How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 260 Correcting Posture by Correcting Slouching and Hunchback

"What does Third Master mean by this? Market competition?" Hua Yi Wang Zhonglei consulted his brother overnight.

Old Wang Zhongjun frowned after reading the text message.

The inflation of actor salaries has the most obvious impact on these leading film and television companies. Although Huayi has a core team of artists and can control actor salaries through internal negotiations and contracts, the artists are not stupid.

If you pay 10 yuan to film for your own company, and 50 yuan to film for someone else, you'll definitely choose the one outside.

For some top-tier artists, the company can't interfere too much, after all, they can't stop them from making money, right? Besides, the higher the artist's salary, the higher the company's commission. However, without the support of top-tier artists, the risk of most projects will increase dramatically.

Especially for giants like Huayi Brothers, in order to maintain their stock price, they need to produce at least 10 works every year with an investment scale of around 10 billion yuan in order to stabilize their annual net profit.

However, given the current inflation of actor salaries, the investment scale would need to be increased to at least 15 billion. Although the box office market is also growing, who knows if it can keep up with the salaries of stars?

Their plans for 2011 have already begun. Because of the box office explosion of "Tang Zhen" this year, they are preparing to strike while the iron is hot and directly prepare 10 big-budget productions with a budget of 100 million yuan next year. Among them are special effects blockbusters such as "Painted Skin 2" and "Chinese Zodiac". The production costs are already high, and now the salaries of the actors have increased again. It is likely that the original first-line artists such as Jackie Chan and Zhou Xun will be affected.

Who knows if the other companies will try to poach talent? After all, there are only a handful of people in the industry who can guarantee box office success. Berna will definitely have big plans for its year-end IPO, and Fiber Optics will probably be preparing for its IPO as well.

That's why they thought of talking to Han Sanping to see if they could control things internally.

Unexpectedly, Han Sanping chose to stand by and do nothing.

Market competition.

These four words already convey a great deal.

“That’s understandable, after all, Xingmei is now a major shareholder of Tianhuo.” Wang Zhongjun thought of another key point.

“With actor salaries rising, how can Xingmei stay out of it? Besides, Xingmei doesn’t have many decent artists. They mainly focus on investment, so they’re at a disadvantage even more than us. What is Tan Hui thinking? Abandon the production company? Transform into a cinema chain?” Wang Zhonglei frowned.

“That’s possible. After all, AMC is a global theater chain, and the global box office market is growing. Xingmei can’t compete with us domestically, so it’s normal for them to settle for second best,” Wang Zhongjun smiled.

After its listing, Huayi Brothers has been working intensively to build its own cinema chain. Although it is not large at present, by next year it will probably be able to gather more than 20 cinemas and more than 100 screens, intending to get rid of its dependence on traditional cinema chains.

"This Heavenly Fire is a real troublemaker," Wang Zhonglei sneered.

None of them expected that what would ultimately cause a major upheaval in China's film and television industry would be a 'novice' who suddenly emerged.

When Wang Yao made a reverse takeover of Chengtian Entertainment, everyone just thought it was a big deal.

After all, neither Chengtian nor Tianhuo posed any threat to Huayi at that time.

But unexpectedly, the exorbitant acquisition of AMC first sparked speculation, and then the aggressive promotion of Fan Bingbing's salary disrupted the market. They really have no sense of rules at all.

Film companies, instead of making proper movies, are just causing all this trouble.

Despicable layman!

Those in the industry unanimously agree that Tianhuo Entertainment and Wang Yao are an internet e-commerce company, so it's not inappropriate to call them outsiders.

“Watch your mouth.” Wang Zhongjun rolled his eyes.

The fire in the sky is stirring up the entire entertainment industry; if it's the troublemaker, then who's the troublemaker?

Wang Zhonglei realized that his words were somewhat inadequate, so he cleared his throat and said, "He completely doesn't understand the rules. Moreover, the company has been restructured for so long, and he hasn't even invited us senior colleagues to meet for a meal."

"They didn't even come to greet us at the Shiba banquet back then. Now that they've grown powerful, why would they come to greet us? These young people these days are something else." Wang Zhongjun chuckled, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"He doesn't really think that just because he controls the cinema chain and online ticketing, he can treat us like pigs, does he?" Wang Zhonglei sneered.

“From a certain perspective, they do have the capability. If they cut off the Kanpianer.com channel, our box office will be significantly affected. Moreover, the Tianhuo Group's current market share in cinemas is truly terrifying.” Wang Zhongjun shook his head and sighed softly.

When Kanpianer.com was first established, Ren Quan approached him for a chat, but he declined because he felt that online ticketing had no future. After Kanpianer.com developed, it was no longer his turn to get involved, and now he regrets it deeply.

“We at Huayi are considered a major client of Kanpianer.com, and our annual cooperation will be worth at least 100 million yuan.” Wang Zhonglei said with a frown.

“Tianhuo and Kanpianer.com shouldn’t be confused, but since Han Sanping is unwilling to get involved, then we can only compete in the market.” Wang Zhonglei narrowed his eyes.

"Big brother has an idea?" Wang Zhonglei raised an eyebrow.

“The advantages of the Tianhuo Group are hard to catch up with. Huayi really can’t get rid of its cooperation with them for the time being. However, we should make plans as soon as possible. Some time ago, Mr. Cai from Alibaba talked to me about investing in Huayi,” Wang Zhongjun said with a smile.

"Huh? Alibaba is planning to get into film and television?" Wang Zhonglei was taken aback.

“They’re called Interactive Entertainment, which integrates the entire cultural and entertainment industry chain, from content to terminals. If they have the financial and user channel support of Alibaba, Huayi Cinemas can also have its own online + cinema channel,” Wang Zhongjun said.

"This is great news! After Alibaba's investment, their sponsorship costs have decreased, which can help us offset some of the production costs," Wang Zhonglei said with delight.

“That’s right. The sponsorship revenue from Xiaopao’s recent films has been very significant. In the future, sponsorship will be a new source of revenue growth for us. I heard that Tianhuo’s previous variety show, ‘Fairy Robe,’ is preparing for a second season. I heard that the soft product placement alone brought in nearly 20 million yuan,” Wang Zhongjun said in a deep voice.

"Soft implantation? It's just the image being exposed? And they can charge this much money?" Wang Zhongjun was shocked.

The use of product placement in movies was first attempted by Huayi Brothers and Feng Xiaopao in "Big Shot's Funeral." At that time, they received more than 20 sponsorships and collected nearly 20 million yuan in sponsorship fees, which almost covered the production costs. The subsequent box office revenue was pure profit.

It was precisely this attempt that allowed Huayi Brothers to stand out from the crowd in the commercial film field.

But this is a theatrical film after all, with influence and a base of audiences. How can a variety show like "Fairy Robe" charge so much money when it doesn't even have a single A-list celebrity in it?

"I don't know, I just heard some rumors. By the way, did they recently appear on another variety show? It's said to be the first 'satellite network broadcast'. I saw it trending on social media, but I don't know the data. I'll go find out." Wang Zhongjun suddenly remembered.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhonglei made a phone call to inquire about it. The two brothers continued to discuss how to promote Huayi's development if Alibaba were brought in.

A dozen minutes later, Wang Zhonglei's phone rang. After hearing the data reported by his subordinate, his eyes widened: "Over 10 million views online? Over 1% rating on Beijing TV? 100 million for exclusive title sponsorship in the US?"

Three questions followed in quick succession, each louder than the last.

Wang Zhongjun listened from the side with a furrowed brow.

Variety shows have long been considered a second-tier resource in the film and television industry, primarily serving as a platform for increasing exposure for newcomers and promoting projects. Furthermore, because variety shows prioritize scripts over star power, production costs are relatively low, with most being produced by the television stations themselves. However, shows like "Fairy Robe" and "Sister Flower," featuring full-fledged celebrity participation, seem to prioritize stars over scripts as well. Now, with a sky-high sponsorship deal emerging, coupled with the television station's advertising revenue share, wouldn't a single variety show be able to generate over 100 million yuan in revenue?
The cost is less than half that of a movie, but the revenue and even profit are higher?
Wouldn't variety shows eventually compete with movies for talent?

Moreover, for artists, the production cycle is longer, the pressure is lower, and the pay is higher.
Countless ominous thoughts flashed through my mind.

"Was the amount we subscribed to in the Tianhuo private equity fund a little too small?"

The second episode of "Sister Hua" garnered a million real-time views, and its peak TV ratings exceeded 1%, directly alarming the entire television and video platform industry.

With Sohu Video vying for viewers, Beijing TV managed to achieve a 1% viewership rating, indicating that this variety show was destined to be a hit. If it were on top-tier TV stations like Hunan TV or Shanghai TV, it might have already broken 3%.

Regardless, "Sisters Who Make Waves" has become another hit variety show after "Fairy Robe," as evidenced by the overwhelmingly positive reviews on Sohu Video and its trending topics on social media.

Currently, viewers are not yet at the stage of being resistant to product placement; in fact, they are still curious. The product placement of the Jimei facial mask in "Sister Hua" is very natural, and many girls have learned a lot of useful knowledge about facial masks after only two episodes.

Applying a face mask before bed to nourish the skin, applying one before applying makeup in the morning to prevent makeup from caking, and applying one after a long day outside to prevent sunburn—no wonder female celebrities have such great skin, it's all thanks to applying face masks.

After all, the entire "Sister Flower" group is known for its good looks. Even Song Dandan is considered a "beauty" by the middle-aged and elderly. Their fair and radiant skin after removing their makeup leads many to believe that it is thanks to face masks.

But in reality, it's all thanks to cosmetic injections.

However, when people are unaware of the situation, most people judge others by their appearance. Moreover, due to the "admiration for the strong" mentality, many viewers who have high standards for appearance will also pursue the same products, thinking that using the same face mask as the Hua Jie group will give them the same skin.

The advantage of online platforms lies in the fact that the comment section can directly drive traffic. Moreover, Sohu Video has specially added the same verification function as MS/Weibo. The official account of the program sponsor put down the link in the comment section, and it converted hundreds of thousands of yuan in sales in just two days.

The number of inquiries and visits through offline channels of Jimei has also increased significantly. As a result, Jimei, the main title sponsor, directly fulfilled the bet ahead of schedule and publicly announced that the "1 million yuan title sponsorship" has suddenly appeared on the top of the trending searches on major social media platforms, shocking countless netizens.

Recent trending topics have given many netizens the illusion that they are unfamiliar with monetary units.

Since Le's went public, the unit "hundred million" has basically become a standard feature of trending topics, but at least those were related to listed companies, which was barely acceptable. But now, a variety show sponsorship can reach hundreds of millions.

This left netizens completely bewildered: had the currency depreciated, or was I just too poor?
However, many netizens also learned about the beauty company 'Jimei' for the first time, along with the news that it will be going public next month.

However, Wang Yao's push notifications focus on different audiences in different regions; for mainland audiences, they are all learning about skincare and fashion.

Meanwhile, viewers and netizens in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and East Asia were discussing MLS (Mulan Street International Version) in variety shows.

"Sister Hua" also has overseas broadcasting cooperation. Through the channels of Deng Wendi Media Group, it is broadcast simultaneously with two satellite TV stations, Star TV and Phoenix TV. On YouTube, there are also special translation experts to update the content for East Asian countries, and the program is also broadcast in a loop during off-peak hours to reach the entire East Asian region.

In "Sister Flower", Yang Ying, the tour guide, spends almost the entire time using her iPad to look at various travel guides on MLS to plan travel routes and select restaurants, while Nazha Reba's two younger sisters often use their mobile phones to save money and order takeout/restaurants through MLS's group-buying function.

Apple iPhones are already a global phenomenon, and the powerful and convenient features showcased by MLS in the program have won over all young viewers.

MLS mobile downloads surged by tens of thousands in just two days, and daily active users jumped from a few hundred at launch to a stable over ten thousand. The PC version also gained over a hundred thousand new users, temporarily opening up the market in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Although there were some scattered downloads in other East Asian countries, they were almost nonexistent.

However, once other translated versions are released on YouTube and some promotion is done, it will probably be able to gradually gain traction.

By the time the second week of the show aired, the real-time viewership of "Sister Hua" had approached ten million, because the third episode had a major trending topic: Zhang Baizhi revealed on the show that she had divorced Xie Tingfeng and was currently living alone with her two children.

Since the scandal two years ago and her dream collaboration with Gillian Chung this year, rumors about her marital problems have never stopped. Now that the official announcement has finally been made, Zhang Baizhi has dominated multiple trending topics on various social media platforms.

Moreover, countless people across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are paying attention to this gossip. Furthermore, because it was exposed on the show "Sister Hua," the show's popularity has been boosted to the point that everyone knows about it.

Countless people, eager to get their hands on gossip, flocked to "Sister Hua" to find the source of the news, and ended up getting hooked on it. After all, this kind of celebrity reality show can satisfy most people's voyeuristic tendencies about the 'real lives' of celebrities.

By the time the fourth episode was released, the total number of views across the internet had exceeded 100 million.

On the internal network of Mulan Street, the discussion volume and conversion rate of the "Sister Hua" special feature, which shares outfits, routes, restaurants, and soft advertising placements, have also seen a significant increase.

The number of downloads of the MLS mobile app on the external network has exceeded 300,000, and the number of new users on the PC version has reached hundreds of thousands. The built-in secondary interface functions of group buying and independent websites have also seen sales increase steadily from a few thousand yuan per day to hundreds of thousands of yuan.

The entire cast of "Sisters Who Make Waves" shared Zhang Baizhi's revelation of her divorce and her struggles, along with the comfort and tears of her fellow sisters, creating an atmosphere of 'Girls help girls' that resonated with and won the hearts of many female viewers.

Ms platform generated a new trending topic: "Girls are born with the ability to love," which analyzed how, although several members of the Flower Sisters group had never been divorced, they demonstrated touching empathy and kindness.

This directly led to a surge in the number of fans for Gulnazar, Dilraba, and Yang Ying, transforming them from minor internet celebrities on the fringes of the entertainment industry into industry insiders. Many production companies and investors expressed their intention to collaborate with them.

Especially in terms of endorsements, Yang Ying, being an actress, currently receives 300 million yuan per year for beauty product endorsements, which even exceeds that of many established first-tier artists in the industry.

The model of "Sisters Who Make Waves" using variety shows to boost the status and value of artists has caused a stir in the industry, with many companies starting to prepare to imitate it or trying to cooperate with Skyfire.

Wang Yao did not express his opinion, but simply asked Qin Lan to make connections with companies or artists who were interested in cooperating, and to discuss it later.

There was also unrest within the company, especially among mid-tier artists like Yang Mi and Tang Yan. They had worked their way up in this industry for so many years, and yet they were not as fortunate as Nazha and others who could just go out, eat, drink, and film a variety show. How could they feel at peace with that?

However, the two were seasoned veterans and knew they couldn't rashly approach Wang Yao. They spent two days brainstorming and came up with a plan. Then, they asked Qin Lan to schedule a time with Wang Yao, saying they wanted to exchange guaranteed movie resources for a variety show resource, preferably "Sister Flower 2".

After reviewing the variety show personas and strengths designed by the two, Wang Yao found them quite interesting. The two planned to adopt a best friend pairing combined with a bromance-themed CP (couple pairing), which was clearly Yang Mi's idea.

“I’ve read Yang Mi’s travel blog with the cast and crew of Chinese Paladin 3, and it really suits her,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Hehehe, it really was inspired by my trip to Egypt last year. My travel experience with Shishi and the others was very interesting, and I felt I could handle the role of tour guide." Yang Mi blinked her big eyes and said earnestly.

She dressed up carefully today, seemingly wearing a white tank top and a bodycon skirt, but she wore a pink posture corrector that accentuated her figure. Although there was no skin showing, it was still very eye-catching.

"What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?" Wang Yao asked, looking at the posture corrector on Yang Mi's back.

"Oh, my posture teacher said I have bad posture, I slouch and hunch over. Wearing this can help alleviate my hunchback and correct my posture." Yang Mi blushed slightly and looked shy.

How can that chest not hold up? A hunchback could be caused by sagging.

Wang Yao withdrew his gaze, rummaged through the shelf, and found two folders, handing them to Yang Mi and Tang Yan: "These are the movies that were originally prepared for you. You can take them back and take a look first, and then decide whether you want to exchange them. The resources for 'Sister Flower 2' can also be auctioned. We will notify everyone when the time comes."

Yang Mi took it, glanced at it, and raised her eyebrows slightly.

Far Cry?
(End of this chapter)