The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Chapter 175 Unprecedented Achievements and Ideas

"Princess Agents" garnered over 50 million views on both Tencent Video and iQiyi Video in a single day, meaning that the show's daily online viewership exceeded 100 million.

At this point in time, a total viewership exceeding 100 million is worth talking about, and exceeding 1 billion total views is already considered a huge hit. "Princess Agents" achieved over 100 million views in a single day, which is unprecedented.

The initial broadcast will last for nearly a month. If it maintains this level of popularity, the total number of views during the first run of "Princess Agents" will exceed 30 billion.

So after a year and a half, the number of views still won't break 10 billion?

"Let's Get Married" was broadcast on four channels simultaneously, and the average viewership rating in Jiangsu Province exceeded 3, making it much more popular than "Princess Agents". However, the audience of "Princess Agents" is younger and more willing to watch on online platforms. This resulted in "Let's Get Married" having higher viewership ratings, but its online viewership was much lower than that of "Princess Agents".

In fact, "Let's Get Married" has also achieved phenomenal online viewership. During its first run, the total daily viewership across all platforms exceeded 9000 million for 20 consecutive days. Now, the total viewership has surpassed 40 billion, making it the first work in China to break the 40 billion mark in online viewership.

Whether it can still be the first TV series to break the 50 billion view mark is hard to say now, because the number of views for "Princess Agents" is just too impressive (400 billion views during its first run in history).

Suddenly, Zhao Liying became incredibly famous.

The rules for this year's Golden Eagle Goddess selection have been released. For the first time, online voting will be used. There are 13 candidates, known as the "Thirteen Beauties," including Yang Mi, Tang Yan, Li Yitong, and Shuangzi.

But given the current popularity of "Princess Agents" across the internet, the other candidates must be feeling a bit of a headache.

Zhao Liying has been feeling dizzy and disoriented lately.

The viewership ratings for "Princess Agents" met her expectations. After the drama premiered, she could clearly feel her fame rising. However, she did not expect that the impact of the video websites following up would be so great.

At first, the daily viewership exceeded 100 million, and then it broke 110 million. This was an unprecedented achievement, almost overnight, and she felt that her status had been elevated.

She was already a top-tier actress in the TV drama industry, so now she's become incredibly famous.

"He said he'd use 'Princess Agents' to help me win this year's Golden Eagle Goddess award—wasn't he just trying to fool me?"

Bai Mengyan was just as shocked as Zhao Liying, the person directly involved.

The boss said that "Princess Agents" was intended to help Zhao Liying win the Golden Eagle Goddess award. As a result, the drama became a huge hit after it was broadcast online. Now, the selection rules for the Golden Eagle Goddess have indeed changed, and Zhao Liying is actually the number one favorite among the so-called "Thirteen Beauties of the Golden Eagle" this year.

"Small-time fame relies on promotion, big-time fame relies on fate? Clearly, even big-time fame relies on promotion!" Bai Mengyan finally understood, and then she thought, "Actually, Zhao Liying isn't much prettier than me."

The conference room of Magical Film Company.

This year, the company will also produce three variety shows. The business has been doing well in terms of attracting sponsors. With the prestigious brand of Magical Films, the market recognizes its value. However, there are still quite a few problems.

"Under the current program rules, singers will have many concerns, and the production team will find it difficult to invite enough singers willing to participate. The program is not just for one or two seasons. Under these rules, it will soon be difficult to invite people. The competition system may need to be adjusted, otherwise the program will not last long."

"That's what a director surnamed Zhang said."

The production rules for "The Masked Singer" were personally formulated by Shen Qing, and were basically copied from the original Korean version. Of course, at this point in time, the original Korean version has not yet been created, so from the perspective of the Magical Film and Television Company, this very ingenious song variety show, which is likely to be a surprise hit, is the original creation of their genius boss.

As for the concerns of the singers mentioned by the director surnamed Zhang, we must mention the fundamental differences in gameplay between the Korean version and the later domestically imported version.

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The Korean version uses a champion-defense system, with 8 masked singers in each round. They compete in pairs (4 groups in total) to determine 4 winners who advance to the second round. The 4 winners then compete in pairs again, and the final winner challenges the previous week's champion.

The loser is eliminated on the spot by revealing their identity, while the champion does not reveal their identity and continues to accept challenges, leaving the suspense for the next episode. The show is always full of suspense, with the focus on how long the champion can defend their title and the moment when the champion is revealed when they fail to defend their title and are taken down.

In the imported version, the identity of the new champion singer is revealed after each episode's mask is removed, and they advance to the semi-finals. The champion singer whose mask has already been removed must put on their mask again (or a new mask) to participate in the semi-finals. Those who lose a challenge do not need to remove their mask.

The original version of the King of Singers never revealed his identity, maintaining suspense throughout.

In the imported version, the winner is revealed, receives flowers and applause, and the suspense comes to an abrupt end.

The original version required the loser to reveal their face, making the competition extremely brutal. The core highlight was the shock and reversal when the veteran singer failed to defend his title and removed his mask.

In the imported version, the loser can remain unmasked, those who shouldn't be unmasked will be unmasked, and those who should be unmasked will remain unmasked.

The original mask was the soul of the performance, but the imported version couldn't even cover the face, and actually became a bizarre performance costume for the singer.

Shen Qing's plan was to copy the original, but now the company's director says that singers will have many concerns and be unwilling to participate under this rule.

"How do you think it should be adjusted?" Shen Qing asked.

The director, surnamed Zhang, adjusted his glasses and said, "The loser can choose not to reveal their identity, but those who don't will not have a second chance to participate in the program. Those who choose to reveal their identity will have one second chance to participate."

Most of the people in the conference room nodded slightly.

Shen Qing also fell into thought.

The fact that the loser must be exposed is indeed frightening for many singers. If they fail, especially to a singer whose status is far lower than their own, it could have a very negative impact on their careers.

If the show insists on revealing the identity of the loser, the production team may indeed face the embarrassing situation of not being able to invite anyone.

So, do we really need to change it?

The Korean version of "King of Mask Singer" has been licensed to 53 countries and regions. Shen Qing also wants to make this variety show a model, a benchmark for international licensing, and then try to exchange licenses for "Running Man" back. Otherwise, relying on buying licenses is not an option. The first season of "Running Man" reportedly cost 1.8 million yuan to license, and the licensing fee will almost certainly increase as the show becomes more popular!

Since we're aiming to make it a benchmark and a model, we must resolutely use the original Korean version, because it was originally a benchmark product licensed to other countries.

Even if the rule of revealing the loser's identity is cruel, can we still find people to last a season? It's not too late to change the rules later if there's really no one left.

Besides, if it's hard to invite those who are currently popular, what about those who aren't popular yet?

How many singers are not yet famous and only became popular after 2012? Surely it's not difficult to invite these people too?

The fact that these people became popular after 2012 means that they already had the talent, but they lacked a platform. Now, "The Masked Singer" provides you with that platform!

Once these "future superstars" become famous on the show "King of Mask Singer," won't the show that made the singers famous also become famous? Won't we then have a story of the show and the singers achieving great success together?

What about singers who have faded into obscurity, or even those who have crossed over into other genres? Shouldn't we invite them? The platform gives you a chance to revive your career. Besides, is failing or being exposed necessarily a bad thing?

Do singers need victory? Actually, they need exposure!

We might lose, but we have a chance to make a comeback. Are you in?

"Regarding the 'Masked Singer' program, the original competition rules will remain unchanged. You should try your best to do some mental work with the singers and explain to them that failing and being unmasked is not so terrible. I will personally invite some more people later."

Director Zhang nodded upon hearing this.

He felt that when the boss said he personally invited some people, it meant that the boss was using his own connections to invite them. In reality, Shen Qing's true subtext was that he was inviting those who would become famous in the future but weren't famous yet.

"Tell me about 'Who's the Murderer'. What difficulties did you encounter?" Shen Qing continued to ask.

CEO Dai Ying said, "He Jiong has no exclusive agreement with Hunan TV, and he is not a formal employee of Hunan TV. Theoretically, He Jiong is a free agent, but the fact that he is not bound by an agreement with Hunan TV does not mean that there is no hidden identity binding. It is still very difficult to invite him. Not only is he very valuable, but his appearance fee for one season may be in the tens of millions. Moreover, we have to make him see that the program is indeed very meaningful."

"Where's Sa Beining?"

"It's even more difficult than inviting He Jiong, who is a formally contracted host with CCTV."

"Let's prepare for both possibilities. On one hand, we'll continue to contact the two individuals, and on the other hand, we'll also sign some hosts ourselves, selecting from current students and signing long-term contracts to ensure the stability of our future programs."

As she spoke, Shen Qing thought of two people. One was Qi Sijun, the host that Hunan TV put forward to replace Sa Beining when she left "Who's the Murderer". He was born in 94 and was still in college. Shen Qing also thought of a female host named Zhang Chunhua. She wondered if Zhang Chunhua had signed with Jiangsu TV yet. If not, she wondered if she could sign with Magical Film and Television Company.

Are there any other up-and-coming, yet-to-be-famous hosts? Let me think about it some more, and I'll tell Dai Ying about them after the meeting.

As for the guest lineup, we'll use the original cast: Zhang Ruoyun, Da Zhangwei, Wang Ou, Bai Jingting, Yang Rong, etc. History has proven that these people are capable.

"Production for 'Ace vs Ace' is about to begin. The company has already rented the filming location, and the GG and title sponsorship have been sold, reserving the title sponsorship slots for video websites in the future," Dai Ying said.

Shen Qing nodded.

The early reviews of "Ace vs Ace" were not very high. It was not until the fourth episode when the Ace Family was formed that the show's reputation improved. Now that Shen Qing is making "Ace vs Ace", he will naturally not follow the old path of exploration in the original timeline.

If Shen Qing is going to make this version of "Ace vs Ace," then naturally she'll use Shen Teng, Jia Ling, and Guan Xiaotong from the very beginning.

Hua Chenyu.

Moreover, because the event was scheduled earlier, Shen Teng wasn't famous enough yet, making him easier to invite and his appearance fee wasn't as high.

If Shen Qing were to copy some of Shen Teng's representative works in the future, he might not become as popular as he was in the original timeline.

It seems that the cost of keeping him a regular on the show in the future will become lower.

After discussing the three variety shows, Shen Qing brought up the "W - Two Worlds" project and decided on the male and female leads: Chen Xiao for the male lead and Li Yitong for the female lead. This had already been discussed with Li Yitong privately.

Chen Zhixi signed another newcomer named Li Xian from the Beijing Film Academy. Now, when Shen Qing wants to sign someone, he will inform Chen Zhixi. Normally, Chen Zhixi doesn't need to ask Shen Qing for permission to sign whomever she wants. The CEO of an artist management company wouldn't be without this much authority. Li Xian was a newcomer that Chen Zhixi signed on her own.

The filming of "Why is Secretary Chen like that?" was originally scheduled to start in May, but the male lead had not been decided, so it was delayed until now. After weighing the opinions of Wang Kai and Li Xian, Wang Kai was finally chosen after taking into account the opinions of all parties.

Li Xian and Dilraba might have better on-screen chemistry, but after careful consideration, the company decided to use Wang Kai instead.

"Ma Li, someone wants to cast you in a movie, are you going?"

Backstage at the theater, Shen Teng called out from a distance. The attention of all the Happy Twist members was instantly drawn to the two of them.

"Hey, who has such good taste to finally see how great I am? Wahahahahaha————"

Ma Li thought Shen Teng was making fun of her, so she laughed without any regard for her image.

"It's true. Director Shen Qing just called. Would I joke about something this important?"

"Wait, who? Shen Qing?"

Ai Lun also chimed in.

"That's right, it's Shen Qing."

Ma Li stopped her silly laughter and asked, "Really? You want me to play a comedic, ugly role?"

"No, this time we've cast you as the female lead," Shen Teng said.

Shen Qing had just called him personally to discuss "Ace vs Ace." He casually mentioned that Ma Li might also be suitable for the show, but Shen Qing immediately rejected it, saying that the company was about to invite her to act in a movie. Shen Teng naturally wanted to clarify such a big matter, and now that he had, he was the one to tell Ma Li the good news.

The entire backstage area of ​​the theater fell silent.

She's actually the female lead.

"Director Shen Qing is directing and starring in this film, and you're playing his wife, so you're naturally the female lead. By the way, you're familiar with this character, and we're both familiar with her."

"Am I familiar with this?"

"Didn't a novel called 'Goodbye Mr. Loser' appear on Tianya before? Yan Fei and Da Mo loved it. We've both read it. Director Shen Qing remembered you playing Ma Dongmei in it."

"Wow!" The surrounding members of the Twist team exclaimed in surprise.

Shen Teng turned to Ai Lun and said, "Ai Lun, come here, act like an idiot."

Ai Lun waved his fist at Shen Teng and said, "Want to learn how to be a thug to beat people up?"

"Fine, don't bother learning it then," Shen Teng said. "Director Shen just asked me to recommend someone for the second male lead, Da Sha Chun, but I don't think we can find anyone here."

"Hehehe—" Allen immediately laughed, "Look how silly I am, hehehe."

I must say, his imitation was incredibly lifelike, making all the members of the Twist comedy troupe next to him laugh.

In reality, Shen Qing never asked Shen Teng to recommend him; he only revealed to Shen Teng that he would invite Ai Lun to audition for the role of Da Sha Chun.

When is the audition?

On July 4, the movie "Wolf Warrior" held its premiere in Beijing. Shen Qing brought Liu Yifei to attend and support Wu Jing and her husband.

The release of "Painted Skin 2" on June 28th has generated impressive figures. The daily box office revenue on the weekend of its opening week exceeded 6 million yuan, and it looks like the total box office revenue has a chance to reach the 10 billion yuan mark.

The original "Painted Skin 2" did have a good box office performance, but it wasn't this high.

Due to the butterfly effect of Shen Qing's time travel, the film market in this timeline is much larger than that in the original timeline.

Yes, Yang Mi in this life is even more popular than her counterpart in the original timeline, yet she still starred in "Painted Skin 2," playing the second female lead, Que'er. It seems there's not only the butterfly effect but also the inertia of time.

Let me tell you about the butterfly effect.

A movie called *The Four Great Constables* will be released on July 12th. The original film starred Liu Yifei as Wuqing and Jiang Yiyan as Ji Yaohua. In the original timeline, Jiang Yiyan won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 16th Huading Awards for her role as Ji Yaohua. The award was presented by Xue Kaiqi, who then directly insulted Jiang Yiyan during the presentation.

It turns out that being shameless really does work. It's said that Jiang Yiyan snatched the role of Ji Yaohua from Xue Kaiqi.

As it turns out, Liu Yifei didn't play Wuqing in this timeline; Xue Kaiqi took her place. Right now, during the movie's promotion, Xue Kaiqi is showing off his sisterly bond with Jiang Yiyan, which makes Shen Qing want to laugh.