Entertainment: The Era of the Cantonese Circle

A TVB inspection team arrived at Guangzhou Film and Television City.

The person in the lead was none other than Fang Yihua, the newly appointed head of TVB this year, the group's vice chairman and general manager.

The vice-chairman is the boss? That's because the highest-ranking person above him is the retired Shaw Brothers, her powerful backer.

Following Fang Yihua were TVB's financial director, art director, assistant, and accompanying staff from Guangzhou Film City.

"This street is several hundred meters long, longer than all the outdoor shooting streets of our TVB, and one of its large studios is bigger than all of our studios combined."

"This is just the current state; more sets will be built later, which can completely cover various types of film and television dramas."

TVB's art director walked around comparing the two sides.

In short, Hong Kong is a small place, so its film studios are small as well; Guangzhou is a large place, so its film studios are large as well. Big is always better than small in many ways.

Fang Yihua then looked at his company's CFO, who immediately understood.

"The surrounding area is spacious and well-lit, unlike the cramped and dimly lit area of ​​Hong Kong. As a result, many shots do not require lighting adjustments or editing out-of-focus shots in post-production, which can save a lot of post-production costs."

"The costs of labor, venues, and set construction here are far lower than in Hong Kong, estimated to be three or four times lower. A film that costs hundreds of thousands here can be reduced to a few hundred thousand."

"This place allows for closed-off filming, free from external influences, and enables us to film day and night to meet deadlines."

If you ask Fang Yihua what he values ​​most here, it's definitely cost reduction, or as commonly known, being stingy.

If it were any other TV station, knowing there was a film studio next door, they would at most send a deputy director or manager to inspect it. But at TVB, she wouldn't know how many things she could squeeze out without coming in person.

Her stinginess is notorious throughout Hong Kong. How famous? The infamous TVB "One-Cut Sister," Fang Yidao, can cut even a few dollars' worth of toilet paper into a third or even a half-cut.

"Did you see yesterday's news? Mr. Chen has released a new movie and also started a variety show."

"Well, it would be great to have the opportunity to act in it. Even a small role would probably make me stand out."

"Showing off is a small matter; being noticed is the big deal. Look at Chen Guokun, he used to be a supporting actor, but he was noticed by Mr. Chen and went to play the lead role in Bruce Lee's film."

"Brother Frog is even luckier. He used to be Stephen Chow's sidekick, but now he's the boss of a film crew service company. A large number of behind-the-scenes staff in Hong Kong depend on him for their livelihood."

In an open space, some extras and behind-the-scenes staff were resting and chatting.

Their conversation caught the attention of Fang Yihua, who was passing by, but she didn't ask them anything because she was currently in Wang Jing's film crew.

She didn't even need to go looking for Wang Jing; as soon as Wang Jing heard that this important person had arrived, he immediately ran out eagerly.

"Sixth Aunt!"

"Fatty Wang, you've been doing pretty well lately. One of your movies grossed over 100 million, and you've also collaborated with this company on six film and television projects."

"Sixth Aunt is joking. It's all thanks to friends who are giving me a chance to make a living."

"You've signed six agreements with this place, so you should be quite familiar with it. Tell me about the situation here."

"Truth or lie?"

Fang Yi frowned. "How long has it been? You dare to play tricks on me now?"

Wang Jing tried to be cheeky with Chen Yunfan, but he didn't have Chen Yunfan's guts and was a little frightened by this older woman.

"Haha, how could I dare? The lie is that the situation here is unknown. After all, many things in the east and west have only just started to develop, and it's not something that can be seen immediately. The truth is that this place has a very promising future, a very promising future."

Wang Jing rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. "If you ask me who is the best here, I personally think it's TVB. The facilities here are complete, the sets are cheaper than in Hong Kong, the variety of sets is greater, and it's cheaper and more convenient to find behind-the-scenes staff."

Fang Yi nodded slightly.

This Fatty Wang is shrewder than anyone else; the fact that he could say something like that proves this place is indeed quite good.

Tell me about Chen Yunfan.

"Why is Sixth Aunt interested in him?"

"Just say what you need to say, stop with all the nonsense."

Wang Jing cursed inwardly, "You old hag, do you think I'm still working for you?"

Okay! He only dared to curse in his heart; in reality, he was still afraid of this big sister.

No, it's respect. Respect for Fang Yihua. This gossipy woman was his mentor to some extent. Back then, she was the one who supported him in making his first movie, "The King of Gamblers vs. the King of Gamblers".

"Mr. Chen is a pretty good guy. If TVB really wants to develop in Guangzhou Film City, cooperating with him would be a good fit. He has influence here."

Fang Yihua was speechless. This Fatty Wang really knew how to talk. On one hand, he said Chen Yunfan was good, but he didn't go into details about why he was good. On the other hand, he was implying that Chen Yunfan had connections here.

"Do you have his phone number? Contact him."

"Is there some kind of cooperation to discuss with him?" Wang Jing hesitated for a moment.

"Just contact me when I tell you to, why all the fuss?"

You gossip, I really want to knock you out. I'm not even your subordinate, yet you always treat me like one.

Believe it or not, I'll get General Manager Chen to scam you.

Wang Jing took out his phone. He couldn't get through on the first call, but he finally got through on the second call after a few minutes.

.......

On the other side, Chen Yunfan felt that he could describe his recent situation in one word: busy.

Two films and two TV series were given to Pearl River Film Studio to take the lead, but in the end, he still had to oversee many things.

Well! Zhuying really knows how to choose good people. In the future, it won't fall into such a state that it has no works and is like a transparent company in the whole country, even in Guangdong Province. Even the locals in Guangzhou don't know that such a company exists.

Both TV series, "Dwelling Narrowness" and "Lurking," are still in their initial stages, and directors have not yet been chosen.

He didn't bother thinking about a director for "Lurking," so he went straight to the original director, Jiang Wei.

The other party is a teacher in the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy, and previously wrote a very famous TV series called "Don't Talk to Strangers".

Teng Huatao, the original director of "Dwelling Narrowness," is a member of the Beijing entertainment circle.

He has a neutral opinion about the Beijing social circle. There are circles everywhere, and even if there isn't a Beijing circle, there will be other circles. But that doesn't mean he will give opportunities to people from the Beijing circle.

Teng Huatao was immediately rejected by him.

Speaking of the Beijing Film Academy, he thought of another director, but not a teacher in the directing department, but a teacher in the literature department, Cao Baoping.

His most famous directorial work is "The Dead End," which will be released in a few years.

He has now directed two relatively unknown small films.

The plot of "Dwelling Narrowness" includes the pressure of housing prices, the desires of ordinary people, marital infidelity, power transactions, and the gray areas of human nature. In short, it is realistic.

Cao Baoping's style happens to be quite realistic.

As an outstanding graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, he wrote the screenplay for a movie that grossed over 100 million yuan and directed a movie that almost reached 300 million yuan at the box office. He made a phone call to his two teachers, who readily accepted the offer.

As for "The Message," although Chen Jiashang was chosen as the director, the casting left Chen Yunfan somewhat scratching his head.

The original cast, including Huang Xiaoming, Li Bingbing, Zhou Xun, and Zhang Hanyu, are all from the Huayi Brothers' Beijing circle.

Without these people, Chen Yunfan didn't know who to choose for a while.

"Fine, let's have an open election!"

"The actors in 'Night at the Museum'..."

Aside from the male lead—no, the female lead—the other characters have a fair amount of screen time, but they aren't particularly important.

"Let's hold a public election. If we try to decide one by one, we don't know when we'll be able to reach a decision."

After considering film and television dramas, Chen Yunfan also needs to select a few people for variety shows.

The original seven members: Bei Bi hasn't debuted yet; Wang Baoqiang is from Huayi; Li Ceng is from Huayi; Zheng Kai is still in school; Chen Chichi is still in school; and Wang Zulan is nowhere to be found.

The only one without major issues, Deng Chao, might not be able to handle variety shows.

"You have to choose them all!"

He had just finished lamenting this when his phone rang.

He picked up the phone and saw that the caller ID showed: Deputy Director of Guangdong Provincial TV Station.

"Mango TV wants the broadcasting rights to 'Running Man'? They haven't even chosen the cast yet, why would they be interested?"

"I've heard that Hunan TV also wants to penetrate the Guangdong province market, and buying variety shows to build relationships would be a good fit for them."

If that's the case, then Chen Yunfan isn't surprised.

Hunan TV is located in a province next to Guangdong Province. The relationship between the two is like that of neighbors. Now that the neighbor is about to rise to prominence, anyone watching from the sidelines would want to take a ride on its coattails.

Although Hunan TV has a bad reputation, it has to be said that it has a high level of media exposure.

Speaking of Hunan TV, it just so happens that they've given Chen Yunfan a host—a nuclear bomb, no, it's He Jiong.

He has good control over the situation and is easygoing, making him a perfect candidate for captain.

"We can give it to them, and while we're at it, we can find He Jiong to be the host."

A minute after hanging up, Chen Yunfan's phone rang again; this time it was Wang Jing.