How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 189

“Miss Oriental can’t be viewed as an ordinary sponsorship. Jimei is about to go public, and this 100 million yuan sponsorship is enough to make it famous throughout the country. The returns could be ten or twenty times that amount. What’s more, I can also help them build e-commerce sales channels,” Wang Yao explained.

Dongfang Xin understood immediately, just like when she helped inflate the box office figures for "The Big Soldier," but the accounting methods were different.

“I think I understand what Mr. Wang means. I’ll go talk to them.” Dongfang Xin nodded. “If it really succeeds, it won’t just be Jimei that will become famous throughout the country. Sister Hua’s show and even the variety show industry will be shaken up.”

"Many hands make light work, right? If we rely on just the two of us, when will we be able to expand our variety show business?" Wang Yao smirked.

He has bought almost all the valuable variety show copyrights in the world, and his Korean branch has partnered with or acquired more than 40 outsourced production teams, involving thousands of people in the industry. Any domestic company that wants to get involved in the outdoor variety show field will definitely have to deal with him.

At that time, Wang Yao only needs to collect the difference in production costs, and that will be enough to make a fortune.

Like this collaboration with Berna, if the production costs of the three variety shows are properly reduced, 6000 million is enough to handle it. The quoted price is 1 million, and the rest is basically the net profit from the production difference.

Wang Yao's initial investments in variety show copyrights and production team incubation/acquisition have basically been recouped, and all subsequent productions will be profitable until other domestic companies cultivate equally respectable teams.

However, it will take at least a year and more of practice projects to cultivate the corresponding talent. By then, Wang Yao's trump card variety show moat will have been built, and they may have even entered the next stage of the special effects industry.

After finalizing the investment cooperation with Bolu, Wang Yao, together with dance colleges such as Beijing Dance Academy and Central Academy of Drama, jointly launched the "Dance for a Thousand Years" dance troupe recruitment campaign.

Soon, news that China's largest and most dancer-friendly dance variety show was about to launch spread throughout the country, and the participation fee of 500,000 yuan per episode made the eyes of more than 600 struggling dance troupes and theater companies across the country green with envy.

The project team received more than a dozen applications that day.

Miao Miao has been temporarily appointed as the casting director to help Wang Yao select suitable talents for the Da Lei/Xiao Lei dance troupe.

Mu Yishan is the artist Miao Miao recently recruited and signed. The two met by chance at Shen Teng's dinner party. Mu Yishan, as Shen Teng's junior, came to participate in the premiere of the new drama. Miao Miao saw that she was pretty and chatted with her for a while.

The 520 concept company is very popular recently. Mu Yishan has also heard of Tianhuo. She comes from a well-off family and has always wanted to pursue an artistic career since she was a child. Last year, she even won the national print model championship. However, she has not signed with the company because she cannot accept the company's business dinner system.

After being persuaded by Miao Miao, Mu Yishan joined the company. Although Mu Yishan was a Latin dancer, she was still affiliated with Xiao Lei Dance Troupe. After receiving the interview for the "Dance for a Thousand Years" project, she met the rumored behind-the-scenes boss for the first time.

Today's interviewees were mostly minor celebrities, and Mu Yishan even saw Liu Yan, whom she had just worked with.

"Xiao Mu, you're here for casting too?" Liu Yan, with her sharp eyes, waved and smiled when she saw him.

"Sister Yan, you're here to sign up too?" Mu Yishan asked, somewhat surprised.

In her eyes, Liu Yan was already a TV star, so she shouldn't need to participate in such a 'small project'.

"Of course! You'd definitely regret it if you didn't participate in this project. But you're quite well-informed," Liu Yan said with a light laugh.

She is currently signed with Fiber Optic Media, where she is known as one of the "Three Treasures of Fiber Optic" along with Xie Nan and Da Zuo as a host. However, since Fiber Optic transitioned to the film and television industry, she has not been able to secure major film and television resources.

Although she has the title of 'veteran', she is not good at 'managing' herself, so she is now no different from a freelance artist. She has to fight for almost all of her own resources.

She learned about the "Dance for a Thousand Years" competition from her friend Dapeng. She knew very well that most of the first batch of contestants were people with connections.

"I just signed with this company, and they just launched a new event, so I came to check it out," Mu Yishan said somewhat shyly.

"Huh? Didn't you say you wouldn't sign with a management company?" Liu Yan asked, somewhat surprised.

Because she had been caught in the rain herself, she believed in the idea of ​​sticking together for warmth. She would always try to befriend any promising newcomer. She had previously thought of recommending Mu Yishan to sign up for Fiber Optics, but Mu Yishan refused. Unexpectedly, Mu Yishan ended up signing up for Tianhuo instead.

Tianhuo Media is a rising star in the industry, and its boss is Wang Yao, a wealthy and handsome businessman who has recently gained fame for his e-commerce business. Many companies want to sign him, but they are all blocked by Tianhuo's strange contracts.

Rating agency contracts are normal, but the model of artists paying for resources themselves is really hard to accept.

People are willing to introduce others for free to get on camera and hope for opportunities, but it's not to the point of having to work for free!
"It's not an agency contract, it's a part-time modeling contract," Mu Yishan explained.

"Do we have to pay for resources too? How much does this program cost?" Liu Yan asked curiously.

"It didn't say it would cost money, it just said it was an internal selection opportunity." Mu Yishan shook her head.

"Alright, it's your turn. Go in first." Liu Yan frowned and pondered for a moment.

Is it a case of treating people differently based on their status?

Mu Yishan was called into the rehearsal room by Miao Miao, and was immediately attracted when she saw Wang Yao.

Recently, not only from people around them like Miao Miao and Shen Teng, but also from various media reports, it's clear that Wang Yao, who is young, rich, and good-looking, is indeed the ideal type that most girls his age aspire to.

"Mu Yishan? It's a nice name." Wang Yao's gentle voice interrupted Mu Yishan's reverie.

"Hello teacher, I am Mu Yishan, 174 cm tall and weigh 48 kg." Mu Yishan blushed and subconsciously began to introduce herself.

Because of so many interviews, it's become muscle memory.

"Miao Miao said you have a background in Latin dance?" Wang Yao looked at Mu Yishan with a smile.

That's the standard model's physique; Miao Miao's selection criteria are quite good.

"I started learning dance at a young age and won the national junior Latin dance championship at the age of 6. I was selected for the youth gymnastics team and later entered the drama department of the PLA Academy of Arts." Mu Yishan nodded.

That's a very respectable resume.

"Shanshan, show us a bit," Miao Miao said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Mu Yishan took off her coat, revealing a Latin dance dress underneath.

Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking that the Little Thunder Dance Troupe would be a suitable match.

Actually, Wang Yao didn't have much of a feeling about Latin dance, because his mother, Luo Yan, forced him to learn it for a while when he was a child, saying it could improve his posture and demeanor. That was one of Wang Yao's few unpleasant memories.

The main reason is that Latin dance costumes are too tight, which coincides with the sensitive developmental period of adolescence, and the female teacher's figure and movements are too provocative.

Compared to this kind of outgoing and competitive dance, Wang Yao still prefers the more subtle and classical style of dance. However, Mu Yishan's body proportions are indeed excellent. At the same height, he has only seen such long legs as Nazha. Moreover, due to years of training, his muscle lines are indeed more superior.

“Latin dance is highly competitive, and this program is a team collaboration type, which might put us at a disadvantage,” Wang Yao pondered for a moment.

"Teacher, I also know a little ballet." Mu Yishan is the type who is willing to fight for something.

“Okay, you could try working as a model or actress more often,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Mu Yishan's heart sank. He bowed in thanks, put on his clothes, and left.

"Mr. Wang, is Shanshan not suitable?" Miao Miao asked in a low voice.

"Let's tentatively choose her, but she might be replaced if a more suitable candidate comes along later." Wang Yao nodded.

Mu Yishan looks good in still photos, but her dance style and fame are just average. It's fine to promote her as part of the initial lineup to boost her profile. However, if the show becomes popular later on, domestic artists with dance backgrounds will inevitably flock to it, and she will only be able to participate as a guest or performer.

After all, we need to maximize our profits.

"That's good." Miao Miao breathed a sigh of relief and sent Mu Yishan a comforting message.

The next one to enter was Liu Yan, who was indeed a sight to behold. At this time, Liu Yan had not yet fallen into the plastic surgery addiction caused by appearance anxiety, and her appearance was at its peak.

"Hello Mr. Wang, I am Liu Yan, from..." Liu Yan's eyes lit up when she saw Wang Yao, and she introduced herself in a graceful and generous manner.

I don't know if it was intentional, but today I dressed in a relatively cool style, showing off my strengths to the fullest.

"Miss Liu, you're here to run for host, right? Do you have any experience hosting cultural programs before?" Wang Yao asked with a smile, narrowing his eyes. "I just participated in 'Dancing with the Stars' last year. If Mr. Wang thinks I'm suitable, I can also apply to be a dance recommender," Liu Yan replied with a charming smile.

"If it's a competitive variety show, that's definitely fine, but this one has higher requirements for dance skills, so hosting is more suitable," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Should I demonstrate my dance or my voiceover?" Liu Yan asked with a smile.

"Read this script aloud." Wang Yao stood up and handed her a script.

"Mr. Wang is really tall and handsome," Liu Yan said with a slight tilt of her head.

"Miss Liu herself is very beautiful," Wang Yao said with a light laugh.

Liu Yan has good hosting skills, although she usually speaks with a slight Xiangbei accent.

"Dance for a Thousand Years" needed a grand and majestic voice narration. Wang Yao wanted a voice similar to Dong Qing and Zhou Tao, but Liu Yan's voice was slightly lacking.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wang, I had trouble pronouncing some of the classical Chinese texts." Liu Yan blushed after her performance, not expecting the script to be so difficult.

"It's alright, it's enough. Thank you for your hard work today, Miss Liu." Wang Yao nodded with a smile.

"Then I'll go back and wait for news." Liu Yan's smile was somewhat forced as she bowed slightly and prepared to leave.

"Miss Liu, are you usually busy with work?" Wang Yao suddenly called out to her.

“Oh? I’m not busy most of the time,” Liu Yan quickly replied.

“Our company has some online variety show projects that require hosting staff, but we don’t have many hosting talents. If Ms. Liu has some free time, she could come and do some guest hosting,” Wang Yao extended an invitation.

"Online variety show? Like Da Peng's talk show?" Liu Yan's eyes lit up.

"More or less." Wang Yao nodded.

“Yes, I have time. I live not far away, so Mr. Wang can contact me anytime if he needs anything.” Liu Yan smiled.

Although I know that I probably won't get the chance to host "Dance for a Thousand Years", it would be nice to have a chance to appear on an online variety show. In recent years, although there have been more and more TV and offline events, the competition has also become more and more intense. I don't know where all these new people have come from.

Moreover, she has been a host for almost ten years and wants to expand into the film and television industry with the company, but it is difficult to get opportunities because she is not from a professional background.

After starring in "Painted Skin" in 07, she realized that even a small cameo role could be more lucrative than being a host. She then planned her career development and ultimately chose to leverage her natural talent to carve out a new path in the "sexy" category.

That's why she took a gamble and used connections to get signed up for "Men's Style" magazine. Sure enough, she became famous overnight and became the goddess of otaku, which was talked about by netizens. After her successful transformation, she was once again noticed by the public, but she still didn't get many opportunities to be exposed.

Although it's unclear whether the online variety show Wang Yao mentioned will actually be a hit, as long as the pay and exposure are adequate, it's all negotiable. Mainly, influenced by her friend Da Peng, she also believes that online variety shows will have a bright future.

Liu Yan was pleasantly surprised and went back to share the joy with her best friend Xie Nan.

"Didn't the company say they'd arranged a movie for you called 'Painted Skin'? Instead of focusing on preparing, you're out filming other projects, including variety shows. Aren't you going to switch careers?" Xie Nan asked, puzzled.

"It's not that easy to change careers. I don't want to be slept with. My biggest asset is that I'm not afraid to show my body. I know what my role is without even needing a script." Liu Yan unabashedly weighed her assets.

"Painted Skin" is a sequel that Guangxin wanted to make after seeing the popularity of "Painted Skin". I heard that he spent a lot of money to hire Deng Chao and Sun Li, a married couple, to star in it. The production budget is estimated to be over 100 million yuan. With such a big production, it must need some eye-catching topics or scenes.

After receiving the notification, Liu Yan naturally understood its essence.

Since they're unwilling to strip behind the scenes, they'll have to strip in front of the camera.

Moreover, the company gave her this opportunity out of consideration for past relationships. After all, she knew that talent was an advantage, but not an absolute one. There were plenty of women more willing to strip than her, with more assets, and who could strip even more.

If you want to survive in this industry, you need to be self-aware and know your own value so that you won't be easily eliminated and will have more opportunities.

"Tsk, stop showing off your skills." Xie Nan curled her lip enviously. "But what's that Mr. Wang like in person?"

"Handsome, not just ordinary handsome, but the kind of handsome you can't find in the industry. Just looking at him makes you want to eat." Liu Yan said with a grin.

"Tsk, I think you're really hungry. You didn't go and show off in front of others, did you? Be careful you don't get looked down upon," Xie Nan said, frowning.

My best friend has changed a lot in the past two years, and she's worried that she might do something reckless and ruin her future.

"I'm not stupid. Besides, what can't people see? Isn't Zhang Meng's even better?" Liu Yan scoffed.

Among Wang Yao's many gossip stories, Liu Yifei's is the most talked about, Fan Bingbing's is the most chaotic, Zhang Yuqi's is the most outrageous, while Zhang Meng's is the one that has been widely circulated among people in the industry.

"But she's probably not as old as you, right?" Xie Nan asked curiously, having been led astray.

“It’s not about size, it’s about status and prestige. Rich men don’t care about actual value, they care about the premium. A woman coveted by a million people and a woman coveted by ten million people may look the same, but they are actually very different.” Liu Yan narrowed her eyes, her smile cold.

"Well, you've even started talking about philosophy. Anyway, just keep it to yourself." Xie Nan saw that she was still clear-headed, so he didn't say anything more.

On June 6.4th, "Lost in Thailand," hailed as a milestone in Chinese-language road movies, was officially released.

This low-budget film, with an investment of less than seven million and a production cycle of only four months, is about to usher in a new era of box office legend.

The film's original marketing and distribution costs were less than two million, which is considered a very small business in June, a month filled with blockbusters.

Just as the production team was preparing to count the costs on their fingers, Ren Quan, the CEO of Kanpianer.com, contacted Xu Zheng, the lead actor and main creator, who was a fellow student of the same teacher.

Ren Quan offered to help his senior, Xu Zheng, with publicity and scheduling, without charging any money, only asking for 20% of the film's box office revenue.

The influence of Kanpianer.com is now even greater than that of the four major cinema chains in China. After all, it not only has its own cinemas, but also stable publicity and distribution channels and membership support. Originally, the production team did not expect the film to be a great success; they just wanted to break even.

They calculated that if they could save 200 million yuan in marketing costs, the probability of breaking even and making a profit would greatly increase, so they readily agreed to Ren Quan's cooperation.

On the day of its release, in order to avoid competing with the three blockbusters "Steel 2", "Leaf 2", and "Gun King", the main screenings of "Lost in..." were concentrated in the non-prime time period from 12 noon to 6 pm. However, because it was a comedy and there were promotional activities on the Kanpianer.com forum, the film was still able to be screened.

With a 30% screening share on its opening day, the film grossed over 2 million yuan on the first day and received rave reviews. In fact, its popularity on online forums even surpassed that of blockbusters like "Iron Man 200".

A comeback.

When Xu Zheng and the rest of the production team heard about the first day's box office figures, they were all stunned.

Their first reaction wasn't that the film itself had made a comeback, but rather, "Has the marketing and distribution capabilities of Kanpianer.com become this powerful now?"
Can a combination of a second-tier movie star and a veteran supporting actor really make a comeback?

Ren Quan was also somewhat bewildered.

Although they managed to secure 30% of the screenings for "Lost in...", these were all unpopular screenings. How could it achieve such box office numbers on its opening day?
What's even more terrifying is that Tianhuo's promotional materials haven't even been released yet, so how come the discussion on the forum has already risen so quickly?
Moreover, the pre-sales for the second day have already reached nearly one million yuan, which means that the box office is likely to double again tomorrow.
"Next week, the college entrance examination will end, and the 'College Entrance Examination Season' event on Kanpianer.com will be launched. All students with college entrance examination certificates can enjoy a 8% discount on a bundled ticket for 'Lost in Thailand' and 'Gun King'. All students with student IDs can enjoy a 9% discount on tickets and receive a free Mixue lemonade." Wang Yao adjusted the event accordingly.

They were already planning to help "The Gunman" get more tickets, and now they're riding on the coattails of "Lost in Thailand" to generate at least tens of millions in box office revenue.

"If this activity continues, the profit might not be much," Ren Quan calculated.

“The occupancy rate and the rebates from surrounding businesses will make up for it. I had Lianli launch a 'Lost in Thailand' co-branded event, where you can get a discount on milk with your ticket stub. I estimate that each ticket stub will also generate a rebate of 3 to 5 yuan. There will also be a 'back-to-school daily necessities gift pack' later on. The rebates will be enough to make a profit,” Wang Yao said with a light laugh.

Ren Quan thought about it.

"Lost in Thailand" has at least tens of millions of views. Even if it drives 100,000 people to buy tickets, it can still generate a considerable amount of sales.

Even online movie streaming platforms can earn millions in commissions by leveraging their surrounding content.

Wang Yao is profiting from both sides, how much is he making?!

(End of this chapter)