn’t urgent. Right now, we can talk about adapting ‘High Kick!’.” Wang Yao nodded.

Yang Zi and Gulnazar were both very excited about being able to film together, as they were willing to invest in the project even after meeting the boss. They huddled together and whispered among themselves.

Zhang Yishan listened quietly, glancing at Wang Yao every now and then.

"Gangren" is a super long drama with 170 episodes, involving a comedy story of three generations living together. If it were to be adapted into a Chinese version, it would be no small project.

Wang Yao had never seen this adaptation in his previous life, but he had watched some of the Korean version. Based on the principle that adaptation is not random rewriting and fiction is not nonsense, Wang Yao still hoped that Gao Yalin could put in more effort to adapt the story in a way that reflects the actual situation and phenomena in China.

For example, the problems of teenagers in schools, the pressure of middle-aged people in the workplace, and the empty spiritual needs of the elderly in their later years.

After hearing Wang Yao's idea, Gao Yalin and Song Dandan both felt the pressure.

Good grief, we've run into a client who's a complete novice with high standards.

Of these few requirements, the first one alone is not easy to get approved.

"President Wang's suggestion is excellent. Film and television dramas should shoulder the responsibility of reflecting real life and serving as a mirror for society," Gao Yalin said solemnly.

"But then again, it's a comedy after all, so it should be family-friendly. Adding too much heavy, realistic stuff wouldn't be good. It's just a matter of keeping the balance under control."

Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly, not expecting Gao Yalin to be such a pure creator who was close to the masses, without too many highbrow tendencies.

This pleased him quite a bit. He said that these righteous and righteous pronouncements were just a test of the other party's values.

He also felt that comedy should be simple; it doesn't necessarily need to be morally valuable or educational, but it also shouldn't be too distorted.

After discussing the script, we moved on to the core topic: investment.

"Professor Gao, how much investment do you think this drama will need?" Wang Yao asked.

“The original version is too long. Even after compression, it will still be divided into one or two seasons. Based on the production cost of ‘Home with Kids’ at the time, it would probably cost around 300,000 yuan per episode now. We will try to use talented actors like Xiao Jiang. If we can reduce the actor cost to within 40%, it should be fine.” Gao Yalin calculated.

This price is not inflated.

The initial price for "Temptation" was 40 per episode, but in terms of scale, it was not as large as this sitcom.

"What is your normal cooperation model?" Wang Yao asked.

“We at Baina are generally responsible for production and distribution. We can form a joint venture, but we can only hold a maximum of 30%, or the investors can fund the entire production for us,” Gao Yalin said.

"With a budget of around 1200 million for the first quarter, we don't need a joint venture; we can figure it out ourselves." Wang Yao nodded.

Since Baina has its own satellite TV distribution channels, that's the best option.

Seeing Wang Yao's generosity, Song Dandan and Gao Yalin were both surprised. However, after thinking about it again, they realized that even Hu Mei praised him highly, so his strength must be no problem.

The meal went well, and everyone was in harmony.

After seeing Wang Yao off, Song Dandan pulled Jiang Yan aside and asked, "What do you think of this young man?"

"What do you mean, how?" Jiang Yan was taken aback.

"Nonsense, it's definitely up to you what you think. I've seen him. He's got the height, the looks, and most importantly, he's got the wealth. These qualities are extremely rare in the industry. Don't play dumb here. If you're interested, your godmother will give you a push." ​​Song Dandan lowered her voice.

"Oh dear, why are you playing matchmaker again?" Jiang Yan blushed and rolled her eyes. "He has everything, why would he be interested in a single woman like me?"

Actually, she's only 24, which isn't old, but by hanging out with older women like Song Dandan, she's inexplicably become an older single woman.

"You know you're an older single woman, but you have your advantages. You're capable in both social situations and domestic duties. At his age, someone like you is a perfect match. You have a good personality and know how to take care of people."
"Don't be fooled by how nice he is to that girl; I think it's just a fleeting romance. Don't take it to heart. No man can be faithful forever, but if you can find someone relatively suitable, you should hold on to them," Song Dandan said seriously.

"This is getting more and more outrageous," Jiang Yan said with a wry smile, shaking her head.

"It's easy for a woman to pursue a man. Think about it yourself. I think it's a good idea. There will be many opportunities in the future with this project. I'll let you go to all of them. Hang around in front of him more often and get to know him better," Song Dandan instructed.

"I give up." Jiang Yan rolled her eyes, her face flushed.

But I did have some thoughts about it.

(End of this chapter)