Back to 17, My Brother is the Cult Leader

Chapter 98 Inventory

By mid-May, the sycamore trees outside the window were already covered with leaves.

Fang Yuan was sitting at his desk when Xiao Mei knocked on the door and came in, holding a folder in her hand.

"President Fang, let me report to you on the progress of Yan Danchen and Zeng Li's projects this year."

Xiaomei sat down opposite Fang Yuan and opened her folder.

Fang Yuan put down his pen and leaned back in his chair.

"Yan Danchen mainly spent the first half of the year filming the movie 'Call Me'."

Xiao Mei said, "It's a film produced by Beijing Film Studio, directed by A Nian, and has already finished filming. It's currently in post-production."

She plays the second female lead, not the one with the most screen time, but the role offers room for development. It's expected to be released in the second half of the year.

Fang Yuan nodded.

"Call Me" is a low-budget art film, a group drama about seven stories that intersect because of pagers.

Yan Danchen got this role through Hao Wei.

Hao Wei is responsible for managing the artists' entertainment affairs.

"Are there any other projects?" Fang Yuan asked.

"Regarding television dramas, she's in talks for a major historical drama."

Xiao Mei turned a page: "The Love Story of the Tang Dynasty, a project of Hunan Broadcasting System, thirty episodes, directed by Gong Ruofei."

The production team is very strong; they previously produced "My Fair Princess".

Sister Hao is currently negotiating the contract with the other party. Yan Danchen will play the role of Consort Yang, around the third female lead. Filming is expected to begin early next year.

Fang Yuan thought for a moment. "What about the schedule? Are there any conflicts?"

No. The promotional schedule for "Call Me" and the filming schedule for "The Love Story of Tang Dynasty" were not scheduled to overlap.

Sister Hao's idea is to focus on promoting "Call Me" this year and concentrate on filming "The Love Story of the Tang Dynasty" next year.

Historical dramas have long production cycles, but they offer high media exposure.

Xiaomei flipped to Zeng Li's page.

"Zeng Li has two projects this year."

The first one is the TV series "East Meets West," a 45-episode period comedy in which she played the female lead.

The production company is China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Audio-Visual Publishing House, and the broadcasting platform has been confirmed as a joint broadcast by several local satellite TV stations.

Filming is currently more than halfway complete and is expected to wrap up in July, with the broadcast scheduled for the second half of the year.

Fang Yuan nodded.

"The second project is the film 'Parking for a Moment'," Xiaomei continued. "It's a film directed by Liu Dekai, adapted from Zhong Xiaoyang's novel of the same name."

Zeng Li plays Chen Suyun, the second female lead. The main cast also includes Zhou Xun and Jeff Chang.

Funded by Taiwanese sources, post-production is complete, and the film is expected to be released next year.

Fang Yuan knew about this novel.

Chung Hsiao-yang's breakthrough work had a significant impact in Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 1980s.

This remake marks Liu Dekai's directorial debut, and the cast spans both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The fact that Zeng Li was able to join this production team shows that Hao Wei's operational capabilities extend beyond the mainland market.

"Sister Hao's plan for Zeng Li is to cultivate a fan base through TV dramas and gain critical acclaim through movies."

Xiao Mei closed the folder. "This year, we'll lay the foundation with TV dramas, and next year we'll boost our brand awareness with movies."

"It's a bit different from Yan Danchen's approach, but both are long-term plans."

Fang Yuan said, "Okay. Have Hao Wei continue to follow up, keep a close eye on the contract details, and make sure there are no mistakes."

"it is good."

After reporting on the actors' progress, Xiaomei did not leave immediately.

"Is there anything else?"

"Mr. Fang, I have some information here summarizing the overall situation of the domestic film and television industry this year, which you asked me to compile before."

Would you like to listen to this?

Fang Yuan nodded.

Xiaomei pulled out a few pages from the bottom of the folder, which were covered with densely printed notes.

"Let's start with China Film Group." Xiaomei placed the paper on the table, but instead of reading it aloud, she repeated it in her own words.

"China Film Group plans to produce more than 30 films this year, accounting for nearly one-third of the total output of domestic films."

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, China Film Group Corporation released seven films as tribute, including "Heroic Age," "Bloodstained Canyon," "Plateau Dream," and "Home is Where the World Is."

In terms of directors, China Film Group has a number of key projects underway—Chen Kaige's "Together," Tian Zhuangzhuang's "Small Town Story," Sun Zhou's "Zhou Yu's Train," and Li Shaohong's "Baby."

Regarding young directors, Lu Chuan's "Looking for a Gun" is supported by China Film Group, and Teng Huatao's "One Hundred Thieves" is also in the works.

"The output is large, but the market capacity is limited," Fang Yuan said.

"Yes," Xiaomei said, "some films may not be able to be released in good time slots."

"What about Huayi Brothers?" Fang Yuan asked.

"Huayi's biggest move this year was the establishment of a talent agency, officially incorporating the star management business into its portfolio."

Top agent Wang Jinghua led a group of actors there.

In terms of films, Huayi Brothers has invested in several small and medium-budget projects this year, which are quite diverse in type, and there are no clear top projects yet.

This year, it seems they've shifted their focus, venturing into artist management and television dramas as well.

Huayi Brothers is transforming from a simple film production company into a comprehensive entertainment group.

Having a talent agency is an important step; with artist resources, you have more say in project development and investment.

"What about the other companies?" Fang Yuan asked.

Emperor Entertainment does not have an independent production company in mainland China; it mainly enters the market through co-productions.

Emperor Entertainment has several projects in mainland China that are going through the approval process this year, but progress is very slow.

For Hong Kong companies to start projects in mainland China, the process is much more complicated than for local companies.

Bona Film Group's founder, Yu Dong, started in distribution and has also begun investing this year, though on a small scale.

Established studios like Shanghai Film Studio and Beijing Film Studio maintain stable annual production, but constrained by funding and institutional limitations, they struggle to achieve significant breakthroughs.

"What about TV dramas?" Fang Yuan asked again.

Xiaomei turned to the last few pages.

"The production of TV dramas this year is expected to exceed 8,000 episodes. From 1998 to now, the number of production companies has increased from dozens to more than 200, with investment reaching several billion yuan."

However, only about two thousand episodes can be broadcast during prime time, and most of the dramas either lose money or break even.

It looks lively on the surface, but the competition underneath is fierce.

Nowadays, TV stations are paying more and more attention to the star lineup when buying dramas, and it is difficult to sell a drama without well-known actors.

Newcomers have far fewer opportunities to stand out than in previous years.

Several satellite TV stations, including Hunan TV, Zhejiang TV, and Anhui TV, are vying for top-tier resources.

Our projects with Yan Danchen and Zeng Li, "The Love Story of the Tang Dynasty" and "An Encounter Between East and West," are both period dramas, primarily broadcast on provincial satellite TV channels, so the resources are excellent.

After listening to Xiaomei's report, Fang Yuan asked her, "Where do you think the biggest opportunity lies in the domestic market this year?"

Xiaomei thought about it.

"Genre films. Imported films have been accounting for an increasingly larger share of the domestic box office in recent years, while domestic films, apart from patriotic films and a few comedies, are almost non-existent in other genres."

If we can carve out a niche for ourselves in genres like suspense, thriller, and science fiction, we won't have to compete with the big companies for limited opportunities.

Xiaomei has been with him for several years, and her perspective on issues has become increasingly mature.

Yan Danchen and Zeng Li's project proceeded smoothly, and Hao Wei, as their agent, quickly made a breakthrough.

The TV drama market is in dire straits; only big-budget productions can survive.