Huayu: Starting with Hijacking from "The Story of a Noble Family"

Chapter 70: News of the adaptation of "Chinese Paladin" and the broadcast of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils"

"Tsai, the general manager of Tangren, did contact me before, and we even met, but whether I will act in this drama is still uncertain."

Xu Heng nodded.

Before the news broke the day before yesterday that Tangren was preparing to film "Chinese Paladin", Cai Yinong called him again, saying that the salary of 50,000 yuan per episode was too high and the production team was really short of funds. She said that if he was willing, she could give him 35,000 yuan per episode, but he refused.

Later, Liu Yifei told him that Cai Yinong had also called her godfather, saying she wanted 450,000 yuan to film the drama, which is 15,000 yuan per episode.

Liu Yifei asked him, and he refused as well.

"Why? Is it because you don't want to act, or do you have some other concerns?"

The reporter continued, "After all, there has never been a precedent in China for adapting games into film and television dramas."

"It's not convenient to disclose that at the moment."

Xu Heng smiled and shook his head.

"Xu Heng, if Producer Zhang's next drama is 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' would you play Yang Guo?"

Another reporter asked.

"This drama hasn't even been officially greenlit yet, so isn't it a bit too early to talk about this?"

Xu Heng countered with a question.

Zhang Dahuzi's "The Return of the Condor Heroes" began preparations after filming "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", but it has not yet been officially approved.

Meanwhile, Liu Yifei, not far away, was facing a similar problem.

What do you think are the differences between making movies and making TV series?

"Let's set higher standards for the film."

"This is your first time acting in a movie. Do you think you can do a good job?"

"It was difficult at first, but it got much better gradually. Also, movies are shorter than TV series, so a single scene can be reshot many times."

What do you think of Xu Heng's directing skills?

"I think his directing skills are excellent!"

Will you play the female lead, Zhao Ling'er, in the Tangren drama series "Chinese Paladin"?

"Tsai, the general manager of Tangren Media, contacted me, and we had a good chat, but it's still uncertain whether I will appear in the show."

"Would you play Little Dragon Girl? After all, Mr. Jin Yong personally recommended you!"

"I really like the character of Little Dragon Girl, but whether I'll actually play the role remains to be seen. However, I think I'll probably audition!"

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After the press conference, they stayed in Hangzhou for another night. The next day, Xu Heng and Liu Yifei took different flights back to Beijing.

Back at the Beijing Film Academy, Xu Heng saw that the dormitory's communal TV was playing "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," in which he starred, and there were quite a few people gathered around.

Upon seeing Xu Heng, these classmates and junior students once again showed expressions of envy.

The TV series "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" has not been officially broadcast yet, but the videotapes were officially released a few days ago. What they are watching now is the genuine videotape that Xu Heng bought.

Seeing Xu Heng and Liu Yifei's images in the drama, how could they not know that Xu Heng and Liu Yifei were about to become popular again!

Or to be more precise, it's going to become even more popular!

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Xu also speculated that Cai Yinong's eagerness to contact him and Liu Yifei to secure their roles in "Chinese Paladin" likely stemmed from her having already watched the videotape of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils".

But let alone 35,000 per episode, even if Cai Yinong were willing to offer 50,000 per episode, he might not agree.

He met Cai Yinong at the end of September, and now it's the beginning of December, which is almost two and a half months later.

Cai Yinong hadn't agreed earlier or later, but only agreed when she saw that he and Liu Yifei were about to become even more popular, and she still wanted to continue to haggle over the salary.

So naturally he wouldn't mind waiting another month until his movie was released!

Meanwhile, reports yesterday about the premiere press conference for "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" and Tangren's upcoming filming of "Chinese Paladin" also circulated.

The news about the TV series has once again caused quite a stir in the film and television review section of Tianya!

"It seems Tangren Media is really going to adapt 'Chinese Paladin' into a TV series!"

"Both Tomb Raider and Resident Evil were huge hits, and now it's very popular overseas to adapt games into movies and TV series!"

"Xu Heng as Li Xiaoyao? Liu Yifei as Zhao Ling'er? This combination seems alright!"

Have you seen Xu Heng and Liu Yifei's "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils"? Their period costumes are absolutely stunning!

"Hasn't 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' not aired yet? But looking at their promotional photos and posters, they really suit period dramas!"

"It hasn't aired yet, and even if it does, it'll be on a local channel, so it won't be available in many places. However, the VCD and DVD versions have already been released!"

"Didn't Xu Heng and Liu Yifei say they hadn't confirmed their roles yet?"

"It's Xu Heng and Liu Yifei again. Could there really be something going on between them?"

"Xu Heng and Liu Yifei have filmed all three of their dramas together since their debut, and they have such a good relationship in private. Moreover, he is handsome and she is beautiful. Xu Heng is also quite talented. It's no exaggeration to say that they are a perfect match. If you said that there was no spark between them, I doubt anyone would believe it!"

"The main problem is that Liu Yifei is only 16 years old. Otherwise, I would never believe that they are just friends. But who knows what the future holds!"

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Clearly, these netizens are more supportive of Xu and Liu Yifei playing Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Ling'er, but the situation is different in the computer technology section next door.

Tianya doesn't have a dedicated gaming section yet, so discussions about games are all done in this section, and these so-called "original work fans" are obviously more picky!

"Xu Heng playing Li Xiaoyao? Li Xiaoyao has a long face, broad shoulders, and a bit of a roguish air. Xu Heng's image is quite fitting, and he's handsome enough, although his face isn't quite that long. But that's not a big problem. He also had a bit of a roguish air in his previous role as Jin Yanxi, so he actually seems quite suitable!"

"Xu Heng has a good image, is quite popular, and has decent acting skills; he's definitely suitable to play Li Xiaoyao!"

"Xu Heng is only 20 years old, perfect for playing Li Xiaoyao!"

"Liu Yifei as Zhao Ling'er? Can she capture Zhao Ling'er's ethereal and otherworldly charm?"

"Liu Yifei grew up in the US, and she has too much of a modern girl vibe. She's also a bit precocious. Although her age is suitable, she completely lacks Zhao Ling'er's innocence!"

"In the game, Zhao Ling'er has an oval face and big eyes, but Liu Yifei's eyes aren't big enough, her face shape is wrong, and she's a bit chubby; she doesn't look lively at all!"

"Why not choose an actress who better fits the game's character? Tangren only chose Liu Yifei for the sake of generating buzz!"

"I can accept Xu Heng playing Li Xiaoyao, but I absolutely cannot accept Liu Yifei playing Zhao Ling'er!"

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Two days later, at 7:45 pm on December 11, the Zhang Dahuzi version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" officially aired on Zhejiang TV's Economic and Life Channel, also known as Zhejiang Economic Channel. Many viewers in Zhejiang Province had been looking forward to it for a long time.

Zhejiang Economic Television is clearly a local station, with coverage limited to Zhejiang Province and surrounding areas.

Nowadays, many TV dramas prefer to be sold to local TV stations first, and then to satellite TV stations after they have gone through a series of sales.

Because it's broadcast on a satellite TV channel, anyone with cable TV can see it nationwide, which will affect the price of the second-run broadcast rights.

If you don't want to go through all that trouble, you can just sell it to CCTV.

CCTV has a much larger audience than other TV stations, its GG (Gross Broadcast) fees are more expensive, and the price it can sell for is naturally higher.

It's just that CCTV has higher quality requirements for dramas than local TV stations.

Moreover, unless the quality of the drama is exceptionally high, like last year's "The Story of a Noble Family," which was sold to CCTV and then to more than a dozen satellite TV stations for a second run, and was also broadcast twice on CCTV-1.

Otherwise, the price of the second-round broadcasting rights would also be greatly reduced after being sold to CCTV!

The first episode opens with the Yanmen Pass storyline, followed by Qiao Feng's appearance to rescue the Beggars' Sect members. Then, Wang Jiantong, the Beggars' Sect leader played by Zhang Dahuzi, praises Qiao Feng, and finally, Murong Fu appears.

Wang Yuyan appeared about halfway through the first episode, but only for a little over a minute. Duan Yu appeared in the second half of the episode.

The second episode focuses entirely on Duan Yu's storyline, with several "younger sisters" also making appearances.

As for the quality, apart from Duan Yu and Liu Yifei's outstanding appearances, Mu Wanqing and Murong Fu's appearances were also quite good, but the rest were just so-so, including Qiao Feng's design.

In his previous life, Xiu Qing met with a setback, but it must be admitted that his performance in this "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" was indeed quite good.

The premiere aired that evening, and Sina Entertainment and Sohu Entertainment reported on it, with the content mainly praising it.

Sina Entertainment commented that the visuals were magnificent and the action choreography showed significant improvement.

Sohu Entertainment stated that the plot is fast-paced, with three storylines interwoven and progressing simultaneously, and the adaptation is reasonable.

It's obvious at a glance that it was probably a paid press release.

The next day, local newspapers in Zhejiang Province commented that the overall performance of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" was better than that of the previous "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," and greatly praised Xu's character and performance in the first two episodes.

When Xu Heng acted in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", his acting skills were only Lv.2, which is not as good as Lv.3 when he acted in "The Story of a Noble Family".

But with his acting skills at the time, he could have easily played Duan Yu, not to mention that his acting skills completely overshadowed Lin Zhiying's.

In the previous life, Lin Zhiying's portrayal of Duan Yu was praised by so many people. He is more handsome and has a better temperament than Lin Zhiying. He is also more popular and his age is more suitable for the role of Duan Yu. There is no reason why his performance is not as good as Lin Zhiying's!

Meanwhile, "Infernal Affairs 3" was also released simultaneously across Asia today.

Another day passed, and on December 13th, the Golden Horse Awards ceremony was held in Taiwan, where "Infernal Affairs" was a great success.

The film won Best Feature Film, directors Lau Wai-keung and Alan Mak won Best Director, actor Tony Leung won Best Actor, and actor Wong Chau-sang won Best Supporting Actor.

Sandra Ng won Best Actress for her role in "Golden Chicken".

Lin Meixiu won Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Black Dog Is Coming".

Wang Baoqiang won Best New Actor for his role in "Blind Shaft".

Two days later, on Monday, December 15th, the box office results for the first three days of "Infernal Affairs 3" were released.

The film grossed over HK$12 million in Hong Kong in three days, and over HK$20 million in mainland China in three days.

However, the production cost of this movie is as high as HK$7000 million, and the figure is probably not inflated, given the large number of big-name stars involved.

Including marketing and promotion costs, the total cost should exceed HK$8000 million.

Based on the current box office figures, it will be quite difficult to break even and make a profit.

The fact that no fourth installment was released after the previous trilogy may not be the primary reason for the lack of box office success of the second and third films, but it is definitely one of the reasons!